Chapter 34: The Goldenrod Radio Tower
A/N: Poll about the Blake/Ethan pairing will stay up until maybe August 24th 2020, so give it a look if you want to make your opinion on the subject heard. Always appreciate the input. Also, from the last chapter, while Zuzu is a reference to ATLA, it is also the name of Ruby's Mudkip in Pokemon Adventures. Follow, favorite, review, whatever you like or don't! Enjoy, Alfa19
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I rushed towards the doors of the Radio Tower, people hurriedly trying to get out of the way of Typhlosion and Lucario as we blitzed down the street. With one hand, I quickly dialed the police.
"Team Rocket are holding the radio tower hostage!" I half yelled down the line.
"Sir, where are you calling from." A calm operators voice sounded down the phone, accompanied by rapid typing.
"Outside the Goldenrod Radio Tower, on…. Four hundred port boulevard, Goldenrod City."
"You said Team Rocket is holding the building hostage?"
"Yes, they've barricaded it shut from the inside."
"Name?"
"Ethan Photon, trainer ID Alpha Chi Omega Six Foxtrot Six."
"Thank you for your call Mr. Photon. A police unit has been dispatched."
Dropping the call, I cast a glance towards the door where A group of team rocket agents were barricading it shut. The police realistically stood a much better chance of getting past the throng of rocket agents than I did. The roof on the other hand…
"Lucario, Typhlosion, return!" I recalled the two Pokemon quickly, tossing out Knight's pokeball in turn and hopping onto the Dragonite's back without wasting any time. "Up!"
Knight pushed off, rising rapidly into the air and pulling me along as we shot up past the ceiling. Once we were further up, I chanced a glance down below, my heart sinking at the sight of a roof crawling with rocket agents. A few were tinkering with the actual broadcasting equipment on the roof, and at least a dozen more were standing guard, watching all edges of the city. One set of suspicious eyes were watching us.
"Let's get out of here." I hurriedly guided Knight away before the rocket agent acted, flying to the south of the city and then coming back in from low down until I was back at the radio tower.
The police had arrived on the scene, a single officer casting a glance at me with a raised eyebrow. Dragonite probably weren't all too common around here. They seemed to be getting a battering ram of sorts in order as they examined the scenario, casting a glance at the whole thing.
"Get out of here kid. There's a police investigation going on." One of the officers barked at me gruffly, leading me to raise an eyebrow and glare at him. Snorting, he turned around to bark orders at his subordinates. "Get into the tunnels and seal the entrances."
I quickly recalled Knight and walked off, picking at the little bit of information that I had been gifted with by the annoyed officer. I released Lucario and Typhlosion once more as I searched for one of the countless entrances to Goldenrod's tunnels. Much of the city was connected from underground to help with maintain supply chains and moving goods in a busy city. Spotting an entrance near Whitney's gym, I ducked in, hurrying down the stairs into the industrial corridor. Warehouses and storage spaces lined the walls as the three of us aimlessly hurried down the walkway, trying to find something of use to us.
We had been wandering for half an hour when Lucario's ears perked up and the hound dashed down the corridor, turning down a narrow pathway. I sprinted as fast as I could, trying to keep up with him as Typhlosion bounded on all fours, keeping up the rear.
Lucario was standing at the end of the narrow corridor, paws under the edge of a garage door like barrier. With an audible grunt, the fighting type yanked the sealed door up, opening it and shoving it upwards. I slipped in with Typhlosion as the fighting type pointed down the corridor that led further in.
'There. Rocket agents occupy this space. This seems to connect to the radio tower.' Lucario kicked aside a box of equipment. I carefully opened it. Empty pokeballs, rope, batons, all sorts of things filled the crates. I grabbed a bunch of rope and tied it around my waist, ignoring the batons in favor of my father's expanding staff which I had finally taken back out of storage. Putting the weapon in my hand, I followed Lucario down the next corridor.
Lights flickered as we hurried down the dark, musty corridor. It seemed like this was one that didn't get a lot of maintenance. It made enough sense, it's not like you could fit most radio equipment down this corridor so its use was probably quite limited. We ran through the darkness and the dimly lit patches, emerging into another basement store with a few boxes lying around in between discarded satellite dishes.
"Not the elevator. They can control that. Stairs only." I hurried towards the stairs, clambering up them with Lucario and Typhlosion by my side. The stairwell didn't seem to stop on the ground floor, instead taking us up another flight and leaving us in front of a heavy door. "We can't use fire in a tight space Typhlosion. I'm sorry, you'll come out when it counts.'
Taking a deep breath and arming my staff, I recalled Typhlosion and released Scizor and Specter. Counting to three, I swung the door open, revealing the well-lit lobby of the second floor. The room was tastefully decorated, with common workspaces and a café scattered around the large open space. Tables with papers and wires strewn over them stood out against the pale lilac carpet, and to the south, the full wall of windows let in plenty of sunlight. A studio space dominated one corner of the room, with fancy damping materials around the edges and hanging from the ceiling. Through the glass window looking into it, I could see a few faces of some of Johto's popular radio hosts.
Terror was visible on their faces, making them almost unrecognizable compared to their pictures as they cowered in the corner of the studio in fear. Hate flooded into me as I looked all around the room, taking in the sight of rocket agents spread out all around the room lounging in the space and barking at the innocent civilians who were hiding under the desks and stuck in the corners of the room.
"Blitz them!" I roared, bringing my staff down against a rocket agents head as Specter flew into action, terrorizing agents in black gear and red shirts. Lucario bounded around, slamming into them with Scizor as the confounded agents tried to react, tossing out pokeballs of their own. Raticate and Zubat suddenly occupied the room, redirecting the attention of my Pokemon as I held back the agents themselves with my staff, slamming it into them and holding them back as the trio of my Pokemon dealt with the swarm of incoming agents.
Lucario slammed fists into the normal type Pokemon everywhere, knocking them out as Scizor snapped out with its pincers, nabbing most of the Zubat and bringing them down. Specter flitted around on its own, wreaking havoc amongst the ranks of Team Rocket agents manning the second floor.
