Divided we Stand

By CidGregor and DragonShadow

Chapter Five: Divide and Conquer

Viridian City was, and always had been, a fairly peaceful city despite its size. It had what was probably the largest Pokémon center in all of Kanto, not to mention one of the largest Pokémon Gyms. Several well-known corporations had offices there. The only main road to the Indigo Plateau began there. It was probably one of the largest cities in the region. But somehow it still maintained the quiet, calm air of a small, out of the way town like Pallet. There wasn't a lot of noise or pollution, the streets were clean, and traffic wasn't too heavy when many of the city's residents preferred to walk everywhere.

Unfortunately for Ash, Brock and Gary, that made it a bit harder for them to stay inconspicuous in their big, loud, obvious jeep.

"I say we just play it cool and drive on through like nothing's wrong," Gary offered, leaning against the door in the back seat of the parked vehicle with his own Pikachu, AshTwo, sitting in his lap. "If we don't ACT suspicious then no one will have a reason to BE suspicious."

"Unless they're specifically looking for us," Ash countered vehemently from outside the jeep, his fist clenching into a fist while Pikachu clung to his shoulder. "Which they very well might be, and if that's the case then the police will have the strongest presence on the main roads. We should avoid them and weave through the city on side roads."

"That makes us even MORE obvious," Gary argued back. "They'll definitely notice us if we're the only ones on the road!"

"Only because we're in this Jeep," Ash's voice rose as he spoke. "If we get out and keep going on foot, then we can blend in with the crowd."

"But then if we ARE spotted it'll be that much harder for us to get away," Gary disagreed, absently scratching AshTwo's head. "Not to mention it's too slow! Who knows what could happen in Pewter while we're busy walking!"

"Going fast doesn't help us if we can't get anywhere with it!" Ash's arm pumped furiously against the air as he glared at his long-time rival. "Do you really think--"

"Both of you, stop that."

Brock's voice was so soft the two younger boys could barely hear him, but somehow it had enough power to diffuse both of their rising tempers and make them turn towards him.

"No matter what we do, arguing about it won't do anything but make it easier for them to catch us," he went on. "Our best bet is to go through the middle of town. If they're already looking out for us then it won't matter which way we go anyway, they'll still find us. Besides, if we went on foot, Ash, you'd have to hide Pikachu again until we passed all the way through Viridian City. And I don't think she'll like being stuffed in her Poké Ball for that long."

"Pika pi-chu, chuuu!" Pikachu agreed, violently shaking her head back and forth. Ash had his mouth halfway open to argue the point, but upon seeing Pikachu's reaction, he swallowed his words and forced himself to nod along. He could barely believe how calm Brock seemed right now. He had to be scared for his family in Pewter, but his eyes were narrowed in concentration rather than widened in fear. It was something Ash had to admire…

"…Pi-pi-pi! Cha!" Pikachu suddenly shouted.

Ash looked up, following his friend's urgent cries as she stared behind them, and jolted. "Er, guys? Whatever we do, we better do it fast. Something's coming this way!" He pointed down the road behind them, bringing the boys' attention to a line of four cars driving over the hills they themselves had just traversed. All of them were moving very fast, and heading straight toward the foursome.

"Crap, we've gotta get out of sight," Brock realized, gunning the engine, prompting Ash to leap into the backseat just as the jeep started moving. Pikachu flailed a bit, nearly falling off his shoulder as she sailed in right behind him, and hid on the floor behind Ash's feet, AshTwo right next to her behind Gary's. The jeep hauled them all out of the way and into the trees once again, just long enough for the squad of cars to speed by them and into the streets of Viridian City. To the group's collective relief, none of the cars stopped or even slowed down; it seemed they hadn't been noticed. Yet.

"That was close…" Ash whispered.

"Who wants to bet that's the gang that attacked Gramps' lab?" Gary murmured.

"Not a bad bet," Brock nodded, looking out toward the road at the squad cars. "They should be out of sight in a minute…once they're gone, we'll make a break for--"

"No!" Ash suddenly exclaimed. "We have to follow them!"

"What?!"

"Just do it, Brock! Don't let them get out of sight!"

"But--"

"There's no time to sit here and explain! Hurry!"

