Chapter 13: The Traitor
Nighttime in an unknown location
"Where is he?"
An irate voice echoed throughout the dense forestry with murderous intent. All who heard it shivered at the intensity of the speaker.
But the one who was most affected was a young man, concealed in the nearby brush.
"Out of all of the people they could have sent after me, they picked Proton? If it was anyone else and I got caught, I'd have a painless death. But Proton will make me suffer if he gets his hands on me. Man... now I really need to leave..."
"W- we can't find him sir! We searched everywhere!" One of the timid grunts relayed to his superior.
"If you really looked everywhere, you would have found him! Go fetch the Houndoom if you're really that incompetent!" Proton condescendingly scolded back.
"Sir yes sir!" the underling saluted his higher-up before leaving in a hurry.
The violent Rocket Admin grunted, annoyed with how stupid the grunts could be sometimes. "I'd kill you all if I could." Proton muttered to himself while taking out a pokeball, just loud enough so that all the other grunts could hear. The unease in his subordinates transformed into complete terror, so much so that the man hiding turned pale, even though the threat wasn't targeted at him.
Proton clicked the white center button on the spherical device and released its resident, a small, dark, humanoid Pokemon, with slight transparency. The concealed man turned whiter than a ghost as he recognized the creature as Proton's most powerful Pokemon.
"Marshadow, find our traitor." Proton commanded, spitting out the last word in pure disgust. "You're my best method of searching until the Houndoom get here."
The Gloomdweller Pokemon saluted its trainer and melted into its shadow, disappearing from view.
The fugitive gulped, now he really needed to get to safety. He stood no chance of staying put with the Houndoom and Marshadow both on his tail. He was most terrified of Proton's threatening Fighting/Ghost-type, although it was small, it was one of the few Pokemon labeled as 'Mythical'. Mythical Pokemon were so rare that many people consider them as... well... myths. But Team Rocket knew better, and managed to track down and capture some of these Mythical Pokemon. The main appeal of these Pokemon were that they tended to be unnaturally strong, which many people sought to take advantage of, Team Rocket especially. The only Pokemon that are considered more rare are the Greater Legends.
He racked his brain for a solution, until he grabbed a pokeball and released the Pokemon inside: A head-shaped creature wearing what appeared to be white, icy armor.
Wordlessly, the man pointed towards the area where Team Rocket was, which Glalie, the Pokemon he released, understood immediately as he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Almost immediately, a shaking started which put the grunts in a state of panic, giving the deserter time to escape the situation, returning his Glalie and sprinting faster than he ever had before.
Little did he know, a pair of yellow pupils watched him leave, before disappearing in a shadow.
Huff
Huff
Huff
The man was out of breath, but he kept going, wanting to be as far away from Proton as possible. Eventually, he stopped and decided that he was far enough away. He reached for another pokeball and released the Pokemon inside: A Golbat.
"Alright Golbat, we're about to escape and I need you to fly me out of here. Do you think you will be strong enough for me to hang onto your legs?" he asked.
The Bat Pokemon looked unsure, but he turned around and flew upward slightly so the man could easily grab his legs. The fugitive cautiously latched his hands onto his Pokemon's legs, trying to find a position that would put the least amount of stress possible on Golbat.
Eventually, he found a spot that didn't make the Poison/Flying-type wince when he grabbed; "Is this spot okay with you Golbat?"
"Gol." the Pokemon responded confidently.
"Alright, let's lift off-"
Suddenly, a stream of blazing fire struck the Bat Pokemon, causing him to cry out in pain.
The man whipped around in alarm before he was kicked in the chest with extreme force, resulting in him falling to the ground with a resounding 'THUD'.
He clenched his teeth as his back roared with pain.
He readjusted his eyes and observed the scene ahead of him. A short, shadowy figure obscured his view.
His eyes, which had only passively noticed the looming threat before now shot open, completely focused on the creature, a pair of yellow pupils with orange irises stared back at him.
With all of his senses focusing on the threat, the man didn't pick up the laughing that started.
"Did... did you really think you could escape me?" the voice cackled deliriously.
The man finally tore his attention away from Marshadow and looked at the new threat: The ruthless Proton, the one that almost everyone in Team Rocket feared. Culprit of dozens of known murders, and hundreds more unknown, he was the second most well-known member of Team Rocket. Still petrified by the cruel gaze that the Gloomdweller Pokémon was giving him, the man didn't respond.
A vile smile formed on Proton's face as he bent down to get a better look at the man; "You know what happens to people who even try to quit honestly, and yet, you still chose to pick the coward's way out. I'm disappointed, Team Rocket didn't need people like you scurrying around our sophisticated organization. Wanna know what's even more of a shame? You actually know how to battle, unlike most of the people Giovanni allows to join."
