Seven, Seven, Rocket, Chapter 11

Celadon City, the largest city in all of Kanto. After an uneventful train ride in from Lavender Town, I got off at the Celadon station, and right smack into a city-wide festival. Up and down the streets, people were cheering on a bunch of parade floats with dozens of Pokemon and people on board. Naturally, Vulpix was completely taken in with the sights, and I was finding it hard to keep her steady in my arms. Couldn't risk losing her in the crowd in all the excitement.

"Excuse me," I asked a nearby party-goer, "What's the celebration about?"

"Summer Festival," the woman replied, taking an extra green party hat and slapping it on my head. "Happens every summer!"

"Thank you for the hat, but is it always this wild?"

"Of course! Erika always makes it as grand as possible! She loves everything relating to plants, you see!"

After pestering a few other people, I finally got the whole story. Apparently, ever since this Erika girl showed up in Celadon, she's arranged these seasonal festivals for a couple years now. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; every few months there'd be a whole new reason to celebrate. The motif, as always, was everything green: Erika loved plants and trees, I guessed. Well, though I was there for a badge, I figured there was no harm in taking in the sights and fun of the festival. I mean, how often does one walk in on a festival?

Of course, just like any festival, the prices were murder. I mean, I spent money as needed, but I suddenly felt the hurt while I bought all sorts of junk food and souvenirs. ¥500 for a donut? ¥1200 for a paper fan? I didn't mind it much at first, but after a few purchases I was shocked to find my wallet had run dry. At this point I wiggled my way out of the crowds.

Or at least that's what I'd have wanted. When they said city-wide festival, they meant it. No matter what street I got on, there were more people, more vendors, and somehow, more floats than on the last one. Either that, or I was running around in circles. Finally, I noticed two people sneaking into some building, so I took a chance and followed them in.

From one kind of party to another. The sign said 'Celadon City Game Corner', but it was clear enough. Slot machines, far as the eye could see. It was a casino! Since at the time I had never been in one, I took a step further to get a closer look, when someone held me back by my collar.

"How old are you, kid?" The guard was dressed like a policeman, or maybe he was one.

"Ten, sir." I answered meekly.

"You could've said seven, I still wouldn't believe you. Go home to your mommy, kid." He dragged me along by the back of my dress, opening the door. I struggled a bit, but he had a firm grip on me.

"But! I just wanted to see!" I screamed. The guard stopped short of throwing me back out onto the street.

"You got money, kid?"

"Um, yeah...?" That was a lie, but I don't know why I even said it.

"Welcome to the Celadon Game Corner! Please visit the Exchange Desk for tokens, and have a great time!"

Letting go at last, the guard apologized with a slight tip of his hat. Vulpix growled at him, but I covered her mouth and made my way to the back where the desk was. I reminded Vulpix that she shouldn't growl at policemen as I stepped up to the counter. Oddly enough, another guy dressed as a policeman was manning the booth.

"Tokens are ¥10000, kid. You gonna buy?"

"Ten thousand!?" I reached for my wallet, though I was certain I didn't have even a fraction of that amount. No surprise, I didn't.

"Um, is there anything cheaper?" The guy leaned in closer once I asked.

"Tell you what," he said, "I'll give you a one time deal: ¥1000 for a few less."

"That I can afford!" I proudly dug around my wallet for the money, and handed it to the guy. He stashed it in a register, then reached for a tray with a number of colored tokens. He took out almost all of them before pushing the tray into my reach.

"The third machine from the left on this wall is off limits-I mean, it's out of order. Just don't go near it, okay?"

"Okay," I replied, taking the tray. I couldn't shake the feeling I had been ripped off, but all I wanted to do was try my luck. I passed by the machine that was supposedly out of order, and took a long look at it. Other than looking a bit older than most of the other machines, it didn't look broken. The guy at the desk continued to stare at me, almost making sure I didn't touch that machine. Rather than cause trouble, I moved over one machine.

I pushed in a token, and instantly the machine came to life. Bright lights flashed all over, and the machine begged for me to pull the lever on the right. I obliged, and the slots started spinning at a speed that turned all the icons into a blur of colors. Vulpix started clawing at the reels in excitement, and after a couple seconds they stopped, and the results were all different pictures. A little buzz sound let me know that I lost, and the machine asked for another token.

And so, I fed it another. And another. And another. And another. And the machine kept eating away my tokens, one by one, each time mocking me with that same little buzz sound.

I was finally down to my final token. I looked at it for a moment, then back at the machine in front of me. Since Vulpix didn't understand the point of the machine, even she begged me to put the coin in, wanting to see the slots spin again. I took another look towards the Exchange Desk, and saw the guy was busy reading a magazine. I grabbed onto Vulpix, and slid over one chair to the left.

I pulled on the lever of the older machine, and it sprung to life, asking for a token. Since I hadn't won anything on the normal machine, I figured losing a coin on a supposedly broken one wouldn't hurt. I fed the coin into the machine, and pulled the lever. The reels started spinning, and one by one they stopped. Seven. Seven. Seven.

