First Journey
Chapter 4
by MacrossGreen
Author's Note: Now that Chapter 3 is done, I've decided to wait a very short while before finishing with this chapter. However, by the time anyone reads this, I will have received any comments/reviews that were given for Chapter 3, and any suggestions made will most likely have been taken into consideration.
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It had been two days since the members of Team Rocket had come across that trainer with the Dratini. Numerous calls had been made, all directed via cell phone towards Lavender Town and Vermilion City. No operatives in either city had found the trainer that had the dratini, or even vaguely resembled the description that had been given to them. It was enough to make Serra sleep uneasily that night, while her partner slept like a rock. She hated leaving things half done, even if it was beyond her control. The fact she'd been defeated by some trainer ate at her- she had rarely ever been defeated before!
Her first defeats had been her first half dozen battles. The worst part of it was, the last battle had seen her pokemon defeated in a single attack from a very powerful pokemon. If that hadn't been enough, she had been defeated as well from that same attack that caused her pokemon to faint- a Hyper Beam wasn't something to laugh at. In her nightmares, she could still feel the excruciating pain from the attack that had been launched at her. It had defeated her Ekans, and then when the attacking pokemon looked her way, the beam had launched towards her as well. It had struck and she had fallen, almost at the same time.
"I can not keep this up... I must battle him again, and win this time!" she told herself, her inner voice yelling those words in her mind even as she spoke under her breath. She was still haunted by her previous losses, and now, with a fresh loss after such a long time, she was livid. She was resting in her sleeping bag, where she and her partner had decided to rest for the night... But no longer. She quietly slipped out of the bag and tucked everything away. Serra knew what she had to do, before it ate her up inside. She gathered her things, and was gone at midnight. Her quiet steps took her further along the route, to the point where she would soon need to decide which way to go.
"Route 12... or, Route 11?" she asked herself, walking steadily on. Her eyes caught the sight of some light up ahead and she immediately went serious. Her eyes squinted at the light, and she crept quietly along the road in that direction. It took half an hour for her to come up to where the light was- a fire had been built, but there was no one around. The night was rather quiet, even for this shallow range into the woods from the route. There should have been the sounds of nocturnal pokemon, at least, she knew, and then she knew that this was most likely a trap. "Dammit." she said to herself and then she could imagine that someone was watching her from very closeby.
"Move before I say you can, and I will let you stand witness to my sinister technique, girl." came the quiet, calm, and collected voice of a woman. Serra stood there, unmoving save for the heaving of her chest, up and down quickly. There was a piece of metal, cold and slightly burning to the flesh, pressed against the small of the Rocket girl's back- certainly, quite sharp, even through the fabric of her clothes. A fast movement and a blur around Serra's peripheral vision brought her attacker into view- she wore dark clothes with a slightly lighter colored trim.
The woman simply smiled slightly, and the expression told Serra that she couldn't be too much older than she was. Her bangs were dark, what little of her hair that Serra could see. She seemed to watch her now, the two practically staring at each other as each waited on the other. Finally, Serra couldn't take it anymore. "What is it you want?" she asked through clenched teeth, looking into the other girl's dark eyes. This was starting to really annoy her now, since the feeling in her gut told her that she was losing, in a way other than a simple pokemon battle. The girl before her slipped back, standing between Serra and the fire now, her body silhouetted by the firelight behind her. She smiled still, remaining silent a moment longer, even as Serra's anger grew again. "Well?"
"Silence, little girl. I wonder, why would you be heading this way this late at night, hm? Are you perhaps looking for something? Or, even someone?" the girl asked, and Serra could feel the anger intensify yet again. A cold feeling filled the Rocket girl, even as her anger made her extremely heated on the outside. How did this other girl know that she was looking for someone? She couldn't put a finger on it, but she did seem familiar somehow. Had they met before?
The girl nodded once to Serra as she saw the indecision on her face, and then spoke again, the smile leaving her. "I am Janine. The Fuchsia City gym leader." She stood proud, of course, as she always did when introducing herself. At her waist, around the belt she wore that kept her robe wrapped around her easily, were a total of six pokeballs, and one could bet that all six were filled with pokemon intent on producing poison and confusion to any foe. Along the trim of the gym leader's robe were several throwing stars as well, save one that was missing. That particular shuriken was in her hand, the same cold metal that Serra had felt pressed into the small of her back.
Serra blinked in surprise at those words. Certainly, she knew of this particular person, but had never actually met her. Team Rocket kept tabs on each and every gym leader in each country- several in other countries were even influenced or part of Team Rocket. Giovanni, for instance, had been a Gym Leader before becoming a very high-ranking official within the organization. Of course, none now knew where to find him. This leader, she knew, had taken over after her father had risen to the ranks of the Elite Four with his perfected techniques in his gym. Team Rocket had gained many of its pokemon from trainers who had once been a part of this particular gym- poison attacks had become Team Rocket's mainstay.
"Oh... shit..." was all that Serra could mutter. Janine simply laughed at her words and shrugged, setting the shuriken that she had held to Serra's back away now. Serra knew that she didn't stand much of a chance against a gym leader, even with the pokemon she'd managed to have provided to her by her superiors to deal with the Dratini that that kid had. Plus, she even knew most of Janine's pokemon line-up from the latest reports, and several could Self Destruct.
"Alright... I believe I know who your target is, and what you're after. You want to beat my friend with the Dratini, don't you?" was the gym leader's question, and Serra's eyes widened. How could she possibly have known that? Unless she'd listened in on them when they had spoken with their superiors... Janine nodded once more, seeing the look in the girl's eyes. Bingo! "Well, I'll tell you right now. You will not reach him. You will have to defeat me in order to get to my friend. And, as I am certain you are well aware, I am not as simple as the other trainers you have likely ever fought and stolen from, after all."
Serra knew that, for a fact, that this gym leader was correct. Janine had a reputation for being nearly ruthless in battle against any trainer and their pokemon. Often, she would even defeat trainers who entered her gym with only a single pokemon to do the battling on her part. The last several trainers who had been from Team Rocket faced her in her own gym- and they were soundly defeated, of course. "Yeah, yeah... so I'm after the kid with the Dratini. He beat me and my partner, and I want to get back at 'im." she told the girl, who looked to be on the verge of laughing her ass off.
"You don't even know my friend's name, do you? Well then, little girl, I should tell you that that Trainer's name is Arik. We kinda go way back... but that's not important to you. What is important is that you won't get near him while I'm around, so you may as well go back to your friend and run away." Janine replied, looking rather smug as she watched the girl with the black coat with the red 'R' on the front. "I overheard you and your partner a little while ago. You're pretty loud, you know that? Turn tail now, or battle me and lose, girl. Your choice."
Janine was now in a state that few who ever met her had ever seen her in. Arik, out of anyone outside the gym (and even then, only Koga had ever seen this vicious side of her), had seen this side of her only once. Serra could tell that, even with the cold lump in her stomach and the anger within her rising to the overflow-point, she would need to reconsider her stance on all this. Would she chance battling a gym leader, even if she were to use all of her pokemon at once? Or should she play it safe, and go 'around' her later on?
Around this same time, Arik was hiding outside the guardhouse that was between Route 12 and Route 11. He'd seen some rather strange looking people pass by earlier, one of them wearing a black jacket of a style that reminded him of the pair of Rockets he had barely managed to defeat the day before yesterday. He'd made good time at night, even through the rain that had poured left him soaked and muddy. He had found some shelter, fortunately, in a small alcove in a hill that looked as if it had been pressed inwards in the hill by some extreme weight. With that much shelter, he had taken the time to finally bandage the wound that had been inflicted on Ame, and then brought her back into the pokeball.
The bandaging was a simple way to stop the bleeding at best- it staunched the wound, slowed and then stopped the bleeding, but he had nothing to stop any sort of infection that might develop. Ame was pretty weak, even after a pair of potions had been used upon her. That left Arik with three potions, and one pokemon left that could possibly be used in a pokemon battle. And because of Arrow being out of it, still just as weak as Ame despite not being wounded.
So, behind a bush as several trainers went past, Arik waited. A Weedle came up behind him after a while, looking at him in surprise. Arik had to shush the little posionous pokemon away, and surprisingly enough, it did go away after few minutes, without trying to sting him. The act didn't draw any attention from anyone or anything else passing by, thankfully, and as soon as the coast was clear, Arik made a dash towards the guardhouse. He reached it easily enough, without anyone's notice, though that would change once he grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, and inside he went.
Once inside, he had to blink at the brighter light. Since it was still pretty late, and his eyes hadn't adjusted immediately, his eyes closed and he had to wait for a minute before he could open them again. He heard a familiar voice come from to his left, and he turned towards the voice he heard. "What are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be at a pokemon center by now?" the voice called over to him, and Arik chuckled softly. Obviously, this certain person didn't know him, which made him realize who it must be, even though he didn't know her either. "Officer Jenny, I presume?" he said, opening his eyes as he shielded his sight from the light as he continued to get adjusted to it.
'Yes, that's me." the green haired woman said, coming up to him. Her blue and red uniform was crisp and well-maintained, and the gold buttons shone with the bright lights that lit up the guardhouse. "Well, what are you doing here instead of at a pokemon center or asleep for the night already?" she asked him, standing in front of Arik. His own clothes were a mess- still damp, his pants muddy, and his hair... well, there was sand in it still, dirt on his face, and therefore, he was pretty damned dirtied up from the past few days. No wonder the officer seemed a bit unsure of him.
"What can I say... I was attacked by Team Rocket the day before yesterday. I have a wounded pokemon with me that I really need to get to a pokemon center. My Pidgey was knocked out during that same battle, and I've been battling the weather just to get here." he told her. Fatigue could be seen on his face, and in the way he was somewhat sluped over. This kid needed a bath. If the story he gave was true, and it certainly looked as if it might be, then Jenny knew that she would need to help this poor kid somehow.
"Team Rocket? They're gone. They've been disbanded in this region for years now. Come up with a better story next time." she told him, not really believing the kid's story in the slightest. Arik sighed, shivering slightly as he stood there as Jenny started in on him, going off on his needing to sleep and clean up, and not to lie to people about why he was up this late. It took only a minute of this for Arik's own anger to boil over the top. He didn't get angry very easily, but when he did, he tended to be somewhat explosive.
"Shut up! I don't need to be lectured by you, officer!" he said loudly, not quite yelling at her. He was angry, she could easily tell, both in his voice and his demeanor. "I'm tired, I'm dirty, I have a wounded Dratini and my other pokemon are not faring much better. I have had six hours of sleep, if that, in the past two days! I had to fight against opponents who sent out four pokemon to my three, and my pokemon managed to win against them. If you don't want to believe me, fine. I'll head to Vermilion City without any help, and I doubt I'll be able to fend off any trainers who might want to battle me this next time. If you think I'm a liar, well, so be it." he said angrily, and then he stalked off towards the far door that led to Route 11.
The officer just stood there with her mouth open, watching after the kid that had just chewed her out. No trainer had ever gotten angry enough or had enough courage to do that to her! She'd faced down criminals, Team Rocket, trainers gone bad, and worse in her career as an officer of the law. However, she'd never had to deal with a trainer who'd done nothing wrong, to her knowledge, just go off on her before she was finished dealing with him. Soon, the pretty officer's lips closed up as she smirked, wondering just what had happened there, even as Arik walked out of the guardhouse. The way he had spoken about all that made her doubt her original assessment of his story- it wasn't like it was impossible, after all. That part about Team Rocket was unlikely, but she had also heard rumors from other trainers about being attacked by people who claimed to be from Team Rocket.
