~Season 7, Rocket Battles~
Opening: We Will Be Heroes
Chapter 38, Master of Disguise I
"Is everyone ready?" Jillian shouted across the room.
The crowd on both sides of the stage cheered.
Lyra stood in the backroom, anxious. She had registered as number 13, so she was coming up sooner than ever.
"Then let's get this contest started!" Jillian announced.
After a few performances, a boy came out on stage.
"Let's show them how it's done, Jynx!" The boy sent out a bulky, human-like pokemon. "Jynx, use Blizzard, then Confuse Ray!" Jynx released a whirlwind of chilly snow. It swirled around. Jynx then shot a ray of purple light into the center. It erupted a brilliant shine illuminated the room in purple and blue, a radiant display.
"That was amazing!" Mr. Contesta cheered.
Lyra gulped hard. "That was...really good..."
Lyra dashed out, her pokeball in her hand.
"Steal the show, Togetic!" Togetic was released in three stars that exploded around it. "Togetic, use Safeguard!" Togetic flew into the air and a green shield exploded from it's body. "Togetic, now spin inside and use Magical Leaf!" Togetic started to spin elegantly and releasing glowing green leaves around the inside. Togetic released the safeguard and fell towards Lyra.
Togetic landed on Lyra's head as the leaves fluttered down gracefully.
"Wonderful performance!" Jillian shouted.
Ethan sat down next to a man. He saw Lyra's ending and clapped. He glanced over at the man sitting next to him, who was cross-armed. As Ethan looked, the man grabbed his arm and they were gone in a second.
He led them through the crowd, and without anyone noticing, they slip out the door of the Contest Hall.
"Hey, who are you!" Ethan screams when they're outside.
The man throws Ethan behind a bench and kneels down.
"Hey," Ethan snaps. "What was that all about?
"I need your help. My name is Lance, the Dragon Tamer. I hear you're quit the famous boy, the one who saved the Slowpoke Well and Burnt Tower from Team Rocket. You can be useful."
Ethan crawled back. "You're apart of TR, aren't you?"
"Eh? Of course not! Just follow me." Lance stood up calmly and straightened the long, flowing cape around his shoulders. "Well, come on then!"
Lance took off quickly down the road. Onlookers peered as he ran, but he didn't take notice. Ethan stammered but he quickly followed his footsteps.
In a few minutes, they reached a small house with a sign perched atop it, reading, "MEDICINAL GOODS OF THE NINJA TOWN!"
Lance kicked open the door. Inside, a large Dragon-type pokemon was standing right in front of the door. Also, a tall boy with orange hair and black jacket was standing inside, a Fire-type dog standing next to him. It snarled and growled at a man who was cowering in the corner.
"Hey, you're Blue!" Ethan said immediately, remembering the guy from the Wallace Cup crowd.
"Yeah...Lance, I'm guessing this is the Ethan you've been talking about. Never thought it'd be the same one!" He said, laughing. "Anyway, I've got this guy cornered. He admitted to be harboring Team Rocket's underground HQ below..." He knocked over a large structure to the floor, "this thing." Under it was a staircase that curled down and then connected to a corridor.
"Good work, Blue." Lance turned to Ethan. "Blue is a Gym Leader in Kanto, a region adjacent to Johto. Well, we need your help infiltrating Team Rocket's base."
"Wait, why does a Gym Leader and a Dragon Tamer need my help with anything?" Ethan flustered.
"We know you're strong and reliable as a trainer, so...Can you help us. Please?" Lance asked. He waved to Blue.
Blue stepped down the staircase, his Arcanine following suit.
"Fine. I guess I really should be honored that I'm being asked by someone like you." Ethan explained. He nodded.
"Okay then. Dragonair, come on out!" Lance sent out a long, blue pokemon. "Dragonair, you watch this guy, okay?" Dragonair slithered towards the man. It used Scary Face and the man cowered in fear a little more. "Dragonite, come on! Ethan, you'll need a pokemon out at all times..."
Lance took off down the stairs, his Dragonite right behind him.
Ethan stood for a second. "Who...Who...Ah, I know!" He said, snapping. "Noctowl, let's go, buddy!" Ethan sent out his flying type. "Okay, it's important we're constantly on alert, all right?" Noctowl nodded. Ethan headed down the stairs, Noctowl flapping quickly behind him.
At the edge of the bottom of the stairs, a room sat with three long hallways. They each led in a different direction.
"Noctowl, use Foresight and try to see which way they went." Noctowl's 'W' glowed red and it closed its eyes. In a moment, it pointed down the left and right corridors with its wings. "Great, so we take the middle. Good job, buddy."
Ethan hurried down the middle corridor.
After a few minutes of navigating winding tunnels that led down and across and up, Ethan came to an office room. A desk sat in the middle, two bookcases sat in the two opposing corners of the room, and a lamp lit the room, along with a hanging bulb.
A man was sitting in the leather chair at the desk. Atop his head was a black hat and he was baring a black tuxedo. He stood at the sight of the boy.
"Hello. My name is Giovanni. I am the leader of Team Rocket, or I was until I disbanded it three years ago. But now, we are back in action and taking the world by surprise!" He laughed, taking off his hat.
"Mhm. I've heard of Giovanni before. But..." Ethan noticed specs of purple hair sticking out of the black hair atop Giovanni's head. "I didn't think you dyed your roots...purple."
Giovanni raised a brow and felt his head. "Ah...I think you've found me out."
Giovanni ducked down behind the desk, and in a flash, stood up again. A man with purple hair and a goatee, along with a Rocket Uniform.
"I didn't think my amazing disguise would be trumped so quickly. I suppose I should make quick work of you. Come out, Weezing!" Petrel sent out a large purple pokemon with two heads. Putrid gases poured out of the large pokemon.
"Noctowl, let's take him down!"
In the left corridor, Blue ran into a dead end.
"Arcanine, looks like this is the end of the hallway. I guess Lance or Ethan must have had a better way...Let's head back!" Blue says.
When he reaches the main room, he hears commotion from the middle hallway and scurries down it quickly.
At the end, Noctowl lays next to Ethan, fainted. Petrel stood with his Weezing, laughing and sneering.
"That was fairly quick and easy."
"Arcanine, use Flamethrower!" Arcanine fired a spout of fire at Weezing and threw it against the wall, flames spewing.
"Aye? This isn't gonna work. A stupid Gym Leader butting in..." Petrel pulled out a communicator and spoke into it. "Ariana, we have some intruders..."
"I noticed...This guy with red hair and a cape is down here trying to shut down the generators..." A cracked voice came over the phone. Petrel put it away.
"Well, I think I'm going to..." He stops and throws a smoke bomb down, making a quick escape.
Blue coughed and lifted Ethan off the ground.
"Come on, we need to go help Lance!"
Blue and Ethan hurried down the path. As they ran into the room, they were greeted by a dozen Rocket Grunts, Golbats armed and ready.
"Maybe not as quick as we hoped..." Ethan gulped.
