POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Hello, everyone! I've tried to get back to this story as soon as I could...
It seems my story has received quite a lot of reviews since my latest update... and for that, I have to thank my new reviewer AshK, who has taken pains to give a comment to every single chapter I ever put up! I thank him for his comments, and I will make sure to read and leave a comment to some of his stories as soon as I have a chance to do that! Still, I have to thank even all the other reviewers who encourage me and criticize my mistakes! Thanks, all of you, it's really great that you are supporting me so much!
As we've seen, Team Rocket has taken up residence in Floe Island... and it seems that Ash and his friends are now targets for the evil organization! Luckily, they have found help in none else than Lance and Lorelei, two among the best trainer ever to grace the Kanto Pokemon League... and two trainers who will soon be part of the upcoming Sevii League. Looks like Team Rocket will have a much harder time than they might think... of course, that doesn't mean that Team Rocket and their main executive, Archer, won't have taken some countermeasures to make sure their operations don't get derailed! A race against time has started to either save or take the NeverMeltIce, and a lot is riding on the outcome of this race!
Who will get first prize (and before you ask, no, there's no prize for runners-up)? Hopefully this chapter will hold a few answers...
Enjoy!
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Chapter 29 - Sneaking Up On Two Fronts
A few hours had passed since Lorelei had guided Ash and his travelling comrades to the secret hideout where she, along with Lance and two promising Sevii League trainers, had been planning a counterattack on Team Rocket, in order to drive the evil organization away from Floe Island and throwsome mud in their plans. After carefully considering the options they had available, the team was trying to approach the Team Rocket hideout in the Ice Cave: they had split in two groups, which coincidentally consisted of men on one side, and girls on the other, and were nearing the hideout from two directions, hoping to take Team Rocket by surprise in a pincer-like approach. Hopefully that would have thrown Team Rocket into brief disarray, making things easier for them. In theory, having such trainers as Lance and Lorelei on their side meant that they mostly had nothing to worry about... but the risks were always present, and it was not like an Elite Four couldn't be swarmed anyway - especially when factoring that Team Rocket likely had the terrain advantage. Extreme care had to be taken for that attack...
At that particular moment, the team composed of Ash, Brock, Gary, Lance and Homura was making their way up the hilltop, towards the entrance of the Team Rocket hideout, keeping their Pokemon inside their Pokeballs in order to be as stealthy as possible. Like Lance had suggested, Team Rocket and their executives already knew that they were going to have some unwelcome visitors, but they had no idea when or how they would have shown up, so surprise was still on their side.
"Okay, we have met nobody at the moment..." the Kanto and Johto Champion affirmed after giving a glance beyond a steep rocky cliff. In fact, it seemed that their enemies had not even thought about leaving a few guards, which was very suspicious. "It's almost as if Team Rocket actually wanted us to enter that cave..."
"So we can fall into a trap, right? That's what you mean, isn't it, Lance?" Brock asked. The dragon tamer nodded, confirming that Brock had just guessed what was going through his mind.
"They want us to enter their hideout, so they can trap us inside and take us out without much trouble. Not a bad idea on their part..." Homura murmured, trying to keep hidden so that his bright red biker outfit wouldn't give him away. "Well, not that I really care. If it's a trap, we can just go there and smash it! It all sounds quite simple to me."
Lance shook his head. "I seewhat you mean, Homura, but we cannot just let our first impulse govern our actions." he answered. "We have to act carefully, as we have no idea what Team Rocket might have in store for us. Ash, Pikachu... can you see anything from where you're standing?"
The champion turned to the young trainer and his faithful electric mouse, who were standing a little farther away... Ash was standing near a tall wild olive tree that had grown near a rocky cliff, while Pikachu had climbed up the tree's think branches in order to have a vintage point from which to get a good look at the situation. After hearing Lance's voice, the electric mouse dropped down from the branches with an agile jump, landing in his trainer's arms, and pointed to the top of the cliff, with a gesture of his right forepaw. "Pikachu! Pika pikaa, pichu pikachu!" he squeaked, trying to convey the fact that it was something important.
Ash nodded, understanding what his friend was trying to say. "Hmmm... yeah, Pikachu, I see what you mean... looks like Team Rocket did place a few guards up there, and they look like they're quite dangerous." he said, warning his friends. "There are at least four of them, we can't face them without alerting all of their comrades as well."
Gary rubbed at his chin, trying to think of a solution to the problem at hand. "Hmmm... I think we're better off avoiding a direct confrontation. Should we manage to get inside the Ice Cave without having the guards see us, we could still take Team Rocket by surprise... and I think we have just the Pokemon we need!" he said, smiling cunningly at the end. As Ash was wondering what exactly his old friend and rival meant by that, Gary opened a few Pokeballs and let a few Pokemon out - his Umbreon, his Electivire and his Nidoking. The other members of the team were rather surprised as well: Umbreon was certainly a stealthy and elusive Pokemon, but the same could not be said for the others...
"Hmm... surely well-trained Pokemon." Homura commented, after taking a good look at Gary's Pokemon. "But... I need to ask you this question: they don't seem like very stealthy Pokemon. Weren't we going to avoid battles?"
