Star in the Storm, Chapter 10
Roary- "Rescue Mission"
"And don't come back!"
Face flushed with anger, the redheaded young nurse stood in the Pokémon Center doorway and yelled over the head of the crowd. But not loud enough to block out the shouted protests and excited inquiries from outside.
"Is it true that Team Rocket has returned?" one reporter shouted over the others. "Is it true that they've kidnapped the daughter of Richard Koreyu?"
A rush of noise followed in anticipation. Slamming the door so hard that she sent her cap flying, the Pokémon Center nurse shut all of it out. Sighing and rubbing at her temples, she turned to me and smiled wearily. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked me kindly. "Would you like some more hot cocoa?"
"Pi, pi," Picassy said, shaking its head.
"Oh, no thank you, Nurse Hope," I said politely, stirring the cup of cocoa absentmindedly with my spoon and trying not to kick Amulet, who had fallen asleep under my chair.
The nurse smiled again. "Your father just called. He'll be here to pick you up in an hour."
"Does Professor Koreyu know what happened to…to Lody?"
"Professor Koreyu has been contacted," Nurse Hope replied. "You needn't worry yourself, my dear. The police will be sure to find your friend soon. Everything will turn out fine, just you wait and see."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a loud crash sounded from the back window, followed by some high-pitched reprimands.
"Blissey, what is it?" Nurse Hope cried, rushing to the back with me and Picassy close behind her. The back storeroom lay in shambles. Somebody had cleverly managed to open the window, but unfortunately, had tripped on a whole lot of boxes on their way in, knocking food cans and spare PokéBalls all over the room.
"Blissey! Bliss, bliss! Sey!" The large pink Pokémon glared reproachfully down at the boy who was sprawled across the floor. A stack of boxes on the other side of the window told the Pokémon everything it needed to know, and it didn't like it one bit.
"Um, sorry," the boy grinned sheepishly, pulling himself up from amid the cans of PokéChow and rubbing at the bruises on his arms. "I didn't mean to intrude originally, but there were too many people at the front door."
"So you came in the window instead?" Nurse Hope demanded, hands on hips. "What kind of delinquent behavior is that, young man? Why, I should have you arrested right now. Of course, you'll leave right away, and won't tempt me. So out with you! Now!"
"Hey, wait a second!" the boy protested, putting up his hands and backing into the wall. "I don't mean any harm. I'm just looking for Roary Ketchum!"
"Who're you?" I asked suspiciously, stepping around a heap of cardboard cartons and giving this intruder the once-over. The boy had wild, fiery hair that was kept off his forehead with a bright red headband, plus dark, dark brown eyes that seemed open and sincere enough to me. He'd tied matching red bands around both of his tanned arms, maybe to cover the shiny burns that crisscrossed his skin, I guessed.
Something else was flickering in the back of my mind as I stared at him, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
"Drake?" a Charmander called from the other side of the window. Hoisting itself through into the room, it took a tensed stand in front of the fiery-haired boy, paws down but looking ready to spring at any second. The flame on its tail flared a fierce blue-white, and I could practically hear the air in the room sizzling with its heat.
"Easy, Fireball," Drake whispered to the Charmander in front of him.
A muffled growl sounded from outside the window. A large, extremely fierce Charizard had touched-down on the grass outside the Pokémon Center. And riding on its back was none other than Pika, Charm, and Bryar.
"We've been looking everywhere for you, Roary," Pika said, jumping down through the open window. It was instantly apprehended by Picassy, who leapt down from my shoulder and ran forward to hug Pika happily.
Following close behind the Pikachu, Bryar waggled an antennae at me. "I hope you're happy you've caused so much trouble for us, Aurora!" it sniffed, wedging its body through the window and falling onto the floor with a thud. "Getting yourself kidnapped by Team Rocket, of all things!"
"Thank goodness you're alright," Charm added, right behind the other two. With a loud bellow, Stray the Charizard stuck its head as far through the window as it would go, watching the gathering of people and Pokémon through its sharp eyes. I felt myself falling to my knees, gulping nervously.
Nurse Hope looked about ready to faint from shock. "Kids today," she laughed weakly. "Never know what they have up their sleeve."
Drake grinned back, putting a hand on the Charmander Fireball's shoulder.
