PoKéMoN
Avenger - by Ben Russell-Gough
Legal Disclaimer
Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and their human friends and enemies are all the sole copyright and trademark property of Nintendo Entertainment, Game Freak Software and 4 Kids Productions. No breach of any copyright or legal property is intended.
Author's Notes
This is my first Pokémon fic. I don't know all the monsters or all the moves. I base my story purely on what I've seen of the cartoon. I thank all the other Pokémon writers on this board for providing plenty of inspiration. Special thanks to Charles "RocketBoy" Reilly, Wind, Joshua Falken, Chuchino and Catalina Storm for their comments, advice and encouragement.
Thanks for enduring my little transitional piece. Yes, RocketBoy, now we are getting back to the killing.
Text in [squared-off brackets] indicates the translation of a Pokémon's language into English.
Text in Italics but not in quotes indicates thoughts or psychic communication.
Ages: Ash is 17; Misty has just turned 19; Brock is 25; Jessie and James are both 24; Richie is 17; Duplicia is 18; Sabrina is 20; Lance is 16; Joy is 29.
Censor: R (Equivalent to UK '15' Certificate)
Content Warning: Swearing, violence and mature topics
Book 2 – Team Rocket Strikes Back
What has gone before…
Ash Ketchum, Pokémon Trainer, Supreme Champion of the League and would-be Pokémon Master has been thrown by forces he cannot control into a terrifying war against the forces of Team Rocket, a mysterious terrorist organisation run by Giovanni di Rocketti, his estranged father. It is a war that only one side can survive, Ash knows. But his father is responsible for so many terrible crimes and only Ash, with his amazing skill as a Trainer and his uncanny empathy with all Pokémon can possibly defeat the darkness that Giovanni has planned as the future of the entire world. Joining him in his quest are:
Misty Waterflower, the former assistant Gym Leader of the Cascade Gym, Ash's lover, soul mate and possibly the finest Water-type trainer who has ever lived. If individually, she and Ash are formidable, together they are invincible.
Brock Slate, former Gym Leader and Rock-type specialist. He is a man of compassion, knowledge and terrifying skill as a fighter who has sworn to follow Ash in his quest.
James Weston, former member of Team Rocket who lost his family to the organisation's rapacious ways. He has sworn his vengeance and, alongside Ash, means to have it.
Jessie Scarlet, James' former partner in Team Rocket. She has seen James, a man she secretly loves, reduced to a hollow hateful shell by Team Rocket's evil. She will stand by James in his revenge and hope to restore his soul.
Richie Yeager, a brilliant young Pokémon Trainer who wishes to see an end to Team Rocket's evil, and has joined with his former rival to pursue that goal.
Sabrina von Daimen, Gym Leader, psychic and Psi-type specialist. For years she has looked for a cause worthy of her power, now she feels she has found it.
Maxine 'Duplicia' Simmonds, entertainer, impersonator, Master Trainer of Dittos and mistress of espionage. She knows a just cause when she sees one and is only too willing to fight for justice.
Lance Hook, Fighting-type master and a cunning warrior in his own right. Lance is tired of Team Rocket's crimes and has joined Ash to see them punished.
Joy Burke, Nurse, Pokémon Trainer and a former lover of Brock Slate. She may be late to join this quest, but she is not the least of this band. She knows to ignore evil is to support it, and she will not support evil.
Together, they represent a new breed of Pokémon Trainer, those who are not satisfied with simply a sporting League, but who are willing to act to find a greater destiny. Theirs is a story that will be told in different ways for a century to come. They are… TEAM THUNDERBOLT.
Chapter 2 – A Battle in the Long Crusade
Somewhere in the Southern Sea between Kanto and the Orange Archipelago, a strange-looking Gyarados water-type Pokémon was cruising through the seas. At first glance, this creature was similar to all its type, a long, serpentine creature with a gaping mouth filled with dangerously sharp fangs. At closer inspection, however, you would notice something wrong. This creature did not wind its way through the water like a snake, rather it was propelled by twin screws (propellers to you landlubbers), and if you looked even closer, you would see traces of corrosion. It was, in fact, a cleverly disguised submersible, owned and operated by the Team Rocket organisation.
Inside the control area, the crew of two 'White' Rocket junior field agents and two Dan'in 'grunts' were pedalling on what looked like a four-seat exercise bicycle, providing the motive power for the boat's screws. It was an ingenious design that, while exhausting sometimes, made the submersible virtually invisible to conventional passive anti-submarine sensors.
"So how much further is it, Carl?" asked Mark, his partner, who sat behind him.
Carl checked his LCD Moving Map Display. "Two more hours until we reach Seafoam Base," he replied. "Assuming the currents stay steady."
"It can't be too quick for me," groaned one of the grunts.
"Yeah, well no one cares what you think," Mark sneered in return. "Come on, Peter, Paul, put your backs into it, we all have to pedal, you know."
