Chapter 10: In Which They Try to Get Into Team Rocket Headquarters and Don't Go Shopping

"Well, here we are in Goldenrod," Ash announced.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Brynna replied, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not Captain Obvious, I'm Ash Ketchum."

"You're an idiot, is what you are."

Yes, I think it's fairly safe to say that our heroes were all quite sick of one another by the time they reached Goldenrod. If they weren't already sick of one another when they started their journey, that is.

"Ooh, look," said Misty. "It's the Goldenrod Department Store!"

"So?" said Brynna.

"So I want to go shopping! I mean, I need some things for my Pokémon, and while we're here, I might as well..."

"Yeah, and I want some food!"

Three guesses who said that. Brock? No. Pikachu? No. Ash? You got it. Wow, you're smart.

"Ash, department stores don't sell food," Brock told him. "Unless you eat Pokémon food, that is."

"I'll eat Pokémon food. Heck, I'll eat anything. I missed a meal, for goodness sake!"

"Oh, come on," said Brynna. "You missed dinner last night. And you ate more than enough at breakfast to make up for it."

"I'm not talking about dinner, silly."

"Oh? And what meal are you talking about, then?"

"Second breakfast, of course!" Ash said, in a tone that suggested that this should be perfectly obvious. He knew that tone well. People used it on him all the time.

Brynna stared at him for a while.

"Why are you not fat?" she asked finally. "How can you eat so much and still be as small as you are?"

"I think he's got an unusually high metabolism," Brock supplied.

"That makes sense," Brynna agreed.

"I have a metabolism? Where?" Ash looked around, and then checked his backpack, before realizing that he didn't know what he was looking for. "Wait, what's a metabolism?"

"...Never mind," Brock and Brynna said in unison. Then Brynna glared at Brock as if he'd somehow stolen what she'd been going to say.

"So, um," Tracey began, "Where are the Team Rocket headquarters, anyway?"

"Follow me," Brynna said, starting off down the street without looking behind her to see if the others were following.

"But I wanted to go shopping!" Misty protested, hurrying to catch up with Brynna and the rest.

"Too bad, you're not going to," Brynna snapped.

Misty sighed, but didn't complain.

Much wandering around and soreness of feet later

"Okay, here we are," Brynna announced finally, stopping in front of a smallish, perfectly normal-looking one-story building.

"This is Team Rocket headquarters?"

"No, it's the entrance to the Underground Path."

"The what?" Ash looked confused, as he often did.

"It's a tunnel. A walkway. Under the ground."

"And this has exactly what to do with Team Rocket?" Misty asked.

"The entrance to their headquarters is in the Underground."

"Where in the Underground?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, that's really helpful," Misty said annoyedly.

"Look, it's a straight tunnel with one short hallway off of it, and it isn't all that long. How hard can the door possibly be to find?"

"You will come with us to look for it, though, right?" Brock asked anxiously.

"Well..." Brynna considered. "I suppose you wouldn't be able to find it if I weren't around to point it out. You lot could probably be looking straight at the door and you still wouldn't know where it was. And since I don't want you to be the only things standing between Team Rocket and complete world domination, or whatever they're trying to do, I suppose I'll come, yes."

"Oh, that's great! Thank you so much!" Brock gushed.

They descended into the Underground, which was crowded with trainers wanting to battle, and turned down the side hallway. Sure enough, at the end of it was a door with a plaque on it that read, "Top Secret Team Rocket Headquarters." They tried the handle. It was locked.

"Oh, great," said Misty, reading a noticed tacked on the door underneath the plaque. "'As of last Tuesday at 14:09 o'clock-' hey, there's no such thing as 14:09 o'clock!"

"There is if you're European," argued Brynna.

"...What?" Misty said, staring at her blankly.

"Never mind."

Misty continued reading. '-last Tuesday at 14:09 o'clock, all doors to and within the Team Rocket headquarters will require the use of a Card Key to enter.'" Misty paused for a moment, frowning. "We haven't got a Card Key."

"No, really? I was sure we did," Brynna said sarcastically.

"We'll just have to find one, then," Ash said.

"Oh, and where might one be, pray tell?" Brynna asked him.

"Right here," said a voice behind him. They all turned to see a smirking Rocket Grunt, holding something that looked like a hotel room key just out of their reach. "Too bad you'll never be able to have it."