The grunts shuffled their feet in discontent, if it had been any other member of Team Rocket's executive board, they would have protested, but since it was Proton, no one dared to make a peep.
"But alas..." Proton continued, his smile fading, "We would rather have a weak battler with an actual spine than a coward who pretends to be strong."
The Rocket admin grabbed the man's collar; "But that won't matter soon! Because I'll kill all of your Pokémon in front of you! And then... I'll kill you and let your blood stain the ground! You'll be an example to everyone, that 'Team Rocket doesn't mess around!'"
Proton threw the man to the ground with great force, putting the latter's back in even more pain. He tried to stand back up to face the Rocket Admin, but Marshadow put itself back in his view, thus paralyzing him again with its glare.
Next, Proton walked over to the man's downed Golbat and mercilessly gripped its wing with his gloved hand. The Bat Pokémon frantically attempted to escape his grasp to no avail, which only made the Rocket Admin laugh.
"Look at your pathetic Pokémon Dave." Proton cackled manically, revealing the fugitive's name.
Proton's demented grin subsided in favor of a more collected expression; "As you know, Pokémon are tools that we use to reach our goals. Over time, tools need to be sharpened, fixed, or repurposed as they lose their value. However, some tools are unable to be reused and require proper disposal."
In an instant, his sinister smile returned as he squeezed the Poison/Flying-type harder than before, causing it to cry out in pain. Then he used his free hand to grab Golbat's other wing and tugged slightly, teasing a harder pull.
Dave's eyes widened in terror.
Proton was going to tear Golbat's wings off.
"NO!" He cried out as he sprang up, completely ignoring the startled Marshadow and raced to his distressed partner, only to be grabbed by the back of his shirt collar and pulled back to the ground by the Gloomdweller Pokemon.
Proton frowned at him, annoyed that he was interrupted; "'No'? I'm sorry, but when did you get a choice in the matter?" He sighed, and ordered his Mythical Pokemon: "Marshadow, incapacitate him."
The Fighting/Ghost-type appeared above Dave and reared its deceivingly tiny fist to strike and potentially break his face. The man closed his eyes, waiting for the punch to connect.
Suddenly, Marshadow cried out in pain and was knocked off of Dave.
"What-? Who?" Proton frantically searched around to see who could have had the guts to attack Marshadow, only to see Golbat in his hands with two new glowing wings on the bottom part of its body.
"How-" Proton tried to say before he was cut off by the Bat Pokemon slicing its new wings upwards, cutting through the fabric of the Rocket Admin's suit and cutting into his skin.
Proton retracted his hands in pain, allowing The Poison/Flying-type to gain flight again, though with some difficulty with it's top wings in an unfavorable shape. The Rocket Admin glared and attempted to grab the Poison/Flying-type again, only for it to practically vanish away.
"Stop that Crobat!" Proton shouted, knowing how naturally fast Crobat were.
Dave was in awe, he could not believe that Crobat had actually evolved, he had given up trying to evolve it through training a long time ago.
Meanwhile, the lightning fast Pokemon was causing havoc for the rest of the Rocket Grunts. Using a hit-and-run tactic, Crobat hit all of the Houndoom around in a matter of seconds, causing them to cry out in pain. Then it stopped at the dazed Marshadow, the Pokemon that would have probably killed the Bat Pokemon's trainer. Fueled by rage, Crobat continuously slashed the GloomDweller Pokemon with its wings, dealing super-effective damage.
Although this hurt, Marshadow wasn't going to stay in a fetal position while it was relentlessly attacked. It disappeared into the ground, making Crobat frantically search around for its target. Then, the Fighting/Ghost-type appeared behind the Bat Pokemon and created an electric field around its fist, preparing to strike with a Thunder Punch.
The electric fist struck, but to the dismay of Marshadow, it was not its intended target; Instead, it was a large blue and orange Pokémon. This Pokemon was named Swampert, and being part Ground-type, it was immune to electric attacks.
While the Mud Fish Pokemon prevented Marshadow from hitting Crobat, Dave ran up to his beloved Pokemon. "Are you okay?" he asked in great worry.
Now calmed down from its previous rage, the Bat Pokemon said its name with confidence.
"Good, now we need to get out of here. Can you fly me out?" Dave asked.
Though it was unsure before, Crobat was 100% certain it could carry Dave with its better flight. It flew upwards slightly so that Dave could grab its legs.
Quickly returning Swampert to its Pokeball, the fugitive grabbed the Poison/Flying-type's legs. Crobat immediately flew upward and zipped away as fast as it could.