The Dan'in named Peter scowled at his unit commander and bent to his task. These damn field agents were all the same. They thought getting that white tunic (and later a black one) made them better than the ordinary Rocket. Well, they had to obey the Boss too, didn't they? He had met a lot of Field Agents in his time and had never seen one walking on water, so he wasn't impressed. One of these days…
Suddenly all the thoughts of mutiny and a leisurely shore leave at Celadon Base came to a screaming halt when the boat suddenly jerked and pitched up slightly. There was a howl of tortured metal and the lights dimmed slightly as the concussion jarred the circuit breakers. "What the hell?" Carl shouted, having to grab his handlebars to stop himself being thrown into Peter's face.
Despite the fact that all four Team Rocket agents were still pedalling, the Gyarados-like boat stopped dead in the water. "We've been hit!" Paul shouted as the lights dimmed and the hull groaned metallically.
"I don't get it," Mark shouted as he checked the sonar displays. "There is nothing there! We can't have been hit! Switching to infrared sensors." The screen showed the cause of the trouble. Something large and generating a lot of heat but with no detectable metal mass was attached to the submarine's rear. "What the hell is that?" Mark shook his head. "Full ahead, guys, we've got to break loose!"
Everyone pedalled harder, as hard as they could, but the submersible could make no headway. "I don't want to die," Paul moaned. Peter gritted his teeth and restrained himself from hitting the new recruit in the back seat.
"We should use the delouser," Peter suggested.
It was typical of the relationship between field agents and grunts that Mark acted as if it was his idea. "We should use the delouser," he said. "Carl, put a level-two charge in the hull." The system was simple, it used battery power to electrify the hull and discourage any biological attackers. Although the boat's disguise was good against humans, it made some large water-types hungry.
There was a distinct whine as the batteries discharged into the hull. The lights dimmed and the display screens blanked out for five seconds. There was still a half-charge left in the batteries, though. A few hours of pedalling would recharge them. "Did we get it?" Paul asked in a worried tone that revealed his extreme youth.
"I'm not reading anything on infrared now," Carl said after the screens clicked back on. "No, wait, there is something small just amidships." Carl frowned. "It is less than one one-hundredth the size of the first contact.
Mark frowned and activated the boat's search periscope. At there current depth of just 10 metres, there was no need for using the light-amplification mode, so he peered through the blue gloom of the ocean. He rotated the periscope until he was looking back along the length of the boat. There, hovering along the starboard side of the boat, was a woman with ginger hair in a SCUBA suit. She waved jauntily at the periscope when she saw it point at her. "What the hell is a diver doing out here?" Mark asked himself stupidly.
On the periscope display, the woman reached behind her and pulled something out. She touched it on the side and it suddenly emitted a bright white flash that resolved itself into a Staryu water-type Pokémon. "She's a Trainer," Mark said. "Hey, guys, I think we're under attack or something…" It was quite a guess. In response to a single gesture, the Staryu suddenly began to whirl madly and shot out of sight under the submarine. Mark knew he should do something, but all his training and experience simply didn't prepare him for such an unusual attack.
There was a sudden loud bang that echoed through the submarine, followed by the unmistakable scream of rending metal. As the four appalled Team Rocket agents watched, the Staryu sliced a five-metre long gash along the left side of the boat. Water began to flood in creating panic. "Surface!" Mark howled. "Emergency ballast release!"
"The buoyancy tanks are gone!" Carl replied, barely holding his panic. "That Staryu has torn the sub open from front to back!" As the water reached ankle-height, the lights began to flicker as seawater got into the power system.
"Full up elevators," Mark muttered, working the guidance controls in front of him. "Pedal for your life, lads." Pedal they did, but the submarine did not rise. Instead it began to pitch up and continued to slowly sink, now slowly drifting tail-first towards the sea floor some 1,000 metres down. Mark looked at the periscope display again and saw the problem. The submarine's tail, where the propellers were hidden, was gone. Whatever originally attacked them had ripped them off like the hull was made of tissue paper.
Mark froze at the sight as the electrical system began to fail. Sparks flashed across the chamber as the boat continued to flood. The lights flickered dramatically and failed. All the display monitors blinked out. Emergency blue lights came on. Along with the few functioning control displays, this created a ghostly, terrifying atmosphere in the doomed submersible. "We have to abandon ship!" Peter yelled. When Mark did not reply, the veteran Dan'in took a risk and punched him on the shoulder. "Sir!"
Mark did not unfreeze, but Carl did. "Everybody out!" he shouted as sparks continued to flash from shorted-out electrical equipment. He reached overhead to open the escape hatch. "Remember your emergency drills. Breathe out as you go up!" Mark finally stirred and reached up to help open the hatch, letting even more water into the boat.
One by one, the four agents rose up to the surface, deliberately breathing out to prevent the pressure differential from exploding their lungs. Below them, their submersible rolled over onto its back and began to nose dive towards its' grave.
Carl broke the surface first. He gasped, spat water and sucked in a deep breath. They were dead, of course. They were in the middle of the sea with no life raft and no survival equipment. Carl floundered hopelessly and tried to tread water, but his Team Rocket uniform was becoming waterlogged and his equipment was dragging him back down.
