Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
We're back in Kanto with Brock, Cilan, Dawn and Iris today. It's been a while since we were last with them, but to recap, they arrived in Saffron City after a trip across northern Kanto, but were lured into a trap by the announcer from the Tag Battle Tournament in chapters 10 and 11, who turned out to be working for Team Rocket. They escaped, but Butch and Cassidy stole their Pokémon, leaving them to battle with just Axew and Piplup. Both evolved in the fight, leaving Fraxure (and Iris) jubilant and Prinplup (and Dawn) distraught.
Starting from this chapter, I'm going to start varying chapter lengths a little more, and reduce the minimum chapter length I set myself for regular chapters to 5000 words, down from 6000 words. That doesn't mean that most chapters won't continue to be written around that mark, but just that I will have the flexibility to make chapters shorter where I think the story would benefit from ending earlier; perhaps on one of my favoured cliff-hangers, for instance, as opposed to switching to waffle to make up the word count.
On reviews; thanks for reviewing Sprinter and Agent! I fixed that typo a day after you reviewed, I guess that's what happens when I leave finishing off a chapter to the early hours of the morning.
To the guest - who I'm assuming is once again Blooms – and to J.F.C, thanks!
To Eclipse, thanks also! I don't intend to use Bianca and Georgia as regular additions to the already-massive cast but they were useful to show Plasma's activities in another region, as well as address Cameron's work alluded to before with Hilda and ultimately include three of my favourite rivals from this season. Sorry if it wasn't clear; the Stoutland belonged to Sergeant Parker, a one-shot character of the day I intend to use only for that chapter. Finally, I can't say I have any plans for Hilbert at the moment; Hilda's enough to contend with, and I'm a bigger fan of her design than of Brendan.
Chronologically, this chapter begins by following on from chapter 16, but will quickly shift to the day after (you'll see what I mean).
(Brock, Cilan, Dawn and Iris)
In the end, Iris had to be dragged up to one of the Pokémon centre's bedrooms. Try as he might, Cilan could not calm her down, and pulled her and her newly-evolved favourite dragon-type upstairs to avoid disturbing Dawn and Prinplup.
It was a little too late for that, really.
Brock had stuck around for a little while, hoping to be able to help in any way he could; he knew its previous form had meant to the water-type, and to see it like this now tugged at his heartstrings in a way that was more than uncomfortable.
He couldn't imagine how Dawn was feeling.
She was excellent, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be enough. Her arms never left the not-so-small-anymore Penguin Pokémon as it bawled out tear after tear, giving it enough room to shake gently as it cried without jerking all the way out of her embrace.
An hour passed, then another, before she gently led her starter up to a private room. People coming and going had long since ceased stopping and staring.
Every time it seemed like the tears would stop, Prinplup burst back into action again with renewed vigour. Dawn wondered how long it would take for it to even begin to calm down, and worried that it would be affected in the long term by such – for it, at least – a traumatic event.
She wondered if it would eventually pass out from exhaustion.
Only a few doors down, Iris had managed to buy or appropriate enough money to purchase all the treats that Fraxure could eat – and eat it could, its appetite seemingly doubled by its evolution.
Pokémon centres offered subsidised three-meals a day for trainers and Pokémon, but that obviously did not include treats. Brock footed the bill after Iris begged incessantly.
The two former gym leaders in the group sat and watched the spectacle of Iris and her Pokémon growing increasingly hyper on sugar-filled snacks.
"It's strange that this never happened before…" Cilan mused. "The Everstone being knocked free." He explained upon seeing Brock's blank expression.
Brock nodded.
"Who knows how Prinplup's going to react after it stops crying? That's what worries me the most."
"I've never seen a Pokémon so reluctant to evolve in all my time as a Pokémon connoisseur." Cilan commented. Brock shrugged, folding his arms.
"It happens." He replied. "Team Rocket's Meowth could have evolved years ago, but it hates its evolved form and refuses to do so. And the Bulbasaur that belongs to Ash back at Oak's lab stopped itself from evolving early on in our journey through Kanto."
"Was Piplup the same? Did it hate the thought of being a Prinplup?"
