=Chapter 12, Deep Bonds=
(Jacob's PoV)
"Take them to the holding room now." The girl said after her colleagues finished checking them while she had vanished out of sight to deposit Sara in what they called the holding pens.
"Alright turn that way!" The goon said as they walked along the dark cave tunnel, deeper and deeper off the main path to Verdanturf. "And no funny movements."
If they weren't being forced to walk at the tip of a Scyther's blade, Jacob would have been impressed that they had managed to keep this side path from the eyes of travelers. The cave on route 116 that led between Verdanturf Town and Rustboro City had been cleared many years ago by a trainer with the help of their Pokemon, however he never learned their name because he was so busy learning from Arky at the time. Since then the cave has been traveled heavily by both travelers and trainers alike. What he wondered was where were all the Whismer's that inhabited this tunnel.
However this side tunnel seemed to be newly made as the ground wasn't as smooth as the main path, and the walls were still more jagged and rough thanks to the rocky surfaces. Running along the tunnel were signs saying that the area was off limits due to cave-in risks, obviously fake to prevent wayward travelers from stumbling upon Team Snagem's hideout here.
As they continued they found tunnels that appeared to be caved in, the ceilings collapsed, but none of the lighting and wires ran close to those tunnels. Without exception all of the tunnels that acted as Team Snagem's hideout were rough and ragged, and showing clear signs of being used by them. There were some doors with labels such as 'supplies' or 'storage', and there were apparently sleeping quarters because they had designated bedding rooms with labels for 'men' and 'women' and 'officers'. Then there were some doors with labels such as 'holding pens' and 'meeting room'.
As they passed by the holding pen door the girl that took Sara walked through it and disappeared while Jacob, Karen and Segan were led off down another passageway. Finally after about ten minutes of walking one of the goons opened a door that reeked of something smelly. They were shoved in so forcefully that they landed in a crumpled heap.
"Alright sit tight kids, if you're lucky you'll get to join Team Snagem, assuming the boss likes you!" One of the goons said as he locked the three of them in a small room with a laugh. "That is IF he likes you!"
"You Snagem goons let me out of here before I give you a taste of my fist!" Karen shouted angrily as she hammered on the door with said fist. "Well this is great, we sit patiently hoping for a 'sign' from Zarak but what happens? We get snuck up on and captured by the very same Team Snagem we were trying to rescue Glace and now Sara from."
Jacob nodded in agreement, wishing he still had Sara with him so she wouldn't feel afraid. "Poor Sara… she must be terrified right now." He whispered. "She's probably surrounded by Team Snagem members who are talking about selling her to some jerk owner or something worse! Imagine how frightened she must be!"
"Poor Sara, what about the rest of our teams?" Karen shouted nervously. "I had every single one of my Pokeballs on my belt just before Snagem surrounded us back there, and when I reach for Ziggles I find none of my team there! And unless I'm mistaken you don't have any of your team either!"
"Yea where did they go?" Jacob agreed as Segan leaned on the wall opposite the door. "They didn't find anything on us after they captured us."
Karen nodded as she too remembered how they searched the two trainers for more Pokemon.
(Flashback)
"This kid's got nothing else on him!" A guy said as he checked all of Jacob's pockets for his pants and jacket. "What about the girl?"
"She aint got nothing." Another guy said after he searched her vest. "A couple Pokedollars but nothing else!"
"Alright then let's put em in the holding room until the boss decides what to do with em!"
"Wait what about this Groomer!" A third guy said, holding Segan to make sure he didn't try to fight back. "Shouldn't we check him for any Pokemon?"
"He only had the one Froslass, he aint got anything else!"
(Flashback Ends)
"Yea but who cares what they didn't find on us, all I want to know is where is my team!" Karen shouted.
(Segan's PoV)
Segan chuckled as they argued. "What's so funny Segan?" Jacob asked.
"Oh it's nothing important, just that I know where your teams are!" He said with a large grin on his face.
"Where?" Karen said.
Segan reached into his coat's pockets and pulled out four Pokeballs with one hand, and five with his other. "Right here!" He said happily.
"How did you get them?" Jacob shouted as he and Karen took back their Pokeballs from the groomer.
"Well you see it happened when those goons snuck up on us!" Segan said. "When Team Snagem surrounded us, I instantly knew that if they found you two with Pokeballs on you, then you'd lose them. So what I did was step in front of you and just ever so swiftly swipe your Pokeballs off of both your belts! Then I just played the sad, rich groomer card and pretended to try and buy our way out just to throw them off."
Karen laughed happily as she gave Segan a gentle smack to the adult's shoulder. "Segan, you are an idiot, but my favorite kind of idiot!" She said.
"Thank you my friend." He said happily as they replaced their Pokeballs back onto their belts. "Now let's get out of here and rescue my Glace and your Sara!"
They both nodded and Jacob released Harold, his Grovyle.
"Impressive, the last time I saw you Harold you were just a tad shorter!" He said with a grin. "Really I must get the recipe for whatever it is Jacob is feeding you."
"I'll share it after we get Sara and Glace out of here." Jacob said. "Harold, a group of thieves just locked us up and stole Sara and Glace from me and Segan! We need to get out of here and rescue those two!"
"Grovyle!" Harold said with a determined look.
(Jacob's PoV)
"On that note, break down that door with a Quick Attack!" Jacob ordered, stepping aside so that Harold had the room he needed.
"Groooo…VYLE!" Harold shouted as he sprinted at the door and knocked it down so hard that it fell off the hinges and smacked into the cave wall.
"Nicely done Harold!" Karen said, walking out and pulling two Pokeballs off her belt. "Now let's bring out our own trackers, Zarak's not the only trainer with a Pokemon that has a good nose!"
"Yea, this place is like a maze." Jacob said, taking out Ivan's Pokeball in understanding. "Ivan come on out!"
"Laura, Nora, rise to the challenge!" Karen said.
