Almost done.... :)
Catching Up To You
(part 6 of 7)
by Maeyan (maeyan@mailcity.com)
DISCLAIMER: While I have traded many pieces of paper for their goods,
I have no ownership or rights to the characters, etc of Pokémon.
If they're looking for new owners, however I get dibs on Gary!
-----------------
Part six:
Rei hit the mute button and threw the remote to the couch. This case
was making her crazy. Ash seemed to enjoy being with his Pokémon.
They enjoyed being with him. Why did he leave? He was good with them -
better than many seasoned masters she'd seen, worked with over the
years. What would make a great trainer suddenly abandon his beloved
Pokémon?
She paced the room. Point one: He'd abandoned Pikachu. Pikachu was
Ash's first Pokémon. An unusual match-up. She'd ask Brock about
that, but he'd stuck to the story that Oak had run out of Pokémon by the time that Ash had finally arrived at the Selection room. Rei thought it was funny since usually the Selection sites researched their kids and knew exactly how many were coming of age that year. And hadn't Brock just been trying to calm down 9 bulbasaurs, 2 squirtles and 5 charmanders, all of whom had been sent *back* from the local Selection Centers as un-chosen "firsts?" 'Notice any pikachus?' she'd wanted to ask, but hadn't.
So, point two: Professor Oak thought he was special enough to be
given a Pikachu, a notoriously difficult Pokémon to train. Which
led immediately to points three -the professor monitored Ash's career
more closely than he did any one other than his own grandson, and
four -the Great Professor Samuel Oak was also worried about Ash's
sudden disappearance.
And the big points. Five: why would someone who was so famous in the
Pokémon world leave it? He hadn't a reason in the world to leave -
he was a well know trainer for all that he hadn't yet made Master level.
And six: the man loved Pokémon. Plain and simple. It was evident
everywhere she looked.
So adding up all those points, she just couldn't figure out why Ash
had abandoned his Pokémon. And without that, she was having a hard
time trying to help the suddenly bereft Pokémon.
So she watched the tapes again. And again. She stopped pacing and looked at the now-muted scenes flickering across the television screen. It was one of the later tapes: from only 3 years ago, at the Indigo League games. He'd made it into the top-4 that year and Rei found herself holding her breath as "the moment" of his defeat came to pass and he stopped the battle. The other trainer's Pokémon had
collapsed on the field while trying to evolve. She watched Ash recall his Pokémon, forfeiting the match, and jump from the trainer box. The medical crew swept in and the "winner" pokemon was whisked onto a gurney and off the field, Ash and the trainer both running along side it.
-----------------------
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
Rei carefully cut her steak and sighed. She and Brock had already
discussed the day's events, the food, family, the weather, the latest
advancements in Pokémon care, and the latest news from Indigo. Now
there was little else to do but actually listen to Gary and Misty
argue. She turned to look at Brock again, but he was whistling a soft
tune, if a bit desperately, and blocking them out. He looked at her
and smiled.
"I've had a good deal of experience, Rei. Misty and Ash fought all
the time," he said before resuming his musical interlude.
She twisted her lip and wished she'd learned how to whistle.
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
She turned back to her steak and plopped a piece in her mouth,
chewing slowly. She knew her husband was stubborn, and yet she also
knew that Misty was definitely going on the trip. If she were in
Misty's place, she'd go. And she'd finally gotten enough of the story
from the Pokémon to know that Misty and Ash were in love with each other. She'd found it interesting that they referred to Misty as their owner with just the same amount of love as they did Ash. Maybe she could write a paper on the behaviors and allegience of Pokémon of trainers who become involved with each other?
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
Rei wondered if Gary knew that's what the argument was really about.
He wasn't too sharp on matters of the heart, was her man. Her mind
drifted off, recalling the awkwardness of their own courtship, but a
sharp pounding on the table quickly brought her back to the present.
She looked to see Misty standing, reaching for her crutches.
"Yes, I am, Gary Oak. Just try to stop me!" Misty issued him one of
what Brock had called her 'try it and die, mister' death glares and
Rei smirked as Gary frowned his oh-so-familiar 'I'm doing this for
the best' glare right back at her. Misty ignored his look and hobbled
her way towards the door.
"Misty!" Gary thundered. "You are not going anywhere! You stay here
and rest. When I find him, I'll bring him here. In pieces if I have
to..."
Bad move, lover mine, Rei thought as she chewed. She knew how well
Misty would take that statement. Rei shook her head and speared
another piece of steak as Misty stopped and turned slowly around.
This was getting silly and Rei wondered briefly how much longer this
argument would continue...
"STOP!"
Rei blinked. Okay. That answers that question, she thought as she turned to look at her usually laid-back cousin.
Brock was holding his hands over his ears, his face a rather pale shade of red. "Stop arguing! Gary, you and Misty will leave in the morning. Together. Your supplies are all packed and everything is ready."
Have been for a week, Rei added silently. About when this whole
argument began, actually.
Gary shook his head. "Brock, I really don't think that Misty should
be traveling, yet." Gary wasn't willing to argue with his host, but
he apparently felt his point was valid. Rei shook her head. Time to
shut her husband down, move in for the kill.
"She's fine, hon. In a few weeks she'll be ready for just a cane."