Proton angrily watched them leave, he didn't have a Pokemon that he could fly on, and neither did any of his grunts. To his subordinates, he looked like he was about to explode, but then he uncharacteristically sighed, his anger slightly dissipating.
"Uh sir? What should be done now?" A grunt bravely asked, wary of what might happen next.
"We'll find him." Proton reassures, "No one leaves Team Rocket and lives."
Dave took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down from the events that had happened just seconds before. He took this time to really appreciate what had just happened: Golbat saw that he was in danger and not only saved him in its weakened state, but also evolved, it was incredible.
"I can't thank you enough Gol- er I mean Crobat." The man said to his partner, still adjusting to the Bat Pokemon's new form.
Crobat didn't respond, likely because it was too focused on flying. Although it's evolution helped it gain the ability to carry Dave, it's species wasn't exactly built to carry passengers, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
As he hung on, he remembered something a teenage girl had told not long ago...
"Your relationship with your Pokémon matters the most. You can't just rely on brute strength all the time. Sometimes, a strong bond with your Pokémon can result in evolution, and so much more."
Dave turned his attention upwards to his newly evolved partner and smiled.
"She was right."
Monday, July 28th 2005, 8:22AM Cherrygrove City
Rudy did not have a good morning.
Sure, traveling with Macy made training Todd a little bit easier, and she was actually a powerful trainer for her age. On the negative side, she got up ridiculously early. Sure, Rudy liked getting up at a decent hour (unlike Todd who would sleep in until noon if he got a say in the matter), but Macy was on a whole other level: Getting up at four in the morning and deciding that it was the perfect time to train with her Pokemon… loudly.
You'd think that she would go to bed early with such an early wake-up time, but nope, she stayed up late too. Todd once said that if power plants could harvest her energy, there would be enough power to light up the entire world for millions of years; Rudy disagreed, and stated that Macy's energy would be too much and the world would suffer a blackout.
Macy didn't know whether she should've laughed with them, or told her Magmar to burn them to a crisp.
The positives definitely outweighed the negatives, though. The fire-type trainer brought a spark of positivity and liveliness to their small group, and encouraged them to train their bodies and Pokemon more. Rudy thought he was active before, but Macy put that all to shame.
Oh yeah, and she was another girl he could teasingly accuse Todd of liking in a more-than-friends way. You could never go wrong with some light teasing, according to Rudy anyway.
Macy wasn't the only reason why Rudy had an awful morning, though; he received a message about 3 strange… things... that had ravaged different parts of Johto. And there were a few sightings of Team Rocket at Cherrygrove City, which was one of the hit locations. As interested as Rudy was in learning about these 'mutants' as the media had put it, he was more interested in bringing Team Rocket to justice. That's what he was here to do
The three of them had been in Olivine City when Rudy received the message, so he had to fly on his Pidgeot for a couple of hours before reaching Cherrygrove City. They were on their way to the Safari Zone to get Todd some new Pokemon since his egg still hasn't hatched yet.
When Rudy arrived, he was shocked to see the large extent of the destruction. The young adult had heard the city was attacked by an unnaturally strong Pokemon or 'hybrid' as the police had put it; however, the damage looked more akin to that of an earthquake.
He landed next to a group of officers surveying the damage and made his presence known; "Excuse me?"
One of them, probably a Lieutenant, turned around and greeted him; "Hello sir. Are you Rudy Mitler? The Trovita Island gym leader?"
Rudy shrugged, "I hope so, or else that's 2 hours I'll never get back."
The officer let out a small chuckle, "Alright, I'll take you to where we need you."
The law enforcer led Rudy over to a specific area. On the way, he relays to the gym leader about the kind of activity they saw and why they specifically called for Rudy's aid instead of taking care of it themselves. Based on the areas the Rocket grunts were spotted in, the officers concluded that they were looting the ravaged town of its supplies. They called Rudy over because, unfortunately, many trainers with strong Pokémon didn't join the police force. The Pokemon used by officers, while well-trained, were unable to keep up with the evil team's sudden spike in power. Before, grunts were pretty easy to beat by any member of the police force. Nowadays, a grunt could send out only one Pokemon and let it deal with multiple officers while they escaped.
They didn't call Falkner, the gym leader from Violet City, over because he was busy with his gym leader duties. Plus, Rudy was in Johto specifically to help against Team Rocket.
Eventually, Rudy asked the question that had been bugging him for a few minutes; "Hey... what exactly happened here? You said that a Pokemon or something attacked this place, but the damage looks like it was caused by an earthquake or some other natural disaster."
"Guess you haven't been keeping up with the news and everything." the officer said to him. "Yesterday, three weird Pokemon combinations attacked 3 different cities in the region. Just Johto, no other region experienced attacks like this. We're not sure where they came from or how they came to be since after they were neutralized, they split apart, becoming two regular Pokemon each." he explained.
