The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
So, let's see... we've made it through four months. Though it might easily seem as if it were four years.
November brings a new twist on the "Three Short Stories" format from the "Adventures Series." This time around, there are four! One starring Celadon City gym leader Erika, one with Ash finally catching up to Arius and Cassie in Hoenn, a third featuring Gary, his two cheerleaders, and the best-known minor character from Johto (for better or worse), and the fourth features Misty on a blind date... with someone you'll just squeal with adoration over. Hopefully...
Don't forget some Team Rocket non-filler along the way, too!
Now, roll the theme song! Oh, wait, we don't have a theme song... well, just roll the disclaimer, title card, and all that junk...
Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in the Pokémon anime series and other productions belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA! That's right, no more mentioning of 4Kids Entertainment! Oh, wait... I guess I just did, huh? Anyway, original characters such as Cassie Banks, Arius McFly, and countless others, are my creations. Those characters are not allowed to be used by anyone else without written consent from me.
This fanfic is only posted at two places: my place, which contains the full-length chapters in one piece, and which has the same story, but split up into smaller pieces. It should not be posted anywhere else without my permission.
The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: November, Part 1 (11.07.05/02.01.07)
Previously on "The Year of Rocket's Revenge," the world was in shock after a surprising event in the first-ever Pok?on Junior Master Tournament. On the way to becoming the first-ever Junior Master, Marco Pereira suddenly fell unconscious and his Absol became strong enough to take control of the match and help lead Marco to the title.
Since then, the Pokémon League had suddenly become interested in individuals like Marco and their existence. But they knew very little about the phenomenon. Luckily, they knew Erika had been looking into it for the past few months, so they decided to contract her to do their legwork for them. Given her curiosity of the subject, she graciously accepted the extra workload in addition to her gym leader duties.
Meanwhile, Ash was traveling to the Hoenn Region to catch up with Cassie, the unfortunate victim of Marco's 'momentum-changing magic.' He wants to inform her of the truth. But the thing is... he himself his one of those gifted individuals. Will he also take the time to reveal that to her and her boyfriend, Arius?
Gary is the last piece of that four-way tussle in Evergrande City. He decided to disappear with his cheerleaders after the tournament. The rumor is that he decided to head to the Johto Region, but those rumors have yet to be confirmed.
Unknown to them all, Team Rocket has their own agenda in reference to the 'legendary' individuals. Apparently, they have an interest in them, but only they know exactly what role they want them to serve in their latest developing plan to take over the world. They also have the advantage... they have confirmation of four of the special five. Will they control the fate of the world if they find the fifth?
Speaking of which, when will we find out the identity of the fifth? Is it someone we've already met? Or someone yet to be introduced into the series?
Let's rejoin the story to find out, starting with the perfume-loving Erika... who happens to not be where we expected...
Friday, November 2nd, Nordrhein-Westfalen Region, Germany
The sun was rising high into the sun on a morning with clear skies... not a cloud to be seen for miles! Despite the weather, at least one young woman was spending the day inside of a brick cottage. In the second floor study, to be exact.
With piles and piles of books stacked on desks, chairs, and the floor, she had been busy reading through them all. All just to find information on an old Pokémon legend that had roots of truth to it, if the events of the Pokémon Junior Master Tournament two months ago were to be believed. But there were many questions about it that still needed answering. Where did it originate from? Who are the identities of those capable of attaining this power of legend? And what long-term side effects would it have on the users?
But most importantly... what were they capable of? And what fate could befall the world if they were to fall into the wrong hands?
Unfortunately, it seemed as if the young woman had fallen asleep at her desk, face-down in the pages of an old, 19th Century journal. Her blue hair was split every which way, having been knocked out of place by some apparent tossing and turning on the 'pillow.' Green was her favorite color, as she was wearing a green short sleeve shirt, green sweatpants, and green socks with a Bulbasaur print on them.
Suddenly, a younger, raven-haired girl burst through the door, jogging Erika out of her slumber. Wearing an orange T-shirt, knee-length pink, Jigglypuff-decorated shorts, and an apron that read 'Küssen Sie den Chef,' which, loosely translated, meant 'Kiss the Chef,' she was in a bit of panic at seeing Erika in such an unrefined state.
"Get up, Erika! You look like a mess! What would the other girls think if they saw you in that state?"
"I guess I fell asleep doing research again," Erika admitted. "That is unbecoming of me, isn't it?"
"Well, get becoming! Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes! Don't make me have to drag you down. You know I will!"
"I'll be down, Maria."
Maria then bolted out of the room to return to the kitchen and finish her cooking. Erika got up out of her chair and stretched her arms up towards the ceiling. She then looked around at all of the books as she reminded herself of how she and Maria had gotten there.