Gary smiled cunningly. "Exactly. And that's exactly what I wanted to do, avoid fighting. Let me show you how." he said, before whispering something in the ears of all of his Pokemon. His three champions listened patiently, then nodded in unison and moved directly under the cliff upon which the Team Rocket sentries were standing. Ash and Pikachu stood watching, as Umbreon, Electivire and Nidoking began climbing their way up the sheer rocky wall, finally reaching the top and remaining just a little below the border. There were four or five guards, all wearing the standard black Team Rocket uniform, complete with beret and bright red R on the chest. Lance was right - a fight would have surely alerted all the other Team Rocket members in the base, and as long as they could attack by remaining in a relatively safe place, it was worth a try...
Taking care not to let anyone notice them, Umbreon and Electivire moved along the border of the cliff, and as soon as they were in position, they jumped up, using the moves Gary had instructed them to! Umbreon's large eyes lit up, and a multicolored sphere of light shot out from them and struck the Team Rocket grunts, while Electivire's twin tails touched the ground and sent out a powerful electric shock on two more guards! One of them was hit by Umbreon's Confuse Ray and, after jumping up in surprise, he started to look around himself in a daze... while two more were hit by Electivire's Thunder Wave and became stiff like statues, with comically pained expressions painted on their faces, before dropping helplessly to the ground! Before the remaining sentry could react, Nidoking jumped up from the edge of the cliff and landed in front of the guard... then, he grabbed the Team Rocket member and put a clawed hand on his mouth, preventing him from shouting, and at the same time showing off his cruelly sharpened claws. Understanding his situation, the grunt wisely decided to remain quiet and allowed Nidoking to bind him into powerlessness. Seeing that things were under control for now, Umbreon motioned to Electivire and climbed his way down the cliff, before motioning to the humans that everything was okay.
"Very good." Lance commented with a nod. "It seems we're at an advantage for now... for now, let's ask those gentlemen a few questions. Hopefully, the girls are handling themselves well enough."
oooooooooo
Misty, Dawn, Miyu and Lorelei were taking care not to make even the slightest noise as they entered the rocky tunnels that, starting for an opening in the base of the rocky hill, was climbing its way through Floe Island's underground. Even though the Ice Cave was still nowhere to be seen, the temperature had dropped considerably, and while Lorelei and Piplup seemed to have no problem with the cold, and Miyu was not showing any sign of disturbance, the same could not be said for Misty and Dawn, who were trying to hold back the shivers. Sure, neither girl could imagine she would've had problems with the cold in a tropical island...
"Phew..." Dawn murmured, keeping her voice low. There was an awful echo, inside those caves... "They sure picked a nice place for their hideout... now, where do you think we're going to end up?" She could hear the sound of rushing water, not toofar away, and she understood that they weren't too far from the sea. It was probably only a few dozen feet away... but before she could think any further, Dawn was forced to hold back her Piplup, who was about to rush headlong into danger!
"Pip! Piplup!" the penguin Pokemon chirped when his blue-haired trainer held him, placing an hand on his head. Dawn placed a finger on her mouth, kindly asking hr Pokemon not to be impulsive.
"Sssh... please, Piplup, don't rush headlong..." she told him. "We have to get as close as possible, before attacking those guys..."
The penguin Pokemon readily nodded, though he seemed a bit peeved about not being able to attack as freely as he wanted... and soon after, the team entered what looked like a large cave, huge enough to allow a gigantic cruise ship inside... which was in fact the case!
"Miss Lorelei, isn't that a cruise ship?" Misty said in amazement, as the team came out of hiding: in front of them stood a huge, luxurious cruise ship that looked like the famous S.S. Anne, on which Misty had been travelling at the beginning of her Pokemon journey... which included a spectacular shipwreck! It was simply incredible that such a large ship could fit into that cave... yet, thanks to some state-of-art work of architecture, not only was it there, but there was a black submarine moored there as well! Lorelei frowned. So it was true, after all...
"I can't believe this..." Miyu said, as her Mightyena squatted down on all fours and growled aggressively. There was no doubt about it... that must have been the S.S. Catherine, the ship that had been hijacked by Team Rocket a few days before.
With a terribly serious and cold expression on her face, the typical expression she wore during a Pokemon battle, Lorelei nodded. "Yes, that's just it... the cruise ship Team Rocket had hijacked before I came back to Floe Island." she said. "Those criminals hav kidnapped many trainers from Sinnoh, and I can bet they want to force them to work for Team Rocket. We need to stop them beforetheir plan comes to an head..."
Night Sky, Miyu's Mightyena, turned around and let out a disquieting call similar to a laugh, calling for the girls' attention. There were a few Team Rocket grunts, weapons in hand, were trying to force a few hostages to climb onboard the submarine...
"Hm? Are they taking those prisoners away?" Dawn asked herself. "So, they are trying to evacuate this base right now?"
"That's strange,since I don't think they've found the NeverMeltIce just yet. We'd have seen it clearly if they had..." Lorelei said. "I guess our arrival is forcing them to hightail it out of here before they had anticipated. Well, it would be good news for us... but those people certainly would not agree!"
"What do we do? I think we should help them... after all, we're close enough, now!" Misty said, reaching for her Pokeballs. Lorelei looked at her... and nodded silently.
