AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 31 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their way through the Kanto region. Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet make appearances in this chapter. Giovanni also makes an appearance. Are you wanting to know what happens with the Team Rocket trio after they get sent along the rail from Goldenrod City to Saffron City by Ash Ketchum and Pikachu's Thunder attack? This is your "Goldenrod" opportunity to find out what happens to them between the episodes "A Goldenrod Opportunity" and "A Dairy Tale Ending." As always, please feel free to read and review, and remember, feedback of any kind is always welcome.

TEASER: Tristan and Hillary begin the daunting task of driving Team Rocket out of Saffron City. But is Team Rocket too much for them to handle?

Chapter 31: TEAM ROCKET'S TAKEOVER, PART 1

(Music Cue: Cold Blood)

Last time, Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu finally made it to Saffron City. It was here that Tristan hoped to win his sixth Gym Badge. Eagerly anticipating the excitement of the upcoming Gym Battle, Tristan and Hillary each gave a tea bag to an officer guarding the entrance to Saffron City because he was thirsty for a drink. But as soon as he did, Tristan and Hillary were in for a nasty surprise. The guard took off his officer disguise and revealed himself to be none other than a member of Team Rocket. Having received his latest order from Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, he and the other Team Rocket members took over Saffron City in a heartbeat while the majority of them went into the Silph Company. And to make things even worse, Giovanni himself appeared on the scene. Tristan and Hillary found themselves helpless to stop Giovanni and Team Rocket as they stormed Saffron City. What is Team Rocket's nefarious plan this time? And will Tristan and Hillary find a way to stop them before things go way out of control?


Tristan slammed his fist into the ground hard in frustration as Giovanni's helicopter flew out of sight. "It's all my fault," he said. "I should have known that we were going to be ambushed by that guy, and not just us. Now all of Saffron City is in Team Rocket's grip."

"Don't blame yourself, Tristan," Hillary assured him. "Neither of us knew that he was a member of Team Rocket."

"Yeah, but there are so many of them," said Tristan. "We'll never be able to drive them out of here. There are two of us against hundreds of them."

"We'll find a way to beat 'em," replied Hillary as she put her hands on Tristan's shoulders. "Remember, you have Pokémon friends who'll be able to help you out, including Pikachu."

Pikachu agreed with Hillary.

"Anyway," continued Hillary. "in order to beat Team Rocket, we'll need to keep calm, stay focused, and show Team Rocket who's boss."

Tristan took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. "All right," he said at last. "If everyone's ready, then let's go."

And he and Hillary walked carefully into the streets of Saffron City.


(Music Cue: A Formidable Opponent Appears)

Meanwhile, inside the Silph Company, an old man watched in horror as one Rocket Grunt after another ran inside damaging everything in sight. They didn't care who or what they hurt. They forced many of the employees into hiding. He was the Silph Company's president.

"This is just awful!" he exclaimed. "Who would do something like this?"

His secretary was just as horrified as the president was. "Only someone who doesn't have a heart!" she replied.

"It's that Team Rocket I've been hearing about," said the president. "And the Lapras we keep down there must be scared and crying right now."

Sure enought, a teal Pokémon with flippers, a cream underside, and a shell on its back trembled in fright at the appearance of the Team Rocket Grunts going in, one after another.

"We have to find a way to stop them before we find more trouble," replied the secretary.

"More trouble has found you!" laughed a sinister voice.

The president and the secretary turned around to see a man wearing an orange suit: Giovanni.

"Who are you?" demanded the president.

"And what do you want here?" added the secretary.

"I want you to come with me," replied Giovanni. "Or else." He snapped his fingers.

At the sound of the snap, a feline Pokémon with six whiskers and a ruby gem on its forehead leaped out of nowhere and pounced, but the president and secretary dodged it in time. It was Giovanni's Persian.

"There's no need to attack us like that!" exclaimed the president as he kept his cool. "We don't have to go with you if we don't want to!"

The secretary, however, was visibly scared.

