Everyone looked up to see a woman with spikey, dark red hair in a white Team Rocket dress with knee high white boots, cackling manically. No doubt, it was Ariana of Team Rocket's Johto division. She jumped off of her Aerodactyl and approached the case that was holding The Master Stone.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" an injured Professor Oak screamed.
Blue jumped up and ran over to try and subdue Ariana. But she quickly turned around and sent her high heel boot flying into his mouth; he toppled over and covered his mouth, blood seeping between his fingers. Mikayla gasped and sprang up, despite Erin tugging at her arm to get her back to the safety of the ground, and threw a PokeBall into the air to release her sidekick, Feraligatr.
"Hydro Pump!" she yelled and pointed toward Ariana.
A powerful stream of water pinned Ariana to the back wall of the conference room, and Mikayla dashed toward The Master Stone to protect it further.
"Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam!" Ariana stammered out, her words muffled by Hydro Pump.
The powerful orange beam that had severed the roof of the conference room struck again, only a few feet in front of Mikayla. The force of the blast sent her flying backward into rows of empty chairs as many of the scientists had exited the room for their own safety. Blue flinched at this; he wanted to help but needed to keep his bleeding under control. He also did not want to leave the side of his injured grandfather. Mikayla became very dizzy from the blast, the room was spinning and her vision blurred. The blast had also broke Ariana loose from Feraligatr's Hydro Pump as he ran over to his trainer, concerned for her well-being. Erin finally stood up and released her Squirtle.
"Okay Squirtle, use Bubble Beam!" she pointed toward the airborne Aerodactyl.
With Aerodactyl's weakness to water, Squirtle's Bubble Beam seriously hurt it; it let out a cry of pain.
Mikayla stumbled back to her feet and rushed over to help.
"Are you alright?" Erin asked.
"Yeah!" Mikayla smiled.
The two turned to each other, nodded, and turned back to their opponent. Before they could command either of their Pokémon, two large figures jumped in front of them, commanding their own Pokémon. One was very tall with huge muscles and short, spikey blonde hair while the other was slightly shorter, in full ninja attire, with a flowing, red scarf. Mikayla recognized them right away from her Kanto travels! It was Lt. Surge of the Vermillion City Gym and Koga of the Fuchsia City Gym; they too must have attended the seminar.
"It's alright girls, we can handle this!" Lt. Surge assured them.
"But Surge!" Mikayla almost whined.
"Mikayla, you need to get yourself and your friend out of harm's way! We're not playing around here!" Koga said, he looked back and smiled at Erin, causing her to blush a little.
Erin obliged and dragged Mikayla away from the battle scene. Mikayla wriggled free from Erin's grip.
"We have to help somehow!" Mikayla panicked.
"Well then, let's put out the flames!" Erin suggested.
Since the initial Aerodactyl attack, flames slowly engulfed the conference room. Feraligatr and Squirtle's water attacks were very effective but could not contain the flames alone. The flames were drawing closer and closer to Mikayla and Erin, the feeling of heat dancing on their faces.
"Golduck, Water Gun!" a flash of light, and then a Golduck appeared in front of them and doused the flames surrounding them.
The girls looked behind them to see Blue rushing over, holding his lab coat sleeve to his mouth. Together, the three of them successfully put out all of the fire. Their brief moment of accomplishment was thwarted by a loud explosion, two loud screams and a cloud of smoke. Ariana had thrown and detonated a small bomb in the conference room, sending Lt. Surge and Koga flying backward, a fallen Raichu and Muk landing beside them. The cloud of smoke cleared and Ariana could be seen jumping back onto her Aerodactyl, The Master Stone case in hand.
"Better luck next time!" she cackled as she and her fleet of helicopters flew away.
"NO!" Professor Oak screamed.
Lt. Surge and Koga stumbled to their feet and chased after Team Rocket, but it was no use, helicopters were just too fast.
Mikayla dropped to her knees in defeat, her whole body ached and she just couldn't bring herself to stand anymore. She sat there with a blank expression, but her eyes welled up with tears. A single tear streamed down her face, she darted her face away from Erin and Blue. Erin just watched as the helicopter flew away, the wind slicing past her. Blue could be heard swearing under his breath. Lt. Surge and Koga walked back in, with coinciding looks of defeat. Everyone felt discouraged. How could this have happened? Or worse, how could they have LET this happen? Paramedics rushed onto the scene, escorting them all to ambulances to take them to a nearby hospital in Viridian City.
Erin was the first to come out of her examination; she didn't actually have any injuries, just a little bruising. She sat in the lobby of the hospital, two floors below where her cohorts were being examined, and read a magazine. It was a technology magazine bragging about the Ultra Ball set to be released in the fall. Wait? The Ultra Ball has been used for over 10 years now. Why are hospital magazines always so old? She threw the magazine down and examined the lobby. It was a very sterile and clinical environment, not very welcoming at all. There were hand sanitizer stations everywhere, ever since the outbreak of Swinub Flu last winter; everyone has been super germ phobic. She crossed her legs on her chair and watched the people walk by. She was beginning to worry about Mikayla, she took a nasty fall, she was pretty sure she had a concussion. She also wondered what they would do about Blue's torn open lip; it was so bloody she couldn't even look at him while battling. Who would've thought a shoe could do so much damage?
