56: Pikachu vs. Giovanni
"Pika?" Pikachu called out in surprise as the back of the truck was loudly sealed, darkening the area around while trapping Pikachu and its opponent inside. It was then thrown backward, several pokeballs spilling from inside the boxes, otherwise rolling around as the truck started to move. "Pikachu!" Pikachu called out its displeasure. It was tossed around several more times as the vehicle turned, stopped and started suddenly erratically. Eventually, their ride seemed to stabilize.
Pikachu crawled over to the other pokemon outside its pokeball. "Pikachu?" it questioned if Lickitung was okay. Though as surprised as Pikachu at being locked in the back of this vehicle and bumped around with its movements, the other pokemon appeared fine in the moment. "Pika?" Would they be fine where they were going?
"Licki," Lickitung called, emanating calm and a total lack of worry.
"Pika..." Though still worried, even frightened in their current dark location, Pikachu decided to also try and stay calm for the moment. It curled up next to Lickitung, even taking a brief nap before the ride got too bumpy.
Eventually, the vehicle came to a stop. At first, things seemed quiet, but a little while after that, the door in front of them was loudly opened, assaulting them with light and the loud voices of Team Rocket members. There were various conversations going on, and cheers when they saw what was in the truck. "We really did it, huh?" one said.
"Yeah! What about the strays?" another asked.
"That lickitung is Miss Jessie's," Mondo informed. "The pikachu is another powerful new capture!"
"Is a little pikachu that powerful?"
"All of these pokemon have to be powerful, huh? Let's take a look."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called out aggressively as a man tried to pick it up. "Pika!" it warned them as it hopped back.
"This one's got an attitude problem, huh? Let's teach it a lesson. Go, Chansey!" The man released another large, normal type pokemon.
"Chansey!" the egg-shaped pokemon called as it appeared.
"Chansey, use double slap!" the rocket ordered.
"Chansey!" The rocket pokemon hopped forward, hitting Pikachu multiple times, calling out each time it did so.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called out in surprise. "Pika, CHUU!" it called as released the powerful thunderbolt attack, surrounding its opponent with the bright effect.
"Chansey!" the other pokemon called in surprise, not used to such a powerful special attack.
"That won't work!" the rocket said. "Chansey, double slap!"
Pikachu rushed forward with a quick attack before its opponent could repeat the previous repetitive technique. Chansey called out before it fell to the ground, rolling around before the rocket returned it to its pokeball. "How the hell did it manage a two-hit KO against my chansey?" the miffed agent asked.
"Are we gonna have to work together on this one?" another rocket said, taking out another pokeball.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called. It wouldn't be bullied like this. Pikachu decided not to stick around for the rocket pokemon to team up on it. Instead, it dashed around the humans' feet, making its way outside the warehouse area and into the extended building.
"How cute!" a woman in a Team Rocket uniform exclaimed, reaching down to pet it, but Pikachu kept running, hearing its pursuers behind it. How could it get out? The door to the warehouse had been open to the outside, but Pikachu had come inside in its panic. Going back, it would probably run into the antagonistic group. Pikachu hid under a desk as it found itself alone. A woman eventually sat down, and voices, likely of the group it had been avoiding, could be heard. The woman shouted out in surprise as she accidentally hit Pikachu with her foot.
"Is it there?" another agent asked.
Pikachu ran out, knocking over the trash pail. As an agent approached, Pikachu unleashed its thunderbolt attack, aiming for the power outlet. The lights flickered before going out, along with the rest of the power in the building. Various agents swore and otherwise shouted at the electric type pokemon. Pikachu tried to hop out of sight, but soon found itself surrounded. "Pikachu..." it lamented, tears in its eyes.
"What's going on here?" Though surrounded by humans, Pikachu recognized the sound of the voice of the man Ash had spoken to earlier that day. "Didn't I have you all inventorying the newly acquired pokemon?"
"Sorry, boss," one of Pikachu's pursuers apologized, guiltily scrunching up his face. "We had a stray."
