Locked Away, Chapter 36
"Team Rocket's in the building."
Misty's voice was passive, barely audible. Had it not been for the microphone, it might not have even echoed beyond a breath. She didn't believe the words when they came from her mouth, let alone when each face in the crowd began to whisper in panic, looking to each other with expressions of fear. For a brief moment, her eyes left the duo of bold hair colors at the door, and blinked to Ash then back to the door. Progressively, his eyes followed her gaze, meeting for a single moment, and then drifted to the very people he saw nearly everyday of his dream.
Everyone sounded as if they were in water from his point of view; drowning in a sea of people and whispers. The sound of gasps and words flooded into his ears, but like Misty, he couldn't hear hear their words when his eyes turned to meet the two figures at the door.
Red lips pulled into a pious grin, though the lighting covered the duos eyes. Released from a black gloved hand was a shiny, metallic surface with a small fuse burning bright red. Ash's heart skipped, he knew that shape—
"Everyone get down!" Ash's deep voice boomed across the gala in a deafening projection.
He lunged at Dawn and Brock and slammed them both to the floor before the explosive went off-a shockwave vibrated through the building, knocked over some trainers, as well as empty tables and shattered the high-glass windows. Dawn screamed when she hit the floor, but Brock only let out a grunt as he rolled over to face the front entrance. The doors, which were firmly closed only minutes ago, were now clearly off their hinges, and in pieces on the floor of the lobby. Before anyone could speak, another blast tore through the room, silencing the screams with a knee-jerking squeal of high-pitched proportions. Ringing penetrated Ash's ears while he covered them with his hands.
Another blast, and smoke filled the room before the silent crest of the moon shone through the destroyed entrance, stirring the smoke as the wind blew in. Ash couldn't see from the dirt that clogged his eyes, but when another whistle of an explosive shook the ground, his eyes found proper perch on Misty at the stage who was crouched down, awestruck. The announcer fled the scene, but she remained grounded.
Suddenly, she was moving to the edge of the stage, and habitually, maybe dutifully, Ash's legs kicked into gear as well, following her.
Misty jumped the two feet off the stage and onto the ground on her tip toes, clearing a few panicked travelers on her way to the center lobby floor amongst all the dust and chaos. Her eyes turned once more to the men on their radios surrounding the lobby. The men in black were gone and the whistle of another explosive going off brought her attention soaring back to the demolition experts. Screams mixed with confusion and terror when Ash snatched her hand, and pulled her off to the railing beside Brock, and Dawn, and forced her to squat away from the shock waves, beside them.
Her head was spinning from the adrenaline; she looked like a wild cat when Ash finally caught glimpse of he eyes.
"Are they trying to blow everyone up?" She gasped, scrunching her nose from the smoke. Ash watched her for a slip second while he slipped his palms inconspicuously down her arms, checking for injury without notice, and then turned to look back at the trespassers, and gripped the railing.
"I don't know. Did you get a good look at them?" Ash asked loudly over the noise; he had only a second to see them before the explosion started. He didn't know if anyone had gotten hurt—he prayed that they didn't, but amongst the ringing, the screams, and the smoke—he could hardly see.
Meanwhile, Brock and Dawn gathered their wits. Both were in complete shock, having no idea what to expect while they both pressed their backs against the railing. Ash presented an unearthed calm in his voice which Misty noticed right away-Ash, and chimchar, who had poked his head out of his jacket, seemed all too comfortable with the destruction.
Misty gasped, her chest lowering. "Those weird ones."
"Alright, you stay here, I'll go after them." Before she could get in another word, he leaped over the railing with the skill of a triathlete, and darted head-first into the smoke. He couldn't see—but he knew where they were, and he was going to stop them!
"Ash, wait!" Misty yelled a moment too late, but grunted when she tried to stand. Her ankle screamed at her—most likely, she had twisted it on her way down from the stage and she slipped back beside Brock and Dawn who watched her. Being the brave man that he was, Brock glanced at the door, saw the young boy through wisps of the smoke, and he took Misty's hand before she threw herself toward the enemy on her hurt ankle—because she was prepared to.
"Wait here, keep everyone calm and get people to safety!" Brock ordered, knowing that a person in Misty's position would have an easier time take control of a messy situation. Misty's mouth opened to object, but with less ease, Brock managed to climb over the railing and then dart after Ash, into the mayhem.
XOXs
A boyhood habit of Ash's was rushing in without thinking, and this was definitely one of those situations.
He cleared the surface of the room in under thirty seconds, and stopped at the entrance—Team Rocket—Jessie and James were already feeling, pushing over a few news media stands that took cover behind the strong concrete walls, cowering. Ash inhaled briefly clearing his lungs of smoke, and then with leaps and bounds, he chased after the maroon hair flipping in the wind, as well as the traces of lavender. But why were they running? Why would they blow up the front door then run away?
"Stop!" Ash gasped, dodging a shuck of news papers that exploded in his face. He ducked beneath the damage, and rolled to his feet while allowing chimchar to dive into the dirt. Skillfully, he twisted a second pokeball, and launched it at the fleeing duo.
"Snorlax, cut them off!" He screamed as red lightning fluttered through the air and moments later the beast, snorlax emerged beside Jessie and James, cutting them off at the city streets.
The chaos around him fell on mute ears when his eyes met the gleaming pairs of blue and green. They didn't speak, rather, they glared, watching snorlax behind them—the gentle giant that it was, didn't move to attack the duo. Ash inhaled, the people that stood before him looked like Jessie and James, but they were older. He could see the traces of wrinkles form under Jessie's eyes, and the lines around James' mouth. Sweat trickled down the back of Ash's neck, the humidity sinking into his clothes, and he breathed.
"Team Rocket, what are you doing!? Why did you just blow everything up?!" Ash shouted, desperately wanting answers from these two individuals.
Silence and glares; chimchar growled at Ash's feet then, without words, they both charged him.
Taken aback, they cleared the two feet of distance before Ash reacted, luckily, chimchar's instincts were faster than his trainers, and the moment he saw them jolt, he fired a barrel of fire at James. The older man ducked beneath it with the finesse of a dancer. Flames touched the ends of his hair and trickled out, and seconds later his fist was up; impaling Ash in the stomach, and then twisting to kick chimchar the same moment.
James knocked the wind out of the younger trainer with the upper-cut, followed closed by a left hook from Jessie that sent Ash spiraling backwards and directly on his back.
