"Katsu?!"
There he was, red jacket and messy black hair and all. Mightyena, Grovyle and Hitmonlee stood behind him, their eyes glazed over and emotionless as they hissed and growled at me. Katsu chuckled, slowly reaching down and lifting the Master Ball we had found off of his belt. "Wasn't it obvious, Keiko? Before Grovyle and Hitmonlee, all I had were dark-types. Kind of a tip-off, wasn't it? It should have been obvious, but I see you were much dimmer than I had expected..."
"But Katsu... why? Why did you trick me?" I stuttered, my eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"I can't believe you've forgotten already, you fool..." He responded, his smirk fading into a frown. "You were the 'chosen one', didn't Shuppet explain this to you?" Mightyena took a step towards me, baring his teeth. Katsu gently shoved him away as he continued. "We cannot risk to be stopped again... Our goal is never ending. Team Rocket does not give up, Keiko." A smirk came across his face as he held the Master Ball in front of him, eyeing Articuno. "You see, we've been after these three birds for years now... The power we have gained just by having one of them..."
"You already have one?" I exclaimed. I shuffled back until I hit the icy walls of the cavern, trying to avoid Mightyena as much as possible. "But how...?"
Katsu chuckled as he reached into his belt again, this time grabbing an Ultra Ball. He pressed the tiny button, and a beam of light set a bird-like Pokemon free from it's cage. It slowly took form of a bright yellow bird, with wings of flame. It cawed angrily at Articuno, who was now scraping the ice floors with her talons. "Moltres was an easy catch," He replied. "And after a while of training, he has become just like us... However, I think we've been stalling long enough." Katsu added, and snapped his fingers. "Moltres, Mightyena, Grovyle and Hitmonlee - kill them all except for the bird."
Mightyena let out an angered roar, charging directly at me and baring his sharp fangs. I screamed and slipped across the ice as he sprinted after me, snapping at my heels. Rune was fighting off Hitmonlee and Grovyle, while Moltres and Articuno dueled in the skies.
Blasts of fire and ice were being shot everywhere, every zap either melting the walls or adding another chunk of ice to them. I paused for a second to watch the battle, but a second was all he needed... Before I knew it, I was tackled to the ground, but not by Mightyena - by Katsu.
He didn't say or do anything, just looked into my eyes as I shook with fear. His usual amber eyes were now a bright, glowing yellow. I struggled to lift myself up, but his grip was unusually tight, and he was digging his fingernails into my arms. I winced as he leaned closer, and an eerily familiar tune filled the air...
It was the same song I had heard when I fainted, and had found the forget-me-nots. My ears were ringing, and my chest started to sting intensley. My head was light, the room was spinning... and the world went black.
-----
"Oh, my, my, my... Are you okay, child?"
My eyelids flittered open, sending my vision into focus and revealing an old woman looking down at me. A strangley familiar one, at that... Wait... could it be...?
"Get up, get up." She continued, grabbing my arm and pulling me up. She sat me down in a chair and brought over a cup of tea. "So you've come back, I see? What is your business here this time?"
"Come back...? Wait... you... You're the old woman who gave me those flowers, aren't you?!" I exclaimed, suddenly fuming with rage. "You! You killed my Pokemon! You did all this!"
She chuckled and rested her hand on my shoulder before sitting down in a chair across from mine. "A little moody, I see?" The old woman brought the cup to her lips, sipping the tea before setting it down again. "Indeed I gave you those flowers, young one, but I was not the cause of your Pokemon's death. Never would I kill such amazing creatures." She paused for a moment, thinking deeply. She then drooped her head. "Those flowers were meant to help you, Keiko. You need to stop Team Rocket before they get to powerful."
I looked away, crossing my arms and furrowing my brow. "Why should I? Team Rocket is just a joke. They've never succeeded."
"They will." she replied quietly. "They're planning on taking over, one region at a time. And they've come quite far, Keiko... Your hometown has already been overthrown, along with some of the others."
"Pa... Pallet Town was taken over...?" I replied, suddenly dropping my cup causing it to shatter on the floor. "Mom..." I whispered sadly, looking down at the broken pieces of the cup.
"It's getting worse as we speak, Keiko... You need to stop them, you see? Your Pokemon need you. Katsu needs you..."
"Katsu?!" I shouted back, jumping out of the chair and stomping my feet on the ground. "That good for nothing liar doesn't need my help at all!"
"He does, Keiko... That fellow you were confronted by was not Katsu... It was, in a sense, however. You need to help him." She looked away sadly, but quickly locked eyes with me again with a serious look on her face. "Keiko, right now I just need you to wake up... Wake up, Keiko."
"Wake up...? I'm not asleep, I'm just... I..."
Wake UP! We need to get you out of here!
"Wha... Whozzat..." I snapped my eyes open, and Rune was shaking me frantically while he dodged bites and slashes aimed at him. "Rune! What's going on!" I felt my forehead and felt the cold, stickiness of blood drenching it.
Oh, thank god, Keiko, you're alright... But we need to leave! Katsu and his Pokemon aren't giving up! He paused for a moment, closing his eyes as tears began to well up in them. Keiko, they... They've taken Amaya.
"What...?" I replied slowly, my eyes widening with fear.
