Chapter 3 – Chase
The man wearing nothing but black hid the piece within the gym. It would be the last place they looked for the missing component. And now anarchy would begin here in Kanto along with Johto. His brothers in arms were currently taking the neighboring region by storm he knew, and now was his time to shine. With the power plant down, the main method of travel between the regions was cut off. It would be the perfect chance to really strike! He would be a hero amongst the ranks of Team Rocket!
The part that was stolen was a critical part that was next to impossible to replace. It would require an entire new generator to be built, and that would take time. Enough time for Team Rocket to make their resurgence known. The grunt finished what he was doing and headed out. What he wasn't expecting was company at the door. The look of shock on the grunts face caused eyebrows to raise and suspicion to take root in the two men's eyes.
"I was under the impression the gym was closed" the older man with the angled face said. The younger one had narrowed his eyes upon the grunt. For once in the grunts life, he was wishing he wasn't wearing pitch black. "What are you doing here?"
"Who, uh me?"
"Do you see anyone else here?" The man looked around scared. His only option was to try and break through the two men in the doorway. He took a step back, prompting the younger man to bend his knees slightly.
"I'm just leaving!" He broke through somehow, tripping slightly as his legs were tangled in the older mans. Bursting out onto the street, startled onlookers watched as the grunt sprinted as fast as he could down the street, winding his way through the crowd. The two men who had entered the gym came tearing after, but lost track of their quarry.
"He went that way!" someone yelled at the two men. They both nodded and ran after the grunt. The streets luckily were rather straight, allowing the two men to close the distance.
"You keep following. I'm going to get ahead over the roofs." The younger man slowed up slightly to watch the older man hop up walls and onto the roofs of the buildings. The skill at which he did so was impressive. Shaking his head with a smirk, the younger man set off once more.
The grunt was panting as he looked back. Neither man was visible as he exited the city so he bent over to catch his breath. Ahead of him stretched the massive walkway to reach Cerulean cape. Slowly he started to walk up the pathway, holding tight to a stitch in his side and breathing hard. A couple were watching the flowing river up ahead, paying no attention to the man passing by them. They didn't even turn as the younger man came sprinting up behind all of them, the older man from the gym hot on the heels of the other.
"Stop!" the champion yelled. The grunt jumped in surprise and turned around. Both pursuers were breathing hard but still seemed to have more than enough energy left in them.
"You followed me all the way out here?" the grunt exclaimed.
"Damn rights we did" Arthur replied. "You're part of Team Rocket aren't you?" the young man asked with some vemon. The grunt took a step back at the question.
"I am, I am! I've created a situation were in my brothers and sisters in both regions can begin taking over just as we had planned!"
"Arthur, this man seems to have no idea about what has happened these past few months." Arthur looked over at his comrade.
"That doesn't mean I'm not going to stop him."
"What are you two talking about?" the grunt asked, still backing away. Even the couple had stopped what they were doing to watch.
"Team Rocket is finished" Arthur said. The grunt stopped and looked completely shocked.
"No way! There is no way Team Rocket is finished!"
"They are, I should know. I took them down myself." The nameless grunt shook his head and reached behind him. Grabbing his Pokeball, he threw it out, releasing his Golbat. Arthur was just as quick, bringing out his new Togekiss.
"When did you evolve your Togetic?" Koga asked in surprise.
"Recently actually. Got a shiny stone as a gift." The ninja watched the larger avian circle around the bat. Golbat should be the faster one in this matchup, but Koga could see already that Arthur's Pokemon was far stronger out of the two.
"Air cutter!" the grunt shouted. Flapping hard, the blue flyer sent streams of compressed air at Lucky. Not all the streams hit, but a few caused a small amount of scratches to appear. However, the attack barely slowed Lucky at all who caught Arthur's nod and unleashed its ancient power attack. The ground trembled as the happiness Pokemon launched boulders into the air encased in water. The power behind the attack shocked even Koga. He knew Arthur was strong, but in the past few months, it appeared that he had become even stronger than anyone back at the league even knew.
The attack was a direct hit and took the Golbat out of the air completely. The grunts mouth dropped open and he fell to his knees. The gig was up. There was no way this man before him could be defeated. Not even by Giovanni.
"Where's the machine part?" Arthur asked in a stern voice. The grunt flinched back at the words.
"I hid it in the gym."
"Where." The demand was like a cracking whip.
"Behind the wall before the audience seats" the man mumbled. Arthur nodded and looked back at Koga.
"I'll take him in" the ninja said.
