My Main Pokemon:
Soren – Cyndaquil
Victor – Pidgey
Kadela – Weedle
Joseline – Bellsprout
Rhine – Gastly
Helia – Zubat
...I took off my bag and put the covers on my shoes, put my jacket on, and pulled my umbrella out.
On to Azalea.
The rain outside was moderately heavy, but my umbrella was quite wide so only the bottoms of my pants got hit by the rain. There was a hiker outside the cave that I defeated quickly before continuing down the route. There was some grass to my left as I walked but I didn't venture into it.
When I rounded a corner in the path I saw two men in the middle of the path some distance in front of me. They were talking, but I didn't focus on their words immediately because I noticed that one of them was dressed strangely, all in black with a bright red R on the front of his shirt.
Team Rocket.
They broke up years ago...? I thought, then decided to focus on hearing what the men were saying. I backed up to behind a tree on the corner so that I was closer but out of sight. I eased my umbrella closed.
"...We are back to pursue Giovanni's ambition!" the Team Rocket member was saying to the other man, who didn't say anything but turned and ran away a moment later. I swore under my breath, but I wasn't sure if I was swearing because Team Rocket was back or because I hadn't arrived sooner to hear more of the man's speech. I stayed under the tree for a few moments, not sure what the man had done after the other man had run away. I thought over what I knew about Team Rocket: the last time anyone had heard from them was about three years ago, back when I was thirteen. I knew Giovanni was the leader back then and that the organization had been heroically disbanded by some Great Trainer. I knew that they were supposedly evil, but I had no idea what they ever did that was so evil or what their goals had been. So really I didn't know much about them at all.
I cautiously moved out from behind the tree with Joseline behind me and Rhine floating by my head. The man was gone now, and the only sound was the fall of the raindrops on the leaves of the trees on the side of the path. I didn't really know what I had been expecting, but I breathed easier knowing that there was no one in my way. The rain started to fall heavier, reducing visibility such that I couldn't see the trees on the other side of the path. I reopened my umbrella before continuing.
I walked down the middle of the path slowly, as much out of caution as for trying not to get too wet, keeping my eyes and ears open. Joseline and Rhine seemed to sense my stiffness, Joseline sticking close to my feet and Rhine rising to hover a few feet above my umbrella, supposedly keeping lookout for anything strange ahead. I wondered if she could see through the rain better than I could.
After a few minutes of walking I passed the edge of the trees, and realized I had reached another turn in the road. I was about to follow it when I noticed someone standing a few feet in front of me, the rain letting up ever so slightly. I took a few more steps forward and found myself face to face with the Team Rocket member I had seen earlier.
I swallowed hard, trying not to let my emotions show. But what was I feeling? I wasn't sure. Fear? Curiosity?
"I can't let you pass to the Well," he said, unaware of my inner stress. "The rain has made it unsafe."
I nodded, not sure what to say. I turned to follow the path as I had originally planned, my mind racing with no thoughts; I couldn't think. I didn't know what to think. What should I do?
The me back home would have run to my father to tell him about what I had seen, and left it at that. Of course, now that wasn't an option. And besides, who was to say that Team Rocket really was evil? After all, the man I had seen hadn't been threatening towards me, he had been keeping me from going somewhere unsafe. That was a good sign, right? And I still couldn't remember them doing anything at all besides being disbanded.
And besides, I was on the run. My father could be anywhere at any time. If he was searching for me, chances are he would end up here. If there was anything bad going on, he'd notice and take care of it. No need for me to get involved.
I noticed that the rain had lightened considerably, and was now down to a moderate drizzle, and I got my first sight of Azalea. The Pokemon Centre was straight ahead, so I decided to start out there. While my Pokemon were being healed the nurse was telling me things about the town. At first I wasn't really focusing on what she was saying, but then something she said caught my attention.
"...the Slowpokes are gone and their tails are being sold –"
"Wait, pardon?" I asked, my head snapping up from looking at a map of the town and surrounding area.
"Azalea is famous for its Slowpoke, which live in Slowpoke Well," the nurse repeated. "But they disappeared about a week ago and we've heard that their tails are being sold at various locations." I remembered the odd man who offered me a Slowpoketail back in Union Cave, but I thought it was just an obscure type of candy – had he been offering me the tail of an actual Slowpoke? "The town is quite worried about their Pokemon, and some are offering a reward for their return."
If that bit about the Slowpoke hadn't caught my attention, the word 'reward' certainly would have. "Reward?"
"Some sum of money," the nurse replied, turning to take my Pokemon off of the machine that had just dinged. "If you want more information you can go see Kurt, up in the north-west area of town," she said, handing me my Pokemon's Pokeballs and then pointing to a house on the map I had been studying. "He's in charge of the hunt for the missing Slowpoke."
I thanked the nurse, then asked her about the path out of Azalea. She said that the only ways out were the path to the east and Ilex Forest, but she said that there was a tree blocking the path through Ilex to Goldenrod. I asked her about the tree but apparently it was a skinny tree, nothing like the asshole tree that was blocking the path from Violet to Ecruteak. She said that a Pokemon would be able to cut it down if it had the right move. As I left the Centre I couldn't help but add Or a smart trainer could just walk around it.