"Don't antagonize the new acquisitions," the important man rebuked.
Pikachu relaxed somewhat, but not completely. "Sorry, it's just running wild," another grunt said.
The humans backed away from Pikachu, the man they all kowtowed to coming into sight. He glanced briefly at Pikachu before looking toward the door. "Where is Meowth?"
"We'll find it."
Pikachu recognized the woman's voice easily, and immediately moved toward it. "Pi pikachu!" it called before hopping in Jessie's arms.
James was next to her. "Oh, look! It's Pikachu!" he happily exclaimed.
"It is! We've finally got the best prize of a pokemon," Jessie said as she hugged it.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called as it hugged her back. Being thrown into this unfamiliar building was frightening, so the familiar faces were very welcome. These two humans valued Pikachu, and weren't about to bully it like the others had. "Pikachu..." Pikachu called in both relief and the remaining upset.
"There, there," James consoled. "Did you not know what to do in a new place? We'll make sure everything's fine now," he assured.
"What were you thinking, bullying this one?" The woman Pikachu had surprised walked over, also petting the tiny, frightened pokemon.
"It looks cute now, but it's a terror! Beat my pokemon."
"Of course it defeated you," Jessie said calmly, patting the pokemon's head. "Pikachu can defeat any number of amateurs. It's really special."
"It also cut off the power! That thing's destructive!"
"You two take care of it for now," Giovanni said, nodding to Jessie and James.
Meowth came running in as its human partners agreed. "Pikachu!" the feline pokemon exclaimed. "One of my best buddies in the whole world is finally here at headquarters to join us!"
Meowth and Pikachu hadn't really acted like the best of friends in the past, and Pikachu wasn't exactly there on its own to join up. The captured pokemon wasn't even sure it wasn't to be there for too long. Even so, Pikachu didn't respond, instead staying in Jessie's arms, ears down.
"Hey, perk up!" Meowth encouraged. "A pokemon like you is gonna get the recognition it deserves around here. That's the kind of place this is. Why don't I give you a tour? That's fine, right boss?" Meowth turned to the important person in the room.
"Yes, go ahead," the man responded before continuing to talk to the others.
Pikachu hesitantly hopped down, looking up at the one Meowth called 'boss'. "Pikapi?" it questioned. Was this the human Meowth always talked about, the kind one that valued it like a trainer when no other human would?
"This is the guy," Meowth confirmed with a grin. "He's the boss of Team Rocket, of everyone here! He's set up a really nice place here."
"Pi pikachu?" Pikachu relaxed some, recalling that Team Rocket acquired lots of pokemon that were otherwise abandoned or mistreated by their trainers. Despite how Misty disparaged the group, this couldn't be too bad a place to be, considering that. Despite the fact they broke human laws and took pokemon away from their established trainers, pokemon here were absolutely valued and taken care of in this organization, as evidenced by how happy Jessie and James's pokemon were, along with Meowth personally. Team Rocket didn't follow the rules of the human world, but Pikachu itself often didn't either.
Even so, Pikachu didn't want to stay. The other pokemon they'd just taken likely didn't want to either. Flint and Misty's pokemon were fiercely loyal. AJ's sandslash thought its trainer was the best. Raichu had already been treated like royalty by Lt. Surge and his assistants and it loved both its trainer and the constant battles. Sabrina's pokemon expressed adoration of her. Erika's also seemed attached, and got to live in a lovely greenhouse, optimized for their type. It was pleasant to pokemon of any type, even better since it had been rebuilt. Koga's had expressed to Pikachu how fun it was to live with the ninja, and how powerful they'd been able to become with his assistance. If he'd brought them, Blaine's had grown loyal to him in a world before pokeballs, staying by his side without the need for that container. Maybe there was someone that had been at that event with a pokemon that should be taken away, but based on those Pikachu knew, taking them away was wrong.