"I see... what combination attacked this city though?"
"Cradily and Cursola, Crasola, many call it. Those two Pokemon are known for standing still and being more plant-like. But whenever they merged or something their growing habits must've gone out of control. The Cradily part spread its roots across the whole city in a very short time, destroying pipes and foundations. The Cursola part spread its branches around quickly, wrecking the walls of any nearby house."
Rudy's eyes went wide upon hearing that. The explanation certainly explained the unusual aftermath of the attack, but he was most surprised by the way it happened. Once again, he had not paid much attention to what the 'mutants' really were before he got to the city. Now he was anxious to know more.
"...And nobody has any idea where they came from?" the young man asked.
The officer shook his head "'Fraid not Rudy, they just kinda... appeared. Some say Team Rocket created them, but we don't know yet."
Rudy nodded, "I guess we'll find out for sure when we catch whoever is snooping around."
"That's what I'm hoping we'll know too."
The older man stopped and looked around. The two had reached a more remote location of the city that was close to the forest; "This is where we've been seeing them grunts. I don't know much else besides the fact that they are likely using the forest to escape whenever they're caught foraging."
"Alright, I'll look around and see what I can find. Where will you be?" Rudy responded, wondering if he would be getting any assistance.
"I think you should go alone, a bigger crowd will be easier to see coming." the officer elaborated. "If you need us, just command one of your Pokémon to use a move and shoot it into the sky. We'll come quickly."
Rudy nodded, understanding, "Alright. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Nope, you're free to look around."
The police officer left the young adult alone with his thoughts. "He seems pretty laid-back about all of this." Rudy mused, "I guess he's seen worse, being an officer and all."
The auburn-haired boy took the opportunity to fully take in his surroundings before he started searching. Many of the buildings were tilted and had gaping holes on their walls. The asphalt on the streets was fractured and littered with large potholes. Along with all of that, a light cloud of smoke covered the ruined city, likely from all of the destroyed electronics and machinery.
Breathing the air was unpleasant for Rudy, but not dangerous by any means. He could only guess that any dangerous gases have already escaped into the atmosphere or have been cleaned up.
The auburn-haired gym leader gripped a Pokeball from his belt and opened it, releasing the Pokemon that had gotten him to CherryGrove City in the first place: Pidgeot, the Bird Pokemon. She was much larger than most other members of her species, totaling 5 feet and 11 inches while the average height for Pidgeot being around a full foot less than that. Perhaps her most defining feature was a collar with a glowing stone positioned in the middle of her neck.
"Hey girl." he said as he scratched underneath her chin, "I need your help looking around here for Team Rocket or anything else interesting. Can you search from above and alert me if you find anything?"
Pidgeot nodded and launched herself up in the air with one flap of her wings, demonstrating her immense power and dominance. Then, she started to fly off in a direction to begin her search. Rudy smiled and walked in a different direction from the Normal/Flying-type.
Half an hour passed and nothing noteworthy had happened. Pidgeot had yet to return and was still scanning the perimeter. Rudy took pictures of the buildings he walked by (a practice he had picked up from Todd) just in case the police wanted to showcase the aftermath of the attack to the public. Despite their efforts, neither Rudy or Pidgeot could discover anything of interest.
Soon though, Rudy would feel something incredibly heavy on his shoulders, causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground.
"For the last time Pidgeot, you're too big to sit on my shoulders now." the young man groaned.
If the Bird Pokemon could snicker, she would no doubt be doing so. She stepped off her trainer, allowing him to stand up and dust himself quickly. "For your sake, I'm going to pretend that didn't happen." Rudy said to her with a hint of annoyance, "But regardless, if you're back, I assume you've found something."
The Normal/Flying-type nodded and raised its wing in a direction.
"Great work. Can you take me there?"
Pidgeot nodded and allowed the auburn-haired boy to climb on her back before taking off. Staying close to the ground, she transported Rudy to the point of interest.
Soon, the Bird Pokemon landed in front of a large pile of debris and motioned Rudy to look behind it. The gym leader quietly climbed up the rubble and peaked at what laid beyond it. There was a lone man, who was seemingly taking a rest based on his loud breathing and hunched position.
But none of those features mattered to Rudy, since the man was wearing a black uniform with the letter "R" printed in red on the back.
Immediately, Rudy jumped down, making a loud noise that alerted the tired man. The Rocket member turned around, his eyes widening when he saw his pursuer. Then he released a Pokemon, who Rudy immediately recognized to be a Crobat. Grabbing on to its legs, the man flew away with high speed.