Rei smiled at Misty, winked woman-to-woman. "Besides, it's best for
the Pokémon if they're allowed to help look for Ash. They already
feel bad because he left them. If they stay here they'll just get
more depressed, maybe even run away again." That would work. If the
Pokémon got upset, Rei would be upset. And that would make Gary
*very* upset. She would see to it; she sent him a look that promised
as much.
"Ugh," Gary groaned, reading the look in her eyes and throwing his
hands up in defeat. "Fine. Whatever. She can go."
"Good. Now that that's settled..." Brock smiled. "Anyone for dessert?"
-------------------
Jessie sighed. The sunlight felt good on her face and she closed her
eyes as she walked the familiar path from her tiny apartment to the
office. She smiled despite the fact that she was headed for another
day in 'the tomb,' that nobody liked her and that her shoes were too
tight: James had promised a surprise for lunch. It was amazing what
you could put up with when you were in love.
She stopped. In love. With James? Where did that come from? She shook
her head. Obviously she needed to get out of the sun, find something
to drink. It had been rather hot these past few weeks...
A noise across the street attracted her attention. It was the Pewter
City Breeding Center.
Originally, the whole idea of a publishing house in the town was
simply a cover for a base from which to monitor the breeding center.
As time passed, however, the publishing business became profitable in
its own right and, aided by the fact that Brock's security was, ahem,
rock solid, the idea of stealing from the breeding center soon fell
into the discard pile. Starship Publishing was now a legitimate
business venture that just happened to be owned and operated by
Giovanni Industries. Only a handful of the current employees even
knew about the Team Rocket association.
And one of them was now hiding in the shadows, intensely watching the
front door of the Breeding Center.
-------------
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock was waving and smiling, and Rei was about
to hit him, esteemed colleague and beloved relative, or not.
"Brock. They haven't left yet." She hollered at him for the third
time in ten minutes. "Will you please stop saying that?" She stepped
forward and hugged Misty. "Good luck! I hope you knock some sense
into your boyfriend." Misty blushed but returned Rei's smile.
"Hey. Don't I get a hug?" Gary pouted. Rei turned to him giving her
husband a tighter and longer squeeze. "Hurry up and find your friend.
I want you home soon, do you hear me?" She winked, causing Gary to
blush as well.
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock waved again and Rei punched him lightly. "Okay. Uh..." He looked around. "Everyone ready?" He noticed
Misty adjusting her crutches and frowned. "Misty, aren't you going to
call the Pokémon back into their Pokéballs?"
She looked up at him, frowning. "No, Brock. Why would I? They want to
help."
Gary sighed, looking up from his watch. "Because it will take less
time if they travel in their balls. Plus we won't have to carry as
much." He waved at the large satchel on his back. He was carrying all
the supplies until Misty could walk on her own.
"Well, if we were taking a CAR we wouldn't have to carry anything and
we'd get there in HALF the time." Misty glared at him and to Rei's
dismay Gary took up the challenge in her voice.
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock waved again and, his smile wavering, edged
towards the door of the Center. Rei hung her head in her hands and
followed him. She couldn't believe how easily Gary fell into these
fights with Misty. She shut the door as her husband's voice started
in.
"For the last time, it was MY SISTER'S car, not mine! I can't just go
out and BUY A CAR just because your stupid LOSER boyfriend ran away!"
"He's NOT stupid and it's all YOUR FAULT for calling him a loser all
the time! I don't even know why I am going on this stupid trip with
YOU! I should just go by myself!" Misty started off down the road,
the Pokémon following.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Gary ran after her and pulled her to a stop. "I
don't want to have to go looking for two..."
"Chuuuuu!" His sentence was cut short as Pikachu's thundershock sent
him to the ground.
"Pikachu, stop that this instant!" Misty hollered, and the electric
mouse looked confused.
"Pikapi Pikachu pipi! Pi!" He sent a smaller shock in Gary's
direction, not quite strong enough to actually connect with the young
man.
"I know, Pikachu, but he's a friend now. He's gonna help us find Ash,
so we have to be *nice* to him." She waited as Gary stopped
twitching. "You okay, Gary?"
Gary raised his head and nodded, opening his mouth to release a puff
of smoke. "And here I thought I was getting along with him better
now."
Misty grimaced. "Sorry about that. Pikachu still thinks of you as a
bad guy apparently. "
Gary copied her expression. "I guess I'm gonna have to earn his trust
then." He sat up, coming eye to eye with the yellow Pokémon. "Eh
Pikachu?" He patted Pikachu's head and
"Chu..."
was rewarded with a small thunderbolt.
"Pikachu! What did I just tell you?"
----------------------
Jessie didn't stay for anymore. She kicked off her shoes and ran the
rest of the way to the office. She passed by her tiny room and headed
straight to the mail office.
"JAMES!"
The entire room turned. Jessie stood wide-eyed in the doorway; her
blouse had come open a few buttons and her hair was wild around her
face, her shoes were in her hands and her breathing was heavy. The
sight made quite a few of the men catch their own breath and James
frowned at the sound. He walked to the door, pulling her down the
hall and out of sight.
"Jessie? What's wrong? Did something happen to you..."