Ash coughed once—he wasn't sure which injury to grab first, his stomach or face, so he settled in the middle somewhere and let out a long wheeze and grunt when one of their boots connected with his head, and without a peep—he was out cold.
Somewhere, in the depths of his mind, he could hear chimchar's last attempts to drive the duo off, followed by a very angry snorlax, but as quickly as he was attacked, his mind was silenced.
XOXs
Since Team Rocket fled the scene, the violent explosions settled, and the dust began to clear but the screams didn't stop. Misty covered her ears when she looked up waiting to see Ash return. Minutes passed after Brock followed him, and then she finally inhaled through the smoke and bellowed.
"QUIET!" She shrieked, her voice carrying over even the loudest of whimpers.
Quickly, all eyes fell on the woman, and when nerves had been previously been her drive, she blew a strand of hair from her face and then exhaled before throwing a pokeball into the pit that cleared.
"Kingdra, use water gun and put out that fire!" She yelled to the pokemon, then addressed Dawn and Gary who looked at her with wide eyes. "Find anyone injured and help them."
Moments later, Misty whistled to the gym leaders—looking mostly at Sabrina and Lt. Surge who were petrified of her authority. Smoke funneled through the air as kingdra lashed the fire that started, soon enough, two more pokeballs erupted—a piplup courtesy of Dawn, and a marshtomp from a trainer within the crowd.
"Water trainers put out the fires! Everyone else form a single file and prepare to exit through the side door!" Dawn yelled, cupping her mouth and standing on the railing. "If you have any medical experience, please try to help those around you!"
Screams turned into slow mutters, followed by the scuttling and shuffle of feet as those who could help did, and then the rest started toward the exit Dawn pointed to. Naturally, Gary phoned the police to inform them, and then made his way through the crowd to the people who were closest to the entrance. Misty's mouth fell ajar, glancing back at the stage where she recalled Ash mentioning Sebastian—from the distance, she thought she could hear the squeal of an engine, but put it at the back of her mind when one of the fires sparked the sprinkler system.
"Kingdra, return." Misty yelped, followed by Dawn who's pink dress which was frilly at the started, matted to her body and drug behind her.
"Crisis avoided?" Dawn guessed playfully, making light of the very dreadful situation. Misty licked her bottom lip and glanced around the smoke trodden, destroyed party furniture and panicked sullen faces.
"No." She breathed. "The beginning of one."
XOXs
Within ten minutes, the trainers, gym leaders, coordinators, and anyone who could walk were escorted from the premises through the side exit doors: everyone muttered beneath their breaths that they didn't understand what happened and they were 'so scared'. Meanwhile, Gary returned to greet Misty and Dawn with his arms folded over his chest.
"Quick thinking." He complimented Misty and Dawn, who nodded brashly. Though the sprinklers had stopped, the police arrived with the ambulance to help the injured, and the firemen finished with the remaining embers; she couldn't shake the ringing in her ears.
"Thanks." Misty pointed to Gary's shirt and ran her fingers over the white fabric beneath his black suit. "Is that blood?" She questioned, looking at him with raised eyebrows. He glanced down, then covered the spot with his jacket and rolled his shoulders.
"It's not mine..." Solemnly, the trio shared a look directed at the arriving ambulance, and inhaled miserably. Gary wouldn't say it, but there were a few people that had been hurt from the shock wave and debris from the door—while most of the guests were shaken up...a few weren't so lucky.
"I'm okay, are you two okay?" he asked as an after thought. The flood gates opened, and Dawn's mouth fell.
"I can't believe what just happened! Team Rocket?! Why would they be here?" Dawn looked to Misty, mortified. "More importantly, how did you know?" she asked expelling the question she had kept pint up since the incident began, keeping her voice down. Gary, with a pessimistic look glanced at Misty as well.
"...that's actually a very good question—how did you know?"
Carefully, Misty turned from the injured, to the floor, and then to Dawn—her estranged companion, and then to Gary—her not so much of a friend, then very slowly exhaled. She wasn't sure it was Team Rocket—but at the moment, she panicked. What else would she say? Could she say? Who ever those men were guarding the doors, they weren't security guards and they had been up to something. However—it seemed counter productive to blow off the mostly-blast resistant doors.
...if they wanted to hurt anyone, they had them—this was the perfect place to attack them. If the doors were guarded, there was no way out of the main entrance hall. Misty's mouth opened, and then closed thoughtfully before she blinked and licked her lips. Ash and Brock hadn't come back yet, but she needed to check on her own.
"Ash said there was suspicious activities right before..." her voice trailed when she saw the police turning away, then without missing a beat, she snatched Dawn's arm and guided her to the very double doors—rather, she limped to the doors that Ash had emerged from seconds before admitting to her that something was wrong. What ever was there, she had to see with her own eyes. Did the league plan this? Was this just perfectly timed? How in the world was a therapist involved?!
"Misty, let go, you're hurting my arm!" Dawn gasped, being released a second later, though, Misty didn't change her resolve. Without checking for permission or alerting the police, she threw open the doors, and found herself marching down the corridor with a puzzled Dawn, and worried Gary at her feet.
Someone attacked. Someone actually attacked them. They plotted and intended to hurt all of the pokemon trainers in that room—there was no telling what plan they hatched and if those men had been security guards, surely they would have jumped into action when the bombs started flying—but instead they ran.
To make sense of this, she needed to know if what Ash said was true. Sebastian, that little weasel, was connected to this, and with any luck; she would find him herself.
XOXs
Ash had never been punched before. For that matter, he had never been kicked in the head before—least not that he could remember. The entire world spun when his eyes flicked open. The night sky darkened the figure above him, but it was very clearly not the redhead who often found him passed out—instead, a man with dark skin and brown hair stared down at him with a chimchar on his shoulder.
"Ash, holy caterpies, are you okay?" Brock asked, waving his hand in front of Ash's face. In return, Ash grunted, and slowly sat up; though he felt like his brain was left in piles on the dirt below him. People had gathered in a circle around him, but snorlax kept them at a distance.
"Where did Team Rocket go?" Ash asked in a daze, rubbing the side of his face only to reel away at the contact. The complete right side of his face felt like one big bruise, and Brock didn't miss this fact.