"You two don't have a choice in the matter," replied Giovanni. "And I highly suggest you come quietly. I need you to lead me to the board room, and I have some propositions for you; however, I will give them to you if you give me what I want."

The president and secretary grunted in frustration as they tried to find a way out of this situation.


Meanwhile at another part of the city, a small electric-powered handcar sped out of a dark tunnel. There were four figures on that car. One had long red hair, one had blue hair, one had a gold charm and whiskers, and one had a soft cyan body with a jagged lips. They were Jessie, James, Meowth, and a Wobuuffet, which was recently discovered. They screamed as they braced themselves for a 150-mile-an-hour impact as they crashed into a brick wall. The handcar was smashed into smithereens while the four figures were sent flying out of the Magnet Train Station, which was almost finished with construction.

"We're blasting off again!" they yelled as they flew through the air. The four figures eventually crash landed on one of the streets in Saffron City. They all groaned in pain, but little did they know that they were near the entrance of the Silph Company.

"Well, that was painful," grumbled Jessie.

"That Twerp always ruins our plans...and us!" complained James. "Just when we had Pikachu, that Clefairy had to blow it away from us!"

"Then that Twerp had Pikachu use one of its signature Thunder attacks..." moaned Jessie. "...and made us go too fast and free."

"I told you dat da handcar was gonna take quite a toll," said Meowth. "And I was right."

"Wobbuffet!" agreed Wobbuffet.

"Back inside," grumbled Jessie as she held out Wobbuffet's Pokéball. The red energy beam shot out from the button and hit Wobbuffet, transforming it into red energy and disappeared inside.

"Look, it's Team Rocket!" shouted a voice. It belonged to Tristan as he, Hillary, and Pikachu headed right for them.

"The other Twerps...just great!" complained Jessie.

"What do we do?" asked James.

"Quick, let's get inside dat tall building!" suggested Meowth.

"Good idea," replied Jessie and James.

The three Team Rocket agents started running. In no time, they dashed inside the Silph Company and shut the door.

"Get out here right now!" demanded Hillary.

"Do you think that's where Team Rocket is planning its next attack?" whispered Tristan.

"Maybe, but this place is crawling with Team Rocket members," replied Hillary. "We have to find a way to get past them."

"Hey, you two!" shouted a voice. It belonged to a woman wearing police attire.

Tristan and Hillary looked behind them.

"It's Officer Jenny," said Hillary, "but why is she here?"

"So you're the ones responsible for allowing Team Rocket in Saffron City!" accused Officer Jenny.

"Wait!" stuttered Tristan. "That's not true! We were deceived ourselves!"

"Spare me your lies!" shouted Officer Jenny as she threw a Pokéball. "Growlithe, burn those criminals with your Flamethrower!"

(Music Cue: Flying Pokéball Chaos (as heard in "Shell Shock"))

Growlithe materialized from the white light that shot out of the ball and immediately unleashed a powerful stream of fire from its mouth at Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu, who ducked just in time.

"Hey, what are you attacking us for? We're telling you we didn't do it!" insisted Tristan.

"More lies!" countered Officer Jenny. "Growlithe, Flamethrower!"

Growlithe launched another stream of fire from its mouth at them again, but they ducked out of the way like before.

"I don't think she's going to listen to us, Tristan," said Hillary. "We'd better make a run for it."

"Right," replied Tristan as he, Pikachu, and Hillary dashed away from Officer Jenny and Growlithe as fast as their legs would carry them.

"Come back here..." demanded Officer Jenny, "...or you'll face severe consequences!"

"Quick, Tristan, in here!" said Hillary as she the others ran inside the Silph Company and shut the door.

Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu all panted wearily as they sat down to rest.

"Wow, that was close!" said Tristan.

"That was enough exercise to last for the rest of my life," moaned Hillary.

After they stopped panting, there was silence.

"This place is very quiet," remarked Tristan.

"Maybe a little too quiet," added Hillary.

Just then, they heard a gentle, but frightened cry.

"Listen, Hillary," said Tristan. "What's that sound?"

Then, they heard the cry again.

"It sounds like a Pokémon in distress," replied Hillary.