Carl went under and barely clawed his way to the surface. When he did so, much to his surprise, a blue-grey hull or body sat in the water in front of him. Either a boat or a water-type of some kind, but Carl did not care. In his blind panic, he did not think, but paddled over and grasped the strong hand offered from above. The person lifted him up onto the back of the Lapras and thumped him on the back, helping him expel the last of the seawater from his lungs.
Carl looked up at his saviour. He saw a man of medium height with untidy black hair wearing some kind of paramilitary clothing and with a Raichu perched on his shoulders. The man pulled off his dark glasses and looked at him with chocolate-brown eyes that twinkled with humour. The man smiled gently.
"Hi there," said Ash. "Are you having problems with your boat?"
Behind Ash, Sabrina, Brock and Joy stepped into view. Carl looked around over and saw the ginger-red haired woman in SCUBA gear pull herself up onto James' Gyarados, manned by Duplicia, James and Jessie. Misty waved at him, just as she waved at Mark through the periscope. Above him, Richie and Lance rode Richie's Dragonite, Tempest, who hovered over Lapras. Mark, Peter and Paul rose helplessly out of the water in the telekinetic grip of Sabrina's Mew.
Carl was more than a little relieved when Raichu suddenly emitted a massive electrical shock and the world descended into darkness.
***
The harbourmaster at Celadon Base was an over-worked man, as many of the grey-uniformed Team Rocket technicians were. Therefore, he did not look to closely at the Gyarados-class sub sailing into the docking cavern through the opened sea doors. If he had, he would have noticed that the crew of four on top, dealing with the mooring operation, was not the crew he was expecting in. As it was, he was given no real opportunity to regret his error.
The brunette woman in the uniform of a Black Rocket field agent strode down the hallway, accompanied by two Dan'in, one a man with long black hair, and the other a red haired woman who was keeping most of her hair under her forage cap as regulations demanded it. If anyone wondered why the three Rockets didn't meet anyone's casual gaze, they didn't worry too hard. Maybe they were tired and didn't want conversation.
Together this threesome walked the corridors of Seafoam Base, travelling deeper and deeper until they reached the generator rooms. "Halt," the Dan'in guarding the entrance said. "Where's your authorisation?"
The Black Rocket looked down her nose at the guard. "What did you say, you pathetic little grunt?" she asked in a prim and proper Viridian accent.
"Er… I said I need your authorisation to enter, Ma'am," the guard repeated, this time trying to sound more respectful. "This is a restricted area."
"Excellent," the field agent responded, smiling grimly. "You have done your duty well. Now stand aside and I will have no reason to pursue your insubordination further." She moved to step around him and enter the machinery area.
"No!" the guard shouted, then realised who he was shouting at. "Ma'am, I can't let you in there without a signed authorisation card!" He cringed as he drew his pistol. He also nudged his Jolteon, who stepped forward and growled menacingly. "If you don't have one, I will have to ask you to step away from the door."
"Very well," the woman replied with a long-suffering sigh. She turned to the male Dan'in accompanying her, snapped her fingers imperiously and reached out. The man delved into his pocket, presumably getting their authorisation card out. The guard was so focussed on the man, that he didn't see the Black Rocket check the corridor was empty, then activate and drop a Pokéball.
The ball opened and released a shapeless pink mass with a strangely unformed smiling face. The Jolteon noticed, all right. [What in the name of Doggy Biscuits?] he asked himself.
"Zeppo, Xerox Surprise!" the White Rocket suddenly shouted, making the guard jump.
"Ditto!" Zeppo turned into a Jolteon and suddenly unleashed a massive Lightning Bolt attack that blew the real Jolteon and the Dan'in guard straight into dreamland.
Within a few moments, James and Zeppo were guarding the entrance, while Jessie and Duplicia dragged the two unconscious guardians into a janitor's closet across the way.
***
The Harbourmaster looked at the newly arrived sub again. There was something about it that he didn't like. He looked at the submersible closely and considered the problem. It wasn't the lack of an open crew hatch. Many crews closed up before signing off. No, It was the organic sheen to its hull and the fact that it was breathing. There was also something that looked suspiciously like a radio attached to one of its auditory openings. The radio crackled. The Harbourmaster, overtaken by the strangeness of the situation, listened hard and suddenly heard a nasal male voice say: "Gyarados, Dragon Rage attack!"
Gyarados suddenly roared and ripped free of the moorings his Trainer had attached to the pier. In a few moments of the most exquisite violence, the water Pokémon tore through dozens of Gyarados- and Magicarp-class boats, shredding their steel hulls as if they were made of soft pastry. Panic reigned in the docking cavern and alarms began to shrill. The alarms suddenly cut off and the entire underground base was suddenly in darkness. Gyarados, used to hunting in the absolute darkness some two miles below the ocean's surface, was unhindered.