"Drake…Drake? Wait a sec!" Snapping my fingers together, I jumped to my feet. "You don't happen to be related to Ashkoa Flamefoe by any chance, do you?"
"He's my father," Drake replied tersely. "How did you know?"
I gestured to his fiery head of hair, then grinned. "My dad runs a souvenir stand by Indigo Plateau, and he sells framed photos of every single Champion who ever made it through the League, so I can pick out that distinctive Flamefoe hair as good as anyone!" I said, waving my hands about excitedly. "Ashkoa Flamefoe is practically legendary, you know! Every trainer passing through wants to know his story as the Champion with the three-day reign. Wow, it must be so cool to be related to Ashkoa Flamefoe, what with him being a legend and all!"
I paused to catch my breath and reconsider the rush of words that had just spewed forth from my mouth. "Well, then again, I guess since Ash Ketchum's my dad, I'm kinda like you, too," I chattered on. "Only what Dad does nowadays is so dull –I mean, he doesn't even battle anymore, not in official competitions or anything! Now Ashkoa Flamefoe, no one knows what he's doing. I'll bet that your dad actually doing something worthwhile…like beating the Masters' Circle or, or…"
"Pichu, chu!" Picassy chastised, pulling at my leg anxiously.
"Um, Roary," Pika hissed, clambering onto my shoulder and leaning towards my ear. "Look at Drake."
I cut off what I was saying and studied the Flamefoe boy more carefully. The easy smile that had been there just moments ago had faded into his paling face, and Drake's fists were clenched and shaking.
I gulped awkwardly. "Oh! I didn't mean to…I didn't know…"
"It's okay," Drake mumbled underneath his breath. Straightening, he swallowed and suddenly, that smile was back on his face and he was acting like nothing had ever happened in the first place.
For a few seconds, I just kinda stood there uncomfortably. But by this time, Nurse Hope had recovered enough to make a graceful save.
"Why do you all come into the lobby?" she suggested kindly. "You can talk things out over a cup or two of hot cocoa."
"Hot cocoa!" Pika cheered eagerly. "Nurse Hope's cure-all! Do you have any ketchup, though? Some people like marshmallows in their cup, but I prefer…"
"Ew! Pika!" we all chorused in unison.
"Hot cocoa sounds great," Charm agreed. "But what about…" The Charmander gestured upwards at Stray, who still had its head hanging through the window.
Looking up at the enormous Charizard, who was flexing its broad wings impatiently outside the window, Nurse Hope clutched at the wall faintly, then tried a smile. "We'll manage," she assured us.
Five minutes later, everyone was seated around a large round table in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, stirring, sipping, or gulping down cups of the hot, sweet drink. Nurse Hope's Blissey was running left and right, refilling cups or handing out straws, so quickly that it barely missed tripping over Amulet's tail every ten seconds.
I gazed down at the listless Espeon and gulped down my mouthful of cocoa sadly. The jewel atop Amulet's head was turning a murky red, I noticed unhappily, to reflect her dark, brooding mood. Amulet hadn't said a word since we'd escaped from the TRC helicopter, leaving Lody behind. Head propped up over her paws, she had curled herself under the table and refused to come out. All she ever did anymore was stare sorrowfully at the walls of the Pokémon Center, paws folded and body limp. Motionless as she looked, in her mind, I thought unhappily, Amulet must be wrestling the mightiest emotional demons.
Across the table, Pika was hurriedly squeezing ketchup over a plate of apple slices and marshmallows. Then it tipped the entire concoction into a bowl of hot cocoa and drank deeply. "Kaa," it sighed, making a small noise of satisfaction. "That was possibly the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. More ketchup, please!" it told Blissey, handing it the empty bottle.
The large, pink Pokémon glared at Pika angrily. "Blissey! Sey! Sey!" it snapped, pantomiming the shaking of an empty bottle of ketchup, than pointing to the ketchup stains on Pika's face. "Blissey! Ey!"
Charm laughed from its position next to Pika. "You must have cleaned the Pokémon Center out," it teased the Pikachu. "Who would've guessed one little Pokémon could put away 33 bottles of ketchup?"
"I didn't have 33 bottles!" Pika corrected angrily. Patting its stomach and taking another sip of cocoa, it grinned proudly. "I had at least 34."