In three flashes of light three Poochyena's materialized. Nora, Laura and Ivan all looked round before turning to face their respective trainers. Laura and Ivan glared at each other for a moment.
"Not now you two, we need you to focus right now!" Karen said, snapping Laura back to attention.
"Yea Ivan, we're in a real pickle here." Jacob said, getting Ivan's undivided attention. "We're in an underground place created by Team Snagem, a group of criminal trainers who steal and sell Pokemon. They took Glace from Sagen and now they have Sara as well!"
At that bit of knowledge Ivan's mouth twitched to reveal his fangs. "Laura, I know you and Nora aren't the best when it comes to tracking scents, but I need you to try and remember Sara's, Jacob's Ralts, scent and help Ivan track her down." Karen said to them now. "Because wherever she is we'll find Glace and this other Pokemon that they might have, do you three think you can do that?"
"ARF!" All three Poochyena barked, and instantly they started sniffing to try and find Sara's scent.
As one they turned and walked down one of the rocky hallways that made up this strange hideout. Keeping Harold out of his Pokeball Jacob hoped that their escape would remain unnoticed.
At least until they find Sara and Glace and hopefully this other Pokemon.
(Sara's PoV)
Sara tried concentrating with her psychic powers to open up her cage, but no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get the door to move.
It was just impossible for her, she was a small Ralts who had just lost her connection to her trainer, and the fear of what might happen to her was causing her to lose her focus. Thoughts of what happened to her mother and father flooded her mind; making her wonder if this is what happened to them.
*Ignore them… focus… you can't stay here!* She thought desperately, trying to once again concentrate on the cage's door and open it. *You need to get out… and find Jacob!*
She concentrated, and concentrated, focusing all of her psychic energy onto the door, but at the last second her head hurt and broke her concentration, causing her to release the energy she had managed to bring to bear against the door.
Panting she sat back down on the floor of her cage and stared out of the small glass window she had. Opposite her and slightly below her was Glace, Segan's Froslass, and if being with Jacob has taught her anything, she wasn't looking in good health. She tried to communicate with Glace via telekinesis, the same she used to talk to Jacob with, but her emotions were too erratic for her to get a clear message through. All she felt was sadness and longing from the Snow Pokemon, and she could probably guess who she was longing for.
She also felt another Pokemon nearby, not belonging to Team Snagem, but also just as afraid and scared as she and Glace were.
*I have to try… and find Jacob somehow!* She thought to herself, knowing that if she could somehow find Jacob with her connection to him, she could probably guide him to her. *Assuming he's free…*
Trying to shake the thought of what Team Snagem could have done to her trainer and his friends, Sara resumed gathering her psychic energy and trying to find her trainer now, looking for his warm, friendly, and gentle thoughts from the sea of greedy and dangerous thoughts.
(Zarak's PoV)
Zarak with his Mightyena to guide him snuck out of one of the rooms where they had spare uniforms for Snagem members. It took him some time to find one that fit, but after a quick change of clothes and stuffing his own into a bag to carry with him, had his Mightyena sniff to make sure nobody unfriendly was outside. Now that they were out he began the next part of his plan.
"Alright Mightyena, do your stuff!" Zarak said as he let his top tracker take the lead.
Mightyena growled in understanding and began listening and sniffing for whoever was in charge of this facility. "Grrr…" He growled, and started walking along the hallway.
Following in his tracker's footsteps Zarak moved along the hallway, pretending to know exactly where he was going. As they walked Mightyena stopped and sat down, pretending be at attention, a sign that someone was approaching.
Zarak stood and leaned against the cave wall and crossed his arms, pretending to be on watch as well as a group of Snagem members walked passed, with Jacob, Karen, and Segan in front of them at the point of a Scyther's blade arms. He noticed that they did not have Sara the Ralts with them, meaning that Snagem probably took her and any of their Pokemon from the two trainers.
*So they got caught as well huh?* Zarak thought as none of the Snagem members paid him any attention. *Well this complicates things slightly, but not to the point where I can't work. Still have to find where my target is, and now where they are keeping Glace and Sara.*
As the group passed by Mightyena moved on, taking another route as a shadowy figure appeared from a side passage, his Absol. She nodded at him and followed behind, quiet as a stealthy Haunter.
"Absol I'm assuming you saw the kids get captured?" He asked just loud enough for her to hear him.
"Ab!" She said.
"Alright then the plan stays the same; I want you to follow behind em and try to rescue them." He said as a fork in the path appeared, one leading upward with a sign saying 'To Rusturf Tunnel' and the other going downward with another sign saying 'To Basement Level'. "I think I saw where they might be holding the Pokemon as well as our target, I want you to find them, break them out, and help lead them there, get our target and keep her safe while me and Mightyena give Salamence the signal. Once she's safe regroup with me and Mightyena down here to help us get out as well."
"Ab!" She said, and silently walked off to go after the kids.
As he and Mighyena went deeper into the cave facility that Team Snagem set up, he noticed that there weren't as many Team Snagem members here as he figured there might be. Absol had said that she couldn't get in very deep because there were too many guards for her to sneak around. Sure she had been right, but as he walked through the facility he had only seen a total of about twenty Snagem Members.
At least until he found a very modern door embedded into the rocky wall.
*Well now, this is different.* He said as he walked through it into a large underground stadium large enough for Pokemon battles.
The stadium wasn't designed for many spectators, but as two Snagem members battled with a Golbat and a Yanma there was a small group of about fifteen Snagem members watching from foldable chairs on the sidelines. As he made his way around the arena, pretending to be watching the match while looking for a good seat, he looked around to see what else Snagem had.
Opposite the room there was what looked like a command center with a lot of computers and phones and even a very high tech generator with wires and cords all scattered around it, separated from the stadium by a small fiberglass wall. Among the computers in the command center was also what appeared to be a healing station, one similar to what Pokemon Centers had for trainers' Pokeballs. The computers that two Snagem technicians seemed to be working at looked like the latest models from Silph Co. while the generator had a DEVON Logo on the side.