"Gyarados, open that door. Body Slam attack," James voice crackled over the little radio earpiece. Gyarados roared in berserker fury and slammed against the sea doors. They were designed to take several times that punishment, but only from outside. Gyarados' attack tore both leaves of the sea doors off of their hinges.
As the Team Rocket personnel blinked in the sunlight, a Lapras and a Gyarados suddenly swept in through the opening. Seven Trainers leapt off of the water-types' backs and released Pokémon. In an environment of confusion and panic, they swept through the minimal resistance the shell-shocked personnel could put up in a matter of seconds.
In the base's Command Centre, emergency battery-powered control systems were just coming on line. "What the hell is happening?" Asked the Elite Rocket named Scott, the base commander, as he paced around the control area. "What has happened to our power and what was the cause of that alarm in the docking cavern?"
"Unknown, sir," one technician replied. "We've lost internal communications. However, our systems show that power was cut off from the main generator room."
Scott frowned. As inconceivable as it seemed, it looked like someone had infiltrated his base and knocked out power for an attack. "Jean," he said, turning to his partner. "Take a combat team down to the Generator Room and restore power." He pulled on his Pokébelt and turned to leave the room. "I'll take command of the troops facing the invaders."
About a minute later, Jean reached the barricaded entrance to the Generator Room. Not willing to wait, she had her Machamp and Rhyhorn smash their way in. The combat team barged into the Generator Room and saw three intruders in dark civilian clothing standing among the unconscious technicians. Two of the Black Rocket field agents accompanying her released Pokémon of their own, a Flareon and a Geodude. "Surrender," Jean announced, "or prepare to fight." Man, she liked that part of the motto.
The red-haired woman on the right side of the triangle of intruders smiled carnivorously. "Funny," Jessie replied in a thoughtful tone. "I was just going to say that myself."
The fawn-haired woman in the middle activated four Pokéballs, releasing four Ditto morphing-type Pokémon. "Okay, Groucho, Chico, Zeppo and Harpo, Transform!" Suddenly there was another Machamp, Rhyhorn, Geodude and Flareon in the chamber. At a word from Duplicia, they charged, tackling their opposite numbers with considerable and unexpected skill.
The Team Rocket agents were so intent on this sudden attack, that they forgot about Jessie and James until Meowth and Growly the Arcanine charged them from the front and Arbok and Victreebell charged from either side, unleashing poison darts and razor leaves.
The battle quickly turned into a Technicolor massacre as Team Rocket agents and their Pokémon went down in every direction. Jean turned and tried to run, but found Duplicia right in front of her. Duplicia smiled as Harpo/Flareon strolled to her side. "Ready to give up yet?" she asked.
Jean's reply was to snarl and release her most dangerous weapon, her Haunter. Duplicia hunkered down, prepared for a fight against the red-uniformed Elite Rocket. "Harpo, Transform." The Flareon instantly morphed into a Haunter, too.
Jean jumped back, suddenly remembering that a Ditto could imitate any Pokémon and copy its' attacks. "Terror!" she ordered her Haunter.
"Reflect," Duplicia countered. This defence reflected the terror attack back onto Haunter. The ghost-type reeled backwards and Duplicia pushed her advantage. "Kinesis," she commanded. Harpo the Ditto reached out with the kinetic powers he had copied from Haunter and threw both ghost-Pokémon and Elite Rocket hard against the wall.
Harpo looked at Duplicia who smiled. "Nice work, Harpo. Now let's try a new one. Use Lick attack." Harpo levitated forward and licked Haunter. The energy-sapping, terror-inducing attack was enough to make poor Haunter faint. He had never been the subject of a haunting himself. A second Lick sent the cowering Jean into dreamland.
"Revert," Duplicia ordered. Harpo returned to his 'default' shape, best described as a pink Jell-O mould with a happy face. Duplicia grinned and tickled the Ditto under what could loosely be termed his chin. "Nice job, Harpo, you really are my favourite for this kind of job."
Accompanied by the other Dittos, Jessie and James swaggered over. "Scratch one counter-offensive," Jessie said with a slight smile.
"It almost gets boring," James said, looking at his erstwhile comrades with a slight sneer. "I wonder how Ash is getting on?"
***
"Geodude, Dynamic Punch," shouted Scott
"Raichu, Agility," Ash countered. Raichu ducked under Geodude's flailing arms and then jumped over a follow-up punch.
Ash made a 'cutting scissors' gesture with his right hand. Raichu turned into a tan-and-yellow blur of motion. He feinted to the left and then ducked back, slamming a high-speed Quick Attack into Geodude's back. The levitating sentient rock went tumbling across the smoky corridor and impacted against a wall panel. "Slam!" Ash ordered.
"Dodge," Scott yelled, but it was too late. Raichu physically threw the rock-type Pokémon across the corridor. It struck the far wall and rolled to a halt on the floor, quite unconscious.
