Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Once again, another massive break; I've been working for most of the past couple of months, I'm afraid. Time to crack on though with chapter 23!
I have to say though that getting the motivation – and direction – for this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. But it's here now, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.
Thanks for reviewing, JTMS! Trying to find card quotes that link with the chapter title is always fun; I consider it part of my reward for finishing a chapter.
Thanks again, Agent of Fire!
Chronologically, this chapter follows on immediately from chapter 22.
(Brock, Cilan, Dawn and Iris)
Lance didn't pick up right away. In fact, Brock had to call three times – once every couple of hours – before the device even started ringing. Once it did, though, they got through reasonably quickly.
At least they were in Goldenrod to make the call. It would have been much harder to try to get in touch via Poké gear in much of the rest of Johto or Kanto.
Another thing, in fact, that Lance was planning on improving.
They had expected to have to be put through to him via his office, but it transpired that he had in fact given them his personal Poké gear number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Lance? It's Brock."
"Brock!" The champion came out very loud and very clear down the line, causing Brock to wince at the unexpected volume. "How have you all been? How's the holiday going?"
"It's been… interesting. There's something we thought we needed to tell you right away."
Brock quickly outlined the basics of their two encounters with Team Rocket – or, who they presumed to be Team Rocket in the latter case – in the past day and a half.
"…and we didn't think to call you about the first incident because Team Rocket have been doing this sort of thing for years, but after the second, it's starting to look like it was a coordinated attack."
"That sounds very serious indeed. You say you're in Goldenrod City now?"
"Yeah, we just got off the Magnet Train." Brock replied.
"All right. If it's not too much trouble, can I come and talk to you guys right now? I need to get more details and fill you in on some stuff… If you don't mind the disruption to your holiday…"
Brock blinked and looked over at the others, who had been listening in on the conversation nearby. Dawn shrugged. Cilan nodded. Iris seemed happy at the prospect of seeing such a famed dragon-trainer as Lance once again.
"We're happy with that, if it's not too much trouble for you."
"Not at all. I'll fly down from the League straight away. See you in a couple of hours." The line went dead.
Brock put the Poké gear away and turned back to the others again.
"I guess we could just wait by the Pokémon centre." He suggested.
"Well, he said that he would be here in a few hours, so we could spend some time around the city." Cilan pointed out.
Brock wasn't sure. Their assailants on the train had, after all, probably escaped into the city after their botched attempt earlier and might even be following them right now. He voiced his opinion to the others, keeping his voice low and looking suspiciously around the crowded Pokémon centre, although all seemed to be fine for now.
"Plus, if they are following us and they overheard that conversation with Lance, now would be their best time to strike." He added.
"Come on, a private train carriage is one thing, but Goldenrod City?" Cilan reasoned. "They'd be mad to attack us in broad daylight out in the open."
"There's a lot of cops running around, too." Iris noted, and she was correct. Two police officers – one of them Officer Jenny – were talking to the Nurse Joy at the counter, and just out the window they could see another two on patrol in the street.
"We just need to stick to populated areas and avoid spots where they could ambush us."
"No need to worry!" Dawn summed up for the others.
"Three against one, I guess I'm outvoted." Brock sighed. "All right, so long as we're careful, I guess we'll be fine…"
Oddly enough, and against Brock's expectations, they actually were.
All of the plans they had made before boarding the train had to be thrown out the window, but seeing Lance was of course more important. They dallied by the Pokémon centre first to have their Pokémon checked up on, and then made their way back out into the shining sun.
It was even nicer here than it had been in Kanto, before the rain had somewhat spoiled things the night before. It was absolutely clear that they were in the midst of an early and probably long-lasting summer.
It turned out to be an uneventful afternoon. They played on the slots for a little while, winning nothing, until Cilan eventually had to drag Iris away upon realising that she was getting a little bit too addicted to the game.
They went to the department store and did a little more shopping, but didn't spend much money overall. They had visited Celadon Department not too long ago, after all.
