The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: July Once Again, Part 4 (07.11.06/07.11.10)
Thursday, July 10th, Viridian City
"Did... did you just say what I think you just said?"
"No mistake... that's where the explosion came from."
Gary and Cassie looked over to the Team Rocket agents, who had turned their attention away from the two teenagers and were all gazing towards the aforementioned explosion.
"Was that the secret mission some of the guys were talking about earlier?" one of the grunts wondered out loud.
"Now's our chance to escape," Gary said.
Cassie grabbed Gary's arm before he could take off.
"Already on it! Espeon!"
Espeon bolted out of the bush it was hiding from, and she quickly used Psychic to immobilize the four Team Rocket grunts. As the foursome was lifted into the air, Espeon walked over to Cassie's side. At that exact same instance, Kadabra teleported in from his hiding place.
"What's going on?" Gary asked.
"Like you said, we're escaping! Kadabra!"
"Dabra!" nodded Kadabra.
Kadabra glowed blue for a split second before he, Espeon, Cassie, and Gary were teleported out of the city. As soon as they were gone, the four Team Rocket grunts fell back down to the ground.
"Was she expecting us the whole time?" the lead grunt asked aloud.
About a dozen more Team Rocket operatives started pouring out of the Pokémon Center to see what the commotion was all about.
"If anyone has a way to get in contact with the men on Squads 3 or 7, let them know they've got incoming!"
Up deep in the Viridian Forest, Gary, Cassie, Espeon, and Kadabra reappeared. They were very near the explosion, as they could see some of the trees nearby starting to be engulfed in flames.
"Wait... we're not where I think we are, are we?"
Cassie ignored Gary as she pulled out a Pokéball from her pocket.
"Let's go... Azumarill!"
She tossed the Pokéball, and out came the water-type.
"Water Gun!"
Azumarill immediately went to work, putting out the flames in front of them. As she did that, Cassie turned to look at Kadabra. Seeing him standing there, breathing heavily after nearly exhausting his energy in that last move, Cassie immediately recalled him back to his Pokéball.
"You did a great job, Kadabra! Time for a break!"
Once Kadabra was back in his Pokéball, Cassie returned it to her pocket and then turned her attention back to the task at hand.
"You'd better not be doing what I think you're about to do!" Gary shouted, sensing Cassie's intentions.
"I'm sorry, Gary. But sometimes when you try to bury the past... it refuses to be forgotten."
She then looked down at her Espeon. They both nodded in unison, and then they ran after Azumarill, who was clearing a path towards a nearby clearing.
"Fine," Gary said as he ran after them. "But I'm not letting you get killed if I'm around!"
Erika watched as the young woman in the Team Rocket uniform slowly walked towards her, twirling her black tulip staff in her left hand.
"If you have Maria," Erika demanded, "then let her go! You guys only want me dead... right?"
"Truth be told, she knows as much as you do. I could kill her to cover our bases... but it's not like she's much of a threat to Team Rocket's ambitions. You on the other hand, Erika..."
Erika reached into her pocket to pull out a Pokéball. But the agent smiled, not worried about whatever defenses the gym leader had planned to rise against her.
"I see. People always want to do it the hard way."
"I'm a gym leader!" exclaimed Erika. "The fact that you're here all by yourself is surprising. Nevertheless, I'm not going down without a fight!"
"Ha! Was that your attempt at trying to scare me into backing down? I've got news for you, sister."
Erika observed as the woman planted her tulip staff firmly into the ground.
"I'm Agent 009, one of Team Rocket's most elite officers. Most people refer to me as the Black Tulip. But since you're an elite member of the Pokémon League yourself, I'll give you the courtesy of knowing my real name. It's Domino."
"Domino, huh? Well, I'd like you to meet someone."
Erika tossed her Pokéball up into the air. Her Weepinbell emerged from it, landing on the ground in front of Erika.
"Bell! Bell!"
Domino smirked at Erika's choice, which the gym leader immediately saw.
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh, nothing's wrong. I just was lead to believe that gym leaders are supposed to have strong Pokémon! If your little pet there was a Victrebel, maybe I'd be inclined to think that was true. But a Weepinbell? Obviously, you don't value your life very much, do you?"
"Weepinbell is one of my strongest Pokémon!" Erika declared. "You'll see! It'll take down any Pokémon you call out against it."
"Oh, really? You must be high on this Weepinbell of yours!"
"Weepinbell, bell!"
Domino reached into her pocket...
"There's only one problem."
"Oh? And what's that, young lady?"
Domino smiled as she jumped into the air and threw three black tulips straight at Weepinbell. Erika gasped and moved to get her Pokémon to react.