"Maybe, but I'm not sure. We ran into a few Prinplup in Sinnoh and it didn't get on too badly with them. But I think it comes down more to the fact that it believes it can only be useful to Dawn as a Piplup – that Dawn wouldn't like it anymore if it evolved."
"That's preposterous… It can't honestly have believed that…"
"Let's hope not, but there's something else." Brock shifted slightly.
"Oh?"
"Last time something like this happened, when Piplup was given the Everstone by one of the Sinnoh's in Nurse Joy, it didn't want to evolve because of it's happiest memory – the day it met Dawn. What if Prinplup's concept of happiness is tied to what it was as a Piplup?"
"Let's hope not." Cilan grimly echoed.
Hours later, Prinplup finally managed to cry itself to sleep. Dawn, pushed beyond her physical and emotional limits that day, followed shortly thereafter. None of the others matched them that night; Brock and Cilan had yelled at Iris through the wall of a separate room to go to bed after the noise she was waking kept them up far too early in the morning of the next day.
The rain continued well into the night.
"Assassin Leader Actual standing by for further orders. Assassins Two, Three and Four surrounding the Pokémon centre, over."
The shadowy figure was perched on a rooftop, looking down on the haven his team's targets were taking shelter in. His loyal Crobat rested by his side, and he could just make out – only because he was used to their presence, mind – the placement of some of his competent team across the sides of the road.
Being a field leader of one of Team Rocket's most feted hit squads had its perks.
The radio crackled as the response came through.
"Assassin Leader, this is Boss One, confirm transmission, over."
"Confirmed, send, over."
"What is the target's status, over?"
"All inside the Pokémon centre, ma'am. Over."
"Orders are to avoid a public scene, Assassin Leader. Continue to pursue until you have your opening. Over."
"Understood, ma'am. Out."
A final crackle.
He lifted a laser pen out of his pocket and flashed it once, twice, three times to one of his team. Five seconds later they repeated the signal.
He sat back. Now all they had to do was watch and wait.
Good thing waiting was their speciality.
Dawn woke the next morning to find Prinplup gone and the door to her room ajar. Worried, but not panicking, she groggily checked the room before exiting to track him down. She didn't bother to have a shower, brush her hair, or even change out of the pyjamas she had slipped into the night before as she was drifting off. She picked up her belt with her Pokémon on it and walked out the door.
Finding Prinplup was much more important.
Rubbing her eyes and pushing her messy blue hair out of her face, she determined quickly that he had not slipped into any of the other rooms – based on their secured doors – and crept out into the main body of the centre, not wanting to wake the other guests.
It was still early in the morning, after all. The sun had only an hour before risen above the horizon and started to bring warmth to the realm.
The coordinator said good morning to Nurse Joy and asked if she had seen a Prinplup – she almost said Piplup, but caught herself – pass through that morning. Joy said no, but said she had only been at her station for fifteen minutes; perhaps it had been in earlier?
Dawn thanked Joy and hurried away before she could ask too many questions. She exited the centre through the automatic door and peered around, trying to locate Prinplup in the dim early morning sun.
She didn't have to look far. Turning left out of the centre, she found her starter in a nearby play area, staring into a clear pool.
Staring at its reflection in the water.
She held her tongue against the urge to call out and advanced slowly, but not stealthily. Prinplup was too engrossed to notice either way. Saffron City was effectively an enclosed space, with tall skyscrapers surrounding each side of the Pokémon centre. It was a little early for the commuter rush, so they had some privacy.
She made it all the way up to Prinplup before realising that it hadn't just failed to notice her; it was actively trying to ignore her, turning to face away from her whenever she attempted to look it in the eye. It refused to align its gaze with hers.
Yesterday's tears had dried across its face around its beak, and now all it wore was a grim, sad expression matching sorrowful blue eyes.
She grew a little frustrated, but now was not the time for reproachful words. She felt at her waist for a Poké ball, pulled it loose and tossed it.
"Togekiss!"
She hoped that the Jubilee Pokémon would be able to calm Prinplup with its natural empathy.