But Jessie interrupted him, her eyes sparkling like they hadn't in
months. "James! It's wonderful! Wonderful! It's our chance to get out
of here! The boss will be so proud! And we can have our old jobs
back! And I won't have to sit in that dark and lonely room anymore
and you won't have to sort the stupid mail... It'll be just like the
old days... And we can get Meowth back and..."
James took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Jessie! Get hold of
yourself!" She finally broke from his grasp and stepped back. "What
are you talking about, Jess?"
She swallowed a few times and managed to calm down enough to tell him
what she had seen and what her plan was. James watched her face as
she spoke and realised that as much as he wanted to stay here, she
really wanted to leave. And that meant only one thing:
"Let's do it Jessie!" He tried a smile as he materialized a rose from
behind her ear. "Let's capture Pikachu!" He handed the flower to her
with a bow.
_________________________
Misty reached for her cane again and headed outside. Gary had sent
her on to the store for supplies while he and Pikachu checked into a
nearby hotel. She'd argued that the Pokémon Center was cheaper,
but quickly gave up the fight when he'd offered to pay. They'd spent the last week walking from Indigo to Pridion so Misty was only too happy to let Gary be the big boss-man today. Besides, she had a feeling that Ash wasn't here anymore. She ran into Gary standing just outside the Pokémon center, staring in disbelief at a fast disappearing object in the sky.
"Gary? What's going on? I thought you were going to check us in at
the hotel?"
"Why didn't he listen?" Gary didn't seem to hear her, so she tugged
at his sleeve to get his attention. He turned to her. "It's like he
*wanted* to be taken!"
Misty frowned. "What are you babbling about Gary?" She looked around
and a small niggling fear rose in the back of her mind. "And where's
Pikachu?"
Gary blinked at the sharp tone in her voice and finally seemed to
recognise her presence. He shook his head. "Some guy with purple hair
and a woman with long scary-looking red hair just landed in this
balloon..."
"What!" Misty screamed as she realized what had apparently just
happened. "How could you just let Team Rocket take Pikachu?"
Gary blanched.
"I didn't 'just let'." Gary protested softly. "Pikachu was giving me
a hard time. As usual. Then these two characters show up in weird
costumes and they're talking about devastating rockets of love or
something..."
Misty glared at him. "I. Know. The. Motto." Her words were
sharp. "WHY didn't you try to stop them?"
"What? You think I was born yesterday? Of course I tried to stop
them." He threw his hands in the air. "Pikachu wouldn't listen to a
damned word I said!"
Misty looked like she was going to explode, but her voice was
deceptively calm. "Well, Mister I'm-such-a-fabulous-Pokémon-trainer,
of course not! Why didn't you use some of your own Pokémon?"
Gary shook his head, pointing at the no-Pikachu not-standing beside
him. "I had a perfectly good Pikachu right there! Why bother with
another Pokémon?"
"Because he doesn't like you!" Misty screamed again. She dropped her
head into her hand and leaned against her cane, suddenly sounding
very tired. "And he never listens to people he doesn't like. Not even
Ash, if they're fighting." Her voice was softer now, and she felt if
she had used up all her strength in screaming at him.
Suddenly Misty was laughing.
"What's so funny?" She heard Gary ask, and she looked up.
Seeing his uncomprehending look, she laughed even harder, and finally
fell, wheezing, to the ground "Ow oh hahhahhah! Ow ow." She clutched
her stomach and, still laughing, grabbed for his hand.
"Did...did..." She tried to stop laughing and finally managed to
squeak, "Did they release their Pokémon at all?"
"Uh... They had Pokémon?"
She fell into another round of giggles and guffaws. He sat down next
to her and waited until she finally she stopped laughing.
He looked at her. "Done? Now can you tell me what was so funny?"
Misty smiled back leaned against him, pushing slightly "Team Rocket
has been trying to capture Pikachu since Ash's first week in
training. Well, Jessie and James have been trying. And Meowth. But
they're the most inept bunglers ever put upon the earth. Most of
their attempts involved digging holes in the road or giant remote-
controlled robots." She used his shoulder to stand up. "Needless to
say, in ten years they never managed to take Pikachu from *Ash*." She
started down the road to find the police station.
Gary shook his head and snorted as he stood to follow her. "Ha ha.
But seriously, why would Team Rocket want Pikachu? I mean, no offense
and all, but he's just a Pikachu and they're not that rare." Misty
stopped and reached behind him for her bag, pulling out her
Pokédex. Flipping it open, she pressed a few buttons and finally pointed at the stats for the little electric mouse they were currently missing. Gary whistled and Misty nodded.
"Yeah. That's why they want him. He's past the maximum power levels
of any other recorded Pikachu. He's even more powerful than quite a
few Raichu we've met." She put the Pokédex back in the bag and
they resumed walking. "Professor Oak says he doesn't even know for sure what evolutionary level Pikachu is at anymore. And it doesn't help that all Ash's Pokémon seem to learn new attacks without regard to their evolutionary level. I mean, look at Bulbasaur..."
Gary looked at her. "What about Bulbasaur? He seems okay, if a bit
surly."
Misty tilted her head and then nodded. "Yeah, I can see how you'd
think that. But he's really great. He was abandoned by his first
owner, so he's kind of a loner." She shook her head. "But as for
attacks... He's got solar beam, which is a level 41 attack, right?"
She looked at Gary, and he nodded.