With a sigh, she walked towards the door, turning only to face the other officer that was behind the desk, his jaw hanging low as he had seen and heard the entire thing. She told him not to talk about this to anyone- this particular officer was known for not keeping his mouth shut at times. He just nodded vacantly as his superior officer walked out of the guardhouse and over to where her motorcycle was kept. The kid walked fast, obviously. He was already nearly out of sight into the darkness of night, and was nearing the first rank of tall grass out towards Vermilion City. She cursed under her breath as she revved up the motorcycle, the action taking up a few crucial seconds for her to get going towards the trainer who had chewed her out.
Arik, on the other hand, was walking faster than he usually did, despite the fact that he was tired, wet, dirty, and royally pissed off. He couldn't blame her, really... but he did, since he'd never really been considered a liar before. He wouldn't lie about his pokemon needing help, after all. She'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and already he felt bad as his anger dissipated. This young man wasn't much of a liar- he could tell a little white lie easily enough, but when it came to something extravagant... well, only the most oblivious person (or a Slowpoke) wouldn't be able to tell the truth from the lie.
He heard the sound of the motorcycle behind him, not too far away, as it was turned on, and then the squeel of tires made him turn around to see what was going on. The sound of the motorcycle's engine grew louder as it came closer to him at breakneck speeds. Then, it took a turn as it came near him, sliding into a large puddle that he had just managed to walk around. A wave of water splashed out towards Arik, only to miss him as he dove to the side, landing roughly and with a groan of pain on the ground. The rider of the bike just grinned beneath the helmet, an action Arik couldn't see even if he tried to, and then brought the bike upright again, twisting her hand on the handle.
The officer on the bike simply passed by quickly, through a mud puddle that reached for quite a ways away in a dip in the road. The sudden introduction of a fast moving object through a still pool of water caused a rather large splashing of water to wash over Arik's already damp form, soaking him right through as a result. The motorcycle sped off into the distance, and the light of its headlight flashed out of sight as the sound of the bike's motor became lower and more distant. With a sigh, and shoulders slumped, Arik walked into the tall grass that would take him in a direct path towards the distant city.
"What a night..." he muttered, sighing to himself as he brushed through the grass that reached to his shoulders. He knew that he could that he couldn't afford a battle, either with trainers or with the wild pokemon out tonight thanks to the condition his own pokemon were in. He could hear a soft rattling and slithering coming closer, and he looked around, now staying in place as he saw some of the grass about him moving from side to side slowly. Finally, the sound of whatever it was became clearer as they moved steadily closer to Arik's place, and he knelt down, standing, just barely and carefully, on his feet as he waited. It only took a moment for a group of Ekans to pass by his place, not looking anywhere other than in front of them as they stuck their tongues out as they slithered past. "Kans....ek, eka, sa..." was what Arik heard them crying lowly, to one another as they disappeared into the grass again.
Then, there was a slower pace, a soft thudding along the ground. A slow, even lower noise came in the evening air as the grass parted more and more from whatever it was coming his way than the Ekans had made. Arik got up quickly- Ekans had fairly bad sight, but rather good senses of hearing and smell. These parts in the grass that he could see were bigger, and if he remembered what he'd heard about the pokemon in these parts was correct, then these were probably Drowzee. His suspicions were confirmed as he heard their cries finally, and Arik moved faster in the grass to find himself stumbling down a small hill and onto pavement once more. "Ow..."
"Hey, what was that?" a voice called out, obviously directed to others that weren't too far away. Arik froze for a second, but was soon on his feet, pushing up with bloodied hands that were scraped and scratched pretty bad from the impact of landing on the rough concrete. His knees were sticking to his pants- not just because he was soaked, he suspected. His shins? Probably a mess, from mud and possibly blood. This was just killing him! First an encounter (a bad one!) with the law, then some pokemon, and now possibly someone going after the pokemon that he'd just passed by. Possibly, they were after him now, too.
"I heard that too. Didn't sound like a pokemon!" came a second voice, and Arik just took off to the west as he starting pumping his legs up and down. Running now, he heard a yell from behind and didn't even look that way- the lights of the city were in sight now, even through the tall grass and hills that blocked the actual sight of the city ahead. He was going full tilt through the grass when his left foot was caught underneath something, and caused him to take yet another tumble, Arik's eyes closing as his arms moved in front of him, an attempt made to catch himself before it was too late. Another sound was heard, a cry of pain, as it too dropped beside him.
Arik let out a groan as he rested there for but a moment- he hoped his speed had allowed him to slip past the people who were coming after him. But then, when he felt something warm against his leg, he turned to look and see what was there. The light was still very dim, and his sight was going- lack of sleep and lethargy was getting to him now, moreso than before. He hadn't lied to Jenny about that, after all. When he looked down near his leg, he saw a pokemon that was fairly small. It was fairly dark in color as well, and didn't lend itself well to his already diminished eyesight. "Damn... I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..." he told the pokemon quietly. It slowly got up, and Arik winced as he saw that the pokemon come closer to his face as he lay on the ground still. Its eyes were a little red, as if extremely pissed off or, perhaps, that was this pokemon's normal color of eyes?
"Vuuuullll! Piii,Vupipulllix." the pokemon said, and the cry told him just what type of pokemon it was. He didn't really have the strength to get up at the minute, but with a pokemon that he knew could burn and set things on fire. And he'd run right over it! Sure, an accident, but pokemon could get angry in a flash, just as Arik had at Officer Jenny earlier. And sure enough, the Vulpix's tail rose up and then moved in a matter that made them seem to glow at the tips. Finally, the tips of its tails stopped and then a kind of whitish-blue fire erupted from them, merging into a sort of fireball that engulfed Arik all of a sudden, causing the soaked human to jump up in pain and yell- but he wasn't burned, really. His clothes were barely scorched, and he was actually much drier than he'd been since the other day, before Team Rocket had confronted him.
"What kind of attack was that?" he asked the Vulpix, who just staggered in place somewhat before slumping to the ground again. Arik sighed, and smiled, the memory of the people that had been after him gone now as he kneels to the ground and picks up the Vulpix- he couldn't see anything wrong with it, except, perhaps, the fact that it looked extremely tired. He wasn't sure about the attack that Vulpix had actually just used on him, but this little, warm, red haired pokemon was tired as all hell. Could it have been trained, and left on its own after a lost battle? Or had it wandered into this rather unsheltered area while it was raining? "Alright, I'm getting us to a pokemon center. I think I've got enough left to get us there." he said to the Vulpix in his arms.
It was kinda unusual, really. He hadn't really thought that he'd find a pokemon out here to take with him, not without battling. But he wouldn't be taking this particular pokemon without a battle at least- his pokemon and this one were all weak now, after all. After a trip to the Pokemon Center, he'd challenge it to a battle, if it didn't mind him. With a sigh, and the sudden sound of several feet stomping around in the grass fairly nearby, Arik snuck towards town again slowly.
Serra and Janine were still in that place, sitting down now as they laughed. Janine, though underage, had acquired a bit of something rather unusual for trainers while she was at the gym, and she had broken it out to try and wheedle (no pun intended) information out of the Rocket girl. Both had small saucers and there was a fairly large bottle on the bround between them. The liquid in the saucers was clear, yet somewhat white, as both sipped from them. With a smile on both their faces, both held the soft redness one might associate with being flushed...
And they were certainly that. Indeed, both were drunk, though Serra was more drunk at the moment than Janine, thanks to a low tolerance. They'd been telling life stories and laughing at each others' memories, crying together at times of the more painful ones that Serra had told Janine. Janine now began to soften a bit, now sporting a pleasant buzz as she listened to the now talkative Team Rocket member. Her battle with Arik the other day was something that she told Janine, and the gym leader listened carefully to that.
How her family had been part of Team Rocket for a long time, and had brought her in as well. How her own mother had taught her to become a pokemon trainer, even as she had been sent to the pokemon school in Celadon City to learn as well. She had wanted to be a normal trainer, one to travel on her own without much worry. To one day defeat the gym leaders of Kanto and move on to the Pokemon League to battle the powerful Elite 4. She even wanted to become a respected trainer, which was something that was impossible as long as she was in Team Rocket.
Also, she told the powerful Gym Leader how she had to battle her father with her own pokemon every 6 months, to show how far her training had taken her. She had never been allowed to leave Celadon unless with family. She'd even managed to defeat many of the Grass-pokemon trainers in the Celadon gym, but Erika's Rainbow badge had ever been elusive, even to her strong poison types that she once had. The battles with her father were the worst, though. Serra's father would have his pokemon beat Serra's pokemon so badly that not even a pokemon center could save them.
Travelling to Lavender Town's pokemon tower had become something she did at least once a year, if not twice a year. Only one pokemon of hers had ever survived the battles, and she had to keep it stored in a secret pokemon PC account from her parents and Team Rocket in general, to keep it alive. She hadn't seen the pokemon for months now... her parents expected her to return to face her father again soon.
"I dun' wanna battle him to the pokemon's deaths ever again! I can't do it. How can I train pokemon if they're killed by his pokemon? I try to save 'em, I really do... but he thinks they're just tools to attack and kill with. I never wanna see 'im again! Mom's no' any better!" she almost yelled, but Janine managed to keep her quiet as she moved over and put an arm around the slightly younger girl's shoulder. Janine might be a ninja, a gym leader... but she was also moved by the girl's honest feelings and words. She could tell that she was telling the truth- the alcohol often did that to those who weren't too used to it. Serra just buried her head into the gym leader's shoulder and soon Janine could feel the moisture of tears begin to soak into her gi. The girl shook again and Janine sighed- likely, she'd cry herself to sleep.
Janine looked up towards the sky, searching for stars that were hidden behind the clouds that moved quickly overhead. The moon peeked out every so often, its light bringing to the trees around them a soft glow. With the girl leaning against her shoulder, she could only wonder if her own rivalry could wait? This girl needed help more than she needed a match against Arik, after all. She judged the girl in her mind- she knew that she was part of Team Rocket. And yes, she was certainly a trainer of sorts. She didn't want to be part of a gang of thieves, but had been forced into it from childhood. Her story about her father and mother was the most saddening she'd ever heard, too. If she could change, this girl could likely become very good at training pokemon... if only she could keep her pokemon away from her father's 'battles.'
"Shh... Serra, try to rest. I think I have an idea, but I'll bring it up in the morning. Sleep here, and do not think about evil thoughts. Relax." Janine told her, in the softest, perhaps quietest voice she'd ever used since before becoming a trainer. The sobbing began to ebb, the sounds of the choked up girl slowly quieting before Serra actually managed to relax slowly. Janine had taken a liking to this girl, and hoped she would honestly listen and answer to what she had to say to her, in the morning. Serra hadn't told her what the pokemon was that she had managed to keep hidden from her father, but she doubted that it could really hold a candle against her own. Her curiosity was piqued, though.
Finally, Serra's breathing slowed, the heaving of her chest softly falling up and down against Janine's arm. Janine looked to her, and couldn't help but to smile softly. As coldhearted as she could be, using powerful Self-Destruct type moves against her opponents, she still cared both about her pokemon and her opponent's pokemon. Unlike, obviously, Serra's father did. Her pokemon might faint from the use of such moves, but it sounded as if this girl's father would love to put all of his pokemon's life force into such attacks.
She slowly moved the younger girl from where she held onto her arm, down to lay on the ground, pulling a blanket from seemingly nowhere (though really, it was simply from the pack she wore on her back, between the robe and her shirt she wore beneath) and setting it over her. They were already on two blankets that Janine had set out earlier- from experience of traveling before becoming a gym leader, she knew that the ground would take more heat from a body than the air above them would. She set about spacing out the remaining embers of the fire that had once been going quite well, the smoke dying along with the remnants of heat that were slowly cooking away to their demise.
Janine lay down as well after corking the bottle of sake and setting it away safely, taking the saucers and setting them into her pack as well (the real backpack, actually, which was set nearby). With a slight sigh, she relaxed somewhat, though her eyes remained open now as she looked straight up, towards a gap in the clouds that had formed, revealing the stars above to her. She smiled slightly, her braided hair hanging at her side as she watched the clouds go past. There was not much else to do, but as she couldn't bring herself to trust the girl beside her, nor the fact that there was a chance someone or something might come this way despite the fire that was slowly dying out.
