Ghosts from the Past

"Hi, Growlie! My name's Carrie."

Mime Jr. watched from behind my leg. Growlie closed his eyes in bliss as Carrie scratched behind his ears. I looked down and said, "It's okay, she's nice." Mime Jr. nodded and started walking up to greet her. Carnivine was enjoying her company as well.

She was visiting my apartment for the first time and meeting my Pokémon. I was a bit unsettled by the state of the place. I made a point to keep it organized so that I could find whatever I needed right away, but some places were a bit cluttered, like where I kept my tools.

Carrie looked at me, "You were a Pokémon trainer?"

I shrugged, "Of sorts. After failing Pokémon Tech, I ran away with my Koffing that I had gotten for Christmas and tried to make it as a trainer. I caught new Pokémon, had to release others. All-in-all, I wandered around a lot before finally deciding to settle down." Not entirely a lie, but not entirely the truth either. I can't say I felt entirely comfortable lying to her, but we've only known each other a little over two weeks.

She sighed and picked up Mime Jr, "I always wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, but my mom said it was too dangerous. I think she was worried about losing me too." Mime Jr. placed a hand on Carrie's face and said, "Mime." She smiled and giggled.

As my mind wandered, I thought back to the dream that I had. It was two weeks ago, and that voice told me to be prepared, but I haven't gotten any more warnings; not even a memo. I tried to think harder on certain parts of the dream. The green eye was a mystery to me, but those blue ones… And the shape that the darkness seemed to bend into, also having the same eyes.

The glowing blue eyes in darkness… I've seen eyes like that before, but from where?

"Hey, James?"

"Hm? Yes, Carrie?"

She had put Mime Jr. down and was smiling, "There's a festival this weekend. It'll be on Saturday."

I nodded, recalling Thomas being excited about it the other day. "It sounds like it would be fun."

Carrie beamed, "So we're going?"

"No, we're just going to sit outside and watch everybody else."

"…"

I laughed, "Of course we're going! I enjoy a festival too. You should've seen the look on your face!"

Carrie pouted, "That's not funny, James!"

-Three Days Later-

*Knock knock knock*

I stood at the door to Carrie's house. Well, not her house; she rents a room here. I met her landlady once; decent enough person, if a little short-tempered.

While I waited at the door I checked my robe once again, making sure that the sash was aligned correctly. Once I had told Thomas that I was taking Carrie out to the festival, he became more attentive to my appearance than my parents used to be; and that is saying something.

Still, I owed him one for helping me pick out this outfit. He definitely knew best when thinking about the colors. A teal yukata with an indigo obi; perfect for a festival. I carried my wallet and Poké Balls in a kinchaku of the same color as my sash. (AN: A drawstring bag-type thing for carrying stuff one would ordinarily carry in pockets.)

I wonder what color Carrie will wear? Women have quite a wider variety of colors to choose from.

I heard hurried whispers behind the door, cutting my thoughts off. Leaning closer, I heard a voice whispering, "You open it! I'm sick of playing mediator between you two. Besides, you look great!" I heard the lock click and I hurriedly stood back up straight and tried hard to pretend I hadn't heard them.

The door creaked open and Carrie peeked out from behind the door before she was shoved out and the door was closed behind her. In full view, I couldn't help but stare at what she was wearing.

She had a scarlet robe with orchid flower patterns embroidered on the sleeves. Tied with a sash matching the color of the flowers, the outfit was completed with a sky blue fan and kinchaku. Also, (propriety be damned!) the robe fit her very well, accentuating her figure, but not being too tight.

I heard a laugh, "Since you seem to have forgotten how to close your mouth, I'm guessing I look all right?"

My mouth closed with an audible click as I looked up at her face. Even though I can't look at myself, I'm pretty sure I was blushing. "Y-yes- I mean! Not that I was staring- I mean! Not that you aren't attractive! You're beautiful! I- I mean-"

She put a finger on my mouth, and smiling, she said, "Relax. I get it, okay? Now, come on, let's go!" She grabbed my hand and I ran along with her to the street where the festival was being held. In the setting sun, the festival was already in full swing.

We spent the next few hours going from booth to booth, trying out the different games and getting a few knick-knacks that people were selling. I even managed to win a prize, a Buneary doll, for Carrie. After a while, though, we started slowing down, and just walked around browsing.

Carrie tugged at my sleeve, "Hey, I'm going to get us some food. Wait here; don't want to lose each other in the crowd."

I held up my hand, "I can get it."

She smiled and waved her hand, "No, it's fine. I can get it." She walked off to one of the booths in the distance and I sat down at a nearby bench. Looking up at the sky, there weren't much stars to see because of the lights, but the moon was nearly full.