The rain had stopped, but the clouds still looked a little dangerous so I kept the covers on my shoes but put my umbrella away in an outer pocket of my bag for easy access. I also kept my jacket on, the wind surprisingly cold.
I looked around town a fair bit before proceeding to Kurt's, seeing if there was anything of interest in Azalea. There was a Gym (had Falkner called the leader Bugsy?), and when I talked to the man outside to see if that was really the case (because what kind of a name is that?) he just started to go on about how yummy Slowpoketails were. I still didn't really know what to think of the whole chopping-Slowpoke-tails-off business.
I soon made my way to the house that the nurse had pointed out to me. The sign on the front door said "Open," so I figured that meant I could walk right in.
Inside the house had a very spacious design, with a large open area when you walked in. To my right I could see a large workshop area. There were a couple of hallways going off to my left. There were two people inside, an old man sitting on a chair straight ahead of me who was reading something and a little girl sitting on the ground slightly to my right.
The man in front of me looked up. "What do you want?" he barked.
I swallowed before answering. "The nurse at the Pokemon Centre said that you were offering a reward to-"
"Let me ask you a question," he said before standing up, and I could hear several cracks as he did so. "Have you seen any sign of Team Rocket around Azalea?"
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Yes, actually, I saw one-"
"So Will was telling the truth and wasn't seeing things. Apparently Team Rocket is back and using Pokemon for their dirty work."
I was slightly confused by his words. "How do you know they're using Pokemon for their dirty work?" I asked.
"Doesn't matter, I'm going to give them a lesson in pain!" he said before running past me and out the door with impressive speed.
"Don't worry about him," I heard a voice say, and I turned to see the little girl addressing me. "He runs off all the time, usually for nothing. There's nothing to worry about, but I do get so lonely without him..." she said trailing off.
"May I use your bathroom?" I asked. She shrugged and pointed to one of the hallways. I quickly found the bathroom and closed the door, then opened the medicine cabinet. I found some medicine for headaches (my one from Helia's Supersonic hadn't gone away) and downed a few before putting the bottle into my bag. I scanned the rest of the cabinet and helped myself to some bandages as well as some anti-bacterial ointment in case I ever got injured. Closing the cabinet I zipped my bag shut and left the bathroom.
The girl was still in the same place as before and didn't seem to notice my presence. I walked into the kitchen and released my Pokemon so that they could have some of the Pokemon food that had been left out. I went over to the fridge and opened it, and waited to see if the girl would do anything. She didn't seem to notice. I grabbed a few apples and put them into my bag, and took a bottle of soda. I closed the fridge and filled up my water bottle in the sink. I took a pear from the counter and ate it quickly as my Pokemon finished up their meal. Once they were done I returned everyone but Victor to their Pokeballs. I lifted Victor onto my shoulder and started to make my way towards the door.
"Please go help my granddad," the girl said just before I reached the door. "He needs help."
"I thought you said he would be fine," I said, turning to face her. Her eyes looked distant.
"They hurt him," she said, a tear coming to her eye. "They're mean. Go help him."
And that's when I snapped into reality. I wasn't with my parents anymore, and I wasn't going to expect – or let – my dad take care of the world's problems, and apparently I couldn't trust a crazy old man to do so either. There was something weird going on, and I was going to investigate it myself and deal with whatever it was. I was strong and independent and capable, not weak and reliant and naïve. I was going to do this myself. And chances were I would get money out of it – bonus.
"Alright," I said, turning back and opening the door. "I'll go help him."
I stood in the cover of the trees, watching and waiting.
The man – no, coward, scoundrel – hadn't moved from his place in front of the path to the Well since I had started to watch him. No one had come or gone either, which meant that there were more members inside – Team Rocket grunts never worked alone.
I started to formulate a plan for how to get down into the Well without the grunt noticing me. I couldn't slide down the sides because they were unstable from the rain – which had thankfully stopped – and there was no other way down besides the stairs build into the slope, which the grunt was blocking. I was strongly considering having my Gastly suffocate the grunt so that he couldn't raise the alarm when the problem was solved for me.
I couldn't see who it was, but someone coming from the town ran towards the grunt and tackled him, sending them both rolling down the stairs and out of my sight. I blinked, not quite sure what to think. I heard a few cries, a crash and a thud, and a scream of pain and a scream of anger, then all was silent.
I waited a few moments to make sure that the grunt wasn't coming back up, then stood up and left my hiding place. I proceeded towards the Well with caution, not wanting to be caught off-guard. I looked over the edge of the slope, and the stairs were clear. I proceeded down the steps, keeping my eyes and ears open. I didn't see anyone coming up or down the ladder that led into the Well, so I made my way down quickly.
When I got to the bottom I heard a groan come from behind me, so I whipped my head around and put one of my hands in my pocket, ready to pull out my Gastly's Pokeball. I looked down and found that the noise had some from an old man who was sprawled out on the ground a few feet away from the ladder – he must have been the one that tackled the grunt a minute before. I paid him no mind and continued on – I couldn't waste time dealing with him and risk getting discovered. Not that I would know what to do with a random unconscious old man at the bottom of a hole.
