The group of Team Rocket and the thief descended an ancient flight of stairs as darkness threatened to cloak their vision. A torch, that the thief had taken the liberty of lighting, prevented it from doing so. Their own footsteps echoed throughout the passageway, filling the silent void as the group ventured deeper underground. They passed through an archway opening that seemed to swallow the group in pitch black. Something felt different, the thief thought as he suddenly stopped.
"Hey, watch it!" Meowth exclaimed as he bumped into the thief. Jessie and James followed suit.
"What's the big idea?" Jessie asked. Team Rocket's exclamations fell on deaf ears as the thief suddenly strode off. Before Team Rocket could complain about the sudden loss of light, many torches suddenly lit up! The thief had used his torch to light an unlit stick, which caused a chain reaction. Team Rocket readjusted to their newly lit surroundings. The light revealed an unfathomable amount of ancient pictures and text carved into all sides of the room.
While Team Rocket looked in awe in their surroundings, the thief slowly strode towards the opposite end of the room. A set of hieroglyphs stood out from the others on the surrounding walls. He gave a slight chilling smirk as he realized... this was it.
Without a second thought, the thief came up to the wall and felt it with his gloved hand. Dust grabbed onto his glove, showing slight indentations covered in dust. He began dusting away, while Team Rocket stood waiting. A few wordless moments later, they shrugged their shoulders and decided to leave the thief to his own devices.
"Hey, let's take a look around this joint!" Meowth suggested to his cohorts, who agreed. Team Rocket wandered off to another side of the huge room, looking at the walls' ancient depictions. Centuries of stone, dust and culture stared down upon them.
"What do all of these mean?" James asked with childish curiosity.
"Who knows? It's probably mumbo jumbo..." Jessie shrugged as she tried reading the ancient text.
"You are sadly mistaken," the thief thought as he heard Jessie's ignorant remark. He shook it off as he began scanning the giant depiction in front of him. Peering up, he saw the depiction of an ancient creature. The god of pokemon, he mumbled as a slight smirk emerged on his face. Through the crumbling dust on the wall, an image of a person defined it's way through.
"What is this...?" The thief mumbled as he began to examine a group of vague figures to the left of the person. The three figures had animal shapes to them. One had a shell-like object behind it while the identical two next to it had a cat-like appearance. The cat-like animals were depicted standing, with a miniature shape of the sun and moon hovering above them.
"This may be important. I won't have time to decipher this here, with the possibility of Maple coming after me," the thief thought as he pulled out his trusty camera and started snapping picture after picture. Every little detail was captured in his camera, from every possible angle. Team Rocket looked back at the thief as the camera flashes went off.
"Talk about takin' in the sights," Meowth commented as he and the others shrugged. Unknown to them, a pair of heads peered into the room, sharing their same curiosity.
"Why's he taking pictures?" Ryan quietly thought aloud as he peered into the ancient room. He and Leaf stood behind the archway leading into the room. The two of them had ducked for cover the moment the thief illuminated the room.
"No clue, but first things first. We need to get Matt's translations back!" Leaf said as she carefully peered into the ancient room from behind the archway's cover. The light from the room's torches revealed railings on an elevated level. There was a second floor! If so, there had to be a way up there, she reasoned.
"I think I've got a plan," Leaf began saying as she skimmed the room for a way up to the second floor. Ryan looked a little skeptical as he leaned back and accidentally bumped into something. Leaf looked at him as he gave a slight gasp of surprise and noticed what had startled him- it was a ladder! She quickly examined it.
"It looks like this leads up to the second floor of that room," Leaf started to quietly explain as she determined the ladder was safe to climb, even though it's appearance said otherwise.
"I want you to sneak out there and wait for my signal," Leaf said as she pointed at the archway. Before Ryan could say a word, she continued, "I'll climb up here and take a look around." Leaf's words faded as she climbed the ladder leading to the second floor and disappeared from sight.
Ryan shook his shoulders as he looked into the chamber. Things could quickly get ugly, he thought as he noticed Team Rocket looking around the chamber walls. How could he sneak past them without being seen? There were pillars holding the second floor up, along with various piles of fallen rock and dirt. Ryan quickly crept into the cover of the nearest pile. As he knelt down, he couldn't help but overhear Team Rocket's conversation.
"You know, now that I think about it... I wonder why that treasure hunter needs our help? We're just walking around," James pondered.
"Who cares? He agreed to split the treasure as long as we help," Jessie said, shrugging the point aside. "Besides, if we get Pikachu as a side bonus, we shouldn't complain."
"They're in it for Pikachu? Figures..." Ryan thought as he felt their voices start to echo. He snuck a look at Team Rocket, who were walking towards the archway entrance. With the coast somewhat clear, he started to haphazardly tiptoe across the chamber, using the various debris piles as cover. Along the way, his eyes couldn't help but wander around the chamber. He saw the railings of the second floor, but where had Leaf gone?