Togekiss didn't need to be told what the problem was; it worked it out fast enough the second it looked around and spotted the water-type by the pond, appearing differently from how it normally did. Togekiss fluttered down to Prinplup's side and began muttering to it in an extremely low voice, paying no attention to Dawn, not that the co-ordinator minded. All that mattered was Prinplup's mental state.
She withdrew a little further to watch the Jubilee Pokémon work its magic. It was ten minutes before it beckoned Dawn over.
Prinplup had washed away the dried tears while Dawn had approached, and didn't seem to be about to cry again, but simply stared up at her with wide, sad eyes.
"Look, Prinplup…" She began, sitting down, careful not to lose eye contact while she had it. She tried to ignore the water-type's cringe at the sound of its own, new name. The sound of distant industry and the hustle and bustle of the city around them seemed to fade as Dawn concentrated on saying the right words. "I know you didn't want to evolve, and I didn't want you to evolve because I knew you didn't want to. But that's it. I'm not going to hate you now that you have; I won't think any less of you, you'll still be my number one…"
Togekiss chimed in with something else in an encouraging tone.
"Prin…" Prinplup squeaked. Dawn reached down and pulled it into a hug, and Togekiss joined in.
"Now that you have, we have to move on. We can't stay sad forever – you can't stay sad forever. I'm sorry, Prinplup, I know how much staying the same meant to you. But we'll make it through this."
"Plup…" Another squeak, and this one sounded resigned. It broke eye contact and stared at the ground.
Looking again at her Pokémon, she didn't think it was likely that he would burst into tears again, but was
Staying as Piplup had meant so very much to the water-type. It was all very well to think that he could just "man up", accept it and get over it. No. The road to recovery could take a very long time.
She realised it meant that she could no longer carry the Penguin Pokémon everywhere in her arms.
Perhaps reading her thoughts, Prinplup pushed itself up, startling Dawn. It reached over and sadly tapped the middle of the last ball in the line on her belt, long unused. Red light burst out of it and returned the water-type to a place that it had not seen the inside of for a very long time.
Dawn sat still for a moment and stared down at the ball herself before Togekiss slipped a comforting wing over her shoulder. She felt like crying now that her starter couldn't see her, but held on to Togekiss and held it in, drawing strength from the serenity of the garden.
Prinplup clearly wanted to be alone for a while, and she decided to let it be. Hopefully solitude would help it heal.
Hopefully…
They stood ready to leave a couple of hours later, after everyone had woken up, gotten themselves ready and had a full – subsidised – breakfast.
Brock and Cilan noted Prinplup's absence from the table with grim looks, while Dawn sat in contemplative silence. Iris had finally calmed down enough from being excited over Fraxure to administer to herself and come down to join them.
Brock had pulled Dawn aside before they entered the restaurant to speak to her privately.
"We can wait a day before going on to Johto if you want." He had told her. "We don't mind waiting if you want to give Prinplup some time."
"No. It's all right, really." She had replied. "I'm not ruining this holiday when a bit of travel might be just what Prinplup needs. Take its mind off things."
"Do you think that'll work?"
"Let's hope so."
Another thing that they had to deal with before departing the centre was the issue of Fraxure and its trainer. Cilan pointed out that it would be hard for Fraxure to remain outside of its Poké ball now that it was no longer an Axew, and suggested that she start recalling it more often to get it used to the experience.
Iris refused this suggestion. Strenuously.
She insisted that Fraxure would be fine to remain outside of its ball just as it had before, and said that she reckoned that she could even pick it up and carry around as she normally did.
The scene ultimately culminated with her stuck under a rather bemused and confused Fraxure, having attempted and failed to lift up its weight.
She still refused to recall it, though.
It was just after ten o'clock when they finally bid farewell to Nurse Joy and began to pick their way through the maze of skyscrapers and tall buildings that was Saffron city.
Cilan's excitement at finally seeing the Magnet Train up close and in real life and finally reached expression point, and he found himself unable to stop talking about it as they threaded their way through the streets.
Dawn kept fiddling with her belt and Prinplup's Poké ball, unable to keep looking ahead, which became something of a problem when they reached the main road and the hustle and bustle of the city proper became apparent. Before that they had passed the Sylph Co. again, this time closed to the public for a proper day's work. They stopped by a few shops here and there to pick up snacks for the journey and any souvenirs and nick-nacks that caught their fancy.
