Chapter 6: Joining Team Rocket

Vivi briefly explained to Aiden her whole story after he had left her. She told him about the booth set up in the city and about the strangers who had promised her accelerated Pokémon training. Upon Aiden's questioning, Vivi recalled every detail she could remember for him from the embroidered lettering to the description of the girl running the phony booth.

"Sounds like the one running the booth was my ex-. But now that she's gone, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where your Pokémon are." Aiden looked around the rooftop almost half-expecting to see Vivi's missing Pokémon come out of nowhere to be reunited with their trainer. But those types of things rarely ever happen in real life. Aiden sighed wishing that that would have been the case here and that they'd have a happy ending. Now what? My only leads to finding her Pokémon are now far away from here thanks to my Fire Blast attack… His thought ended suddenly when another thought came crashing into it. Wait… if they took her Pokémon in Saffron, then why come out here to Celadon?

"What is it?" Vivi asked.

"I'm a bit confused by their tactics. If they took your Pokémon from you in Saffron then why did they come out here to Celadon? Hmm…" Aiden began to process other possible explanations for their behavior in his mind. They used to have a base of operations here in Celadon, but that was discovered some time back. And in Saffron, they had taken over the Silph Co. building, but that also was resolved. So why? Could they be so foolish as to reclaim their base here? Maybe. But they were running a phony booth then they must have a base somewhere close. "Vivi… are you sure that there were just the two that you saw? The man you ran into and the girl at the booth?"

"Yes. The girl was running the booth and the other man was walking away from her."

"About this man who bumped you…"

"Oh! Him? Well, the only thing I can remember is that he bumped me real hard. Seemed like he was in a hurry. And when I turned around, he was carrying a large bag and had the jacket that had the letters…"

"Wait, what?" Aiden cut her off. "He had a bag? You didn't tell me that earlier!"

"I, uh, didn't think it mattered," she replied sheepishly.

"Which direction was he headed?"

"Hmmm…" She then paused trying to recall more details of her encounter at the booth. "I don't remember."

Ugh! Really? Come on! That would've helped me out a whole lot! Aiden stopped and calmed himself trying to keep himself under control. But ever since that heated battle, he was on edge still feeling the rush of emotions and adrenaline coursing through his body. And on top of that, it was with his ex- nonetheless! And she had told him that she didn't care about what he did or what happened to him! Of course he would be on edge! "Can't you remember anything else about the booth? Any small detail?"

"Well, come to think of it, the girl at the booth handed the box that had my Pokémon back behind the curtain to somebody."

Aiden sucked in his lips and bit his tongue. Wow! Now you remember that! He took a deep breath. Calm down. Feeling that he was calm enough, Aiden began to think things through. "Well obviously, she wasn't alone. Not only here in Celadon on the roof, but also at the booth…"

Then it suddenly hit Aiden. Of course! Why didn't I see it earlier? It's so blatantly obvious! It was in front of me this entire time, even during the battle! But that's what makes it so clever!

"Come on!"

"Huh? What? Where?" Vivi asked confused.

"We need to leave now! Before it's too late!" Aiden started to recall all of his Pokémon except for one of them for which he had immediate need for. With it already late afternoon, it'll soon be dark and by then it may be too late.

"Why? What's going on? Do you know where they took my Pokémon?" Vivi asked with her hands in front of her in a hopeful prayer position.

"Perhaps…" Aiden said with a sneer. He then ran over to his black Charizard and effortlessly climbed onto its back as if he'd done this a thousand times. Aiden then reached his hand out to the girl. "Here, take my hand! It'll be faster on him!"

"But… I don't know where you're going… and… and…" Vivi trailed off as her eyes darted from him to the shiny black creature upon which he was seated. Just the mere sight of the dragon-like creature was frightening. The creature's glowing red eyes sent shivers down Vivian's spine. She slowly started to back away from the pair feeling fear begin to paralyze her body.

"Hey!" Aiden called out. "Hey!" he said a bit louder accompanied with snapping his fingers. Vivi was suddenly snapped from her trance and looked at the young man. "It's all right," he reassured with his soothing voice. "He may look scary on the inside but I assure you that he won't hurt you. Come on. We need to catch up to those who you're your Pokémon and it will be much faster if we take him," he said with a smile. And we'll be able to get out of town fast enough so that we're not recognized and your reputation is not marred. "Besides, you want to save your Pokémon from those poachers, right?"

