Hey everyone! This chapter is replacing the Hiatus Notice Chapter I had put up. I have a longer End of Hiatus Message, but you can read that on the second chapter I posted. If you have trouble reviewing, then try on the chapter after this.
I figured that you guys were all so patient and awesome that I wanted to come back with two chapters for you.
Normal Talk
Thoughts
Lucario talking unless stated otherwise
Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise
Mienshao talking unless stated otherwise
Let the journey continue...
"Alright. You nice and secure?" Nurse Joy asked sweetly. Ellie didn't respond, even as her temporary caretaker checked her small harness.
"She seems safely secured," The young girl expressed, double checking one last time. She was a young girl, about twelve. She had long orange hair and wore a brown and tan jumpsuit. She was a new flyer, that being a type of worker who rode flying pokemon for various reasons. Though there were smaller pokemon who did mail devilry at times, flyers delivered larger packages, did express flying and other jobs as well.
"Be careful Marlie. There's been bad weather out at sea and they're saying it could get worse and closer to inland areas," Nurse Joy expressed in concern.
Marlie nodded. "I'll be careful. I promise. Good Bye!" Marlie's Pidgeot then took off, causing the rider to pull down her orange googles and Ellie to shut her eyes against the sudden gust of air.
As they began their trip, Ellie couldn't help but look down at the earth below and wonder if she could spot her missing trainer and friends.
zzz-Pallet Town-zzz
It was Alain that actually felt something was wrong. Everyone had come over to the lab to have Lunch together. Gary and Paul were the last to come inside from training. With Brock, Cilan, Solidad, Cress, and Chili's help, Delia was putting down the last of the dishes of food. Despite all the general anxiety everyone shared during these dark times, the people here seemed somewhat at ease.
Alain was sitting on the couch closest to the front windows. He was about to join everyone to eat, when he felt something odd. Mairin didn't notice his sudden hesitance before she was already trying to find seats for him and Astrid. Alain glanced out of the front windows and saw something that really caught his attention. A Pikachu was running up the front steps with a young girl trying to catch it. The most peculiar thing was that he had a dreadful feeling that he recognized the Pikachu and the hat that was bouncing against her head clumsily.
"Could you pass the pasta salad?"
"Sure thing, Zoey."
"Thanks again Mrs. Ketchum and our other resident cooks."
"No problem-"
Alain felt the others' voices get drowned out by his thoughts, before he turned to speak. "Guys." Even though he was quiet, someone in the group seemed to hear him because soon after everyone slowly calmed down. "We've got a problem."
Ding-Dong
"Huh, who could that be?" Oak asked as Tracey walked towards the door. Alain just watched and clenched his fists in silence.
"Oh, hi! I'm sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing."
Before anyone else could see the girl speaking, Ellie rushed into the room and looked around frantically. The mouse spied Misty and dashed over to her. Misty pushed away from the tables hurriedly, causing her chair to topple over. "Ellie!? What are you doing here!?" The mouse leapt into her chest and Misty was barely able to catch the hat on the mouse's head before it fell and hit the ground. The room was completely silent, save Ellie's pitiful muffled whimpers against Misty's chest, as the young water type gym leader slowly turned the hat to show the familiar design she knew she'd see. "No…"
"Miss Marlie, do you know what happened?" Oak asked, trying to remain calm. He'd learned to girl's name between when she'd come to the door and when Misty had shouted Ellie's name.
"I, um no. I was just sent by the Nurse Joy in New Bark Town to bring Ellie back here. We thought she had been separated from her trainer somehow."
Delia was somewhat detached as Oak thanked the girl and she left on her Pidgeot.
"We need to call Riley and ask if he's seen Ash. Maybe they did just get separated," Stephan offered, though he and everyone else knew that the likelihood of that being true was beyond unlikely. Ash would've found Ellie with his aura otherwise. That meant something serious had happened.
Gary marched over to the videophone and called Riley's number. Everyone quietly looked up when someone with the appearance of a butler answered the phone. "Hello, may I ask who is calling Sir Riley?"
"This is Gary Oak of Pallet Town. I'm good friends with Ash Ketchum and Sir Riley and I have met many times. I'm calling because I'm worried Ash is in danger and needed to ask Riley when he last saw him."
The butler nodded. "Very well. Do hold please." The man then walked away from the phone.
Misty was still clutching Ellie and staring straight through Ash's hat. "You shouldn't have gone alone…"
"Hello, Gary?"
Everyone looked up and saw Riley. He was actually out of his armor and wearing clothing that would suit well for a light workout of sorts.
"Riley, where did Ash say he was headed?" Gary asked.
Riley's face grew the slightest bit worried. "The Tree of Beginning to train. Why do you ask?"
"Ellie, his other Pikachu, showed up with his hat and no Ash or other pokemon."
Riley narrowed his eyes and looked down for a moment before glancing off screen. "Harmonia! Harmonia, come here!"
Iris and Cilan gasped slightly in surprise when N and Touko came into view on the phone. "What is it? What's going on?" N asked.
"I need you to tell me what Ellie is saying. I can't understand her by just hearing her speak. I have to be close enough to her to sense her aura. You understand pokemon speech."