"I don't know, I found you collapsed and bleeding on the ground." Brock held a napkin out for Ash, who snatched it remorsefully while he sat up on his knees to address the situation. Chimchar jumped from Brock's shoulder and explain the situation fully. After Ash had been knocked unconscious, Team Rocket escaped by use the fire escape on the building beside them—chimchar couldn't stop them. It looked down disappointingly, but Ash stroked his head and sighed kindly.
"It's alright little guy. You tried your best, don't worry about." his words reassured the pokemon before glancing up at snorlax. "You too, buddy." Ash waved, and then very slowly, almost unsteadily crawled to his feet.
"However, I need to return you both." Ash grunted, returning them as he spoke. The pokemon sent a few words few goodbyes, and a thank you to Brock while Ash exhaled, watching the crowd around him disperse. His side ached and the spinning didn't improve when standing, so he took a few minutes to regain his balance while the spectators whispered amongst one another. Instinctively, he checked the number of pokeballs on his belt—counting them all, including the one from Agatha and exhaled happily when he realized they were all there. Team Rocket hadn't robbed him—they just did a number on his face and took off, at least that was good news.
"What happened..?" Ash finally asked once more looking at Brock who shrugged.
"Ash, man. It looks like someone hooked you. Did they catch you off guard?" Brock asked, grabbing Ash's shoulders to steady him and get a better look at his busted lip. Ash faintly grunted, feeling nauseous.
"Sort of..." he groaned, holding the half of his face that didn't make him want to scream. Leaning over, his stomach growled at him, that little bit of alcohol and the fist that had winded him reminding him sorely how painful this world was in comparison. He felt like he had been hit by a truck—but in reality, he had only been hit a few times. The sensation of being rendered incapable of fighting back was new and foreign and he couldn't say that he liked it very much.
...if Brock was here...
"The party?" Ash gasped. "Is everyone okay? Is Misty...?" She was the one who announced their arrival, after all—there was no telling what happened after he left!
"I don't know, I left her in charge when I came to get you. It looks like everything has been taken care of though." Brock looked thoughtfully into the distance where they could see police cars. "We should get you checked out, too."
"I'm fine. Let's go back to the party." Ash insisted, wiping his mouth with his wrist. It stung, but not as much as it should have—his adrenaline kicked in, and the pain was almost numb.
Brock followed him with a concerned expression; "Ash, you might have a concussion."
"I'll manage." Ash grunted, knowing that at the very least, pain was temporary. Brock followed him closely as he shambled his first steps, and then into a dutiful trot. After all, Misty, Dawn and Gary were still there, he couldn't leave them. If he was lucky, maybe they already escaped, but that didn't mean Ash didn't have unfinished business. He needed to get back to the gala; he needed to check out that room where Sebastian was.
XOXs
When Brock and Ash arrived at the grand lobby, the police had already sectioned off the blown up entrance and prevented news media and trainers from entering. Ash could see the destruction left behind; it wasn't just hand-bombs that had been exploding, the hinges of the door had to have been rigged to some extend because the metal was in pieces. He could still see white smoke funneling into the street via the open door, and cameras were rolling in from all direction asking for statements from people inside.
Everyone was getting their fifteen minutes of fame—but Ash only wanted to get back inside the moment he realized that not only Misty was missing from the crowd of people—so was the blue hair of dawn, and the familiar spikes of Gary.
Ash could only assume they were still in the building, which only meant he had to find his way back in to. If he knew Jessie and James were going to club him, he might not have been so eager to follow after them—but everything was clearer in hindsight. Keeping at the far edge of the crowd and within the limits of the shadows from the buildings, Ash maneuvered his way with Brock at his heels.
"What are we doing? The crowd is that way?" Brock asked skeptically, keeping his eyes trained on the news reporters and ambulances outside. Not one, but three were outside the building. Two were loading up the majorly injured, and the last was helping patch up the less-injured individuals.
"Breaking in, what else?" Ash replied nonchalantly, kicking out a brick from the stone fence before getting a swift jump up. He grabbed the top of the brick fence, careful not to notice the metal spikes at the top when he pulled himself up. Ash slipped his feet between the prongs, and then looked back at Brock and grumbled.
"Hurry up, someone will see us!" Ash muttered, extending his hand to give Brock a boost while he looked frantically at the crowd—they were technically entering a crime scene!
Ash was crazy! Brock hesitated for a moment, glancing between the police and Ash when Ash muttered:
"Are you going to leave them in there by themselves?"
"no" Brock said instantly, taking Ash's hand. The raven-haired boy pulled Brock up by using his body weight, however, since Brock was a good five or six inches taller than Ash, he nearly lost his footing and fell over into the flower garden.
Luckily, their scuffle went unnoticed and Ash was able to lead Brock around the bend of the building, until they were looking up at a balcony with an open glass door. Brock's heart was racing, his hands were trembling—he had never done anything illegal before, and yet here Ash was, nearly fearless.
"Misty wasn't lying when she said you had a wild streak, Ash." Brock observed while Ash looked at the second story balcony and gnawed on his lower lip—he hardly heard what Brock said until their eyes met.
"I wouldn't call it a wild streak." Ash said in his defense, but then with a quick draw, he wrapped his fingers around a pokeball. It clicked, then bounced off the ground and once the red lightning cleared, greninja squat on the grown beside them, staring up at them.
"Brock, give me your jacket." Ash hummed, removing his own suit jacket while Brock stared at him questionably.
"What in the world for?" He asked, but complied with Ash's demand. "Be careful though, it's a rental."
Ash almost snorted, he knew that feeling. Misty would kill him if he damaged his suit jacket. However, that was the furthest thought in his mind while he tied together the two clothing and handed it off to greninja. "Can you crawl up the wall and tie this to one of those railings, buddy?" Ash asked politely, and the pokemon nodded—though his concerns were more directly on the fact that Ash's face was black and blue.
Greninja complied to his masters command and after holding onto the tied jackets, he jumped up the wall with the skill of a trained ninja, and hoped over the railing of the balcony. To be safe, the blue water pokemon checked inside for activity, and when he saw none, he did as Ash had commanded, and tied off the jacket, allowing Ash and Brock passage to the second floor.
"Thanks!" Ash whispered, taking the jacket and using the side of the building to climb up to the second floor. While Ash, after the months he spent traveling the world and training with his pokemon made the task look easy, there was a bit of a struggle for Brock, so greninja was prepared to catch him if he fell.
Gasping and nerve-wrecked, Brock huffed loudly upon reaching the balcony. While Ash untied their jackets—to be safe, Brock caught his breath.