That, and wandering around the city seeing the sights, including the new Global Trade Station and the water head, essentially used up the few hours they had, and so to be safe they made their way back to the Pokémon centre after the third hour passed.
The others couldn't blame Brock for having been cautious, though. Their journeys with Ash – constantly being followed and attacked by Team Rocket, though far more for Dawn than for Cilan or Iris – had made them at least aware of such risks even if they weren't constantly vigilant about being attacked.
Lance wasn't there already when they arrived back at the Pokémon centre, but they didn't have to wait long. In fact, it was very good timing considering that the details he had given them about his estimated time of arrival had been rather lacking.
He didn't so much as arrive as appear out of nowhere, startling Iris with his greeting; she had been keeping her eyes glued to the sky. In reality, he had landed close by and walked the rest of the way, in order to avoid drawing too much attention to himself.
A champion arriving in a crowded, bustling city in the middle of a very warm day is bound to draw attention, however.
He barely had time to tell them to quickly follow him before he was surrounded by a steadily growing crowd of people who wanted to talk, complain about something, ask questions or even just get a picture taken with him. People used Poké gears to snap photos left and right as he pushed through the crowd to the front desk of the centre and asked politely for the keys to a private room. Nurse Joy, disturbed at the number of loud and rambunctious people filling her lobby, was happy to oblige.
Lance took the four trainers upstairs and beckoned them into the room, pausing at the door to ask the onlookers to give them some privacy. He was on official league business, he explained, and needed the serenity of an isolated room.
Disappointed, the crowd of journalists, hangers-on and curious passers-by dispersed.
"That was actually pretty scary." Dawn panted and plopped herself down on one of the couches in the room. Joy had provided a suite of much greater quality than the budget bunks that they normally stayed in, and they started to make themselves comfortable. Brock handed out glasses of water which were quickly downed as the adrenaline rush drained from their systems.
It was on the upper floor of the Pokémon centre and well-isolated, the window easily obstructed by the blinds and pointing out towards the back of other buildings anyway. It would be a challenge for anyone to spy on them in here.
They had needed to run to stay ahead of the rushing crowd on their way up, a feat which had not been easy.
"Sorry about that." Lance looked apologetic as he entered the room, having successfully remonstrated with the crowd. "I should've realised that would happen and worn a disguise. You must all not be used to seeing that kind of thing, given how Cynthia tends to work as a champion."
"Huh?"
"Well, she doesn't like to get caught up with the publicity side of being a champion; she just prefers to travel and research old ruins and Pokémon." Lance explained. "Like Steven, actually. And Cameron so rarely came out of the shadows when he was champion that we used to joke he was a vampire, afraid of the sun."
They could all see that. Cynthia had often talked about her pursuit of archaeology, and from what Brock remembered of his brief encounter with Steven, he was much the same.
"Oh, don't worry; we saw a lot of it when Wallace came to Sinnoh for a contest."
"Fans can be pretty scary sometimes." Dawn giggled, stealing a glance at Iris.
"… Why are you looking at me?"
"Oh, no reason." The coordinator replied innocently. Iris wasn't convinced.
"Yeah, I can't compete with Wallace in that department." Lance smirked, and then his face settled back into a serious expression. "But let's get on to the important stuff. First, are you all okay?"
"Okay?"
"Okay. Any injuries from either of the attacks?"
He also let the implication of shock – or worse – hang.
They looked at each other, exchanging shakes of the head or shrugs.
"Okay, doesn't look like it, that's good."
"It might sound weird, but we're pretty used to getting ambushed by now." Iris said nonchalantly.
"True, you do seem unlucky like that. Are your Pokémon healed?" Lance continued.
All nodded, though Dawn raised a hand. Smiling, amused by how unnecessary it was for her to have her hand up like she was a student in school, Lance gestured for her to speak.
"Well… there's Piplup. I mean, Prinplup. He evolved in the first battle against Team Rocket."
"Surely that's good news?" Lance raised an eyebrow, confused by her sullen demeanour.
"Piplup never wanted to evolve." Brock explained for Dawn, who was holding the water-type's Poké ball sadly. He gave Lance a brief rundown of Piplup's history, its reluctance to evolve in Sinnoh and its use of an everstone to prevent it.
