X
The road to Union Cave was grassy and tree-lined. We walked together, taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside. Pikachu was riding on Ash's hat, as usual, and Gold's Pidgey was riding on his shoulder. It made me a little disheartened that my Pokemon had all grown up and evolved…I didn't have any small, cute Pokemon to carry along with me. But on the plus side, mine were stronger, so I really couldn't complain.
We got challenged to a Trainer battle or two as we traveled, and we often split the job. Sometimes I took on the trainer on my own, to test my skill; or sometimes Ash and Gold tag-teamed, or sometimes all three of us took them on at once. I never had so much fun in my life!
Finally, Ash whined, "How much farther? My feet hurt."
Gold switched on his Pokegear's Town Map. "Not far. We're almost there."
I actually didn't mind the walking, because I was too busy enjoying where I was…in the world of Pokemon! But suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
"What's wrong?" they asked.
"Shh! Listen!" I whispered. Ash and Gold cocked their ears, trying to hear what I heard. It was a Pokemon call of some kind… I just couldn't place it, although it sounded very familiar.
"What is that?" mused Gold. "It sounds like a Pokemon in trouble."
"Dexter, any ideas?" said Ash, flipping open his Pokedex. "What Pokemon is that?"
The small machine beeped and crackled for a moment, then said, "That is the call of a Wobbuffett, a Patient Pokemon."
"Oh, no… here we go with the Wobbuffetts again…" I grumbled.
Dexter continued. "This is a Psychic-type Pokemon that can deal no damage of its own. It does, however, possess the two moves for returning damage. Counter returns physical attacks doubled, and Mirror Coat returns special attacks doubled."
I grimaced. "Dude…"
Ash looked at me. "What's your problem?"
I avoided his gaze. "Nothing. It's just that I've been hearing a lot about Wobbuffetts recently."
"Really? From where?"
"Never mind. Let's just keep walking."
We continued down the grassy road, Pikachu taking a snooze on Ash's shoulders and Gold's Pidgey flying in front of us. Soon, I had to agree with Ash; my feet were killing me as well!
"I wonder if Meganium will give me a ride?" I mused.
"Don't bother," said Gold, "There's the cave entrance dead ahead."
The tall, rocky door into the cave didn't look friendly, but I had been through this cave before on Game Boy, so I knew it wasn't all that scary.
"Oh, man… I forgot to buy Poke Balls in Olivine!" I moaned. "How am I going to catch any of the Pokemon here?"
"Relax," said Gold, "I've got about 20 of them, and you can use as many as you need."
"You da man!" I cried, slapping him on the back. Then we gathered our courage and entered Union Cave.
* * * * * * * * * *
The warehouse was dark and dirty. A few bare bulbs illuminated the musty halls, crates and boxes stood stacked against the walls, and torn books and papers were strewn everywhere. However, the warehouse was far from empty. This was the Team Rocket Headquarters. Officers and Grunts marched through the halls, from one office or storeroom to another, and Executives sat among papers and documents, working feverishly. This was the place where all their evil schemes were concocted, and today was no exception. The entire Team was excited because their boss, Giovanni, was announcing the plans for "Project Celebi", the plot to find the corrupt Forest Guardian and capture it for their own evil purposes.
As the bustling continued, a man and a woman strode quickly through the hallway. The man was James, a tall figure with purple hair, and the woman was Jessie, an arrogant officer with long, red hair. They worked as a team almost constantly, teamed up with the only known Pokemon who could speak English, Meowth. As they sped down the corridor, James fell behind a bit.
"Jessie, I'm tired." He whined. "Why must we run like this?"
"Because, nitwit," Jessie shot back, "Boss wants these documents on his desk immediately! They're the crucial part of 'Project Celebi!'"
"What's the point of catching that stupid green thing, anyway?" grumbled James.
"That 'stupid green thing' is going to make us more money than you could ever dream of in a lifetime!" snarled Jessie. "Now hurry it up! We must get these papers to Boss NOW!"
"But Boss is usually patient…" said James, now breathing heavy.
"Well, I'm not!" growled Jessie, "Now come on!" she grabbed James' hand and yanked him down the hallway to the meeting room.
Giovanni was seated in the meeting room behind a large desk. He watched with a smile as all his subordinates poured into the room. They made him so proud, and commanding a massive team such as them gave him a feeling of true power. And he had made a promise to himself: no matter how many times he was defeated, he would never truly disband Team Rocket. They were virtually immortal!
Finally, all the Rockets were seated in the meeting room.