*I don't care how many Snagem members they have or how much they've made by stealing Pokemon and selling them off, this is way too high tech for a bunch of Pokemon thieves.* He thought as he found a seat close to the center to prevent anyone from investigating why he wasn't watching the match. *This facility is too well designed, too well organized, and all this stuff is way too expensive for a bunch of Snagem goons to afford. This place looks like it was designed to house these Snagem goons for years without being detected.*
As he pondered this Mightyena looked over at the door they had come through, making him glance over and watch as the same group that caught Jacob and his friends walk through. "Hey boss, can we have a word with ya?" A girl said, walking with the others around the stadium toward the command center.
Seeing his chance to look inconspicuous and probably find out more, he nodded to Mightyena and tilted his head toward the generator. "You know what to do." He said as his Mightyena nodded and walked around the opposite direction while he blended in with the group.
Inside the command center he saw who appeared to be the boss of Team Snagem, but he didn't look any different compared to the other members. "Yea what is it, we're about to call our contact to make sure he's on schedule." He said roughly.
"Got good news boss, we found a couple of kids and that Froslass' owner outside our hideout trying to sneak in." She said with a grin. "Got a sweet catch from em too, a Ralts!"
"A Ralts huh, now that's ganna make a bigger payout." The boss said as they all walked toward one of the computers. "Alright do we have a signal yet, I wanna make sure he's coming so he can pay us big time for what we've gotten."
"We're live boss." The technician said, standing up and letting his boss sit in the seat to talk.
As everyone crowded around the computer to see whoever they were to talk to, Zarak eyed his Mightyena slipping behind the generator and extending his claws, nodding briefly to indicate he was ready and waiting for the signal. Zarak nodded and proceeded to the nearby empty computer and grinned at his stroke of luck, because the previous technician had left camera video feeds and even power line windows active. All he had to do was a clever hacking trick, disable the camera feeds, and find the right wire for Mightyena to disconnect to signal Salamence.
Meanwhile he listened in on the conversation being had between the Snagem members and whoever they were calling. "Are you on your way?" The boss said as Zarak scanned the computer for what he wanted.
"Of course I am on my way, what do you want?" A snide voice said from the computer.
"I just want to tell you that you better have a bigger payout this time, cause we got some new goods to give." The boss said with a greedy tone. "We got ourselves a Ralts and a Froslass to go along with that Growlithe we called you about a few days ago!"
"A Froslass and a Ralts you say, my you kiddies have been busy little Combee's haven't you?" The voice said, obviously pleased. "Well I'll be by within half an hour, right on schedule, have the three ready to be transported by the time I get there and if they are in good order, I'll triple your pay based on the Growlithe, and more if I deem the other two exceptional!"
"Hang on Mr. Mask!" The girl who spoke up before interrupted. "I got a bone to pick with you, how come you guys get all the good Pokemon 'we' steal for you, and all we get are the 'rejects' you send us back?"
"Temper my dear temper; we must learn our place when climbing the social ladder." The snide voice said in a tone that Zarak recognized instantly as one who placed himself in a higher class then who he spoke to. "Really now, you and your friends are at the bottom of the pole, and considering the goods we've given you, I don't think you have a reason to complain. If you're complaining about 'rejects' that we send you, maybe you should have chosen a career that involved school instead of crime, if you didn't have a record preventing you that is."
There was a growl of anger from the girl as the boss spoke up, still unaware as Zarak stood up, pretended to yawn and stretch his arms, making three hand gestures for Mightyena to see. "Forgive her Sir; she's just unhappy that she doesn't have any good Pokemon."
"Yes I can hear it in her voice, now listen up, the operatives working in the Petalburg Woods have finished their tasks and are heading toward Route's 119, 114, and 109 to begin capturing operations there. Your task is to continue stealing rare and unique Pokemon in Rustboro City; as per usual we want Pokemon that have strong emotional ties to their trainers. We'll discuss further payments based on what you get the next time I call you; I'll see you in less than half amn hour!"
There was a small beep as the line was severed and Zarak pretended to be interested in the conversation. "Are you insane or what, we just hit gold here with those three Pokemon and you want to make the guy giving us the money angry?"
"I don't care if he pays us a million Pokedollars for just a Zubat, how come we have to train our Pokemon like mad to capture the 'good ones' he wants?" She sneered angrily. "I mean we have ourselves a Froslass and a Ralts sitting upstairs, do you know what we could do with those two? Not to mention the Growlithe we're selling him, it evolves into Arcanine, do you know how much more valuable that is, and all he wants is a baby runt of a Growlithe? You know what Ralts evolves into; imagine if we had that thing's fully evolved form on our side, no trainer would stand a chance against us! And sure the Froslass isn't that strong being a groomer's Pokemon but just imagine if we trained it, that thing could put out a Charizard's flame!"
"I know it doesn't seem right, but look at what we've got by working with this guy!" The boss said. "We didn't have any of this years ago in Ore, when we were scrounging just for some of the good stuff that Cypher didn't provide us. Now we get all of this and even a payout for each Pokemon we give him!"
"Whatever, all I'm saying this is not fair, we should be stealing all those Pokemon for ourselves instead of nitpicking for what someone wants!" She said.
Suddenly the lights all went out and everything except for the computers and generator went offline.
"What happened to the power?" A voice called out.
"Who turned out the lights?" Another voice said.
"Someone get that backup generator on!" A third voice yelled.
"What's going on?" The boss said as the technicians all went to the computers, scrambling to get things working.
"It's the main power line, it's been disconnected!" One said. "We've lost all primary power, switching to the backup generator!"
In seconds all the lights turned back on.