"To think... that I'd end up in another country..."
Friday, September 7th, Celadon City Gym
Erika was in the process of packing her things in her room. Just outside, two of her assistants, Lisa and Zuniga, were chatting about it.
"So... they accepted the proposal?"
"Yes. They're covering all of their expenses and everything."
"Their?"
"Maria's going with her. And Simone's been made interim gym leader."
"What? How much leave did Miss Erika request?"
"She didn't ask for a specific amount of time. How ever long it takes for her to figure out this thing she's researching."
"Is it really that important?"
"I suppose it is if the Pokémon League is involved."
Suddenly, Erika walked into the room, pulling a suitcase on wheels behind her.
"It's nothing you two should worry about. I mean, only the fate of the world is at stake here."
"No offense..." uttered Lisa, "but why you, of all people?"
"I agree," added Zuniga. "Don't they have some big, strong man to take care of this?"
Erika chuckled. "I appreciate your concern, girls, but this is nothing more than a search for information. And rare information, at that."
"If that's the case... why do you have to leave? That's why we have stuff like computers for!"
"Contrary to popular belief, you can't find EVERYTHING on the Internet. 'Sides, I'm an old fashioned girl... I like doing things myself."
"We spent several weeks searching through the finest libraries and bookstores in the Kanto and Johto Regions."
Erika and Maria trotted from one place to another, from nearly being buried in a book avalanche at the Viridian City Federal Library, to becoming lost in the Underground Bookstore of Goldenrod City. The duo were reading, sleeping, and even eating books. But they didn't seem to be making any progress in their search for answers.
"At one point, I was beginning to wonder... what had we seen at the Pokémon Junior Master Tournament? Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe Marco wasn't one of the 'legendary' trainers. Maybe what had happened there at the Indigo Plateau was some other unexplained phenomenon."
Erika was remembering what she had seen on TV that day, with Marco's Absol having acted on his own to defeat Cassie's Ivysaur and knock her out of the championship match. A couple of days later, Erika and Maria were seen wandering through Vermillion City.
"We tried to track down Marco. But we couldn't find him. After what had happened, the Pokémon League was supposed to be keeping track of him. It had been a month since he was last seen in Vermillion. The League was getting nervous... with their Junior Master nowhere to be found, their public relations department was swamped with phone calls and letters wondering what had happened. The result of his crowning was controversy enough..."
Cameras flashed all throughout a press room as Elite Four Leader Lance was being hounded into answering tough questions by the media.
"But many were crying foul, that the League was covering the whole deal up, as if they were so dissatisfied with the results of the tournament that they were trying to pretend that it never happened. All the while, I was running out of leads in figuring out the mystery of this odd legend.
"That is... until two weeks ago..."
Thursday, October 18th, Sweet Suites Hotel, Mahogany Town
It was very late at night in Room 305. Maria was passed out on top of one bed; Erika was leafing through research parchments while sitting on the other. She lifted her hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned, exhausted after another day of heavy reading. She slid off the bed and went to work cleaning up the mess of books on it so she could head off to sleep as well. But then, out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention on a small leaflet that was paper-clipped to one of those parchments.
Curious, she picked it up and scanned it hastily. One line stood out in particular, to which she read aloud, as if to verbally confirm what her tired eyes were seeing.
"I firmly believe that certain individuals have what is necessary to be able to temporarily transfer their souls in and out of certain Pokémon, given a set of exacting conditions, none of which I have been able to discern, though I do have some theories."
Erika's eyes then wandered to the top of the page, where she found the name of the document's author.
"Werner Geissler."
"Werner Geissler turned out to be a famous Pokémon researcher in the city of Düsseldorf in Germany. Normally, he dabbled in how the relationships of trainers and their Pokémon affected their ability to work in unison under dire circumstances. The rumor was that he also learned about the so-called 'legendary' trainers and was curious himself about how such a thing was possible."
A few days later, Erika and Maria were seen getting off a commercial plane at Düsseldorf International Airport.
"After getting approval from the Pokémon League, since they had to fit the bill for any of my research, Maria and I were on the first flight for Germany. Getting there was the easy part."
"Ich verstehe nicht," sighed the confused customs agent... in German.
Erika and Maria's jaws hung wide open in shock... they didn't understand her, either.
"Figuring out how to get around Germany when, between Maria and myself, we knew a total of zero words in German? That was the hard part..."
"After somehow getting through Customs and being guided to the nearby Japanese Consulate to ask for a guide and help understanding the language..."
Erika and Maria were delighted to meet a Nurse Joy there who understood Japanese and could assist them in their journey.