They wanted to be with their current trainers, and so did Pikachu. It had grown attached to Ash and his other pokemon friends. Traveling and visiting various others over the past years throughout Kanto had been enjoyable. No matter how great Team Rocket was, that was who Pikachu belonged with. Ash already valued Pikachu, no need for Team Rocket at all. Even so, it was stuck there at the moment, and swarmed when it tried to rebel. Just staying with Meowth and its human friends at the moment was all it could do.
Meowth took a step forward, waving a paw to get Pikachu to follow it. "Come on, pal," it said, then spoke to the wary humans in front of it. "You all leave this guy alone! Pikachu's a new member of Team Rocket, and way more important than any of you."
The humans backed away, acting like they didn't notice the pokemon at all. Perhaps using human language could be helpful at times. Pikachu briefly looked back at Jessie and James, who were paying attention to their boss, before following Meowth down the hall.
"This is the lobby!" Meowth announced, extending its paws. As it did, the lights flickered back on. "All of us Team Rocket members come in through those glass doors, our best and brightest, plus some not so bright too." Meowth grinned and chuckled at its own joke.
"Would that include you?" a nearby woman asked.
"Ha ha, sure," Meowth said, walking past her and down a hall. Pikachu considered going out the front door, but it could only see signs of wilderness outside, so instead stuck with Meowth. As Meowth hopped up to see in a window, Pikachu was able to hang onto a ledge itself, seeing the empty indoor battle arena. "You see it?" Meowth said. "This is one of our many areas to battle. You can go inside and watch too. There's nobody there now, but you can see the best pokemon battles here! The boss himself trains here sometimes, a real treat to see. And here..." Meowth led Pikachu to the next set of windows, this one with a small table underneath that they could both jump on. "This is where the boss stores some of his pokemon when not in use!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed at the sight of the large bird-like pokemon. Even with all the places it had been by then, it had never seen pokemon like them.
"Yeah, the boss and some of his agents have all kinds of rare pokemon. You'll get to see them, even battle them if you want. I'd like to see how you do against these guys." Meowth nodded toward the perched pokemon.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed. Maybe it could win, but there was a definite power emanating from this group that went far beyond the average pokemon, so possibly not.
"Come on." Meowth jumped down, leading Pikachu further down the hall, this time going toward an exit to the building. "Down that way is where the boss stores his humans when not using them. I stay there too most of the time. You can stay with me and Jessie and James over there until we find out what else the boss wants," it explained before opening the outside door.
As suspected, there was wilderness outside. Pikachu looked up at the building they were in. It was quite tall, and fancy despite the seeming backwoods location. Going around the corner, a variety of metallic buildings came into view. "Pikachu?" Pikachu questioned. Were they in a populated area after all?
"There's nobody else around, that's why this is our secret base," Meowth explained. "All of this is Team Rocket's. There's all kinds of goodies in storage around here. Even pokemon treats. I'd have Mondo get us some, but he's probably busy with everything after today's mission."
"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu ran through the buildings, eventually meeting up with the mentioned human. "Pikachu!" it called at Mondo.
"Come on, Pikachu, I told you he's busy," Meowth said.
"Pikachu wanted to see me?" Mondo asked, putting down a box and staring curiously at the small pokemon.
"It just wants food," Meowth said.
Mondo grinned. "Just let me put this all away, then I'll take an early break," he said.
"You don't have to bother if it's keeping you from doing things for the boss," Meowth said.
"It's no trouble at all, Master Meowth!" Mondo assured. "I was going to feed my ditto, anyway. I'll just get food for the rest of you too."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called happily as Mondo threw his pokeball, and the funny ditto appeared. "Pika!" the electric type complimented. Ditto looked like it had gotten more powerful than when they had battled on the deserted island.
"Ditto!" Ditto called happily. It had been training a lot with its loving trainer. "Ditto..." it then called sadly, its shape seeming to melt. It still didn't win battles most of the time.