"Is everyone here?" asked Giovanni, switching on the microphone. Suddenly the door burst open and Jessie sped into the room, with James stumbling behind.
"Here you go, Boss." Said Jessie with a smile. "Your documents, as you requested."
"Good work, Jessie. Well done." Said Giovanni. Then James came gasping up to the desk.
"Boss…my inhaler…" he wheezed.
Giovanni passed the device to him. "Now be seated." He ordered. Finally, he was ready to begin.
"Good afternoon." He began. "As you all know, last week I announced 'Project Celebi,' which is the plan to capture and exploit the Ilex Forest protector, which has materialized after 5,000 years and is planning an attack." He paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "Although it is rumored that Celebi possesses great Psychic power, I am confident that all of us together can corner it and capture it. However, we are not all just going to run after it at once. We are going to do this systematically and scientifically. We will all divide into three teams, each assigned to a different task. When I call you, please stand up…"
He shuffled some papers around, then began again. "Jessie and James, if you will…"
Jessie and James stood up proudly and crossed their arms over their chests.
"Jessie and James are going to head the Intelligence Gathering team. Your mission is to travel around and talk to everyone. I want you to gather as much information on the conflict as you possibly can."
"Yes, Boss." Sneered James.
Giovanni continued, "Next… Maurice and Jimbo."
A pair of burly, unruly looking officers stood up.
"You two will be in charge of the Search Party team. Start in the forest, and spread out. Look under every rock, behind every tree, everywhere! I want you to search every place imaginable to see if you can find any trace of Celebi or his army."
"As you wish." The men said simply.
"Finally… Lt. Amanda Jackson."
A tall, brown-haired girl seated next to Giovanni stood up. She was the beauty of the team, and many of the male officers had tried going after her.
"Amanda, you will be the leader of the Naval Recruiting Operation. You are to take your team and sail to all the continents and cities to try and recruit new members to help us fight Celebi. Recruit everyone you can find, then bring them here so we can train them. Understood?"
"It would be my pleasure." Said Amanda with a grin.
"Once all 3 teams have gathered sufficient data, we will all come together at the foot of the mountains to prepare for the final battle. Is everything understood?"
A general cheer rose among the Rockets in the meeting room.
"Excellent! Good luck, troops! You are dismissed. Proceed directly to your assigned teams and begin immediately!"
The road to Union Cave was grassy and tree-lined. We walked together, taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside. Pikachu was riding on Ash's hat, as usual, and Gold's Pidgey was riding on his shoulder. It made me a little disheartened that my Pokemon had all grown up and evolved…I didn't have any small, cute Pokemon to carry along with me. But on the plus side, mine were stronger, so I really couldn't complain.
We got challenged to a Trainer battle or two as we traveled, and we often split the job. Sometimes I took on the trainer on my own, to test my skill; or sometimes Ash and Gold tag-teamed, or sometimes all three of us took them on at once. I never had so much fun in my life!
Finally, Ash whined, "How much farther? My feet hurt."
Gold switched on his Pokegear's Town Map. "Not far. We're almost there."
I actually didn't mind the walking, because I was too busy enjoying where I was…in the world of Pokemon! But suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
"What's wrong?" they asked.
"Shh! Listen!" I whispered. Ash and Gold cocked their ears, trying to hear what I heard. It was a Pokemon call of some kind… I just couldn't place it, although it sounded very familiar.
"What is that?" mused Gold. "It sounds like a Pokemon in trouble."
"Dexter, any ideas?" said Ash, flipping open his Pokedex. "What Pokemon is that?"
The small machine beeped and crackled for a moment, then said, "That is the call of a Wobbuffett, a Patient Pokemon."
"Oh, no… here we go with the Wobbuffetts again…" I grumbled.
Dexter continued. "This is a Psychic-type Pokemon that can deal no damage of its own. It does, however, possess the two moves for returning damage. Counter returns physical attacks doubled, and Mirror Coat returns special attacks doubled."
I grimaced. "Dude…"
Ash looked at me. "What's your problem?"
I avoided his gaze. "Nothing. It's just that I've been hearing a lot about Wobbuffetts recently."
"Really? From where?"
"Never mind. Let's just keep walking."
We continued down the grassy road, Pikachu taking a snooze on Ash's shoulders and Gold's Pidgey flying in front of us. Soon, I had to agree with Ash; my feet were killing me as well!
"I wonder if Meganium will give me a ride?" I mused.
"Don't bother," said Gold, "There's the cave entrance dead ahead."
The tall, rocky door into the cave didn't look friendly, but I had been through this cave before on Game Boy, so I knew it wasn't all that scary.