Rudy turned around to face his Pidgeot, who was now hovering above where the pile of rubble was, awaiting orders. "Let's get him Pidgeot"
The Bird Pokemon nodded, swooping down to her trainer, allowing him to hop on and pursue his target.
Luckily, the criminal and his Pokemon were still in sight, but they were getting farther and farther away from them even at Pidgeot's top speed. Rudy had actually expected this, as he was well aware of the reputation Crobat have of being some of the fastest Pokemon in the world. Even though they weren't fit to carry people, the one the Rocket member was using seemed to be handling the weight just fine.
"We need to catch up." Rudy muttered to himself. Then he leaned down to Pidgeot's ear; "You want to Mega Evolve?"
Pidgeot nodded rapidly in excitement.
"Alright, here we go!" he said as he pulled his arm sleeve down, revealing a bracelet with a gleaming pebble embedded into it. Upon being touched, the stone began to glow brightly.
Mega Evolution is a strange phenomenon where a Pokemon's energy becomes supercharged, resulting in it altering its appearance and gaining heightened abilities. This event can only occur when said Pokemon has a strong connection with its trainer and they each possess an unusual stone. The stone the trainer must have is called a Key Stone, while the Pokemon must hold a Mega Stone. The transformation is incredibly difficult to pull off though, and it can take many months for people that do not have a lot of trust in their partner, which is a lot more common than it should be.
However, Rudy was one of the people who had access to this magnificent power.
As the stone illuminated brighter and brighter, the Mega Stone attached to the collar around Pidgeot's neck also began to shine, radiating a magnificent light. Pidgeot herself began to undergo the transformation: her already large wings grew to giant size and her tail feathers enlarged to 6 feet in length. Once the temporary evolution was complete, Pidgeot let out an earsplitting screech (much to Rudy's displeasure), expressing its dominance.
With its new abilities, the Bird Pokemon blazed ahead of the Crobat it once struggled to keep up with, making the latter slow to a halt in alarm.
Rudy positioned himself upright to exhibit superiority; "Stop! I work with the police!" Though he was working with the police, he wasn't quite sure what to say to properly discourage his target since he wasn't trained.
Regardless, the Rocket Grunt's eyes widened as he tried to look for a place to escape. Crobat on the other hand, used it's upper two wings to send an Air Slash toward Rudy's Mega-evolved Pokemon, making her cry out in pain. The Bat Pokemon used this opportunity to dive down, surprising its trainer and making him grip on its legs tighter.
"You alright girl?" Rudy asked his recovering Pokemon in a concerned tone. Pidgeot squawked confidently in response, making Rudy smile; "Awesome. Now dive!"
The Bird Pokemon effortlessly caught up with Crobat and grabbed the latter's midsection in one of her large talons. She then grabbed the man with her free talon, making sure her grip was tight enough to prevent them from escaping, but loose enough to not hurt them. Violence is something Rudy and his Pokemon wouldn't resort to.
Once the two were captured, the Bird Pokemon descended slowly to the ground until she was close enough to drop the man onto the ground, she kept Crobat in her grasp, though. Rudy slid off Pidgeot's back and stood over the Rocket grunt as his faithful partner gave him room to interrogate.
Before he approached the man, Rudy released another one of his Pokemon from its pokeball: this time being a yellow humanoid with what appeared to be a long mustache and brown armor on its knees, wrists, and chest. This Pokemon's name is Alakazam, the Psi Pokemon.
Rudy approached his Psychic-type, "Alakazam, I need you to make sure he doesn't escape." Rudy said, pointing to the Rocket Grunt, who was still on the ground. Alakazam nodded and stepped away a few feet keeping a close eye on the man.
The auburn-haired young man walked over to the man, "Stand up please."
Surprisingly, the man complied and removed his face from the rough earth.
"Now sir, I'm going to need-" Rudy tried to say before getting cut off
"I'll answer any question you ask of me! But please just let me explain myself!" the grunt exclaimed in desperation.
Rudy gave him a puzzled look, "Um, what?"
"I'll answer any question you have about Team Rocket! I just need to need to tell you something important!"
Rudy raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening..."
The man gave a weak, but genuine smile; "Thanks."
"Just say what you need to say so I can take you in."
"Okay, okay... I'm not a part of Team Rocket."
...
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA." Rudy roared with laughter.
This caught the man off-guard, he was expecting his captor to not believe him at first, not a full-on outburst.
"Did you seriously..." Rudy said in between laughs, "...expect me to believe THAT?"
"No but... let me explain. I-"
"You just said you aren't a part of Team Rocket, yet you're wearing a Team Rocket uniform. Are you getting ready for Trick-or-Treat then? Spoiler alert: It's July."