"This is a police invasion!" I voice from behind me roared as a troop of officers stormed up the stairs from the first floor, occupying the remaining space and tangling with the rocket agents on the second floor. Spotting my chance, I looked at the stairs at the opposite end of the room and shouted to for Lucario mentally.
'Let's keep moving! Get the others!' I shrank my staff and ducked, slipping under the arms and legs of countless officers and agents tangled in a brawl. Burly police officers grappled with Rocket agents, Growlithe and an assortment of other Pokemon taking the fight out of our hands I tried to slink to the staircase, slipping out of the fray and making my way up to the third floor with my Pokemon so that we could continue on to try and find Archer.
Hurrying up the stairs, I found myself in a narrow corridor. Every wall was solid, no windows, no wide-open spaces and only one rocket grunt standing in the middle of the corridor, his eyes wide.
I expanded my staff and ran forward, slamming into the base of his throat and knocking him to the ground. Stepping over the scum on the ground, I hurried around trying to open doors and see what I could find.
"Lucario, Specter, could you two help here?"
'There are people in every room, but I cannot identify them. We need to find a way in.' Lucario grimaced and looked around. 'I do not believe that kicking the doors in is the best way right now. Perhaps the Specter is able to infiltrate the rooms and open them from the inside.'
"That sounds like it could work. Specter? You got that? Can you open the doors from the inside for us?" I looked towards the ghost type. Grinning like a madman, the Gengar's red eyes and sharp, toothy smile were alight with glee.
Before I had time to turn around, Specter had flown through the nearest wall, eliciting screams from the other side before the door clicked open, leaving us to storm in. Scizor immediately tackled the rocket agent occupying the room, knocking the thug out and leaving him to lie on the ground. Files were strewn all over the desk and the computer was running, still printing data and documents in dark, slow drying ink.
"Indigo Carbon Neutral Transport Corporation." I murmured, running a finger under the heading of the page and examining the contents. "Radio broadcast two four three A, schedule and contents."
Listed in a grid below were frequencies, times and other numbers breaking down the broadcast settings that made no sense to me. It seemed as though this was an official filing of the document that made no sense to me. Why did Team Rocket care about the broadcasts that a transportation company ran? They had nothing to do with transportation or with carbon emissions, or trains. Were they trying to hijack supply chains?
'Lance's going to have such a big headache when we get out of here.' I set the file back down, looking at the shredder on the ground which was ripping apart documents. Shutting it down and emptying the bin out, I managed to piece together a few shreds of paper and frowned at them, looking at the 'R' label at the top of the page.
Frowning, I let it be and followed Specter around to the next room, probing around the corridor with the ghost type as we continued our sting operation, knocking out Rocket agents left and right and freeing a few people who had been trapped on the third floor so that they could escape down and out.
Finally, we found ourselves at the end of the corridor, approaching a locked gate in front of the staircase. Lucario slammed a paw into it, recoiling at the strength of the material as it refused to budge much.
"It looks like we need to find a key. Maybe the last office has it." I grimaced and turned towards the door to our left, the only one we hadn't yet been inside. I reached out for the door, grasping the handle and turning it, expecting to find resistance once more.
My eyebrows shot up as it went down all the way, apparently unlocked. Gesturing to Lucario, I readied myself and swung the door open. Standing inside was a lone man, watching the chaos outside through his windows. Decked out in typical black team rocket gear, the unique items were the long white boots and gloves covering his extremities and parts of his suit. Vivid green hair stuck out from beneath the standard issue cap as he turned around to look at us with a smirk.
"Proton!" I held my staff out, keeping my eyes on his as Lucario readied himself to fight.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the punk from Azalea Town. Ethan Photon." The Rocket Executive sneered at me, picking a pokeball off his waist and tossing it, another one in his other hand. "Weezing, Golbat, rip him to shreds! I want to decorate the walls of my new office with his blood!"
"Come on guys!" I lashed out with my staff, deflecting the knife the older man had produced from the depths of his sleeve.
Lucario hurled a burst of Aura Spheres at the opposing Pokemon, sending them careening into the corner as Weezing decided to attack. I narrowly sidestepped a sludge bomb attack, the murky liquid sinking into the carpet and burning a hole through it and into the floor. Watching my step, I batted away Proton's vicious stabs repeatedly holding him as far back as I could with my weapon of choice.
Scizor grabbed a hold of Golbat and hurled the Pokemon into its trainer, knocking them both over as Weezing tried to attack me again, Lucario taking the hit easily and pushing me backwards carefully so he had more room to maneuver.
"Come here you little brat!" Proton roared as he lunged forward again. "I'm going to truss you up and throw you out the window!"
I jumped to the side, barely avoiding his knife as he impaled it in the wall, inches from my ear. I pushed as hard as I could, kneeing him in the gut and ramming my staff into the side of his head in order to give myself space to get away.
Lucario slammed a glowing fist into Weezing, sending the large Pokemon bouncing off the walls as it spewed thick, noxious fumes all around the room. I slipped out the door to breathe and in order to not get ambushed as Scizor hurled Golbat into the side wall, Specter following me out so that I would have backup.
Proton staggered out of the room, his long gloves ripped. Leering at me down the corridor, the man hurled his knife directly at me. Not wanting to take a chance, I moved aside, letting it sail by before I slammed my staff into him as hard as I could. One finger was grasping the trigger on the side releasing the built-up electric shock. As soon as the metal made contact with his neck, a spasm ran through his body, sending him to his knees as Lucario and Scizor came running out of the room behind, holding the man down as I tied him up with some of the rope we had brought. Holding my staff to his chest, I pushed him to the ground, looking him in the eye.
"What's Team Rocket doing here?"
"Taking over the radio tower. What do you think punk?" Proton spat back at me, looking at me with a vicious look.
"How do you know who I am?"
"You've been getting in our way long enough you little brat. Consider it a mercy you're not dead by now." Proton snapped, struggling against his bonds until Lucario kicked his side.
"Why haven't you tried by now?" I put a foot down on his groin, ready to start pressing. "Scizor, get the keycard from his pocket."
The bug type obliged, reaching down to his belt and pulling out a white and red card. I nodded towards the staircase and the bug type hurried over, tapping the card to the gate and watching it open.