The embers barely gave out any smoke, and were only an orange color that was slowly deepening to a dull red as the heat left the wood. Soon enough, her own eyes closed and her breathing slowed, and she began to meditate while in this position. It wasn't long afterwards until she too was asleep, and both girls slept side by side. One with the black jacket with the red 'R' insignia, and the other with a dark robe with purple trimming along its edges. An unlikely duo if there ever was one- a member of Team Rocket, and a Gym Leader.
It was dawn by the time Arik managed to get down to Vermilion City's suburbs. And without much more than six hours of sleep in the past 72 hours, he was running on empty. The Vulpix in his arms, on the other hand, had been sleeping fitfully for the past several hours that he'd been walking. Walking through the suburbs, looking a lot like some pokemaniac that was dressed up like some pokemon that was always dirty (though, to tell the truth, that would be more like a halloween costume), he was glad it was too early for almost any pokemon trainers to actually be out and about... at least, in this area.
It took half an hour for him to find the pokemon center in this part of Vermilion- turned out that he had to pass that rather large hill (almost a small mountain) that had a cave on the side. Acording to the sign he read, it was the Diglett Tunnel. Strangely, according to the pokedex which he'd finally pulled out, it was also the only place left in the Kanto region to actually find them and their evolved form, Dugtrio. He might have to train down there after a visit to the pokemon center, but first things first. He'd actually went inside far enough to find that the tunnel was a level below, only to be reached by a ladder that descended down there. He hid in the tunnel for a good hour, still unsure as to whether or not those people were looking for him or had given up the chase.
Finally, he came to the door of the pokemon center, which was still closed. The hours of operation for pokemon centers, throughout the region, was 7:00am to 11:00pm. It wasn't even close to opening times, but Arik wasn't in the mood to wait. He pounded on the door with one hand, a metallic thud and shaking ringing out. This pokemon center, like most, had metal shutters on both the inside and outside, to keep the glass portions from being attacked by pokemon thieves with explosives (though enough explosives would still take 'em out), or by pokemon that might attempt to escape.
At the sound of the banging, the Vulpix stirred in the crook of his arm. He smiled softly, looking to the small, red, fox-like pokemon before bringing the hand that had been hitting the shutter to the pokemon, petting its back gently to coax it back asleep. The pokemon must have been used to such treatment- it began to get drowsy again, and then its eyes closed again. Arik could feel its breathing slwo once more, even as the shutters made a soft noise before being brought back upwards- maybe it was closer to opening time than he had thought? But, if it was... why was there a Nurse Joy standing at the door, revealed to his sight as the shutters slowly slid upwards.
From white heels to white stockings, up along her rather pale yet well formed legs that went up before becoming hidden by a frilly white skirt. It then slipped back to a near-form fitting suit, kinda like overalls, that ended just past her shoulders. Her arms were covered as well, with long white gloves. The look on her face, however, was not quite as charming as her body was, to tell the truth. She looked identical to the Joy he had known from Fuchsia, though his friend Joy was more often than not in much different colored uniforms (she preferred dark blue and light red over white, for instance). She was worried, very much so, as she opened the door as quickly as the shutters allowed her to.
"Hurry, get in here! Officer Jenny came by hours ago and told me that you were coming, before she left for her post again.... wait, what's wrong with the Vulpix?" she asked, slowly putting a hand onto the pokemon's head lightly. She withdrew her hand quickly, realizing that there was something wrong with it. "Nevermind! Come on in, quick, and we'll get your pokemon all healed. You have an injured Dratini, right? Give me the pokeballs, and you go get cleaned up." she told him, and Arik nodded, reaching up to the pokeballs he was carrying on his jacket. He took them off and handed them to Joy before offering the sleeping Vulpix to her.
"This Vulpix seems tame to me, Nurse Joy... I think it might have a trainer, but I found it wandering on Route 11." he told her, before yawning. His free hand moved up to cover his mouth as Joy took the fiery pokemon in her own arm. Arik then wandered in the direction of the pokemon trainer's rooms... but blinked, looking around before realizing that the layout was a bit different from the pokemon center he once worked at. "Sheesh... this place is all turned around!" he tells himself, even as Nurse Joy had gone behind the counter to help the pokemon. Indeed, it was- it was a layout that was opposite in design than the pokemon center he was used to working at.
He walked to the other side of the counter, and sure enough, there was the hallway. With a wave to the nurse, he walked towards the only open room there was- the other rooms had closed doors. He yawned slowly again, stretching slowly even as one of the doors he passed opened behind him. He was inside the room he'd been heading towards before whoever it was had noticed him. The door was closed, and Arik started getting out of the dirty clothes. First off was the backpack, and he sighed loudly as he felt the weight leave his shoulders. He set the pack on the floor, and then off came his jacket and shirt. He zipped up the pockets on the jacket before setting it on the back of a chair. His pants soon followed, leaving him in his boxers until he went to his pack to pull out a pair of shorts, pulling them on.
It took only a minute for him to fall asleep after he slipped into the bed. Almost as soon as the back of his head touched the pillow on the bed, his eyes closed and he was out like a light. His body was completely relaxed- unlike the past few days, when he'd actually been tense like none other and tired beyond any other time in his life. He had no dreams as he slept- his sleep was deep within half an hour, and remained that way for quite a while.
Serra woke up the next morning to sunlight in her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize just how high in the sky it was- it wasn't quite morning anymore, was it? No indeed, mid-morning at the earliest, most likely early afternoon. She sat up, the blanket sliding down her body somewhat as she stretched slowly. Then, she blinked, wincing immediately after doing so as she felt the headache of a lifetime. "Oh... dammit..." she moaned, her left hand moving to the back of her head, rubbing gently at the black hair that was loose there. "Ouch."
"Well now, hung over are we? You better lay off the sake next time, huh?" came a familiar voice that was just quiet enough to not be considered painful or loud as hell to Serra's addled mind. In response, Serra only groaned slightly and nodded just barely- that motion was almost too much for her to take, and although she hadn't eaten anything since early last night, she felt that certain motion of a rocking ship about to knock a few sailors off the bow. Janine just chuckled softly as she continued to work on some breakfast. She wasn't that great of a cook- it was a known fact among the gym leaders of Kanto that the best cook wasn't one of the female gym leaders. It was Brock, the leader of Pewter City's gym. She could make pancakes and fry up bacon, but that was just about it.
"I'm making some pancakes, so feel free to eat whatever you'd like, Serra... do you remember much of what we talked about last night?" Janine asked the Rocket girl. Serra just shook her head slowly in reply, and then just lay back down again on the 'bed'. She closed her eyes again, the headache dissipating as her eyes closed once more- must have something to do with the bright light, she thought to herself, though even her own mental voice seemed muffled and difficult to hear.
"Not really... I think I told you some things about myself, but other than that, I don't remember a thing." Serra told Janine. This Rocket girl was having quite a hangover, and the fact that she could remember even that much made her blush and be glad that she wasn't quite as out of it as one might think she could be. "Damn... Next time you offer me a drink, I gotta remember to say no!" she said loudly, and then groaned as she heard her own voice, too damn loud for her to take as she felt pain in her head again. Janine just shook her head and took a paper plate, setting two pancakes on it and taking it over to her new friend.
"Well then, I think you remember enough. How about you come train at my gym? Leave Team Rocket and learn how to actually train pokemon, using your own skills and abilities rather than stealing from others?" Janine asks her. Serra blinked once, her eyes opening before she looked over to the gym leader in surprise. Leave Team Rocket without battling her father, her superior in the organization, in order to do so? It was tempting, but she knew that she couldn't just do that. She'd be hunted down in no time. Team Rocket might be 'on the run' while in Kanto, but they do tend to deal with rogue operatives that remain in the region rather quickly.
"I... wish I could, but... my father would come after me." she says quietly, even as she takes the offered plate of pancakes from Janine. They were thin, and an almost buttery color. They looked more like crepes than anything else, really. They were buttered already, by Janine, earlier before she had handed them off to her friend. Serra smiled gratefully to the gym leader, both for the food and for the offer. "Even if I started training there, the gym might come under attack by Team Rocket. And my father has pokemon from the Johto region that I doubt even you have seen here." she tells Janine now. They were the main reason why Serra had always lost against her father- those pokemon were brutal. A psychic type that looked kinda like the Eevee evolutions, a 'Dark' type pokemon... There was no way for Serra to have been prepared for the onslaught of well trained, very powerful pokemon like these were.
"My gym has never fallen to an enemy, Serra, and never will. My father, Koga, and his students as well as myself, still guard the gym. Koga comes back every so often, and he will undoubtedly come back if he knew that his gym was threatened by anyone." Janine said, smiling a little as she watched her friend have a bite of the pancake, before moving back to the fire, to flip the pancake in the pan that was for herself. Much as she'd hate to admit it (and boy, was Janine glad that Serra hadn't asked!), she had slept in and had woken up not much earlier than Serra had. "Come and train with us. Give up the pokemon that Team Rocket has given to you, return them to their original trainers if you can. Use your own pokemon and grow stronger on your own, and not by the sweat and toil of others. Only with your own training can you defeat those stronger than you, both in battle and out."
Serra listened carefully to Janine's words, even through the headache that had come to the fore of her mind again. She chewed on the pancake thoughtfully, considering the words said to her. She hadn't wanted to be part of Team Rocket. No teammates she'd ever had had wanted to be her partner- they idealized Team Rocket's use of pokemon and thievery. She only wanted to be a trainer, all her life. Nothing less than that, perhaps something more. She was, as of now, a simple thief. Plain and simple. She was the bane of society. She had no friends, really. She stole from others what they had trained, grown attached to- their pokemon. Their strengths, she'd taken for her own, and for the good of an organization that dealt with pokemon as if they were simply items or tools, to be used and discarded afterwards. With a sigh, she closed her eyes as she took another bite of the pancake, chewing as she continued to think.
"Take your time, Serra. There is no rush, but I would much rather have you as a friend instead of a foe. Thieves make few friends, and Team Rocket has no friends. Look in your own heart to learn the truth of this. You are not like them, this I can see for myself." the gym leader said to her quietly, and then turned back to the pancake, watching for when it would be ready for consumption. It became quiet again, save for the sound of a flock of Pidgey overhead, flying northwest over them, their soft cries nearly drowned out by three Pidgeotto that flew along the outskirts of the flock. The menacing cries of Spearow came from a nearby tree, and high above both pokemon types, a Fearow flew aloft upon great wings. They said nothing more, instead eating their breakfast (lunch, rather) in silence.
The sun was nearly setting before Arik was woken up by a rather violent shaking in the bed he was in. Sleepy still, he groaned as his eyes began to open and he looked to where he felt the hand on his shoulder. It was clad in white, and he sighed softly- his instincts to get ready for a battle not needed, for once, and he looked up along the arm towards the pink haired girl's face. She was younger than the Joy he was friends with, he decided, and slowly he moved to sit up on the matress, careful of his head so as not to hit the bottom portion of the top bunk above him. "Mmm... yes?" he asked her, his eyes blinking as he got used to the waning sunlight outside that was shining inside.
"Your pokemon are fine... Your Dratini has made a full recovery, but I think you still need rest. But first, come get some dinner before it gets cold." she tells him, and Arik nodded slightly, slipping out of the bed. She blushed slightly and quickly left the room- Arik had forgotten that he wasn't wearing a shirt while in bed, and he fished one out of the backpack, sliding the gray t-shirt onto himself before grabbing his dirty clothes and jacket, emptying the contents of all into his backpack. Then he went in search of the laundry facility, using the free services of the center to all trainers to start a wash of his clothes. After that, it was to the lobby he went, stretching slowly before looking around carefully. There were quite a few trainers about, he saw, and most even had their pokemon out to relax and eat as well.