"Pikachu," Pikachu consoled the blob-like pokemon. As pokemon, they could always get more powerful, and Ditto probably would, with the help of its dedicated trainer.
Mondo then brought food for all three pokemon. Pikachu laughed as it saw how Ditto managed to eat, sometimes picking up the food in an amusing way with only its mouth, at other times scooping it up with makeshift limbs. Seeing Pikachu watching, Ditto created a series of bumps on its body, getting the pellets to its mouth with a sort of self-made escalator. Pikachu laughed the most at that one. What a fun pokemon this copycat was.
After they'd finished, Mondo got to work while Pikachu and Meowth played a while longer with the transforming pokemon imitating them, and then identifying the correct pokemon. Meowth always gave itself away. Ditto could copy its human speech, but only right after the talking pokemon had spoken. Pikachu became very amused as Meowth gave itself away yet again, becoming frustrated as Pikachu won every time while Meowth itself repeatedly misidentified Ditto as Pikachu.
Eventually, the two of them waved good-bye to both Ditto and Mondo, then continued along. "There's more places to battle over there," Meowth explained, motioning toward the cleared area nearby. They went back into the main building. "This is where the humans get fed," Meowth exclaimed, spinning around the area where humans were indeed huddled around tables eating, some picking up food on trays from a centralized area. "The boss says I can eat here when I want, too. Maybe we'll get something later."
"Pikachu." Pikachu looked around. "Pi pikachu!" It dashed toward Jessie and James as it noticed them. "Pikachu," Pikachu greeted the pair as it hopped on the table.
"Hey guys, you done?" Meowth asked.
"For now," Jessie informed. "It's been a tiring day." Jessie sighed before taking another bite of her meal.
"But it's the success we've been preparing for, completed at last!" James pointed out.
"That's right!" Jessie almost spoke with her mouth full, quickly swallowing the food before she loudly made her next declaration. "And just the first of many. First it was those gym leaders, but soon everyone is going to learn of Team Rocket's authority!"
James cheered in agreement before turning to Meowth. "Maybe you should go talk to the new pokemon. Most of them weren't the most cooperative," James informed as he continued with his own meal.
"It's not like they can't understand you. Don't think listen they'll listen to one little me-owth any better," Meowth said.
"But you can actually have a conversation with them, unlike us," Jessie pointed out. "Maybe after that they'll realize the good situation they're in."
"I'll give it a try later. Is the boss mad?" Meowth asked.
"Right now, he's just pleased we managed to acquire them as planned," James said. "Of course I imagine it will aggravate him in the long run if he's not able to disperse these pokemon into the ranks, as was the original plan."
"Maybe they're all just tired from the battles and the ride," Jessie guessed.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.
"Did you get Lickitung?" Meowth repeated the question.
"Yeah, I got it. It was pretty worn out too, after getting stuffed in there and knocked around outside its pokeball." Jessie's eyes widened, focusing on the newly acquired pokemon present. "That would have been you too, wouldn't it?" she said to Pikachu. "Let me look you over."
Jessie dumped the remnants of her meal, putting the tray away before picking Pikachu up and taking it over to the human storage area. The small room was similar to where trainers stayed in pokemon centers, two bunk beds with a small area to walk otherwise. Jessie put Pikachu on a stand, then took out some pokemon medical supplies before looking Pikachu over carefully. She smoothed its fur back into place, having Pikachu copy certain movements before she sprayed it in several areas with the potion. "Alright, you should be fine now."
By the time she'd finished, James and Meowth had come in as well. Jessie decided to take care of the rest of their own pokemon as well. Pikachu called out happily as Jessie and James's other pokemon were released. They'd all evolved into various interesting pokemon species Pikachu hadn't encountered before. The electric type giggled back at one of Weezing's faces before realizing it had another, then making its own face back at the smaller before they both laughed together.