"Bring up the feed for the main power line!" The girl said, and after a few seconds she stamped her feet in frustration. "Ugh, there's a Salamence outside and knocking trees down! It smacked the one that we were using to siphon power from the Rustboro Electrical Grid. The lights are off so I can't see clearly, but if my guess is right it belongs to a trainer and their doing some late night training!"
"If it's a Salamence we should snag it!" One of them said eagerly.
"You kidding, Salamence aren't wimps like the Froslass was, that thing is capable of ripping this place apart if we even try to fight it." The boss said. "Just leave it be for now, it and its trainer will leave eventually and then we can just repair the power line!"
"Hey what idiot was stupid enough to let their Mightyena walk around freely?" A voice shouted from the stadium. "The lazy wolf decided to scratch up the chords and slice one up."
Zarak pretended to go out and surround an apparently lazy Mightyena that was busy scratching itself with its rear leg. It was also sitting next to several chords that led toward the generator and out of the room. One of the chords had been sliced in two, clearly by its claws.
"Who owns this Mightyena?" The boss said.
"It's not mine, and I'm the only one here with one!" A guy said.
"So it's wild?" Another girl asked hopefully.
"No it's tamed, look at the way its acting around us, it's clearly been trained around humans." A third voice said.
"So who does it belong to?" The girl who was arguing before shouted. "If this isn't one of ours, and it's not one of those dorky kids' that we captured, then we have an intruder in our hideout!"
He knew that Mightyena's act would not stall for much time, and surrounded by about thirty Snagem members he stood no chance of fending them and all of their Pokemon off for any period of time. Zarak silently slipped a hand into his bag and pulled out a small white, glass flute with the image of his Absol embedded into the glass. He blew on it gently, and the only sound that came out was one that was too high pitched for the human ear to hear.
But it was plenty high enough for a certain 'Disaster Pokemon' to hear. He just hoped that she would get there fast.
The deception would only last a couple minutes, before all hell breaks loose.
(Jacob's PoV)
"This isn't right… we're going around in circles!" Jacob complained as they found themselves back at the same room they had been led to before.
"Laura, Nora, Ivan, we need to find Glace and Sara before we're found out!" Karen said desperately. "Are you three sure you're following the right scent?"
"Arf!" Ivan barked angrily, clearing showing his frustration and giving her a glare that said, 'I'm doing the best I can!'
However in response to that, Laura gave him a glare as well, revealing her sharp fangs and growling threateningly at him.
"Enough you guys, we're running out of time!" Jacob said as he tried to recall exactly how many paths there were in this maze and which one led toward that room that had been labeled 'Holding Pens'. "It's not their fault they can't find a thing down here Karen. Ivan, Laura, and Nora aren't trained to track to the degree we're asking of them. They aren't like Zarak's Mightyena who was trained to track all his life. What we need to do is retrace our steps and…"
Segan tapped Jacob's shoulder to get his attention. "Jacob, I believe your Harold has found our means of locating Sara and Glace!" He said with a hint of hope.
Jacob and Karen as well as the three Poochyena's turned to look at what Harold found, and it wasn't so much as 'what' he found, it was 'who' found them.
It was Zarak's Absol, silently observing them all in the cave passage with a silent expression on her face. "Hey isn't that the same Absol that Zarak trained?" Karen asked.
"Yea that is, but what is she doing here?" Jacob asked.
The Absol in question looked at them before talking to Harold in her dialect. "Absol Ab!"
"Grovyle vyle vyle Gro!"Harold replied.
"Absol sol Absol!"
"Gro?"
"Ab." She said with a nod before turning around and watching them all again with her eyes.
"Grovyle!" Harold said to them, pointing at the Absol with one hand while beckoning to them with the other.
"Harold what's up?" Jacob asked, wishing he had Sara to translate for him, he felt helpless having to guess what his Pokemon was saying. "Does she know where Sara and Glace are?"
"Vyle!" Harold said with a nod.
"Alright then let's get going!" Jacob told everyone, and took off after Absol with Harold leading him.
They followed Absol for several minutes before she led them down one series of passages, down another, and finally to the door they were trying to find before. Instantly Jacob turned the door knob and opened it up before dashing inside.
What he saw were two rows of cages on each side of a very long hall dug out of the cave wall. The cages closest to the door were simple metal bars on all sides with simple locks designed to hold Pokemon the size of a human. As they went further into the hall the cages became more modern, ending in complicated Silph Co. designed cages to completely isolate Pokemon in small two by five boxes with no sound influence from the outside, but still have specialized ventilation systems to keep them alive.
The sight of these cages made him sick. "Sara!" Jacob yelled out as he walked along the row, trying to find his Ralts.
"Glace!" Segan shouted hopefully.
Then he felt it, Sara probing for him and trying to connect with his mind once again. He felt her familiar presence once again brush against his mind before gripping him tightly, worry and fear coursing through her thoughts as she tried to communicate with him.
(Jacob… help… me!) She moaned to him.
"They're here!" Jacob said, rushing along the row toward the absolute back.
Then he found them, three occupied cages at the far back. The first one held the real life version of what Zarak had said was his 'target', a one foot tall baby Growlithe with a bell hanging from its neck and a pink ribbon around one ear. The second held an exhausted and injured Froslass, Glace, leaning on the side of her cage. Finally in the third one, above the Growlithe's cage was Sara, leaning against the window of her cage and looking at him.
"Sara!" Jacob said, looking for a way to open the cages.
"Glace!" Segan shouted, looking at his Froslass lying on her cage.
(Jacob… get us out!) Sara said, feebly pounding on the glass to try and break it.
"Hang on I'll find some way to break you out!" Jacob said.
He first tried to enter random numbers into the complicated locks to try and unlock it, but there was no way he could have opened the locks without guessing a million different combinations. At the same time Segan was busy trying a more direct approach, pulling out a pair of grooming scissors from his pocket and trying to stab the flexible glass of the cage in the hopes of breaking it.