"Oh, man… I forgot to buy Poke Balls in Olivine!" I moaned. "How am I going to catch any of the Pokemon here?"
"Relax," said Gold, "I've got about 20 of them, and you can use as many as you need."
"You da man!" I cried, slapping him on the back. Then we gathered our courage and entered Union Cave.
* * * * * * * * * *
The warehouse was dark and dirty. A few bare bulbs illuminated the musty halls, crates and boxes stood stacked against the walls, and torn books and papers were strewn everywhere. However, the warehouse was far from empty. This was the Team Rocket Headquarters. Officers and Grunts marched through the halls, from one office or storeroom to another, and Executives sat among papers and documents, working feverishly. This was the place where all their evil schemes were concocted, and today was no exception. The entire Team was excited because their boss, Giovanni, was announcing the plans for "Project Celebi", the plot to find the corrupt Forest Guardian and capture it for their own evil purposes.
As the bustling continued, a man and a woman strode quickly through the hallway. The man was James, a tall figure with purple hair, and the woman was Jessie, an arrogant officer with long, red hair. They worked as a team almost constantly, teamed up with the only known Pokemon who could speak English, Meowth. As they sped down the corridor, James fell behind a bit.
"Jessie, I'm tired." He whined. "Why must we run like this?"
"Because, nitwit," Jessie shot back, "Boss wants these documents on his desk immediately! They're the crucial part of 'Project Celebi!'"
"What's the point of catching that stupid green thing, anyway?" grumbled James.
"That 'stupid green thing' is going to make us more money than you could ever dream of in a lifetime!" snarled Jessie. "Now hurry it up! We must get these papers to Boss NOW!"
"But Boss is usually patient…" said James, now breathing heavy.
"Well, I'm not!" growled Jessie, "Now come on!" she grabbed James' hand and yanked him down the hallway to the meeting room.
Giovanni was seated in the meeting room behind a large desk. He watched with a smile as all his subordinates poured into the room. They made him so proud, and commanding a massive team such as them gave him a feeling of true power. And he had made a promise to himself: no matter how many times he was defeated, he would never truly disband Team Rocket. They were virtually immortal!
Finally, all the Rockets were seated in the meeting room.
"Is everyone here?" asked Giovanni, switching on the microphone. Suddenly the door burst open and Jessie sped into the room, with James stumbling behind.
"Here you go, Boss." Said Jessie with a smile. "Your documents, as you requested."
"Good work, Jessie. Well done." Said Giovanni. Then James came gasping up to the desk.
"Boss…my inhaler…" he wheezed.
Giovanni passed the device to him. "Now be seated." He ordered. Finally, he was ready to begin.
"Good afternoon." He began. "As you all know, last week I announced 'Project Celebi,' which is the plan to capture and exploit the Ilex Forest protector, which has materialized after 5,000 years and is planning an attack." He paused for dramatic effect, then continued. "Although it is rumored that Celebi possesses great Psychic power, I am confident that all of us together can corner it and capture it. However, we are not all just going to run after it at once. We are going to do this systematically and scientifically. We will all divide into three teams, each assigned to a different task. When I call you, please stand up…"
He shuffled some papers around, then began again. "Jessie and James, if you will…"
Jessie and James stood up proudly and crossed their arms over their chests.
"Jessie and James are going to head the Intelligence Gathering team. Your mission is to travel around and talk to everyone. I want you to gather as much information on the conflict as you possibly can."
"Yes, Boss." Sneered James.
Giovanni continued, "Next… Maurice and Jimbo."
A pair of burly, unruly looking officers stood up.
"You two will be in charge of the Search Party team. Start in the forest, and spread out. Look under every rock, behind every tree, everywhere! I want you to search every place imaginable to see if you can find any trace of Celebi or his army."
"As you wish." The men said simply.
"Finally… Lt. Amanda Jackson."
A tall, brown-haired girl seated next to Giovanni stood up. She was the beauty of the team, and many of the male officers had tried going after her.
"Amanda, you will be the leader of the Naval Recruiting Operation. You are to take your team and sail to all the continents and cities to try and recruit new members to help us fight Celebi. Recruit everyone you can find, then bring them here so we can train them. Understood?"
"It would be my pleasure." Said Amanda with a grin.
"Once all 3 teams have gathered sufficient data, we will all come together at the foot of the mountains to prepare for the final battle. Is everything understood?"
A general cheer rose among the Rockets in the meeting room.
"Excellent! Good luck, troops! You are dismissed. Proceed directly to your assigned teams and begin immediately!"