"Attack, now!" Lorelei answered, tossing her Pokeball and letting out a beautiful azure-skinned, grey-shelled Lapras that placed herself right in front of the submarine, emitting a melodic call! The Rocket grunts and the hostages backed away in fear... and soon after, all the other girls sent their Pokemon out!
"Let's go, then!" Misty exclaimed. "Misty calls... Starmie and Horsea!"
"Our turn now, Piplup!" Dawn said in turn. "We will need your help as well, Pachirisu!"
Miyu snapped her fingers, causing Night Sky to "laugh" out loud once again, and let another Pokemon out. "Let's do our thing... Night Sky and Houndoom!" she said, tossing her Pokeball and making a huge Dobermann-like Pokemon, with a pointed tail and ram-like horns on his head, pop out! Soon enough, all the Pokemon had formed a wall between Team Rocket and the escape vehicle... and their enemies, after recovering from their surprise, let out their fighters as well. There were quite a few familiar faces in the Pokemon lineup, like Raticate, Golbat, Koffing, Kadabra, Gloom and several other common Pokemon! The Rocket grunts, on the other hand, were trying to force the prisoners on board the escape submarine...
"We need to stop those people from escaping, and save the captured trainers!" Misty exclaimed. "Horsea, Starmie... try to stop that submarine!"
As Lorelei's Lapras, flanked by Dawn and Miyu's Pokemon, stood ready for battle and began simply blowing her way through the Team Rocket ranks, the elite Four took out another Pokeball. "I think they'll need some help to stop that steel contraption... come out, Slowbro! We'll need your Psychic powers for this!". As she said this, the vacant-eyed Water / Psychic Pokemon appeared in front of her and turned to the submarine, where several hostages were being hurriedly loaded as the Pokemon battle was raging.
"Thank you, miss Lorelei!" Misty thanked. "And now... Horsea! Stop those guys with Bubblebeam! And you, Starmie... use Psychic on that submarine!"
"You too, Slowbro." Lorelei ordered.
The giant starfish and the clumsy Psychic-type concentrated hard... and the huge Team Rocket submarine, a black torpedo-shaped vehicle with a capital red R drawn on its front was surrounded in a blue aura and lifted clean off the water, leaving the Team Rocket agents flabbergasted as it was placed on the ground as if it weighed nothing! The hostages were stunned as well, as the battle among Pokemon went on...
A Golbat used a combination of Double Team and its natural speed to dart around Miyu's Mightyena, making it look like there were more than one of them... but the grey hyena and her trainer were not impressed, as they had already faced such a trick before...
"Night Sky, use Odor Sleuth to locate Golbat... and strike back with Ice Fang!" the gothic lolita ordered. Night Sky sniffed the air around her for a second... and just as Golbat swooped down to strike her with a Wing Attack, the hyena jumped back, located the real Golbat with her acute sense of smell, and ferociously bit into his wing, sending a wave of freezing energy in his body! The giant bat screeched in pain and fell down, covered in ice crystals! Miyu's Houndoom breathed a Flamethrower on the nearest opponents, standing up on his hind legs. Several opponents were hit and knocked out, their bodies covered in soot and their eyes swirly!
"Nicely done, miss Miyu!" Dawn exclaimed, whose Piplup and Pachirisu were doing a pretty good job as well in thinning Team Rocket's ranks. With a spectacular Drill Peck, the penguin Pokemon dropped a Doduo, and the electrical squirrel was quick to use his Discharge attack to take down a threatening Dustox that was about to cover him in toxic powder. The battle was going well for the girls, mostly thanks to the Elite Four helping them, and Team Rocket fleeing in the face of such odds...
"Don't worry, we've got this covered!" Lorelei said, reassuring the hostages that had not moved much from the submarine, while still getting as far as they could from the Rocket grunts. All the hostages were understandably frightened, but the fact that the girls were at an advantage, and the local heroine was part of the rescue team boosted their confidence...
However, Lorelei knew all too well that, even if the battle was going their way for now, the rest of Team Rocket was obviously going to mobilize and get ready for battle. Who knew what kind of trap they were going to face later on...
"We seem to be doing well enough for now..." Misty thought to herself. For a second, the girl jumped up in fear as she saw a Team Rocket Octillery emerging from the briny waters and charge towards her Horsea, but the seahorse Pokemon countered with a good Smokescreen attack, squirting a blot of black ink on the octopus' face! Octillery stumbled and flailed his tentacles in the air in frustration, trying to get rid of the inky substance before Horsea could attack again. "I just hope Ash and the others are doing okay... we've had the surprise factor on our side, but it's not going to last much longer..."
oooooooooo
Which was all too true - the alert had quickly spread through the Team Rocket hideout, and the organization's new executives had made haste in evacuating their prison cells and transferring their hostages on their submarines, while most of the grunts stood ready on defense... and just then, in the block Ursula was in, confusion reigned supreme as the guards forced the prisoners to evacuate.
"Quick, get out of here! Those meddling fools will not wait for you to do as you please!" a tall and burly grunt shouted at his annoyingly slow companions. "Be quick, you slugs! You too, girly! Stand up and come with us, quickly!"