Meanwhile, Blue left his examination room on the third floor, he had 3 interrupted stitches that started on the right hand side of his lower lip and descended about an inch below his mouth. It was a painful process, he was glad he was done with it. He sat in the waiting room on the third floor, his grandfather was on the same floor as him with a sprained ankle, and he thought he'd wait until his grandfather was discharged. He sat alone in the waiting room; he began to think to himself. He thought about the girl he had met today, she had seemed so familiar to him. It wasn't until he heard Koga address her that he remembered. She was THAT Mikayla, the one his grandfather was always talking about, Kanto's "rising star". He admired her battling skills and his grandfather had promised he would get to meet her after she defeated the Elite Four and became the new champion. So, one could imagine he was very disappointed when Mikayla turned down the offer and moved to Sinnoh. A Nurse Joy walked into the waiting room, Blue expected news about his grandfather.
"Excuse me, does anyone in here know Mikayla?" she spoke into the waiting room.
Blue quickly scanned the waiting room, a few more people had sat down after him, but none of them were the friend of Mikayla's he was looking for.
"Anyone at all?" the nurse repeated.
"I know her a little." He shyly piped up.
"Okay good, come with me!" Joy smiled and escorted him to Mikayla's room.
Mikayla was peacefully asleep in the bed, her hat rested on the table beside her.
"Now, who are you?" the nurse asked him. "In relation to her." She gestured toward the sleeping girl.
"Oh, uh, friend, I guess. We fought together during the attack." He stumbled over his words.
"Well sir, she does have a small head injury, however not severe enough to be classified as a concussion." She informed him professionally. "We gave her some mild pain killers and they knocked her right out." She laughed a little at this. "Once she wakes up, I'm sure she'll be fine to leave, she is a bit dizzy though"
"Okay, uh, thanks" he said shyly.
"I have to go examine other patients, you should keep an eye on her in case she wakes up and forgets where she is, common side effect of her injury" Joy left the room before he could reply.
He sat in a small chair beside her bed and looked at her. She was quite angelic when she slept, almost like a child. He brushed her bangs out of her face to reveal a somewhat healed scar below her left eye. He wondered where she could've got a gash like that.
Someone dropped a clipboard outside, the noise caused Mikayla to stir, Blue realized his hand still rested on her face and retracted it quickly. Her eyes fluttered open; she drew back a little when she saw his face.
"Hi…" she confusedly whispered.
Why was he here? Where's Erin?
"Sorry, the nurse was looking for your friend, I was the only one around" he began "so I said I was your friend, err, I mean, that I knew you" he began to stammer.
"Oh!" she laughed. "I see."
He smiled; her attention was drawn straight to the stitches on his lip.
"Was the kick really that bad?" she gestured to his mouth.
"I guess it was, it really didn't feel like that" he said, trying to act manly even though he struggled through the whole stitching process.
"How did you get that gash?" he gestured to scar she got from the ice cutting her face less than a week ago.
"Oh probably from the fight" she lied. He knew she lied. "I think it's about time I get out of bed and leave this boring place!" she changed the subject.
She sat up, swung her legs over and slipped her feet into her boots. She began to stand but her head started to spin again, she fell forward. Blue quickly stood in front of her, she fell into his chest. His hands had found a "stabilizing" position on her waist.
"You okay?" he looked down on her with his gorgeous smile.
"A little dizzy" she felt herself blushing again.
Erin had found her way upstairs and into Mikayla's room out of concern for her best friend's well-being. When she found them in this position, she cleared her throat, loudly and awkwardly. The two broke apart instantly.
"Good to see you're alright, Mikayla" she laughed. "On my way up here, a nurse told me Professor Oak wants to see all of us." She led them out of the room and down the hall to Oak's room; he sat up in bed, his ankle in a brace and crutches resting beside his bed.
"Is everyone alright?" the professor asked first.
"Yes sir, we're fine" Mikayla answered on everyone's behalf.
"Good" he smiled. "Now, I'll get to the point. Koga has traced Team Rocket's location to a warehouse in Saffron City. I want you two to find them." He motioned toward Mikayla and Erin. "Mikayla, I know you have the skill to battle the Team Rocket executives. And Erin, I know you have extensive knowledge of The Master Stone."
"I'd be honoured to help The Master Project" Mikayla said humbly. "And I know Erin would be too!"
"Yes, of course!" Erin smiled at the professor.
"Great, you'll be able to meet Koga at the Pokémon Centre nearby to learn more." Somehow the thought of seeing Koga again excited Erin.
The girls quickly retreated out the room to proceed to the Pokémon Centre. Blue watched them leave and sat down beside his grandfather, head hung. Professor Oak laughed.
"What is it, grandpa?" he looked up, confused.
"You want to go with them, don't you? He smiled.
"Well it'd be nice, but I have to stay here with you and also help with the lab!" he said modestly.
"I'll be fine, I may be old, but I can still run a Pokémon Lab!" he laughed. "I see the way you look at Mikayla, keep her out of trouble, she's a hot-headed one." He winked. "Go, Blue."
Blue stood up, hugged his grandfather and ran out of the hospital.
He hoped he could catch up with Mikayla before it was too late.