"Trust me, if I had my way, you'd be lying in an alley with blood pooling around you as you died slowly, but the boss doesn't want to get into it. He wants you to stop meddling in our affairs." Proton snarled as Specter flitted forward suddenly, stopping an inch from his face and baring his teeth at the unruly man.
A drop of sweat beaded up on his forehead as he tried to maintain his composure, looking at the ghost type in front of me. A dark aura was slowly creeping out of the ghost type, inching closer and closer to Proton's face as the older man tried to stay calm.
"Your ghost doesn't scare me." He gritted his teeth and looked up at me, trying to avoid Specter's face as I stepped down a little harder, watching hm squirm under the pressure.
"Where's Archer?"
"He's in the observation deck with the director. The boss was headed up there." Proton answered loosely, eyes flitting back and forth between myself and Specter.
"You know, you don't remember Specter, and you say you're not scared, but you really should be." A savage grin spread across my face as Proton's eyes narrowed. "Because he remembers you."
I nodded to the ghost type and it bared its teeth, letting the dark aura spread towards him. A mixture of night shade and nightmare filtered in through Proton's eyes, nose and his mouth, making the man buck. The ugly miasma of malevolent energy enveloped the man, making him convulse as Specter exacted its revenge on the brutish man, pouring energy into his body as he gagged and choked, having a seizure on the floor.
"That's enough Specter." I frowned as the torment continued, reaching out for the Gengar. "Specter! Let him be now. He'll be dealt with."
The energy slowly receded as Specter unlatched himself from the criminal lying on the floor. With a light shove, I rolled him over onto his side as spittle dripped out of his mouth and onto the floor. Taking his pulse, I confirmed that he was alive, before walking him over to the stairs and leaving him there for the police to find, first thing when they invaded the third floor.
Heading over to the stairs with my Pokemon, I looked over at Specter. The ghost type had deflated a little bit, so much of its aggression spent on Proton as it finally let loose.
"It's okay pal. You deserved it. He deserved it. Let's just keep moving and make sure Archer is safe. It sounds like there's a lot of trouble here, and we need to make sure nothing terrible happens."
Specter nodded, turning towards the stairs with a grim look and floating up ahead of me. Apprehensive about what exactly I would find when I climbed up to the next floor, I started up the stairs, Lucario and Scizor following. Hurrying up, I stopped midway through to take out a hyper potion and an antidote, quickly giving each of them a dose before we progressed onwards. There was no way I was taking a chance with our safety, not when Team Rocket was here.
I entered the fourth floor and looked around, trying to make sense of the structure. From what I could tell, it looked like there was one central room, and a number of smaller workspaces scattered around it.
'They probably deal with the technical broadcast things here.' I looked at the cables fixed to the walls in places with brackets and the countless status indicators along the walls, by each door.
Hurrying towards the main door, I gave it a shove, feeling it stay locked as I tried my hardest to push it open. Frowning, I turned to look at the corridor. We progressed slowly, watching carefully to make sure we weren't surprised by any rocket agents. I pushed the door to another room open, hearing a whimper in the background as I did so. Instinctively, I raised my staff and stiffened, taking a look around.
'It seems as though you were right Ethan-Gold. The entire floor gives off the same energy as this room.' Lucario gestured towards the dozen or so computers with all sorts of technical equipment on desks all around the room, running some complex broadcasting sequence. As my eyes adjusted to the dimmer, blue light from all the screens with the blinds drawn on the curtains, I caught sight of a man half hiding underneath a table in the corner.
He was middle aged, brown haired, wearing a purple sweater and a pair of white trousers, but the most significant thing was that he was bound and gagged. His eyes were with fear as I slowly lowered my staff and Specter floated into the room.
"It's all right. I'm not with them." I hurried over to him and Scizor helped me cut open his restraints while I took the gag out. "I'm here to help. The police are here and the League is sending reinforcements."
"Oh, thank god." He gasped and fell to his knees once the bonds came loose, taking a few heaving breaths before looking back up at me. "I thought they were going to kill me."
"What happened here?" I asked him gently, keeping an eye on the door.
"Team Rocket. They burst in here and took over the entire building. When they got to our floor there was a squadron of them, a man with purple hair was ordering them around."
"Petrel." I murmured to myself as I glanced around the room.
"He took crew members from the other rooms, and they went into the main broadcasting room. The one that controls the big dish. They must be trying to operate it or something." He rubbed his wrists nervously, looking at me. "Thank you."
"I'd advise you stay here until the police come." I looked out the door at the main broadcast room again. "Do you have a key to the main room?"
"Yes." He replied, suddenly stiffening and shrinking away from me. "I won't give it to you though!"
Sighing internally, I reached into my pocket and rifled about for a moment, finding what I was looking for in the depths of it. Taking out my old ID card, I handed it to the man for him to look at.
"Sir, I've served in the Hoennian Navy. I'm asking you for that key so that I can complete this sting operation and try and take down Team Rocket. The police will get the tower back, but they may not be fast enough to stop Team Rocket in their mission."
"Oh. Ok. One second." He handed me back my own card and gave me another one, this one black with pale mint markings all over it. "This should access the inner chamber."
"Thank you. Stay put until the police get to you." I turned around and headed out the door with my Pokemon, closing it behind me.
I had barely let go of the handle when an earth-shattering noise resonated throughout the building, accompanied by a massive tremor.
"Attention people of Johto, this is a broadcast from the Goldenrod Radio Tower, brought to you by Team Rocket!" My heart sank as I heard Petrel's voice. I could almost see his slimy grin as the noise reverberated throughout the entire building.
"Team Rocket is your new old friend. We're back, better than ever! Expect to be hearing from us soon. Team Rocket will not tolerate individuals or groups standing in the way of our objectives, but we are available for business. Our inquiry forms and our customer service lines are available on our website, .co. Cooperate with us and we'll reshape Indigo into a better world. A Rocket World. Hail Giovanni!"
"Welcome to a new world. A new Johto ruled only by those who have the ambition and the power to shape the world. The world assumed Team Rocket was dead and done with years ago. Well, we're here at the very radio tower from where our disband call was sent out to tell you that you won't get rid of us anytime soon."