"Where is she? She said she'd give me a signal, or something like that..." Ryan scanned the top floor carefully. He was close to the thief- which meant he had to be completely silent, or risk detection. Light from the torches crept up past the second floor's railings, piercing halfway through the shadows above. Ryan could've sworn he saw a figure swiftly move...
"There's Leaf!" Ryan thought as he noticed her figure outlined by faint torch light. She motioned a finger towards the thief standing at the end of the chamber. It was time to move! However, as Ryan began to abandon his cover, he stopped as he felt a strange wiggling sensation coming from his jacket pocket. Pop!
Before he could even blink, Ryan saw Eevee and Umbreon appear in front of him. The two pokemon seemed oblivious to Ryan's presence as they sniffed the air. He could've sworn he heard a low growl. Something felt off, Ryan began to think before his suspicions were confirmed. Without warning, the two pokemon leapt at the thief!
For a split second, the thief looked surprised as he turned to face the growls. His surprise faded as he quickly threw out a Pokeball and ordered, "Protect!" A huge purple dinosaur-like pokemon appeared with it's two arms up, quickly producing a green barrier, which caused Umbreon and Eevee to bounce back.
"Nidoking!" Ryan realized aloud as he looked at the menacing pokemon. However, as menacing as Nidoking looked, he looked at Umbreon and Eevee, who were ferociously pounding away at the Protect barrier, only to get knocked back. They looked just as menacing, if not, worse. Something wasn't right, Ryan thought as he tried calling out to them to calm down. It was no use, as they ignored his words and kept charging the barrier.
"Why are they so... angry?" Ryan thought as he helplessly watched the one sided onslaught. The thief watched silently, but in amusement. Without a word, he nodded as Nidoking dropped Protect, grabbed the two pokemon and threw them against the wall! "No!" Ryan yelled as he ran over to their side.
"Hey, it's dat twerp!" Ryan heard from far behind him. He turned back to look. Team Rocket was running towards him! "As if things couldn't get any worse," Ryan dryly thought as his heart started to race. How were they going to get out of this mess? The pokemon were acting like wild dogs, pouncing like there was no tomorrow, and he was surrounded. The translations would have to wait, unless...
"I gotta buy some time, but how?" Ryan's thought was interrupted as he struggled to subdue Umbreon and Eevee, who were trying to wriggle free to continue their onslaught against the thief. "If I let these guys go, Nidoking's gonna hurt them even more... What the heck's making them so mad?" Something clicked. Team Rocket was a few feet behind him now, but that wasn't what was occurring in his mind. Ryan stared at the thief as he felt like his gut was yelling at him.
"It was you." Team Rocket stopped in their tracks, slightly confused at what Ryan muttered. Suddenly, his voice rose as he proclaimed, "You took their mom away!"
The ancient room echoed Ryan's words, as the occupants absorbed the new piece of information. Jessie and James looked at each other in similar confusion, while Meowth began scowling. "Dat's the Pokemon Hunter?" Meowth redundantly said aloud as the realization hit him.
"How dare you lie to Team Rocket?" Jessie declared to the Pokemon Hunter. James nodded in rueful agreement as he recalled his encounters with Pokemon Hunters in the past.
The exposed Pokemon Hunter simply stood beside his Nidoking. His expression was unreadable, as he seemed unfazed by his blown cover. After all, he got what he came for, Team Rocket had lived up to their usefulness, and now... it was time to clean up this mess. The ground shook as Nidoking began charging up an attack, expecting it's master to give the final word.
"I'll take that!"
The unfolding drama gave Leaf a chance to jump down, yank the translation from the surprised Pokemon Hunter and as a bonus, broke Nidoking's concentrated attack! As Ryan jumped from the surprise, he accidentally let Eevee and Umbreon loose from his grasp. They charged the Pokemon Hunter like wild animals!
"Come on, we gotta move!" Leaf called to Ryan as she began sprinting past him and Team Rocket, who stood still, watching everything unfold. As soon as she reached the archway entrance, Leaf looked back, only to find Ryan had stood in the same place and was shaking his head.
"No, get that thing back to Professor Maple! We can't let the Pokemon Hunter get the translation back, and I gotta get Umbreon and Eevee back!" Ryan said as he turned back and rushed into the fray.
"Don't do it!" Leaf yelled her warning to deaf ears. "This place is going to collapse... Dang it!" There wasn't any time to spare as she began ascending the stairs as fast as she could. The only ears the warning reached were two pairs of human ears and a pokemon's.
"Did she say... collapse?" Meowth said as James and Jessie nodded. "We don't have enough life insurance for dis! Let's get outta here!" Team Rocket shared a mutual agreement and high tailed it out of the chamber as it began to slightly shake.