I peered through the one exit from the room I was in, and saw that on the other side there was a large cavern with a high ceiling and piles of rocks and dirt acting as walls of sorts, stopping me from seeing everything. On the ground a dozen feet away I saw the grunt from before leaning against one such wall, his head in his hands. The moment my eyes locked on him he looked up, and our eyes met. He scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. "The old coot tackled me and we fell down the drop," he said hurriedly. "I landed on top of him, but I'm still in a ton of pain." Something seemed to occur to him. "Hey, what are you doing down here? It's not safe, get out!" I looked at him with a deadpan expression, not so much as twitching. "Fine, if you won't answer me then I'll take my anger out on you!"
I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I released my Gastly from its Pokeball.
I made quick work of his two Rattata, and when he realized that he lost he kept mumbling about it "not being his day" as I tried to wrestle my money from him. After about ten seconds he fell down limp, my Gastly having suffocated him, and I pulled my money easily from his hand. I knew which pocket his wallet was in, so I pulled it out and searched through it. I was talking the last of the bills out of it when I heard voices behind me. I dropped the wallet and stuffed the bills into my pocket, getting to my feet and turning to face the entrance I had come through, waiting to see who would come through; there was nowhere for me to take cover. I had started to take steps backwards slowly when someone appeared in the doorway.
Sy.
Leon?
We both stopped dead in our tracks when our eyes met. I felt my insides constrict, probably from surprise.
He spoke first. "What are you doing here?" he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets, probably so that he could clench his fists without me noticing during the taunting I was planning to dish out. I noticed a Gastly floating beside his head before it faded away into nothingness.
"They're offering a reward for whoever can find and return the Slowpokes," I said with a shrug, putting my hands in my pockets as well. "Money's nice."
He seemed to consider his words before speaking. "Leave. I'll take care of Team Rocket."
I blinked a few times in disbelief before replying. "Excuse me? I'm pretty sure I can handle them. Besides, I beat you," at this I could see his fists clench inside his jacket pockets. "So if anything you're the one who should scram."
"Do you know anything about Team Rocket?" he asked in a loud whisper, walking towards me so that we were only a few feet apart. I remained silent. "Exactly. Knowledge is power, and you have none. Now go. Away."
"I'd say you're the one without power," I said with a smirk, and he scowled. "But I'm not going anywhere; Kurt said he'd make me some special Pokeballs if I could get rid of Team Rocket, and I'd really like some to help me get the Lapras in Union Cave."
"Team Rocket will do anything for money," Leon said, looking behind him quickly. I was keeping an eye out for trouble, but I guess he didn't think I was smart enough to do that. "And they won't have mercy on some girl who thinks she's strong. You don't know what you're getting into."
"I'll take my chances, thanks," I said, stepping around him before he could stop me. I turned my head to look at him. "You coming?"
I looked at her in disbelief. Was she asking me to work with her?
"I work alone," I replied.
"We're both going in the same direction," she said, turning her body to face mine. I turned to face her as well. She motioned to the path ahead. "We can split up when there's a break in the path or whatever, but until then I'd say two pairs of eyes are better than one."
She had a point, but I didn't want to tell her that. I just started walking, and she fell into step beside me.
When we reached a corner I put my arm out in front of her, and we crept (as in I crept and she followed) slowly forward, peeking around the corner. It was a clearing I guess you could call it, the dirt walls being further apart on either side than in the hallway we were currently standing in. In the "clearing" there was a female grunt sitting on the ground, humming as she rolled something in paper. Around her were what looked like dried out chunks of meat. We hadn't been able to hear her humming from around the corner, meaning that the walls did not cause sound to echo down the halls – a good thing, considering Sy and I had already spoken more than was wise. I pulled my head back so that she wouldn't notice me, and Sy did the same. "Go," I whispered, and Sy looked at me curiously. "Wait," I instructed. She nodded.
About a minute later I heard a thud, then proceeded around the corner. Sy followed me after moment, and she stopped when she saw the grunt's body on the ground. "Relax, she's just unconscious," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"How...?" she asked, walking forward to join me beside the grunt's crumpled body. I bent down and searched her pockets for her wallet and Pokeballs. She had no Pokemon but I found her wallet and handed it to Sy.
"There's your money. Now let's keep moving." She looked down at the wallet with wide eyes but nodded, putting it into one of her pockets before we continued down the path.
Not far from us there was a slight turn in the path, and past it I could see that the walls dropped off, so we were probably close to the main room and the centre of operations. A thought occurred to me. I stopped walking and Sy stopped as well. "Do you know what exactly Team Rocket is doing here?" I asked her, moving against the wall. She followed.
"Apparently they stole all the Slowpokes in the town and now they're chopping their tails off to sell," Sy replied. I nodded in recognition, remembering the crazy guy that had tried to tell me Slowpoketails in Union Cave. He hadn't been dressed as a Team Rocket member so I hadn't been suspicious, but he had been a bit too persistent so he had paid anyway. It would also explain the meat the female grunt had been packaging. "Didn't you know that, all-knowing one?" she asked with a light chuckle.