"I see… I did wonder why you weren't carrying it. Would I be able to see Prinplup now, please?"
"I don't see why not." Dawn fiddled with her hat for a second before removing it – it had been starting to slip off her head anyway – before tapping the Poké ball and calling out Prinplup as she normally would.
Except nothing happened.
Concerned, she tried again. And again. Thrice more, before…
"I don't know what's wrong!" She gave an anguished cry. "He won't come out of the ball!"
Contrary to popular belief, Pokémon are not required to emerge from their Poké balls when their trainers call; they do so out of choice, allowing the mechanism to thrust them out into the world. But if a Pokémon does not want to emerge…
"This is disturbing indeed. Brock, as a Pokémon doctor, what are your opinions on this issue?"
Brock thought for a moment before replying.
"Prinplup's difficulties are clearly mental, not physical, but they do relate to its appearance, and how it views itself and its usefulness to Dawn." Brock said.
"From what you've told me, I agree completely." Lance frowned deeper. "All I can suggest is to give Prinplup some time. When it starts to willingly come out of its ball again, then you need to make it aware of how much it means to you."
"I will." Dawn promised, close to tears. Iris kindly put an arm around her and pulled her a little closer. Being ambushed was one thing, but when it had such an effect on one of their Pokémon…
"If you can think of anything I or the league can do to help, let me know." Lance offered, and Dawn nodded. He was being sincere; the league had a number of care facilities across the regions, and he would have been happy to have Prinplup looked at in one of those if Dawn thought it would help. "Back to the matter at hand, then, particularly the second attack. You said that it was… weird? And you can't be sure that it was Team Rocket."
"Yeah. We've never had anything like it before."
"How so?"
"Well, it was different. The Team Rocket we know has always been about flashy, arrogant displays that often backfire on themselves."
"Plus, they're always really chatty!" Dawn put in. Cilan and Iris nodded in agreement, though they were bereft of experience with Jessie and James before they had travelled to Unova and, to use Ash's phrase, "got serious".
"But these guys, well, to put it simply, they were scary. They were completely silent; they struck faster than I've ever seen Team Rocket do… And hey, they didn't even try to steal our Pokémon!"
"That's right!" Dawn stood up fast, blue hair flying out to the sides without her hat on. She pushed it out of her eyes. "I thought that's always been Team Rocket's goal! Since when have they gone in when it hasn't been to steal a Pokémon or as part of one of their plans?"
"That's why we're not sure it's even Team Rocket." Brock concluded. "But it's an awful coincidence…"
Sounds like you had a run in with Assassin Squad." Lance's frown had turned into an ugly scowl. "And they definitely are from Team Rocket. The league is even sure if they actually exist, but from your description, it sounds like our intel was correct."
"Who are they?"
"I suggest that you all refill your glasses first." Lance said, pointing to the tap. "You aren't going to like what I have to say."
Cilan appeared petrified at the end of Lance's explanation, so white had he turned. Brock was grim and silent. Dawn looked about ready to faint, while Iris chewed her lip.
"A… Hit. Squad?" Brock punctuated each word slowly, and Lance looked at them sympathetically.
"So the rumours go. From what you've described, you did well to hold them off until the train reached the station… At which point they probably decided to cut their losses."
"But why are they after us? Why send a hit squad after us?" Iris asked the obvious question.
"Well, you've consistently thwarted their plans over the last five to six years." Lance pointed out, getting a glass of water himself, and looking around into the outside world through the blinds as he did so. It was such a beautiful, calm day today, in stark contrast to the tension inside the room.
"A. Hit. Squad." Cilan echoed Brock.
"…Yes. Look, I know it's hard to take all of this in, but I didn't just come here to talk about what happened, if I'm honest. I need your help."
A pause. Then…
"This is going to be another one of these escort-the-stone tasks, isn't it?" Iris got the first wry comment in.