"I guess it helped that it doubled as the city's Pokémon Center."
Nurse Joy handed them a map and pointed out where to find Professor Geissler, as well as a translation book for them to use. Joy even went through the trouble to call them a taxi to get them to their destination.
"After finding our bearings, we were off to find Professor Geissler..."
Erika had made her way downstairs, gasping in mild surprise as she saw a plate of seaweed-decorated pancakes on the dining room table. Seeing the stunned look on Erika's face, Maria walked over and guided her friend to the table.
"You looked surprised. I thought you knew I could cook!"
"I did, but..." Erika said as Maria pulled out a seat for her and then pushed her under the table, "I didn't know you could make something like this!"
"It's nothing special. But I tell ya... getting seaweed out here isn't easy. Or cheap."
Erika sliced a small piece off and put it in her mouth. She smiled as she chewed on it.
"Wow... this is really good!"
"Thanks!" Maria blushed as she took her seat on the other side of the table.
"Now... where was I? Oh, now I remember..."
Erika and Maria were standing in front of the red brick cottage that Professor Geissler called home. It was actually located in a small town just outside of Düsseldorf, out in the countryside. As Maria looked around and took in the beautiful sights and the small number of houses and cottages nearby, Erika went to the door and knocked on it.
After a few seconds, Professor Geissler opened the door, revealing his fragile, 88-year old bald-headed self to the world. He was wearing what looked to be blue hospital scrubs and a while lab coat.
"Yeah?" he asked. "What do you young girls want?"
Maria laughed nervously as Erika reached into her suitcase and pulled out the old leaflet from the library. She held it up for the old researcher to see as she explained everything to him.
"We're in search of answers to a certain legend of Pok?on lore that you seem to be quite familiar with. You see, I have seen a couple of individuals who possess the ability that you've described. The ability to loan their souls temporarily to their Pok?on, doubling their agility, strength, and power! I believe there's more than those two, and it's of the utmost importance that we find them all before they fall into the clutches of evil!"
"Really?"
"Yes, it is! Any help you could offer us would be greatly appreciated, Professor Geissler!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha," he laughed. "HO HO HO HO HA HA!"
Erika and Maria looked at each other, weirded out by the professor's sudden outburst of laughter.
"That's a good one... I haven't been called Professor in ages! Well, not exactly ages... probably good fifteen, twenty years!"
"FIFTEEN?" Maria freaked out. "TWENTY?"
"And that document? I wrote that more than sixty years ago!"
"SIXTY? SIXTY?!"
"Wait a minute!" Erika interrupted. "The only reason we were able to locate you so quickly was by looking at your autobiography! The one that was written three years ago... and in which you state that you were only fifty-four at the time!"
"HO HA HA HO HA HA!" Professor Geissler laughed out loud again.
"What's so funny?" chided Maria. "Don't you know only women are allowed to lie about their age?"
"Uh..." Erika cut in, "I don't think that's the point..."
"Well, then, I guess you girls know what you're talking about. For a minute, I was suspicious, with you dressed like a tea ceremony gal and you like one of them teenyboppers!"
"At least I don't lie about my age," retorted Maria, a little upset over the latter representation.
"Come on in... we've got much to discuss."
The professor stepped aside, giving Erika and Maria room to walk in and bring their stuff in as well.
Erika and Maria gasped as they glanced all around the house and saw books upon books piled up and stacked everywhere. As well as clothes, trash, and uneaten food... all to the girls' disgust.
"I apologize in advance for the mess. I don't get visitors too often, and I'm usually too busy with my research to clean this place."
"Research?" Erika questioned.
"Yeah... sorry, but I lied about the 'not being called a professor in ages.' Well, sort of. You see, I still do some research these days. But I haven't had an assistant in years... thus, no one to call me by that title on a daily basis."
"Will you just get to the point?" demanded Maria, tapping her feet impatiently.
"Being so young, I suppose you'd all get to my study and read about all of my research yourselves. But seeing as how you're pressed for time, I'll give you ladies the short and sweet version."
Erika and Maria waited with anticipation for Professor Geissler's answer.
"The short and sweet version is... no."
"N-no?" repeated the duo.
"No as in no, I haven't devised a way to figure out who has this so-called special ability. Been trying for thirty years with no success. So unfortunately, I can't help you find the others. If there are any others."
"What? YOU MEAN WE TRAVELED HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD FOR NOTHING, YOU CHEAPSKATE?"
"Calm down," Erika said to her companion. "You're acting unladylike."
"I apologize, but I can't help you with something I have yet to figure out myself."
"Then let us help you! You've got the material just lying around! You've been thinking about this for so long, maybe you're missing something that should make sense! You've got nothing to lose with two extra pairs of eyes helping!"