Scott backed up and looked around him in panic. As he watched, Lance's Machamp and Hitmonchan were rounding up the last of his combat team in fine style. Machamp would grab one and throw him or her to Hitmonchan, who would knock them over the rail and into the water with a hard left hook. Ash's Lapras and Misty's Tentacruel fished the semi-conscious Rockets out of the water and piled them up on one of the piers.
"You are running out of options, sir," Ash said. "I think it would be better if you surrendered."
"Team Rocket never surrenders!" Scott shouted. He drew a Pokéball and activated it, releasing a Charizard. "Charizard, flame-thrower!"
"Thunder Shield," Ash countered. The massive flame attack boiled uselessly against Raichu's defence, giving Ash a chance to draw another Pokéball and activate it. "Go Wartortle!" The hard-shelled Water-type materialised in front of Ash and looked around with bright, intelligent eyes. Ash made a tumbling motion with his hands and pointed forward.
"Flame-thrower again," Scott ordered. "Concentrate on the Wartortle, Charizard! Prepare to counter a ranged water-type attack." But instead of a sudden jet of water, Wartortle leapt forward, tucking his limbs and head into his shell for a Skull Bash attack. The Flame-thrower attack struck Raichu's Thunder Shield again as Wartortle tumbled overhead. He struck Charizard right on the head, knocking the Dragon silly.
Charizard staggered back, his head ringing, as Wartortle jumped to his feet. Now was the time for a Hydro Pump attack. Ash made a fist with his right arm and mimed a punch at Charizard. The stunned dragon opened his mouth to launch a Flame-thrower attack when the water jet shot down his throat. Charizard hiccuped then coughed out a little cloud of steam and then tumbled unconscious onto his side.
Scott recalled his Charizard, an expression of panic on his face. "Are you ready to give up yet?" Ash asked in a tired tone. He nodded to Raichu and jerked a finger towards Scott. Raichu nodded back and got set up for a Stun Shock.
"No!" Scott shouted. "I will never surrender!" He pulled out another Pokéball, and then Machamp hit him hard on the head. Scott's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, wearing a silly smile on his face.
"Thanks, Lance," Ash said, offering the Fighting-type Master an ironic smile. "But it really wasn't necessary. I was going to get Raichu to shock him."
"Don't you ever get tired of grandstanding with these red-uniformed non-entities, Ash?" Lance asked as Machamp slung Scott into the water along with his troops. "You really could take them out far more efficiently, you know."
"You fight a Trainer one-on-one until he yields or has nothing left to fight with," Ash said. "Then you make the capture. It works for me."
Lance shook his head. "They are Team Rocket, Ash," Lance insisted. "You don't have to use any kind of honour code of duels with them. Just beat 'em and move on."
"That's dangerous thinking, Lance," Ash warned as he recalled Wartortle. "It is an attitude that made Team Rocket what it is today." Lance rolled his eyes and made as if to ward Ash off, making him laugh. He could never stay mad at the young fighting-type master. If he was aggressive… well that was appropriate for his calling and Ash would never say 'no' to having such an effective Trainer at his side.
Ash turned back to the docking cavern and looked over the rail. Misty was directing her Starmie and Staryu as they looped rope around the unconscious Team Rocket agents. Joy's Squirtle and Pikachu were helping out as the former nurse looked around at the carnage with a shocked expression. She had gone through a rough patch at the outset, Ash knew, but she had unfrozen quickly enough and had accounted for more than her share of Dan'in and technicians. "How is it going, Misty?" he shouted to his lover.
"Well, you could say we've almost got everything wrapped up here, Ash," Misty said with a chuckle. Ash laughed too.
Suddenly a groggy but still-conscious Team Rocket grunt rose to his feet and reached towards Joy. Ash started and was about to shout a warning, but Misty reacted immediately. "Togepi! Kinesis!" Little Togepi, who was hovering at her side, suddenly flared with icy blue light. The Dan'in fighter was seized by an invisible hand and thrown back across the chamber. He struck the stone walls and slid down, knocked out cold.
Joy looked at the unconscious man and had to swallow a scream. Her legs felt like they were made of water, but somehow, she managed to remember to get her Squirtle to drag the man back to join his colleagues. "Are you alright?" Misty asked, worried.
"I've been better," Joy said, her voice breaking. "Thanks for watching my back."
Misty smiled in a worried way and shot Ash a thumbs-up. All was under control. Ash waved back, feeling quite relieved. "Richie to Ash," crackled Ash's walkie-talkie.
Ash pulled the device off his belt and replied. "Yeah, go Richie."
"We've just taken the Command Centre," Richie reported. "Only minimal resistance on the upper levels. It looks like your plan to knock out the power has trapped most of their personnel in the living quarters on the lower levels."
"That's good, Richie," Ash said with a pleased smile. "Get ready to release the knock-out gas." Ash changed frequency. "Ash to everyone. Gas masks on, people."
***
Richie walked around the command centre. His Ivysaur growled, as he held the few still-conscious technicians against the wall with his powerful body. "Go easy, Leaf-roar," Richie advised. "We don't want to hurt them too badly." He grinned as he noticed the look of panic on the technicians' faces as he pulled on his gas mask.