"No." Lance smirked. "Professor Oak would kill me, if nothing else. It's-"
"We're not going to be bait, are we?" Brock hit on the most logical conclusion from the champion's words so far.
"No! Don't be so negative." He chuckled. "Come on; take a deep breath, guys. It could be worse."
From the looks on their faces, they didn't seem to think so.
"It's a hit squad." Cilan repeated again.
"Yes." Lance agreed. "A hit squad that might just still be in this city. There are some warehouses that we've been planning to hit for a while; we think that they're safe houses for Team Rocket grunts to hide in. Assassin Squad might have holed up there after they fled from you. And we have intelligence suggesting that they have been used today."
The tension in the room was immediately replaced by sheer incredulity.
"You want us to chase after them?" Dawn gaped at the champion. "We barely stood a chance last time!"
"But this time, you'll have the element of surprise. And, more to the point, you'll have me, which ought to make it more than a fair fight in our favour." He reminded them.
"Come on guys, when have we ever backed down before?" Iris took up the fight, and Fraxure burst out of his Poké ball to support her, somehow seeming to know it was needed.
"Frax!" It menacingly crossed its arms, only for Iris to declare that it was too cute and envelop it in a hug, to the point where it could not be seen behind the massive blob that was her hair.
Brock and Cilan remained unsure. Dawn stayed utterly silent.
Lance, for his part, said nothing more to sway them. He waited patiently for their answer, trusting what he had already said to sway them.
Iris ended up being his biggest help.
"What would Ash do?" She asked in the face of their indecisiveness. The three exchanged heavy looks, but eventually – Dawn most reluctantly – all nodded.
"We're in." Brock said.
Lance smiled.
Later, and elsewhere…
The wait outside Giovanni's office had been torturous. The air conditioning was perfectly tuned to be comfortable, even on a day like this. Cool water ran through open glass in the lobby area, creating what was supposed to be a soothing effect. Not that it was working for Assassin Squad.
They had caught the first Magnet Train back to Kanto after the botched mission, and reported in to Team Rocket's primary base, concealed just outside Saffron City – no longer able to use Silph Co. as a cover, as they had once done. It was time for Assassin Leader to throw himself at the feet of his boss.
Well, figuratively speaking, of course. He still cursed the indignity of it all.
He also cursed himself for the lack of efficiency that had caused the operation to fail. The next session in the practice hall that he gave to the squad would be twice as hard as they were used to, he promised himself. If I even have a squad after this…
From an outsider's perspective, Assassin Squad would probably have looked the picture of serenity, but the leader could tell that they were on edge. And why wouldn't they be? They had failed, big time.
They were facing reassignment, at the very least. That would probably be the best they could hope for.
Assassin doesn't fail like this. Damn it, why couldn't-
The door chose that moment to open, spilling light into the otherwise dimly lit corridor.
Oh hell.
Leader had expected to be sent in by Giovanni's secretary. He hadn't expected the boss himself to come out like this.
Assassin Squad snapped to attention. Giovanni regarded them curtly for a moment before fixing his eyes on Leader.
"To your duties, Assassin. I will be having words with Leader alone."
The rest of the squad hurried away, shooting surreptitious glances of sympathy at their leader, which he stolidly ignored.
Well, this is promising…
"Come in, Leader. We have much to talk about."
He marched inside. The boss shut the doors with a slam as he entered. Leader considered it a fitting metaphor for the likely end of his career.
Giovanni's office was very different from the outer lobby. What had blue in the lobby, soothing and very new age, was angry red in the office. Red curtains, red carpet, red velvet cushions on the plush red recliner. At least the walls are a cool black, thought Leader. This room already hurts to look at as it is.
The boss stood behind his desk, his back to Leader, gazing outside. His infamous pet Persian was sprawled out by the desk, asleep.
"Do you know why I am in charge of Team Rocket, Leader?"
That wasn't a question he had been expecting to have to answer. He had to bite back the urge to respond with "Your mother was there before you".
"No, sir." It was the safest answer.
Giovanni smiled wide. Like a crocodile… Leader shuddered at the annoying figures of speech that kept running through his head, but did not let such feelings be displayed on the outside.