"But where is it coming from?" asked Tristan.

Then, Tristan and Hillary saw a huge fountain near the entrance. In it swam a large teal Pokémon with a cream underside. It looked like a plesiosaur with a hard gray shell on its back.

"In there, Tristan!" exclaimed Hillary. "Quick, let's go take a look!"

Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu raced to the fountain to see if they could help the Pokémon in distress.

Tristan was awed by the size of the Pokémon. "Wow, I've never seen anything so big," he said.

"Maybe Dexter knows what it is," added Hillary.

Tristan took his Pokédex out of his pocket and scanned the Pokémon with it.

"Lapras: The Transport Pokémon," identified Dexter. "This intellectually advanced Pokémon is able to understand human speech. With its mild temperament, Lapras prefers to carry humans on its back rather than engage in Pokémon battles."

Tristan and Hillary noticed Lapras shaking.

"Do you think Lapras is okay?" asked Tristan worriedly.

"I don't know, Tristan," replied Hillary. "It must be frightened of something."

(Music Cue: You Have to Earn Respect)

Tristan walked closer to the Lapras. "Hi, there," he said.

But Lapras turned away from Tristan and started swimming away from him.

"Hold on, Lapras!" called Tristan. "We won't hurt you!"

But no matter where Tristan and Hillary went, Lapras swam away from them.

"Something terrible must have happened to make Lapras behave this way," said Hillary sadly.

"Yeah, but what?" wondered Tristan as he and Hillary looked on.

Meanwhile, Jessie, James, and Meowth saw Tristan and Hillary a safe distance away.

"Looks like dose twoips found demselves a Lapras," remarked Meowth. "Dat Pokémon's a pretty rare find."

"Didn't the Twerp have a Lapras at some point?" asked Jessie.

"I think he did," replied James. "I remember the last time we had to deal with a Lapras school back on the Orange Islands. Those pirates messed up our day and our submarine."

"Well, I say we catch it and get it straight to the Boss!" suggested Jessie.

"And the Boss isn't too far away," added James.

"And while we do dat, we should bag ourselves a Pikachu!" finished Meowth.

"Wobbu, Wob!" agreed Wobbuffet as it popped out from out of nowhere.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were most annoyed.

"Meowth said Pikachu, not you!" whispered Jessie loudly as she took out Wobbuffet's Pokéball. "Get back in your ball!"

The Pokéball shot a beam of energy at Wobbuffet, which transformed into red energy and disappeared inside.

It was then that Tristan heard rustling coming from one of the indoor plants. This made him suspicious.

"Hillary, did you hear something?" asked Tristan.

"I think so," replied Hillary. "Let's check it out."

As Tristan and Hillary crept closer to the plant, the Team Rocket trio cringed in fear.

"What do we do?" whispered James.

"I don't know," replied Jessie. "Any ideas, Meowth?"

"Let's just get outta here!" screamed Meowth as he, Jessie and James jumped out.

"It's Team Rocket!" gasped Tristan and Hillary.

"Pipi-kachu!" exclaimed Pikachu.

(Music Cue: Raid!)

"Let's go, Victreebel!" yelled James as he threw a Pokéball.

Victreebel materialized from the white light that shot out of it, but as soon as it came out, it immediately proceeded to bite down on James.

"Victreebel, please get off!" screamed James. "Get the twerps!"

"Charmeleon, I choose you!" shouted Tristan as he threw a Pokéball of his own.

Charmeleon materialized from the white light that shot out of the ball.

"Victreebel, use your Razor Leaf attack!" commanded James.

Victreebel shot a flurry of razor sharp leaves at Charmeleon.

"Charmeleon, Flamethrower attack!" ordered Tristan.

Charmeleon shot a powerful stream of fire from its mouth. The red-hot flame burned the leaves in an instant.

"It's up to you, Wobbuffet!" smiled Jessie as she threw a Pokéball.

Wobbuffet materialized from the white light that shot out of the ball. It had a soft blue body. Its black tail had eyes on it.