Misty looked down at Ellie and petted her back. "Ellie. We need you to tell N what happened." Ellie finally pulled her head out from hiding in Misty's chest to look at N on the videophone.
"PikaPi, pika pik pik chu pika chu pi pi chu pik chu pi. Pikachu pika chu chu chu pi-" Ellie continued until she had finished her side of the story and N frowned before looking up at everyone.
"Team Rocket attacked the Tree of Beginning and took all of Ash's pokemon, the wild pokemon that lived there, and then Ash, Pikachu, and Charizard. It was an ambush. They used some strange suits to trick Ash's aura vision into not seeing anything."
"Just like Sird!" Max exclaimed in shock.
N nodded. "Team Rocket has them."
Riley's face turned colder than the others were used to. "I need to send a team out to the Tree to see if there's anything they can find there. I would suggest you all call the League and report Ash as kidnapped."
"Oh no! Does that mean Team Rocket also got the other Orbs!?" Dawn asked in worry, only for Riley's voice to cut through.
"Fortunately, Ash left them in our care before he traveled to the Tree. They're safe here in Rota." Riley continued to enter into a somewhat militaristic tone. "I also suggest you all try to make your way to Rota. I'm not sure what their motive was. It seems they might have been trying to gain control of the Orbs without risking a full out attack on Pallet…" Riley cursed under his breath as if he'd just realized he'd been duped. "There's the chance they would try to find you all and use you to get him to tell them where the Orbs are."
"Wait, hold the phone. Are you telling us to go someplace safe while Ash is in danger?" Barry asked with a tone of incredulity and irritation creeping into his voice.
"We can't do that," Paul grunted and crossed his arms. Many of the others nodded their heads in agreement and determination.
"I understand you're worried about him, but right now they have us on the run. We still don't know where they are-" Something seemed to occur to Riley, but he shook his head and refocused on his words. "The point is we need to talk face to face, meet with the League and determine the best course of action. Whether or not they know it or not, Team Rocket has officially declared war on Rota because they've captured one of our knights. We will be responding to the threat as a declaration of war since we still have our own sovereignty that's somewhat separate from the League." Riley's eyes became calmer. "We can discuss our next steps as well as your next course of action once you get here."
"Teach me like you're teaching him."
Everyone turned to see Alain staring at the screen. "You're teaching Harmonia how to train with aura, right?"
"I'm showing him the basics. You won't most likely gain any more power over it until Arceus grants it to you though."
Alain looked at N. "You feel it too though, right?"
N slowly nodded. "I think I know what you mean."
Riley looked between the two and nodded. "Make your way to Rota." He then looked over at the quiet Delia and nodded earnestly. "I'll bring him back to you ma'am. I swear on my honor as a knight of Rota and on my very life."
Delia looked up at Riley and politely nodded, but remained quiet. Finally, the line went dead. Tracey walked over to Gary and placed a hand on the young professor's hand before he could dial the League. "Let me do that, Gary. You get packed, alright?"
Gary nodded as Paul spoke, "Let's all get packed. We're moving out of Pallet." Alain walked briskly past everyone else, with Calem right behind, followed closely by everyone else, minus a few.
Misty paused when a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up into Brock's eyes. "Hey." He then gestured over to Delia. He smiled at Misty with a weak smile. "I'll get your things, don't worry about it." Misty nodded before she hugged Brock tightly. Ellie sat on the table watching quietly. "We'll get him back."
Misty didn't answer. She didn't trust herself to. Something deep down was screaming at her that she wasn't meant to have the happy ending she'd hoped for. She then turned and held Delia's hand, making the woman look up at her. "Let's go get your things Mrs. Ketchum."
Delia nodded. "Yes. I guess I need to… put some of my sprinklers on a timer."
Misty caught Professor Oak's eyes and saw he was frowning at Delia's pain. He turned and marched off, no doubt to get what things he couldn't be without. All that was left was Tracey's voice talking through the videophone to some secretary at the League. Ellie climbed onto her shoulder as she and Delia exited the lab and made their way to the Ketchum's home.
zzz-Unknown Location-zzz
The first thing he felt was rocking. It was a very rocky road beneath them, Ash realized. He could still feel his wrists shackled together; his arms had also been bound to his sides now, his ankles were also bound and his mouth was gagged with cloth and said cloth was kept in place with a thin rope. He was also, oddly enough, missing his shoes. The next thing he noticed was voices.
"I can't believe this guy has caused so much trouble for Team Rocket. He's just some kid."
"Mack, come on. You saw what he did at that tree place when we jumped him. He's a freak."
He slowly cracked open his eyes, trying to get a feel for where he was without alerting anyone that might be there that he was awake. No such luck.
"Speaking of which, guess who's awake!" A pause. "Hey sleepin' beauty!" Ash didn't get to prepare himself before a foot connected with his side and caused pain to burst out from the point of impact. He grunted and cracked his eyes open a bit more to show he was at the very least listening to them.
"Ho ho ho! Look at that, Harry. He's giving you the stink eye. You're in real trouble now. The scary aura guardian's gonna get you."
Ash watched quietly as the three men in the back of the seemingly armored truck laughed at his predicament. One of his immediate thoughts circled around his pokemon and their fates. Where where they?