"But," she continued. "He doesn't know Sleep Powder. And that's
usually a level 20 attack!"
Gary walked in silence for a moment. "Well, maybe Ash just needs
to..."
But Misty cut him off with a shake of her head. "Nope. Ash has tried
everything. Bulbasaur just won't learn it yet. It's almost like he's
afraid he'll forget something if he learns something new. They're all
like that. All of Ash's Pokémon - they just learn at their own
pace. And as a former gym leader, I think I'm safe in saying that that makes them extremely rare and valuable."
She brought the point back home, sharply, and he nodded, holding open
the door to the police station.
-----------------------------
"So. They finally managed to capture you. That's just too ironic for
words."
The voice was a familiar one and Pikachu turned to find Meowth just
on the other side of the cage. He'd been wondering about the mouthy
feline's absence. "Where've you been?"
"The boss sent James and Jessie out on a permanent assignment in
Pewter City and I went back to Viridian." The cat extended a claw and
advanced towards the cage.
"Viridian City?" Pikachu asked as he backed up as far as the small
cage would let him. He didn't believe Meowth would actually hurt him,
but he was a caged mouse after all.
"Yeah. But the boss rebuilt the headquarters in a set of caverns
below the city. Anyway, that's not why I'm here." The enemy
Pokémon reached for the door of the cage and stuck his claw into the lock. After a small click he pulled back, the door swinging open.
"What are you doing?" Pikachu asked, amazed at the turn of events,
but Meowth just shrugged it off.
"Letting you go. I don't know how those two bunglers," he waved
towards the tree where Jessie and James were currently sleeping,
huddled together under their only blanket, "finally managed to
capture you, but it won't do them anything but more harm, so I'm
setting you free."
"I don't want to wake them yet. I want them to get a good night's
sleep before I tell them this." He looked up at the night sky and
sighed. Pikachu pondered the difference in the usually brash and
egotistical Pokémon; he seemed suddenly to have become a
Pokémon again.
Like me, thought the mouse. Like maybe his world too has been turned upside down.
No. Not really upside down. Pikachu shook his head softly. Yes, he'd
spent ten years with Ash, and yes he missed him badly, but that did
not excuse his running away from Misty.
"...and so Giovanni put up with them. He had no real choice, even if
they never knew it. This last assignment was supposed to keep them
busy and out of trouble, as well as out of his hair. Plus he had some
sort of master plan brewing and he wanted to be sure that all of his
Rockets were inline and not out tomcatting around."
Pikachu blinked as Meowth's words broke through. "Master plan? What
is it?"
Meowth looked at him in disgust. "Do you really think that if the
plan was still viable that I'd even be sitting here talking to you
about it?"
"Sorry."
Meowth frowned, then stood and walked a bit away. "Giovanni died last
week." He shook his head. "I don't know what's gonna happen with Team
Rocket now, and I don't care. There are some heavy dealings going on
that I don't think even Giovanni knew about. And I never did agree
with the whole "Dark" Pokémon concept that Neo Team Rocket is
concentrating on. I looked at the files before I left..." Meowth
continued. "Trying to find these two. I called, but they'd gone -
hadn't shown up for work in days. I was scared - they're my best
friends in the whole world, and I didn't know if they were alive or
dead. So I came after them."
"And you released me because...?"
"There's really no point to keeping you if we're not Team Rocket." He
turned to look questioningly at me. "By the way, how *did* they
manage to finally capture you?"
Pikachu shrugged. "So much has happened to me recently. I'm just so
confused. Ash has disappeared and transferred me to Misty, and while
I have nothing against Misty... well, I'm upset because Ash left me.
We were a team - we were one unit. Nothing was too much for us, or so
I thought." Pikachu sighed.
"I suddenly just felt so angry at everyone. I'd already run away
once. Tried to find Ash on my own. And ended up getting lost. Misty
rescued me and then because we were off the regular trail, trying to
make up time, we were attacked by a psychotic scyther. His trainer
was a member of Team Rocket, by the way."
Meowth rolled his eyes up. "Yeh. Obviously one of our brightest to
have abandoned his Pokémon."
"Mm. No comment. I'm just so... upset, you know? Ash and I... well,
we've pretty much grown up together. I don't know what happened. One
day every thing is fine and the next - bam - Ash is gone, Misty is an
emotional wreck, I'm in therapy for depression and separation anxiety
and Ash's main rival is giving me orders like I'm his." Pikachu gave
a short, bitter laugh. "So when Jessie and James showed up I just
jumped into the cage and let them take me. Figured that I should be
with the ones who want me."
Meowth let the silence hang in the air a moment, shaking his
head. "You know, I never thought you were the type to run away from a challenge." He looked at the sleeping Jessie and James. "Running isn't your thing. You need to go back and fix what you can and live with the rest of it." He turned to Pikachu. "Go back, then find the twerp. If he says he doesn't want you around anymore, fine. But I bet you'll find there's something else going on. You two have been together too long. And I can't believe your story is gonna end like this. You two have a destiny that's still out there waiting for you."
Pikachu stared at Meowth for a moment, then grinned and ran into the
trees.
To Be Continued...
-------------------------------
DISTRIBUTION: Please respect my (limited) copyright and ASK
permission to borrow this story. This will be posted to my website
(http://draxonious.tripod.com/), fanfic.net, fanfic.org, the AAMRN
yahoo group and the PFFML yahoo group.