Tristan was surprised. "Who's that Pokémon?" he asked as he tried to scan Wobbuffet with his Pokédex.

"Pokemon unknown. No available data," replied Dexter.

"Well that doesn't tell us much," fumed Hillary. "Wobbuffet must be a Pokémon that lives in the Johto region."

"Be very careful, Charmeleon," advised Tristan. "There's no telling what that Pokémon can do."

Charmeleon nodded in reply.

"Charmeleon, try another Flamethrower attack!" ordered Tristan.

Charmeleon unleashed another powerful hot stream of fire from its mouth.

"Counter it!" commanded Jessie to Wobbuffet.

Wobbuffet raised its tail and its outline glowed in a pink color. The instant Charmeleon's Flamethrower attack hit it, it was bounced back to where it came from. Just as Charmeleon saw the attack coming, it was too late to dodge it for its own attack forced it backward into one of the walls.

"Charmeleon, no!" gasped Tristan.

"That Counter attack was really strong!" added Hillary.

"Now for da Lapras!" smiled Meowth as he launched a huge rocket-propelled net. The net opened and enveloped Lapras in it, trapping it inside.

"Lapras!" exclaimed Tristan and Hillary.

"Smoke 'em out with your Smokescreen, Weezing!" commanded James as he threw another Pokéball.

Weezing materialized from the white light that shot out of its ball and shot a big green cloud of smoke from its two mouths at Tristan and his friends, who tried to catch their breath.

When the Smokescreen cleared, Tristan and Hillary noticed that Lapras and Team Rocket were gone. This made them worry.

"Lapras!" shouted Tristan. "Where are you?" His voice echoed throughout the entire building.


(Music Cue: Team Rocket's Boss Meeting)

Meanwhile in the board room on the top floor of the building, Giovanni was talking with the president and secretary.

"Now about this proposition I have for you..." he began.

"We don't care about any proposition!" fumed the president. "You didn't have to attack us!"

Giovanni chuckled. "I never said I was going to attack you," he said. "Sometimes, my Persian just has a mind of its own. Except when it is ordered to attack its enemies. Persian just loves getting rewarded for doing the hard work."

Giovanni's Persian purred as it was petted by him.

"But why did you force us in here in the first place?" insisted the secretary.

"You see," replied Giovanni, "I've been doing a little research on this so-called top-secret prototype that you've been working on. This product has the ability to catch any Pokémon without fail."

The president gasped in shock. "You're talking about the Master Ball, aren't you?"

Giovanni chuckled. "Well, it appears I've been getting pretty nosy haven't I? All right then, here's what I'm proposing, and I want you to think very hard on it."

"Just what are you up to?" asked the secretary suspiciously.

"Here's my proposal," replied Giovanni. "I want you to give me the plans for this Master Ball and the entire building."

The president and secretary both gasped in shock.

"Don't worry," smiled Giovanni. "If you do, I will pay a big amount of money to you, and promise not to lay any harm on you or any of your employees when they exit the building. Or maybe you're so heartless you don't care what happens to the Lapras in the fountain."

"Oh, please don't hurt our baby Lapras!" pleaded the secretary. "We'll do whatever you want us to do!"

"We'll do what you say, just please leave the Lapras alone!" added the president.

Giovanni chuckled. "It sounds like you made a wise decision. All right, get me all the documents you have on the Master Ball and make it snappy."

The president and secretary grunted.


Back on the first floor, Tristan slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. He was beginning to doubt himself as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"I can't believe this has happened," Tristan moped. "First I let Team Rocket into Saffron City, then the Team Rocket Trio makes off with the Lapras when it needed help...I let all of Saffron City down not just once, but twice! I must be the rottenest person in the world."

"No you're not, Tristan, and you shouldn't blame yourself like that," said Hillary comfortingly. "Neither of us knew that Team Rocket was going to take over Saffron City, and neither of us knew that Jessie had an undiscovered Pokémon like Wobbuffet in her arsenal. We'll save that Lapras and this building for sure, but you've got to regain your focus."