I sprinted for the door, trying to unlock it with my newly acquired key card as fast as I could. The door clicked open with a satisfying mechanical noise and unlatched, leaving it loose for me to push. Pulling, I opened it inwards and rushed into the room.
Thick black and green cables ran across the entire room, between clusters of computers and equipment in the four corners of the enclosure. Machines and processing devices lay everywhere, organized in a mess that only the operators of the tower understood. Flowing up and along the wall were thick, purple cables the size of my forearms, running all the way up and into the ceiling where they disappeared.
A few broadcast engineers were seated at the computers, working furiously as men in black uniforms watched them, ensuring that whatever Team Rocket wanted to happen would happen. It was a dreadful sight, to see the men and women who ran Johtan Radio and brought entertainment and news to everyone's lives huddled over their desks in fear, trying to operate their equipment for a terrorist organization with knives and pokeballs pressed to their necks.
"Nightmare!" I simply pointed, leaving nothing for Specter to hold back as the vindictive ghost unleashed its horrifying powers on the cluster of three Team Rocket agents standing in the center of the room.
"Scizor, Lucario, knock them out!" I called out, watching the pair dance around the room and knock out Team Rocket agents as the only remaining one wrapped his arm around an engineer and yanked him to the corner of the room, knife pressed to the man's Adam's apple.
"Don't come any closer or this guy gets it." The grunt seemed particularly steady compared to the vast majority of Team Rocket's recruits. "Leave. Now."
Not wanting to risk the man's life, I slowly took a step backwards, then another, all the while trying to puzzle out how I would manage this or whether I would have to leave this particular one for the authorities. In all honesty, I was stumped. I had no clue how I could get around this and keep the man safe.
'This isn't my fight. The police can save him. I can't.' I shook my head and Lucario looked at me oddly for a moment, before putting a paw on my back.
'You are right friend-trainer. This is not your fight. We are here to save your cousin. We cannot take down every criminal we see, no matter how much we may try.' The canine reassured me, directing me towards a staircase at the opposite end of the floor.
Hurrying towards them, we continued up to the fifth floor, emerging into an empty corridor with an elevator and a single door to one side. Pressing my luck, I pushed on the door handle and readied myself as it opened, giving way.
A thick red carpet decorated the floor of the office, marked all over by yellow squares making a sort of pattern across the room. The two walls to my sides were lined with potted plants, small trees or bushes of a variety I didn't recognize. Immediately to my left and right were glass display cases with metal sides. As I took a step forward, I caught sight of what lay inside them. To my left were models and specimens of equipment, of innovations in radio and broadcasting technologies, or samples of retired dishes that had served Indigo well. To the right was a display case full of tombstones and awards, the glass shields engraved with numbers and names, denoting every major commercial deal that the Goldenrod Broadcasting Corporation had made.
At the end of the room, on a plush maroon rug, sat an ornate wooden desk, with a computer on the left side of it and a potted plant with picture frames to the right. Sitting on a very comfortable chair right behind it was a man in a tan suit wearing a bowler hat. His pale skin was wrinkled slightly and his grey bristle tooth moustache sat atop his lips with a few flecks of white mixed in.
"Young man, what are you doing here!? It's dangerous to be here right now!" The old man exclaimed, wheezing while he spoke.
"Who are you?" I asked, watching as my Pokemon carefully took stock of the situation, Lucario mentally shaking his head.
"Why I'm the director of the Goldenrod Broadcasting Corporation!" The man frowned, looking at me. "You should escape while you can child! Team Rocket may not leave you be!"
"Come with me sir, I'll help you escape." I gritted my teeth after the words left my mouth, bitter at the same trick being used on me twice.
"A captain must go down with his ship child."
"Specter!" The ghost type obliged, blasting an attack at him as the older man leaped out of the way with surprising speed, hurling a pokeball into the air.
"How did you know?" He grinned at me leeringly, releasing a Weezing into the room.
"You can't fool me like that again." I snarled at him, watching as he peeled off a mask and cap, revealing his purple hair, and the goatee decorating his sickly-looking face.
"Well, we meet again runt." Petrel grinned from across the room, releasing two more Pokemon while he had the chance. A Raticate formed on the ground and a Crobat took to the air, occupying what little airspace there was in the room as my Pokemon stared his down. "You know, you were pretty smart, getting the brat's Murkrow to let you into the generator room in Mahogany Town, but those kinds of smarts are useless right now! Get him!"
I grabbed my breathing mask and goggles from my belt and clamped them onto my face, anticipating Weezing's move as it filled the room with noxious gases, spreading them in my direction with the help of Crobat's four rapidly fluttering wings.
"Smart little runt. It's a pity you haven't joined us yet. You could command entire platoons of those useless recruits we get." Petrel smirked from across the room.
"Specter!" I called out, not engaging his verbally as the partly poison typed ghost consumed the fumes quickly, using them to bolster its toxic presence against the other Pokemon.
Lucario grappled with Raticate, a particularly vicious specimen. The normal type had immediately leaped forward with Hyper Fang, but Lucario had managed to stick a bone rush in the way, holding the over aggressive Kanto Pokemon back with the ground type move. To my other side, Specter had taken on Crobat, tangling with it with night shades and nightmares.
"Scizor, Iron Head!" the steel type lunged forward, slamming into Weezing and forcibly deflating its smaller body as it impacted the poison type. The airborne Pokemon lost its balance as its internal air pressure was disrupted, careening around the room and forcing Petrel to avoid it lest he got crushed by it.
Sneering, the older man lunged forward with a knife, stabbing at me as I pulled my staff out and parried, knocking the blade to one side.
"It's a real shame the boss wants you alive. You would have made such a nice trophy." Petrel gave me a demented grin, his purple eyes shining with sin I couldn't even begin to imagine. "Those pretty golden eyes of yours would be a nice distraction for visitors to my office. And besides, we could prove to Giovanni that another upstart brat can't take us down."
"Oh right. Red beat you into the ground." I picked up on his frustration with the topic and used it, stoking the flames as Lucario beat Raticate into the floor, diverting its attention helping Scizor with Weezing so that they could be done with the poison type Pokemon.