"Over here!" called Nurse Joy, and she had a tray on the counter with some sort of soup (looked like beef stew, at least, and smelled like it too) and some bread. Arik smiled to the nurse, and nodded to her as he walked over. Steam rose from the bowl of stew on the tray, and there were three pokeballs on the tray as well. "You'll want to feed your pokemon, too. There's some food over there that you can use, if you want." she told the tired trainer, who nodded again to her and smiled gratefully to her. "Thanks, Nurse Joy." he said, taking the tray and heading over to the empty table and waiting area. He set the tray down and then took each pokeball in his hands- he let go of the inhibitor, expanding two of the pokeballs.
"Come on out!" he exclaimed, and then the halves parted, two pokemon materializing from the pokeballs. Out came Arrow and Ame, and he smiled, pulling out his second pokeball and doing the same thing, Tsai materializing alongside Ame. Tsai looked to Ame and checked her out critically- the last time he'd seen her, she had been wounded by that Raticate, after all. Arik smiled at that, and then motioned for the pokemon to come over as he went over to the pokemon food dispenser. Three bowls were set out for him to use, and so he did, filling all three up with pokemon food- they were obviously as hungry as he was, since all three dug into the food immediately!
"Vuuullll!" came a cry, and then Arik felt a bit of heat against his leg. He blinked in surprise and looked down to see the Vulpix he had found out on Route 11 (an unusual place for such a pokemon, he remembered). It seemed to smile at him, and then leapt up when he had sat down in the chair, finding itself on Arik's lap. Tsai looked over to his trainer and the red pokemon on his lap, and tilted its head to the side, even as its ears wiggled a bit back and forth. Arik smiled back to the Vulpix and with his free hand not using a spoon to stir the stew, he stroked along the Vulpix's back and along one of its six tails gently.
"Good to see you too, little Vulpix. Glad to see you're alright." he said, and then realized that Nurse Joy had come up over to him as he had been busy with the pokemon. He looked to her, the stew scooped up onto the spoon now hovering above the bowl, some of the broth dripping down the side of the spoon as it was held unsteadily. He was still recovering, after all, and was still pretty tired. He was also, at this point, unaware of all the stares that his Ame was getting from the other trainers in the pokemon center.
"This Vulpix may as well be yours- you were right, it was once a trainer's pokemon. But, for some reason she was released by her trainer. I'd heard that some trainers were burned along Route 11 by a wandering fire pokemon, but I never suspected a Vulpix." she said, and Arik smiled a little bit as he rubbed the Vulpix's ears gently. It arched its head back and into his grasp, before he leaned forward to blow on the steaming spoonful of broth and potato- no meat in this spoonful, it seemed. The Vulpix licked his hand, and he shivered a little at the heat he felt from it. Much more than it before, it was quite warm to the touch. "She seems to have taken a liking to you. She's also contracted the Pokerus virus- it isn't anything harmful, but it might leave her more vulnerable to cold weather than usual. It should run its course within a few days, possibly a week at most, I think." she told Arik.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy... I hope you don't mind if I stick around her for a while... I think Team Rocket's after me, and I think you can tell why. By the way, the next time you talk with Officer Jenny, please tell her I'm sorry, if I can't do it myself. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on." he tells the nurse, who smiled sweetly and nodded before heading back to her desk. Left alone to do as he needed, he looked over to Tsai and smiled to his first pokemon. "Well Tsai, if this Vulpix would like to join us, it looks like we have a new friend." he said, to which the Tsai jumped up and down a few times, seeming to smile. Arik was definitely glad that Tsai was a friendly pokemon. Arik looked over to Ame now, who was now finishing up with her food and glancing around slowly at all the people.
"Draa....ni, tiniiidraaa!" she cried softly, and wound up around Arik's chair, hiding underneath it and the table he was seated at. She seemed to be a bit timid or at least careful, he thought, even as he set the spoon into the bowl, only the 'stem' reaching out from it as he reached down with his now free hand to rub along the Dratini's ear ridge lightly with his fingertips. She nudged upwards at the feeling of her trainer's warm fingertips, and leaned against Arik's hand. He chuckled softly, both hands now a bit full as his bowl of stew began to get cold.
"You know, guys, I'd really like to eat too." he told the Ame and the Vulpix on his lap. Tsai, in the meantime, looked about slowly at the pokemon that the other trainers had out at the moment- one group included a Primeape, a Charmeleon, and a Rhyhorn. There was another pokemon there, perched on the trainer's shoulder, but Tsai had never seen one of them before. When Arik looked over to Tsai to see what it was doing, even as he heard his Arrow perch itself on the tabletop, he found himself looking over to the trainer Tsai was looking at. On the trainer's shoulder was a green-colored pokemon with a short beak and unusually small and stubby wings. It didn't have much in the way of claws, either.
"What... is that?" he asked, taking his hand from the Vulpix on his lap to pull out his pokedex... only to find that he had left it in his backpack back in the room. "Damn." he said, and shrugged, using his left hand now to scoop some stew into the spoon to start eating, finally. He looekd away, to focus on his own doings. He smiled to Arrow, motioning for the small bird pokemon to come onto his shoulder, but it chose not to as it shook its head, just coming to a small bundle of itself on the tabletop. Arik shrugged slightly, smiling- this one had an attitude, for such a small pokemon.
It was another 10 minutes before Arik finally finished with his meal, and he stretched slowly. Tsai, Arrow, and Ame had all fallen asleep again, and the Vulpix was jest resting. "Come on everyone... let's get back to our room, and we'll get some sleep." he said, moving to stand. His arms moved to hook underneath the Vulpix as he stood up, and then he started walking towards the room he'd left only a little while ago. With a cry of just waking up, his other three pokemon wandered off beside him towards the room sleepily. All together, they headed to the room, and once inside, the door was closed. Arik fell onto the bunk after setting the Vulpix down on the floor. Once in bed, he pulled the covers up just before the Vulpix jumped up and onto the bed. Tsai followed suit, as did Ame- the lower bunk bed was filled by the three pokemon and himself. Arrow flew up to the top bunk's wooden frame and simply relaxed there, falling asleep on the familiar material.
"Well, time to go, Serra. Have you made up your mind yet?" Janine asks the girl, who had been resting most of the day. She was finally feeling well enough to move around normally around lunchtime, but now she was raring to go. Serra looked over at Janine and nodded before looking down at her own jacket. It took only another second for her to make up her mind, and her hands moved up to take the jacket in them. After a moment of hesitation, in which her hands relaxed, she tore downwards, the buttons falling off one by one in rapid succession before the jacket was ripped off of her. Finally, she looked over to the gym leader as she stood up, discarding the jacket onto the ground.
"I'm gonna need some new clothes." she told Janine, who simply grinned and nodded. A small price to pay to keep someone out of trouble, Janine knew, and Serra simply smiled weakly. Retribution probably wouldn't be very far off, she thought. Her father wouldn't stand for this, once he knew that she had left without completing their agreed-upon battle rule. But when that time came, she wanted to be ready for him. And this time, he would find a match in her like none other. Serra's weak smile 'evolved' into a small grin as she came alongside her new friend, and both marched off towards Fuchsia City again- each step taking both further away from Arik's position in Vermilion City.
"I kidna wish we were going after my friend though... he owes me a pokemon battle!" Janine told Serra, who laughed softly. From experience, Serra had been a part of that particular trainer's first battle- a success for him, a failure for her and her partner, unfortunately. Still, she knew the gym leader's preference in pokemon, and to be a gym leader, one required tough pokemon. She had powerful pokemon and a battling style that could be difficult to combat. Janine used poison attacks and other types of attacks to confuse and weaken her opponents before deliving the 'coup de grace'.
"That kid's Dratini is pretty tough, but they're obviously pretty new to training, Janine. What kind of a challenge do you think he'd give to, of all people, a gym leader right now?" Serra replied, and Janine sighed. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about it, it was simply the fact that she'd waited for years now without the 'satisfaction' of battling her old friend. She wanted a battle now, no matter how lop-sided it would be? Janine smiled a little, and nodded to her new friend.
"Good point. It wouldn't be fair to battle him until he's ready, I guess." Janine acceded, sighing once more. She felt a pat on her back and looked over to see Serra smiling- a rare occurance as of late, but now that she had finally given up on being a part of Team Rocket, she seemed almost like an entirely new person. Battling Arik could wait- Janine had work to do to help Serra train herself and pokemon of her very own.
In the forest nearby, there was someone who had been watching them both all day. When he'd woken up and found his partner missing, he figured that she was simply taking care of business. But when she'd been gone for over an hour, he decided to try and find her. That was when he found both Serra and Janine sleeping. He stayed there, not worrying about his mission to find that Dratini-using trainer for the time being. He would be, by now, close to either Lavender Town or Vermilion City, and both places were covered by his fellow operatives. He watched the two, unnoticed at all as he grit his teeth.
He'd been friends with Serra since they had become partners- or, at least, he thought he'd been. Jim was once a simple trainer as well, until the time, two years ago, when he was beat soundly by some kid named Gary back near the Nugget Bridge just north of Cerulean City. After that, to become stronger, he'd turned to stealing and training his pokemon harshly, in a manner that caught Team Rocket's attention. They trained him, and in turn, Jim trained his pokemon. When Jim found himself paired up with Serra, he considered her to be a challenge as well- someone he could teach to enjoy their work. But now, as he watched her walk away with the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City, he couldn't help but feel anger. Someone had to stop her! Even if he had heard her words regarding her father, the trainer who had taught him and many others how to treat and use pokemon effectively in battle and out, he couldn't condone what she decided to do about it.
When they were far enough away, he moved over to the fallen, discarded jacket, and had to make a decision. Would he rat out the girl he had considered his friend to the boss? Or would he simply ignore all of this until he had to? Either way, the boss would eventually figure out what had happened, and then there would be hell to pay, both for Serra and for himself. Jim sighed and tucked the jacket away into his own pack. There was very little he could actually do, and so he took his cell phone and dialed a number, leaving a message for his superiors.
Team Rocket, Kanto Division Executive Roland, Kanto branch
One of our operatives has been taken into custody. Her partner witnessed the entire thing, but was able to escape without being noticed, before the police could apprehend him as well. He didn't know just which city they were headed to, but it is believed that our comrade is being taken to Lavender Town. All operatives in the area are advised to be on the look out for our operative, and to try and help her if possible. She has brown hair and eyes, is of average height and build. If she is seen, attempt to contact without putting yourselves at risk and determine if she deserves a rescue.
The trainer with a Dratini has been considered to be very stealthy. It is possible that he has passed both Vermilion City or Lavender Town by this time. All operatives are now advised to look out for this trainer, whose name was reported by the same operative above to be 'Arik'. His pokemon are weak, but with the addition of that Dragon-type, not to be taken lightly without the use of Ice-pokemon. If any operative without the right pokemon find this trainer, do not engage in a battle. Attempt to stall until more operatives arrive before proceeding with the attack.
The orders have been received to begin transferring personnel from our branch to the Johto branch. A dozen operatives are already on the way, with more to leave in the following week. The Dragon-gym and Dragon Cave in Blackthorne City are to be one of our objectives once we have enough operatives in the area. For now, the research for force-evolving pokemon continues on slowly, and a few possibilities have arose for targets of our efforts. Magikarp seem to respond the best, and now we are constructing an underground base near the Lake of Rage to continue our research best.
End progress report.
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Author's Note: Well now, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Personally, I find it more interesting to specialize in the characters rather than the battles. That includes the pokemon as well, actually. Everyone has their own possibilities, after all. Please, read and review. Again, any suggestions would be appreciated. Does it seem like I've started writing longer chapters than I did at first? It does to me... maybe I'm getting my writing skills back now. lol
by MacrossGreen
Author's Note: Now that Chapter 3 is done, I've decided to wait a very short while before finishing with this chapter. However, by the time anyone reads this, I will have received any comments/reviews that were given for Chapter 3, and any suggestions made will most likely have been taken into consideration.