"Hey! We're talking to you!" Ash froze when he felt cold steel linger near his throat. The man next to him that had kicked him, named Harry apparently, was brandishing a knife. The most unnerving thing about it was when Ash locked eyes with a man that held his life in his hands and saw nothing reflecting in his pupils.
"Pffft! HA HA HA!" The other two grunts burst out laughing, considering that it wasn't like Ash could answer.
"You got some peculiar birthmarks there, champ," Harry continued and tapped Ash's cheek with his blade's flat side. "What do you think about a new one?" Harry then laughed and pulled away slightly. Ash knew a lot of people considered him rash and not much of a thinker, but honestly that was just the way he was. Ash reared his head back and head butted Harry right in the face and the young Guardian felt the sweet satisfaction of hearing a crack originating from the man's nose.
In a flurry of movement, Harry had crushed Ash's smaller body up against the side of the moving truck and over him. The large man's fist which held the knife was jammed into Ash's throat so hard, he was having trouble breathing. Harry's face was shadowed as blood dripped down from his broken nose and onto Ash's face.
"You really have a death wish, don't you, you little shit?"
Ash felt the knife near his right ear and the right side of his throat start to dig into his skin. A burning sensation followed.
"Hey Harry, remember the boss wants to see 'em alright? Maybe you can cut him up later."
"Unless Admin Proton gets the honors."
"He's in Sinnoh right now, ain't he?"
"It'll probably be that Robles guy instead."
Harry growled and grabbed a large fistful of Ash's dark hair before bashing his head into the side of the vehicle. "You move one more inch and I'll make it to where you're own mother wouldn't recognize your face." Ash could only stare back in silence and strangely he could only picture all of his ancestors in the Hall of Origin watching over him nervously.
zzz-Unknown Location-zzz
It seemed like a couple hours later before they arrived at their destination. Harry flipped out his knife and slashed the ropes that bound Ash's ankles. "Get up and don't take a step until you're told to." Ash slowly rose to his feet as the back of the truck swung open and the light of the setting sun broke through the dimly lit interior of the vehicle. He saw several guards standing guard outside of a relatively small looking base. He heard several trucks pull up and only caught sight of one grunt pulling a tray of poke balls out of the back, before a bag was thrown over his head and synched around his neck. He felt something press against his back, most likely a gun, and a couple hands fall on either of his shoulders.
"Move."
He had no choice but to start walking forward into whatever hell awaited him.
After taking several turns and riding what could only be an elevator, they seemed to near whatever place they were taking him in their base. The whole way he listened to murmurs and taunts; everyone seemed to know who'd been captured. He stumbled in front of some obstacle and then was forced to sit in what he now figured out was a chair.
With the rustling of fabric, he could see again. Ash kinda wished they would've left it on. None other than Giovanni and Robles sat and stood across the table from him.
"Please do help Ashton so that he can speak with us. I want to hear what he has to say."
After a couple of moments, Ash's gag was removed and Giovanni asked the guards who'd taken him to the office to wait outside. The doors closed and the three were cloaked in a brief silence.
"I have to be frank and admit to my own failings. I should've paid more attention to Jessie and James. Though due to their track record, you can't really blame me now can you. They are quite idiotic, don't you agree?"
Ash merely narrowed his eyes at Giovanni. Though he wasn't by any stretch of the imagination on good terms with them after how they'd betrayed him, he couldn't simply bad mouth them knowing that there was some good buried in them somewhere. Besides, he definitely wasn't going to sit there and please Giovanni.
"I guess when Cassidy and Botch and then some of my more notable members like Vicious, Annie and Oakley, and Professor Namba started to complain about a boy with a Pikachu-" Giovanni's face changed from somewhat gentlemanly to dark in less than a second. "I should've waited until you'd come home and let a few grunts take care of the problem at your own house."
Ash restrained himself from saying anything, but couldn't stop from tightening his fists. The man had just mentioned none too bluntly that he would've been willing to even murder his mother and that absolutely made Ash livid. He didn't even have to look at Robles to know the man could feel Ash's anger.
"Then something amazing happened. You ended up helping to stop my operations in Unova. Really, that was the moment where I was truly prepared to end your miserable life. But then a God-send. One of my researchers stumbled across an interesting bit of lore within some of the artifacts we'd been studying regarding Meloetta and the Forces of Nature Trio. It mentioned some interesting things about an ancient legend. Those researchers connected to research we'd been doing on aura guardians and suddenly… the world could be at my fingertips like never before." Giovanni leaned back and placed his interwoven hands over one knee. "So really… I need to thank you for stopping me at Meloetta. You stopped me from settling for less than the best." Another lull came and eventually Giovanni spoke up again. "I wanted to have a somewhat chivalrous talk with you. Even though you and I have seemingly been at odds for years, we've never really gotten to talk. Strangely enough you… remind me of someone I used to know."
"No thanks." Ash said callously.
Giovanni's face turned dark again. "I know who you are, Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. You see, Robles informed me of your heritage. Had I known sooner about your connection to the late Master. I most likely would've also asked for your extermination sooner. I assume you know that now though, correct?"
Ash growled slightly. "You had Mr. and Mrs. Oak murdered, didn't you?"
Giovanni was quiet for a moment. "They kept getting in the way, so you could say I got in their way, in the way of their car."