Please send any feedback to maeyan@mailcity.com
Catching Up To You
(part 6 of 7)
by Maeyan (maeyan@mailcity.com)
DISCLAIMER: While I have traded many pieces of paper for their goods,
I have no ownership or rights to the characters, etc of Pokémon.
If they're looking for new owners, however I get dibs on Gary!
-----------------
Part six:
Rei hit the mute button and threw the remote to the couch. This case
was making her crazy. Ash seemed to enjoy being with his Pokémon.
They enjoyed being with him. Why did he leave? He was good with them -
better than many seasoned masters she'd seen, worked with over the
years. What would make a great trainer suddenly abandon his beloved
Pokémon?
She paced the room. Point one: He'd abandoned Pikachu. Pikachu was
Ash's first Pokémon. An unusual match-up. She'd ask Brock about
that, but he'd stuck to the story that Oak had run out of Pokémon by the time that Ash had finally arrived at the Selection room. Rei thought it was funny since usually the Selection sites researched their kids and knew exactly how many were coming of age that year. And hadn't Brock just been trying to calm down 9 bulbasaurs, 2 squirtles and 5 charmanders, all of whom had been sent *back* from the local Selection Centers as un-chosen "firsts?" 'Notice any pikachus?' she'd wanted to ask, but hadn't.
So, point two: Professor Oak thought he was special enough to be
given a Pikachu, a notoriously difficult Pokémon to train. Which
led immediately to points three -the professor monitored Ash's career
more closely than he did any one other than his own grandson, and
four -the Great Professor Samuel Oak was also worried about Ash's
sudden disappearance.
And the big points. Five: why would someone who was so famous in the
Pokémon world leave it? He hadn't a reason in the world to leave -
he was a well know trainer for all that he hadn't yet made Master level.
And six: the man loved Pokémon. Plain and simple. It was evident
everywhere she looked.
So adding up all those points, she just couldn't figure out why Ash
had abandoned his Pokémon. And without that, she was having a hard
time trying to help the suddenly bereft Pokémon.
So she watched the tapes again. And again. She stopped pacing and looked at the now-muted scenes flickering across the television screen. It was one of the later tapes: from only 3 years ago, at the Indigo League games. He'd made it into the top-4 that year and Rei found herself holding her breath as "the moment" of his defeat came to pass and he stopped the battle. The other trainer's Pokémon had
collapsed on the field while trying to evolve. She watched Ash recall his Pokémon, forfeiting the match, and jump from the trainer box. The medical crew swept in and the "winner" pokemon was whisked onto a gurney and off the field, Ash and the trainer both running along side it.
-----------------------
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
Rei carefully cut her steak and sighed. She and Brock had already
discussed the day's events, the food, family, the weather, the latest
advancements in Pokémon care, and the latest news from Indigo. Now
there was little else to do but actually listen to Gary and Misty
argue. She turned to look at Brock again, but he was whistling a soft
tune, if a bit desperately, and blocking them out. He looked at her
and smiled.
"I've had a good deal of experience, Rei. Misty and Ash fought all
the time," he said before resuming his musical interlude.
She twisted her lip and wished she'd learned how to whistle.
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
She turned back to her steak and plopped a piece in her mouth,
chewing slowly. She knew her husband was stubborn, and yet she also
knew that Misty was definitely going on the trip. If she were in
Misty's place, she'd go. And she'd finally gotten enough of the story
from the Pokémon to know that Misty and Ash were in love with each other. She'd found it interesting that they referred to Misty as their owner with just the same amount of love as they did Ash. Maybe she could write a paper on the behaviors and allegience of Pokémon of trainers who become involved with each other?
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
Rei wondered if Gary knew that's what the argument was really about.
He wasn't too sharp on matters of the heart, was her man. Her mind
drifted off, recalling the awkwardness of their own courtship, but a
sharp pounding on the table quickly brought her back to the present.
She looked to see Misty standing, reaching for her crutches.
"Yes, I am, Gary Oak. Just try to stop me!" Misty issued him one of
what Brock had called her 'try it and die, mister' death glares and
Rei smirked as Gary frowned his oh-so-familiar 'I'm doing this for
the best' glare right back at her. Misty ignored his look and hobbled
her way towards the door.
"Misty!" Gary thundered. "You are not going anywhere! You stay here
and rest. When I find him, I'll bring him here. In pieces if I have
to..."
Bad move, lover mine, Rei thought as she chewed. She knew how well
Misty would take that statement. Rei shook her head and speared
another piece of steak as Misty stopped and turned slowly around.
This was getting silly and Rei wondered briefly how much longer this
argument would continue...
"STOP!"
Rei blinked. Okay. That answers that question, she thought as she turned to look at her usually laid-back cousin.
Brock was holding his hands over his ears, his face a rather pale shade of red. "Stop arguing! Gary, you and Misty will leave in the morning. Together. Your supplies are all packed and everything is ready."
Have been for a week, Rei added silently. About when this whole
argument began, actually.
Gary shook his head. "Brock, I really don't think that Misty should
be traveling, yet." Gary wasn't willing to argue with his host, but
he apparently felt his point was valid. Rei shook her head. Time to
shut her husband down, move in for the kill.