I shot her a glare, but didn't otherwise acknowledge the comment. "Slowpoke's tails are similar to Staryus' appendages; they grow back, so it's like a renewable resource. They must grow back incredibly fast for Team Rocket to bother with them, usually they're only interested in get-rich-quick schemes so that they don't waste time and resources." I ran a hand through my hair, pushing my hair back before it fell back into place when I removed my hand.
"How do you know so much about Team Rocket?" Sy asked after a moment.
I turned my head quickly to look at her, and some of my hair must have hit her in the face because she jerked her upper body backwards slightly. Her eyes were still wide and staring at me. I stayed silent a moment, and decided not to answer. I turned to look down what remained of the path. "Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" I asked, deciding to give her one more chance. If things were the same this time around, there would be no un-involving herself from Team Rocket's doings. I wondered briefly why I was so worried about protecting her – it was hardly my business who Team Rocket went after.
She shrugged in response, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation.
Then the best way to learn is to jump right in.
Leon paused and checked behind him again before speaking. "You may want to, uh, brace yourself," he said in what could only be described as hesitant awkwardness.
"Against what?" Half of the things Leon said were confusing to me, but I was doing my best to keep up.
He looked at me straight in the eyes, and I felt a shiver run down my back. "They're cutting the tails off of Slowpoke. Think about what that entails."
Oh.
I had never had to deal with large amounts of blood before, my dad always being all patched up before returning home after an incident at work. I didn't know how I was going to react, but I wasn't going to let Leon see my uncertainty, so I shrugged again. "Let's go. Unless there's anything else you'd like to fill me in on?" I said, making another fish for information.
"The grunt I defeated by the entrance had Rattata," Leon said, pulling a Pokeball out of his pocket and gripping it lightly in his hand, ready to throw it at a moment's notice. "But Team Rocket is usually fond of Poison type Pokemon. If you have any Grass, Psychic, or Ground types they'd be useful."
"Grass is weak to Poison, dumbass," I said from behind him as we crept towards the final corner. "But I don't. Do you?"
"Nope," he replied with a smirk.
"So are we working together or not?" I asked when the thought dawned on me, Leon's words leaving me unclear on the point.
"Nope," he said again. "Once we're out there, it's everyone for themselves."
I smirked as well. "Sounds good to me." Adrenaline pumped through my veins as we stepped out of the cover of the path and into the main area of the cave.
The first thing that got me wasn't the sight of blood – I actually couldn't see any – but the overwhelming smell. The cavern smelt of metal, but there was another smell underneath it as well, and I had to sniff a few times to pick up on it – a slight hint of maple. This wouldn't have been so bad on its own, but the humidity made breathing unpleasant at best. There were puddles littering the floor, with one or more small pink masses beside each one. They were clearly Slowpoke, and while I had never seen one in real life before I could tell that they just looked wrong without their tails. Further into the cavern, about five hundred feet away, it looked like some might have tails, or at least some short stub of one.
I walked towards one of the closer ones, and noticed that the ground around it was stained a darker red-brown than the other ground in the Well. I could see that the water they rested by was not clean water either, and while not opaque it was not clear. When I approached the nearest one opened its eyes and lifted its head slightly to get a better view of me before putting his head back on the ground and closing its eyes again. I got down on one knee beside it.
"Don't worry about them," I heard Leon whisper from behind me. I turned my head to look at him. He was looking down at...a PokeDex? "They're lazy Pokemon, and they don't feel pain when their tails are damaged. They may be slightly malnourished and dehydrated, but otherwise they're perfectly fine. We should deal with Team Rocket."
"What happened to 'everyone for themselves'?" I whispered with a smirk as I stood up again, brushing the dirt off my pants before walking towards him. He turned away from me and started to walk towards the far wall of the cavern, walking around the Slowpoke and puddles. He didn't say anything. "Where'd you get the PokeDex?" I asked as I followed him through the cavern, eyes and ears open. My heart was thumping hard and I had to concentrate a lot to not focus solely on the sound of it. There was no one in the cavern; I had expected there to be several people in the midst of cutting tails off, but instead there were no people to be found and all the Slowpokes were calm. I probably should have picked up on the fact that there was nothing going on when the cavern had been dead silent besides mine and Leon's -
"Leon," I whispered loudly.
"What?" he snapped over his shoulder. "Be quiet or we'll lose the element of surprise."
"I'm pretty sure they already know we're here."
"Very good," a voice from my left said. Leon and I whipped our heads around at the sound. We couldn't see anything besides the snoozing Slowpoke.
"Yes, very impressive," another voice said, this time from our right. I looked towards the sound of this one, while Leon kept his eyes trained on the left wall.
"Too bad that observation will be your last," another voice said from behind me. I turned my body to face it and the left wall, standing effectively on a diagonal. I head Leon move behind me and felt his back against mine as he turned as well so that we had a combined view of the entire room.