Finally, Ash couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped out of his chair and towered over the sitting man. "You're nothing but a coward of the highest breed! You hide behind fear and violence! You will be brought to justice one day, whether it be in the courts or by Arceus himself!"
He would've been able to dodge the blow if the chair hadn't been right behind him. Robles' fist caught him right in the left side of his jaw and throat and propelled him into the hard floor. Ash tried to gain his bearings for a moment, hoping the spinning would stop, but then a heavy and large boot pressed into his torso and he felt like his lungs were going to pop in his chest.
"Ashton. I would try to save your strength if I were you. You're going to need it." Giovanni stepped out from behind his desk and leered at Ash on the ground. He called in the guards before looking into Ash's eyes again. "As soon as you are no longer useful in my eyes, I'm going to let Robles have you and I'm pretty sure you know what that means, Guardian."
Ash looked over at Robles as he was forcefully hoisted up and man-handled. He was forced to look away from the both of his enemies when one of the guards grabbed his hair to steer him.
After Ash and the others had left, Robles looked at Giovanni. "You will allow me to be the one to kill him, right?"
Giovanni looked at Robles without emotion. "That was the deal, wasn't it? We don't actually need him alive anymore. We're past that. I just want to use him for all he's worth before you dispose of him. I also need to get the location of the Orbs out of him as well."
zzz-Sub-level 3-zzz
Ash realized, pretty quickly, that most if not a majority of Team Rocket's main base was underground, nearly ninety percent, just like an iceberg. The outside could've easily been mistaken for a radio tower or something and wouldn't easily be seen from aerial surveillance. The grunts didn't speak as he was led, somewhere. After a few more minutes they reached sub-level three. They walked through a couple of sliding steel doors and Ash had to keep his surprise off his face.
In rows and rows of clear cages, pokemon of all shapes and sizes were housed. Ash recognized some of the wild pokemon from the Tree of Beginning and then his eyes landed on his own pokemon, who had noticed him at the same time.
Pikachu leapt over to the side of the cage and shouted his name. "PikaPi!"
"I have to say that your pokemon are… interesting. Unlike other very powerful pokemon I have observed in the past, they seem to have their own strength. You didn't train them traditional way and so they aren't trained superbly, however… there's just something else there that sub-par trainers' pokemon lack. Fascinating."
Ash looked over and saw Colress writing down notes on his digital notepad all while eyeing Ash's pokemon greedily. Ash immediately got irritated, seeing as he got the distinct feeling that the subtext there was that they were no longer his pokemon. "If you touch them-"
"Now, boy. You aren't exactly in the position to make demands, are you?" Colress questioned. The scientist adjusted his glasses before gesturing behind him and down the aisle of caged pokemon. "Doctor Yung is down the way. He is the one that wanted to see the boy once Giovanni was done speaking to him." The two grunts nodded and started walking Ash down the aisle. Ash took another look at all his pokemon and he could see the fear and worry that was currently squashing what determination they did have. One of the grunts got impatient, seeing as Ash wasn't walking as fast as he could if he was looking forward. He reached out and grabbed at Ash's hair again, which was really starting to annoy the Guardian.
"Move!" He forced Ash's head forward roughly. Only moments after did all four men flinch at a loud roar and a rumbling. Ash glanced over again and saw that Charizard had been the one that had roared and smashed into the side of the clear box. The fire type's eyes were pinpricks of color as he glared venomously at the grunts. The other pokemon inside were giving them similar looks as well.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If I recall you have some younger pokemon in your midst. All I have to do is press this button here and the whole box will be fried with enough volts to knock you for a loop and do a bit more damage to the little ones. Do I make myself clear?" Colress questioned, holding up a small stick with a button on the top. Inside the box, Charizard could hear Meganium talking to Chickorita, and Butterfree murmuring to his family. Charizard growled lowly. "Be more concerned for yourselves than your previous trainer."
Most of Ash's pokemon tensed slightly at the phrasing of the sentence before giving one final glance at their friend being lead further and further away from them. Pikachu felt his ears dip and something drop in his chest. "PikaPi."
Ash was meanwhile lead deeper into the aisles of caged pokemon. Some of them he could tell had been stolen from their trainers by the saddened looks on their faces, while other were wild and seemed more scared than anything. Some of the pokemon from the Tree even murmured when they saw him and seemed concerned for their friend, even if he wasn't their trainer.
"Ah there he is! I've been waiting patiently for this, ever since you escaped me in Sinnoh." Ash watched as Doctor Yung moved out from behind a few monitors and eyed the trainer. "I'm certain you've see even more incredible sights since we last met, hm?"
Ash grit his teeth, thinking back to when Professor Oak had told him about what the man had done to Pikachu. "Haven't you already used Lawrence to capture legendaries? They aren't apparently a secret any more."
Yung moved closer, seemingly ignoring Ash all together. Then he spoke, "Of course, you fool. I don't need your memories. We know about the legends and we know about aura because of Robles." Ash could feel his blood start to boil at the mention of the Dark One. Just thinking about someone gifted with Arceus' power over life, using it selfishly and betraying the Alpha pokemon's trust made him see red. Yung surprised him out of his thoughts when he grabbed the boy's lower half of his face in his hand. "No, the only thing I haven't been able to do was test aura for my research, seeing as Robles isn't disposable for our cause."