"Wait a minute, Erika... are you suggesting that we stay here, in this dump of a cottage?"
"Now now, Maria... I've seen your room."
"Shhhhh! You don't have to tell the old geezer that!"
"HA HA HA HA! Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. After all, that's the way of a Pokémon traveler, right? HA HA HA HA!"
Erika nodded in agreement. "Yes. Then we'll start right away. We've got a lot to do and very little time."
"I don't mind cooking and cleaning," Maria told Erika, "but if I have to help him to use the bathroom... he dies!"
"Maria! That's not nice of you to say!"
"I'm just setting my limits beforehand, that's all."
So Erika and Maria, with some help from the professor, made the house neat and presentable within a matter of hours. From that point on, the duo was committed to going through all of the old research documents in Professor Geissler's study. There was tons of information to go through, but in the end...
Erika sighed. "Two whole weeks, and we've barely made any progress at all! And none of the professor's theories panned out!"
Across the way, Maria munched on her pancake quietly as she listened to her friend and boss continue on. To her left, on the wall, pictures and one-page biographies of about twenty trainers, all aged between ten and nineteen, were pinned to the wall. The first two were of Misty Waterflower and Marco Pereira, and both had happy Bellsprout stickers stuck on their lower right corners.
"Misty I kinda learned of after receiving a mysterious letter detailing it with no return address. I even told her. I wasn't sure if she believed me, or I believed her. After all, I've never seen proof of her having that ability.
"Then again, I wouldn't have guessed a nobody like Marco would present the first sign of concrete evidence of its existence. And I'm not even sure it was intentional. He looked just as surprised as everyone else who saw that tournament battle royale that day.
"The question is... the letter said there were five in total. Assuming Misty has shown signs of being able to do a soul transfer, even without her own knowledge of the event, that leaves three to find..."
Among the other photos and biographies were the other three finalists of the Junior Master Tournament: Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Cassie Banks. Also up were some well-known and talented up and comers like AJ Kamensky, Jeanette Fisher, and Richie Sparky, as well as two teen gym leaders in Brock Slate and Bugsy Tourou, and a couple of relative unknowns in Shingo Macintosh and Kelly Kiki.
"But... we've got no sure-fire way of locating them," stated Maria.
Erika sighed again. "So... where do we go from here. Back home?"
"Should we tell Mister... I mean, Professor Geissler went he gets back from his morning run?"
"We're going to have to. Besides, I can't leave Simone in charge of the Celadon Gym forever. You know her... I bet she's having so much fun, she won't want to give the job of gym leader back to me!"
"So, I'll get in touch with the Japanese Consulate and have them help us book a flight back home?"
"Yes," Erika nodded, "book one for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Maria whined. "Whyyyyyy?"
"Well... we kinda made a large mess of our own, between the study and the guest bedroom."
"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
The next morning, a taxicab was waiting out front as Maria ran out of the cottage, carrying the last of their bags. Erika and Professor Geissler casually trotted out afterwards.
"Thanks for your hospitality," Erika thanked, bowing before the old researcher, who blushed a crimson red in response.
"No need. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you more."
"Looks like we'll just have to wait for the others to reveal themselves. As much I as hate for one of them to end up in the hands of someone who'll mistreat them..."
Halfway across the world, somewhere in the Viridian Forest, several black-uniformed Team Rocket operatives were around a night campfire, singing songs and toasting marshmallows. Suddenly, one of them, a blue-haired male, broke up the festivities by shouting in his croak-sounding voice.
"Already, you all, quiet down! It's time to get to the reason why we're here. And that's to welcome our newest recruit!"
The Team Rocket operative, Butch, pulled a younger, blue-haired guy up from the ground and brought him up to stand before his peers.
"Congratulations, kid!" Butch said with a smile. "Welcome to Team Rocket!"
"Hip hip hooray!" shouted the operatives. "Hip hip hooray!"
Butch then handed the kid a Team Rocket Grunt's uniform and beanie hat and gave him a pat of the beat.
"Don't let the beanie fool ya, kid... given your talents, it won't take you long to become a full-fledged operative like me."
"Heh heh," the kid laughed. "I'm betting my life on it! My name isn't Marco Pereira for nothing!"
"You do know, for your own protection, you have to lose the last name, right? Now... who's in charge of the post-induction hazing this time?"
"Poliwag!" chirped a Poliwag from a small wooden crate one of the others pulled out of a nearby tent. The operatives broke out in hysterical laughter... though Butch didn't seem to think it was funny at all.
"Not funny! You damn know that sucking on one of those things did irreparable damage to my voice!"
To be continued next week in Part 2!