"Shadow Ball!" Umbreon had formed a Shadow Ball and fired it at Nidoking, who stood in front of the Pokemon Hunter. Nidoking merely breathed the Shadow Ball attack off as it swatted the ball aside, causing it to collide with a structural pillar in the room. The pillar crumbled as dust and smoke started flying through the air! Ryan gritted his teeth and held his arms up to cover his face as the dust and smoke pounded his face.
"I gotta return these guys to their Pokeballs! It's the only way we're getting out of this in one piece!" Ryan thought as he enlarged Eevee's and Umbreon's Pokeballs. The dust clouded his vision as he tried looking for even a faint sign of Eevee and Umbreon. He caught sight of Eevee and Umbreon's silhouettes clawing away at a larger silhouette that belonged to Nidoking.
"Come on guys, ret-" Ryan couldn't finish his sentence as Nidoking kicked Eevee and Umbreon off it's legs, launching them at Ryan! Their bodies collided, striking Ryan's chest and sending him sliding back. Umbreon and Eevee's Pokeballs rolled out from Ryan's grip as he laid with his back on the ground.
As the ground rumbled from Nidoking's footsteps, Ryan slowly raised himself up. As the dust subsided, there were suddenly three, no- five Nidokings! But then... everything started spinning. Ryan's head started to slightly bobble side to side as he tried catching the air that was knocked out from his lungs. As the five Nidokings approached, Ryan stumbled to his feet as he tried to grab Eevee and Umbreon, who both multiplied! He fell back down to the ground as the dizziness overpowered him. Ryan took a deep breath in and out. The five Nidokings became one... huge figure as it approached.
"Can't... catch my breath. This cloud of dust isn't helping," Ryan thought as he coughed, desperate for even a breath of clean air. He raised his head to look forward. Nidoking had picked up Umbreon and Eevee! Regardless of their struggling while holding them in each hand, Nidoking looked back to the Pokemon Hunter, waiting for a command. He simply nodded. "N-no!" There was nothing Ryan could do. Leaf had already gone, and help wouldn't arrive until it was too late...
The dust suddenly started spinning as a furiously spinning orange shell flew into the chamber and slammed into Nidoking, knocking Eevee and Umbreon free! As they fell to the ground, something popped out from the shell- Squirtle!
"S-Squirtle!" Ryan exclaimed before taking a few deep breaths. He never appreciated air more in his life than in those few breaths. With some regained strength, he stumbled to his feet and as quick as he could, went over to where Eevee and Umbreon were struggling to get up.
"Guys... stay down." Ryan reached for the fallen Pokeballs as he blocked the path in front of Eevee and Umbreon. They shook their heads as they barely got to their feet, still itching for a shot at Nidoking and the Pokemon Hunter. Ryan decided, for their own good, he had to return them to their Pokeballs. He shot the return beams at the pokemon, who kept dodging every single beam.
"STOP."
The sudden exclamation caught Eevee, Umbreon, and Ryan by surprise, as Squirtle suddenly turned around and glared at Eevee and Umbreon.
"Go into your Pokeballs. Neither of you are in shape to keep fighting." Squirtle was nearly interrupted by the both of them before he added in a harsh tone,"the both of you nearly got yourselves and him killed."
Whatever Squirtle said, it got them under control, Ryan reasoned as Eevee and Umbreon both drooped, waiting to be returned to their Pokeballs. As he quickly returned them to their Pokeballs, he could have sworn he saw Eevee shed a tear. Pocketing Eevee and Umbreon's Pokeballs, Ryan turned back to the Pokemon Hunter, who was idly watching the whole scene. Squirtle stood next to Ryan.
"We have to get out of here, Squirtle. But I have a feeling this guy's not gonna let us walk that easily... We're gonna need to work together." Squirtle nodded as he got into a battle ready stance. Ryan was surprised- did Squirtle just agree to work together? After all of those times he ignored him? Without a second thought, Ryan pulled his Pokedex out.
"I'd better see what attacks Squirtle can do," Ryan thought as the Pokedex determined what attack Squirtle could perform.
SQUIRTLE'S ATTACKS ARE: HEADBUTT, WATER GUN, RAPID SPIN, AND WITHDRAW.
"Sorry, I just wanted to know what attacks you knew," Ryan countered to a look Squirtle gave him. Squirtle shrugged, to Ryan's surprise. Was Squirtle giving him the green light to command him?
"So... you want to fight your own master," the Pokemon Hunter said as an unnatural grin crept onto his face. Ryan took a double take as he bounced between looking at Squirtle and the Pokemon Hunter.
"He was Squirtle's trainer!" No sooner than it hit him, Squirtle nodded and suddenly charged towards Nidoking and the Pokemon Hunter. Ryan's grip on the Pokedex tightened. It was do or die time, he thought as he decided to follow Squirtle on his forward charge.
"I hope we make it out in one piece..."