The man groaned, "I know, but I left and haven't had the chance to get a new change of clothes. I wasn't trying to get let go or anything since I was still a part of Team Rocket for a while, but I just wanted to say that."
Rudy's boisterous guffaw finally subsided as he wiped his face; "Ah geez, that was hilarious... I still don't believe you by the way."
The man sighed, "I figured, just take me down to the station."
"You aren't going to resist?"
"Nah, I deserve it."
Rudy shrugged, "Oh well, that just makes my job easier." Then he looked at the man's Crobat; "Umm, you can call your Crobat back to their Pokeball, I'm sure they don't like being held by Pidgeot. I'm going to need you to hand me your other Pokeballs though."
The man took a Pokeball from his belt and returned the Bat Pokemon to its pokeball. Then he took his belt of Pokeballs off and willingly gave it to Rudy, he even turned on the lock feature on each ball so the Pokemon couldn't come out and attack.
Rudy was still a little put off by the grunt's willingness to comply, but he knew Alakazam and Pidgeot would come to his aid if the man tried anything.
"Alright, let's get you over to the police, they'll deal with you." Rudy said, unsure of what to say.
The man only nodded and started walking behind Rudy, while Alakazam and Pidgeot trailed behind. All individuals were silent during the trek. Rudy had been slightly embarrassed with his interactions with the grunt. He felt he hadn't left a very strong impression, even though the man was willing to comply. He made a mental note to work on his demeanor when he was apprehending future criminals so that he would be more intimidating and less cheesy with his phrases.
Only thirty seconds had passed before Alakazam cried out in pain.
The gym leader whipped around to look at the aggressor, only to see the Psi Pokemon frantically looking around, trying to find the enemy. There was nothing in sight.
Rudy then laid his eyes on the grunt, who also looked confused; "What did you do?"
"I swear that wasn't me! That might've been-"
"Don't lie to me!" Rudy yelled uncharacteristically, "Is there some Pokemon nearby that deployed to keep watch?"
"No there isn't! You can check my Pokeballs! They're all-"
Then, Alakazam cried out again, but this time, it was preceded by said Pokemon falling over on the ground, fainted.
"What-? Alakazam return! You too Pidgeot!" Rudy exclaimed in surprise before putting the Psychic-type back in her home. He also put Pidgeot back in fearing there was a planned attack on her as well
This time though, a small, circular shadow remained in Alakazam's place, and there was nothing above that could be casting it. A small head poked out of the darkness, it's yellow pupils glared at both humans as the grunt's eyes widened in shock.
"No... no no no no no no." the man said without an ounce of courage in his voice, his calm demeanor being instantaneously replaced with fright.
But before the man could move, he felt a sharp sensation on both sides of his neck. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could barely see a red object that was likely the source of his pain, but since his neck was confined, he couldn't turn around to see what was holding him hostage.
Rudy however, was able to see the man's captor, a large crab-like creature with a reddish-orange claws and head, and a white underbelly and legs. The top of its head had multiple sharp protrusions that made it look like it was wearing a crown.
Having seen many trainers use this Pokemon at his gym leader job, Rudy recognized it instantly; "Kingler."
"You two are unbearably loud." an annoyed voice came from behind Rudy.
Rudy turned to see a group of Rocket grunts forming a semi-circle around someone in a more sophisticated uniform, signifying the importance of that character.
The gym leader's teeth clenched together as he recognized the man in the middle; "Proton."
"Oh, I'm famous." the Admin stated half-heartedly before disregarding the young man's existence and turning to his Mythical Pokemon, "Marshadow, watch this boy, don't let him get in my way
This only made Rudy even angrier, completely forgetting the man being held by the Kingler, and the incredibly hostile Mythical Pokemon that was currently giving him the death stare; "At Mt. Mortar! You commanded your Koffing to use Explosion, injuring 4 of your grunts and killing the other one!"
Proton scratched his head; "Listen kid, that doesn't narrow it down a lot, I've lost count of the amount of grunts I've killed."
"You what-?" Rudy exclaimed in surprise before quickly turning to rage. "Pidgeot-".
"I wouldn't do that." Proton said menacingly; "If you send out one of your Pokemon, Kingler will crush Dave's neck."
Not wanting such an image to come to life, Rudy reluctantly retracted his hand. Though, he did make note of the admin mentioning the man's name
"Good boy. I bet I could get you to fetch a bone this way." Proton chuckled, letting his madness show slightly. "But I would be wasting my time that way. Now, let me speak with scum over here." he said, returning to his slightly more sane demeanor instantaneously and turning to Dave.
"Salutations traitor. Anything you'd like to say before I take you back to base for you to be punished?"