"Pika!" Pikachu then called out at the large snake-like pokemon, which was now large enough to curl around the top of the bunk and down again. "Pikachu!" it congratulated them both, then realized that Weepinbell had evolved into Victreebel. "Pika pika!" Pika called out happily as it looked up at the towering pokemon. It had seen the species before, but been curious about something. "Pikachu?" it called, turning to Arbok. Jessie's pokemon offered Pikachu a boost. Pikachu stood on the large pokemon's head as it lifted above the ground, letting Pikachu peer into the top of the large grass type.
Before it could look closer, Jessie interrupted. "Alright, it's your turn now," she said to Victreebel, and started to treat it.
James had curled up with some blankets and gone to sleep. Meowth pointed to a top bunk. "There's a free spot for you," it offered.
Pikachu glanced up, but though tired, didn't take the invitation. As Meowth fell asleep, Pikachu instead lay down on the bunk nearby the feline pokemon, eventually falling into slumber itself.
In the morning, Meowth's voice woke it up. "Hey, Pikachu, you're gonna come with me!" it informed.
Pikachu hadn't heard the rest of the conversation, but assumed with Meowth meant not with the humans. Jessie was already gone, and James went out the door as Pikachu opened its eyes. "Pika..." Pikachu yawned. It was rarely alert when woken up like this, but since it was in such an unfamiliar space, it picked itself up right away and went along with Meowth.
The rocket pokemon led Pikachu up the stairs to an area it hadn't yet shown. "Our scientists are all around here doing their work," Meowth explained. It chatted with some of them as they went along.
Pikachu became bored until it noted one with a charmeleon. The fire type pokemon's tail flame was larger than any charmeleon's, even any charizard's that Pikachu had seen before. Pikachu observed the show with interest. When the scientist noticed it watching, he gave the pokemon another scrap of food, which caused the flame to spark. "Pika pika!" Pikachu called in delight. Both the scientist and the pokemon appeared pleased at the attention.
Heavy footsteps silenced the jovial atmosphere in the room. The human scientists started to become involved in various pieces of equipment. The door swung open, and in walked Meowth's favorite human, a scowl on his face. "There you are, Meowth," the rocket boss groused, not sounding at all pleased to see the pokemon he valued so much.
"Hey, boss." Meowth jumped down from the table where it had been chatting with the other humans and walked over to its boss. "You need me for something, right?"
"Of course," Giovanni said. "Those pokemon we acquired yesterday are acting rebellious. You will come with me and make sure they start to obey."
"Well, it's not like they can't understand you. If they don't listen to you-" Meowth began the same explanation it had given Jessie and James the previous day.
"Shut up with your excuses," the rocket boss barked. Pikachu noted the scientists cringing as he yelled, the pokemon that were out ducking down, and of course, Meowth's own crestfallen face. An uncomfortable silence remained in the wake of the rocket boss's outburst.
"Hey," the talking pokemon eventually spoke with a smile. "I'll try my best. I always wanna try my best for you, boss!"
Meowth's beloved boss turned silently, neither praise nor thanks for the pokemon that had offered to help. Meowth followed him, and Pikachu followed Meowth. It hopped up on a table nearby one of the observation windows as it noted a familiar pokemon. "Pikachu!" it called out to the porygon.
"Yep, that's the pokemon from Cinnabar," Meowth informed.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily. Surely, this created pokemon was valued here, how nice. After being locked away in its pokeball, Zero was now out and able to move around. Someone had even attached a little Team Rocket flag to its blocky tail as an accessory.
The rocket boss stopped, scowling as he turned to observe the pokemon floating around the makeshift arena himself. "That Nothing pokemon has been completely useless," he said.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu questioned why the rocket boss was calling the porygon 'Nothing'.
"That's its nickname. You're the one that told me about it, right?" Meowth said.
"Pika..." Pikachu called quietly. It had told Meowth about the nickname, but apparently 'Zero' had turned into 'Nothing' with Meowth's translation. Did the pokemon feel bad for being called by such a nickname?
"An apt nickname for a worthless pokemon," the rocket boss declared. "It's been no use in research, and can't last in any kind of battle. Perhaps we'll do away with it soon."