Ash narrowed his eyes at the man. "What could you possibly want from Giovanni, Yung."
The man smirked. "He takes my research seriously. That's really all it takes. He'll have an army of pokemon at his beck and call and with me around, he'll also have an army of new and improved mirage pokemon as well. A few probes to open up during large battles and we'll be golden. Not to mention, after we've taken over the world, mirage pokemon acting on a computerized system for every single city and town in the world will make a greatly efficient and intimidating police force, don't you think? No one would dare defy us." Ash growled and jerked his face out of Yung grasp.
"You seem to be counting your Pidgey before they hatch, Yung."
Yung chuckled slightly. "I think it's amusing that somewhere inside of you, you still have this ridiculous idea that your people could still win."
Ash wished his could make his eyes glow right now, but the only thing he received for his efforts was the shackles around his wrists glowing and shocking him briefly.
"Get him in the chamber and into those restraints there, understood? I need access to his power. The data I collect will help me to develop the perfect energy source for my System."
The grunts started to move Ash towards a large tube that had some type of restraints near the top of the chamber, but all Ash could think about was the implications of Yung's statement. There was a very real possibility that he was testing Aura to see how it could work as an energy source. More likely than not, it would be a perfect one and Yung would seek to have all pokemon with stronger auras, like Lucario, Riolu, Zoroark, and others to be bred purely for slaughter in this new world order he was yammering on about. No, he couldn't let that happen. This had to be some horrible nightmare. Maybe he and his friends were still back on New Moon Island with the Darkrai and he just hadn't woken up. What Giovanni was planning for a new world, regardless of Robles' hopes to simply destroy the world, would be horrific. Ash yanked himself out of the grasp of one of the grunts and tried to spin out of the other.
"Get him you fools!" Yung cried out, irritated at the time delay.
What Ash didn't know was that the grunts were packing tazers. He let out a surprised scream of pain when the weapon hit home and forced him straight to his knees. Then they forced him up into the tube on numb and wobbly legs and before he knew it, Ash was out of his old shackles and secured in the tube. His arms were locked into the clamps that were positioned on either side of a pole that came down from the ceiling of the chamber and his ankles were locked slightly apart and connected to bars that were built into the bottom of the tube's base. He panted slightly from his struggle as well as from the electrocution he'd just received.
"There's no point in struggling."
Ash tried to glare at Yung, but the man was positioned in a particular spot to where Ash couldn't see past his own arm, which was being held straight up because of his restraints.
"Test One."
Ash didn't even get the chance to wonder what was going to happen or how many 'tests' Yung had planned before his body was alight with burning pain. He let out an ear-piercing scream from the strange energy that was being forced through him. His hands unclenched and his back arched against his will. The energy felt so wrong, so empty.
From outside the tube, the men could see Ash's eyes glowing a bright blue. Eventually Yung turned off the first switch and took some notes. "Interesting." He then placed his fingers around the second switch and with a simple flick, another test began.
"Test Two." But the Doctor's voice was practically drowned out by the return of Ash's cries of agony.
zzz-Sub-level 3-zzz
ZZZ-Pokemon Translator Activated-ZZZ
All of the pokemon had lapsed into an uneasy silence, until they were literally jolted from their subdued mood by the distinct sound of their trainer's screams of pain.
"No! No! No!" Pikachu cried out.
The rest of the pokemon, whined, hissed, growled, or moaned in worry and discomfort at hearing the continued yelling. Some tried in vain to cover their ears and shut their eyes to block it out.
"Make it stop, please make it stop…" Meganium croaked out, trying to no avail not to cry in front of her child.
"Enough!" Sceptile roared and began to beat on the clear wall with his tail. Some of the other heavy hitters, which included a good deal of the starter pokemon in Ash's team started to do the same.
"All of you stop! Don't you remember what the scientist said to us!?" Pidgeot cried out.
Blastoise immediately rounded on the bird and the other pokemon that were nodding their heads. "So what, we just listen to them kill Ash!?"
"I didn't say that!"
"All of you, stop!" Lucario bellowed before he clutched his head in pain. The others there realized quickly that Ash's links must be partially feeling his pain. "We will not be able to accomplish anything by fighting each other."
"It's true. We're only wasting our energy trying to break out right now," Greninja agreed.
Sceptile snorted. "Coming from the guy that used Ash to get stronger."
"Yeah don't you have a track record for abandoning your trainers? Trying to keep up your streak?" Tauros pushed, glaring at the water starter out of the corner of one eye.
Greninja, Tauros, and Sceptile's eyes locked for a moment and the others could feel the tension rising.
Venusaur hummed, watching everyone continue to argue about what was to be done. Though he was a great peace keeper, he also knew that no one was likely to listen to him at the moment. He glanced over at Pikachu who was still staring outside of the box. "What do you think we should do? Both points are equally valid it seems. We either risk the young ones and recklessly try to do something now or we wait and risk waiting too long to save Ash."
Pikachu frowned, currently the screaming had stopped, though that didn't tell him much of anything. "I… I don't know. It all depends on what the Team Rocket Boss wants. We have no idea how much time we have."