The man had just then turned to Ursula's cell noticing, much to his annoyance, that the rich heiress was lying on the ground, on her knees and doubled over, her hands pressed on her belly as if she was feeling sick. She was facing the wall, and while her face couldn't be seen, it was clear that she was shaking and lamenting in pain. Not that the guard really cared about that, as far as he was concerned the girl was simply another hostage and potential grunt that they couldn't give up.
"So? You heard me, girlie? We have no time to waste on you!" the muscleman roared in anger. Much to his frustration, Ursula remained on the ground, on her knees and clutching her stomach.
"U... Uuugh..." she murmured in a pained voice. "Hurts... it hurts... I... I can't even... stand..."
The guardian grunted and threw the door open, before reaching the young girl and trying to force her out of there. "Hey, kid, this ain't no hotel! When I say you get out, you get out!" he growled as he roughly seized the girl by her wrist in order to force her to stand...
And that was when Ursula acted, pushed by her anger and her will to survive. She clenched her left fist and, with all the strength she could muster, she punched the brute in-between his legs, hitting a very vulnerable spot! While the difference in physical strength was overwhelming, it mattered nothing in that case, and the huge grunt widened his eyes and screamed in agony, dropping to his knees and clutching the injured spot with both hands! As fast as lightning, Ursula took advantage of the situation to steal the man's keys, get out of her cell, and lock her jailer inside. Then, taking advantage of the ruckus, she started running at top speed away from the Rocket grunts, frantically looking for the place where her Pokemon might have been held. Immediately, the girl heard the voices of the Rocket grunts hot on her trail, but didn't let this intimidate her, and continued running for all she was worth, trying to at least distance them...
oooooooooo
A booming sound reverberated on the walls of the tunnel the boys were in, and the echo of the noises from the battle reached their ears, as alarmed voices came from the deepest caves of the rocky hill. There was no doubt that the girls had been forced into battle, and the whole hideout was reacting to the intruders!
Which meant Ash and his friends were soon to follow... Ash and Brock looked at each other and nodded, as Pikachu jumped down from his trainer's shoulder and stood ready, and Brock let two of his Pokemon out. "Graveler, Rhyhorn! Your turn now!" the dark-skinned boy exclaimed, throwing both spheres. The animated rock and the scarred stone-skinned rhinoceros popped up and stood ready, with Graveler raising his mighty fists in the air, and Rhyhorn scratching at the ground with his left forepaw, in preparation for a charge!
"Rhyhorn?" Ash asked in curiosity.
"I thought it would be a good idea to let him train a little..." Brock answered. "I wish I could have trained him myself a little more beforehand, but still..."
"Well then... guess I'd better do my part as well!" Homura commented almost off-handedly, before smiling cockily and letting out one of his strongest fighters! "Alright... come out, Camerupt! We'll show these people just who they're messing with when they take on the future Sevii Gym Leaders!"
Another Pokeball flew high, letting out a huge camel-like Pokemon, about seven feet in length, with a fiery red fur, blue rings on both his sides, and whose lumps were actually miniature volcanoes from which rivulets of red-hot lava were flowing. He let out a call similar to an elk's, sticking his tongue out and stamping the ground with one of his hooves. "CAMEEEEERUPT!"
Lance nodded as he saw that Homura's Camerupt really looked strong and determined... and as Gary prepared to fight as well, letting his Blastoise out, the Kanto and Johto champion decided he might as well lend them a hand. "Alright then... I think you will do for now... spread your wings, Altaria!"
With an elegant wave of his arm, which caused his mantle to flap majestically behind him, Lance tossed one of his Pokeballs and let out a beautiful winged Pokemon, covered in wooly white feathers that made him look like a cloud with a long neck, a pair of antennae on his head, white cheek pouches and a short silver-tipped beak. His skin, as well as his paws and his fan-like tail, were an azure color all over. It was clearly an Altaria, the evolved form of a Swablu. It was not the first time that Ash saw such a Pokemon, in fact he had fought a few during his travels in Hoenn, and there was one in Nando's team as well.
All the Pokemon were ready in front of their trainers... which was just in time, since several Team Rocket members popped up from the depths of the cavern, joined by their Pokemon! A tough-looking Tauros was at the head of the attackers, under the guidance of a particularly warlike grunt.
"Heh, here are the other outsiders! So much the worse for you, then! You will regret trying to mess up our operations! Tauros, take them out with a nice Zen Headbutt!" he exclaimed. The bull-like Pokemon let out a frightening mooing sound and whipped himself with his many tails to psyche himself up, then he charged towards the intruders, his head surrounded with what looked like a glowing azure-green energy shield. Pikachu charged up his cheeks and stood ready to unleash a Thunderbolt attack, but Homura's Camerupt took him by surprise and lowered his head, ready to charge as well!
"Hold on a sec, kiddo!" the biker exclaimed jovially. "With your permission, my Camerupt and I will take care of this nice little bull! Come on, Camerupt, use a good Take Down on that Tauros! Let's see whose head is harder!"