Brock laughed as his Graveler finished smashing the last of the weapons dropped by collapsing Team Rocket agents. "Richie, stop intimidating them," he said. You know Ash hates it if he has to knock 'em around just to get them talking because they're frozen with fear."
Over the sea of unconscious bodies, mostly technicians but with a few Black and White Rockets sprinkled among them, Sabrina sat at the Internal Security control station. Her Haunter hovered over the unconscious technician that had manned the station, scanning his sub-conscious mind. [Final code 1-5-6-9] Haunter reported.
"1-5-6-9," Sabrina said. "Good work, Haunter." She pulled on her gas mask. We're ready; Richie heard her voice in his head, making him shudder. Her 'wild' psi-talent and its ability to intrude on his thoughts intimidated him more than James desire for vengeance and Ash's dedication to the war.
Sabrina sensed Richie's distaste, and, out of spite, let Richie hear Ash's reply to her report, just to make him feel inadequate. Right, Sabrina. We're ready here, too. Release the gas.
Yes, Ash, Sabrina replied. She pressed the activation code and gas began to hiss from every air conditioning vent. The Pokémon were sufficiently tough not to be affected, but unprotected frail humans groaned and collapsed. She smiled. She could sense every other human mind, apart from her friends, drift into the darkness of sleep. It was over. Suddenly she gasped and almost collapsed, holding the side of her head. This brought Brock to her side immediately.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "Is your mask secure?"
"No, I'm fine," Sabrina insisted. "It is something else, something in our futures… something terrible." She smiled slightly and patted the black-haired former Gym Leader on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Brock, I'm okay. I've just had a precognitive flash. I'll tell Ash about it when we've finished." She concentrated on her leader and sent another telepathic report. Ash, it is over. Team Thunderbolt has emerged victorious again.
"Good," Ash replied over her walkie-talkie. "Start venting the gas, and then work your way back to the Docking Cavern, neutralising all their suicide devices as you go."
"As always, Ash," she said into her walkie-talkie.
"We're on our way," Brock added.
***
"Joy, are you all right?" Brock asked his one-time lover and now his team-mate. She had slipped away from Team Thunderbolt's encampment just after sunset and was now watching the stars.
"I…" Joy shook her head. "I didn't understand what Ash said to me before we started out," she revealed. "But I do now. It was unlike anything I've ever even imagined before. I was terrified Brock. After the initial attack, I felt better, but those first few seconds… with bullets flying and Pokémon screaming as they ran towards us… I saw Hell."
"It's ugly all right," Brock agreed. He was more than a little worried about Joy. She was tough, yes. Tough, vindictive and with a vicious streak a kilometre wide when provoked (Just like you, Brock-o a cynical part of him interjected), but she was really a gentle sort of person. The sort of intense battles Team Thunderbolt engaged in were not the sort of thing he thought she was suited to, emotionally or mentally. "Ash would understand if you wanted out," he ventured.
"I am not, a quitter," she hissed at Brock. "You may not want me here, Mr. Slate, but you don't own me. I have chosen my path, and I will stick to it!" She turned and started to storm off back towards the camp.
"For better or for worse?" Brock asked her retreating back.
Joy's shoulders slumped. "Definitely for worse," she replied. She gestured helplessly and continued in an embarrassed tone. "You… you'd better watch your step on the way back Brock. I… ran because I was about to throw up. It… uh… it's around here somewhere."
"It happens after the first time," Brock said compassionately. "War is not a natural thing, and our bodies and minds tend to react pretty badly." He frowned, remembering Misty's nightmares, Jessie's brief flirtation with abusing the sedatives in the medical kits and Ash's bouts of sickness. "It passes quite quickly, though I don't think that is a good thing, God help us."
Joy laughed hollowly. "You always had the talent for making a bad situation sound worse," she reminded him.
***
Inspector Jennifer Black (Officer Jenny to most people) of the Viridian City Security Police looked around the massive docking cavern with an expression of amazement. "How the hell has Team Rocket built places like this, practically right underneath a major city, with no one noticing?" she asked no one in particular.
The other SPs either ignored her oft-expressed comment, or simply shrugged. It was proof, if proof was needed, that they were out of their league in dealing with the terrorist organisation. That is why the mysterious vigilantes who had been causing so much chaos recently were so popular. Jenny frowned as she looked again at the huge double thunderbolt-through-circle emblem that someone had used what seemed to be an arc welder to carve into the walls of the docking cavern.
"Again it is these Thunderbolt people," she shouted. She shook her head. "All right, people, you know the drill. Once we've got the warm bodies out, start going over every square millimetre of this place. Hair, skin fragments, blood, anything. We've got to find out who these people are!"
There were murmurs of agreement as her subordinates got to work. Why did this have to happen? Jenny asked herself. Team Rocket is a problem, yes, but this solution could bring the whole balance of society crashing down. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. If only there was a clue, any clue to who was behind this, she groaned to herself. But there wasn't, and even captured Team Rocket agents were less-than forthcoming about those responsible for their capture. After six months, and the most sustained campaign of terrorist violence in the history of Kanto, the Security Police were no closer to discovering who was behind this and why.