They had no need to worry about saving money for tickets or the like; the Gold Pass that Lance had given them in Pallet Town had them covered. Also, as it turned out – as they had realised the day before, gym leaders with official passes and any entourages travelling with them had free, first class travel on such public transport, on displaying their identification. Another of Lance's policies, in fact.
They reached the station after a half hour's walk, delayed by distractions and diversions as they had been. Passing the turnstiles had been a bit of an experience, with the put-upon assistant politely requesting that Iris recall Fraxure, who was a little too big – or at least wide - to fit through the narrow barrier, which of course led to Iris blowing up at him. Ten minutes later Brock and Cilan finally managed to drag Iris away from the bewildered man, Fraxure in their wake, with Dawn apologising profusely to him as she followed them out onto the platform.
Only one train ran on the Magnet Train line, and there was only one track for it to run on. Both ends of the train had controls, so all the driver had to do at the end of each leg of the journey was to walk to the other end of the train. This meant that everyone boarded – and debarked – on the same platform, and so a gating system had been implemented to prevent those embarking from stampeding onto the train and causing havoc.
Being unaware of the times – and being as delayed as they had been – they found that they had just missed one train, and so had to wait for it to go from Kanto to Johto and return. It wasn't a long wait, admittedly; shaped like a bullet to streamline it and limit air resistance, and equipped with state of the art engines and other essential technology, the Magnet Train could make the extensive journey between Saffron City and Goldenrod City in impressive time, completing one leg in just over twenty minutes.
Still, this was nearly forty minutes that they had to wait with Iris complaining all the time. At least she had Fraxure to play with.
When the train finally pulled in to the station Cilan immediately began snapping photos and was at the front of the queue to pass the barriers, eager to touch the train and examine it properly. He rattled off a number of facts and figures, as well as spouting off something about the flavour of the train in full blown lecture mode that the others paid very little attention to, but they ultimately managed to get him on the train before it set off.
Watching them from above, however…
"Targets are on the train, boss. Looks like we won't find it hard to keep track of them."
"Risks collateral, though, and we don't want the attention."
"Not if they find an empty carriage."
"Either way, Assassin Team, get your civilian disguises on and board that train. Four minutes to departure. Now is our chance."
The Team Rocket hit squad changed fast; it could be surprising how such simple administration was sometimes so essential.
All were changed in less than two and a half minutes. They emerged from their hiding spots scattered across the station to jump into the queue, and managed to be the last to board the train before its doors closed and locked with a mechanical finality.
"RoE are capture and contain. Priority target is the Pewter gym leader."
Now all they had to do was secure their targets.
They wouldn't fail like those idiot field agents always did.
The carriages of the Magnet Train varied in quality from absolutely magnificent to bog-standard commuter fare. They were fortunate that Brock's pass entitled them to the former band of quality, and they walked all the way up to the front of the train.
"Wow, I've never travelled first class before!" Dawn gaped, eyes wide, as they passed dining cars, compartmental accommodation and even a hall of bedrooms. All of the furniture in this part of the train was plush red velvet, polished wood or metal and opulently gilded with gold leaf. The others chorused their agreement.
"I've never travelled on the Magnet Train before, never felt the need." Brock said. "I might have to start doing so more often if I can do it for free…"
The carriage they eventually picked was large, wide and spacious, with not much else filling the interior other than a few chairs, a table and a selection of fresh fruit adorning it. Iris plopped herself down on one of the chairs with a contented sigh, grabbing a few pieces of fruit and alternating between tossing them into Fraxure's gaping maw and taking bites for herself.
"This… This is the life."
"Now we just have to sit back and relax until the train gets to Goldenrod." Brock pointed out as the others fell back into the chairs. Even though it was still just about morning, for Dawn, at least, it had felt like a very long day.
They all felt the train begin to move, a gentle rattle offset by the train's engineering, the hum of the engine practically cancelled out by the padded room.
One of the train staff, head down, eyes averted, entered from the room beyond and busied themselves with straightening china ornaments and other objects on the shelves on the walls.