"Pikachu?!" Pikachu gasped. Did he mean to kill it? Pikachu had been sure Zero would be treated better here than with its original trainer, but now its death was being implied so flippantly.
"Another worthless acquisition from your group, isn't that right, Meowth? Can't you all do anything that doesn't harm our mission?"
"Boss, we, uh..." Meowth stopped, its eyes pointing to the ground, for once lost for words.
"Perhaps with my direction you can redeem yourself. Let's go." The rocket boss continued down the hall.
"He's in a bad mood today, huh?" Meowth said. Though it tried to inject some cheerfulness into its words, Pikachu could still tell how shaken up its friend was. Meowth still dutifully followed its boss.
They ended up in a room with various pokemon behind a transparent barrier, some familiar, some not. Gloom and many others ran around, calling out incessantly. Magmar and Ninetales spat out small bursts of flame. Alakazam and Kadabra teleported around, apparently somehow blocked from leaving with that technique. Sandslash rolled into a ball, launching itself toward the door. Venomoth hung itself near the door, batting its wings and blocking the way as a lab assistant reached for the knob. Venonat tried to look like a bush right nearby the window, then pushed itself into its true form in an attempt to scare the humans outside. In the middle, Raichu stood, arms folded as it called to everyone to calm down, but be ready to attack. "Pikachu!" Pikachu called, informing them what had happened.
"Rai, raichu," the other electric type replied. They already knew, and wanted to leave.
"Pika!" Pikachu wanted to leave as well.
"Don't you start," Meowth muttered.
"Hurry up, Meowth," the rocket boss quipped. "Lots of agents have been waiting on pokemon of their own, so we need to get this group into shape as quickly as possible."
"Alright, alright." Meowth stepped toward the door, waving its paws. "Listen up, all of you. You're now part of the esteemed Team Rocket, the group that'll rule the world. That's right, you have the unique opportunity to be part of that elite. Count your blessings, and get ready to listen up to your new trainers!"
"Raichu," Raichu called, turning its head to the rocket pokemon. It would always refuse to cooperate with anyone from this group. Other pokemon called out in agreement, more adding lamentations of their discontent, along with various longings for their true trainers.
"Come on, just give it a chance. Team Rocket's really great and stuff... Please?" Meowth put its paws on the floor, begging. The other pokemon balked against the request with even stronger feelings this time.
"What's wrong, Meowth? Aren't they ready yet?" the rocket boss asked.
Meowth stood, pointing a claw forward at the pokemon near the center. "That raichu is the ring leader behind this rebellion! If you beat it up, maybe the rest of them'll get the idea!"
"That sounds simple enough." The rocket boss put a pokeball in a device built into the wall of the barrier. "Rhydon, get ready!" he shouted. "Earthquake!"
The area had apparently been specially prepared to accommodate most pokemon techniques, so everyone on their side of the barrier was unaffected, though on the other side, the various pokemon cried as they were shaken around, trying desperately to stay to the side to get away.
Raichu however, bounced up, mostly avoiding the effects of the attack, smirking. As a gym pokemon in an electric type gym, it regularly battled ground types, and not only that, defeated them. The rocket boss shouted more orders, but Raichu avoided all the attacks, all while chipping away at its opponent with various of its non-electric type attacks. As the rocket pokemon eventually fell, Raichu put its head up with pride. The various pokemon around jumped and cheered with their ally's victory.
After returning Rhydon to its pokeball, the rocket boss turned to the staff present. "Get them all back in their pokeballs," he ordered. They got right to the task. "Hurry up, and then leave when you're done!" As all of the gym leader's pokemon were returned, the humans emptied out. Eventually only Pikachu, Meowth, and Meowth's most beloved human were left.
"What were you thinking?" the man exploded once they were alone, stomping his feet and glaring down at Meowth. "What gave you such a stupid idea? Don't you know that defeat will only embolden those pokemon even more? They could all be useless to me now!"