"Pichu! Chu!" Picassy gagged, clutching at its stomach and pantomiming being sick all over the Pokémon Center floor.
As the laughter of the three Pokémon filled the entire room, I snuck a look at Bryar, who was sitting silently in the spot it had shoved for on Charm's other side and concentrating its gaze intently at a cup of cocoa.
Silent? I did a double take. That was a first for Bryar. On the Meganium's other side, Stray the Charizard was downing pitchers of cocoa by the second. Its hot, steaming breath sent rings of smoke all over the room, making me and Picassy cough.
"Aren't you going to have some cocoa, Fireball?" Drake was asking the blue-flamed Charmander anxiously. Fireball shook its head and continued to sit stoically in its seat, smoky gray eyes wavering neither left or right.
Taking Fireball's mug, Drake downed the cocoa in one gulp, and didn't even choke. He turned and placed the empty cup on Blissey's tray before facing me. "I've been meaning to talk to you ever since you came back, Roary," he told me. "I think I can help you rescue Lody."
"What?" I said, startled. My cocoa mug fell out of my hands and onto the floor, and I flushed embarrassedly as a large, dark stain began seeping through the carpet. The mug itself rolled under the table, jouncing gently into Amulet's paws.
Dashing towards the site of the spill on its stubby little legs, Nurse Hope's Blissey shook a reproachful finger in my direction before whipping out a wad of napkins and forcing them into my hands.
As I got down on my hands and knees to mop up the spilled cocoa, Drake leaned down to grab the dropped mug and set it back on the table. "Lody got kidnapped by Team Rocket in Charicific Valley," he stated. "That already makes me somewhat responsible. Besides, Lody's a nice girl. Someone's got to help her out."
"Well yeah, but me?" I pointed at myself incredulously. "The police are already searching for her, and so's Professor Koreyu. What makes you think I'm gonna rescue Lody Chimera?"
Drake shrugged. "That irrepressible Ketchum spirit," he answered with a wry grin. "Look, Roary," he went on, noting my puzzled expression. "I'm the caretaker of Charicific Valley. I have a whole fleet of Charizard, who are willing to help, at my disposal. Tracking, fighting, you name it! Charicific Valley is home to the finest Charizard in the world…"
Stray bellowed proudly and spread its wings out, nearly knocking over the table.
"…And some very valuable allies," Drake finished.
I held up a hand. "Wait a sec. You're caretaker of Charicific Valley? But you can't be much older than me!"
Drake adjusted his headband embarrassedly. "Well, maybe not the official caretaker," he admitted. "Basically, I look after things whenever the real caretaker, Ms. Liza, wants a break. She put me in charge of the Charizard Competition because she wanted to enter it herself."
"I knew I smelled something fishy!" Pika cried. "That Charizard who won the Competition, Charla; that's Liza's Charizard, isn't it?"
"Oh!" I exclaimed, finishing up my mopping and slipping back into my seat. "I completely forgot! How did Stray do?"
"Well, we couldn't continue the Eevee contest after Team Rocket showed up," Drake sighed. "So we reverted to Plan B. The pipe climbing contest."
"Pi-pi-pi-pipes!" Pika gasped, falling off its chair and taking the tablecloth down with it. Miraculously enough, nothing spilled. I shook my head in wonder.
Stray glared menacingly at the guffawing Pikachu.
"It took a lot of butter," Drake continued. "Don't worry," he told Stray comfortingly. "There's always next year."
Stray sighed, slumping onto the floor and blowing smoke rings aimlessly at the ceiling.
"But if you're not the real caretaker of Charicific Valley," I started hesitantly, "what can you do?"
Drake shook his head. "Liza left several months ago to start training, and now she's off again to the annual Trainers Against Cruelty Towards Flamed Pokémon convention down in Saffron. Which means I'm in charge of the Valley for the rest of the summer. But first things first. We need to get to Pallet Town in order to talk to Lody's father, Professor Koreyu, the sooner the better. I'm sure he'll be willing to help us." Grinning widely, Drake checked my expression for signs of renewed enthusiasm. "What do you say to that, Roary Ketchum?" he prompted. "Are you ready to rescue Lody Chimera yet?"