"Weepinbell, dodge!"
Weepinbell attempted to dodge the tulips, but Domino was too fast. All three brushed against Weepinbell's skin on the way to the ground, leaving some thorns implanted at those points. Immediately Weepinbell cried out in pain.
"Weepinbell! No!"
As Domino reached for three more tulips, Erika ran over to protect her Pokémon.
"Somebody has a death wish!"
Domino threw the tulips just as Erika got in front of Weepinbell, who intended to block any attempts at her grass-type receiving further injury. But instead of sitting back, Weepinbell, without command, extended his vines out and used them to bat the tulips away. Unfortunately, in doing so, a few thorns became lodged in his vines, and he howled in pain even louder.
Erika looked back at her Pokémon, wondering why he wouldn't let her protect him. Domino just laughed.
"I admire your Weepinbell's loyalty," Domino snickered, "but it was a mistake taking in all of those thorns. Each of them was dipped in a poisonous toxin."
Erika had picked Weepinbell off the ground and was about to try and pick one of the thorns out with her own hand when she heard what Domino had said.
"This is the first time I've used it on a Pokémon, so I don't know what the effects will be. But I will say... it is deadly to humans! Once it's in your system, it'll kill you within minutes!"
Erika quickly reached into her pocket and pull out an Antidote. She started spraying it all over Weepinbell's body. Domino watched as Erika tried to heal her Pokémon.
"Even if you do manage to remove all of the poison from that Weepinbell's body, it's already weakened way too much to keep battling!"
"How can you... how can you brazenly attack a Pokémon like that? Don't you know that all battles are Pokémon versus Pokémon only?"
Domino laughed again, even louder than before.
"Again, Erika, you state the truth. And again, you've made a fatal assumption. You see, the thing is... I'm not a Pokémon trainer!"
Domino plucked her tulip staff out of the ground and started walking towards Erika again.
"And that means I'm not bound by your League's silly rules! Which means I'll take on any other Pokémon you're willing to throw at me!"
Azumarill continued to spew Water Gun as she led the way onto the grounds of the Pokémon Trainers' Association Headquarters. Many buildings had already been reduced to rubble, with fires still burning over the wreckage. Those that were still standing were covered with flames, to various degrees.
Across the grounds, Gary and Cassie could see horrifying things ranging from dismembered limbs to people impaled by portions of broken support beams. Cassie started scanning the area, hoping not to find someone she knew among the carnage.
"This is like a war zone," Gary commented, though the sick imagery was starting to get to him.
Azumarill had stopped using Water Gun, having expended her supply over the last few minutes. Espeon came over as Azumarill sat down on the ground; the two Pokémon talked as they, too, were in awe and shock over everything around them. Most particularly, the Pokémon, whose body parts were scattered as much as the humans were.
Cassie looked down at her feet, and saw the remains of one of Team Rocket's operatives. The man's face had been burned beyond recognition, and so had most of his clothes and skin. Even worse, everything from the waist down was missing, leaving a trail of blood and innards coming out of the...
Cassie suddenly felt as if she was about to puke, and she ran off behind some rubble to do so. Gary didn't dare stop her, if only because he was fighting the urge to do the same. He ignored the sound of Cassie throwing up as he took another look around the complex, hoping to see if there was anyone still alive to rescue. After a few seconds, he gave up and checked up on Cassie.
"You gonna be okay?"
Cassie nodded, still bent over and gasping for air.
"Look... I know there were people you knew here. Some you were probably good friends with. But... there's nothing you can do for them. It's too late."
Cassie vehemently wanted to disagree with Gary, but inside she knew he was right. Even if there were still people alive, either in the buildings that, for the moment, were still standing, or in the rubble for those that had already collapsed, they didn't have the resources for a massive rescue effort on hand. Nor did they have the option of going back to Viridian to ask for assistance... as surely Team Rocket would refuse.
Gary pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Cassie, who took it to clean herself up a little.
"This senseless violence has got to stop!" grumbled Gary as he clenched his fists. "The people here didn't deserve this! No matter what they did in their past!"
He then turned to Cassie.
"I swear, Cassie... we'll take down Team Rocket's Headquarters tomorrow, and make them pay for what they did!"
"No.'
Gary was stunned.
"Did you say... no?"
Cassie nodded as she finally stood up.
"No. When you join the Pokémon Trainers' Association, you assume the risks of taking on an organization the likes of Team Rocket. For everyone, it was their job to risk their lives."
"Cassie..."
"No one here would ever want revenge for their deaths. Because death was an acceptable consequence in the war against Team Rocket."
"I see."