It took Arthur over a week to deliver the missing machine part and return to Cerulean. The manager of the plant was ecstatic about having the generator operational again, and already people were once more moving back and forth between Johto and Kanto. Of course, with the reinstatement of the magnet train, media and other people were questioning why it went down in the first place. Reason and conspiracies were flying around like crazy, but Arthur kept his head down.
Going back to the gym, Arthur wanted to see how ready he was to challenge Misty, the red headed gym leader. People in the city fawned over her, as she was touted as one of the strongest trainers in the region. In fact, very few people were able to defeat her on their journeys. The champion walked in to the gym and looked around. People and Pokemon were swimming around, enjoying the pools of the gym, but Arthur was unable to see the person he came to challenge.
"Hello, can I help you with anything?" a young woman in a bathing suit asked. Arthur continued looking around, sparing only a glance at the assistant.
"Yes I'm looking for Misty."
"Oh I'm sorry sir, but she's not here at the moment." The girl turned red as Arthur's gaze fell to her.
"Do you happen to know where she is?"
"I believe she was headed to the cape up north." Frowning, the champion thanked the young girl and walked back out of the gym. He sighed upon exiting. This would mean stocking up once more before heading out.
The cape wasn't all that difficult to reach, but it was a day's hike away. The first part was easy enough, with a path already established. It was the second half through the mountain forests which was more difficult. The view that it offered was worth all of it however. Misty came here as often as she could, as it was a reminder of the days when she was able to travel around the region with her friends.
These days she came out here with boys lucky enough to catch her attention, however, none quite matched up with what she was looking for. There was a man she still dreamed about, someone who understood the understated nature of some Pokemon and the potential they all held. Someone who taught her about what it meant to be a trainer. The current young man who was struggling to even pitch a tent was no where even close to what she was looking for. But he was easy on the eyes.
The young red head was looking out over the cape when she seemed to see the impossible. A glowing shape dashed across her vision. Following it was a young man who jumped down in front of Misty from the rocky outcrop above her. He was sprinting forward and reached back to grab a Pokeball. The gym leader ran forward to the outcries of the young man behind her. The guy in front of Misty released his Pokemon, a Sycther, who dashed forward a green blur racing toward the glowing shape.
Both trainers watched that blue glow look back and appraise them both. They stood still as it ran across the still waters causing the bug type to stop its pursuit. Misty was breathing heavily as the surge of adrenaline kicked in. She looked over at the young man pursuing whatever the shape was and felt the shock show on her face.
"You're the champion!" Misty exclaimed. The young champion jumped at her voice and looked back.
"Well technically I suppose." He frowned looking at her.
"Misty, gym leader of Cerulean and water type specialist" the red head said holding out her hand. Arthur reached out and shook it smiling.
"Just the girl I was looking for." Misty raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? You realize that you're looking for me out here means you're interrupting my date?"
"Wasn't aware of you being on a date. Just got told you were out this way, so I figured I'd make the trip."
"You don't care that you're interrupting?" Misty asked somewhat surprised at the man's carefree attitude.
"Do I care? Sure, however, judging by your still being here and the fact that your date is still struggling to make it down here, you're not that interested in him. My guess is you're looking for an excuse to get away." Misty's eyes widened in shock. She wanted to deny him, tell him that he was dead wrong, but somehow, the champion had seen through everything and jumped to the conclusion that was plainly written. Her mind drifted back to three years ago and the young man who had gone on past her gym with power beyond her imagination. Misty glowered at the champion as his Pokemon returned.
"Did you get close enough to see what it was?" He asked it. The Scyther responded in the only way Pokekmon could, meaning Misty couldn't understand it at all. Arthur on the other hand seemed to understand, confusing Misty further.
"So it was Suicune... I wonder what it's doing here..." Arthur said more to himself than the two flanking him. Misty's glare quickly turned to curiosity.
"Did you say Suicune?" she asked. Arthur looked up at the gym leader, and she was stunned by the eyes she say there. A deep blue streaked with grey and glittering with a light so like the other man all those years ago.
"That's who Syrio here says it was. Must have come here from Johto. But why is the question."
"Well it must be searching for a worthy trainer" Misty stated. Both Arthur and Syrio looked to her. "Suicune, once awakened, is said to search the world for water to purify and a trainer of unshakable morals and pure spirit to help it keep the calm." Arthur smiled slightly but was prevented from speaking by the young man who had accompanied Misty up to the cape.
"Misty! What are you doing out here?"
"Meeting a new challenger" Misty said keeping eye contact with Arthur, the later who smirked.
Please leave your reviews and let me know what you think. I know I've taken some liberties with the story here in this chapter, but it just seemed to flow better this way! Enjoy!