Camerupt mooed again and charged head-on towards the attacking Tauros... and the two Pokemon clashed against each other, with a deafening blow that made the walls shake and forced the other Pokemon to stand back! The screen of psychic energy that surrounded Tauros' head was shattered in a shower of greenish sparks, and the huge bull let out a surprised roar as Camerupt, ignoring the strength of the awesome blow, dragged his opponent back and backed him up against the wall! Tauros writhed and freed himself, making another attempt to attack, but Camerupt didn't give him the chance to do so...
"And now, Camerupt... use Lava Plume!" his trainer exclaimed. The miniature volcanoes that formed the camel Pokemon's lumps started boiling, and a thick, boiling, lava-like fluid erupted from them, hitting Tauros head-on! The bull-like Pokemon mooed again, and fell t the ground, losing consciousness soon after, just as Homura winked and scratched his nose, as if to say that was no big deal. Ash, Brock and Gary, for their part, couldn't help but be impressed at the strength displayed by Homura's Pokemon...
"You see that? This is what happens when someone angers my Camerupt!" Homura said with a cocksure smile. "Excellent job, my friend!"
The Fire-type camel turned to his trainer and called out in satisfaction, but more enemy Pokemon stepped forward, intent on avenging their defeated comrade. Gary's Blastoise had something to say about that, though, and he quickly raised his eyes and pointed his cannons against them, while Graveler, Rhyhorn and Altaria stood at his sides...
"You little... how dare you?" another Rocket grunt muttered as his companion, both humiliated and embarassed, recalled his defeated Tauros. "You won't get away with it! You still haven't seen what our Pokemon can do!"
More Pokemon, mainly of Poison and Normal types stepped forward and angrily charged Ash's team, in an attempt to overwhelm them with sheer numbers! Brock's Graveler stopped a Nidorino in his tracks, grabbing the opponent's venomous horn and pushed him away, before striking back with an effective Magnitude attack, his fists striking the ground beneath Nidorino and causing him to be hit by the shockwaves! Rhyhorn charged a Pinsir, hitting the large bug with a Horn Attack, and then with a Stomp. However, the huge beetle-like Pokemon was made of sterner stuff that this, and attempted to hold the ferocious rocky rhino in a Seismic Toss, lifting him clean off the ground!
"Rhyhorn, use Protect!" Brock called out to his new Pokemon. The Ground / Rock Pokemon grit his teeth and struggled with all of his might against Pinsir's hold, managing to force his opponent to drop him. Before Pinsir could recover and attempt a new attack, Rhyhorn dashed forward and slammed him into the wal with another powerful Horn Attack!
"Nicely done, Brock! Your Rhyhorn sure is something!" Ash exclaimed before turning back to the battle... which, in fact, was already turning out to be in their favour! Pikachu seemed to treat it as nothing more than a warm-up, in fact... none of his opponents could even come close to him, and his Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle and Iron Tail attacks dropped enemies faster than one could count! The same went for Lance's Altaria and Gary's Blastoise, who were thinning down Team Rocket's ranks with shocking ease...
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"Executive Archer! Those intruders are far too strong for us!" a Rocket grunt wheezed as he reached the office where Archer and his three direct underlings were reunited. Attila and Hun were there as well, and with them there were also Jessie, James and Meowth, who seemed eager to keep their distance from the blond muscleman and the icy-eyed woman. Something about them scared the more remissive Team Rocket members... and the fact that Hun seemed to look at them like they were insects to be crushed certainly did not help!
All Team Rocket members turned to the grunt, and while the situation seemed to be dire indeed, Archer kept his aloof, detached expression. "What is going on, in the upper floors?" he asked, as if saying that the answer to that should have been obvious. "We are hearing quite a ruckus from here, and we know we're dealing with tough opponents... but we still have an edge on them. So, tell me... have you managed to transfer our hostages to Chrono, Fortune and Quest Islands?"
"That... that we did, master Archer... we managed to get most of them away... but Lorelei and the female trainers that have joined her have stopped the last submarine, and that Sinnoh GF finalist managed to get away in a moment of confusion! We are trying to recapture her as we speak..."
Jessie frowned. A Grand Festival finalist was among the captured ones? She already had a hunch on who that could be...
"What do you mean? That rich brat actually managed to get away?" Petrel shouted in incredulity. "You bunch of fools, she's too important an hostage to lose! Try to recapture her at all costs, now!"
"That will be enough, Petrel." Archer stopped him, appearing rather unconcerned about the unexpected event. "We can do without that Ursula girl, after all... The thing that's more important now is not to lose our mission objective. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"Er..." the grunt murmured, as Petrel covered his mouth in a mix of anger and embarassment, while James and Jessie looked at each other in puzzlement, as they were not informed about Team Rocket's true aim in the Ice Cave. "No, master Archer, we haven't lost track of it! We're trying to divide the intruders and push them towards the inner parts of the Ice Cave as we speak!"
"Good, that will be an effective trap." Archer answered. "Attila, Hun! Jessie, James! Your duty will be to take out the boy and his companions. Jessie and James, in particular... I expect you to face the boy yourselves, as you seem to have more... experience, so to speak... in fighting him. As for Attila and Hun, we'll make sure Lorelei and Lance cannot interfere, so you should have no problem picking off the other kids."
"Very nice, boss!" Attila smirked cruelly, slamming his fist on his palm. "You'll see how I will be working up those kids!"