What is worse, she realised, they are dragging me in, giving me information and getting me to co-operate with their operation. She shook her head. Did it start this way with Team Rocket?
That night, she sat in her hotel room in Vermilion City. She pulled off her heels and tights. Frankly, she hated the 'business formal' look required of senior officers, but rules were rules. She stretched, rubbed her stiff legs and tried to concentrate on her notes. Over 300 Team Rocket agents captured along with equipment, data files and thousands of stockpiled Pokémon for rehabilitation.
Once again, apart from some minor fragments of minimal forensic value and the enigmatic 'Team Thunderbolt' sigil, there was no useful evidence from the remains of the base. This was turning into a recurring nightmare for Jenny. The regional governor was coming down hard on the Chief of Police, who was delegating his discomfort to her. If she didn't get a break soon, she would need a new job.
All that she needed to make a bad day complete was for her visitor to make an appearance. "Hello Officer Jenny," said a voice. "The usual routine, don't turn around or you'll be unconscious before you finish your move." Crap, speak of the devil.
"Are you even going to bother to tell me your name this time?" she asked over her shoulder to the person waiting out on her balcony.
"I am the voice of Team Thunderbolt, that is all you need to know," Ash told her. He grinned. This part stimulated the kid in him. It was as good as being a secret agent or superhero. "Did you have any problems getting into the base's computer systems?"
"One or two," Jenny replied. "Some systems are still locked down. We can't get through their security protocols."
"Try using a twelve-figure prime number," Ash suggested. "Their technicians told our resident mind reader that all the base security codes are those numbers." Ash chuckled. "You may also want to try the last four winning lottery ticket numbers from the National Lottery. They seem to crop up a lot too."
Jenny sighed. "Yeah, thanks for the help as always. Is it too much to hope this is the last act in this sorry saga?"
"I'm afraid not, we've a lot to do before we reach the end," Ash replied. "Still, the next act won't be for a while. Our analysts must review the data we've got from interrogating the base commanders. Maybe it will bring us closer to our ultimate goal."
Jenny sagged. "The destruction of Team Rocket? There are millions of them worldwide. God, mister… Win or lose you are going to cause so much chaos."
"Sometimes you must be willing to cause a hurt to stop a greater injury," Ash reminded her. "Team Rocket is the biggest cause of chaos of them all. Once they are gone… well, then we can hope for better conditions."
That was too much for Jenny. "You arrogant bastard!" she shouted. "Who appointed you arbiter of what needs to be done in our country? You are as bad as them!" She leapt from her bed and rushed to the balcony, but her 'contact' was gone. "Aw, heck," she snapped. She looked around the balcony for any clue as to where he went. She didn't find any, but she found the two Elite Rocket agents, tied and gagged and sitting against the safety rail. They looked around them with panic and seemed relieved when Jenny read them their rights and called for an arrest squad.
***
Ash materialised at the campsite. "Another relocation complete," Duplicia announced with a grin, recalling her Abra.
"You will have to tell me how you do that pull/push combination," Ash said with some admiration.
"Trade secret, I'd be thrown out of the Magic Circle if I told," Duplicia said and walked off.
"Sometimes I think she is crazy," Ash told Misty who walked over to offer him a coffee.
"I know she is crazy," Misty said, her face twisted with a combination of laughter and concern. "This is a woman who gets her kicks from impersonating Giovanni and waking you up in the middle of the night, remember?"
"Yeah, well I got over my surprise and stopped Charizard before he killed her, didn't I?" Ash asked defensively. "Besides she hasn't done it again."
"After I got my Gyarados to sit on her," Misty said, her smile turning vindictive, "I think she got the message."
"I say it was when James had Victreebell swallow her head for a whole day," Ash said. "She really shouldn't have woken those two up with the Team Rocket motto and her Dittos imitating dangerous Pokémon." Misty laughed at the memories and Ash laughed back and hugged her, absorbing her warmth and humanity. Some days, it was all there was that kept him in one piece.
"But if you really want to know my opinion," Misty said, "she does it to help us loosen up, not to frighten us. I think she is acting mad to try to keep us sane."
***
Mondo frowned as he read the intelligence analysts' report on the destruction of Celadon Base. The trickle had become a tide and no intelligent person could possibly deny that the organisation was under a sustained attack by a well-equipped and deadly enemy bent on its' utter destruction.
The latest fiasco made it a grand total of forty-nine bases destroyed in twenty-seven weeks. Over 7,500 Team Rocket agents and double that number of technicians and researchers were now in Security Police holding units all around Indigo. At this rate of attrition, the analysts calculated, the entire Kanto Republic would be lost to Team Rocket by the end of the year. And still, Giovanni refused to act. Well, enough was enough.