"Calm down, operative. Neither your head, nor your position, are in jeopardy today. You are here to listen, that is all."
Leader relaxed slightly, letting out a deep breath that he had not realised he was holding, but did not let down his guard.
"It will seem like the ultimate cliché, Leader, but the simple reason as to why I am leader of Team Rocket – particularly after the last six years have been so disrupted – is that I never give up."
"Sir?"
Giovanni frowned.
"I would be lying, however, if I said that the events of recent times did not trouble me. My field operatives seem to fail me at every turn. Jessie and James I have come to expect; their escapades are almost comical, even if the loss of Meloetta in Unova was frustrating. Cassidy and Butch are also beginning to become an annoyance. And now even the famed Assassin Squad cannot complete a simple hit?"
Leader looked down at the ground in shame. It stung to be reminded of the squad's failure. By the time he looked back up again, Giovanni was grinning once more, but there was genuine mirth in it this time, matched by the liveliness of his eyes.
"But I would also be lying if I were to say that we are not a successful organisation, Leader. We have neophytes, initiates and full-blown members all over Kanto and Johto, from cutthroat thieves to high-ranking, respected members of society. All who will answer the call of Team Rocket when the time soon comes, and we take control.
"Furthermore," He continued, turning to stare outside again. The sun was never much of a permanent feature this far into the Kanto forest, but it was nice to enjoy its illumination whenever it rarely deigned to dance between the cloud and tree cover. "Our enterprises outside Pokémon snatching have been more than successful enough to account for the failures we have had to balance against. The slots turn in hundreds of thousands each week, and our shares in Silph Co remain undiscovered, even if our direct influence has waned. The tournaments we recently ran were also hugely profitable. And of course, our connections with the arms industry, with the making of bombs and other weapons, are as strong as ever."
It was encouraging to hear this about the state of Team Rocket's affairs. The ultimate goal was known to even the lowliest of initiates, but… So little information is actually filtered down from the top to the bottom in an organisation such as this… Equally, though, Leader wondered why he was hearing all of this.
"Even greater is our recent infiltration of the Indigo League." Giovanni went on, coming round the desk to stroke Persian. "When the time does come, that pompous fool of a champion Lance will discover that he has far less strength than he thinks."
Leader was personally indifferent to the champion. They had never met, whether on the field of battle or otherwise, and so he had little opinion of him. Hate was clearly burning in the boss's eyes, however…
"You will be wondering why I am telling you all of this." Can he read minds? "It is also important as background so that you might understand the importance of your targets, Leader, and why they might still prove to be the biggest roadblock to our plans."
"Sir!" Leader blurted, unable to face Assassin's failure silently any longer. "If they are such a threat, allow me to take Assassin back to the city tonight and we will deal with them!"
It was a bold proposition. Giovanni stroked his chin for a moment as if to consider it, and then shook his head.
"There will be no need. You will see why, shortly, but first I will give you the bigger picture." He reached up and pressed a button on the room's standard overhead projector. The screen zapped on, revealing seven photographs set against a black background.
He allowed Leader a moment to take them in. He recognised four of them with great familiarity, and could place one of the others from somewhere.
"This is our biggest problem."
They assembled just inside the Goldenrod warehouse district just as the sun was beginning to drop in the sky, bathing the area in a warm orange glow. The breeze remained absent; the air was still, but cool.
Brock, Cilan and Dawn were feeling a little better about the whole thing now, partly because they now had a clear plan to follow, and partly because they had had some time to adjust to the fact that a hit squad had been pursuing them.
Seeing Lance's Dragonite out in full force, alongside his Aerodactyl as well, might have helped calm their nerves somewhat.
Iris had consumed an impressive amount of sugar and was now hyped up and ready to go for the raid. Dragonite and Excadrill stood with her.
Brock went with Forretress, Cilan with Pansage, and Dawn with Togekiss. They didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket again.