"Are you going to come out and fight us or hide like the cowards you are?" Leon called out into the cavern.
"If they've got nothing to prove they won't come out," I muttered under my breath.
"They have no honor, it wouldn't make a difference either way," he said at regular volume.
"Now now, you don't know us," the second voice said, and I felt Leon's muscles tense as he tried to narrow down the location of the sound. "Why so harsh?"
"I know your kind," Leon said with venom in his voice. "And I plan to put an end to every last one of you."
"Lofty goals for a kid," the last voice said. I could tell it was coming from the hallway Leon and I had come from. "Even one as old as yourself."
"We were followed," I muttered as quietly as I could, hoping only Leon would be able to pick up what I said. "Hallway."
"My my, you are bright," the same voice said, and I thought I saw a shadow move. I ran over quickly which Pokemon were where on my new belt. Rhine was technically the fastest, but if I needed a lot of distance covered Victor was my best bet. So when I needed to, first Pokeball on my belt. "Too bad you decided to stick that smart nose of yours where it doesn't belong. But tell me, didn't the two of you say you weren't going to work together?"
I felt Leon take a step away from me. "Come out and face us!" he yelled out.
"Very well then," the voice said.
I felt the air on my back move, and I turned my head slightly to catch sight of a small purple mass before I was thrown forward a dozen feet, my ears ringing from the sound of the explosion.
I landed with my face facing downwards, my stomach hitting something hard but softer than the ground – a Slowpoke. My knees hit the ground beside the Slowpoke's body. I couldn't move for a moment, unable to breathe, but I was more concerned with the pain I was in. My back was burning hot, as was my neck, the back of my head, and the left side of my face. Shocked, it took a great deal of presence of mind to use my arms to push my stomach off of the Slowpoke so that my weight wouldn't restrict my breathing.
I gasped for air, and I could taste smoke – the explosion must have caused my top to catch on fire, which would explain the intense heat. I let myself collapse, rolling over and off the Slowpoke, my back resting in one of the filthy puddles. My back cooled down immediately and the feeling was pleasant. I moved my body downwards to get my head wet as well, not sure if my hair had caught fire too. I was breathing heavily as I lay there for a few moments, trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing. I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye, and forced myself to get up. As I struggled to my feet I pulled Victor's Pokeball off my belt, releasing him. He flew off immediately, supposedly to deal with the nearest foe.
My head was spinning, so I had to stop when I reached my knees to let it settle down. I looked around carefully, the movement of my eyes causing unease in my stomach. Leon was up and fighting, calling out commands to his Pokemon that I could barely hear over the ringing in my ears. I could see the female grunt from earlier walking towards me, an evil grin on her face and a Pokeball in her hand. "Victor," I croaked, my throat dry from breathing in the dirty air. I swallowed, and repeated myself, this time louder. Victor glided over my head towards the woman, bringing a breath of wind along with him that felt wonderful on my still burning skin. Once it passed the pain returned, but I ignored it to deal with the task at hand, my head clearer. I made it to my feet, my feet spread far apart as my balance still wasn't perfect.
Victor flew towards her for another moment before she fell backwards, Victor having used Gust. He made a sharp turn to fly back to me with the last of his altitude, and he landed on my shoulder gracefully. She was back on her feet quickly, sneering at me as she continued to approach. I felt Victor tense to launch himself into the air, but I said "Don't" under my breath.
"You're pretty tough, to already be on your feet after a blast like that," she said once she was closer. I could only just hear her, but didn't show this by leaning forward like I wanted to. "Not as strong as your friend though, he was up almost immediately. What's up with him?"
"We're not friends," I replied, putting my hands on my hips and straightening my body. "What caused the explosion?" I asked, buying myself time to get all my senses back.
"A nice thing called a Koffing," she replied with a close-mouthed grin. "They can explode on command." She held the Pokeball in her hand up, and it seemed to absorb everything around it. "It'll reform once it's healed," she explained. "But in the meantime, I have other means of disposing of you." Dropping the Pokeball in her pocket, she caught a Pokeball that flew through the air from my right – in the direction the first voice had come from. Observing the angle quickly, I deduced that it came from the wall on my right, slightly behind where I now stood.
She didn't give me time to try and find the source though – as soon as she had the Pokeball in her grasp she released the Pokemon inside it. All I saw was a small purple mass flying straight for my face, and even Victor didn't have time to react. Another small purple mass knocked it off course, however, and it fell to the ground. I was able to see it now – an Ekans, and on top of it was a Zubat.
"You're in no shape to fight," I heard Leon say faintly behind me, and I turned to see him standing only a couple of feet behind me. I opened my mouth to reply, but he stopped me. "Get out of here while you still can." Behind him I saw a grunt collapsed over a Slowpoke with a Rattata and two Zubat lying motionless beside him.
"I'll stop both of you," the grunt across from me said, and I turned back to her. "We're under direct orders from Executive Proton to stop anyone who messes with this operation."
"Executive Proton?" I asked.
"I'll take care of him, now get out," Leon said, getting in front of me.