"We need to try and at least come up with a plan of some kind." Pikachu and Venusaur looked over to see that Noctowl and Honedge had joined their little private talk.
"I've already floated covertly about the entire cube and observed the others as well. It seems that the base of the cages are the only ways to open them. On top there's a gray disc that the energy which makes up the cage connects too, but the source is from the base where the controls are." Honedge explained and nodded while gesturing with his eye to the buttons and keyboard outside of the cage.
Pikachu nodded. "That's important information… I just don't know how that'll help us."
Noctowl seemed to think long and hard about something. Then he spoke. "What if… No…"
Pikachu, Venusaur, and Honedge looked at their friend. Pikachu was the one to ask the obvious though. "What?"
Noctowl hummed. "I suppose it's possible that myself and anyone else in here that happens to know Hypnosis could hypnotize someone to release us. The issues with that are that we need to know where to go from there, how to find Ash quickly and then still manage to escape. It's a shaky plan at best and would require us to actually learn their schedules. The risk is that they decide to… well take care of Ash before we can learn schedules or figure out someone that we could hypnotize."
"That could actually work…" Honedge droned. "Gengar and Gallade could help."
"And Zoroark could impersonate someone." Venusaur mused.
"It's better than nothing at this point." Pikachu then perked up and all of the pokemon quieted from whatever they were doing when two grunts marched a trembling Ash past them.
He paused, against the grunts' wills and smiled at his friends. "It'll be okay, guys. Take care of each other." One of the grunts then jabbed Ash in the back with an unactivated tazer.
"Stop stalling."
The three humans then left and the pokemon remained silent after hearing their trainer's cracked and abused voice. Even now he was still trying to support them. Sceptile, Tauros, and Greninja all eyed each other and nodded. At the very least they could try to stay unified until they got out of this mess.
And they would… Ash had said so after all, so it had to be true.
ZZZ-Pokemon Translator Deactivated-ZZZ
zzz-Terracotta Town-zzz
Damian narrowed his eyes as the Team Rocket agent, known to most as the Black Tulip. His teammates stood by his sides waiting patiently to see what each of them would say. Though Damian was arrogant and somewhat heartless at times, he wasn't truly stupid, just prone to underestimating others. Damian folded his arms. "Why would you want us to join? Or am I more correct to assume that you need us to join?"
Domino narrowed her eyes briefly, before giggling. "Team Rocket needs no one. Me and a few agents have simply been sent around to see how many people are willing to do the smart thing and join us now."
"So you heard of our amazing skills and came to recruit us?" Dingo asked, hardly trying to hide his ego.
"Something like that," Domino replied with a smirk. Ursula lifted her nose into the air slightly as she watched the young woman before them.
"Hmph. We need to get ready for the Master Challenge Tournament, not wasting our time with your plans or whatever."
Domino cocked a brow while the other boys continued to study her quietly. "I don't think you understand exactly what's coming, do you?"
Shamus snorted. "If anything Team Plasma has been more active than you guys recently. What with their attack on Opulecid."
The others near Shamus nodded in agreement. Domino smirked and studied her nails, even though they were behind white gloves. "And who do you think hired Team Plasma? I'll admit. That plan went under. What the League hasn't been telling the public is that we're packing, big time." Domino placed one hand on her hip and used the other to tap the big R on her chest. "The world is about to change, boys and girls. Now it's just a matter of whether you want to be the losers or the winners."
Dingo went to open his mouth but was silenced by Greg's glare. Damian was ultimately the one to speak. "Can we discuss this in private?"
Domino sighed and rolled her eyes. "If you must. I'll give you literally five minutes, naw probably more like three."
Damian grit his teeth slightly in brief irritation before turning and walking away a bit with the others. Ursula cut in immediately. "Okay, what are you doing? Why are we even discussing this? Do you have any idea what my father would do if he found out I toyed with joining Team Rocket of all things?"
Damian grumbled slightly. "Listen. I think it's completely nuts too. These idiots always get trashed eventually. However, if it's true that Team Rocket have a better plan this time around, then maybe the other warnings that have been on TV have been right. Remember the Island of of Unova that turned gray and the fact that all events with the exception of the Master Challenge Tournament has been put on hold until the situation under control?"
"So you're jointing Team Rocket? Uh, man… you're going to get busted by the police eventually. That and the Guardians and every other frickin' authority," Dingo muttered.
"For once I have to agree with Dingo," Greg expressed.
Damian sighed. "No I'm not, but I'm going to tell her I am. Maybe we can get some intel the League could use. Who knows, not only could we make the League not look too closely at our records, but we could also make sure the Master Challenge doesn't get cancelled. I for one am not going to let my chance to become the Master be taken away by a bunch of petty and idiotic criminals."
Greg hummed and Dingo seemed in thought. Dingo looked at Damian and gave a grin. "Maybe they'd even give us a reward of some kind."
"You do realize Team Rocket has wackos in it's ranks, right? This is stupid!" Shamus growled.
Dingo seemed to become nervous. "Now that I think about it, isn't that maniac Proton in there? It's said he's got the largest murder count out of any of the Admins. Maybe we should just walk away."
Damain huffed. "Do you all want to see the Tournament shut down?"