They stood there quietly for a few minutes as buildings continued to burn behind them. Cassie, because she was reflecting on her past life here; Gary, because he was unsure of what to say next.
"Bellossom, return!"
Erika recalled a fainted Bellossom to her Pokéball. It was the third Pokémon of hers to be poisoned by Domino's black tulips.
"You know, if you let me kill you right now, your little assistant might have enough time to get your Pokémon to a Pokémon Center. Who knows how much longer yours will still be alive with the toxin flowing through their bodies?"
In her left hand, Erika was holding her last Pokéball. It was of the one with her first Pokémon, Vileplume. But did she want to risk the life of yet another of her friends just to prolong hers for a few more minutes?
"Fine."
Erika took out all of her Pokéballs and put them down on the ground. She then took five steps backward. She watched as Domino walked over to the Pokéballs and kicked them aside, into the garden on either side of her.
"Just please," Erika pleaded as tears began to flow from her eyes, "make it quick so that I don't have to suffer."
"Very well," Domino agreed. "I tire of dragging this on, anyway."
Erika dropped down to her knees, submitting to defeat. Domino pulled out a black tulip that had been sharpened like a knife on one end.
"Please pardon if I miss your heart the first time around," Domino mocked-apologized. "Face-to-face assassinations just aren't my thing."
Erika didn't think anything of Domino's comment as she walked up and placed her left hand on Erika's right shoulder.
"Any last words?"
Erika thought for a second, and then responded.
"Those who do bad things will have bad things done upon them."
Domino took a second to absorb those words, and then she raised her right arm up, ready to bring it down, straight into Erika's heart. Erika closed her eyes, not wanting to see the final blow being struck...
"NOW!"
"Marowak wak wak wak WAK!"
Out of nowhere, Marowak charged in and, head first, knocked Domino clear off her feet! Marowak landed on the ground in front of Erika, and watched as Domino flew 25 feet in the air before coming to rest in the midst of the herb garden.
Still feeling... anything, Erika opened her eyes and saw that she was still alive, and there wasn't a black tulip sticking out of her chest where her heart was. Instead, a Marowak was standing in front of her, and Domino was wincing in pain as she slowly sat up.
And she was not happy as she saw the Marowak that had hit her glaring angrily.
"A wild Marowak? How dare you? Wild Pokémon should know their place!"
"He's not wild," a female voice corrected as she walked towards the garden.
"What?"
Domino and Erika turned as they saw a brunette wearing nothing but a sky blue T-shirt, which just happened to be big enough to extend over her pelvis area. Her hair was a mess, and she was a bit skinnier than she could remember, but otherwise the girl was alive and well.
"That Marowak belongs to me!"
Gary was ushering Cassie off the grounds of the PTA complex, as Espeon and Azumarill followed close behind them. But as they passed the last of the rubble, Espeon's ears perked up. She turned her head towards the rubble and started walking towards it. Seeing Espeon changed direction, Azumarill called out for her to stop.
"Azumarill! Azu azu!"
Gary and Cassie stopped upon hearing Azumarill's cries. It was then that they spotted Espeon by a pile of rubble. Espeon pointed into it, drawing Gary and Cassie's attention.
"What is it?" Cassie asked. "Do you hear something, girl?"
Espeon chirped an affirmation. Cassie focused her attention towards the rubble and closed her eyes. She started to concentrate, tapping into her psychic powers.
"What are you doing?" Gary asked. "We have to..."
Cassie raised her right hand and used it cover to Gary's mouth.
"I'd recognize that aura anywhere! It's Arius!"
"Arius?" Gary wondered as he pushed Cassie's hand away. "There's no way you could know..."
Cassie ran over to the rubble, reaching underneath her dress and to her shorts to pull out two of her Pok balls.
"Ivysaur! Machoke! Let's go!"
Cassie called out her Ivysaur and Machoke.
"Ivysaur and Machoke, work together to dig out that rubble! Espeon and Azumarill, you help out too!"
Ivysaur used her vines to grab a hold of one of the larger pieces of rubble. Then, with Machoke's help, the two lifted it up and tossed it off to the side. They then repeated the process. Espeon, meanwhile, used Psychic to lift away the medium-sized pieces, while Azumarill helped Cassie push aside the smaller ones.
"Don't worry," Cassie stated with a determined look on her face, "if you're still alive in there, Arius, I won't leave without you!"
They continued to try to clear the rubble, looking for the faint aura they were sensing somewhere underneath. But with no idea of Arius' condition, they knew that if they didn't find him fast, their efforts would have been in vain.