"Sorry, boss, I just thought-"
"You didn't think at all. You're useless! What made me allow such a worthless pokemon to join my organization? You can't battle, you can't do anything."
Meowth didn't seem to be able to say anything in the silence after it was berated, staring up at its boss with a blank expression.
"And now, you can't even speak?" the rocket boss mused. "I thought you had at least that much going for you." The rocket boss picked up Meowth, opening the door and throwing it into the enclosed space. "Think about all the trouble you've caused me," he said. Without closing the door, he threw out a pokeball. "Go, Nidoking!" the human shouted. "Use double kick! And again!"
The larger pokemon used the repetitive attack over and over, kicking Meowth each time. Meowth called out in pain, falling to the ground. It used its paws to pick itself back up to two feet. "Boss... I'm sorry," Meowth muttered, heartbreak evident in its voice.
"Oh?" The rocket boss appeared unmoved. "Do you even know what you're sorry for?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm just sorry. I should've done more," Meowth said, barely holding back tears.
"Nidoking, double kick," the rocket boss coldly ordered. "Think on it some more!" he shouted, then continued as Meowth continued to get hit. "You've really been the most useless of any agent I've accepted into my fold. You're useless acting as a human, and you're even more useless as a pokemon! You have no worth at all!" As Nidoking finished its doubled attack, the rocket boss repeated. "Nidoking, double kick!"
The large pokemon hesitated, turning back to its trainer with a questioning pause. The reason why was obvious - Meowth lay on the ground, appearing to already be defeated. The fight had already gone far beyond the sport of battling. Any further with such a power difference and it even had the potential to become lethal.
"You heard me," the rocket boss said. "Those who can't show their worth should accept the consequences of their failures."
"I'm sorry!" Meowth repeated. Its breathing was shallow, little energy in its voice.
Tears fell from Pikachu's eyes as it observed the state of its friend, physically beaten as it tried to appeal to its human, only to be further assaulted with the man's words. "Pikachu!" it called out in Meowth's defence.
"Oh? Are you sad?" The rocket boss chuckled at Pikachu's upset. "Look Meowth, this one doesn't know what a waste you are. Why don't you inform it so it'll cheer up?"
"I'm just trying to help the boss," Meowth said in a daze. "I failed..."
"You're a failure. You really have no right to exist here. Nidoking-"
As the human Meowth had often spoken so highly of and worked so hard for spoke, Pikachu remembered the boy that had been its own first trainer. Pikachu really loved that boy, and had always tried its best to defend him and win battles so he would be happy. Even so, that boy had shouted at it, even trying to kick it or hit it while yelling about how worthless it was. This had not only been done to Pikachu, but also his other pokemon. When he thought he was a bad trainer, he'd instead try and assert to his pokemon that they were bad. He had almost killed Pikachu when it had been abandoned, and who knew how Golem and the rest of Pikachu's other former teammates were doing.
The man currently in front of Pikachu assaulting his loyal ally was no different than that insecure child, other than having influence over more pokemon, and also humans. He'd implied he'd kill Zero just for being of no use, even though it was a pokemon that could certainly become stronger, and now seemed to actually try to follow through with such a cruel action with the funny meowth with such unique abilities. Golem and Meowth demonstrated absolute loyalty to their humans. Nothing could make them question their human's worth, even if their humans were utterly worthless. Pikachu's former trainer never offered it useful input during battles, and this man hadn't taken care of Meowth at all, instead asking the talking pokemon to give more and more. Did he even want Meowth's life now?
He couldn't have it.
Pikachu held back its tears, letting anger take hold instead as it got ready for its next action. Golem couldn't tolerate Pikachu's idea to hurt its former trainer. Pikachu itself could never follow through, still loving that boy, as useless and harmful as he was. Similarly, Meowth would never harm its cruel trainer, even as much as the man deserved it.
But Pikachu could certainly follow through with that.
If any human deserved to die, it was this one.