"Giovanni got soft." Petrel gritted his teeth, hacking at my staff with his knife. "He let a bratty kid from the middle of nowhere beat him in his own gym, and then decided to just disband Team Rocket. Out of nowhere."
"Really shows you what Team Rocket's made off." I lashed out and knocked the blade out of his hand, sending it flying to the side of the room where it slid to the wall, clattering against the plaster.
As Petrel lunged for it, Lucario grabbed him by the leg and hauled him back, holding him while I trussed him up with a healthy quantity of the rope we had brought and tossed him to a side of the room. Scizor and Specter had managed to dispatch with his other Pokemon, and I grabbed the pokeballs from his belt, recalling them and carrying the belt with me so that he couldn't reach them. Gingerly picking up the knife with two fingers, I put it away and looked back at Petrel.
"All right, you're going to give me answers." I walked up to him and put a foot on his chest, holding my staff to his throat as Lucario looked on with folded arms. "What is Team Rocket doing here?"
"Broadcasting kid." Petrel grinned, even with my foot exerting pressure on his lungs and my staff pressed up to his throat. "Didn't you hear my messages. We were making a statement. We've been operating in the background for a while, but it was time Indigo knew Team Rocket was back, and it was time Giovanni knew that we survived."
"That's it?" I frowned, pressing a little harder.
"That's all kid. We were broadcasting, and we're already done. We're just cleaning up after ourselves now while the boss has a… 'meeting' with the director of the radio tower. You're too late to stop us from doing what we wanted to."
"How far did it go?" I glared at the man beneath me, watching as Specter slowly crept up to him, leering at him from above with a toothy grin.
"All of Indigo. There's no taking it back. There's no corner of the regions that won't have received that transmission. And it's been programmed to repeat for days, so that anyone who misses it will be able to catch up on it later." Petrel grinned even then, watching my face as he told me what they had done.
"You keep saying your boss doesn't want me dead. Why?"
"It's not in his best interest." Petrel looked at me with a twisted, lopsided expression I couldn't quite decipher.
"Why wouldn't it be. I've just been getting in your way since day one." I frowned, thinking to myself for a moment. 'So it isn't Ariana then. There's someone else.'
"You're right kid. Proton was sick of hearing about you interfering with our plans. You know, he was so excited for the Slowpoke Well operation. Do you know how much a Slowpoke Tail sells for?" Petrel shook his head as he lay on the floor. "A hundred grand each! The profit margin from that operation would have been huge. Cause, you know, there weren't many real costs. Since we didn't exactly acquire Slowpoke legally… Just the costs of the cages and a knife or three."
"Ariana, now she was really mad at you. That bitch is scary. You ruined her research facility out in Mahogany, and she went to the boss with blood on her mind. She wants to kill you, gut you, and stick you in a display case out the front of Rocket Headquarters, whenever we make the new one."
"So why didn't your boss agree?"
"I told you, it's not in his best interest." Petrel shrugged and I pushed a little bit harder. "He's not in the business of killing kids, especially not ones like you. He let the brat go too. Didn't want to deal with it."
"Silver?"
"Right you've met the brat haven't you." Petrel looked at me curiously. "He never got along with Ariana much to begin with. I think he was just in it because of his daddy issues."
"Besides he still thinks we could use someone like you. Do you know, Giovanni tried to get Red to join Team Rocket as well?"
I froze as Petrel looked up at me with a wry grin.
"It was part of their deal at their battle. If Red won, Giovanni would disband Team Rocket, but if Giovanni won, Red would become his right-hand man. Or I suppose his left-hand man, given the boss was still around at the time." Petrel frowned for a moment, contemplating the issue as though nothing particularly important was going on around him. "Anyway, the boss definitely thinks you could join us. He said you would help bring Team Rocket to new heights. He's a visionary of a kind, and I'll be honest, he's rarely wrong. It's unnerving, kind of like his Pokemon. Hate those fuckers."
"Where's Archer? Where is he being held?" I jabbed at him with the staff, watching his cold eyes look at me calculatingly. Purple fire danced around his irises for a few moments as he contemplated his answer to me carefully, thinking about every word before opening his mouth again.
"Archer. That blue haired prick who was meeting the director earlier?" Petrel looked up at me with a defiant grin as I pressed the trigger on my staff, sending a shock through his body. As I removed the tip of the weapon from his body to strike him with it again, I noticed the rapidly hardening burn mark I had left on his neck.
"He got tangled up in the boss's meeting. He's probably up on the observation deck. Last I checked that's where the boss was headed. He doesn't take kindly to people making business harder for him."
I let go of Petrel and stepped back, walking towards the exit of the room. The purple haired man lay on the ground, squirming in his bonds as I approached the door.
"You know kid, you were pretty resourceful back in the Whirl Islands. I remember that, how you avoided us and your Gengar saved your hide. You were pretty damn smart back in Mahogany Town too. And I know Proton hates you for the incident in the well. Silver told us you even managed to interfere in the business at the Burnt Tower."
I turned back to look at Petrel's predatory grin for a moment, the unsettling expression betraying his true personality, the horror story that lurked beneath his pallid skin and greasy hair.
"I can promise you, that's going to get you nowhere up there with the boss. You're going to freeze when you meet him. You're going to be so lost, so helpless. You'll wish you'd left when you had the chance. You'll join us, or you'll wish we flayed you earlier to spare you the trouble that's going to come." His purple eyes were alight with fire again as he spoke, "Don't say I didn't warn you kid."
"Specter, nightmare." I turned around, refusing to watch as the ghost type embroiled the purple haired man in a mix of night shade and nightmare like he had done to Proton earlier. From what little I could see in the reflections in the glass cabinets, his entire body bucked in protest and silent screams opened his mouth, failing to turn into sounds as he collapsed on the floor, eyes rolling back into his head.
"Let's get out of here and find Archer guys. We need to make sure he's safe." I hurried out of the room, walking to the elevator and pressing the up button on it. It looked as though there weren't any stairs into the observation deck, and this was our only choice to get up there and find Archer. Of course, it could be a trap, but I needed to find him. Archer was family. I had to take that risk to get him out of here. It wouldn't do otherwise.