Brock hesitated for another moment, but ultimately nodded and pulled the jeep back out onto the road, and followed the squad cars at a safe distance.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Ash?" Gary asked.

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "If we find out where those new enforcers are operating from, then we'll know where they're taking all of our Pokémon. And maybe…maybe we can get then back…"

"Ash, I know you two want to save your Pokémon," Brock began, "but this is hardly the time--"

"We're not forgetting about Pewter," Ash assured him. "We just want to check this out and see where they're working from. It'll just take a minute, Brock, please…"

"Nnhh…alright, but then we have to really book it…"

Ash nodded his agreement, and relaxed down in his seat, trying to act casual with the watchful eyes of the police all around. He glanced down at the floor to ensure Pikachu was safely hidden, and short of forcing her back into her Poké Ball again, she was as well-hidden as she could be, curled up underneath the seat and behind the shield of Ash's legs.

For a moment, focusing on his friend pushed the current situation well out of his mind. Instead Ash began to wonder, to his immense surprise, how he had traveled with a faithful friend like Pikachu for so long – five or six years, it must have been – and never realized she was a girl. Professor Oak hadn't specified Pikachu's gender when he first gave her to Ash. And like he'd told Gary, it wasn't like he ever checked; it had never really come up before. She was still Pikachu, his longest, closest friend, it wasn't really important back then if she was male or female. And really, it still wasn't, he tried to reason to himself.

It still seemed strange to find out the truth, though, he realized. He wasn't really sure WHY it seemed strange to think that his friend was a girl, but it did. Maybe it was because Pikachu had never really cared much for Misty's occasional attempts to put her in cute little dresses…but then, Pokémon didn't wear clothes anyway. Maybe it was because Pikachu never really acted like he would expect a girl to act…but then again, did female Pokémon act anything like female humans to begin with?

No, it wasn't that simple. If anything, what made it feel weird was that for one reason or another, he's always just subconsciously assumed Pikachu was a boy. He didn't even realize he'd been making that assumption until it had been proven wrong. He Pikachu was his best friend, his buddy, his pal, his teammate, for years on end now, and it had simply felt natural to assume a partner and friend like that to be 'one of the guys,' so to speak. It was a definite shock to the system to find out otherwise.

But it still didn't matter, did it? She was still the same Pikachu he'd always known, right?

"Hey, check it out," Gary said, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. "They're pulling into that garage there."

Ash looked up at the building the garage was attached to and frowned, mild surprise running through him. "Isn't that the police station…?"

"It sure is," Gary affirmed. "It looks like Gramps was right. This group really IS a new branch of the police force."

Indeed, the quartet of cars was coming to a halt inside a large garage on the right side of the Viridian City police station. Their engines shut off and the squad members hopped out of the cars, and as the garage door began closing, Ash had just enough time to see them opening up their trunks and pulling out several large, lumpy bags, which he could only assume were full of Poké Balls and the Pokémon trapped within, robbed from Professor Oak's lab and whatever other unlucky trainers they'd preyed on before that. A second later the garage had closed, a stylized logo on the door of a Poké Ball behind bars the only thing still visible.

"That's gotta be it," Ash said. "That's where they've got our Pokémon!"

"This is crazy!" Brock said, his tone oddly indignant and dramatic. "It doesn't make any sense! A beautiful girl like Officer Jenny would never allow something like this into her noble, upstanding police force! I can only imagine what horrors Nurse Joy, too, has been forced to endure!"

Ash rolled his eyes slightly. "Come on, Brock, be serious, this isn't the time to be swooning…"

"Yeah, don't you have a hometown to get to and a gym to save?" Gary added.

Fortunately that seemed to bring Brock back to earth. The dreamy vehemence on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by grounded determination, and though he didn't say anything to the other boys' words, he gave a quiet murmur of agreement and nodded, looking toward the road again.

"Wait…" Gary interrupted before he could step on the gas, and to the others' surprise he hopped out of the jeep. "You guys go on ahead."

"What?!" Ash exclaimed. "Why, what are you gonna do?"

"These guys are holed up in the police station, Ash," Gary explained. "If we're really serious about getting our Pokémon back, then those Pokémon imprisonment squad guys hiding out in a police station make it a lot harder. Not only do we have them to deal with, we have the whole Viridian police force, too. We need to come up with a solid plan of attack."