"For a few extra months while the League cleans up the mess, sure," Ursula huffed.
"That is if Team Rocket doesn't actually win. If they do, then there may no longer be a Pokemon Master period," Greg cut in. "Normally I could care less, but there's the chance that we could nip this in the bud now."
Damain nodded. "Besides… It's just one agent."
"She's the Black Tulip though!" Dingo whinned.
"If we can't take care of her together then we should give up on the Master Challenge," Greg grunted and crossed his arms.
At that, everyone eventually agreed and returned to Domino who was glaring at them. "What in the world took you all so long?" Suspicion seemed to linger in her gaze and Shamus seemed to pick up on it.
"Out-weighing the pros and cons. You have to admit that Team Rocket hasn't ever shown too much promise in the past," Shamus spoke up quickly and watched with satisfaction as Domino grew irritated, though he did notice that she kept it pretty well hidden.
"Very well, have you actually come to a decision?" Domino asked.
"Yes, we'll join you. If you're really packing with stronger pokemon than before, then we're in," Damian spoke.
Domino gave a half-smile, before gesturing towards the door. "Grab your bags. We're going to catch a ride to the mainland." She then grabbed the cloak she'd been wearing and wrapped it about her shoulders before walking out. The trainers gave each other one last look before gathering their things.
zzz-Tohjo Falls-zzz
"Lucky Channel! Win with Pokémon ID numbers! Trade your Pokémon to collect different ID numbers! ...Repeating myself gets to be a drag…"
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Why else would there be a radio still playing? Besides-" Hun spoke with a straight face before pressing one of the buttons on the radio.
"This is Madame Futuroso. I ask my audience, what is it that you seek?"
"Hail Giovanni," Hun replied. Attila blinked in confusion before the back wall of the cave started to slide open. Hun clicked the other button before turning around to walk with Attila into the darkness.
"And this is Mr. Raoul Contesta head of the Pokemon Activities Committee and one of the members of the League Counsel here to get us up to date on Team Rocket's movements-"
The rocky door closed and Hun and Attila were cloaked in darkness and could no longer hear the radio. A green light soon outlined the rocky tunnel. A single glowstick rested in Attila's hand as the two walked forward.
After several minutes, they came to the end of the tunnel. Hun looked for a moment before pressing a button that was hidden as a piece of rock. Again, the stone before them moved out of the way and the two Admins were faced with a large hanger like area. Helicopters, jets, and a variety of aircraft were in sight. Hun scanned the area and estimated that Giovanni had sent at least a little over two hundred agents to this location. Attila watched as the teleportation pads in the back of the hanger area lit up over and over again, delivering pokemon squirming in their cages. Agents would then roll them off into various corridors. High above everyone, there was a large slogan printed into the metal of the wall. R.O.C.K.E.T - Raid On the City, Knock out, Evil Tusks.
"Attila and Hun, come. I'm sure you'll want to see this."
Both Admins looked up and saw Archer walking towards them in his white suit. The two nodded and followed their superior into a corridor. At the end of it, they found themselves in a war room of sorts. A map of the World was stretched against a wall, showing various locations in all of the main regions where Team Rocket bases were stationed.
"Everyone is in position. We're all preparing in all of our remaining bases. We're down to this one and the main HQ here in the Kanto-Johto area and then two bases per region from there. When we get the signal, all the bases will deploy for their targets. The idea is that no one will be ready for our onslaught." Archer then turned and pressed a button on his desk. Light flooded into the right side of the room, showing it was larger than they had realized.
Tubes filled with various pokemon became visible. A Lugia, Moltres, Zapdos, two Articuno, a shiny Suicune, an Entei, a Raikou, a couple of Latias and Latios, and about seven jirachi all floated in their chambers. Attila's mouth was wide open and Hun was studying them closely.
"War is soon upon us."
zzz-Outside Sootopolis / Seafloor Cavern-zzz
Deep in the damp caves of the ancient Seafloor Cavern, Archie and Chas stared at similar tubes filled with a Suicune, Raikou, Regigigas, Regice, Latios, a couple of Latias, a few Jirachi, a Deoxys, a couple of Manaphy, and a few Shaymin, as grunts dashed around doing their jobs behind them.
"Hail Giovanni," Chas murmured.
zzz-Outside Ever Grande City / Underwater base 001-zzz
Ariana stood in the metal underwater base, staring at her own set of legendaries as well. She could hear one of her appointed officers issuing drills to the grunts and their pokemon.
zzz-LaRousse City-zzz
"Man! I'm stuffed!" Sid grinned and patted his belly.
Rafe simply rolled his eyes. "All the easier and slower you'll be during battle then."
"No way, man! It gives me energy!"
"We'll see about that."
"Tory's dad said we could use his private stadium since the Battle Tower isn't active on Saturdays or Sundays. Isn't that right Tory!?" Audrey asked excitedly.
Tory simply nodded. "Mmhm." The young boy watched as his friends went back into another talk about battling, training or some such and so his attention started to wander.
"Come come. I promise you'll want to hear this."
Tory glanced over at the voice and saw an old woman with orange graying hair, talking to a trio of trainers that seemed to range from ten to twelve.