Ding.
I apprehensively stepped into the elevator, Lucario, Scizor and Specter with me as I pressed the button for the observation deck, the topmost floor the building had. Quickly taking another pokeball as we slowly began to move upwards, I released Samurott into the elevator with us, wanting all the backup I could safely have with me.
"Samurott, we're in a bad situation. We may be walking into a fight, or a trap, and I need you guys to be ready. We can't afford to lose right now." I nodded to the water type grimly as he barked once, watching the polished steel walls of the elevator as we progressed upwards at a frustratingly slow pace.
I cast a glance around, looking at the windowless, steel box. It even felt like we were in a trap. It was unsettling. It was like a cage bringing an unwilling fighter into a closed arena to duke it out. I had to admit, I was uneasy. Frustratingly, the contraption ground to a halt without the doors opening.
"Lucario, open the hatch in the ceiling." I recalled the other Pokemon, waiting for the fighting type to open the hatch. Once the small grate had been removed, Lucario gave me a leg up before bounding through on its own and emerging on the other side of it.
We were in a dark elevator shaft, the cables running from where we stood atop the elevator car up to the roof and back down. Lucario bounded up a few feet to where the final door was, forcibly ripping them open and hauling me up as I clambered to the edge, pulling myself through and into the observation deck.
I squinted for a moment as bright sunlight poured into my eyes, reminding me that it was still day as I emerged into a wide circular room with windows all around except for the one patch of wall where the elevator emerged. A pale cream carpet extended to the walls, meeting the steel frame holding in the glass all around. In the center of the room, the floor was sunken, hosting a coffee table with a few dossiers and a mug the chairs mostly in order. To the far end were two pairs of binoculars on mounts, for anyone to go stand and enjoy the view out of the Radio Tower. Standing in between the two, looking out at the ocean, was a lone individual in a white suit with blue hair slicked back. Archer.
"Archer! It's Ethan! I came here to get you out! Team Rocket are here!" I hurried over to the man, tugging on his arm before letting go.
Taking a step back, I watched as he slowly turned around, his expression almost entirely blank as he met my eyes.
"Their boss is here! He's got the director of the Radio Tower, and he'll come after you! We've got to get out while we have the chance!" I looked at the windows. "We can break one of these and get out! Come on!"
"I gave them one job. One job." Archer sighed, placing a hand on his forehead and massaging his temples.
"Archer, let's go! Before Team Rocket finds us! I've managed to take care of them so far, but I don't want to push my luck!" I pleaded with him, looking at his face.
"You don't get it do you." Archer finally looked up at me with something other than a blank expression. "They aren't coming for me. Their boss isn't coming for me. Team Rocket isn't going to do anything to me."
I stopped, looking at Archer confusedly as he spoke. "But the director, and your meeting."
"Ethan, put the pieces together, before I have to do it for you. You were never dull; you can get this much together." Archer folded his arms, looking at me as I froze, before sighing and pulling up his pocket handkerchief, just enough for it to stick out of his breast pocket.
"No." I whispered, looking at it in horror. "No. This can't be happening. This can't be true."
"Yes Ethan, it is happening."
"Tell me it's not real Archer. Tell me that's something else." I looked at my older cousin in horror, eyes slowly meeting his.
"I'm afraid it is Ethan. I am the boss. I run the Rocket Corporation. Everyone currently taking over this building, they all answer to me." Archer spread his arms, looking at me as I struggled to not fall to my knees, trying to take it all in.
"How?"
"I'm a businessman Ethan. This is just business." Archer shrugged, watching me carefully. "I just wanted my men to keep you away from here until we were done, but clearly they couldn't do that. I do find it interesting that you managed to get past Proton and Petrel though. Both very capable men who you took down."
"Archer what's going on here?" I asked weakly, the words almost dying in my mouth as I looked at him, hoping to hear something from the man which would redeem him.
"We needed to do some broadcasting on a large scale, and we came in to have a business meeting and do it. All the paperwork was filed. All the forms were filled out. The broadcasts were completely legal." Archer shrugged once more, turning to face the window. "There was some excessive force involved, and we accelerated the data disposal process, but that was about it."
"How long have you been a part of Team Rocket?"
"Since the beginning Ethan. It's just business for me." Archer replied nonchalantly. "Giovanni approached me with an opportunity in the Rocket Corporation, and seeing a budding company, I joined. Look where I am now."
"What do you even gain here, by being one of these thugs? What kind of business could you possibly be dealing with Archer?"
"Ethan, I work for the Rocket Corporation. Part of it is in the name. In broad terms we're a scientific development and contracting firm. Radio wave research, clinical drug trials, gene sequencing, biological research, geothermal operations, anything you can think of we can do." Archer tilted his head to one side. "More recently, weapons."
"Indigo wouldn't buy from you." I rebuffed his statement, folding my own arms as I looked at him apprehensively.
"You're right. That's why I have other buyers." Archer finally turned to look at me again, his sharp eyes boring a hole in my skull.
"You supplied Kalos…" I took a step back in horror as the magnitude of what Archer was saying hit me, hard.
"War is quite profitable."
"How could you do that!? The last war took my dad away!" Lucario put a paw to my back to support me as I began to tremble with rage, seeing red as I watched a pained look take over Archer's face.
"Ethan, you must understand, we weren't around then, and I would never do anything to hurt you or Melissa. You're my family, I care about you."
"Kalos attacked New Bark Town!" I accused him, pointing my finger out east.
"And I poured money from the transactions into a donation to repair the town. There was no lasting damage, and I made it clear to them thereafter that if they were going to attack again, New Bark Town had to escape unscathed." Archer explained, looking at me.
"What about the Magnet Train. Is that also part of your whole operation?" I felt a little bit sick thinking about the ride I had taken just hours earlier to get to Goldenrod.
"Oh no, the Magnet Train is a completely independent personal venture of mine. It's a hundred percent above board. The Silph Company board owns part of it." Archer held up his hands, glancing out the window at the tracks. "It's just business. I keep a diverse portfolio Ethan. You never keep all your eggs in one basket."