The machine started roaring a victory tune, flashing every single light as brightly as possible, and burst open the reward tray below the slots. But not a single coin fell out of the machine. Instead, I heard a loud clang to my right, and when I looked over in that direction, I saw a piece of the wall on the other side of the room spring open, revealing a secret staircase. At that moment, I felt someone walk up behind me. I turned around, and saw the two men dressed like police officers.

"Come with us, young lady."

~o~

That same secret staircase I opened was where those men dragged me into. My surprise, there was a huge facility of some sort down there, and populated entirely by a group of people I was pretty familiar with: Team Rocket. At that point, I just prayed none of the members that were at Mt Moon were here, too, and that they recognized me. No doubt if I was seen as a repeat troublemaker, I'd be in far worse trouble. I kept Vulpix in my arms the entire time, and I was actually amazed they didn't try to separate me from her. A Pokemon in my hands and I'd prove to be a dangerous prisoner, wouldn't you agree?

Still, they led me to a room somewhere inside the building. Unlike the other rooms I had seen on the way, this one was much nicer, with a rug on the floor, a long, white table, and a tall chair at the end of it. Like something out of a cartoon, the chair spun around to reveal someone in charge. He was a short man, head shaved almost entirely, and in a full black suit. His eyes were sharp, like a Spearow, or Fearow. He stood up from his chair and walked over to me.

"This the intruder?" He asked the men standing by me. His voice was deep, and honestly, pretty scary.

"Yes, Giovanni. I told her not to touch the slot machine, yet she defied us." Giovanni lowered his head, covering his face with his hand.

"This is why," he said, before looking at the two, "I told you to just put a bunch of tape around the thing!"

His voice echoed throughout the room. The two men stood still, and I noticed one of them started sweating a bit. He sounded like a mean boss.

"Y-Yes, sir! We'll get right on it!"

"You better," Giovanni told them, "Because if someone else discovers our operation here, I'll personally see you two at the bottom of the ocean!"

Without waiting for further orders, they ran out of the room. Now alone with this Giovanni, I swallowed hard as his attention turned to me. For a few seconds, all he did was stare at me. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead.

"Tell me," he said, his voice now softer than before, but no where near gentle, "Are you a Pokemon Trainer, girl?"

"Yes, sir," I answered, never turning away from him. Vulpix started to growl at him, and while I tried to stop her as fast as possible, he still heard her.

"I see your Vulpix doesn't take to me."

"She doesn't mean anything by it, sir, honest!" I held her mouth shut, making sure she didn't make the situation worse. Giovanni smiled, which only made him look scarier still.

"Why did you touch the slot machine, when my men specifically told you it was off limits?"

"Actually," I said, swallowing again before I continued, "they said it was out of order."

"All the more reason to not waste your hard-earned tokens on a broken machine. So tell me, why did you?"

"It was my last token, sir. I thought it wouldn't matter if I tried it on the broken machine." My reasoning didn't seem to convince Giovanni. He stood there in front of me, staring at me with those cold eyes for so long.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you. You don't look like you could pose any threat to my operation here, though." He turned around and returned to his chair on the other side of the table. I sighed a little, hoping this was all just a misunderstanding.

"So, I can go?"

"I'm afraid not. You may not pose a threat, but there's no guarantee you won't go running to the Celadon Police Department. I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep you locked up here, until the operation is complete." Giovanni pressed a button on the table, and in a few seconds the doors behind me swung open. A pair of different Rocket grunts showed up.

"Please escort this young lady to the detention cell, and make sure you relieve her of her Pokemon, the Vulpix included. See that its stored in a Pokeball, along with the others, and ready for transport."

"What!? No! You can't take my Pokemon!" I screamed, and tried to run away. The grunts held me in place, though. Vulpix jumped out of my arms, turning to the grunts and opening her mouth. She was about to release a Flamethrower attack on them, when Giovanni released his own Pokemon. It crushed his table, a massive purple monster: Nidoking.

"Obviously, your Pokemon doesn't stand a chance against mine," he said, walking beside his Nidoking. Vulpix backed away, hiding behind my legs.

"Now, unless you want Nidoking here to have himself a tasty treat, you'll not make another sound. Do I make myself clear?"

I had no choice. I stopped resisting, and let the grunts take my bag and my Pokemon. Vulpix fought back a little, despite my telling her not to. It was painful to watch her be taken away like that, but I didn't want to risk anything happening to her. Once they were out of my sight, Giovanni ordered them to take me next.

The detention cell was on another floor, further down below the building. There wasn't even a bed or chair to sit in, just plain white walls to stare at. I couldn't begin to imagine how long I'd be trapped in there. And all the while, I was more worried about what was happening to Vulpix and my other friends. Would I ever see them again?

~o~

I fell asleep after staring at the door for a long time. I didn't even know what time it was anymore, only that I had to use the bathroom. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I waited for a minute, then knocked again. Still, there was no answer. I seriously needed to get out of there, so I started banging on the door. I couldn't hear anything from the other side, not even people walking around. At this point, I started screaming at the top of my lungs.