Vivian took a huge breath and closed her eyes. She then slowly exhaled her fears (well most of them) and opened her eyes. "Yeah, you're right!" She took a few steps forward trying to suppress her overwhelming fears and reached for Aiden's hand. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and behind him. Almost instantly without him having to tell her, Vivian put her arms around his waist and gripped her hands together.

"Hey…" Aiden said hoarsely with his head turned slightly to her. "You can loosen your grip on me so that I can breathe."

"Ohh… sorry…" Vivian said loosening her fierce hold on his body.

"But do hold on to me!" Aiden then turned to his Pokémon and leaned down slightly to speak with it. "All right! Let's do this!" Charizard nodded and took a few running steps towards the edge before he crouched down low to leap off the edge. He leapt off the roof with such force that he cracked the rooftop where he had jumped. And with a mighty flap of his wings, they were airborne and moving at a considerably fast rate, so fast that the people below were barely able to see something black streak across the sky. Aiden whispered something into Charizard's ears and the creature seemed to nod in understanding. He then turned back to Vivian and said, "Hold on!"

As if they weren't moving fast enough, Charizard suddenly seemed to turn on the afterburners and their speed at least doubled, if not more. Now they were moving so fast that a thin trail of fire followed behind them. At such speeds, it became difficult to breathe. It felt as though you couldn't catch your breath. Vivian closed her eyes and leaned her head against Aiden's back to shield her face enough from the wind speed so that she could catch her breath. She felt breathless and lightheaded. Her grip around his body shifted up slightly and tightened. The wind whipped around her so fiercely that she couldn't even hear anything. I can't go on like this for much longer, she thought in agony. Just as the thought passed through her mind, their speed slowed and she could suddenly breathe much easier.

"Sorry 'bout that," Aiden said over his shoulder. "We needed to get here fast."

"It's okay. Just where…" Vivian began to ask but stopped when she opened her eyes. She saw off to her right a great expanse of water. She looked to her right and saw that they were now following the coastline.

"We're headed to Vermillion City. So the water you see on the right is the Vermillion Bay." Aiden then motioned his Charizard to descend a bit lower. "You see, Team Rocket members almost exclusively use Normal-, Poison-, or Fighting-types. So that's why I didn't think much into my ex-'s Clefairy 'cuz it's a Normal-type. But, when the other three emerged, I was so caught off guard that it didn't even register to me that their Pokémon didn't fit those types."

"So…?" Vivian asked still not seeing the significance. So they had other types of Pokémon, big deal. She had a variety of Pokémon and so did he. What did it matter the types of their Pokémon.

"So, that means that Sven, Jon, and that Randy kid were either helping of their own accord or they were actually members of Team Rocket," Aiden explained further as he directed his Charizard to descend a bit lower.

"I still don't see your point." Vivian was so confused. Maybe he's thinking into this too much.

"That Randy kid was one of the ones who were picking on you earlier. You remember what that group said to us before they left?"

"Ummm… something bout you'll pay for messing with members of Team Rocket?"

"Exactly! So Randy must be a Team Rocket grunt. That means that the other two must also have a connection to Team Rocket. And out of the three of them, there were two water types."

"Aiden, I still don't see how that matters."

"I was confused for a while wondering why if their scam was based in Saffron, why would they take you to Celadon? Why would they go so far out of their way? Because they wanted to lure me, lure us out of their way. Lure me away from their base of operations. I must admit, they almost had me thrown."

"But where's their base?" Vivian asked feeling the tingle of anticipation.

"What city around here is known largely on its water-based industry?" Even before the words escaped his mouth, Vivian knew what city he spoke of. "Vermillion! See, I've heard of members of Team Rocket who were given specific tasks requiring them to use Pokémon types other than the Normal-, Poison-, or Fighting-types typical of other members. And the only city close that would fit them using water types would be Vermillion." Just as he named the city, a few of the taller buildings of the city appeared over the horizon.

"Ohhh… It makes sense now… kinda…" Vivian said.

"Yeah. But we can't get too close. Unfortunately, we'll have to walk for a bit so that way we're not spotted. It is getting late and a flaming tail is easy to spot at night," Aiden pointed out. "Charizard, put us down here."

The creature dutifully obeyed landing on the ground with grace and silent elegance. Both trainers jumped off of Charizard's back and Aiden reached for his Pokéball. He gently rubbed and scratched Charizard's neck.