"Get a grip, Attila. We are not here to have fun, you know that better than I do. So try not to do foolish things, and concentrate on our mission." Hun repriminded him... though Attila seemed to just shrug that off with a mocking laugh.
"Hahahaaa! Of course, ma'am, orders are orders!" he joked. Hun wrinkled her nose, but decided not to say anything... while James cast a fearful look at the two more hardened criminals, as if fearing that they could turn on them and attack them at any given moment!
"Okay, the strategy is set, then!" Ariana said, casting a meaningful glance at Attila and Hun, who nodded in understanding. "We'll take care of dividing the intruders and make sure Lance and Lorelei cannot help the kids... you'll take care of that Ash Ketchum boy and his little friends! We're counting on you!"
"Of course, ma'am! Leave it all to us!" Jessie enthusiastically said, thinking that the time had finally come for her and James to shine... and without knowing the true reason why Ariana was counting on her...
oooooooooo
"Well, it wasn't exactly hard to reach this place..." Misty affirmed as she and the other girls stepped into a large room that looked like a gigantic, empty hangar. Team Rocket seemed to have already evacuated most of the headquarters, and the girls had met no noteworthy resistance as of then, even though the temperature was dropping more and more as they got closer and closer to the main rooms. "I hope the boys have been as lucky as we were... girls, miss Lorelei, what's the situation there?"
"Everything under control for now." Lorelei answered after casting a quick glance behind herself. "We have directed the hostages to the exits and we allowed them to get out of this place. But I'm afraid those hostages were only a part of them! The others have already been taken away by Team Rocket..."
The Elite Four member motioned for Miyu and Dawn to stay close, just in case, then reached her greatest fan in the larger room. "Anyway, I'm sure even Lance and the guys, up there, have met with problems. I heard some battle noises up there as well... and if I know him as well as I think, Lance has not been soft on those criminals."
"I almost feel sorry for them..." Dawn commented with a nervous giggle. Miyu once again checked behind herself, then got close to the rest of the team as well. "Well, now we have to decide where to go next and... Huh?"
Miyu raised a hand, as if telling Dawn to listen up, and pointed to one of the side corridors, from which the sound of rapid running steps was coming! Someone was running away... and the blue-haired girl was not going to be surprised if it was someone desperately trying to get away from Team Rocket. After some surprise, Lorelei and the younger trainers stood ready with their Pokeballs... and a few instants later, a lithe figure with a pretty whitish-azure dress and peach-colored hair, done in a pair of drill-like pigtails, ran into the room, frantically looking around herself in search of an exit. She started running again soon after, in order to get away from a quarter of Rocket grunts hot on her trail, and from their three Pokemon - three Ariados, colorful giant spiders that were trying to catch the young girl - about twelve or so, by the looks of her - with their sticky strands of web. The largest of the Ariados shot his web, which the girl luckily managed to dodge... but it was clear she was not going to keep this up much longer!
"That girl is in trouble!" Misty stated, before wincing in disgust as she saw the Ariados. Her ever-present fear of Bug Pokemon was still bothering her... "Ugh... and those Team Rocket agents have some really poor taste in Pokemon! Ariados... I couldn't imagine a worse Pokemon!"
"We still need to help her..." Dawn began saying, getting ready to throw a Pokeball. She stopped for a second as she recognized, much to her surprise, that the girl running away from Team Rocket was none other than Ursula... then shuted a warning to her! "Ursula! Please get away, now! We'll take care of this!"
The rich girl turned to Dawn, and was very surprised herself to see her greatest rival appearing in front of her... but she did as Dawn had said, and dashed away just as the other girls sent out some of their Pokemon! The small Mantyke Misty had befriended earlier on popped out, smiling and using her fins to float in midair... and Togekiss and Houndoom appeared soon after, ready for action!
"What?" a Team Rocket grunt exclaimed as the Ariados stopped in their tracks. "Where do these girls come from?"
"Houndoom... you know what to do." Miyu said lacinically. The gigantic helldog effortlessly shrugged off a Web attack that was supposed to hold him in place, then closed his eyes and shot a powerful Dark Pulse attack, hitting all three opponents and sending them to the ground! The Ariados stood up soon, but only to find themselves attacked by the other Pokemon...
"Your turn, Mantyke... Wing Attack!" Misty told the small manta ray, who quickly did a midair flip and dived down towards an Ariados, striking the giant spider with her large wing-like flipper. The Bug / Poison type took the hit, but quickly retaliated with a Psybeam that sent Mantyke airborne for a short distance. The manta ray shielded herself, but was only able to fend off the worst of the hit, remaining stunned and confused for a few seconds... just as Togekiss was going in to attack!
"Stop that winged furball, Ariados!" one of the grunts exclaimed. "Use a Psychic attack now!"