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It had been two days since the members of Team Rocket had come across that trainer with the Dratini. Numerous calls had been made, all directed via cell phone towards Lavender Town and Vermilion City. No operatives in either city had found the trainer that had the dratini, or even vaguely resembled the description that had been given to them. It was enough to make Serra sleep uneasily that night, while her partner slept like a rock. She hated leaving things half done, even if it was beyond her control. The fact she'd been defeated by some trainer ate at her- she had rarely ever been defeated before!
Her first defeats had been her first half dozen battles. The worst part of it was, the last battle had seen her pokemon defeated in a single attack from a very powerful pokemon. If that hadn't been enough, she had been defeated as well from that same attack that caused her pokemon to faint- a Hyper Beam wasn't something to laugh at. In her nightmares, she could still feel the excruciating pain from the attack that had been launched at her. It had defeated her Ekans, and then when the attacking pokemon looked her way, the beam had launched towards her as well. It had struck and she had fallen, almost at the same time.
"I can not keep this up... I must battle him again, and win this time!" she told herself, her inner voice yelling those words in her mind even as she spoke under her breath. She was still haunted by her previous losses, and now, with a fresh loss after such a long time, she was livid. She was resting in her sleeping bag, where she and her partner had decided to rest for the night... But no longer. She quietly slipped out of the bag and tucked everything away. Serra knew what she had to do, before it ate her up inside. She gathered her things, and was gone at midnight. Her quiet steps took her further along the route, to the point where she would soon need to decide which way to go.
"Route 12... or, Route 11?" she asked herself, walking steadily on. Her eyes caught the sight of some light up ahead and she immediately went serious. Her eyes squinted at the light, and she crept quietly along the road in that direction. It took half an hour for her to come up to where the light was- a fire had been built, but there was no one around. The night was rather quiet, even for this shallow range into the woods from the route. There should have been the sounds of nocturnal pokemon, at least, she knew, and then she knew that this was most likely a trap. "Dammit." she said to herself and then she could imagine that someone was watching her from very closeby.
"Move before I say you can, and I will let you stand witness to my sinister technique, girl." came the quiet, calm, and collected voice of a woman. Serra stood there, unmoving save for the heaving of her chest, up and down quickly. There was a piece of metal, cold and slightly burning to the flesh, pressed against the small of the Rocket girl's back- certainly, quite sharp, even through the fabric of her clothes. A fast movement and a blur around Serra's peripheral vision brought her attacker into view- she wore dark clothes with a slightly lighter colored trim.
The woman simply smiled slightly, and the expression told Serra that she couldn't be too much older than she was. Her bangs were dark, what little of her hair that Serra could see. She seemed to watch her now, the two practically staring at each other as each waited on the other. Finally, Serra couldn't take it anymore. "What is it you want?" she asked through clenched teeth, looking into the other girl's dark eyes. This was starting to really annoy her now, since the feeling in her gut told her that she was losing, in a way other than a simple pokemon battle. The girl before her slipped back, standing between Serra and the fire now, her body silhouetted by the firelight behind her. She smiled still, remaining silent a moment longer, even as Serra's anger grew again. "Well?"
"Silence, little girl. I wonder, why would you be heading this way this late at night, hm? Are you perhaps looking for something? Or, even someone?" the girl asked, and Serra could feel the anger intensify yet again. A cold feeling filled the Rocket girl, even as her anger made her extremely heated on the outside. How did this other girl know that she was looking for someone? She couldn't put a finger on it, but she did seem familiar somehow. Had they met before?
The girl nodded once to Serra as she saw the indecision on her face, and then spoke again, the smile leaving her. "I am Janine. The Fuchsia City gym leader." She stood proud, of course, as she always did when introducing herself. At her waist, around the belt she wore that kept her robe wrapped around her easily, were a total of six pokeballs, and one could bet that all six were filled with pokemon intent on producing poison and confusion to any foe. Along the trim of the gym leader's robe were several throwing stars as well, save one that was missing. That particular shuriken was in her hand, the same cold metal that Serra had felt pressed into the small of her back.
Serra blinked in surprise at those words. Certainly, she knew of this particular person, but had never actually met her. Team Rocket kept tabs on each and every gym leader in each country- several in other countries were even influenced or part of Team Rocket. Giovanni, for instance, had been a Gym Leader before becoming a very high-ranking official within the organization. Of course, none now knew where to find him. This leader, she knew, had taken over after her father had risen to the ranks of the Elite Four with his perfected techniques in his gym. Team Rocket had gained many of its pokemon from trainers who had once been a part of this particular gym- poison attacks had become Team Rocket's mainstay.
"Oh... shit..." was all that Serra could mutter. Janine simply laughed at her words and shrugged, setting the shuriken that she had held to Serra's back away now. Serra knew that she didn't stand much of a chance against a gym leader, even with the pokemon she'd managed to have provided to her by her superiors to deal with the Dratini that that kid had. Plus, she even knew most of Janine's pokemon line-up from the latest reports, and several could Self Destruct.
"Alright... I believe I know who your target is, and what you're after. You want to beat my friend with the Dratini, don't you?" was the gym leader's question, and Serra's eyes widened. How could she possibly have known that? Unless she'd listened in on them when they had spoken with their superiors... Janine nodded once more, seeing the look in the girl's eyes. Bingo! "Well, I'll tell you right now. You will not reach him. You will have to defeat me in order to get to my friend. And, as I am certain you are well aware, I am not as simple as the other trainers you have likely ever fought and stolen from, after all."
Serra knew that, for a fact, that this gym leader was correct. Janine had a reputation for being nearly ruthless in battle against any trainer and their pokemon. Often, she would even defeat trainers who entered her gym with only a single pokemon to do the battling on her part. The last several trainers who had been from Team Rocket faced her in her own gym- and they were soundly defeated, of course. "Yeah, yeah... so I'm after the kid with the Dratini. He beat me and my partner, and I want to get back at 'im." she told the girl, who looked to be on the verge of laughing her ass off.
"You don't even know my friend's name, do you? Well then, little girl, I should tell you that that Trainer's name is Arik. We kinda go way back... but that's not important to you. What is important is that you won't get near him while I'm around, so you may as well go back to your friend and run away." Janine replied, looking rather smug as she watched the girl with the black coat with the red 'R' on the front. "I overheard you and your partner a little while ago. You're pretty loud, you know that? Turn tail now, or battle me and lose, girl. Your choice."
Janine was now in a state that few who ever met her had ever seen her in. Arik, out of anyone outside the gym (and even then, only Koga had ever seen this vicious side of her), had seen this side of her only once. Serra could tell that, even with the cold lump in her stomach and the anger within her rising to the overflow-point, she would need to reconsider her stance on all this. Would she chance battling a gym leader, even if she were to use all of her pokemon at once? Or should she play it safe, and go 'around' her later on?
Around this same time, Arik was hiding outside the guardhouse that was between Route 12 and Route 11. He'd seen some rather strange looking people pass by earlier, one of them wearing a black jacket of a style that reminded him of the pair of Rockets he had barely managed to defeat the day before yesterday. He'd made good time at night, even through the rain that had poured left him soaked and muddy. He had found some shelter, fortunately, in a small alcove in a hill that looked as if it had been pressed inwards in the hill by some extreme weight. With that much shelter, he had taken the time to finally bandage the wound that had been inflicted on Ame, and then brought her back into the pokeball.
The bandaging was a simple way to stop the bleeding at best- it staunched the wound, slowed and then stopped the bleeding, but he had nothing to stop any sort of infection that might develop. Ame was pretty weak, even after a pair of potions had been used upon her. That left Arik with three potions, and one pokemon left that could possibly be used in a pokemon battle. And because of Arrow being out of it, still just as weak as Ame despite not being wounded.
So, behind a bush as several trainers went past, Arik waited. A Weedle came up behind him after a while, looking at him in surprise. Arik had to shush the little posionous pokemon away, and surprisingly enough, it did go away after few minutes, without trying to sting him. The act didn't draw any attention from anyone or anything else passing by, thankfully, and as soon as the coast was clear, Arik made a dash towards the guardhouse. He reached it easily enough, without anyone's notice, though that would change once he grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, and inside he went.
Once inside, he had to blink at the brighter light. Since it was still pretty late, and his eyes hadn't adjusted immediately, his eyes closed and he had to wait for a minute before he could open them again. He heard a familiar voice come from to his left, and he turned towards the voice he heard. "What are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be at a pokemon center by now?" the voice called over to him, and Arik chuckled softly. Obviously, this certain person didn't know him, which made him realize who it must be, even though he didn't know her either. "Officer Jenny, I presume?" he said, opening his eyes as he shielded his sight from the light as he continued to get adjusted to it.
'Yes, that's me." the green haired woman said, coming up to him. Her blue and red uniform was crisp and well-maintained, and the gold buttons shone with the bright lights that lit up the guardhouse. "Well, what are you doing here instead of at a pokemon center or asleep for the night already?" she asked him, standing in front of Arik. His own clothes were a mess- still damp, his pants muddy, and his hair... well, there was sand in it still, dirt on his face, and therefore, he was pretty damned dirtied up from the past few days. No wonder the officer seemed a bit unsure of him.
"What can I say... I was attacked by Team Rocket the day before yesterday. I have a wounded pokemon with me that I really need to get to a pokemon center. My Pidgey was knocked out during that same battle, and I've been battling the weather just to get here." he told her. Fatigue could be seen on his face, and in the way he was somewhat sluped over. This kid needed a bath. If the story he gave was true, and it certainly looked as if it might be, then Jenny knew that she would need to help this poor kid somehow.
"Team Rocket? They're gone. They've been disbanded in this region for years now. Come up with a better story next time." she told him, not really believing the kid's story in the slightest. Arik sighed, shivering slightly as he stood there as Jenny started in on him, going off on his needing to sleep and clean up, and not to lie to people about why he was up this late. It took only a minute of this for Arik's own anger to boil over the top. He didn't get angry very easily, but when he did, he tended to be somewhat explosive.
"Shut up! I don't need to be lectured by you, officer!" he said loudly, not quite yelling at her. He was angry, she could easily tell, both in his voice and his demeanor. "I'm tired, I'm dirty, I have a wounded Dratini and my other pokemon are not faring much better. I have had six hours of sleep, if that, in the past two days! I had to fight against opponents who sent out four pokemon to my three, and my pokemon managed to win against them. If you don't want to believe me, fine. I'll head to Vermilion City without any help, and I doubt I'll be able to fend off any trainers who might want to battle me this next time. If you think I'm a liar, well, so be it." he said angrily, and then he stalked off towards the far door that led to Route 11.
The officer just stood there with her mouth open, watching after the kid that had just chewed her out. No trainer had ever gotten angry enough or had enough courage to do that to her! She'd faced down criminals, Team Rocket, trainers gone bad, and worse in her career as an officer of the law. However, she'd never had to deal with a trainer who'd done nothing wrong, to her knowledge, just go off on her before she was finished dealing with him. Soon, the pretty officer's lips closed up as she smirked, wondering just what had happened there, even as Arik walked out of the guardhouse. The way he had spoken about all that made her doubt her original assessment of his story- it wasn't like it was impossible, after all. That part about Team Rocket was unlikely, but she had also heard rumors from other trainers about being attacked by people who claimed to be from Team Rocket.