"Our targets are two streets down – the second and third warehouses on the right." Lance reminded them. They had already split into their assigned teams – Lance with Brock checking one warehouse, and Cilan, Dawn and Iris taking the other. "If you find anyone, give the signal. Remember, speed, not stealth." They all nodded.
"See you on the other side, Brock." Dawn said as the she moved off first with the dragon-master and the connoisseur. Brock gave her a thumbs-up that said no need to worry.
Brock and Lance started to move after them thirty seconds later, breaking into a run to their target, their Pokémon following them.
"Safeguard Johto." Lance whispered as they advanced.
"Four you will of course recognise as your targets from today's mission." Giovanni said; Leader had indeed realised this. "The Pewter City gym leader; one of the Striation City gym leaders, from Unova-". He paused for a breath. "The runner up in last year's Sinnoh Grand Festival - and the other is a trainer from Unova."
Leader couldn't work out their association himself. He waited for Giovanni to tell him.
"The others are the Cerulean City gym leader-" Aha, that's the other one who I thought seemed familiar… "-, a coordinator placing eighth in the Hoenn Grand Festival several years ago, and him." Giovanni's finger rested over the image of a teenager with dark hair in a blue cap, a Pikachu on his shoulder. "We'll get to him in a moment."
"Together, and separately, these seven persons have disrupted my plans and those of my operatives in several regions – not just Kanto and Johto alone, oh no, for the past six years, far more than the league has ever managed to."
Leader was brimming with questions, foremost on his mind the absurdity of the fact that Assassin had not been deployed against any of them sooner.
"I don't understand, sir." He left it at that.
Giovanni's countenance was stormy, to put it lightly.
"Do you see the connection, Leader?" He whispered darkly.
"No, sir."
"This boy." The boss jabbed an angry finger in the direction of the last picture, the teenager with the Pikachu. "He has been the biggest thorn in my side for nearly six years, and his friends have helped him be that thorn.
"This was my reason for sending Jessie, James and Meowth to follow him for years, in the hope that they would finally find a way to deal with him. He is not currently in Kanto, but, as you know, four of his friends are.
"And Leader?" He smiled again. "As I said before, I never give up."
Brock and Lance made it to their warehouse after Cilan, Dawn and Iris, as planned. Dragonite – as quietly as was realistically possible – hacked open the door and led the way in.
It was dark, but not dark enough that they were unable to see unassisted. The glass roof projected what light persisted in the day into eerie squares inside the warehouse.
They swept through to the back of the hall quickly, Aerodactyl bringing up the rear. The stacking of the containers meant that they had to press down one side, but it did not take too long for them to reach the end.
Where they found… Nothing.
Well, just a table and a few chairs. Maybe even just the foreman's administration area.
If their foe was anywhere, they were in the other warehouse.
Cursing their luck, they made their way out along the other side of the space, just in case, but found nothing.
Exiting the way they had come, back out into the street, they were just about to proceed along to the third warehouse in line – where the others were investigating – when a timer finished counting down to zero.
The timer on the bomb that they had missed under the desk at the back of the warehouse.
All they heard was that of rushing fire, of metal torn asunder and tossed around like it weighed nothing, before reflex took hold and they hit the deck.
The bomb ripped out the back of the warehouse and tore through the containers. It was powerful enough to bring the structure of the building down.
Brock and Lance staggered to their feet and stared at the smoking wreckage. Their Pokémon did the same.
"What on earth… How did that…"
Brock trailed off as he realised that Lance's gaze was firmly on one thing – the next warehouse along.
"You don't think…" Lance whispered, and Brock, horrified as he was at the thought, understood immediately.
"Oh, no-"
The second explosion was bigger than the first.
Giovanni's watch beeped, and he casually checked it before turning his attention back to Leader.
His widest grin had returned.
"Half of our problem has just been dealt with. You are dismissed."
Leader hurried out of the room.
Giovanni savoured his victory for a moment before picking up the phone and dialling his outer office.
"Please contact the Admins." He ordered his secretary; the 'please' was merely politeness. "It is time to advance our plan to the next stage."
Never forget your feet – Elvish expression meaning "Watch your step"
Pit Trap, Seventh Edition