"Togekiss, strike back with air Slash!" Dawn quickly countered. The giant spider was surrounded by an azure aura, before firing a powerful pulse of psychic energy, but Dawn's Normal / Flying type managed to dodge sideways and was only grazed by theattack. Then, Togekiss dropped down and slashed her opponent with the edge of her short wings, sending the Ariados to the ground in a shower of miniature stars! Just then, Mantyke and Houndoom unleashed a double attack on the enemy - the small manta ray used her Water Pulse attack, blowing a huge bubble in the closest Ariados' face, while Houndoom attacked theother one, his fangs wreathed in the crimson flames of a Fire Fang attack! Houndoom's jaws clamped shut on the last Ariados, before picking him up and tossing it away... and the other one was hit head-on by Mantyke's Water Pulse and was left stunned and confused. Needless to say, the Team Rocket agents were quite shocked at the ease with which their enemies were defeating them... and the sight of Lorelei, her glasses shining and her face ice-cold, was more than enough to convince them to run for it!
"I would advise for you to leave, gentlemen." she stated icily. "This girl will be coming with us now. Should you have something against that, I'll be glad to hear about it."
"Er..." one of the thugs stammered in fear. "W-well... after all, I guess that kid wasn't that important a prisoner anyway! And... master Archer and the others can easily take you down anyway! You can have the kid, we're outta here! Let's scram, gus!"
"No need to say that!" one of his companions answered. All the grunts recalled their defeated Ariados and ran away at top speed, while Lorelei relaxed and walked to Ursula. The rich heiress seemed to be alright, and was just now dusting her dress with one of her hands, trying to look elegant and nonchalant.
"Are you alright, miss?" Lorelei asked. "You are not injured, I hope."
Ursula straightened herself up. "I am... okay, I guess. I never imagined you would be the ones to save me... but thanks anyway. You were a great help." Then, she cast her glance around, looking at Misty and Dawn. "Hm. Sure it's a small world after all, Dee-Dee... who'd ever have thought that we'd meet again like this?"
Dawn didn't miss the snobbish, self-assured tone in her rival's voice, and the blue-haired girl frowned as Misty glanced at Ursula herself. "I take it she's a rival of yours... right, Dawn?" Misty asked. She still didn't know what to make of Ursula, but the first impression, so far, wasn't all that good.
"You are right about that, Misty." Dawn answered. "She's acoordinator like me, whom I met just before entering the Sinnoh GF... her name is Ursula, and I already faced her three times."
Ursula wrinkled her nose. "Hmph... right, and you always had beginner's luck on your side, Dee-dee..." she bitterly mused, before once again whipping out her superior, self-important smile. "Oh, well, not that I'm really bothered with that or anything. I already know that I'll get my rematch soon, so I'm just content with what I managed to do for now. By the way, there are some new people around here, I see." She looked curiously at Misty and Miyu - she had already seen Lorelei on several magazines, so she was already familiar with her.
Miyu interrupted the discussion, as her Mightyena kept sniffing the air in search of a possible menace. "We'll have all the time later to speak of competitions and solve your personal matters. For now, we need to reach the lower levels of the HQ." she calmly stated.
Ursula had nothing to object to this. "You're right... and by the way, my Pokemon are all down there somewhere. I have to go get them." she said, her haughty attitude now marred with an anxiety Dawn had never felt from her.
Lorelei thought about it. "Indeed... so, I guess Team Rocket took all of their prisoners' Pokeballs there. It is plausible they're transferring them to their other hideouts as we speak. Okay, then we'll go save those Pokemon. Your name is Ursula, right? At the moment, we need all the help we can get, so... I'm asking you to lend us a hand, at least for now. Will you do this?"
"I'm not exactly enthusiastic to team up with Dee-dee here..." Ursula answered bitterly, she and Dawn exchanging an annoyed glance. "But if it's to save my Pokemon and pay Team Rocket back for kidnapping me, count me in."
"Thanks, Ursula..." Misty said as her Mantyke returned to her. Misty gently scratched the small manta ray on her head. "And thanks to you too, Mantyke! I knew you would have been great!"
"Tyke, tyke!" Mantyke chirped happily, before Misty recalled her in her Pokeball, while Ursula gave a nonchalant nod to Misty's thanks. Night Sky, for her part, sniffed the air again and turned to another corridor, going further down, from which a cold wind was blowing.
"Might! Might!" she barked, pointing to her recent discovery.
"What's the matter, Night Sky?" Miyu asked curiously, as she stroked her Houndoom's head and recalled him in his Pokeball. "You've found something, haven't you?"
The Mightyena barked again and pointed to the corridor with one of her forepaws, as the girls gathered around her. "Alright then, we'll follow Night Sky." Lorelei stated. "Her sense of smell is our best chance to find Ursula's Pokemon, as well as the other trainers'."
Night Sky nodded with a sharp gesture of her muzzle, and the team began following her in the Team Rocket's underground HQ, hoping to find something...
oooooooooo
"Heh... these guys are pushovers! Just look how easily they go down!" Homura said cockily, as another bunch of Team Rocket Pokemon were knocked out by a Brick Break attack from Brock's Croagunk, and a Flame Wheel for his own Rapidash. None of the opponents they had met until now had managed to put up resistance for more than a minute, and the group of boys were getting closer to the lower levels...
"In fact, I wasn't really expecting them to last that long..." Gary commented. His Kingler had just defeated a pair of Weepinbell that had recklessly tried to attack him, and had been met with a Crab Hammer attack from his larger claw. "But we're getting closer to the harder part. Their leaders must be in there, somewhere..."