"I almost want to ask if you've done this before?" Brock grunted, sitting forward for a moment. When he climbed to his feet, Ash grinned back at him, and then smirked at Brock and greninja. The latter knew not of Ash's adventures, but pikachu and togepi talked quite a bit about his adventures.
"Never this per say, but we've had our share of adventures, huh greninja?" Ash asked happily while the pokemon nodded coolly in response. Brock sighed happily while shaking his head, wondering for a moment what he had gotten into before he followed Ash inside.
Together, the three of them moved into the small room, scoped it out to make sure the coast was clear, and then darted into the corridor. The police hadn't started sending in officers to check out the inside hallways, which was good for them. They managed to clear three hallways before coming to a stop at the sound of voices—Ash discovered that the hallway which was less than an hour ago pitch black, was now bright. Even the vase he knocked over previosuly was cleaned up.
…was he in the right place? He wondered for a moment before he crawled forward, holding up his finger to remind them all to be quiet—to remind himself. Naturally, he wanted to scream and ask if anyone was there, to announce his position, but if his friends were in danger, or it was still Sebastian, he wasn't sure he wanted the to know he was here yet.
Without needing to speak his thoughts, greninja understood perfectly the predicament, an as such moved forward quietly without permission, he dipped around the bend in the hallway to make sure it was safe to move forward before Brock and Ash stumbled closely behind.
"It almost feels like we're in one of those super-spy movies." Brock said quietly, under his breath. Ash snickered at the comment and nodded.
"What would our movie title be? The party crashers?" Ash snorted at his own pun, causing Brock to laugh as well. Greninja shushed them both, amused and disjointed by their commotion that he hadn't noticed a figure appear before him at the turn in the hallway.
"Water gun!" A female's voice bellowed out, alerting the gym leader and pokemon trainer. Both Ash and Brock rose to their feet, prepared for action when the attack was followed by another woman's voice.
"Wait, Dawn that's-!" a turret of water funneled through the corridor before she could finish, though due to his natural abilities, greninja danced away from the attack. The edge of the blast caught the corner of his long, scarf tongue whilst preparing his own attack, however, the trained pokemon stopped mid-counter upon seeing familiar red hair staring back at him.
"Whats going on-?" Ash gasped along side Brock who had prepared to use his own pokemon for battle, but upon turning the corner—they didn't see men dressed in black, or even a distressing scene—they saw Misty wagging her finger at Dawn.
"You have to look before you attack people!"
"I didn't want them to get the jump on us!" Dawn whined in response, shrinking away from Misty and folding her arms—she was not as accustom to sneaking around, either, apparently.
"Piplup pip!" The small penguin argued alongside Dawn in full agreement with her actions, flapping his small wings. Ash laughed nervously, making his presence and Brock's known to the females.
"Ash!" Misty gasped while spinning, partially elated until his appearance caught her eyes. Terror filled her eyes. "Your face!" She added, covering her mouth in surprise while Dawn winced at his busted lip and bruised eye.
"I'm here, too." Brock mused pathetically under his breath, though Misty waved him off when she approached Ash, removing her cardigan at the same time. Still damp from the sprinkler system earlier, she held the white fabric up to Ash's face and with a deep scowl, she pat his bloodied lip through his grunts of protest
"What the heck happened?" She asked Brock, glancing between the two of them while Ash winced slightly at her touch.
"I'm not sure exactly, I found him like that. I can only assume Team Rocket hit him." Brock answered honestly, looking at Dawn, and at Gary who was knelt in front of the doors Ash had seen Sebastian talking with someone at earlier that day.
He carried a pin and paper clip between hi fingers, and was clearly trying to lock pick the door—Brock exited the real world and entered some type of Mission Impossible scenario, that could be the only explanation—besides, everyone was dressed for the part.
"It's fine Misty—can you stop?" He asked, grabbing her hands, only to have them swat away by her more aggressive ones. She could see the bruise swelling over his eye, and if they didn't put something cool on it, his eye would likely swell shut. Not to mention his lip was cut open. The white of his eye was turning purple, and she was sure he had a knot on his head. She growled in response.
"Did you try to use your face as a weapon? Jesus, Ash." She asked sarcastically with a scoff, he returned the sentiment with narrowed eyes.
"It's not that bad." He assured her, pulling away, though he accepted the cloth. He held it to his face when he approached greninja, who agreed with his trainer. Misty slammed her fists against her hips disapprovingly. They stared at each other like that for a moment, Misty wanted to help, Ash didn't want it. If anything, he was expecting he would have to hatch a rescue plan, not be assaulted.
"How do you two ever get anything done if you argue all the time?" Dawn laughed nervously, earning both of their glared simultaneously. Neither answered, since humor was seeped from their bones the moment they knew that it had to have been Team Rocket. Instead, Misty rolled her eyes, and hobbled carefully to the door where Gary was, refusing to show that she had twisted her ankle.
"We have more important things to look after—" She gestured to Gary who rose to his feet with a failed shrug and broken pin. For once, Ash agreed halfheartedly with Misty when he glanced at Brock. They shared a look and then smirked.
Clearly, the three of them had never thought out of the box. Why unlock a door, when there were several other viable options that were faster and more reliable. They grinned at each other.
XOXs
When geodude smashed open the doors, the group of five walked in with their heads held high.
"I guess that is equally as effective..." Gary observed, watching Brock thank his pokemon and return him.
Ash was a bit more disturbed by what he saw. The room was empty. He was sure that he saw a few computers, heard the voices of many people working in here—there was supposed to be an operations base here—it wasn't supposed to be empty! Ash looked desperately around the the room, spinning a few times before he glared back at the group who looked equally as disappointed.
"Are you sure this was the right spot?" Misty asked, running her finger across the dusty surface of a shelf.
"I'm positive. I saw Sebastian talking to someone just outside this door—and, and.." he fumbled with the curtains, poking his head out just far enough so that he could see the police officers slacking off inside of the building, gossiping where they should have been trying to figure out what happened. It was late enough, that Ash figured the police wouldn't be doing anything productive until the next day. He glanced back at everyone, who had separated to look for evidence of Team Rocket, or of Sebastian.
Ash almost asked what they were doing before he realized that the four people standing in front of him acted with only Ash's input; they believed him without questioning it, and hadn't tried to dissuade his beliefs at all. His heart skipped when greninja returned to his side, telling him he will keep watch on the curtain so that Ash could join the inspection with his companions.