"How would you like to have the strongest pokemon you could?" The woman waited to hear their excited murmurs before continuing. "My providers can give you that and more."
"What do we need to do?"
"Follow me and you will learn about the wonders of Team Rocket. You will be powerful trainers most definitely." The Delibird at her feet nodded. The young trainers looked nervous but didn't immediately turn away, making Tory upset.
He turned to his friends. "Hey guys!" They all looked at him.
"What is it, Tory?" Rafe asked.
"That old lady over there is trying to trick those kids into joining Team Rocket." Tory's face grew determined. "They don't know what's at stake!"
Rebecca's face grew cold. "They've been known to kidnap people for their ranks as well."
"Then what are waiting for?" Conway asked and shifted his glasses.
The small group walked over, with Sid marching to the front, bumping past Rafe and Rebecca. "Hey old lady!"
A few people walking on the sidewalk nearby looked but continued walking.
"Leave these kids alone. They don't want to join Team Rocket."
The woman's eyes became a bit sharper. "Oh, and how do you know that?"
Rebecca looked at the startled kids and nodded. "Trust me, you don't want to give involved with Team Rocket. They're as bad as your parents have said they are and as bad as the news has talked about plus some."
The twelve year old boy in the group blinked and then opened his mouth slightly. "You're in the Master Challenge, aren't you?"
Sid grinned. "You bet ya!"
Tory nodded and then looked over his shoulder to look for a police drone. The woman saw his glaze land on the drone and she dashed off as he waved it over. The trainers listened to the drone call out to other cubes as well as the main control station manned by the human police force about the sighting.
Rebecca hummed. "I have a bad feeling about this." She started typing on her computer when suddenly she gasped, drawing in her friends' attention.
"What is it, Becca?" Kathryn asked quietly.
"Ash…"
Rafe rose a brow. "What about him?"
The girl quietly turned her laptop around so that they could see that Ash had been listed as kidnapped.
Conway hummed. "All the pawns and pieces are falling together as the black king prepares to make his killing move…"
"What in the world are you muttering about, Conway?" Sid asked.
Conway looked up at his friends. "I think we might need to take a detour. We might truly been facing war soon. We need to go talk with some people that have a better idea about what's happening."
zzz-Ouside Alamos-zzz
Deep in the mountainside near the nearly water locked Alamos town, Tyson grinned as the last legendary pokemon arrived via the teleporter pads. The mighty Thundurus slumbered before him. He heard a clatter and saw a mere grunt trying to keep some capsules filled with purple liquid from falling off his gurney.
"Careful with those, you idiot!"
"Yes! Of course! Sorry sir!"
zzz-Outside Lily of the Valley Island / Underwater base 002-zzz
"Dear Arceus…" A grunt gulped.
"You can hear it too?" A second grunt asked.
They flinched when the sound of a knife being sharpened stopped. They grew quiet as they heard Admin Proton continue to sharpen again and then hum some unknown tune.
zzz-Outside Vertress City-zzz
"Why did he send us out so soon?" Mars questioned as she walked with Pierce, passing by a few helicopters that were being looked over by mechanics.
"It isn't as early as you think…" Pierce murmured.
Mars gave him a look, but Pierce didn't give any other details.
zzz-Outside Castelia / Desert Base-zzz
Jupiter hummed as she observed Mewtwo Y in her chamber. "The world's strongest pokemon, hm?"
A scientist started typing on the computer nearby. Jupiter glanced over at what he was working on and saw it was the Mystery Science technology they'd been powering with raw orb shards or primal stones. A dark smirk came to Jupiter's face before she looked back at the feline.
"And it's ours to command."
zzz-Outside Luminose / Moutain Range south of Kalos' borders-zzz
Roman stared quietly with Wendy as a grunt ran up to Admins.
"All of our rationed pokemon have arrived and any pokemon that used to belong to trainers have had their poke balls destroyed. We're in the process of recapturing them. Another group is busy setting up the injection system for the special serum."
Roman nodded. "Good. Make sure it gets done."
"Yes sir!"
zzz-Miare City-zzz
"He's here, but Giovanni hasn't given me his permission to destroy him yet. The Guardian also has stubbornly refused to reveal where the Orbs are."
Sird grit her teeth. "What an irritation. He's the only thing that could actually put a stop to our plans."
"It's not a major issue. It will be even easier to kill him after they've weakened him so much. It'll honestly be anticlimactic, the last ember of a lost time to simply be blown out by a simple breeze rather than a gale. Really it only proves his cause is weak."
Sird nodded and a grin wormed its way onto her face. Soon Robles hung up and she glared at a small newspaper clipping that showed a young Redrick grinning after winning the League in Kanto. "I hope you're prepared to welcome your son into the afterlife, old friend."
I hope it was worth the wait! It seems as though war is on the horizon.
I will be answering any questions from previous chapter in the AN of the next chapter.
I've decided to give you guys a list of the new pokemon caught after each chapter so that new pokemon aren't spoiled but you also can remember which pokemon are new and aren't on the list at the start of the Arc.
N/A: None Yet
So there you are I hope this helps some :) If you ever need the full list, minus the newest additions, it's at the beginning of the Arc.
Follow, Fav, Review, but most importantly, Enjoy! :D
~NoSignal