I can see why Meowth likes to look at the moon. It's quite relaxing…

"Golbat, use Air Cutter!"

"Hm?" I turned and saw a small battleground marked with white lines. A small crowd was gathered as they watched a teen's Staravia battle with a man's Golbat. So far, the Golbat seemed to be winning.

The Staravia was trying to dodge the blades of wind, but got hit dead center and fell to the ground unconscious.

The boy ran forward, "Avian! Are you okay?"

"Star…" He held up his Poké Ball, "You take a good rest now; return."

The man walked up and held out his hand, "Don't feel bad, kid. You put up a good fight. If you want, you can leave your Pokémon with us to participate in our deluxe overnight training program. It's guaranteed to make your Pokémon twice as strong!"

The teen held his Poké Ball, "'Twice as strong'? How do you do that?"

The man rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry, kid; that's a trade secret."

Raising an eyebrow, the kid said, "Well, thanks, but I want to help my own Pokémon get stronger my own way."

The man shrugged, "Alright; your loss."

Wait… A tournament where they offer to train the losing Pokémon? Why does that sound familiar?

I looked closer, making sure to remain discreet, and recognized one of the faces from the mission aboard the St. Anne.

This is a Team Rocket operation! They must be targeting trainers that are traveling through town. That kid was very lucky to avoid that trap, but what about others that may have fallen for it? I have to do something!

"James, is something wrong? You have your 'worry' face on." Carrie had gotten back and she had a carton of takoyaki.

I smiled, trying to hide my nerves, "Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about…" Looking around quickly, I spotted just what I needed, "Getting a festival mask! You know, to get into the spirit of the celebration."

She looked at the booth and said, "Okay, but first let's eat before they get cold."

Soon after eating – and buying a Ninetails mask – I insisted that we retire for the night, since it was getting late. Carrie didn't seem entirely happy about it, but she agreed. I walked her home and we stood in front of the door. She turned around holding her Buneary doll, "Well, good night James. I had a lot of fun tonight."

I smiled, "I did too."

What I did next, I'm not sure why I did. Perhaps for luck or because I felt I might not get a better chance than right now.

As Carrie turned to open the door, I tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around. Leaning closer, I pressed my lips to hers. I felt her stiffen a bit, but then she wrapped her arm around my back and kissed back.

I meant for it to be a brief, chaste kiss, but when I started pulling away, Carrie pulled me back and kissed harder. After a while, we broke apart for air and Carrie was smiling and blushing, "About time, James."

I rubbed the back of my head, "Er, ahem… Good night, Carrie. I'll see you tomorrow."

She went inside and I left feeling like I was walking on air.

However, the feeling didn't last. I had an operation to bring down. But first, a few stops.

-One Hour Later-

Larson was still out, so it was easy to sneak everything upstairs to my apartment. Setting aside the rope and duct tape I bought, I turned on the light and set to work.

I changed out of my yukata and put on some nondescript clothing; something anybody could conceivably wear. Taking out the mask from the bag it came in, I set it on the bed and held up the hand mirror that I had. Taking out a can of costume spray dye, I shook it and started coloring my hair dark brown. Holding up the mirror, I made sure I dyed all of my hair. It was only temporary, so it would come off in my next shower, detaching me from anything that the members of Team Rocket could say to Officer Jenny when she interrogated them.

With my most prominent feature masked, I reached for the mask and put it on. Luckily, the mask had some fake lenses designed to look like Ninetails' eyes, so that was taken care of as well.

As far as my voice was concerned, I would only have to alter it slightly. I doubt that anyone there would be able to recognize me by voice alone, but better safe than sorry. If one of them recognizes me, then even if they're captured, they can say that I was a member and get me in trouble too.

I already had Mime Jr. and Carnivine in their Poké Balls, but I held up Growlie's. He looked up, and I said, "I'll need your help for this too, Growlie. Return, for now."

After I had him in his Poké Ball, I decided that walking around would be too conspicuous, so I locked my door and called out Carnivine. Dodging his bite, I said, "Calm down. This is serious."

I pointed out the window, "Use Vine Whip. We're going to navigate the roof tops." Carnivine sent his vines out the window and latched them onto the roof of a building across the street.

Counting on the fact that everybody would still be at the festival, I started crawling across the vines, used to heights from my construction job. After I got on the roof, Carnivine pulled himself up to my side. We crossed roof tops like this until we got to a roof that overlooked the festival on the side that the tournament was on.

I crouched low and took out Carnivine's Poké Ball, "Good work, Carnivine; return."