Thanks, guys. Ash thought happily, scoping the small room out.
After about a five minute search, checking and re-checking in silence, they finally regrouped at the center of the room, with only Ash still walking around, this time, checking the folds of the curtains for clues. Piplup walked at his feet as well, squawking at greninja and Ash that he was a 'private investigator', though it apparently had no idea Ash could understand him—because he was chuckling under his breath at the stories piplup was creating.
"Looks like whoever they were, they cleaned up shop." Gary noted, looking at the ceiling for any indication. Ash wasn't ready to admit defeat though, and turned slowly, missing a shimmer from the dusty floor; however, piplup the PI did not.
"Piplup!" It shrieked a bit loudly as it bounced forward to the ground beside Ash's foot, and then with it's beak, it scooped up a small microchip and held it up for as to glance at before the pokemon raced back to Dawn, and jumped into her arms. She gaped at the leap, twirled slightly, and then when she managed to get piplup settled, he dropped the microchip into the palm of Dawn's hand.
"What in the world..." She muttered as Ash approached, eyebrows raised.
"What is that?" Ash asked, noticing the groups mortified features.
"Why would this be here?" Gary questioned, accidentally ignoring Ash's confusion as they glared at the small object. Dawn felt sick holding it, so she passed it off to Brock, who flipped the chip over to see 'Silph Co.' stamped on the back. He grimaced while Misty gnawed on her bottom lip.
"What is it?" Ash asked once more, more assertive this time. Pairs of eyes watched him, remembering that since he, as a coma patient, was not present for the story—he had no idea what this meant. Hell, they weren't evne sure that they knew what this meant.
"It's a pokemon chip..." Misty explained slowly, braving the explanation for the group. "They put them in pokemon's heads to make them more obedient."
Brock stared at Misty who twisted her lips and shifted on her feet. "More importantly," he thumbed the small object, asking it for answers. "They're illegal."
"Right, so why would they be here—is it Team Rocket?" She asked, unamused. "I know that you said it was a long story, Misty, but..." Dawn started a bit skeptic, speaking the words that no one else seemed to want to.
Gary shook his head quickly. "A microchip doesn't verify that—Misty are you sure you saw Team Rocket?" He asked, unnerved by such an association; he clearly had a closer relation to the horrors of the criminal group.
"Who else would attack a league party?" Ash offered in defense of Misty's claim without directly stating that he 'knew' Jessie and James were apart of the organization.
"Did you see the damage? Only Team Rocket would do something so heinous." Brock added shortly after, glaring at Dawn and Gary.
Misty coughed and slacked. "Actually... if they were planning a heist, the last thing they would have done is taken off the doors—we were sitting ducks with those doors closed, they were supposed to be designed to be blast resistant because of rioters. If they were blown up as easily as they were... it had to be planned in advance."
"But you said it was Team Rocket." Dawn gasped, while Ash and Brock watched her nerves catch. Misty shrunk a little, unsure of herself.
"I.." she looked into each of their eyes and then glanced away, staring down at the chip between Brock's fingers. "I don't know what I saw. I saw something for sure, but I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind."
Dawn gawked. "So now you're saying that it wasn't Team Rocket?"
Misty sighed and shook her head pathetically. She touched her forehead and then glared at Dawn. "I'm saying that maybe I wasn't sure of what I saw."
"But you did see those guys in black, didn't you? They were completely gone during the chaos—so were the elite four members and champions." Ash noted quickly, trying to buff up Misty's statement that it was Team Rocket.
"Plus, the people I chased were clearly Jessi-" Ash stopped, a thought having occurred to him when he touched his lips. He glanced at greninja, then at Brock and then settled with a puzzled look at Misty. Why would Team Rocket knock him out and leave his pokemon? They hadn't even touched chimchar—and Misty had a point, if they wanted to steal, why would they give trainers the ability to flee?
"Were clearly who?" Dawn almost snapped, eyebrows narrowing. Ash's attention turned to the woman in a pink dress, and his lips moved without thought.
"No one, I was mistaken..." he muttered. "Must be the head injury..." he lied halfheartedly while Brock and Misty shared a concerned glance.
"Regardless, we have one illegal microchip to turn into the police, and maybe Team Rocket did it." Dawn recited, holding up her fingers to think. "Is that the big secret you and Brock always talked about?" She pointed to Brock and Misty with an allusive glare.
Neither could answer honestly. They didn't want Dawn, the top coordinator of Sinnoh, a local figure, or Gary Oak, the newest professor of the Kanto region to know about their conspiracy theories because as of now, that's all they were. They were, unfortunately, a little more than 'just theories' now that the league had been attacked, but that didn't provide length or knowledge about who was the alleged attackers. Team Rocket, a third party? At this rate, it could have been several different groups.
"They wouldn't tell us because of our position as political figures, Dawn." Gary observed with a smug expression, rolling the recent events over in his mind, trying to find an error in the occurrence—unfortunately, he hadn't been paying much attention outside of the announcements, unlike Ash, Misty, and Brock, since he wasn't aware there was a problem, he wasn't looking for one.
However, that did not mean that Gary had missed several cues. "Is that why the champions and Elite Four don't talk with other trainers anymore?"
All eyes fell on Gary while Dawn made heads and tails of the information she had been given—if Team Rocket was indeed behind the attacks, and working as a secret organization behind the guise of league champions and Elite Four members, then they were indeed in quite the pickle. Becoming a new Elite Four member put Misty in the middle of it, which meant that if too many people did know, they could all become at risk.
As upset as it made her, Dawn fidgeted, she understood why they kept the information from her. If Dawn and Gary were found to be 'involved' in illegal activities, or connected to an organization like Team Rocket in anyway, or caught with the knowledge of them, their credibility could be lost—as well as all of the goals they have worked endlessly to achieve.
"If the league knew about the attack then we can assume that the police which works directly beneath the Elite Four might..." Dawn started, eyebrows scrunching as she recalled Ash's insight on how the league officiators were no where to be seen during the attacks.
"Maybe taking the chip the police isn't the best idea-"
"Hey, I heard voices from over here-!" a calm, strong voice bellowed from the hallway, catching in the throats of each 'trespasser'. Ash glanced around, nudging for greninja to come back when they turned to the door which was split open.
Gary stood in front of them quickly and put out his arm. "Go on ahead, Dawn and I will talk with the police and media." He muttered, turning to look at Ash specifically.