"Oh yeah-?" I said, about to argue, when I realized that this left me free to investigate the source of the female grunt's flying Pokeball. Smirking I started to make my way over to the far wall. "I'll show your stupid face," I muttered, clenching my fist, wishing I could punch Leon in the face at that moment. But that could wait until after we were done down here.
As I approached the wall I saw a hole in it slightly shorter than I was, hidden in the shadows by a slight overhang in the wall. I was about to bend down to peak inside when I heard a voice behind me. "Get away from there!" I turned and saw another grunt standing a dozen feet behind me. That comment was all I needed.
I dove inside the opening, and I scrambled to close the wooden door that was hinged inside. There was a bolt that I promptly dropped into place. I heard something throw itself against the door before all was silent on the other side. Leon can take care of him.
"Well hello there," someone said from behind me. Fuck. I turned around to see who had spoken. It was a man with green hair standing behind a desk that sat in the middle of the small office-sized room. "And who might you be?"
I swallowed again. "You need to stop selling the Slowpoke tails and return the Slowpoke to their owners."
"Ha!" the man said with a short laugh. "You're one of those. If we listened to any of the self-righteous brats that came around trying to take us down our rep would be ruined. Do you know who I am?"
"Executive Proton?" I guessed. He wore different clothing than the grunts had, so I figured I was right but still said it as a question.
"You'd be correct," he said, walking around to the front of the desk before leaning on it. "I'm considered the cruelest and scariest guy in Team Rocket. Do you know why that is?"
"Because you project an air of cruelty to put fear into those that have to deal with you?" I said, wondering how he'd react.
He seemed to study me for a moment. "You seem like a pretty smart kid, figuring out that we already knew that you were here," he said, putting his finger to his chin as he considered his words. "Why would you interfere with us? A smart girl like yourself should know that it's dangerous to get involved with criminals."
I thought back briefly to my dad's outburst at me the night I ran away, but pushed the memory aside. "I was offered a reward if I could get the Slowpoke back."
"Ah, so this is about money then. And your friend with the red hair, is that why he's here as well? Money?"
I thought for a moment. "I have no idea why Leon's here," I said. "Come to think of it, he didn't even know what you guys were doing here until I told him. He just barged down here because he saw you guys I guess."
"Did you say that his name is Leon?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Nothing, nothing," Proton said, looking at the ceiling in thought. I glanced up there was well, not trusting anything after the Koffing bomb, before looking at his face again. "No matter where we go there's always going to be someone who doesn't agree with us. But it's the same with other people and groups as well – politicians, activist groups – we're really not that different. We're after something as well." He paused.
"What?" I asked, thinking that's what he wanted me to do before he continued his little monologue.
"Shh," he said, still looking at the ceiling. "Do you know why people join Team Rocket in the first place?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Well, ...– what's your name?" I didn't say anything. "Come now, what harm could come from giving me your name?"
You could tell my dad – wait, this guy is in Team Rocket. The police is his enemy as well. With that, I said "Sy."
"Well, Sy, I think I have a proposal you'll like, but first I'll have to battle you to test out your strength. What do you say?"
"I say we battle, and if I win you return the Slowpoke and leave."
He chuckled, finally looking down from the ceiling and at my face. "Very well, selling the Slowpoketails was harder than we thought anyway," he said with a shrug, pushing himself off the desk and standing straight. "Come, there's a larger room just through here that we can use to battle," he said, walking through a doorway I hadn't noticed.
I followed him a moment later, after muttering to Victor to be careful, not sure what tricks Proton may have had up his sleeve. We entered a large area, with ground in front of us 200 feet long and 50 feet across. On our right was some water, and far across it I could see some more dry ground. Proton already stood at the opposite end of this dry area with a Pokeball in his hand. "Ready, Sy?" he said, but I could barely hear it – I read his lips to be sure that that was what he said.
I nodded. Proton released the Pokemon from the Pokeball – a Zubat. "Victor, the usual," I said, and felt wind on my back as Victor sent himself into the air. The Zubat opened its mouth for a Supersonic but I couldn't hear anything. I felt pressure build in my head and knew it was still affecting me, and felt my headache get worse. I covered my ears, hoping to reduce the sound as much as possible. Victor had flown to the left wall of the room and had completely avoided the attack, and released a Gust at the Zubat from that point, sending it crashing into the right wall. It got back up and into the air again, but I could see a large bleeding gash in its head. It opened its mouth for another Supersonic, but Victor Gusted it right back into the wall before it could get anything out. It didn't move after that.
"Impressive," Proton's lips said, returning the Zubat to its Pokeball. He pulled another one from his pocket, and released a Koffing. Victor glanced back at me from his vantage point a dozen feet in the air. I nodded at him, showing that I wanted him to stay in there. He sent a Gust in the Koffing's direction, dispersing most of the Koffing's gases. I smiled lightly before my face fell when I saw the gases gather back together and head in Victor's direction. Before he could summon a Gust to blow them away from himself they had surrounded his head, and no matter what manoeuvre he did it stayed glued to his face. I saw his body convulse slightly, and I hoped he was only coughing.