Even Pikachu comforted Tristan by wiping the tears from his eyes. Tristan felt better after that. "Thanks, guys," he said. "Now I'm ready to take Team Rocket on."

"That's the spirit," said Hillary.

"There's no time to lose," said Tristan. "Let's go." And he, Hillary, and Pikachu quickly made their way up the stairs to the second floor.


(Music Cue: Team Rocket's Secret Strategy (version 2) as heard in Pallet Party Panic)

Meanwhile on another floor of the building, Jessie, James, and Meowth were happy about their latest victory.

"Dose twoips didn't know what hit 'em!" said Meowth. "Wobbuffet's more useful dan we thought!"

"You're right for a change," agreed Jessie. "Wobbuffet did get us out of a jam."

"Wobbuffet!" agreed Wobbuffet as it popped out of its Pokéball.

"On second thought, maybe I should jam this Pokéball shut," grumbled Jessie as she returned Wobbuffet into its Pokéball yet again."

"This building is so confusing," said James. "How are we supposed to find our way around here?"

Just then, a group of four Rocket Grunts passed by.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were ecstatic.

"It's some of our friends!" cooed Jessie.

"This must be Team Rocket property!" added James. "Maybe they can show us around!"

"Which means, da Boss must be nearby!" finished Meowth. "Let's take da Lapras and go find him!"

And off they went to try and find Giovanni, hoping against all odds that they would be promoted for bringing Lapras to him.


Meanwhile, Tristan and Hillary climbed a few flights of stairs to the fifth floor.

"Those three have got to be around here somewhere," said Tristan.

"If nothing else, those three are good at running," added Hillary. "I don't know about you, but I think something else is going on here."

"Yes, but what?" asked Tristan. "And why?"

"Well, we're not sure about that just yet," replied Hillary, "but whatever it is, we've got to drive them all out of here."

"But how?" asked Tristan.

"Stop right there!" demanded a voice.

(Music Cue: Ash's Decision to Fight (first part)

Tristan and Hillary turned around to see that voice belonged to a Rocket Grunt. He had at least six others with him.

"Team Rocket!" exclaimed Tristan.

"Now what do we do?" asked Hillary.

"How about you surrendering so we can take you to the Boss?" suggested the Rocket Grunt as he and the others charged right for them.

"How about you try Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack on for size?" countered Tristan as Pikachu leaped forward.

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" shouted Pikachu as a yellow stream of electricity shot out from its body at the Rocket Grunts, who felt the powerful jolt. They all collapsed in a heap.

"I guess that's how we can drive them out of here," said Tristan.

"Come on, Tristan," said Hillary. "Let's go get that Lapras!" And off they went.


A few minutes later, Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu found themselves on the seventh floor. There were more Rocket Grunts than the seven they encountered last time.

"Those guys must be part of their security squad," whispered Hillary.

"How do we get rid of them without them noticing us?' asked Tristan.

"I don't know," replied Hillary. "But it seems the higher we go, the harder this gets."

"What do you mean by harder?" asked Tristan.

Hillary's eyes opened wide. "Um, how about them showing up?"

(Music Cue: Ash's Decision to Fight (second part))

Sure enough, four Rocket Grunts came from out of nowhere and announced, "We are the four Rocket Brothers! We are quadruplets!"

"I'm Barry!" said the first Grunt.

"I'm Gary!" said the second Grunt.

"I'm Harry!" said the third Grunt.

"And I'm Larry!" said the fourth Grunt.

"We take down good guys together!" they all shouted together.

"Four of them against two of us," said Hillary. "They have us outnumbered."

"But we have something they don't," replied Tristan. "The friendship between humans and Pokémon."

Pikachu agreed with them.


And so, Tristan and Hillary find themselves with several problems at once. They are now surrounded by four Team Rocket brothers. Not only that, they have the problem of pursuing a stolen baby Lapras, which was taken away by Jessie, James, and Meowth. How will they stop Team Rocket? And what is the fate of the Silph Company president and secretary who are trapped by Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni? This adventure is only just beginning, so stay tuned!

TO BE CONTINUED...