"Take that chip to the Viridian City Silph Co. and tell them it's from professor Oak." He spat quickly. "And as soon as you find out who was in the market for such things—you'd better let me know." He warned through hazel eyes.
Naturally, Ash opened his mouth to reply, but as the pound of footsteps outside echoed into the empty room, Ash took one more glance over to see to emergency exit at the opposite end, and then gestured for Brock and Misty to follow him out.
"I will let you know if we hear anything." Ash said, and Dawn dusted off her ruined dress the best that she could.
"I guess we will play the part of clueless confidants..." Dawn muttered quietly, winking to the trio who were begrudgingly on their way out. "And hey, when we have this sorted out—I would like to know the whole story behind this." She said confidently, to which Misty and Brock waved back at her apologetically before they were hustled through the dark exit by greninja and Ash.
Leaving behind Gary and Dawn to deal with the police and possible crime scene trespassing consequences, Brock, Ash, and Misty barreled quietly through the emergency exit at the side stage door. Where they were previously right of the stage, protected and hidden by the large, black curtains to one side, and the large, wooden frame of the league building to the left. In the distance of the corridor, they could hear the police question Dawn and Gary, but the further they fell into darkness, the less they could hear.
"Wouldn't it be better to take the microchip to the police if it's illegal?" Ash asked suddenly, with a sharp gasp when Brock's elbow rammed into his side from the close quarters.
"No, if we took in the chip and explained what we knew, there is a high chance they would take Misty into police custody." Brock explained, reaching the end of the dark hallway in order to press open the back way out; they were me with a large, brick fence like the one Ash had climbed up previously.
"...Why would they do that?" Ash asked while rubbing his stomach. Misty and Brock immediately moved to scale the fence, Brock having an easier time of it the second time around.
Misty stopped at the top to look down at Ash, having been the most quite since the discovery of the chip, she wiped her forehead, grateful for the tights she wore under her dress—though she was rethinking the heels now. Her feet were going to be sore and blistered tomorrow.
"Because I'm technically and Elite Four member, and the statement I made earlier...if they think the Elite Four or champions are even remotely on a hit-list, I'll be placed in a program under constant survilance."
Ash looked up at her as if that wasn't a terrible decision. "If that's what is safe, what's the problem? They were obviously targeting someone."
Covering the clear twitch in her ankle, she slipped over the other side of the fence while Ash and greninja scaled and leaped over gracefully. Brock stumbled but Misty groaned, a little unnerved that Ash made the situation look so easy.
"But like you said. The rest of the Elite Four and Champions were gone at the time of the attack, which could mean many things. It's just best that we don't deal with the police right now." Misty elaborated, slipping off her heels in favor of walking barefoot. Her ankle didn't seem so tinder, and she refused the help from either boy when they asked. She would manage on her own.
"Let's just get back tot he hotel, and then we'll figure out where to go from there..." Misty explained, looking back at Brock and Ash. "You can stay with us Brock." She offered, waving her heels at him tiredly. In the distance, she could see the lights pulling away from the building and could see the faint traces of Dawn's pink dress while she stood in front of the cameras, explaining what had happened at the party.
Hopefully, an uproar didn't occur.
XOXs
The trio dodged through the streets, zigzagged around corners and small groups. They used the darkness to their advantage, and stayed close to the shadows—luckily, they had a pokemon dedicated to such techniques, and greninja took great pride in leading them away from the distill of cameras.
They found their way back to the hotel quickly, and for once, Misty was glad she wasn't stay in one of the rich league hotels that she was offered. Since she was technically the only lead official at this hotel, and few people knew that, the only camera in the room was of a woman snapping a picture of her son standing beside a water fountain.
On their way to the elevator, they didn't wave hello the the auditor sitting behind the desk, filing her nails, they didn't speak to one another about the incidents, and aside from returning greninja via size restrictions and pokemon regulations, their actions consisted mostly of walking, groaning, and slouching.
While in the elevators, Ash and Brock started the removal of their choking ties, and Misty started the removal of her earrings. Thanks to the damp cloth Misty gave Ash previously, his shoulder was wet from the fabric, but his face wasn't as red. Adding her sprained ankle to a list of things that had gone wrong today, as well as Ash's beaten and bruised face, she felt guilty for being tired at ten o'clock. Their long hours typically consisted of staying up until the wee hours of daybreak, now she was ready to sleep the moment her feet hit the carpet of their hotel room.
Misty almost forgot that just earlier that day, she and Ash had spent time with Cole, bought ice cream, and had a normal day that would have otherwise been classified as ruined now. Ash shared these same thoughts, but unlike Misty, his mind kept ticking back over to Jessie and James, who beat him to a pulp, and left his pokemon alone.
It didn't make sense.
Brock had been focused on the big picture—what Team Rocket, or this new third party was thinking when they attacked a room full of highly skilled, highly trained pokemon trainers. There was no doubt in his mind that one of the trainers could have taken on at least two goons, so his mind kept drawing to the chip in his pocket. However, the more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
When they arrived at the room, Misty clicked the door open, and flew inside without skipping a beat. Her shoes were tossed onto the side table where her suitcase lay, before she flopped unladylike onto her bed, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Togepi and pikachu awoke at the sound of their trainers arriving, and while pikachu was moderatly a grouch when woken from his naps, togepi snapped up happily and chirped his excitement. He pelted Ash with questions when the trainer grabbed the egg to rest him on his lap when the egg started to shriek about Ash's wounds.
Misty peered over from the comfort of her mattress to see Brock removing his suit jacket, and falling onto the couch at the corner of the room, whereas Ash was scolded and pestered by his pokemon about his injuries. Even now, Brock and Misty were in awe at how much his pokemon truly cared for him, and while he promised them that he was okay, they returned to their positions at his pillow with a deep scowl—especially from pikachu, who on top of everything else, beat himself up for not being there.
"it's not your fault pikachu—they came at me out of no where, there wasn't much you would have been able to do."
Small sparks erupted from pikachu's red cheeks, engulfed by agreement from the egg who shuddered his disagreement. "Pika." The mouse squeaked dangerously, thinking of what he would do to the bandits the next time he saw them.
Ash laughed nervously, and then without skipping a beat, his eyes fell on his companions, who watched him with a questioning gaze.
"So, what are these chips, exactly? Why would Gary tell us to go to the manufacturer instead of the police?"
"For evidence. If we just turned in a chip without context, they could easily deem us as the carriers." Brock explained with a yawn. He sat back in the couch and draped an arm over the back, tired.