With a sigh, she walked towards the door, turning only to face the other officer that was behind the desk, his jaw hanging low as he had seen and heard the entire thing. She told him not to talk about this to anyone- this particular officer was known for not keeping his mouth shut at times. He just nodded vacantly as his superior officer walked out of the guardhouse and over to where her motorcycle was kept. The kid walked fast, obviously. He was already nearly out of sight into the darkness of night, and was nearing the first rank of tall grass out towards Vermilion City. She cursed under her breath as she revved up the motorcycle, the action taking up a few crucial seconds for her to get going towards the trainer who had chewed her out.
Arik, on the other hand, was walking faster than he usually did, despite the fact that he was tired, wet, dirty, and royally pissed off. He couldn't blame her, really... but he did, since he'd never really been considered a liar before. He wouldn't lie about his pokemon needing help, after all. She'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and already he felt bad as his anger dissipated. This young man wasn't much of a liar- he could tell a little white lie easily enough, but when it came to something extravagant... well, only the most oblivious person (or a Slowpoke) wouldn't be able to tell the truth from the lie.
He heard the sound of the motorcycle behind him, not too far away, as it was turned on, and then the squeel of tires made him turn around to see what was going on. The sound of the motorcycle's engine grew louder as it came closer to him at breakneck speeds. Then, it took a turn as it came near him, sliding into a large puddle that he had just managed to walk around. A wave of water splashed out towards Arik, only to miss him as he dove to the side, landing roughly and with a groan of pain on the ground. The rider of the bike just grinned beneath the helmet, an action Arik couldn't see even if he tried to, and then brought the bike upright again, twisting her hand on the handle.
The officer on the bike simply passed by quickly, through a mud puddle that reached for quite a ways away in a dip in the road. The sudden introduction of a fast moving object through a still pool of water caused a rather large splashing of water to wash over Arik's already damp form, soaking him right through as a result. The motorcycle sped off into the distance, and the light of its headlight flashed out of sight as the sound of the bike's motor became lower and more distant. With a sigh, and shoulders slumped, Arik walked into the tall grass that would take him in a direct path towards the distant city.
"What a night..." he muttered, sighing to himself as he brushed through the grass that reached to his shoulders. He knew that he could that he couldn't afford a battle, either with trainers or with the wild pokemon out tonight thanks to the condition his own pokemon were in. He could hear a soft rattling and slithering coming closer, and he looked around, now staying in place as he saw some of the grass about him moving from side to side slowly. Finally, the sound of whatever it was became clearer as they moved steadily closer to Arik's place, and he knelt down, standing, just barely and carefully, on his feet as he waited. It only took a moment for a group of Ekans to pass by his place, not looking anywhere other than in front of them as they stuck their tongues out as they slithered past. "Kans....ek, eka, sa..." was what Arik heard them crying lowly, to one another as they disappeared into the grass again.
Then, there was a slower pace, a soft thudding along the ground. A slow, even lower noise came in the evening air as the grass parted more and more from whatever it was coming his way than the Ekans had made. Arik got up quickly- Ekans had fairly bad sight, but rather good senses of hearing and smell. These parts in the grass that he could see were bigger, and if he remembered what he'd heard about the pokemon in these parts was correct, then these were probably Drowzee. His suspicions were confirmed as he heard their cries finally, and Arik moved faster in the grass to find himself stumbling down a small hill and onto pavement once more. "Ow..."
"Hey, what was that?" a voice called out, obviously directed to others that weren't too far away. Arik froze for a second, but was soon on his feet, pushing up with bloodied hands that were scraped and scratched pretty bad from the impact of landing on the rough concrete. His knees were sticking to his pants- not just because he was soaked, he suspected. His shins? Probably a mess, from mud and possibly blood. This was just killing him! First an encounter (a bad one!) with the law, then some pokemon, and now possibly someone going after the pokemon that he'd just passed by. Possibly, they were after him now, too.
"I heard that too. Didn't sound like a pokemon!" came a second voice, and Arik just took off to the west as he starting pumping his legs up and down. Running now, he heard a yell from behind and didn't even look that way- the lights of the city were in sight now, even through the tall grass and hills that blocked the actual sight of the city ahead. He was going full tilt through the grass when his left foot was caught underneath something, and caused him to take yet another tumble, Arik's eyes closing as his arms moved in front of him, an attempt made to catch himself before it was too late. Another sound was heard, a cry of pain, as it too dropped beside him.
Arik let out a groan as he rested there for but a moment- he hoped his speed had allowed him to slip past the people who were coming after him. But then, when he felt something warm against his leg, he turned to look and see what was there. The light was still very dim, and his sight was going- lack of sleep and lethargy was getting to him now, moreso than before. He hadn't lied to Jenny about that, after all. When he looked down near his leg, he saw a pokemon that was fairly small. It was fairly dark in color as well, and didn't lend itself well to his already diminished eyesight. "Damn... I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..." he told the pokemon quietly. It slowly got up, and Arik winced as he saw that the pokemon come closer to his face as he lay on the ground still. Its eyes were a little red, as if extremely pissed off or, perhaps, that was this pokemon's normal color of eyes?
"Vuuuullll! Piii,Vupipulllix." the pokemon said, and the cry told him just what type of pokemon it was. He didn't really have the strength to get up at the minute, but with a pokemon that he knew could burn and set things on fire. And he'd run right over it! Sure, an accident, but pokemon could get angry in a flash, just as Arik had at Officer Jenny earlier. And sure enough, the Vulpix's tail rose up and then moved in a matter that made them seem to glow at the tips. Finally, the tips of its tails stopped and then a kind of whitish-blue fire erupted from them, merging into a sort of fireball that engulfed Arik all of a sudden, causing the soaked human to jump up in pain and yell- but he wasn't burned, really. His clothes were barely scorched, and he was actually much drier than he'd been since the other day, before Team Rocket had confronted him.
"What kind of attack was that?" he asked the Vulpix, who just staggered in place somewhat before slumping to the ground again. Arik sighed, and smiled, the memory of the people that had been after him gone now as he kneels to the ground and picks up the Vulpix- he couldn't see anything wrong with it, except, perhaps, the fact that it looked extremely tired. He wasn't sure about the attack that Vulpix had actually just used on him, but this little, warm, red haired pokemon was tired as all hell. Could it have been trained, and left on its own after a lost battle? Or had it wandered into this rather unsheltered area while it was raining? "Alright, I'm getting us to a pokemon center. I think I've got enough left to get us there." he said to the Vulpix in his arms.
It was kinda unusual, really. He hadn't really thought that he'd find a pokemon out here to take with him, not without battling. But he wouldn't be taking this particular pokemon without a battle at least- his pokemon and this one were all weak now, after all. After a trip to the Pokemon Center, he'd challenge it to a battle, if it didn't mind him. With a sigh, and the sudden sound of several feet stomping around in the grass fairly nearby, Arik snuck towards town again slowly.
Serra and Janine were still in that place, sitting down now as they laughed. Janine, though underage, had acquired a bit of something rather unusual for trainers while she was at the gym, and she had broken it out to try and wheedle (no pun intended) information out of the Rocket girl. Both had small saucers and there was a fairly large bottle on the bround between them. The liquid in the saucers was clear, yet somewhat white, as both sipped from them. With a smile on both their faces, both held the soft redness one might associate with being flushed...
And they were certainly that. Indeed, both were drunk, though Serra was more drunk at the moment than Janine, thanks to a low tolerance. They'd been telling life stories and laughing at each others' memories, crying together at times of the more painful ones that Serra had told Janine. Janine now began to soften a bit, now sporting a pleasant buzz as she listened to the now talkative Team Rocket member. Her battle with Arik the other day was something that she told Janine, and the gym leader listened carefully to that.
How her family had been part of Team Rocket for a long time, and had brought her in as well. How her own mother had taught her to become a pokemon trainer, even as she had been sent to the pokemon school in Celadon City to learn as well. She had wanted to be a normal trainer, one to travel on her own without much worry. To one day defeat the gym leaders of Kanto and move on to the Pokemon League to battle the powerful Elite 4. She even wanted to become a respected trainer, which was something that was impossible as long as she was in Team Rocket.
Also, she told the powerful Gym Leader how she had to battle her father with her own pokemon every 6 months, to show how far her training had taken her. She had never been allowed to leave Celadon unless with family. She'd even managed to defeat many of the Grass-pokemon trainers in the Celadon gym, but Erika's Rainbow badge had ever been elusive, even to her strong poison types that she once had. The battles with her father were the worst, though. Serra's father would have his pokemon beat Serra's pokemon so badly that not even a pokemon center could save them.
Travelling to Lavender Town's pokemon tower had become something she did at least once a year, if not twice a year. Only one pokemon of hers had ever survived the battles, and she had to keep it stored in a secret pokemon PC account from her parents and Team Rocket in general, to keep it alive. She hadn't seen the pokemon for months now... her parents expected her to return to face her father again soon.
"I dun' wanna battle him to the pokemon's deaths ever again! I can't do it. How can I train pokemon if they're killed by his pokemon? I try to save 'em, I really do... but he thinks they're just tools to attack and kill with. I never wanna see 'im again! Mom's no' any better!" she almost yelled, but Janine managed to keep her quiet as she moved over and put an arm around the slightly younger girl's shoulder. Janine might be a ninja, a gym leader... but she was also moved by the girl's honest feelings and words. She could tell that she was telling the truth- the alcohol often did that to those who weren't too used to it. Serra just buried her head into the gym leader's shoulder and soon Janine could feel the moisture of tears begin to soak into her gi. The girl shook again and Janine sighed- likely, she'd cry herself to sleep.
Janine looked up towards the sky, searching for stars that were hidden behind the clouds that moved quickly overhead. The moon peeked out every so often, its light bringing to the trees around them a soft glow. With the girl leaning against her shoulder, she could only wonder if her own rivalry could wait? This girl needed help more than she needed a match against Arik, after all. She judged the girl in her mind- she knew that she was part of Team Rocket. And yes, she was certainly a trainer of sorts. She didn't want to be part of a gang of thieves, but had been forced into it from childhood. Her story about her father and mother was the most saddening she'd ever heard, too. If she could change, this girl could likely become very good at training pokemon... if only she could keep her pokemon away from her father's 'battles.'
"Shh... Serra, try to rest. I think I have an idea, but I'll bring it up in the morning. Sleep here, and do not think about evil thoughts. Relax." Janine told her, in the softest, perhaps quietest voice she'd ever used since before becoming a trainer. The sobbing began to ebb, the sounds of the choked up girl slowly quieting before Serra actually managed to relax slowly. Janine had taken a liking to this girl, and hoped she would honestly listen and answer to what she had to say to her, in the morning. Serra hadn't told her what the pokemon was that she had managed to keep hidden from her father, but she doubted that it could really hold a candle against her own. Her curiosity was piqued, though.
Finally, Serra's breathing slowed, the heaving of her chest softly falling up and down against Janine's arm. Janine looked to her, and couldn't help but to smile softly. As coldhearted as she could be, using powerful Self-Destruct type moves against her opponents, she still cared both about her pokemon and her opponent's pokemon. Unlike, obviously, Serra's father did. Her pokemon might faint from the use of such moves, but it sounded as if this girl's father would love to put all of his pokemon's life force into such attacks.
She slowly moved the younger girl from where she held onto her arm, down to lay on the ground, pulling a blanket from seemingly nowhere (though really, it was simply from the pack she wore on her back, between the robe and her shirt she wore beneath) and setting it over her. They were already on two blankets that Janine had set out earlier- from experience of traveling before becoming a gym leader, she knew that the ground would take more heat from a body than the air above them would. She set about spacing out the remaining embers of the fire that had once been going quite well, the smoke dying along with the remnants of heat that were slowly cooking away to their demise.
Janine lay down as well after corking the bottle of sake and setting it away safely, taking the saucers and setting them into her pack as well (the real backpack, actually, which was set nearby). With a slight sigh, she relaxed somewhat, though her eyes remained open now as she looked straight up, towards a gap in the clouds that had formed, revealing the stars above to her. She smiled slightly, her braided hair hanging at her side as she watched the clouds go past. There was not much else to do, but as she couldn't bring herself to trust the girl beside her, nor the fact that there was a chance someone or something might come this way despite the fire that was slowly dying out.