"Jacob, maybe Harold can break them out!" Karen suggested as she recalled Laura and Nora back into their Pokeballs. "Good attempt you two at tracking, but for now let's give the bigger guy the room he needs to do his work."
"Good idea Karen." Jacob said, repeating he gesture and recalling Ivan into his ball. "Harold, see if you can break Sara out!"
Harold nodded as Karen, Jacob and Segan stepped back to give the grass Pokemon room, then he swung at the front of the cage with his leaf-blade like arms. The cage front was sliced in two, and another swipe from Harold's other arm broke off the front cage completely, releasing Sara from her prison.
"Sara!" Jacob said, walking forward as Harold went to work on Glace's cage next.
The Ralts jumped into his outstretched arms and curled herself in his embrace, shivering in fear as he rubbed her head. (Jacob… I was so… scared!) She whispered to him.
"It's okay Sara, you're safe and sound." Jacob whispered soothingly, glad to have his Pokemon safely back with him.
Meanwhile Harold had sliced Glace out of her prison and was quickly pulled into the comfort of her trainer's arms. "Glace, speak to me are you alright?" Segan asked worriedly.
Glace looked up at him with a tired eye before stretching one of her hands to touch his cheek. "Fros… lass?" She asked him.
"Don't worry about me I'm alright, but what about you, did they hurt you?" He asked.
She shook her head as she smiled happily, before closing her eyes and leaning in close to her master before she spoke to him again, though clearly through telepathy.
"That's good to know, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if ANYTHING happened to you Glace…" He said, rubbing his Froslass' head gently.
As she nuzzled his face back, just as lovingly, Jacob swore he saw something shiny falling from one of her eyes, before his attention was grabbed by Harold slicing free the Growlithe that Snagem had also captured. After he put Sara in her usual spot on his shoulder, he bent down and pulled out the Growlithe.
She felt warm to Jacob, but that was expected since she was a Fire Type Pokemon, so her fur would be very warm. The bell was definitely familiar as was the pink ribbon compared to the picture. The bell also had a small engraving on it, saying that its wearer's name was Sara, and she belonged to a Jessica Opulent.
"I'm guessing this is the Sara you and Zarak were looking for?" He asked the Absol that had pushed her way past Karen to look at the Growlithe in his arms.
Absol bent close to sniff the Pokemon before nodding.
=Zarak Miscalculates=
"Okay, now all we have to do is find our way out and…" Jacob started saying as all the lights went out.
"Hey what's going on?" Karen asked in the darkness.
"I think we just found out what Zarak's 'signal' was." Segan whispered quietly.
"Yea… and I think that means we need to get out of here before Snagem finds us!" Karen said as a few moments later the lights came back on.
"Alright then let's get out of here!" Jacob said. "Karen you hold the Growlithe, I can't hold her and Sara at the same time while running."
Karen nodded and took the little Growlithe in her arms before letting Harold and Absol go first toward the exit. If any of Team Snagem's Pokemon were outside, it was better to have their strongest ready to fight first, and since Harold was by far the strongest Pokemon between him and Karen, it made perfect sense to keep Harold out in case they needed to fight their way out.
Fortunately nobody was outside, and they made their way toward where they had been guided down, but just as they neared two passages, one leading up and the other down, Zarak's Absol suddenly stopped moving. Unfortunately because of her size, she took up most of the space in the passageway, so they couldn't proceed without her moving.
"What's wrong?" Jacob asked as she looked down the cave passage leading downward, a look of fear on her face.
"Absol!" She barked, before ignoring the passage leading upward and racing down the other one.
"Hey wait up!" Karen shouted as all three of them raced after Zarak's Absol.
(Jacob, she said… Zarak!) Sara said to him as they followed the Absol. (I think he's… in trouble!)
"Karen, get Ziggles ready for a fight, I think Zarak's in need of our help!" Jacob relayed to his fellow trainer.
She nodded and instinctively reached for Ziggle's Pokeball on her belt while still keeping a tight hold on the Growlithe.
"I'll hold Sara for you Karen if you have to battle!" Segan shouted. "I may be a Groomer but I can easily hold two Pokemon if necessary!"
They continued to race down the passageway until they heard the distinct sounds of battle going on. The Absol apparently heard this as well and pushed faster towards a very modern looking door embedded into the rocky walls of this cave. In seconds they reached the door and it slid open to allow Absol inside, and right after her Jacob and Sara, Karen and Sara, Segan, and finally Harold.
They entered into what could only be called an underground stadium, one which Jacob would have been impressed by if there wasn't a war going on right in front of them.
"Mightyena use Shadow Ball!" Zarak called as he and his Mightyena were being pushed into a corner by no less than fifteen Pokemon and about thirty Team Snagem members.
Two Pokemon had been knocked out, their trainers quickly taking them to a healing machine on the opposite side of the room. Meanwhile the battle raged on between Snagem and the Hunter.
"Raaaaawr!"Mightyena roared, opening his mouth and releasing a ball of condensed dark energy toward a Primeape.
"That thing knows Shadow Ball, who is this guy?" The girl with the Raticate from before said.
"Scyther use Shadow Blade!" A guy shouted.
"Scyther Scy!" A Scyther screamed as it rushed forward, blade arms glowing darkly.
"Mightyena counter with Take Down!" Zarak shouted.
The two Pokemon's attacks connected, and Mightyena won handily, but the Scyther still got a good shot on him, and the Take Down had injured the wolf as well. Zarak was fighting hard, and Mightyena was desperately gasping for breath as he stood to defend his trainer from Snagem's fury. Yet despite how furious Mightyena fought, there was no way he could keep up with the remaining Pokemon, especially since now the Primeape's and Raticate's trainers ordered them onto the attack.
"Raticate, Hyper Fang!" She shouted.
"Primeape, Karate Chop!" A voice called out.