I was about to call him back to his Pokeball when the gases finally released his face, and he looked quite sick, his eyes bloodshot and mouth hanging open, desperate for air. The gases returned to the Koffing's main body before it started to rise rapidly towards Victor in what I guessed would be a Tackle. Victor saw it coming, though, and dived towards it himself as a Quick Attack. As he fell a light enveloped him and I gasped, not sure whether it was the Koffing's doing somehow or if Victor had learnt another move. I saw the Koffing get thrown to the ground with incredible speed, and it rolled slightly along the ground, completely unconscious. I looked up to find that Victor was no longer a Pidgey – he had evolved! His new Pidgeotto wings were spread wide as he glided upwards, letting out a triumphant cry. I smiled wide and clapped a couple of times in excitement before I remembered that Proton was still there.
I looked across the room at him; he had already returned the Koffing and seemed to be deep in thought again. He caught my gaze and smiled lightly before walking towards me. Victor landed beside me, and I could tell that he was poisoned. I pulled an Antidote from one of my pockets – I had left my bag with Kurt so that it didn't weigh me down – and administered it quickly.
"That was very impressive," Proton said once he was closer. I put the empty Antidote bottle back into my pocket and stood up to face him. "I see other Pokeballs on your belt, are all your Pokemon as strong as your Pidgeotto?"
"What's it to you? It's obvious that he can kick your ass."
"Not giving away your secrets, good move," Proton said, nodding.
"You lost, now you have to leave," I said.
"Yes yes, we will," Proton said, making a shooing motion with his hand. "But first, let's go back to my office."
"Why?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.
"Well, I suppose we can discuss it here, but it's so much nicer in there," he shrugged, then continued. "You desire money, correct?"
I crossed my arms, keeping my guard up. "I need it to get by."
"And what about power?"
"I'd say I already have it, since I beat you."
"No, not that kind of power." I frowned in confusion. "Power in the world, over other people."
"I don't get what you're trying to say."
"Join Team Rocket."
I felt the muscles in my chest constrict, but I couldn't tell why. "I-"
"Just hear me out," Proton said, holding a hand up to stop me. "You will get money and power. With your strength – and just so we're clear, you're very, very strong – you would easily get a high rank and a lot of power and control within the organization."
"How do I know you don't just suck?" I asked.
"How long have you been a trainer?" he asked me.
It took me a moment to figure it out. "Three days."
I saw his eye widen considerably before he controlled his surprise. "Have you had time to get any gym badges in those three days?"
I wasn't sure whether I should keep flaunting my achievements, but I decided to answer him anyway. "I beat Falkner last night."
If he was surprised he hid it this time. "Do you know how long it takes someone to get strong enough to stand a chance against a gym leader, let alone a Team Rocket Executive such as myself?" I shook my head. "Weeks, even months."
"I doubt that-"
"You would have seen the junior trainers in Falkner's gym," Proton said. "Do you think they'd still be there if they had defeated Falkner? Do you think gyms cycle through trainers every few days? It just doesn't happen."
"Are you calling me a prodigy or something to inflate my ego?"
"I'm just saying that you're abnormally good, and that you'd be recognized for your strength." I considered his words. "We'd also offer you protection, say from the police." My eyes widened slightly. "I saw you in the police files," he said with a smirk. "You've done a very good job disguising yourself, changing your hair and all, and I wouldn't have recognized you if you hadn't given me your name. The burns don't help either – you'll want to get cream for them when you get back to Azalea. But all I'm saying is that there's power in numbers, and you'd be in control of those numbers."
I opened my mouth but closed it again, trying to come up with a reply.
"You don't have to decide right now," he said, heading towards the opening that led to his office. "Think it over. I'll have someone waiting for you in the lighthouse in Olivine City. Give your reply to them whenever you make your way there." He went through the opening, but I was glued to my place. Everything Proton had said was running through my head, and I felt overwhelmed.
Victor chirped up at me from his place on the ground beside me. He was three times as big as he was when he was a Pidgey, and I knew he wouldn't be able to ride around on my shoulder anymore. I looked down at him and gave him a smile, bending down slightly to ruffle the new, long red feather on his head. "Good job bud," I said. He looked up at me. "Let's go make sure he follows through on our deal, otherwise we'll have to give him another beating," I said, grinning at the last part. "Keep an ear out though, my hearing's still not great." Victor bobbed his head in a nod.
Victor was incredibly adept at walking around on the ground, which was a good thing because with his larger wings he wouldn't have been able to fly through the doorway that led to Proton's office. I walked through first, and saw that Proton wasn't there, though the desk was. I noticed that all the drawers were open and empty, meaning that Proton must have taken everything, which was a good sign. The wooden door was also hanging open. Victor moved in front of me and walked towards the door and peaked out. He gave a chirp and looked back at me, motioning with his head for me to go and look. I did, and I was surprised to see that Leon was the only one left in the cavern. His head was down as if he was focusing on something.
I walked towards him, and when my feet splashed in a puddle he looked up, his arm twitching slightly before he registered that it was me. He glared at me angrily until I got closer, then he spoke. "Why didn't you let me take care of Proton?"