The embers barely gave out any smoke, and were only an orange color that was slowly deepening to a dull red as the heat left the wood. Soon enough, her own eyes closed and her breathing slowed, and she began to meditate while in this position. It wasn't long afterwards until she too was asleep, and both girls slept side by side. One with the black jacket with the red 'R' insignia, and the other with a dark robe with purple trimming along its edges. An unlikely duo if there ever was one- a member of Team Rocket, and a Gym Leader.
It was dawn by the time Arik managed to get down to Vermilion City's suburbs. And without much more than six hours of sleep in the past 72 hours, he was running on empty. The Vulpix in his arms, on the other hand, had been sleeping fitfully for the past several hours that he'd been walking. Walking through the suburbs, looking a lot like some pokemaniac that was dressed up like some pokemon that was always dirty (though, to tell the truth, that would be more like a halloween costume), he was glad it was too early for almost any pokemon trainers to actually be out and about... at least, in this area.
It took half an hour for him to find the pokemon center in this part of Vermilion- turned out that he had to pass that rather large hill (almost a small mountain) that had a cave on the side. Acording to the sign he read, it was the Diglett Tunnel. Strangely, according to the pokedex which he'd finally pulled out, it was also the only place left in the Kanto region to actually find them and their evolved form, Dugtrio. He might have to train down there after a visit to the pokemon center, but first things first. He'd actually went inside far enough to find that the tunnel was a level below, only to be reached by a ladder that descended down there. He hid in the tunnel for a good hour, still unsure as to whether or not those people were looking for him or had given up the chase.
Finally, he came to the door of the pokemon center, which was still closed. The hours of operation for pokemon centers, throughout the region, was 7:00am to 11:00pm. It wasn't even close to opening times, but Arik wasn't in the mood to wait. He pounded on the door with one hand, a metallic thud and shaking ringing out. This pokemon center, like most, had metal shutters on both the inside and outside, to keep the glass portions from being attacked by pokemon thieves with explosives (though enough explosives would still take 'em out), or by pokemon that might attempt to escape.
At the sound of the banging, the Vulpix stirred in the crook of his arm. He smiled softly, looking to the small, red, fox-like pokemon before bringing the hand that had been hitting the shutter to the pokemon, petting its back gently to coax it back asleep. The pokemon must have been used to such treatment- it began to get drowsy again, and then its eyes closed again. Arik could feel its breathing slwo once more, even as the shutters made a soft noise before being brought back upwards- maybe it was closer to opening time than he had thought? But, if it was... why was there a Nurse Joy standing at the door, revealed to his sight as the shutters slowly slid upwards.
From white heels to white stockings, up along her rather pale yet well formed legs that went up before becoming hidden by a frilly white skirt. It then slipped back to a near-form fitting suit, kinda like overalls, that ended just past her shoulders. Her arms were covered as well, with long white gloves. The look on her face, however, was not quite as charming as her body was, to tell the truth. She looked identical to the Joy he had known from Fuchsia, though his friend Joy was more often than not in much different colored uniforms (she preferred dark blue and light red over white, for instance). She was worried, very much so, as she opened the door as quickly as the shutters allowed her to.
"Hurry, get in here! Officer Jenny came by hours ago and told me that you were coming, before she left for her post again.... wait, what's wrong with the Vulpix?" she asked, slowly putting a hand onto the pokemon's head lightly. She withdrew her hand quickly, realizing that there was something wrong with it. "Nevermind! Come on in, quick, and we'll get your pokemon all healed. You have an injured Dratini, right? Give me the pokeballs, and you go get cleaned up." she told him, and Arik nodded, reaching up to the pokeballs he was carrying on his jacket. He took them off and handed them to Joy before offering the sleeping Vulpix to her.
"This Vulpix seems tame to me, Nurse Joy... I think it might have a trainer, but I found it wandering on Route 11." he told her, before yawning. His free hand moved up to cover his mouth as Joy took the fiery pokemon in her own arm. Arik then wandered in the direction of the pokemon trainer's rooms... but blinked, looking around before realizing that the layout was a bit different from the pokemon center he once worked at. "Sheesh... this place is all turned around!" he tells himself, even as Nurse Joy had gone behind the counter to help the pokemon. Indeed, it was- it was a layout that was opposite in design than the pokemon center he was used to working at.
He walked to the other side of the counter, and sure enough, there was the hallway. With a wave to the nurse, he walked towards the only open room there was- the other rooms had closed doors. He yawned slowly again, stretching slowly even as one of the doors he passed opened behind him. He was inside the room he'd been heading towards before whoever it was had noticed him. The door was closed, and Arik started getting out of the dirty clothes. First off was the backpack, and he sighed loudly as he felt the weight leave his shoulders. He set the pack on the floor, and then off came his jacket and shirt. He zipped up the pockets on the jacket before setting it on the back of a chair. His pants soon followed, leaving him in his boxers until he went to his pack to pull out a pair of shorts, pulling them on.
It took only a minute for him to fall asleep after he slipped into the bed. Almost as soon as the back of his head touched the pillow on the bed, his eyes closed and he was out like a light. His body was completely relaxed- unlike the past few days, when he'd actually been tense like none other and tired beyond any other time in his life. He had no dreams as he slept- his sleep was deep within half an hour, and remained that way for quite a while.
Serra woke up the next morning to sunlight in her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize just how high in the sky it was- it wasn't quite morning anymore, was it? No indeed, mid-morning at the earliest, most likely early afternoon. She sat up, the blanket sliding down her body somewhat as she stretched slowly. Then, she blinked, wincing immediately after doing so as she felt the headache of a lifetime. "Oh... dammit..." she moaned, her left hand moving to the back of her head, rubbing gently at the black hair that was loose there. "Ouch."
"Well now, hung over are we? You better lay off the sake next time, huh?" came a familiar voice that was just quiet enough to not be considered painful or loud as hell to Serra's addled mind. In response, Serra only groaned slightly and nodded just barely- that motion was almost too much for her to take, and although she hadn't eaten anything since early last night, she felt that certain motion of a rocking ship about to knock a few sailors off the bow. Janine just chuckled softly as she continued to work on some breakfast. She wasn't that great of a cook- it was a known fact among the gym leaders of Kanto that the best cook wasn't one of the female gym leaders. It was Brock, the leader of Pewter City's gym. She could make pancakes and fry up bacon, but that was just about it.
"I'm making some pancakes, so feel free to eat whatever you'd like, Serra... do you remember much of what we talked about last night?" Janine asked the Rocket girl. Serra just shook her head slowly in reply, and then just lay back down again on the 'bed'. She closed her eyes again, the headache dissipating as her eyes closed once more- must have something to do with the bright light, she thought to herself, though even her own mental voice seemed muffled and difficult to hear.
"Not really... I think I told you some things about myself, but other than that, I don't remember a thing." Serra told Janine. This Rocket girl was having quite a hangover, and the fact that she could remember even that much made her blush and be glad that she wasn't quite as out of it as one might think she could be. "Damn... Next time you offer me a drink, I gotta remember to say no!" she said loudly, and then groaned as she heard her own voice, too damn loud for her to take as she felt pain in her head again. Janine just shook her head and took a paper plate, setting two pancakes on it and taking it over to her new friend.
"Well then, I think you remember enough. How about you come train at my gym? Leave Team Rocket and learn how to actually train pokemon, using your own skills and abilities rather than stealing from others?" Janine asks her. Serra blinked once, her eyes opening before she looked over to the gym leader in surprise. Leave Team Rocket without battling her father, her superior in the organization, in order to do so? It was tempting, but she knew that she couldn't just do that. She'd be hunted down in no time. Team Rocket might be 'on the run' while in Kanto, but they do tend to deal with rogue operatives that remain in the region rather quickly.
"I... wish I could, but... my father would come after me." she says quietly, even as she takes the offered plate of pancakes from Janine. They were thin, and an almost buttery color. They looked more like crepes than anything else, really. They were buttered already, by Janine, earlier before she had handed them off to her friend. Serra smiled gratefully to the gym leader, both for the food and for the offer. "Even if I started training there, the gym might come under attack by Team Rocket. And my father has pokemon from the Johto region that I doubt even you have seen here." she tells Janine now. They were the main reason why Serra had always lost against her father- those pokemon were brutal. A psychic type that looked kinda like the Eevee evolutions, a 'Dark' type pokemon... There was no way for Serra to have been prepared for the onslaught of well trained, very powerful pokemon like these were.
"My gym has never fallen to an enemy, Serra, and never will. My father, Koga, and his students as well as myself, still guard the gym. Koga comes back every so often, and he will undoubtedly come back if he knew that his gym was threatened by anyone." Janine said, smiling a little as she watched her friend have a bite of the pancake, before moving back to the fire, to flip the pancake in the pan that was for herself. Much as she'd hate to admit it (and boy, was Janine glad that Serra hadn't asked!), she had slept in and had woken up not much earlier than Serra had. "Come and train with us. Give up the pokemon that Team Rocket has given to you, return them to their original trainers if you can. Use your own pokemon and grow stronger on your own, and not by the sweat and toil of others. Only with your own training can you defeat those stronger than you, both in battle and out."
Serra listened carefully to Janine's words, even through the headache that had come to the fore of her mind again. She chewed on the pancake thoughtfully, considering the words said to her. She hadn't wanted to be part of Team Rocket. No teammates she'd ever had had wanted to be her partner- they idealized Team Rocket's use of pokemon and thievery. She only wanted to be a trainer, all her life. Nothing less than that, perhaps something more. She was, as of now, a simple thief. Plain and simple. She was the bane of society. She had no friends, really. She stole from others what they had trained, grown attached to- their pokemon. Their strengths, she'd taken for her own, and for the good of an organization that dealt with pokemon as if they were simply items or tools, to be used and discarded afterwards. With a sigh, she closed her eyes as she took another bite of the pancake, chewing as she continued to think.
"Take your time, Serra. There is no rush, but I would much rather have you as a friend instead of a foe. Thieves make few friends, and Team Rocket has no friends. Look in your own heart to learn the truth of this. You are not like them, this I can see for myself." the gym leader said to her quietly, and then turned back to the pancake, watching for when it would be ready for consumption. It became quiet again, save for the sound of a flock of Pidgey overhead, flying northwest over them, their soft cries nearly drowned out by three Pidgeotto that flew along the outskirts of the flock. The menacing cries of Spearow came from a nearby tree, and high above both pokemon types, a Fearow flew aloft upon great wings. They said nothing more, instead eating their breakfast (lunch, rather) in silence.
The sun was nearly setting before Arik was woken up by a rather violent shaking in the bed he was in. Sleepy still, he groaned as his eyes began to open and he looked to where he felt the hand on his shoulder. It was clad in white, and he sighed softly- his instincts to get ready for a battle not needed, for once, and he looked up along the arm towards the pink haired girl's face. She was younger than the Joy he was friends with, he decided, and slowly he moved to sit up on the matress, careful of his head so as not to hit the bottom portion of the top bunk above him. "Mmm... yes?" he asked her, his eyes blinking as he got used to the waning sunlight outside that was shining inside.
"Your pokemon are fine... Your Dratini has made a full recovery, but I think you still need rest. But first, come get some dinner before it gets cold." she tells him, and Arik nodded slightly, slipping out of the bed. She blushed slightly and quickly left the room- Arik had forgotten that he wasn't wearing a shirt while in bed, and he fished one out of the backpack, sliding the gray t-shirt onto himself before grabbing his dirty clothes and jacket, emptying the contents of all into his backpack. Then he went in search of the laundry facility, using the free services of the center to all trainers to start a wash of his clothes. After that, it was to the lobby he went, stretching slowly before looking around carefully. There were quite a few trainers about, he saw, and most even had their pokemon out to relax and eat as well.