"What does that have to do with you staying behind?"

"While you guys deal with the situation in Pewter, I can hide out here and do some scouting around. With any luck I might find out a way for us to get in there undetected, or at least get some information."

Ash frowned again. "I don't know…it sounds risky. What if you're caught?"

"I won't be. I'll stay clear of the new task force, and the regular police can't do anything to me if I don't have any Pokémon."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah. I'll go it alone. I'm leaving my Pokémon with you for now, Ash, so take care of them."

"I…of course I will, but…Gary if something goes wrong and you don't have any Pokémon to defend yourself with…"

"You let me worry about that, Ash. As long as I don't draw attention to myself I'll be fine. You just worry about keeping our Pokémon safe and protecting that Gym."

"Ash, whichever we do, we need to get moving, now," Brock urged. "Gary can take care of himself for a while, but Pewter Gym's in trouble now."

"…Yeah…alright," Ash slowly agreed, giving Gary a firm stare. "But you better not be in prison when we come back for you."

"I'll be fine, Ash, don't worry about me," Gary insisted. "Just keep my Pokémon safe."

Ash nodded. "I will."

Gary looked down to the floor of the jeep, giving AshTwo a caring smile. "You got that, buddy? You listen to Ash until I get back."

AshTwo nodded, though visibly reluctant to see him go. "Chaa…"

"I'll be okay," he said, and smiled a bit more teasingly to cheer him up. "Besides, now you can have some quality time with your new friend over there."

"Pi?" AshTwo chirped curiously, glancing around at Pikachu, whose ears twitched as she noticed his gaze and froze for a long second.

"…Chaaa!" she squeaked, visibly blushing as she hid her face.

"H-hey hey hey, knock it off!" Ash quickly interrupted. "This is serious!"

Gary smirked and chuckled, but let it drop. "Get going, you guys. Be safe."

"You too, Gary," Ash replied. And a moment later they shook hands and parted ways, Gary walking off into the city crowd while Ash and Brock drove off in the other direction.

"He'll be alright, Ash…" Brock said.

"Yeah…I know," Ash said, his eyes growing firm and determined. "He's got his mission, and we've got ours. Let's go save that Gym…"

Night came and passed, and the sun began to rise beyond Mount Moon, prompting the world as it did every morning to wake up.

Misty, however, hadn't slept a wink the whole night. She had barely moved from her spot on the ground, the echoing laughter of Team Rocket as they made off with her Pokémon still ringing in her ears hours later. Somehow…she wasn't really even sure how anymore…Team Rocket had won. And there had been so much more than a simple Pokémon battle at stake.

Psyduck…oh Psyduck…

It was frightening how quickly it had happened. One second Team Rocket's Pokémon had been frozen in ice, the battle apparently over…and the next second they were charging straight for her. They'd caught her off-guard and defenseless, and she'd simply reacted and tossed a Poké Ball out without even thinking about it. And in so doing she had doomed her dimwitted but beloved Psyduck to an awful and truly life-threatening fate.

Poisoned.

Slowly dying.

Pokémon centers no longer available to her.

And her choice…her only choice…had been to let her Psyduck fall into Team Rocket's hands.

She felt awful enough about it just because of that, for allowing Psyduck to be taken. Even if it really HAD been the only way to save her friend's life, the guilt that weighed on her for willingly handing her Pokémon over to people like Team Rocket was crushing enough. But then…then she'd stood by and watched as they took advantage of May's helpless state and stolen her Venusaur, too. She could have stopped them, she could have had the courage to stand up and protect her friend from losing a Pokémon too. But a tiny little threat against Psyduck, and she'd wilted, stood aside to watch and let Team Rocket make off with Venusaur unchallenged. And that made the guilt feel so much heavier on her heart.

Misty glanced off to one side, to where May currently sat. She had awoken from the effects of the Sleep Powder attack after a couple of hours, and then like Misty, she hadn't slept the rest of the night either. Somehow Misty had managed to force the story out when May asked what had happened, had demanded to know where her precious Pokémon was; and since then, May hadn't spoken a word to her, sitting at the other end of the small clearing and staring blankly at the ground for the hours until daylight broke. She looked downright miserable, and Misty couldn't help but put the blame on herself. Venusaur and Psyduck were both gone, being put through who knew what kind of fate at the hands of Team Rocket. They were long gone, with no chance of following their trail. And she had let it happen. She wouldn't blame May if the girl hated her now. She'd deserve it.