They've taken her... her life. I figured that since she was strong as me, she could help us win, and I managed to get her Pokeball, but... He looked away, tears pouring down his face like a river. When I released her, she was already at her last breaths... She's gone, Keiko.
I didn't say a word. I didn't cry, I didn't scream, and I didn't curse. I slowly stood up emotionlessly, quietly making my way to Katsu as Rune looked at me in confusion. Katsu was just smiling sadistically when I came face-to-face with him. "Miss your little Umbreon, do you? It's a shame she's gone, she was awfully pretty..."
Before he could finish taunting me, I lunged at him, wrapping my hands tightly around his throat as he screamed, attempting to wrap his hands around mine. Rune rushed over, wide-eyed, but didn't try and stop me. Without a word, he let out a blast of Psychic energy at Katsu - and yet, Katsu was uneffected. Wait... Psychic doesn't effect dark types, and... Shuppet... Katsu... Overshadowing... Shapeshifting...
"SHUPPET!!"
Katsu laughed weakly as his eyes slowly became glazed over, his arms falling limp. "You've found me out, Keiko... Silly human. It's a shame the boy shall be going soon enough. As long as he has my energy, he'll be fine, but the second I leave his body..." Katsu's eyes slowly faded from bright yellow to amber, a lifeless stare in them as he tried to breath. I let go immediately as he started to cough and gasp for air.
"Katsu..." I whispered, grabbing his shoulders with worry. "Katsu, I... I'm sorry. Just hold on, okay? Hold on, for me..."
He smiled weakly at me, before silently shutting his eyes, his face turning paler by the second. "I'm sorry, Keiko..." Katsu whispered, and then all was silent. He still had a soft grip on my arm, but he was going quickly. The fighting stopped, and everyone only watched.
"No... God, no... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO!" I screamed, shaking his body and pounding his chest. "Wake up, Katsu! WAKE THE UP!" The tears were pouring down my face like a waterfall as I tried desperately to wake him up. Shuppet just smiled when I looked at him, his body slowly fading away until all that remained were his eyes. "I'll get you yet, Keiko..." He whispered, and when he closed his eyes, he had disapeared completely.
I hung my head, tightly holding on to Katsu's shoulders. "Please, Katsu. Don't go yet, we need you. I need you. I can't make it through this journey without you..." I lifted him into a sitting position and wrapped my arms around him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. "Please... please..."
Suddenly, I spun around, facing Articuno as an idea popped into my head. "Articuno... please help him. Please, I... I can't lose him yet... He's my best friend." I pleaded, tears rolling down my face. Articuno cocked her head at first, contemplating my questions. She shut her eyes as she flew down from her perch and next to us, making a low trilling noise in her throat. It was only a few minutes before Katsu's eyes slowly opened, locking with mine as I smiled deleriously with happiness.
"Keiko...?"
I melted at the sound of his name, and without hesitation squeezed him in a tight hug, sobbing into his shoulder. I let go when he started to gasp for breath, and let him re-adjust himself on the icy floors. "Ugh... What happened...?" He muttered, rubbing his neck and wincing. I explained everything to him. He simply hung his head, sighing a mixture of disapointment and sadness. "Shuppet... and I trusted him for so long, too..."
I smiled at him, understanding. "I know what you mean, Katsu. It's not your fault... He tricked you again and again, but it doesn't mean it was your fault." Katsu nodded, smiling a bit. I turned to the bird of ice who was smiling softly, standing next to us. "And Articuno... thank you. Without you I think that... well, we could've all been dead by now." I stroked her on the head, and she purred gently in approval.
"Rune..." I whispered, and he turned to me, already knowing what I needed him to do. "Teleport us to the harbor. Our next stop is Cinnabar Island."
For one last time, I patted the bird on the head as all my Pokemon grouped with me and Katsu in a group, and in the blink of an eye, we were gone.
-----
"Attention, fine guests! In about a half hour we will be docking by the Cinnabar Motel. We hope you have enjoyed the cruise so far and thank you for using our services!"
The voice on the intercom quickly crackled away, leaving Rune, Sakura, Kasumi and I to gaze happily out on the front deck, awaiting the moment the dock would show up- Sakura especially. The rocking of the boat had really been getting to her stomach, and she seemed the most estatic when we finally reached the dock.
Katsu and I carried our backpacks off the boat, having nothing much else to carry. Mightyena continued to walk beside me at all times, determined to apologize somehow for attacking under Shuppet's control. No matter how many times I told him it was fine, he just shook his head quickly and gave me a lick on the hand.
"Let's get to a Pokecenter." I said first. "All those battles on the ship seemed to tire everyone out."
Katsu nodded in agreement, and without stopping anywhere else we went to a center and healed up our Pokemon. So far things seemed to be going normal, but I knew they wouldn't stay that way for long. It never did, after all.
We made a camp just outside of the city that night. The sky was clear, and stars were twinkling brightly in the sky as I sat down with Rune. Katsu fell asleep almost instantly, using Mightyena as a pillow.
I wearily gazed up at the bright stars twinkling in the night sky, thin wisps of cloud racing across them. I smiled warmly as Rune and I enjoyed a well-deserved moment of peace, something we hadn't had for what seemed like forever. And though I knew it wouldn't last very long, I cherished it. Because I didn't need any proof to know that the ride was going to get a whole lot bumpier.