"I guess we should plan where we're off to next, and what we should do when we get there." Cilan suggested. "When we get to Johto, I mean."
"Sounds good. Any suggestions?"
"I'd like to visit Kurt in Azalea Town, and learn a little about Poké balls made from apricorns." Cilan offered. "Did you know that I'm a Poké ball connoisseur too?"
"No, but I'm really not surprised." Iris muttered as Dawn shook her head. "Well, I'd like to see Blackthorn City! I'd love to meet Claire! Who knows how many different kinds of well-trained dragon-types she has…"
"Dawn? Any thoughts?"
"Uh, me?" The co-ordinator blinked, briefly flustered. "Well, I don't know the region at all, so I'll be happy with what you guys want to do. I heard from May that they've got contests in Johto. Maybe we could check one of those out, even if I'm not registered?"
"I don't see why not, we'll look into it when we get there. We've got a start, at least. Let's head south to Azalea Town first as it is the closest place, then we can head north up to Blackthorn City and hike across a few mountains." Brock said, pointing out the route on Cilan's tablet based map.
"Through a forest? Spooky!"
Another two attendants entered the room from the rear carriage and set to work examining the room for any problems that would require maintenance. Brock watched them curiously. It seemed like an unusual job to be doing in the middle of the day, but he supposed that the operators – and those who regularly travelled first class - had high standards.
"They really need to start replacing some of the stock on the Battle Subway with a few of these…" Cilan was muttering intently, glancing around at the finery and then looking out the window as thick Kanto forests sped by; they had cleared Celadon City and were now approaching the water's edge over which they would pass into the east of the region and then on through the mountain ridge to the western territories.
A fourth member of staff entered the coach.
Brock suddenly found it very odd that they were the only ones in the social car, even in first class, on such a packed train.
"Ooh, we just went over the water!" Dawn noticed.
He suddenly also found it very odd that there were so many staff in the carriage who didn't really seem to be doing anything on a train prized for its high quality of service.
He looked up in time to see that the group had been surrounded in a tight square by the four staff members, who had all produced dark sunglasses to cover to cover the eyes above their hawkish features. One right behind him…
"What are you doing?" He cried, and his tone snapped the others to alert. A moment later, a sharp blow across the back of his head and the world slid into darkness.
Brock's hasty warning had bought the group the chance to react. They sprung upwards out of their seats and together, Fraxure forming the form member of the inner square with Brock slumped on the floor. The hostile staff jumped back to reassess the situation now that they had lost the element of surprise.
"What the hell did you do?" Iris screamed.
No communication seemed to occur between their enemies, but they acted as one, withdrawing Poké balls with lightning speed and tossing them into the air. An Alakazam, a Crobat, a Weezing and a Magnezone burst into the carriage, filling the empty space behind their trainers.
"Who the hell are you?" Iris demanded, but Cilan shook her shoulder.
"No time for that now, Iris! We need to defend ourselves! Crustle, go!"
Dawn's hand slipped to her belt, feeling for Prinplup's Poké ball… Then passing it. She didn't want to have the distraught Pokémon fighting yet…
"Quilava, let's go!"
"Three vs four isn't very fair! Dragonite, come on out!"
The three other Pokémon joined Fraxure in the increasingly confined space. Crustle cracked its pincers, Quilava flared up and Dragonite snorted, noting with a sweep of its eyes that Axew had evolved into Fraxure.
Still more silence from their adversaries, who directed their Pokémon to attack with sweeping motions of their hands. Alakazam, Magnezone and Weezing charged up various energy attacks, while Crobat jinked into the midst of the opposing Pokémon.
"Everyone, scatter!" Cilan yelled, dragging Brock into cover, Dawn and Iris following them behind the hastily overturned table. Fruit flew everywhere. Dragonite flittered up; Fraxure leapt to the left, Quilava scurried to the right. Crustle retreated into its boulder shell as the attacks hit home, weathering the storm.
"ThunderPunch! Dragon Rage!" Iris cried as her Pokémon came into range of Crobat and Weezing. Weezing took Fraxure's hit, but hardly seemed affected. Dragonite surged at Crobat, fists crackling with electricity, but the poison/flying dual-type was more than agile enough to see the oncoming danger and dodge out of the way, catching Dragonite off balance. It then dived back in to smack Dragonite with a Wing Attack, removing Multiscale in the process.