"But why would Team Rocket use them?"
Misty didn't correct Ash that they weren't sure it was Team Rocket, instead, she pursed her lips and sat up to rub her ankle. "They were originally presented by Giovanni, he allowed his pokemon to be test subjects. All Team Rocket captured pokemon had these obedience chips installed. They prevented wild behavior and allowed a trainer to track them."
"That's cruel..."Ash muttered quietly, looking down at pikachu and togepi. He couldn't imagine putting in anything that would manage their free-will; it was bad enough 'pounds' existed when pokemon should have been allowed to live in the wilds. "Why would someone invent something like that?"
Brock seemed rather glum at the memory, Ash had clearly opened a wound that was closed when Brock cracked his neck.
"Are you familiar with how the Team Rocket War started?" he questioned, and Ash shrugged—he knew somethings. "Giovanni marketed these chips to trainers who weren't very good, you see? Installing these chips allowed people to not only better command their pokemon, but also purchase pokemon on a black market. New trainers could own fully evolved charizards and blastoise without lifting a finger—all with the help of this." Brock held the small object up and Ash wanted to laugh.
"As trainers, we are taught and understand that battling as rules and limitations and it's our duty to train our pokemon to act accordingly—in official matches, if our pokemon don't obey, sometimes people in the stands can be hurt. With these, that fear was eliminated, but it came at the price of taking away our pokemon's freewill. If we commanded them to do something and they did not listen, then they could be punished or shut down..."
Ash felt sick listening to Brock. "Punished how?"
"Electric shock, mostly. But many of them were wired to damage the pokemon's primary motor skills. The larger the pokemon, the larger the shock. When these chips were first designed, they were revolutionary, but we discovered quickly how evil people could be..." Brock inhaled. "Most people, decent people were against the use, but a sudden push from the Chief executives of Kanto passed a law that required all pokemon to have the chips installed—obviously, this caused an uproar in the region. At the time, battlers and coordinators were already in a huge rivalry over equal rights, so some groups thought that they could use the chips to gain an edge over their rivals."
"In the end, chaos ensued when the chips stopped working how they were supposed to, or the pokemon became hostile. When general chaos ran rampant through the streets, Team Rocket took the initiative to attack parts of Kanto, with their primary target being the Unova region. Everything happened pretty quick, and while we were focused on what was happening here, Unova, which is miles away was placed under siege without support of its southern allies—the Sinnoh, Kanto and Johto regions." Misty glanced at Brock while Ash recalled the massive weapons on the shore of Unova.
"Why would they attack Unova?"
"Dragon pokemon." Brock and Misty said in unison.
"When they found out how powerful the first dragon pokemon were after the discover from draognite, they of course went to the source of the powerful pokemon to capture them." Brock elaborated, glancing down at his feet. "Dragon pokemon are considered legendary pokemon amongst normal pokemon."
Ash raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips: "Then what about charizard and gyarados?"
"They might look like dragon pokemon..." Misty laughed nervously, "But they're not." She assured him, unsure of a better way to describe the situation.
"Anyways, Unova held their own against Team Rocket, and when Kanto finally got the situation with the microchips under control, it was...well, you saw the pictures." Misty gestured, trying to keep away from the sore subject of Iris, the Dragon trainer champion of the region. "After the attack on Unova, Team Rocket's army basically amounted to a few foot soldiers, and the entire pokemon league was on a man-hunt for the leader. That's when Giovanni came forward and everything matched up; he had been raising an army under the guise of 'students', investing in different kinds of weapons and Silph Co. product. The courts ruled him guilty and he was sentenced to prison for life..."
"...what happened with the microchips?"
Misty grimaced. "Have you ever seen a watermelon fall from a window?" She asked, holding her stomach. Ash's mouth fell agape.
"That's...awful." Ash grunted, choking on his words. Misty glanced over at him and frowned. "That's why they were quickly outlawed, and the pokemon they were installed in were rushed into immediate surgery to have them removed. In the end, it was one horrible distraction so we wouldn't be able to help Unova."
"Is that why the place is quarantined from the rest of the world?" Quickly, Ash turned to face his companions and Brock blinked a few times nervously.
"It's quarantined? Since when?" Brock questioned in surprise. Misty could only stare at Ash.
"I tried to go there and the entire place was shut off. We couldn't even make it to shore before-" Ash trailed off, looking at Misty who raised her eyebrows quizzically, and then he thought better of mentioning his or charizard's injury.
"A woman named Burgundy said that it was only mentioned on a need-to-know basis."
"Did you know anything about this?" Brock snapped, turning to Misty. She shrugged. She had spent a few months in an academy where she listened to a professor talk about the regions and all of their primary goals and agriculture, and their species of pokemon—but she had never heard about the place being closed off.
"No, this is news to me. After they fell out of the league like the Kalos region did, Kanto hasn't been involved in their affairs." Misty licked her lips thoughtfully while the words danced from her lips, first questioning why Ash hadn't brought this up before.
"Unova was supposed to be in the process of rebuilding after Team Rocket was defeated—they wanted to rejoin the league the last I heard of them." Misty added, crossing her arms.
"Well..." Ash hummed, looking concerned. "Maybe Team Rocket never left? I mean, did you see Unova after the war, or did you just assume? I mean, we didn't hear about Bill's lab for years. If they could keep a secret like that on home soil, who is to say that they couldn't hide the status of a region thousands of miles away?"
Neither gym leader had an explanation for the occurrence, in fact, they were flabbergasted for words at the accusation.
"That would explain why they want so much control over the media..." Misty muttered, biting her thumbnail as she sat up. He head was spinning.
"But people still travel over there, don't they?" Brock asked suddenly, "I mean, recently there have been many pokemon trainers that...Oh."
"Hiding in plain sight... It's a strategic play." Misty glowered while snatching her phone, she flipped through a few sites, and then smacked her lips. "They, who ever they are, send in updates, but then when trainers try to visit, they go missing." She gestured with her hands for emphasis while Ash gasped.
"They're taking trainers?"
"They could be." Brock explained while Misty handed her phone to Brock first, the last place listed on the missing trainers goals of travel was none other than the Unova region. They all grimaced.