Slowly, Misty got to her feet, stretching out cramped muscles and heaving a quiet sigh. The sun was coming up, and that meant it was time to get moving. She was nearly to Pewter City now; if she hurried, there was a chance she could get through Viridian Forest before the next night came, and find Ash in Pallet Town shortly after. She wasn't quite sure why she wanted to find him so badly, but something inside told her that things would start going better if she could…somehow.

First, however, she hesitantly approached May, who hadn't seemed to react to her motions at all, and cleared her throat.

"…I'm…going to get moving," Misty informed her. "I'm heading toward Pallet Town to look for Ash, if…you want to come with me. Maybe…once we find him, things will start making more sense."

May didn't say anything at first, instead just nodding her head after a few seconds and wordlessly standing up to follow her. The two girls plowed ahead through the forest, their footsteps and the rustle of the foliage the only noise as they walked. It was a bit unnerving to Misty, who was so used to travelling with pleasant, cheerful conversation among her travel-mates. May looked somewhat less miserable now, but Misty was sure that the girl was still furious at her for what had happened. And after an hour of relative silence, Misty took a breath and dared to break it, if for no other reason than to try to make amends for her mistake.

"…May, I--"

"It's okay, Misty."

Misty stopped short in surprise, not expecting that from the other girl. "…What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know what you were going to say, and…you don't have to apologize," May clarified, her tone soft but sure. "There was nothing you could have done without putting Psyduck in even worse danger."

"…But I--"

"I said it's okay," May stopped her again. "…Team Rocket is to blame, not you. Getting upset over who's to blame won't change anything, anyway…"

"I understand, May…but I'm still sorry…I put us in that situation in the first place…I got Psyduck and Venusaur captured…"

"No you didn't, Misty…Team Rocket did."

"But--"

"Misty, really, you don't have to feel bad…" May insisted, and for the first time since the battle she smiled, as though a weight was being lifted off her own heart by finally talking about it. "You didn't do anything wrong. We wouldn't have been in that situation at all if Team Rocket hadn't created it."

Misty nodded her tentative agreement after a moment. "Yeah…but…"

"No buts," May stopped her. "Your Psyduck is going to be okay, you've gotta believe that. Team Rocket isn't completely heartless, they won't just let a Pokémon die."

"I hope not," Misty murmured worriedly.

"And I'll tell you something else, too. They're not gonna get away with it either."

"They're not…?"

"No way. We'll find them again, and when we do…"

"But May, they're long gone…"

"I don't care. We'll run into them again just like we always do, and next time, they're gonna pay, and we're gonna get our Pokémon back!"

"…Yeah….yeah, you're right May," Misty agreed finally smiling herself. "We WILL get them back. Team Rocket's never gotten away with their schemes before, and they won't this time either."

"Exactly!" May said with a smile and a quick pump of her fist. "Now c'mon, we've got a friend to find."

"Right," Misty said with a nod and facing forward. "Look, the edge of the forest is just up ahead…from there we should be able to see--"

Right at that moment, just as predicted, the tree line ended, letting them see out beyond the forest, and upon seeing the sight beyond, Misty froze with a gasp. "…Pewter…"

At the edge of the forest was a softly sloped hill, leading down from the higher elevations of Mount Moon, which gave them a great view of the city below. But the view was far from pleasant. The entire town looked to be in chaos. Windows were broken, Pokémon battled each other with frightening ferocity at the orders of not just trainers, but dozens of uniformed men and women dressed in all black with a logo on their arms depicting a Poké Ball in a cage. And right in the center of it all…

"Oh my god," May whispered. That building…"

"Oh no…" Misty murmured, fear hitting her. "That…that's Brock's Gym…"

Indeed, in the center of the chaos stood the Pewter City Pokémon Gym. A landmark of the town. A symbol of the culture of Pokémon. And to the family of a dear friend, home.

And it was engulfed in flames.

Author's notes (Cid): Many apologies for the lengthy hiatus...motivation evaporated for a while. Hope to get back on track here with NaNo approaching.

Comments and critiques welcomed and appreciated, as always.