"Pika..." Pikachu called, interrupting the rocket boss's order as it got its attack ready. A direct hit from 100,000 volts was more than enough to kill a human. The man now focused his gaze on the tiny electric type, not moving. Pikachu grinned. If he wasn't going to run, that just made him an easier target. "CHUU!" Pikachu called as it released the attack.
Something flipped like a switch inside Pikachu as it tried to attack the human. It had certainly intended to hit him, but as if on reflex, it had instead aimed the attack at the nidoking, which grimaced it was hit, otherwise simply grounding the attack. "Pika?" Pikachu called in confusion. Its breath quickened as it considered what might have happened. Did it have second thoughts? Though it had acted as if it did, Pikachu had really been completely decided in its intent to attack and most probably kill the rocket boss.
Both the human and the two pokemon stared at Pikachu for a moment in silence. Only Meowth's face appeared shocked. Though the human certainly was giving the electric type attention, his pointed gaze seemed only somewhat curious. Finally, the rocket boss spoke. "You were trying to hit me with that, weren't you?" he said calmly.
Meowth stood up and cried out in pain, as if that fact alone was worse than anything the rocket boss may have done. "What do you think you're doing?" the feline pokemon demanded as it managed to run toward the electric type. "Fury swipes!" it declared its attack, swiping its claws in Pikachu's face repeatedly. "How could you do that, Pikachu?" it demanded as it attacked. "To the boss! To anyone!" Pikachu cried out as it was hit, but made no attempt to defend itself against the gravely injured pokemon. Meowth turned to its boss once the attack had completed. "I'm here, boss! I won't let Pikachu hurt you!"
"It's fine, Meowth," the rocket boss said, narrowing his eyes at Pikachu.
"It's not fine! Attacking humans is not something pokemon should do at all!" Meowth declared. "Especially not you, boss."
"Looks like both you and this one don't understand something yet," the rocket boss said, chuckling as he returned Nidoking to its pokeball.
"Boss, maybe you should keep that one out," Meowth advised. "I'll do my best, but I'm dragging here, and this one is top tier!"
"That's not necessary." The human glared down coldly at Pikachu. "Intent alone won't let this one, or any of you, harm me."
"What do you mean?" Meowth asked.
"Pika..." Pikachu was similarly confused.
"Pokemon science has already proven this," Giovanni began. "Though I'm sure some who benefit from pokemon being seen as intimidating have buried the clear facts from the public. Pokemon are incapable of malice toward humans. It seems whoever created them made sure of that. There's a fail-safe. Pokemon don't just avoid harming humans, certain high profile accidents aside, you all really can't."
"Pikachu..." Pikachu swallowed, realizing the implications of that.
"That's right." The rocket boss laughed as he stared down at the small electric type. "Are you really as powerful as Meowth says? Maybe. But even then, even though I can't perform any kind of pokemon attack techniques, I have no need to be wary of you, even without any pokemon allies around." With that declaration, the rocket boss suddenly swung his foot toward the electric type.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out in pain as it was kicked and knocked to the ground.
"Did you think you were above us?!" the human shouted, then went for a second and third kick, eventually causing Pikachu to tumble across the room. "You're nothing!"
"Pika..." Pikachu cried, staying in place. The assault was more humiliating than damaging, but still hurt, especially knowing any kind of retaliation wasn't possible.
The rocket boss laughed, straightening his tie as he turned toward the door. "We'll deal with the matter of those gym leaders' pokemon later," he said to Meowth. "Let's let them sit and think about things before I have you speak with them again. We'll eliminate any that don't cooperate after that."
"Sure, boss," Meowth said.
"And as for that one..." the rocket boss paused, glaring down at Pikachu.
"Yeah, boss?" Meowth asked tentatively.
"If your two human partners can continue to handle it as they did yesterday, it can stay out, as it has been," the rocket boss said, being sure to meet Pikachu's eyes. "After all, there's no reason to fear it."
Next chapter: Ash vs. James