I banged on the door, screamed for help a few times, then banged some more. I did this so many times, I lost count. Still, I heard nothing on the other side of the door. Had Team Rocket abandoned the building? Did they leave me down here to die? The more I thought about these things, the faster my heart raced. I didn't want to die! I banged on the door some more, screaming to the point of tears. Finally, all I could do was cry as I stayed glued to the door.

After a few minutes, I heard something on the other side. Footsteps first, then stomping. Then I heard both, and even some screams. Something was going on outside. Wiping away my tears, I started banging on the door again. I screamed out to whoever was nearby.

"Someone! Help! Please!"

I paused for a second to listen through the door, but I couldn't tell if the footsteps were getting closer or not. I banged on the door a few more times, and called out again.

"Help me! Please! Help!"

This time, when I put my ear to the door, I heard stomping. It was getting louder, and closer. Soon enough, it even started to shake the floor underneath me. The stomping stopped in front of the door, the shadow from outside creeping through the crack under the door. I suddenly remembered Giovanni's Nidoking, and feared the worst. What if he came to personally silence me? I stayed quiet for a minute.

"Is anyone in there?" A voice called out through the door. It wasn't Giovanni's.

"Yes! Please, help me!" I cried out.

"Stand back, away from the door! Dragonite, go!" Right after he commanded it, the door was ripped right off its hinges, finally flooding that small room I was in with light. My savior was a young man, and his Pokemon was even larger than Giovanni's Nidoking! It was a Dragonite, a Pokemon I recognized from my encyclopedia.

"Are you alright?" He asked, giving me his hand.

"Yes, I'm fine. Who are you?"

"My name is Lance. I'm on the trail of Team Rocket. There was talk that someone was taken hostage inside the Game Corner, and sure enough, here you are."

"Yeah," I said, laughing a bit, "Those two grunts took me in here, but they forgot the room was filled with people playing the machines. Not very smart, are they?"

"Luckily for you. Stay behind me, and I'll get you out of here safely, okay?"

"No, wait! They took my Pokemon! You have to help me find them!"

"You're a Pokemon Trainer?" I nodded, and Lance reached into his coat. He handed me a Pokeball.

"This is one of mine. He'll follow your every command, so use him to find your friends. I have to find Giovanni, before he escapes again."

"He was in that big room, on the next floor," I said, inspecting the Pokeball. Just what kind of Pokemon was waiting to be released, I wondered?

"Already checked there. He must've fled once you opened the secret door. Blast!" Lance took the Pokeball from me again, and stashed it back in his coat.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Star."

"Well, Star, looks like I'll be helping you find your Pokemon after all."

Sadly, I didn't get to see Lance's Dragonite in battle. By the time we got back up to the next floor, the place was deserted. A few of the grunts were on the floor, most of them pretty beat up. Everything else looked the same, though, like they just got up and ran at the first sign of trouble. Fortunately, they didn't finish transferring my Pokemon to wherever they were going to be sent, and I found them in another room on that same floor. Vulpix was locked inside a cage, too.

"Vulpix! Are you okay?"

I released her from the cage, and she leapt into my arms and started licking my face. I took a moment to make sure she wasn't hurt, then collected my bag and Pokeballs. Nothing seemed to be missing from a quick glance, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you didn't lose any of your friends," Lance said. "I'm just disappointed I lost track of Giovanni again."

"Who is Giovanni? Is he the leader of Team Rocket?"

"I'd rather not comment on that. Come along, Star. I'll lead you out of here safely." Lance turned and started walking. It seemed that when he didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't. Just who he was was another mystery altogether. At least I knew he wasn't a bad guy.

Outside, it was already dark, and most of the crowds had gone home already. Police cars were all over the place, though, with officers taking in the captured Rocket members from inside the Game Corner. One of them, a tall, beautiful woman, approached us.

"The Celadon City Police Department would like to thank you two Pokemon trainers for apprehending these criminals," she said, saluting both Lance and myself.

"Oh, I don't deserve any credit," I said, pointing to Lance. "It was all Lance here. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Then I offer you the entire force's gratitude, Lance." She saluted once again.

"I don't need the salute and tribute, officer. I'm just sad I couldn't catch Giovanni here. See that the girl is taken care of, she was held hostage by them for a while."

Without giving anyone a chance to say goodbye, Lance walked off past the police cars. Wearing a dark coat and all, he instantly disappeared into the dark of the streets. I turned to the officer, who was busy talking to other policemen. Finally, she turned to me.

"I'm Officer Jenny," she said, kneeling down to my level. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, I'm okay. I am a bit tired, though."

"Don't worry, I'll take you to a hotel for the night, all expenses paid! Follow me."

I got into Officer Jenny's car, and we drove away from the scene. I took the moment to check through my bag, and make double sure everything was still there. Luckily, everything was, but I also noticed something extra. It was another Pokeball, and this one wasn't empty. I didn't say anything in the car, because Jenny probably would've said it was best to turn it in to Lost & Found.

Not that I was a thief, but who knows how long that poor Pokemon would sit alone at the Police Station, waiting for a trainer that might never come back? I put the Pokeball away in my bag again. I promised whatever critter was inside, and myself, that I'd take especially good care of it.