Both Pokemon charged forwards, fangs bared and arm pressed outwards. That's when Absol jumped in to defend Zarak. "Absol!" Absol shouted with her claws extended as she used them to swipe the Primeape down before switching into a Quick Attack, speeding toward the Raticate she knocked him back to his trainer.
"Nice timing Absol!" Zarak shouted as she took her place next to Mightyena.
"An Absol, who is this guy?" Another guy shouted.
"Hey it's those brats and that Groomer!" The guy with the Scyther shouted, making several Snagem members turn to confront them.
"Hey they're trying to take the Pokemon we stole!" The guy with a Machoke shouted. "Stop em!"
"Ziggles, Rise to the challenge!" Karen shouted as Segan relieved her of the Sara the Growlithe.
In a flash of light, Ziggles appeared besides Harold, battle stance ready as the Machoke and a Yanma turned to face them.
"Karen, Jacob, Segan, find a way to get over here so they can't surround us on one side!" Zarak shouted as Mightyena got into a stare off with Snagem's Mightyena while his Absol had her claws full with a Dodrio.
"Harold you heard him, we have to fight our way to Zarak!" Jacob called as the Machoke charged in for a Seismic Toss.
"Ziggles use Quick Attack on the Yanma!" Karen shouted, and her Zigzagoon broke into a run for the bug Pokemon.
"Harold, counter with your own Quick Attack!" Jacob ordered.
Both Pokemon countered their opponent's moves and gave them a swift strike, but the Machoke stood his ground and quickly recovered. He gripped Harold with his muscular arms and swung him into the air in a circle.
"Ziggles use Headbutt on Machoke, quickly!" Karen shouted.
"Zigzagoon!" Ziggles shouted before taking a running leap and smacking Machoke in the back with his head.
This hit made Machoke flinch and broke the attack just in time for Harold to break free, landing safely he gave the Machoke a swipe of his leafy arms, taking down the Machoke finally.
=A Woman's Wrath=
"Thanks for the save!" Jacob said as they and their Pokemon made their way toward Zarak, who's Pokemon were still battling furiously, now four on two.
"It's not over yet Jacob, look, reinforcements!" Segan shouted, and they watched as seven Snagem members entered the stadium, Pokeballs drawn to reinforce the defeated team members.
"There's too many of them Zarak, we can't beat them all!" Jacob said once they finally got to him, Harold and Ziggles aiding Absol and Mightyena to force back Snagem.
"Tell me something I don't know." Zarak said.
"Where's your Salamence, isn't this why you said you have him?" Karen asked as Ziggles took a Low Kick from Primeape.
"Salamence is too wide to fit in the cave entrance, and he's waiting outside for us so we can make a getaway." Zarak said grimly. "I can't call him down here to help us, I knew there were more members of Snagem but I didn't imagine there'd be this many with Pokemon!"
With the new members of Snagem's facility joining the fray, as well as their healing station to bring back their injured Pokemon, the odds were heavily stacked in their favor. Jacob and his friends knew they were outnumbered, and with only a few Pokemon strong enough to fight on equal footing, they were quickly running out of options.
After a few minutes of hard fighting to protect their trainers, Ziggles, Harold, Mightyena, and Absol were panting alongside their trainers. Meanwhile their opponents remained fresh thanks to the healing station reviving fallen Snagem Pokemon. Then the girl from before with the Raticate stepped forward, having just returned from reviving her Pokemon from the station.
"You guys are not getting out of here in one piece!" She shouted. "I'll cut you a break and make you a deal, hand over all of your Pokemon and we'll let you four leave with your clothes on your back!"
"Not a chance lady." Zarak growled, which his Mightyena and Absol matched.
"Really, you think four Pokemon can last against thirty of ours?" She said with a manic laugh. "Oh this is going to be precious, I hope we have the camera's watching this because I'll love watching this on the big screen!"
As one all of the Pokemon under Snagem's control prepared to charge at once, a ton of muscles, fangs, claws, and sheer power being brought to bear against four tired, desperate, and determined Pokemon trying to save their trainers.
That's when the door opened one more time, and Jacob saw a face he was NOT expecting to see.
Fera, in her business attire, walking into the Snagem stadium wearing her business shoes and a pair of reading glasses.
"Fera?" Segan shouted in disbelief.
"Who the heck are you?" Another female member of Snagem shouted angrily as she turned to see who had arrived.
Fera smiled calmly as she gently pushed her glasses up closer to her eyes. "My name is Fera Hazel, business associate and sister of Segan Hazel, Co-owner of the Pokemon and Human Grooming Salon: Beauté Intérieure, and Business Accountant and Manager of Finances of Beauté Intérieure." She said professionally. "I'm here to offer you a business proposition that would be in both of our interests if you complied."
"Business proposition, what are you on lady?" The same girl said hysterically.
"This isn't some boardroom meeting lady, this is Snagem's hideout!" A guy shouted. "You come in here, you better have Pokemon to give us because there aint no way you're getting out of here any other way!"
"Segan what is your sister doing here?" Karen asked as nearly all of Snagem was now busy staring at Fera in her attire in such an odd location, looking more out of place than a Chansey in a swamp.
"If I had to guess, I'd say she's rescuing us!" Segan said happily. "Yoo hoo, Sister, over here!"
Fera smiled and waved at her brother. "Brother how nice to see you, next time you leave a note don't be so vague about where you're heading, it's so hard to follow you!" She said with a happy tone.
"How in Hoenn did you find us?" Segan asked cheerfully.
"That smelly coat of yours has an odor so distinct a blind man could follow the smell to the source!" She said with an annoyed tone, pointing at his coat. "I keep telling you to get it cleaned Segan, but do you listen to me? Anyway tell me is Glace okay?"
"Oh she's fine sister, but these goons made her cry!" Segan said, throwing everyone including Snagem off at how he can have a normal conversation with his sister as if nothing was going on. "Listen we're in a tight spot here, do you think you can get us out?"