"Thanks. You did great. Take a rest. I may need your strength later." With that, a red laser light extended from Aiden's Pokéball, engulfing the shiny black flame lizard, and drawing it back into the small sphere. Aiden looked at Vivian and nodded. "Let's go find your Pokémon!"

Darkness had already settled into the city as the Aiden and Vivian slinked into the city from the west side. The pair crouched behind the building and slowly moved their way further into the city. They had made their way to the western side of a building near the docks. Aiden peered around the corner towards the docks and quickly retracted his head. He then turned to Vivian and put his fingers to his lips. Aiden then slowly peered around the corner again. The docks were filled with at least a dozen grunts all of them wearing a shirt with a red R.

That's a lot of grunts. Let's see, one, two, three… Aiden said mentally. There's at least 8 of them. And if each one has 6 Pokémon, that makes… about 48 Pokémon. Against my 6 Pokémon, the odds are 8 to 1 in their favor. Hmm… that might be a problem. Besides… Aiden looked back towards Vivian. I'll have to protect her in the process. Aiden turned and motioned for her to follow. He poked his head out the other side and gasped. Two more of them were headed right in their direction!

Now what? Aiden thought frantically. Calm down… think. Aiden crouched low to the ground and Vivian followed his lead wordlessly. He turned her direction noticing that her hands were trembling immensely and her breathing was becoming more intense. Aiden could now hear the shuffle of feet as the two Rocket members drew closer. He slowly reached for a Pokéball and unclipped it from his belt silently. However, he hesitated. If he summoned his Pokémon, he would lose his element of surprise due to the noise and flash. But if he didn't do anything, then they would surely be discovered. Aiden felt his pulse begin to race and sweat bead up on his forehead. He swallowed hard and then froze sure that they must have heard that. What do I do?

Then if by an answer to prayer, the pair started to fiddle with the door to get inside. Apparently the guy was having trouble trying to get into the building 'cuz Aiden heard a female voice scolding him.

"Give it here!"

A second later, an audible click sounded and both lock and chain fell off.

"See! Wasn't that hard!"

"Come on! Gimme a break. I'm tired and it's late," the guy complained.

"Ohh, stop your whining. You're getting paid, right? Just help me get this door open," the girl said exasperated.

The moment they started to push the door open, it started to screech. That was just what Aiden had hoped for. Aiden motioned for Vivian to back up. He then lowered his Pokéball low to the ground and it opened with a familiar pop and flash. Emerging from the ball was a sparkling blue… mist. Aiden then made hand signs at the funny blue mist.

What is he doing? Vivian wondered. And is that a Pokémon or what?

The door stopped squeaking and the Rocket members walked inside the building still talking amongst each other. Or more like arguing. Aiden held his hand up in front of the mist for a second and listened. Then he pointed outward and the mist floated around him and around the corner. A moment later, Aiden and Vivian heard two thuds inside the building.

"Let's go," Aiden whispered to Vivian grabbing her hand. The pair snuck around the corner and into the building. Vivian tried to pull back immediately realizing that the Rockets grunts were inside. But Aiden stopped her and pointed to the floor. Lying on the floor were the two bodies of the grunts, one male and one female. Both of them appeared to be sleeping. Aiden let Vivian go and dashed towards the male.

"What you do to them?" Vivian asked her eyes widening.

"I knocked them out. Or rather he did," Aiden said.

Vivian looked in his direction and suddenly the blue mist formed in front of her and began to collect and take shape. Then suddenly, the dark silhouette opened its eyes causing Vivian to squeal.

In an instant, a hand covered her mouth and her squeal was silenced. "Shhh…" Aiden hushed in her ears and looked around to make sure no one heard her and come running. "This is my ghost partner Haunter. He was able to use his Hypnosis attack to put these two asleep."

Vivian calmed herself and felt Aiden release his hold on her. "Ohh… Gotcha…"

"Come on! I need you to put on her clothes," Aiden said as he walked over to the unconscious male grunt.

"What?" Vivian exclaimed softly. "Are you serious?" Her question didn't really need an answer because Aiden was already in the process of taking off the male grunt's shirt.

Aiden turned to her, smiled, and produced two Rocket member i.d. cards. "For the next few moments, we're gonna be members of Team Rocket! Welcome aboard Team Rocket!"