"She's fine, hon. In a few weeks she'll be ready for just a cane."
Rei smiled at Misty, winked woman-to-woman. "Besides, it's best for
the Pokémon if they're allowed to help look for Ash. They already
feel bad because he left them. If they stay here they'll just get
more depressed, maybe even run away again." That would work. If the
Pokémon got upset, Rei would be upset. And that would make Gary
*very* upset. She would see to it; she sent him a look that promised
as much.
"Ugh," Gary groaned, reading the look in her eyes and throwing his
hands up in defeat. "Fine. Whatever. She can go."
"Good. Now that that's settled..." Brock smiled. "Anyone for dessert?"
-------------------
Jessie sighed. The sunlight felt good on her face and she closed her
eyes as she walked the familiar path from her tiny apartment to the
office. She smiled despite the fact that she was headed for another
day in 'the tomb,' that nobody liked her and that her shoes were too
tight: James had promised a surprise for lunch. It was amazing what
you could put up with when you were in love.
She stopped. In love. With James? Where did that come from? She shook
her head. Obviously she needed to get out of the sun, find something
to drink. It had been rather hot these past few weeks...
A noise across the street attracted her attention. It was the Pewter
City Breeding Center.
Originally, the whole idea of a publishing house in the town was
simply a cover for a base from which to monitor the breeding center.
As time passed, however, the publishing business became profitable in
its own right and, aided by the fact that Brock's security was, ahem,
rock solid, the idea of stealing from the breeding center soon fell
into the discard pile. Starship Publishing was now a legitimate
business venture that just happened to be owned and operated by
Giovanni Industries. Only a handful of the current employees even
knew about the Team Rocket association.
And one of them was now hiding in the shadows, intensely watching the
front door of the Breeding Center.
-------------
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock was waving and smiling, and Rei was about
to hit him, esteemed colleague and beloved relative, or not.
"Brock. They haven't left yet." She hollered at him for the third
time in ten minutes. "Will you please stop saying that?" She stepped
forward and hugged Misty. "Good luck! I hope you knock some sense
into your boyfriend." Misty blushed but returned Rei's smile.
"Hey. Don't I get a hug?" Gary pouted. Rei turned to him giving her
husband a tighter and longer squeeze. "Hurry up and find your friend.
I want you home soon, do you hear me?" She winked, causing Gary to
blush as well.
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock waved again and Rei punched him lightly. "Okay. Uh..." He looked around. "Everyone ready?" He noticed
Misty adjusting her crutches and frowned. "Misty, aren't you going to
call the Pokémon back into their Pokéballs?"
She looked up at him, frowning. "No, Brock. Why would I? They want to
help."
Gary sighed, looking up from his watch. "Because it will take less
time if they travel in their balls. Plus we won't have to carry as
much." He waved at the large satchel on his back. He was carrying all
the supplies until Misty could walk on her own.
"Well, if we were taking a CAR we wouldn't have to carry anything and
we'd get there in HALF the time." Misty glared at him and to Rei's
dismay Gary took up the challenge in her voice.
"Bye now! Have fun!" Brock waved again and, his smile wavering, edged
towards the door of the Center. Rei hung her head in her hands and
followed him. She couldn't believe how easily Gary fell into these
fights with Misty. She shut the door as her husband's voice started
in.
"For the last time, it was MY SISTER'S car, not mine! I can't just go
out and BUY A CAR just because your stupid LOSER boyfriend ran away!"
"He's NOT stupid and it's all YOUR FAULT for calling him a loser all
the time! I don't even know why I am going on this stupid trip with
YOU! I should just go by myself!" Misty started off down the road,
the Pokémon following.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Gary ran after her and pulled her to a stop. "I
don't want to have to go looking for two..."
"Chuuuuu!" His sentence was cut short as Pikachu's thundershock sent
him to the ground.
"Pikachu, stop that this instant!" Misty hollered, and the electric
mouse looked confused.
"Pikapi Pikachu pipi! Pi!" He sent a smaller shock in Gary's
direction, not quite strong enough to actually connect with the young
man.
"I know, Pikachu, but he's a friend now. He's gonna help us find Ash,
so we have to be *nice* to him." She waited as Gary stopped
twitching. "You okay, Gary?"
Gary raised his head and nodded, opening his mouth to release a puff
of smoke. "And here I thought I was getting along with him better
now."
Misty grimaced. "Sorry about that. Pikachu still thinks of you as a
bad guy apparently. "
Gary copied her expression. "I guess I'm gonna have to earn his trust
then." He sat up, coming eye to eye with the yellow Pokémon. "Eh
Pikachu?" He patted Pikachu's head and
"Chu..."
was rewarded with a small thunderbolt.
"Pikachu! What did I just tell you?"
----------------------
Jessie didn't stay for anymore. She kicked off her shoes and ran the
rest of the way to the office. She passed by her tiny room and headed
straight to the mail office.
"JAMES!"
The entire room turned. Jessie stood wide-eyed in the doorway; her
blouse had come open a few buttons and her hair was wild around her
face, her shoes were in her hands and her breathing was heavy. The
sight made quite a few of the men catch their own breath and James
frowned at the sound. He walked to the door, pulling her down the
hall and out of sight.
"Jessie? What's wrong? Did something happen to you..."