"I and Lorelei should be able to take them." Lance commented. "Though I'd still be wary if I were you, guys. I suspect they have another trap ready..."
Lance had barely even finished speaking when the ground started shaking madly under their feet... and the floor literally slid away from under Ash, Brock, Gary and their Pokemon, who let out a surprised yelp as they stumbled into some sort of slide and fell down! Homura's eyes widened, and the Fire-type expert tried to extend a hand to his friends from Kanto... but it was too late, and he grasped nothing buy air while the sliding rock returned in its place with a dull thud. Homura was stunned: they hadn't even noticed that trap, and now they had been separated... which meant, they were more vulnerable!
"Ash, Pikachu! Guys!" the biker exclaimed, as a rather alarmed Lance ran to the place where the trap had sprung up...
Meanwhile Ash, Pikachu and their friends were sliding down the large tunnel, that seemed to go down for hundreds for yards into the island's underground. All they could see was a chaotic mishmash of rocky formations flashing in front of their eyes, as well as a quick glimpse of their friends in the pitch-black darkness as they fell towards the unknown...
"AAAAARGH! Isn't this fall going to..." Ash started screaming... cutting himself off when a sudden wave of cold washed over him, and the improvised slide ended, dropping him, Pikachu, Brock, Croagunk, Gary and Kingler in another room... a room whose walls were covered in ice, with menacing ice spikes hanging from the ceiling, and another corridor, at the other end of the room, brought to a ramp of stairs that went deeper and deeper inside the cavern. The guys shivered from the cold as they and their Pokemon quickly stood up, looking around themselves to see where they had ended up...
"Pika pika chu... Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he shook off the snow and water that had ended up on his fur, before calling for Ash and his friends in order to make sure they were alright. Luckily, apart from a few bruises, they were completely unharmed.
"Owww... man, if only we weren't in Team Rocket's hideout, I might even have had fun!" Ash said, rubbing his aching shoulder. He quickly bent down and picked up his starter. "Thanks, Pikachu, I'm okay! Brock, Gary... you okay as well?"
"No problem, Ash... even Croagunk and Kingler seem to be okay! The boy with the perpetually-closed eyes answered. The frog Pokemon's smile had not waned as he picked himself up, while Kingler was already up and about, shaking off the fall as if it had never happened. "The problem is, we've been separated from Lance and Homura, and we have no idea where we are or where to go..."
"Hohohohohooooo! Don't worry, we know exactly where you're supposed to go now!" a female voice laughed triumphantly. A female figure with long, fiery hair was coming, joined by three more people and by a familiar-looking Meowth! A comically disappointed expression painted itself on the young trainers' faces as Team Rocket made their triumphant return, with Jessie, James and Meowth in front of them!
"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"
"It's speakking to me loud and clear..."
James yelped in surprise as a steely Skarmory swept down and grabbed the rose away from his hand, tearing it to pieces with his sharp beak... and while the poor guy looked in shock at the remains of his trademark flower, Attila and Hun stepped forward, almost looming on their more innocuous companions!
"If you have time for being buffoons..." Hun stated as she allowed her Skarmory to perch on her arm. "You also have time to take out these kids! Master Archer does not pay you for being performers, are we clear on this?"
"Ugh... you are more than clear... such manners!" Meowth grumbled. In a rather clumsy attempt to sound intimidating, the cat Pokemon cleared his voce and raised his clawed paws in what was meant to be a threatening gesture. "Er... anyway, let's get to the matter at hand! Welcome to the Ice Cave, twerps... we were just waiting for you to come, so that we can settle things once and for all! Now we'll defeat you and capture your Pikachu!"
"Pikachu..." the yellow mouse muttered in exasperation...
"Just as we thought... Team Rocket! And those two guys from earlier..." Brock commented, more concerned about Attila and Hun than the rest. It was plain clear that they were not to be underestimated. "Why are youhere, you two? And you even helped us stopping Moltres back in Knot Island..."
"This has nothing to do with us now! We're Team Rocket, after all, and being in your way and trying to capture Pikachu is part of the job description!" James answered with a huge smile. "And we need to curry some favor with the boss! So... get ready to fight, twerps! And we're not going to retreat that easily, this time! Go, Slugma! I'll give you the honor of being the first!"
The Pokeball containing James' latest Pokemon opened up, and the lava snail jumped out, happily jumping around. "Slugma! Slugma!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, before standing at attention and getting ready to fight!
"Hah! You wanna face them with that runt of a Pokemon? Your funeral... now, I'll show you what a real Pokemon is!" Attila exclaimed. "Come on, Steelix! Time to fight!"
The huge steel snake appeared before Ash and his friends, while Hun's Skarmory took flight again, joined by Jessie's Yanmega. Even Pikachu, Croagunk and Kingler stood ready as Ash reached for another Pokeball in order to bring out another fighter. This was not looking to be an easy fight, and he had a bad feeling about this...
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Notes: And here we go! The battle with Team Rocket has started, and it seems Ursula has joined the team, though she won't be able to do much without her Pokemon... this battle is shaping up to be quite heated, in spite of the place where it is taking place! How will it go? Stay tuned for the next installment!