"Hey, at least we found the link to the missing trainers." Misty hissed while she stood up, grabbed a bundle of her clothes, and stalked off to the bathroom—the boys would have asked where she was going, but they were stunned. Ash read though the list of names and gnawed his bottom lip. What else could he say? Their problems seemed only to escalate, not only was Team Rocket attacking league parties, now they were likely controlling Unova? Ash waited until the bathroom door was closed and locked when Ash huddled in close to Brock to whisper.
"Maybe the trainers who tried to visit were taken because there are balistas on the shore, Brock?" Ash whispered, cupping his mouth with his hand. Brock shuddered.
"Balistas?" he echoed.
Ash gestured with his hands, and elaborated with terror and enthusiasm—Pikachu and togepi joined in thoughtfully.
"I was literally shot out of the sky when I got near that place! They have to be hiding something there." Ash hissed quietly holding up his shirt to show Brock the neat scar he carried because of it. Brock's mouth opened, and then closed.
Brock wanted to argue. "But that doesn't explain why Team Rocket would bring illegal chips to an official pokemon league party? If they control Unova and have captured trainers, what was the point of pestering Kanto officials?"
Ash raised his eyebrows, and then sat aback. There were many answers for that question that would be possible.
"That I don't know." Ash mumbled.
"Maybe they were trying to kidnap other trainers pokemon?" Misty asked, emerging from the sower wearing a set of baggy pajamas. Ash inhaled, finally having a moment to speak his peace.
"About that... I don't think Jessie and James were—well, it's weird they would let everyone out, and let me and my pokemon go without a struggle. I mean Jessie knocked me out cold; there was no reason she should have left my pokemon alone."
Misty murmured something under her breath while she grabbed the first aid kid from beneath the bathroom sink in the washroom. She approached Ash who grimaced outwardly—Misty was anything but gentle when it came to patching him up. She cracked the box open while Brock awaited a reply. He winced when the clean towel brushed over his bruised lip, but didn't fight her.
"Like you said, it's a little weird that they would break the door open if the intention was the steal everyone's pokemon. Maybe they were creating an escape route? Maybe they were trying to help everyone get away— maybe they aren't working with Team Rocket?" he said hopefully as Misty placed a butterfly strip over his lip to seal the wound.
Brock snorted. "Are you trying to say that Jessie and James are good? You know you're talking about one of the most well-known, non-convicted criminals, right? They've stolen more than one thousand pokemon around the world for Giovanni during Team Rocket's hay days."
Ash's eyebrows scrunched up cutely, partially because of Brock's statement, but also because of Misty applying pressure to his bruised eye. "Well, I'm not saying they're good, I'm just saying that maybe they're not working with Team Rocket."
Misty "How do we know that Jessie and James aren't working for Team Rocket, and whoever had those microchips isn't someone else entirely? A third party." she suggested once more, concentrated on causing Ash less pain. He winced once more.
"Why else would known Team Rocket members seek to sabotage a set up like that? Maybe it's not just one group." she added hotly.
Brock leaned back in his chair. "Don't say that...that makes this much worse."
They sat in silence for a while, Misty pressing Ash's wound until it was clean. She wiped her thumb against them gently once they were properly bandaged, causing Ash to wince and swat her hand away once more.
"Thanks." He murmured catching the concern in her eyes before Brock rudely interrupted.
"So, what's the plan then?" He asked suddenly, look between the two of them.
Misty licked her lips. "We could go investigate Unova?"
"Not an option." Brock said quickly, glancing at Ash, knowing that he kept the shot out of the sky from Misty intentionally. "I mean, we should think smaller right now; maybe try to find whoever gave authorization to create these microchips again?"
Misty quirked her eyebrow at his objection, and then smacked her lips. "We could do that. Like Gary said, Silph Co. has a manufacturing office in Viridian City. As an Elite Four member now they should let me in without a problem and we have his consent."
A silence rushed between them, each lost in their own thoughts. Ash wondered how long things had been such a mess—first Kanto, then Unova, and now this. There was no telling who they could trust and who they couldn't. Suddenly, the small circle of friends they had seemed twice as important, and Ash felt slightly strangled.
"How many people do you think are in on this?" Misty voiced her concerns as she slumped from Ash's bed, back to her own. Togepi greeted her their in an attempt to solicit his happy nature, which Misty accepted gratefully. Snuggling into the pokemon as Ash imagined she did many times in his dream.
"...We can't be sure." Brock said. "Other gym leaders, maybe? I didn't get a chance to see who all was still in the building when everyone attacked."
"Then it's settled," As interjected. "We leave for Viridian City in the morning!" Ash announced boldly, and the duo nodded.
"I was supposed to attend my first Elite Four meeting in the morning, but because of the most recent attacks, maybe it's best to wait to make my official introductions until after we've seen if the league is trying to sell these microchips once more."
"I couldn't agree more." Ash said nonchalantly, elated that Misty knew better than to put herself in danger. It was, unfortunately a trait he didn't share in.
"What about you Brock?"
"Well, I put in a week's vacation at the gym for this party." Brock explained. "I have time to check out Viridian City and while we are there, we can let Agatha know what happened; maybe find out if Dr. Abby knows more about this Sebastian character you mentioned earlier, Ash."
Ash nodded, though Misty had already turned over, exhausted while she blinked up at the ceiling. Thinking of Sebastian's presence at the party. He complicated things. While he had been odd before, Misty never associated the man with Team Rocket. In fact, outside of Ash's description of Jessie and James, she wasn't sure who was there. She knew who they were... but... her head hurt from thinking about it. While Ash went to change into his pajamas, Brock removed his vest and shoes and set up the couch to sleep on. Ash would have offered Brock his spare set—but Brock was much taller than Ash was and their clothes wouldn't have fit.
When the lights were off and pikachu was neatly settled into Ash's chest, and togepi into Misty's. Ash finally grinned, in spite of himself and the situation. Finally, after almost a full year apart, the three of them were together once again. While the situation that brought them together wasn't the best, it still brought them back together as a group, and the joy radiating throughout Ash's body made him sing internally. Now, they only needed to fix the problems they were faced with, return the balance to the world and stop Team Rocket, and then Ash could return to a normal life; he could help his mother, visit his brother, hang out with his friends and travel, and the world would finally be complete. If they worked together, Ash grinned, he didn't think there was much that they couldn't do.
Author's Note:
So, we put chips in our animals heads. We tag our cows, we mark our horses. Why wouldn't that be an option for pokemon? Given their high intelligence and free will, though, I would assume such a heinous invention would be illegal, but not unheard of.
NINT