But Jessie interrupted him, her eyes sparkling like they hadn't in
months. "James! It's wonderful! Wonderful! It's our chance to get out
of here! The boss will be so proud! And we can have our old jobs
back! And I won't have to sit in that dark and lonely room anymore
and you won't have to sort the stupid mail... It'll be just like the
old days... And we can get Meowth back and..."
James took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Jessie! Get hold of
yourself!" She finally broke from his grasp and stepped back. "What
are you talking about, Jess?"
She swallowed a few times and managed to calm down enough to tell him
what she had seen and what her plan was. James watched her face as
she spoke and realised that as much as he wanted to stay here, she
really wanted to leave. And that meant only one thing:
"Let's do it Jessie!" He tried a smile as he materialized a rose from
behind her ear. "Let's capture Pikachu!" He handed the flower to her
with a bow.
_________________________
Misty reached for her cane again and headed outside. Gary had sent
her on to the store for supplies while he and Pikachu checked into a
nearby hotel. She'd argued that the Pokémon Center was cheaper,
but quickly gave up the fight when he'd offered to pay. They'd spent the last week walking from Indigo to Pridion so Misty was only too happy to let Gary be the big boss-man today. Besides, she had a feeling that Ash wasn't here anymore. She ran into Gary standing just outside the Pokémon center, staring in disbelief at a fast disappearing object in the sky.
"Gary? What's going on? I thought you were going to check us in at
the hotel?"
"Why didn't he listen?" Gary didn't seem to hear her, so she tugged
at his sleeve to get his attention. He turned to her. "It's like he
*wanted* to be taken!"
Misty frowned. "What are you babbling about Gary?" She looked around
and a small niggling fear rose in the back of her mind. "And where's
Pikachu?"
Gary blinked at the sharp tone in her voice and finally seemed to
recognise her presence. He shook his head. "Some guy with purple hair
and a woman with long scary-looking red hair just landed in this
balloon..."
"What!" Misty screamed as she realized what had apparently just
happened. "How could you just let Team Rocket take Pikachu?"
Gary blanched.
"I didn't 'just let'." Gary protested softly. "Pikachu was giving me
a hard time. As usual. Then these two characters show up in weird
costumes and they're talking about devastating rockets of love or
something..."
Misty glared at him. "I. Know. The. Motto." Her words were
sharp. "WHY didn't you try to stop them?"
"What? You think I was born yesterday? Of course I tried to stop
them." He threw his hands in the air. "Pikachu wouldn't listen to a
damned word I said!"
Misty looked like she was going to explode, but her voice was
deceptively calm. "Well, Mister I'm-such-a-fabulous-Pokémon-trainer,
of course not! Why didn't you use some of your own Pokémon?"
Gary shook his head, pointing at the no-Pikachu not-standing beside
him. "I had a perfectly good Pikachu right there! Why bother with
another Pokémon?"
"Because he doesn't like you!" Misty screamed again. She dropped her
head into her hand and leaned against her cane, suddenly sounding
very tired. "And he never listens to people he doesn't like. Not even
Ash, if they're fighting." Her voice was softer now, and she felt if
she had used up all her strength in screaming at him.
Suddenly Misty was laughing.
"What's so funny?" She heard Gary ask, and she looked up.
Seeing his uncomprehending look, she laughed even harder, and finally
fell, wheezing, to the ground "Ow oh hahhahhah! Ow ow." She clutched
her stomach and, still laughing, grabbed for his hand.
"Did...did..." She tried to stop laughing and finally managed to
squeak, "Did they release their Pokémon at all?"
"Uh... They had Pokémon?"
She fell into another round of giggles and guffaws. He sat down next
to her and waited until she finally she stopped laughing.
He looked at her. "Done? Now can you tell me what was so funny?"
Misty smiled back leaned against him, pushing slightly "Team Rocket
has been trying to capture Pikachu since Ash's first week in
training. Well, Jessie and James have been trying. And Meowth. But
they're the most inept bunglers ever put upon the earth. Most of
their attempts involved digging holes in the road or giant remote-
controlled robots." She used his shoulder to stand up. "Needless to
say, in ten years they never managed to take Pikachu from *Ash*." She
started down the road to find the police station.
Gary shook his head and snorted as he stood to follow her. "Ha ha.
But seriously, why would Team Rocket want Pikachu? I mean, no offense
and all, but he's just a Pikachu and they're not that rare." Misty
stopped and reached behind him for her bag, pulling out her
Pokédex. Flipping it open, she pressed a few buttons and finally pointed at the stats for the little electric mouse they were currently missing. Gary whistled and Misty nodded.
"Yeah. That's why they want him. He's past the maximum power levels
of any other recorded Pikachu. He's even more powerful than quite a
few Raichu we've met." She put the Pokédex back in the bag and
they resumed walking. "Professor Oak says he doesn't even know for sure what evolutionary level Pikachu is at anymore. And it doesn't help that all Ash's Pokémon seem to learn new attacks without regard to their evolutionary level. I mean, look at Bulbasaur..."
Gary looked at her. "What about Bulbasaur? He seems okay, if a bit
surly."
Misty tilted her head and then nodded. "Yeah, I can see how you'd
think that. But he's really great. He was abandoned by his first
owner, so he's kind of a loner." She shook her head. "But as for
attacks... He's got solar beam, which is a level 41 attack, right?"