Rudy's eyes went wide, the man was telling the truth about leaving Team Rocket after all.
Dave was still petrified, but spoke nonetheless; "You're-"
"I don't care actually. Kill him now!" Proton shouted.
"NO!" Rudy shouted, making a futile attempt to run to Dave's aid.
Kingler increased its grip gradually, cutting off the man's air and making his throat bleed.
Dave's vision went dark, nearly succumbing to the lack of air and eventual lack of attachment to his lower body.
...
Then suddenly, a flash of light blinded everyone.
Kingler released its hold on the man after experiencing multiple painful blows to its legs in a matter of a few milliseconds. Dave grasped his neck while gasping for air, feeling the fresh cuts in the process.
Proton, incredibly angry at his cruelty being interrupted a second time in twenty four hours, looked around the Crab Pokemon; "What is it this time?"
The aggressor was too fast for Proton to see properly, but the purple blur that his eyes could make out was enough for him.
Gritting his teeth in anger, he uttered to Marshadow, who was on standby; "Use Thunder Punch on Kingler."
Without any hesitation, the GloomDweller, created an electric field around its tiny fists and quickly slammed them into the Crab Pokemon, not caring that they were technically on the same side. The electricity surged through Kingler's body, eventually traveling to the attacker when it made physical contact. This caused both affected individuals to fall to the ground in pain.
Proton returned Kingler to its Pokeball, not giving it any sort of thought or concern. What he was really interested in, was the purple medium sized Pokemon with two pairs of wings.
His teeth clenched together with hate, now knowing his suspicions to be confirmed; "You're annoying. You know that?"
Crobat attempted to gain flight again, but Proton put his foot on his main body, restricting any movement.
Rudy, meanwhile looked down at the belt Dave had given him, puzzled. Wasn't Crobat's Pokeball locked?
The spherical device that was once attached to the belt was now replaced with multiple red and white fragments littering the ground.
The realization of what happened dawned onto the young man; "Crobat broke out of its ball... I've never seen or heard of something like that before."
Rudy's marveling was interrupted by a second thought: "Wait! Proton's distracted now!"
Rudy released Pidgeot from her Pokeball again and quickly gave her an order; "Use Heat Wave in the sky!"
The Bird Pokemon rocketed itself into the air, blowing back the grunts and Marshadow, who weren't braced for the take off, then she released a large amount of orange fire, so much that it could probably be seen all across Johto.
Rudy pumped his fist in celebration, Team Rocket's only options were to flee, or get caught.
Proton didn't look scared or impressed though, he just grunted in anger; "Guess that's it then."
Rudy breathed a sigh of relief. Even Proton was giving up!
He spoke too soon.
"Just kidding!" The admin laughed maniacally with a crazed expression, more intense than usual. He raised his foot, intent on squashing Crobat.
Rudy was too shocked to move, and instinctively shut his eyes in fear.
When he opened them again, Proton was on the ground, with Dave standing over him, the latter had one hand clutching his throat and the other held out in an aggressive stance.
"Don't. Touch. Him." Dave demanded in an extremely hostile manner, terrifying the grunts and even Rudy.
Proton was unfazed by this though, and gave him a glare that was even more intimidating than Dave's. "Like trainer, like Pokémon I guess." Proton said, venom dripping from his voice. "You both always have to steal my fun away right at the last second."
He turned to his grunts without displaying any more emotion; "We're leaving."
"No! I'm not letting any of you escape!" Rudy remarked. Pidgeot had returned from the sky and she spread her wings out as a method of intimidation.
"I said we would be leaving, I didn't stutter." Proton retaliated, uninterested in Rudy's threats. "Smokescreen."
A bunch of Koffing emerged from behind piles of rubble and debris and released heaps of black smoke from their pores.
"Pidgeot, blow it away!" Rudy commanded.
The Bird Pokemon used her large wings to blow the smoke away, but it was much too thick and it still managed to obscure Rudy's view of Proton and the grunts. By the time the air was clear, Team Rocket was gone.
A few hours later...
The police searched the entirety of Cherrygrove City, but there was no sign of Proton and his grunts. They had vanished completely.
But thankfully, that was only a minor loss compared to the victory that was achieved that day.
Dave revealed where Team Rocket's base was.
It was well-known at this point that the low-ranking grunts didn't know where their main hideout was. The higher-ups only trusted them with the information of where their outposts were located. Only high-ranking members were allowed to know where the main base was since they could be trusted with not getting caught.
Dave wasn't an admin or anything, but he was promoted to the point that he was let in the base. This explained why Proton was so intent on killing him, so that he couldn't leak that valuable information.