"Over here!" called Nurse Joy, and she had a tray on the counter with some sort of soup (looked like beef stew, at least, and smelled like it too) and some bread. Arik smiled to the nurse, and nodded to her as he walked over. Steam rose from the bowl of stew on the tray, and there were three pokeballs on the tray as well. "You'll want to feed your pokemon, too. There's some food over there that you can use, if you want." she told the tired trainer, who nodded again to her and smiled gratefully to her. "Thanks, Nurse Joy." he said, taking the tray and heading over to the empty table and waiting area. He set the tray down and then took each pokeball in his hands- he let go of the inhibitor, expanding two of the pokeballs.
"Come on out!" he exclaimed, and then the halves parted, two pokemon materializing from the pokeballs. Out came Arrow and Ame, and he smiled, pulling out his second pokeball and doing the same thing, Tsai materializing alongside Ame. Tsai looked to Ame and checked her out critically- the last time he'd seen her, she had been wounded by that Raticate, after all. Arik smiled at that, and then motioned for the pokemon to come over as he went over to the pokemon food dispenser. Three bowls were set out for him to use, and so he did, filling all three up with pokemon food- they were obviously as hungry as he was, since all three dug into the food immediately!
"Vuuullll!" came a cry, and then Arik felt a bit of heat against his leg. He blinked in surprise and looked down to see the Vulpix he had found out on Route 11 (an unusual place for such a pokemon, he remembered). It seemed to smile at him, and then leapt up when he had sat down in the chair, finding itself on Arik's lap. Tsai looked over to his trainer and the red pokemon on his lap, and tilted its head to the side, even as its ears wiggled a bit back and forth. Arik smiled back to the Vulpix and with his free hand not using a spoon to stir the stew, he stroked along the Vulpix's back and along one of its six tails gently.
"Good to see you too, little Vulpix. Glad to see you're alright." he said, and then realized that Nurse Joy had come up over to him as he had been busy with the pokemon. He looked to her, the stew scooped up onto the spoon now hovering above the bowl, some of the broth dripping down the side of the spoon as it was held unsteadily. He was still recovering, after all, and was still pretty tired. He was also, at this point, unaware of all the stares that his Ame was getting from the other trainers in the pokemon center.
"This Vulpix may as well be yours- you were right, it was once a trainer's pokemon. But, for some reason she was released by her trainer. I'd heard that some trainers were burned along Route 11 by a wandering fire pokemon, but I never suspected a Vulpix." she said, and Arik smiled a little bit as he rubbed the Vulpix's ears gently. It arched its head back and into his grasp, before he leaned forward to blow on the steaming spoonful of broth and potato- no meat in this spoonful, it seemed. The Vulpix licked his hand, and he shivered a little at the heat he felt from it. Much more than it before, it was quite warm to the touch. "She seems to have taken a liking to you. She's also contracted the Pokerus virus- it isn't anything harmful, but it might leave her more vulnerable to cold weather than usual. It should run its course within a few days, possibly a week at most, I think." she told Arik.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy... I hope you don't mind if I stick around her for a while... I think Team Rocket's after me, and I think you can tell why. By the way, the next time you talk with Officer Jenny, please tell her I'm sorry, if I can't do it myself. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on." he tells the nurse, who smiled sweetly and nodded before heading back to her desk. Left alone to do as he needed, he looked over to Tsai and smiled to his first pokemon. "Well Tsai, if this Vulpix would like to join us, it looks like we have a new friend." he said, to which the Tsai jumped up and down a few times, seeming to smile. Arik was definitely glad that Tsai was a friendly pokemon. Arik looked over to Ame now, who was now finishing up with her food and glancing around slowly at all the people.
"Draa....ni, tiniiidraaa!" she cried softly, and wound up around Arik's chair, hiding underneath it and the table he was seated at. She seemed to be a bit timid or at least careful, he thought, even as he set the spoon into the bowl, only the 'stem' reaching out from it as he reached down with his now free hand to rub along the Dratini's ear ridge lightly with his fingertips. She nudged upwards at the feeling of her trainer's warm fingertips, and leaned against Arik's hand. He chuckled softly, both hands now a bit full as his bowl of stew began to get cold.
"You know, guys, I'd really like to eat too." he told the Ame and the Vulpix on his lap. Tsai, in the meantime, looked about slowly at the pokemon that the other trainers had out at the moment- one group included a Primeape, a Charmeleon, and a Rhyhorn. There was another pokemon there, perched on the trainer's shoulder, but Tsai had never seen one of them before. When Arik looked over to Tsai to see what it was doing, even as he heard his Arrow perch itself on the tabletop, he found himself looking over to the trainer Tsai was looking at. On the trainer's shoulder was a green-colored pokemon with a short beak and unusually small and stubby wings. It didn't have much in the way of claws, either.
"What... is that?" he asked, taking his hand from the Vulpix on his lap to pull out his pokedex... only to find that he had left it in his backpack back in the room. "Damn." he said, and shrugged, using his left hand now to scoop some stew into the spoon to start eating, finally. He looekd away, to focus on his own doings. He smiled to Arrow, motioning for the small bird pokemon to come onto his shoulder, but it chose not to as it shook its head, just coming to a small bundle of itself on the tabletop. Arik shrugged slightly, smiling- this one had an attitude, for such a small pokemon.
It was another 10 minutes before Arik finally finished with his meal, and he stretched slowly. Tsai, Arrow, and Ame had all fallen asleep again, and the Vulpix was jest resting. "Come on everyone... let's get back to our room, and we'll get some sleep." he said, moving to stand. His arms moved to hook underneath the Vulpix as he stood up, and then he started walking towards the room he'd left only a little while ago. With a cry of just waking up, his other three pokemon wandered off beside him towards the room sleepily. All together, they headed to the room, and once inside, the door was closed. Arik fell onto the bunk after setting the Vulpix down on the floor. Once in bed, he pulled the covers up just before the Vulpix jumped up and onto the bed. Tsai followed suit, as did Ame- the lower bunk bed was filled by the three pokemon and himself. Arrow flew up to the top bunk's wooden frame and simply relaxed there, falling asleep on the familiar material.
"Well, time to go, Serra. Have you made up your mind yet?" Janine asks the girl, who had been resting most of the day. She was finally feeling well enough to move around normally around lunchtime, but now she was raring to go. Serra looked over at Janine and nodded before looking down at her own jacket. It took only another second for her to make up her mind, and her hands moved up to take the jacket in them. After a moment of hesitation, in which her hands relaxed, she tore downwards, the buttons falling off one by one in rapid succession before the jacket was ripped off of her. Finally, she looked over to the gym leader as she stood up, discarding the jacket onto the ground.
"I'm gonna need some new clothes." she told Janine, who simply grinned and nodded. A small price to pay to keep someone out of trouble, Janine knew, and Serra simply smiled weakly. Retribution probably wouldn't be very far off, she thought. Her father wouldn't stand for this, once he knew that she had left without completing their agreed-upon battle rule. But when that time came, she wanted to be ready for him. And this time, he would find a match in her like none other. Serra's weak smile 'evolved' into a small grin as she came alongside her new friend, and both marched off towards Fuchsia City again- each step taking both further away from Arik's position in Vermilion City.
"I kidna wish we were going after my friend though... he owes me a pokemon battle!" Janine told Serra, who laughed softly. From experience, Serra had been a part of that particular trainer's first battle- a success for him, a failure for her and her partner, unfortunately. Still, she knew the gym leader's preference in pokemon, and to be a gym leader, one required tough pokemon. She had powerful pokemon and a battling style that could be difficult to combat. Janine used poison attacks and other types of attacks to confuse and weaken her opponents before deliving the 'coup de grace'.
"That kid's Dratini is pretty tough, but they're obviously pretty new to training, Janine. What kind of a challenge do you think he'd give to, of all people, a gym leader right now?" Serra replied, and Janine sighed. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about it, it was simply the fact that she'd waited for years now without the 'satisfaction' of battling her old friend. She wanted a battle now, no matter how lop-sided it would be? Janine smiled a little, and nodded to her new friend.
"Good point. It wouldn't be fair to battle him until he's ready, I guess." Janine acceded, sighing once more. She felt a pat on her back and looked over to see Serra smiling- a rare occurance as of late, but now that she had finally given up on being a part of Team Rocket, she seemed almost like an entirely new person. Battling Arik could wait- Janine had work to do to help Serra train herself and pokemon of her very own.
In the forest nearby, there was someone who had been watching them both all day. When he'd woken up and found his partner missing, he figured that she was simply taking care of business. But when she'd been gone for over an hour, he decided to try and find her. That was when he found both Serra and Janine sleeping. He stayed there, not worrying about his mission to find that Dratini-using trainer for the time being. He would be, by now, close to either Lavender Town or Vermilion City, and both places were covered by his fellow operatives. He watched the two, unnoticed at all as he grit his teeth.
He'd been friends with Serra since they had become partners- or, at least, he thought he'd been. Jim was once a simple trainer as well, until the time, two years ago, when he was beat soundly by some kid named Gary back near the Nugget Bridge just north of Cerulean City. After that, to become stronger, he'd turned to stealing and training his pokemon harshly, in a manner that caught Team Rocket's attention. They trained him, and in turn, Jim trained his pokemon. When Jim found himself paired up with Serra, he considered her to be a challenge as well- someone he could teach to enjoy their work. But now, as he watched her walk away with the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City, he couldn't help but feel anger. Someone had to stop her! Even if he had heard her words regarding her father, the trainer who had taught him and many others how to treat and use pokemon effectively in battle and out, he couldn't condone what she decided to do about it.
When they were far enough away, he moved over to the fallen, discarded jacket, and had to make a decision. Would he rat out the girl he had considered his friend to the boss? Or would he simply ignore all of this until he had to? Either way, the boss would eventually figure out what had happened, and then there would be hell to pay, both for Serra and for himself. Jim sighed and tucked the jacket away into his own pack. There was very little he could actually do, and so he took his cell phone and dialed a number, leaving a message for his superiors.
Team Rocket, Kanto Division Executive Roland, Kanto branch
One of our operatives has been taken into custody. Her partner witnessed the entire thing, but was able to escape without being noticed, before the police could apprehend him as well. He didn't know just which city they were headed to, but it is believed that our comrade is being taken to Lavender Town. All operatives in the area are advised to be on the look out for our operative, and to try and help her if possible. She has brown hair and eyes, is of average height and build. If she is seen, attempt to contact without putting yourselves at risk and determine if she deserves a rescue.
The trainer with a Dratini has been considered to be very stealthy. It is possible that he has passed both Vermilion City or Lavender Town by this time. All operatives are now advised to look out for this trainer, whose name was reported by the same operative above to be 'Arik'. His pokemon are weak, but with the addition of that Dragon-type, not to be taken lightly without the use of Ice-pokemon. If any operative without the right pokemon find this trainer, do not engage in a battle. Attempt to stall until more operatives arrive before proceeding with the attack.
The orders have been received to begin transferring personnel from our branch to the Johto branch. A dozen operatives are already on the way, with more to leave in the following week. The Dragon-gym and Dragon Cave in Blackthorne City are to be one of our objectives once we have enough operatives in the area. For now, the research for force-evolving pokemon continues on slowly, and a few possibilities have arose for targets of our efforts. Magikarp seem to respond the best, and now we are constructing an underground base near the Lake of Rage to continue our research best.
End progress report.
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Author's Note: Well now, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Personally, I find it more interesting to specialize in the characters rather than the battles. That includes the pokemon as well, actually. Everyone has their own possibilities, after all. Please, read and review. Again, any suggestions would be appreciated. Does it seem like I've started writing longer chapters than I did at first? It does to me... maybe I'm getting my writing skills back now. lol