She looked at Gary, and he nodded.
"But," she continued. "He doesn't know Sleep Powder. And that's
usually a level 20 attack!"
Gary walked in silence for a moment. "Well, maybe Ash just needs
to..."
But Misty cut him off with a shake of her head. "Nope. Ash has tried
everything. Bulbasaur just won't learn it yet. It's almost like he's
afraid he'll forget something if he learns something new. They're all
like that. All of Ash's Pokémon - they just learn at their own
pace. And as a former gym leader, I think I'm safe in saying that that makes them extremely rare and valuable."
She brought the point back home, sharply, and he nodded, holding open
the door to the police station.
-----------------------------
"So. They finally managed to capture you. That's just too ironic for
words."
The voice was a familiar one and Pikachu turned to find Meowth just
on the other side of the cage. He'd been wondering about the mouthy
feline's absence. "Where've you been?"
"The boss sent James and Jessie out on a permanent assignment in
Pewter City and I went back to Viridian." The cat extended a claw and
advanced towards the cage.
"Viridian City?" Pikachu asked as he backed up as far as the small
cage would let him. He didn't believe Meowth would actually hurt him,
but he was a caged mouse after all.
"Yeah. But the boss rebuilt the headquarters in a set of caverns
below the city. Anyway, that's not why I'm here." The enemy
Pokémon reached for the door of the cage and stuck his claw into the lock. After a small click he pulled back, the door swinging open.
"What are you doing?" Pikachu asked, amazed at the turn of events,
but Meowth just shrugged it off.
"Letting you go. I don't know how those two bunglers," he waved
towards the tree where Jessie and James were currently sleeping,
huddled together under their only blanket, "finally managed to
capture you, but it won't do them anything but more harm, so I'm
setting you free."
"I don't want to wake them yet. I want them to get a good night's
sleep before I tell them this." He looked up at the night sky and
sighed. Pikachu pondered the difference in the usually brash and
egotistical Pokémon; he seemed suddenly to have become a
Pokémon again.
Like me, thought the mouse. Like maybe his world too has been turned upside down.
No. Not really upside down. Pikachu shook his head softly. Yes, he'd
spent ten years with Ash, and yes he missed him badly, but that did
not excuse his running away from Misty.
"...and so Giovanni put up with them. He had no real choice, even if
they never knew it. This last assignment was supposed to keep them
busy and out of trouble, as well as out of his hair. Plus he had some
sort of master plan brewing and he wanted to be sure that all of his
Rockets were inline and not out tomcatting around."
Pikachu blinked as Meowth's words broke through. "Master plan? What
is it?"
Meowth looked at him in disgust. "Do you really think that if the
plan was still viable that I'd even be sitting here talking to you
about it?"
"Sorry."
Meowth frowned, then stood and walked a bit away. "Giovanni died last
week." He shook his head. "I don't know what's gonna happen with Team
Rocket now, and I don't care. There are some heavy dealings going on
that I don't think even Giovanni knew about. And I never did agree
with the whole "Dark" Pokémon concept that Neo Team Rocket is
concentrating on. I looked at the files before I left..." Meowth
continued. "Trying to find these two. I called, but they'd gone -
hadn't shown up for work in days. I was scared - they're my best
friends in the whole world, and I didn't know if they were alive or
dead. So I came after them."
"And you released me because...?"
"There's really no point to keeping you if we're not Team Rocket." He
turned to look questioningly at me. "By the way, how *did* they
manage to finally capture you?"
Pikachu shrugged. "So much has happened to me recently. I'm just so
confused. Ash has disappeared and transferred me to Misty, and while
I have nothing against Misty... well, I'm upset because Ash left me.
We were a team - we were one unit. Nothing was too much for us, or so
I thought." Pikachu sighed.
"I suddenly just felt so angry at everyone. I'd already run away
once. Tried to find Ash on my own. And ended up getting lost. Misty
rescued me and then because we were off the regular trail, trying to
make up time, we were attacked by a psychotic scyther. His trainer
was a member of Team Rocket, by the way."
Meowth rolled his eyes up. "Yeh. Obviously one of our brightest to
have abandoned his Pokémon."
"Mm. No comment. I'm just so... upset, you know? Ash and I... well,
we've pretty much grown up together. I don't know what happened. One
day every thing is fine and the next - bam - Ash is gone, Misty is an
emotional wreck, I'm in therapy for depression and separation anxiety
and Ash's main rival is giving me orders like I'm his." Pikachu gave
a short, bitter laugh. "So when Jessie and James showed up I just
jumped into the cage and let them take me. Figured that I should be
with the ones who want me."
Meowth let the silence hang in the air a moment, shaking his
head. "You know, I never thought you were the type to run away from a challenge." He looked at the sleeping Jessie and James. "Running isn't your thing. You need to go back and fix what you can and live with the rest of it." He turned to Pikachu. "Go back, then find the twerp. If he says he doesn't want you around anymore, fine. But I bet you'll find there's something else going on. You two have been together too long. And I can't believe your story is gonna end like this. You two have a destiny that's still out there waiting for you."
Pikachu stared at Meowth for a moment, then grinned and ran into the
trees.
To Be Continued...
-------------------------------
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