I raised both my eyebrows as I looked at him in disbelief. "Excuse me, but you weren't letting me do anything. What else was I supposed to do, stand around while you did all the work?"
"Yes."
"What the fuck?"
"You may be here for money, but I'm here to get rid of Team Rocket once and for all."
"Well excuse me for wanting the monetary reward. Adventuring gear is expensive."
I saw him look me up and down. "It must be shit quality, because your shirt is falling apart."
I felt at my sides and back with my left hand – it came away with soot on it, and I felt my shirt crumble slightly from my touch. I wondered if I would have been better off if I had kept my jacket on – I had taken it off when I was with Kurt – but figured it was cheaper to replace a tank top than a jacket. "Well sorry for not buying things that are explosion-proof. What's your deal though? One of the grunts said that you were on your feet right after the explosion, while I was half incapacitated."
"I know how to deal with them," he said before turning away from me and starting to head for the exit. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Now wait just a minute," I said, following after him. "Why in the world would you know how to 'deal' with explosions? Are you some sort of secret agent spy ninja or something?" After I said it I thought back to his acrobatics of sorts in Sprout Tower. Didn't seem too farfetched a statement.
I heard him sigh before turning around to face me, and we both stopped walking. "Listen, just because I let you tag along here doesn't mean we're friends or on good terms or anything like that."
"Tag along? I was going to go whether you were here or not. I was not 'tagging along!'" I said, clenching my fists at my side and taking a step closer to him to be right in his face. "I'd have been fine on my own."
"Funny, same here," he sneered at me before turning around and starting to walk again before he stopped. "You go ahead," he said. "I'll stay back and wait until you clear the old guy out."
"Oh, so now I have a job?" I said from my original location, not having moved when he started walking. "Maybe I should let you deal with him since I took care of Proton."
"I thought you wanted the money," Leon said, turning back to look at me over his shoulder. He had a good point. "Now go and hurry up, I don't want to be stuck down here forever."
I smirked as I walked slowly by him, sticking my tongue out as I passed him. I saw him frown and could feel his glare as I walked away, jumping over and around Slowpoke as I made my way to the exit.
I watched as Sy made her way to the exit, glaring at the back of her head all the while. My eyes strayed to her exposed back more times than I would have liked (as in at all), and I felt my face flood with heat.
My Gastly materialized beside my head, grinning at me as it noticed the situation. I let out a low growl and returned it to its Pokeball.
I found Kurt where I had left him, but we was sitting up – he said his back was feeling better, so we went back to Azalea – it was dark out by then. He collected the Pokeballs for all the missing Slowpoke and we went back down the Well to collect them all before returning them all to their owners. There was one that didn't get absorbed into a Pokeball, so I decided to catch it myself – I named him Joshua, and he was a quiet level six male that was proud of his power, which hopefully he had a lot of. As Kurt and I returned the residents' Slowpoke I had the idea that I could use Joshua to cross the water where I had battled Proton and explore the Well further.
Once Kurt and I were done returning the Pokemon we went back to his house, and he gave me a Fast Ball and 10 000д as my reward. He also said he'd be happy to make me some custom Pokeballs from Apricorns – I left him with two Black Apricorns (which he said would become Heavy Balls, which would be perfect for catching Lapras) and my phone number so he could call me once they were done, but I told him not to tell anyone that he had met me or knew me, and not to give the number to anyone else. He laughed at me, but said that since I acted like such a hero in the Well I must have my reasons, so he agreed. He never asked for my name.
After leaving his house I went to the Pokemon Centre to heal Victor before heading to the Well to explore it, hoping to find some good items and save myself some money. When I entered the Pokemon Centre I was very surprised to see Leon there, using the PC. He seemed flustered when I jumped behind him and surprised him, causing him to flinch (!). I found out that he had just now come from the Well, having caught himself a Slowpoke to explore the Well as I had planned to. He told me not to bother, since Slowpoke couldn't swim (or Surf as he called it). He said he was heading out to Ilex Forest, and I said I'd go to the gym the next day instead – I was feeling confident since I had seen no sign of police anywhere in the town, so I decided that my departure could wait until the afternoon.
"I hope you get torn limb from limb," Leon said before turning to leave the Pokemon Centre.
"I hope you get swarmed by Beedrill!" I called out to his retreating form. He didn't acknowledge my comment, but I smiled as I continued on with my business.
Author's Notes – For my entire life I've thought that it was Ixel Forest, but then I actually have to type the thing out and it's actually Ilex. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS.
Yay for body language hints I learnt from sociology class~
Some TrainerCardShipping moments in there for Odile =3
I went back to last chapter and gave Sy an extra black tank top so that she could dispose of the one that got exploded on this chapter (the exploding Koffing wasn't part of the plan until I wrote this chapter).
I was honestly having fangasms over my own fic as I wrote this chapter; WHAT DO YOU THINK WHAT DO YOU THINK WHAT DO YOU THINK? If there's one chapter that I really want reviews for it's this one, so please review =3