Continuing to lie low, I staked out the Team Rocket operation as the festival went on. I noticed that the members took any Pokémon that they got inside of a tent.

I need to get in there and take them by surprise.

I looked around and found a fire escape. Running down and descending to an alley, I took a quick look around before calling out Growlie. He shook himself, not being comfortable with a Poké Ball, and looked up.

Pointing at the tent, I said, "Growlie, use Dig. We need to get into that tent."

"Grow." He dug straight through the concrete and into the ground below, making the hole wide enough for me to crawl behind him. After a short while feeling my way in the dark, we broke the surface inside the tent, which was lit by a lantern.

Looking around, I saw a burlap sack on one of the tables. I opened it and saw a bunch of Poké Balls inside. I heard footsteps and quickly hid behind a pile of boxes after putting one of them over the hole.

I whispered, "Growlie, return."

But his ears perked up and he dodged the return beam. He remained hidden behind the boxes, but he was growling as a pair of voices got closer.

Odd, he's only ever growled like that at…

My eyes widened. Sweet Ho-Oh above… I know that voice!

I quickly covered Growlie's mouth and pulled him into my lap, whispering harshly, "Fine, don't return, but stay quiet."

As the voices got closer, one of them was identified being much higher (and louder) than the other.

"Oooooh, Growlie…" I whispered. "It seems I've landed myself in huge trouble."

I ducked down closer to the ground as I heard the tent flaps open. Even with me in disguise, seeing Growlie would be a dead giveaway to this new variable. The two voices argued back and forth as they, presumably, put another Poké Ball in the bag.

"I don't see why my darling Vileplume has to be at risk just because that commoner's Golbat won't fight anymore!"

A male voice said, "I told you; Bill's Golbat can't fight anymore tonight. We only called you in from the hideout because of that. And watch your tone! I'm still technically your superior, rookie."

"Why, you- I am-"

"Yeah, yeah; an 'heiress to a noble family'. Trust me; everybody in this squad's heard it before. But that doesn't matter here. Now, you're just the bottom of the barrel."

I heard her growl, "I wouldn't be here at all if-"

"If your little beau hadn't left you at the altar, well, boo-hoo. You know he hasn't reported in for months, right? Neither did his partner or their freak Pokémon. Not even a resignation letter. For all you know, they could all be dea- GACK!"

The room was filled with choking sounds and the familiar voice said, with deadly quiet, "I couldn't care less about that harlot, the mangy Meowth, or anyone else. But I know my James is out there because his precious mutt was transferred away from his home. As long as it wanders free, James is with it, looking after it."

I heard the man gasp as his throat was apparently released. "If only I had taken that mutt in my custody while I had the chance. He would have certainly come back. But this mundane team is his last affiliation. I will find him, or my name isn't Jessiebelle."

The name sent shivers down my spine as I tried very hard to become one with the ground and remain silent as inhumanly possible. The tent flap whooshed again, but still I remained quiet. Eventually, I heard the male voice grunt with effort as he got up and the tent flap whooshed again. After waiting three minutes, I took a peek from behind the boxes and then let out a breath I had been holding.

"Okay, Growlie, change of plans. We're turning the Pokémon over to the police and reporting this operation. Jessiebelle can never know I was here, in this city." I thanked my lucky stars that I didn't hang fliers anymore.

Once I was sure that the coast was clear, I took the bag of Poké Balls and moved the box aside, not caring for stealth anymore. I ran down the hole and the light faded as Growlie covered the hole with dirt from inside. I resurfaced in the alley way and ran away from the festival with Growlie following me.

"Hang on. I look very suspicious right now." I ran to the pond in the park and put the bag down, rinsing the dye out of my hair, making sure to get every last bit out of my hair.

I took the mask off and said, "Growlie, dig a small hole."

He did so and I threw the mask in, kicking dirt over it and patting it down to make it unnoticeable.

After calling Growlie back into his Poké Ball, I picked up the bag again and made my way to the police station.

Not taking care to knock, I walked inside and stopped dead at the sight before me.

Officer Jenny already had a visitor. She hadn't even bothered to change out of the clothes from our date. Carrie turned around and they both looked at the bag that I had.

Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow, "Agent Martins, it seems your report will no longer be necessary. We have cause to hold a direct interrogation now."

I am so sorry that this took so long. I've found that I actually write less when I have free time (unless I'm overbooked, like with summer school). Maybe it's because, at college, this is my stress-relief, and as a result, I don't do it as often when I have free time to be goofing off. Perhaps I'll start writing more when school picks up, once I hit my stride.

PS: I had so many ideas for how this chapter would go, but this is what I ultimately chose. I hope you like it, and that it was worth the unforeseen wait.