"Your men tried to kill me, multiple times!" I countered, taking my staff off my back as my Pokemon picked up on my aggression, ready to fight.
"When I found out, I told them that if they harmed you, I would hold their decapitated, bloody heads off the main dais at headquarters to show everyone else what would happen." Archer reached for his own belt, smoothly removing three pokeballs.
"I can't let this go on Archer. I can't. Take him down!"
In response to my action, the older man hurled his three pokeballs into the air, releasing a trio of assailants. His Crobat fluttered into the air, tangling with the exhausted form of Specter, just as his Magmar and a foreign serpentine Pokemon set their sights on my other three Pokemon.
"Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Bullet Punch, Aqua Tail!" I rapidly spat out a string of instructions, holding my staff in front of me in defense as my Pokemon took on the trio that Archer had produced.
Specter blasted Crobat with a thunderbolt, lighting up the flying Pokémon's frame as electricity crackled throughout its body. Screeching in protest, the flying type launched itself at Specter, taking the exhausted Gengar down to the floor and grappling with it. Taking the initiative, the ghost let itself fall through the floor, dragging Crobat into a crash with the ground.
Just moments later, he flitted back through the solid surface and appeared on top of Crobat, raking a Shadow Claw across its back before getting jabbed with an Air Slash and thrown backwards.
To the other side of the room, Samurott was tangling with Magmar, blasting water attack after water attack at the fire type and having some success as it went on. Aqua Tail was followed by Razor Shell and Water Pulse, but Magmar was refusing to go down without a fight. It was lashing out with both fists, one throwing a glowing rust colored Brick Break attack while the other crackled with electricity. Thunder Punch was going to be a mighty nuisance when dealing with this Pokemon.
The last one, to my horror, was a long, thick serpentine Pokemon with a black body and gold markings. Its trunk was wrapped around Lucario, squeezing it tightly as its red, blade ended tail kept up the fight with Scizor. Taking its long fangs, it bit down on Lucario, the poison immediately visible in the aura Pokémon's veins.
'Extreme Speed!' I focused on the thought, heaving a small sigh of relief as Lucario over exerted its muscles the way it would to build speed. Stuck in place however, the effort served to force room into the serpent's grip, loosening it enough for Lucario to slip out and away as Scizor rammed a glowing Iron head into the foreign Pokemon.
Quickly pulling out my Pokedex while I had a chance, I scanned it, running over the data while keeping an eye on the battle.
Seviper, the Fang Snake Pokemon. Native to Hoenn, this Pokemon has a vicious rivalry with the Zangoose species. Its body is capable of crushing Pokemon it coils itself around, and it produces deadly toxins in both its tail and in the venom sac in its mouth.
I frowned, looking back at the Pokemon. It was a good thing Scizor was immune to poisoning. To the other side, Specter had just barely managed to take out Crobat, the fallen avian being quickly recalled as Specter floated over to Seviper, distracting it enough for Scizor to land another blow and throw the serpent back into a glass wall, sending cracks all along the surface of the window.
Looking to my right, I noticed Samurott had also managed to defeat Magmar, and it was hurrying over to Seviper in order to aid the others.
"Watch out for its tail!" I called out, closing my eyes for a second as Seviper jabbed the aforementioned appendage at Samurott, cutting it across its side and lacing it with toxins.
Immediately, the purple began to spread throughout the side of the water type's body, leaving me with no choice but to recall it, as I had done to Lucario. Seviper's venom seemed excessively potent, leaving me wondering about what kind of hostile environment it had to live in.
"You're a good trainer Ethan, but Seviper is a bit much for you." Archer shook his head from across the room and drew a single raised hand into a fist.
Catching sight of its trainer's motion, Seviper immediately reacted, slamming a glowing tail into Scizor and hurling it at the wall. Following up, it lunged at the fallen steel type, attacking it viciously and forcing me to recall it as well. This Pokemon meant business.
"Specter, come on!" I fingered the two remaining pokeballs on my belt, thinking about how I would have to do this if it came down to it. "Hypnosis!"
Specter moved its arms out, focusing on Seviper and grunting as the serpent lunged. Sweat beaded up on my forehead as red light drifted from the ghost types eyes to the poison type, taking over its mind. Losing all its strength, the serpent collapsed to the ground, falling down as it slumbered peacefully.
"Nightmare! One more time!" Specter groaned in a manner that would have been comical if it weren't for where we were standing, who we were battling, and overarchingly the events of the entire day.
Focusing its energy on the fallen serpentine Pokemon, Specter unleashed a miasma of purple and black energy onto Seviper, the inky grime seeping into the foreign Pokemon and taking hold of its peacefully sleeping mind. As it lay on the carpeted ground, Seviper began to thrash, swinging its tail around and forcing Specter to flee backwards or get hit by the weapon like appendage.
I winced as it slammed its tail into its own body, cutting itself near the middle of its trunk as its entire body convulsed. Watching the serpentine form twist and buck was grotesquely enrapturing as it lashed out at its own body, biting its trunk and raking the blade on its tail against itself in various places as it flailed on the ground. Slowly, it managed to twist itself into a knot, tangling its own body and collapsing to the ground like a piece of dark black and gold twine, lying on the floor discarded.
Recalling Specter, I reached for another pokeball and tossed out Typhlosion's one, watching the fire type form quickly. Archer deftly recalled Seviper, both eyebrows raised in surprise as he looked at the fallen Hoennian Pokemon.
"On guard Typhlosion." I gritted my teeth, looking at Archer.
"You're better than I expected Ethan." Archer admitted, taking another pokeball off his belt and polishing it with his handkerchief. "It's starting to make more sense how you took down Proton and Petrel. But it's not enough."
He tossed his last pokeball into the air, releasing a Pokemon I was more familiar with into the room, but at the same time one which presented me with some difficulty about how to handle. The black hound's ivory horns curled back from its head, its red snout open as it snarled at me from across the room.
The problem for Typhlosion when it came to dealing with a Houndoom was that they had an annoying ability. 'Flash Fire', as it was called, simply absorbed fire type attacks and used the thermal energy to boost a Pokémon's own fire type attacks. The unruly Pokemon paced in front of its owner, looking at me with a nasty expression.