"Sure, the police should be arriving here; I gave them a call about this location five minutes ago, that gives me a bit of leeway." She said, pulling out her check book from her suit's pocket as well as a pen. "Now Snagem, here's the proposition I offer you, you release my friends and brother as well as the Pokemon you stole from them and let them all go unharmed from this point on, or I'll have to get rough with you."
"Get rough with us!?" The girl with the Raticate shouted, laughing hysterically along with her fellow Snagem members. "Do you honestly believe you're in a position to 'get rough with us'?"
"Watch out guys, she's going to lecture us into submission!" A guy shouted, pretending to read an invisible book as everyone, including their Pokemon laughed even harder.
"Oh no, don't make me read a bunch of boring numbers!" Another guy laughed.
They all kept laughing for another few minutes before the Raticate girl spoke up again. "I don't care what you say lady, we're the ones who outnumber you thirty to five!" She said. "I don't need a degree to tell me that we're the ones who can make the demands here, so why don't you just tiptoe out of here with your fancy high heels, bimbo!"
Fera slowly put the checkbook and pen back into her coat, just as her left eyelash started twitching.
"Oh no…" Segan said nervously, slowly stepping further and further away from Snagem as he possibly could get. "Snagem has no idea what horror they've awakened…"
"Segan?" Karen asked as she watched Segan backing away.
"Get back you three, recall your Pokemon back quickly!" Segan said, still holding the Growlithe Sara and his Glace in both arms. "You don't want them out for what's about to happen!"
Meanwhile, Fera was reaching into her inner pocket of her suit, and now there was a sense of anger emanating from her. "Snagem… I tried to be reasonable and logical about this, but apparently you are all undereducated dunderheads that need to be taught a lesson." She whispered, just loud enough for them all to hear. "So allow me to reacquaint you with the teachings of what the saying says, 'Anger not the Man, but the Woman behind the Man'!"
She pulled out a custom made Pokeball, almost all red but with thin gold lines around the center of it. "I thought that Salon had only one Pokemon!" A guy shouted.
"I thought so too, that groomer only ever used one!" Another guy shouted.
Fera had pulled the Pokeball and stretched it as far as her arm could go. "That's because I'm so busy with business deals and handling my brother's Salon's financial state of affairs that I almost never use my Pokemon." She said angrily. "But whenever I go out at my brother's request to go on his 'crusades' I have no choice but to battle trainers, Pokemon, and the elements in order to carry out those wishes, so it's only natural that I have my own Pokemon to defend myself!"
Jacob recalled Harold at the same time as Karen recalled Ziggles, Mightyena and Absol remained out however, backing up with their trainer and readying themselves for a battle.
"Poor Snagem… they know not what they've done!" Segan whispered as he cowered behind a crate near the stadium's edge.
Meanwhile Snagem had gathered together all of their Pokemon in front of them, forming a wall of undeniable power at the business woman before them. "You really think one Pokemon is going to take on thirty lady?" The girl with the Raticate shouted.
Fera gave one sneer at all of Snagem before she lightly juggled it into the air. "I don't think, I know!" She said. "You see this Pokemon is so mighty, that it can take on any NUMBER of Pokemon, especially since you just made me MAD! Now, show them your wrath Sugar!"
She reached back and tossed the Pokeball into the air, releasing the largest Pokemon Jacob had ever seen. It stood twenty feet tall, with scales bluer than the ocean's surface and harder than the strongest diamond, a mouth with four very prominent, sharp, very long fangs, several fins in the resemblance of the coral reef, and two very distinct red eyes that pierced into the gaze of every single one of Snagem's Pokemon.
Fera, had called forth, a Gyarados!
"Raaaaaaaaaaaawr!" Gyarados roared at the top of his lungs, and caused all of Snagem's Pokemon to back away along with their trainers.
"You're sister trained THAT?" Zarak shouted incredulously, as both Mightyena and Absol backed up behind their trainer for protection now.
"Oh Sugar!" Fera called sweetly toward the Gyarados, to which it looked down at her with a gentle, and very uncharacteristic smile. "Sugar darling, are you feeling okay? Sorry for bringing you out in this dirty cave but I just wanted to tell you something!"
It nodded in understanding, using its tail end to ever so delicately rub her hand.
"You see those meanies over there?" She said, pointing at Team Snagem with a finger. "They kidnapped poor Glace, and made her sad! They also hurt their new friends and their Pokemon, they hurt my poor brother as well, and they called me names!"
At that last bit Gyarados turned to stare at Snagem with one eye, and it was so piercing that Sara covered her eyes to shield them. Jacob couldn't blame her, he knew all about Gyarados thanks to his lessons with Arky, but he never guessed he would be seeing a live demonstration of his most famous words to him about the Pokemon.
(Never anger a Gyrados, especially one raised by a trainer.)
*Arky… your words did not do this Pokemon Justice!* He thought nervously as Snagem's Pokemon started to cower before the mighty beast. *Just its glaring eyes are enough to defeat all of us!"
"Now Sugar… be a dear and teach those jerks a lesson they will never forget." Fera declared, pushing her glasses up and patting her Pokemon's tail end. "Start things off with Dragon Rage!"
Sugar, the Gyarados, brought its full attention to Snagem's Pokemon before releasing a powerful burst of bluish flame.
The Pokemon started running for the sides to avoid the monstrous attack, the flame was so powerful that it melted the very rock beneath the sandy surface of the stadium. Some of Snagem tried to counter attack but their attacks were so pathetic, they did not even leave the tiniest of scratches upon the Pokemon's scales.
"Now that is one heck of a Dragon Rage!" Zarak said in amazement. "That's even stronger than Salamence's!"
"That's sister's Dragon Rage for you, emphasis on rage!" Segan said, terrified as they cowered behind their crate.
"Alright Sugar, now hit them with your Hydro Pump!" Fera ordered.
