Chapter 7
"Promises Are Cheap"
Billie knocked on the door to his office.
"Who is it?" he asked angrily.
"Billie and Ash," she answered nervously.
"……Come in."
Billie opened the door, and we stepped inside. The door closed behind us.
"M-mission accomplished, sir!" Billie said, saluting. She nudged me, and I saluted too.
"…You've caught Pokémon?" he asked.
"O-one, sir," said Billie.
"…What is it?"
"It's a Drowzee, sir."
"…A Drowzee?"
"Yes, sir."
"……Who caught it?"
"Uh…I did……sir," I said uneasily.
"……Where is it?" he glowered.
I reached down and pulled it off of my belt. I held it out for him to see.
"Here it is………sir."
He scowled at it. "Who did you take it from?"
"A boy…from the Pokémon League…" said Billie, "…He put up a tough fight."
"………Congratulations, then……"
"Do I get my Pokémon back, now?"
He seemed to think about that. "……Sure. You can keep the Drowzee."
"What!!?"
"Collect four more, and I'll see what I can do for you."
"But you said-!!"
He glared at me. "Who is in charge here?"
"Uhh…"
He had a point.
I ducked my head. "You are…sir."
"Precisely. Now get back to work!"
"Yes sir!" we yelped. Billie grabbed my arm, and we got out of there fast.
I couldn't control my temper. "How dare he! He said that he would give me back my Pokémon if I got new ones for him!"
"Ash…"
"That liar! I'll show him…!"
"Ash, calm down."
"He lied! He said I could get my Pokémon back!…He's never gonna let that happen, is he?"
"Ash……Come on. You need to calm down."
"You calm down," I grumbled.
"You'll get your Pokémon back. I promise."
I gave her a funny look. "I thought you said promises are cheap."
"They are……but that doesn't mean I can't make them."
I wasn't sure what to make of that.
"Let's go, Ash. We've got to get at least four more Pokémon before anything new happens."
"…He shouldn't have changed his mind like that…"
"…How do you know he wasn't planning it like that all along?" Billie asked, "You don't get to be the head of Team Rocket without a scheming mind."
"That's what I hate. I'm not good at scheming. If I was, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
Billie didn't say anything.
We left the headquarters in search of more Pokémon.
* * *
Pikachu…Pidgeotto…Bulbasaur…Charizard…Squirtle…Muk…I'm probably never going to see them again…
I sighed. Things weren't going so great. All the Pokémon that we'd seen were ones that Billie said the boss wouldn't be interested in.
"……Don't get so down, Ash. Everything's gonna work out."
Billie was trying to cheer me up. That was really nice of her, but it wasn't working.
"If you say so," I sighed.
She stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Are you gonna be like this the whole time? If you keep acting this way, there's no way you'll get the boss to give you back your Pokémon. He wants Team Rocket to like what they're doing. He wants team members that are loyal to Team Rocket, and only to Team Rocket. He's just doing this to you to make sure that understand that he holds all the power, and there's no way that you can resist him."
"………No way that I can resist him?" I asked.
She nodded.
I had an idea creeping into my head.
"…We'll see about that…" I sneered.
"…Don't do anything stupid," she warned me.
"Oh…don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
She looked as if she didn't believe me, but she didn't say anything. She blinked.
"Uh…Ash?"
"What?"
"Look behind you."
I turned around.
"Magne. Mite."
"Yaahhhhgghhhh!!!!" I exclaimed as I was suddenly Thundershocked.
"Ow!" I said, as I stepped back, "What was that for!?" I demanded.
"Mag. Magnemite."
"Rr…I'll show you…Go-!……Um…"
…I only have two choices…
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, "Go! Taper!"
"Drowzee…" said Taper.
"Ash! You can't control a psychic Pokémon!" cried Billie.
"That doesn't mean I can't try. Taper! Uh…Hypnosis attack!"
"Zee?"
"Uh-oh."
"Mite!"
Magnemite released another Thundershock, only this time, it was aimed at Taper.
"Taper!" I cried.
"Ddrroowwwwzeeee!" it called out in pain.
"Taper! Return!" I ordered.
"…Your other Pokémon should be strong against this one," said Billie.
"Huh?"
"Don't you know? Ground types are strong against electric types."
I don't even know what my other Pokémon is…
"Go!…" I played it safe and didn't use a name.
"Sssandshrew!!"
"A Sandshrew?" I said in surprise.
"…You did know that, didn't you?" Billie asked me.
"Uh…of course."
"Magne. Mite!"
Magnemite used another Thundershock, but it didn't affect Sandshrew.
"This should be an easy match," Billie said.
I hope so…
"Sandshrew!" I called, "Use…Fury Swipes!"
"Sshrew!" it exclaimed.
It jumped up and slashed rapidly at the Magnemite.
"Mag…Magne…Magnemite…" Magnemite cringed.
"Sand! Sandshrew!" yapped Sandshrew.
"MIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Magnemite suddenly let out an piercing Screech that caused Sandshrew to stop attacking and cover its ears.
"Sandshrew!" it cried, although I could barely hear it over Magnemite.
Billie and I covered our ears too.
"Ow! That noise hurts!" Billie exclaimed.
"No kidding!" I replied, having to shout to be heard.
Finally, much to everyone's relief, it stopped.
"Magnemite!" it cried, and Tackled Sandshrew, who had let down its guard.
"Shrew!" it grunted, as it was knocked to the ground.
"Mite!" Magnemite flew in for another hit.
"Watch out, Sandshrew! Counter with Slash attack!"
"Sand! Shrew!!!"
Sandshrew pulled itself up, then swiped at Magnemite with its small, but very tough claws.
"Maaag…!" Magnemite cried. It fell to the ground with a soft thud. "Magne…mite…"
"Pokéball! Go!"
The Pokéball hit Magnemite, and it was easily caught after only a couple of wobbles.
"We did it! We caught Magnemite!"
"Way to go, Ash! I told you, you could do it."
I blushed. "Yeah, well…"
"…I wonder if the boss will like a wild Pokémon…?"
"……He didn't like Taper."
"Well…"
"Do you think we should ask him, anyway?"
"…It's worth a try."