"Why do you have to keep doing this Archer? Why can't you just hand over the reins and leave? The way Giovanni did, the way Silver left?" I pleaded with him, my staff still in my hands as I spoke. "You have other business interests, why can't you stay with those?"
"Ethan, I run the biggest mafia in the world." Archer spread his arms out and gestured to the sides. "It's true that some of the more mundane things that we've been involved in aren't to my interest, like Pokemon trafficking, or petty crime."
"But I make billions through this. We aren't just a mafia, or some random criminal organization that wants power! We're the foremost scientific entity in the world!" Archer gestured wildly, pointing out towards Kanto. "We co developed the Silph Company's teleportation platform, as well as their moving floor technologies. We finished serums that accelerate Pokemon evolution and we found out how to alter their behaviors and their evolutionary patterns with radio waves. Giovanni even helped developed fossil recovery technology!"
"We cloned Mew, and we made it better!" Archer spat, looking at me with a fire in his eyes that I had never seen before.
"You cloned Mew?" I whispered, looking at him with a mixture of awe and horror as a vindictive grin spread across his face.
"Yes Ethan! We cloned the elusive Mew, we found it, we understood it, and we improved upon its genetic sequence, making it so much better than it ever could be on its own! Do you see what I'm saying Ethan? This kind of power doesn't come easily, this influence! Without the Rocket Corporation, the world would be decades behind in technological research!"
"Join me Ethan! Join me and you'll have everything you could ever want!" Archer extended a hand towards me as Houndoom lay down at his feet, watching me carefully. "Power, money, Pokemon, anything! You can be as active or as inactive as you want. But come to my side! We're family Ethan! Family first!"
"I can't do that Archer. I can't." I whispered, shaking my head as tears started to well up in my eyes. Wiping them aside with a sleeve, I looked at the older man I had once admired.
"You're family Ethan, so I'll make you another offer, because I don't want to see you get hurt." Archer lowered his hand, folding both behind his back as Houndoom rose once more. "Ignore us. Leave us be, and we will leave you to do whatever you want. Live your life, just ignore us."
It was tempting, to just be on my way, and to never deal with Team Rocket again. Could I just turn a blind eye to what they were doing and just live my life?
"I'll give you anything you want to keep you safe and out of our way!" That settled it.
"You can't buy me Archer." I looked at him with a hardened expression as Houndoom began to snarl once more. "I used to look up to you, but I can't imagine that anymore. Focus Blast!"
Typhlosion reared his head and unleashed a supercharged fighting type attack, aimed directly at Houndoom. The dark typed barked and tried to leap out of the way, taking most of the attack and flying into a wall as I looked at Archer with grim determination.
"Brick Break!" My Pokemon bounded forward, slamming a fist into Houndoom and ramming the other fire type into a window, shattering it clean. "Focus Blast, again!"
This time, Houndoom couldn't even move, taking the entire brunt of the attack and going flying out the window and into the air. Archer reacted rapidly, quickly recalling his beaten and bruised Pokemon with wide eyes as he turned to look at Typhlosion. Making sure my breathing mask was secure, I gestured at Archer.
"Smoke him." Small fires began to burn on the ground as Typhlosion poured mostly smoke out of his maw, sending the cloud directly at Archer. Inhaling the pungent, toxic fumes, the older man fell to his knees, coughing violently as the air began to fill with smoke, the flames spreading around the room.
"Ethan." Archer coughed one more time before collapsing to the ground. "How could you?"
I refused to respond, simply watching as he lay on the ground, passed out. Taking the rope I had, I tied him up as tightly as I could, turning back to the small fires burning in the room. Before I could think about how to put them out, an icy blizzard blasted in through the shattered windows, blowing out the smoke and freezing the fires and the entire carpet.
Raising my arms to shield myself, I turned to spot Lance hovering outside the window atop Magnus, looking in on us. Having taken in the scene, Magnus carefully flew into the room, leaving Lance to hop off the dragon and hurry over to me. Wordlessly, I pointed at Archer, looking at the trussed-up man and holding back my emotions.
"Ariana got in the way." Lance remarked, hauling Archer up and handing him to Magnus. The great dragon quickly flew out the window, taking my cousin away as Lance put both his hands on my shoulders. "You did well Ethan. Let's get out of here."
"Did Team Rocket really clone Mew?" I asked quietly, not moving as Lance froze, unsure of how to answer me. Silence reigned supreme as he looked at me carefully.
"Where did you hear that?"
"Archer told me." I looked up at Lance, meeting his eyes and searching for an answer.
"Yes. They did." He admitted, looking towards the north east briefly. "But they lost control of the clone. Red and Blaine tracked it down, and they came to a peaceful agreement with it. We let it live its life, and it doesn't interfere with our world."
"How?"
"There was a group of amazingly talented researchers once, who were trying to find out more about Mew. They found an old DNA sample, and they became obsessed with the research. It's how Ditto came to be, the countless attempts before the last one." Lance explained softly, one hand still on my shoulder. "They left, one by one, some before Team Rocket approached them about their research, some after, until there were none left. And Team Rocket couldn't contain the clone."
"Blaine and Red tracked it down later. They almost died tangling with it, but they came to an understanding, and now we don't interfere with it."
I looked up at Lance, overwhelmed about everything, about everything he had told me. "That was my cousin Lance. That was the man I thought I was coming here to save."
"We'll keep everything out of the papers. Nobody will know you were related to him." Lance looked at me worriedly. "Let's get you out of here, to the league, and we'll sort everything out."
Wordlessly, I released Knight, accepting the hug the concerned dragon gave me before following Lance and Mel out the window with one last look at the chaotic scene of jail trucks, police officers, league forces and Pokemon out on the streets and pouring out of the tower. Far below, I could see them loading the countless grunts into trucks which slowly began to drive away, until there were only four left. From far above, I could just make out the individuals being tossed into each, solitary but for the guards watching them. One speck of red hair, one green, one purple, and one blue, wearing a white suit marred by ash and grime.