Responding to the order Sugar the Gyarados took in a deep breath before expelling a powerful gush of water, so powerful that it knocked a Primeape, a Machoke, the Scyther, and three others clean off their feet and into the wall on the opposite side of the stadium. The attack was so powerful that the full force dug into the rocky formation of the wall for seven feet.
"That is one super strong Hydro Pump!" Karen admired.
"She never likes dirty things; she used that attack on me once after I came back to the Salon after three months, just to make me take a bath!" Segan complained.
Snagem and their Pokemon were clearly outmatched, despite outnumbering it thirty to one they could not defeat it! "Alright Sugar, I think they've had enough, now show them their place and bring this whole place down with a single Hyper Beam!" Fera declared in a finalizing voice.
Sugar nodded and opened its mouth wide, showing the energy being absorbed in preparation for the attack, before it expelled it in the shape of a single mighty beam! The attack tore into the roof of the cavernous stadium, breaking rock and shattering anything that wasn't strong enough to withstand such wrath.
"It's too powerful; it'll bring this whole place down on us!" A member of Snagem shouted fearfully. "Everyone recall you're Pokemon and evacuate the hideout!"
"Segan, Jacob, Karen, new guy, let's get out of here before this place comes down on us!" Fera shouted.
=Aftermath=
As Team Snagem recalled their Pokemon and ran out of the stadium opposite of the door they had all entered from, Fera recalled Sugar and escaped the hideout with the others. The stadium room collapsed behind them, and the entire cavernous tunnel complex that was Snagem's Hideout began to collapse behind them, erasing any way to get back down there.
After they exited the cave they encountered several police cars under Officer Jenny's command, and after explaining some things, left the Verdanturf Tunnel behind. At some point Zarak had slipped away and only returned after they left Officer Jenny behind.
"Alright let me see that Growlithe please?" He asked calmly as his Salamence stood behind him.
"I think we need to return her correct?" Karen said as Zarak checked the Pokemon, who happily licked Zarak's face after she woke up.
"How you slept through that racket I do not know Sara, but it's good to see you again." Zarak said gently. "Yes I need to return her, or else I won't get paid."
"Well, promise you'll take care of her?" Jacob asked as he and the Growlithe mounted Salamence.
"Believe me, it's my job, if I don't return her in good condition I will receive a mouthful that will turn your hair white!" Zarak said with a smile. "Also, a word of advice Jacob, watch yourself, just because Snagem is gone now, does not mean they won't leave you alone!"
"I know." Jacob said, watching as the dragon Pokemon took to the air and flew off into the night. "Man Sara… we haven't even had our first Gym Match!"
Sara nodded in understanding. (This is only… going to get… crazier from… here on out!)
*Jacob to Arky*
*Today was one heck of an eventful day, first I meet the same Pokemon Hunter that stalked me when I was younger, and learn that he's really a nicer trainer than he pretended. His Pokemon truly cared about him, his Absol ran to save him without any hesitation! I think they have a deep bond that I and my team have yet to achieve. It brings me hope that someday I'll achieve the same connection.*
*Then we join Zarak, that Hunter I spoke of, and with Karen's help and Segan tagging along, we take on a rescue operation to save first Glace, Segan's Froslass, and then Sara my Ralts, along with another Sara, a Growlithe. They were captured by Team Snagem, the same goons that… well you know.*
*After we rescued them all, we had to fight out way out of a Snagem stadium where Zarak had been cornered. We tried our best but we couldn't take on so many Pokemon that were being healed as fast as we could knock them out! That's when things got even crazier with Fera, Sagen's sister showing up.*
*I tell you Arky, I never imagined I'd see a Gyarados so strong or so ferocious. Fera says Sugar, her Gyarados, is as gentle as a well fed Snorlax most of the time, but I saw how angry he got when Snagem made fun of his trainer. Why she named him Sugar, or how he accepted it without a fight, I do not know!*
*And to think… tomorrow is my first Gym Match… how much crazier can this journey get?*
=Meanwhile near Verdanturf Town on the opposite side of Rusturf Tunnel=
(Snagem Member's PoV)
"So let me get this straight, you had a Froslass, a Growlithe, and a Ralts in your custody and you just let them, and their owners get away?" Masquerade, the one paying them declared in a cynical voice. "Not only that but you also let them destroy half a million Pokedollar's worth of time, equipment, and planning for that Hideout we built for you? Do you all know the meaning of the word, incompetence?"
"It wasn't our fault; it was that stupid groomer's sister and that Gyarados of hers!" She said. "Not to mention that Hunter guy that cut the power line with his Mightyena, what do you expect us to do?"
"If you goons had paid any attention, that groomer's sister was named Fera Hazel, a former Top 15 of the Battle Frontier's Battle Tower finalists!" Masquerade said with an angry leer. "She made it to the top thanks to her Gyarados, and is considered one of the most disciplined ever to be trained! As for this Hunter, this Zarak, I know him as one of the best trackers on the Pokeblack Market, so it's no wonder you were so thrashed."
He turned and led them all to the van he had arrived in. "We're just lucky the cavern collapsed the way it did, just as we had planned it to do in case of an emergency, no evidence will be found and all records will have been automatically wiped if any of the computer systems survived the collapse. Even if they somehow found anything left of the cavern, there won't be anything for them to trace or use. That just leaves you all with a new assignment."
He handed them several maps as they all climbed in, special marks indicating where they were to go. "You're to regroup with team B of your Snagem Group in Mauville City; we've built a facility in the Game Corner where you can watch for trainers there. You're task is the same as it was here; get Pokemon according to what we specified. I'll contact you when you arrive for further details about where you'll be going for your assignments."
"So what about that Hunter, he was in on the entire thing we talked over the video feed?" She asked.
"You leave him to me, besides I still need to investigate the reports of a special bird that has flown into Hoenn from the Kanto Region." He said as they started driving off into the night. "If we're lucky and the reports are true, everything here will… cool off my boss' temper after he hears about this fiasco."