Ash shook Clefairy, trying to wake her up. The Pokémon was sleeping in the bicycle basket when it suddenly opened its still sleepy eyes.
"Time to wake up," Ash said.
"What? What time is it?" Luna asked.
"It's still afternoon," he replied. "Something happened... I need to get my bike as soon as possible."
He climbed into the vehicle and took off at high speed. While Ash pedaled on his bike he explained everything that had happened to the Pokemon.
"That's it?", said Clefairy after he finished explaining.
Ash had reached the point where Gary was waiting impatiently on his bicycle.
"Finally, I thought you weren't coming," he said with a frown.
"I didn't even take too long, hum."
Then they were quickly pedaling along the path the robot had followed.
The wind blew his strands of unruly hair. As he pedaled, Ash couldn't stop worrying about the fate his Porygon would take.
What if they are traffickers?
He had once watched a report on TV about a pokemon trafficking scheme on the black market. Pokémon were stolen from their trainers and sold to serve the most diverse nefarious purposes. Slavery, feud, organ trafficking, fur trade, the list was immense. Just thinking about the possibilities made a shiver run through his body, making all the hair on his arm rise.
I'll get Poly back!
That was not the time to be pessimistic. He would get his Pokémon back at all costs.
"Where did they go?," Ash asked as he looked around.
Viridian districts at that time were practically empty. On the paved streets only a few cars passed by. The leaves from the trees fell on the roofs of the houses, piling up.
"I don't know...", Gary said while banging his head to know which way to go.
"Let's keep moving on, maybe a clue will appear," replied Ash.
So the two went back riding their bikes, not knowing which right path to follow.
When they stopped to rest next to a tree they saw a spot following a path along the ground into the woods.
"An oil trail," Gary noted as he analyzed the ground. He touched the liquid and sniffed it. "I think they went this way."
The two left the bike near the tree and continued walking into the woods.
They arrived at a place.
"An abandoned warehouse," said Ash.
What appeared to be some kind of abandoned warehouse was in front of him. There were some broken glass windows. The walls of the building were filled with graffiti, which made him imagine it had been the work of vandals. Plants covered almost the entire site, further accentuating the impression of abandonment.
" Shiii," said Gary. Then, he started to walk stealthily towards a half-open door that was there. He motioned for Ash to follow him. "Be silent."
Walking on his tiptoes, Ash followed him.
The two entered the warehouse.
The environment inside the place was inhospitable and dusty. There were several old crates scattered on the floor, forming a veritable labyrinth.
Ash accidentally stepped on an old can of what appeared to be soda. The sound of "crock" echoed through the place. Gary glared at him with a "you're a fucking idiot" death glare.
"S-s-sorry!," Ash whispered.
Gary rolled his eyes.
The two continued to walk.
They heard the sound of voices. Grimly they hid behind some crates.
"With the Charmander and Porygon that we stole from those brats we'll definitely get a promotion from the boss," said the voice he recognized as the Meowth he'd known during the rapture of the Pokemons.
"I can already imagine him saying: Jessie and James, congratulations on your work, as a reward you'll be promoted to the rank of team rocket commanders!" This time it was the voice of the woman, Jessie
"Hey, don't forget about me!", Meowth complained. There was rage in his voice. "I also helped with the capture, nyah."
"You? You're just a poor creature without an owner, you should thank us for having accepted a Pokemon as useless as you in our team," Jessie said.
"If I'm useless then you guys are worse than that, since you've been in the organization for so long and so far haven't even managed to be recognized by the boss, nyah ," countered Meowth. "You two are the laughing stock of the rocket team! Behind your backs everyone makes jokes and mockery, nyah."
"What did you just said your furball!?"
Ash and Gary sidled up to look at the scene.
The three were sitting on the floor as they shared a pizza and drank soda out of cans. Jessie and Meowth continued to argue while the man, James, just stared at everything disinterestedly as he bited a piece of pizza. Behind them was the robot with Charmander and Porygon inside its compartment.
Luna started to laugh.
Ash gave her a repressive look.
"Sorry, but this all is so damn funny!", she justified.
"What part of the fact that they captured my Pokemon and are dangerous criminals exactly didn't you realize?", scolded Ash.
He realized that he had spoken too loudly.
"What was that noise?" Jessie asked. "James, go investigate."
Damm, thought Ash.
"Why me?," complained the rocket.
"Because I'm ordering!"
"Okay, but I'm only going because I'm exhausted from your nitpicking, hmm."
What do I do!?
Gary suddenly pulled him into a tight empty crate where the three of them squeezed inside. So they were inside that tight, dark place, holding their breath so they wouldn't be discovered.
When they noticed the man's footsteps pass close to where they were and then vanish, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the fuck, Ash. I always thought you were kind of weird but not the talking to yourself type."
Ash turned red with anger.
"I wasn't talking to myself!"
"Hum."
A moment of silence followed.
"And now," Ash said, breaking the morbidity. "We are at a disadvantage and they have our Pokemons, what should we do?"
A moment of silence followed again.
"I have a plan," Gary said after a long moment of reflection. "If we follow it we can retrieve our Pokemon and escape from here safe and sound."
Ash waved in the darkness, even though he knew no one could see his face.
"Let's get rid of these bastards!," he exclaimed in excitement.
Then Gary began to explain the entire plan he had in mind.