He also confirmed that Team Rocket IS in fact responsible for creating and deploying the mutants, but he didn't know where they were coming from since they moved the machines that created them away from the main base. All he knew was that they were planning more mutant attacks.
The police passed the information to the Pokémon League, who were in charge of dealing with Team Rocket. Rudy didn't know much else from there, other than that he would receive a call when they decide to issue an attack on the base. With Team Rocket's strength, they needed as many people as they could get for a successful assault. For now, he was free to train Todd.
Dave's neck injury was more severe than he thought and had to be rushed to the hospital. Once he got out, his punishment will be decided since he was still a part of Team Rocket and did bad things, though, he might get a lighter sentence due to his willingness to give away information.
That night, Rudy laid awake in his tent, Macy and Todd were already asleep. His mind kept wandering back to Proton, more specifically, his response to Rudy's statement about him killing his own grunts.
"Listen kid, that doesn't narrow it down a lot, I've lost count of the amount of grunts I've killed."
Rudy clenched his fists together. How could one be so heartless? He didn't seem to care about anyone at all.
Nevertheless, Rudy hated him even more than he already had.
In an ambulance...
Dave laid on the gurney he was put in, there were a lot of gauze pads on his neck, stopping the bleeding from Kingler's sharp pincers. He was silently debating if he should go to sleep or stay awake until he was at the hospital.
The ride had been surprisingly smooth and quiet, which had given him a lot of time to think about his life going forward.
He was surely going to be put in jail or prison, though, he wasn't sure how long he would be there. He didn't really mind, he deserved it anyway considering all that he had done: thieving, assaulting, destroying, etc. he never committed murder though, thankfully.
But regardless, he was surely going to be punished. He wouldn't mind any prison time or most other punishments. The only thing that mattered to him was being separated from his Pokémon.
Once upon a time, he was a normal kid with a dream, to win the Pokémon league and become champion in his home region of Hoenn. Generic? Absolutely. But it mattered to him.
However, when his Golbat wouldn't evolve into Crobat, he grew desperate, searching for any solution at all that would help the Bat Pokémon unlock his full potential. He grew so desperate that he would accept any advice from anyone.
This led him to being recruited into Team Rocket. At the time, he didn't know how BAD the organization was since he wasn't in the region it was based in, so he accepted the invitation under the impression that the intense training would lead to his Golbat evolving.
Yet for so long... nothing ever happened to his Golbat, so much so that he gave up on trying. At this point, he had just accepted the Team Rocket lifestyle as a part of himself, so he didn't try to quit.
Then recently, when he was on a mission to capture a Cubone that was causing mischief for Team Rocket, he met and battled a group of friends. They were just some people who were like 'Team Rocket are evil' yada yada yada. But instead of just treating him like scum, the girl who had battled his Crobat offered him some of her own advice, that was the direct opposite of what Team Rocket had told him.
The words themselves couldn't be called memorable, since they weren't spoken in a powerful way, but Dave still decided to follow it, hoping it would lead him somewhere. This led him to today, and he was glad that he took her advice.
Going forward, he would first receive his punishment, including being separated from his Pokemon. After potential jail time, he would have to gain custody of his Pokemon again. He would have to ask if he could. Then... he wasn't sure. Maybe he would give the Hoenn League a try like he wanted to do so long ago. He'd figure things out from there.
Dave smiled to himself, he had a plan, to leave this part of his life behind him, and look to the future. All he needed to do was-
sccccrrrrEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHH!
Dave's body shifted towards the wall as the Ambulance quickly halted, without slowing down at all.
"Jeez, did these people ever learn how to drive?" Dave thought to himself.
He heard some shuffling outside before the back door opened, there weren't any lights on in the back, so he couldn't see the people who opened it.
"A little warning would have been nice!" Dave exclaimed in an annoyed voice.
He didn't get a response as a figure entered the back, presumably to wheel his gurney into the hospital.
The assumption violently died when the silhouette grabbed his collar.
"No one leaves Team Rocket and lives."
Those were the last words Dave heard before a large, claw-like structure punctured his heart.
Trainer Profile: Rudy Mitler
Hometown: Trovita City, Orange Islands
Birthday: September 29th 1985
Height:6'01"
Eye Color: Brown
Hair color: Auburn
Trainer Class: Pokemon Battler
Secondary Class: Pokemon Trainer
Other Hobbies: Dancing, Music, teasing Todd and Mahri
Special conditions: n/a
Titles: Trovita City Gym Leader
Notable achievements: Nothing too major, just becoming the gym leader of Trovita City.
Pokemon:
-Hitmonchan(M)
-Exeggutor(M)
-Alakazam(F)
-Venomoth(M)
-Pidgeot(F)
-Rhyperior(F)
Next chapter: Virulent Discovery