Standing up so quickly that the table almost fell over, I gave Drake an exuberant thumbs-up sign. "You've got yourself a deal, Drake Flamefoe!" I grinned, wincing as my empty cocoa mug clattered to the ground and bumped into Amulet again. "Sorry, Amulet," I said hastily. "But seriously, I don't even know what I was doing, sulking around like this! It's kinda my fault Lody didn't come back in the first place, so I'm gonna make sure she does now! C'mon, guys! Let's get going!"
Bolting away from the table and towards the door, I tripped over the tail of a certain Meganium and landed flat on the still-damp carpet of the Pokémon Center floor. Pulling its tail out from under my inert body, Bryar groaned and slapped a vine whip to its forehead. "Great! All that cocoa's got her on a permanent sugar high!" it lamented, turning its gaze skyward for relief.
"But what about your father, Roary?" Nurse Hope asked me worriedly as Drake, the rest of the gang, plus me, rushed out the door.
"Don't worry!" I called back over my shoulder. "He'll understand!"
"I've done some looking into prospective Rocket hideouts!" Charm yelled over the rush of the wind as we sped back in the direction of Charicific Valley, as fast as Stray could carry us all. "Truth is, the authorities gave up on Team Rocket long ago."
"Ever since my father disbanded them," I concluded. "No one felt they were a threat."
Charm nodded, bandanna flapping against its neck in the wind. "Scattered as the remaining members of Team Rocket may be, there have been conglomerations of reoccurring Rocket attacks, or attacks by individuals claiming to be Rockets, in several locations," it continued.
As it talked, the Charmander pulled out a map of the Johto-Kanto region and started circling several locations in red ink. "Azalea Town, Goldenrod City, Viridian City, the Cerulean Power Plant on Route 9, as well as several locations in the Orange Archipelago," it said, marking each in turn. "Any one of these could house the Team Rocket Headquarters, where I'll bet they're keeping Lody."
"No problem!" Drake called back from his perch atop Stray's neck. "We'll send out Charizard scouts to investigate all those locations. When we find out where Lody is, we can launch a full-frontal attack against the Rocket HQ!"
"Is anyone besides me a bit confused here?" Bryar groaned, antennae twitching in agitation. "Why not just tell the police, and let them handle it?" it demanded.
"I've already offered them my help!" Drake stated indignantly. "Unfortunately, they didn't seem too keen on listening to a twelve year-old boy! Besides, if Team Rocket could infiltrate the Goldenrod Gym and the Pallet Lab, don't you think they'd have somebody in the police force as well?"
Charm sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from its brow. "It looks as if Team Rocket was much more active that we originally thought them to be," the Charmander said worriedly. "Infiltration attempts and spies everywhere we turn. And now they're after Eevee, of all things. What do suppose they could be planning? And that Giovanni, who disappeared all those years ago. Do you think he's come back to resume control of Team Rocket?"
From its position beside Charm, Pika shook its head, bright black eyes narrowing. "Giovanni doesn't fight like this," it stated tersely. "No, we're dealing with an entirely new opponent here. One whom we no almost nothing about."
"This is ridiculous!" Bryar exploded, antennae wildly waving about in the air. "We might as well tie our paws behind our backs and try to hit the guy with a fruitcake. You know what I think, Aurora? When your Daddy hears about this…"
"He'd be proud of his daughter," I replied firmly, cutting Bryar off in mid-sentence. "Besides, I like fruitcake. Especially with whipped cream. Yum!"
Shaking its head, Bryar let its vine whips hang loose in defeat. "You're just like your Daddy, Aurora Ketchum," it groaned. "We're all doomed!"
Notes:
Thank you to Peter Kim and The Princess of Light. You cannot believe how happy you have made me, simply by expressing an interest in my story! To answer some questions, Pika and Bryar didn't really leave Ash, they just keep house for him while he's off in Indigo Plateau. Stray (Ash's Charizard) has been at Charicific Valley ever since its departure in the anime series, and I suppose Ash's other Pokémon are with him, or helping Bryar and Pika around the house (they just don't get mentioned by name). As for the old Team Rocket members, most of them have been scattered around ever since Ash "disbanded" them. Some, like Jessie and James, are afraid to return empty-handed, others are dead. I can't say much about the leader of Neo Team Rocket other than the whole Merging project was his/her idea and that he/she will appear later, if things go the way I have planned.