Mondo picked up the bulging 'Team Thunderbolt' file and took the elevator from the Intelligence section to Giovanni's office at the highest level of the Headquarters building. The guards, well used to seeing their master's oldest and most trusted lieutenant, waved him into the antechamber without so much as a second glance.
"Who is it?" Giovanni asked over the intercom when the motion detectors reported to him that someone was awaiting an audience with him.
"Mondo, sir," Mondo replied. "I have the Thunderbolt file updated and I thought you would like to see it."
"Come in," Giovanni said, sounding resigned.
Mondo had to have seen this office thousands of times, but still it was a source of wonder to him. Built like a medieval European church with flying buttresses, thick stone columns and decorative stonework, the office well reflected the power and importance of its' occupant, Giovanni diRocketti. From somewhere above in the arched stone roof, a single beam of sunlight shone down on Giovanni's desk, illuminating the terrorist leader in silhouette.
Mondo entered the office and stood in the huge inlaid mosaic of the Team Rocket sigil. "Yes Mondo," Giovanni said in a neutral tone.
"Sir," Mondo began, "I would never question your strategies, you know that. However, these attacks on our facilities in Indigo, Johto and Orange are reaching a critical level. If something is not done soon, we may lose our ability to operate in the region."
"Yes," Giovanni agreed. "That matches my own analysis of the matter. Tell me, Mondo, who do our analysts believe is responsible?"
"This 'Team Thunderbolt' is definitely a large underground army of some kind, sir," he reported. "We suspect that they may have an operating base in the Viridian Forest.
Giovanni laughed. "Well they are wrong," he announced. "Do not worry, my old, faithful friend. I know who is behind this and I am ready to act."
"Sir?" this surprised Mondo and he showed it, dropping the file and scattering reports all over the floor. Giovanni laughed even harder at his lieutenant's amazement.
"Do you really think I would allow such opposition to our activities to continue if it were not part of my greater strategy?" Giovanni asked, wiping a tear from his good eye. "My dear Mondo, in this matter, as in all other matters, everything that has taken place has done so according to my design." Giovanni leaned back in his chair and began to stroke Persian meditatively. "I have been testing our adversaries, my dear Mondo, and they have proven worthy of us."
"Proven… worthy?" Mondo bleated. "Sir, I don't understand!"
"No, of course you don't," Giovanni remarked darkly. "Your only purpose is to obey, not understand. That is the difference between you and the leader of Team Thunderbolt." Giovanni swung his chair around and looked at the massive tapestry on the wall, looted from one of the greatest palaces in Europe. "For eighteen years since I purged Team Rocket of those who would have tried to stop me imposing the New Order upon the world, I have searched in vain for an enemy worthy of me; one who I could call brother… or son. Someone to complete the work, after I am gone."
"Son?" Mondo paused and gaped at the back of his leader's chair. "Your son… Ash Ketchum?"
"His name for now…" Giovanni replied. "By successfully prosecuting this war, he has proven himself worthy of being my apprentice and my heir. Now the time has come for his noviciate to end and for him to take his place at my side." Giovanni swung back around and glared at Mondo. "Be assured my friend, soon Team Thunderbolt will cease to be of any concern to us. Those of them with any intelligence will bend their knee to me. Any who insist on maintaining this pitiful opposition to my will shall die. My son will see to that."
Mondo smiled grimly and bowed to his leader. "Of course, sir," he replied. "I shouldn't have doubted you."
"Get out," Giovanni said in a bored but friendly tone.
Giovanni waited until his lieutenant was out of the office before re-opening the call waiting on his videophone. "I'm sorry about that," he said conversationally. "Internal team business. You know how it is."
"I understand," replied the person on the screen. "So we are agreed then?"
"Yes," Giovanni said. "You will ensure Ash Ketchum is in the place we agreed at the time we agreed and my people will do the rest."
"And I will get my money?" the Betrayer added.
Giovanni snorted to himself. Yes you pitiful traitor, you will get your reward. Giovanni hated traitors; traitors were selfish creatures who disrupted order for their own ends. He would like to show this one the contempt that he deserved, but he had an illusion to maintain. "Twenty-million US Dollars, as agreed," Giovanni confirmed. "However, my young friend, please remember that my reach is long and my vengeance is sure. Don't think of double-crossing me."
"Why would I do that?" the Betrayer asked with an ingenuous smile. "I want Ketchum out of the way. So do you. We both get exactly what we wanted."
"Indeed we do," Giovanni replied with a secret smile. He had no doubt that his son would want revenge for this particular act of childish spite. When the time came, claiming that vengeance would be his final test. "I will forward payment to a special account in Viridian City when you have delivered Ketchum to my agents. Giovanni out."
Giovanni cut the call and leaned back in his chair. He pondered over the tactics he was intending to use and found them adequate. Soon, very soon, the world would tremble at the will of Giovanni diRocketti and of his son. "Mondo," he said, activating his intercom. "Connect me with Team Black Sigma. I have a new assignment for Butch and Cassidy."
To be continued…