"Flame Wheel!" Dawn commanded and Quilava obeyed, rushing towards the slower Alakazam. It stared contemptuously at the rolling attacker, and lifted the fire-type up with a Psychic before slamming it back into the ground multiple times.
"Give Quilava a hand, Crustle! Rock Wrecker!" Crustle tore off a chunk of rock from its shell and tossed it at Alakazam, who was more than quick enough to avoid the large projectile, albeit breaking the concentration required for Psychic and freeing Quilava.
In the process, Crustle left itself open for a reprisal Energy Ball, followed by a Flash Cannon from Magnezone. It hung on, but only just barely.
The three trainers left conscious were off-guard, still surprised and unfocused. Their attackers pressed their advantage, unleashing volley after volley of attacks that knocked out all but Dragonite. Iris rushed to recall Fraxure to its ball, desperate to shield it from the battle.
They rushed to send out more Pokémon – but not all at once, learning the lessons of their last random encounter – while Dragonite desperately shot around the car with ExtremeSpeed to avoid the barrage. Inevitably, some attacks hit home.
The inside of the carriage had been utterly wrecked by the conflict, the walls charred and looking increasingly unstable. They passed through tunnels as they proceeded across the mountain ranges into Johto.
Mamoswine immediately made its presence known in the battle with a rushing charge, which only resulted in it being immediately targeted and brought down by enemy firepower, but slowly the tide began to turn to Cilan, Dawn and Iris' favour. Excadrill and Togekiss fought together to take down Alakazam, the latter disrupting it to allow the former to get in close. Dragonite finally managed to catch Crobat with a backhand ThunderPunch and brought it down. Jigglypuff sang Magnezone and Weezing to sleep, allowing the others to pick them off soon after.
That part of the battle lasted fifteen minutes.
The Pokémon stood as a triumphant wall, shielding their trainers from the mysterious adversaries. Smirking, the "staff" reached for their second Poké balls. Cilan, Dawn and Iris braced for the worst, peeking over their improvised barricade.
The train jerked to a halt. The faint sound of the engine ceased completely.
They had arrived at Goldenrod City.
Their enemies shared a glance. They nodded; the only hint of communication between them the entire fight. One unclipped a smoke bomb and tossed it down.
By the time the smoke had cleared, they were gone, an open window the only evidence of their escape.
The group sat in shock for a moment.
"Iris, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"Dawn?"
"No need to worry."
Brock stirred. He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ughhh… what… what happened?" He looked around, noticing the damage to the carriage. "Did we… win?"
Explaining the damage to the railway staff had been difficult, but mentioning Lance's name helped wonders in getting them off the hook. They managed to slip away after ten minutes of apologies and promises to have the champion get in touch with the operators.
Then they all but ran to the Pokémon centre – Brock remembered the way - to get their Pokémon healed, rushing past sights that in other circumstances they probably would have liked to have seen. Iris was particularly concerned about Fraxure, and let it out of its ball as soon as possible.
They sat down for a drink once all was said and done, and let out a collective breath of relief.
"What the hell was that all about?" Iris got in first, indignant as she was. With all that they had needed to explain or hurry with, they had had a long time to wait to actually discuss what had happened.
"Who were they?"
"Why us?"
"On the train, as well, such a public place…"
"Well, given what happened yesterday, even if they weren't wearing uniforms…" Brock started, still rubbing his head. "Maybe it was Team Rocket, come to finish the job?"
"I've never seen Team Rocket act so coordinated." Cilan commented.
"It's the only lead we've got." Iris put in. "Who else would go after us like that?"
"Well, what should we do?" Dawn fiddled with Prinplup's Poké ball as she spoke. "Should we report it?"
"Maybe, but not to the police. I mean, we have Lance's number." Brock reminded them, pulling out his Poké gear. "We could go straight to him."
The others nodded.
"Let's do it." Cilan agreed.
Brock started dialling.
Visiting a shrine at the start of a journey makes the traveller far more likely to finish it.
Travel Preparations, Innistrad