Cassie then stopped when she heard some strange sounds. She turned to her right, and saw a Nidoking, a Nidoqueen, and a larger-than-average Krabby starting to clear away rubble as well. Gary then squatted down next to her.
"You're sure he's in there, and that he's alive?" Gary asked, making sure he wasn't about to waste his time.
"Yes!" answered Cassie. "100 percent!"
"Good."
Gary walked away from the rubble, and climbed upon his Arcanine, as Cassie turned to watch.
"If I remember right, one of the trainers in our group works part-time as a doctor! Maybe he can help!"
Cassie nodded, then went back to work. Gary ordered Arcanine to head back to the campsite.
"Let's go, Arcanine! Extremespeed!"
The two of them left the area, leaving Cassie and all of the other Pokémon the task of digging Arius out.
Domino continued to wince in pain as she struggled to get to her feet. Meanwhile, Marowak had made his way back over to his master. Erika had gotten up and walked over, surprised over what had just transpired.
"Giselle! I can't believe you're alive!"
"I could say the same about you!" Giselle shot back. "How are you... and why am I here... and why did I wake up smelling like..."
"I promise I'll explain everything later... if you can keep her from killing us."
Erika pointed at Domino, who was now standing on her two feet. But she was still clutching her left side, and she was still angry with rage. Domino looked at Erika, and then Giselle, taking a minute to recall where she had seen her face before.
"Wait..." Domino realized, "it's you! You're like Ketchum, the two gym leaders, and our resident prodigy! But... your name? Why can't I remember your name?"
Giselle smiled. "It's simple, really. All you have to know is that I'm just... Giselle!"
"Giselle, huh? Now I recall... one of the brightest trainers to ever graduate from the famed Pokémon Technical Institute."
"So my reputation precedes me? You must be impressed!"
"Hardly. Pokémon Tech is notorious for having graduates that go by the book way too much! That makes them kinda predictable."
"Well then... you haven't seen any of my battles, have you?"
"Why would I need to? Like I said, you're all the same! I could probably beat you with both hands tied behind my back!"
"Marowak, let's show her how wrong she is!"
"Maro!" exclaimed Marowak, raising his bone club into the air.
"Go!"
Marowak charged at Domino head on.
"Being predictable is one thing," Domino thought, "but she's stupid enough to charge me head on?"
"So you don't use Pokémon?" Giselle stated aloud. "Well, you're gonna wish you had one after this! Marowak! Plan 14-A!"
Marowak disappeared, temporarily confusing Domino as her head darted every which way. After a few seconds, Marowak reappeared above her. He was coming down fast, as he held his bone club like a sword, with the intent to use it to possibly slice Domino in half.
Domino jumped aside just in the nick of time to avoid the blow, as Marowak swung downward and got nothing but air. Thinking quickly, she flung one of her black tulips at Marowak. But Marowak responded just as fast by twirling his club like a baton, forming a shield that blocked the tulip and deflected it aside.
"No way!"
Domino went down on one knee. After her long battle with Erika, her stamina was low. She knew she was in trouble if she couldn't find a way to end this, and fast.
"We all live in a Pokémon world!" Giselle shouted at Domino. "I suggest you get with the times!"
"Oh, I've gotten with the times. I realize that your Marowak is a formidable opponent. But... your Pokémon can't protect himself AND you at the same time!"
"What?"
Domino turned towards Giselle and Erika and fired two tulips, aimed at their respective heads. Marowak, on pure instinct, threw his bone club like a boomerang in a desperate attempt to cut the tulips off before they reached their targets. In turn, though, that left Marowak wide open to attack.
And Domino was betting on that, as she turned back towards the Pokémon and pitched a tulip his way.
"Marowak!" Giselle called out. "9-M!"
Marowak quickly curled up into a ball, his bony skull facing forward. The tulip connected, driving hard into Marowak's skull. But it only penetrated a few inches, enough for a crack to form, but short of breaking completely through and hitting the top of Marowak's actual head.
As for the bonemerang, it cut off the tulips just in time, swatting them out of the air only a few feet from Giselle's and Erika's heads. In fact, the impact was so hard that one had completely disintegrated upon being hit, and the second landed on the ground in several pieces.
Domino was losing it as both of her assassination attempts failed, and Giselle smirked as she tried to take advantage of it.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she mock-apologized. "You wanted me to be predictable?"
Marowak uncurled and began charging straight for Domino again.
"Allow me to oblige... Marowak, headbutt!"
Domino quickly went to reach for yet another black tulip, when she came to a frank realization... she had used them all. By that point, it was too late for her to dodge, as Marowak jumped up and, with skull pointed into the Team Rocket operative, rammed into her. Marowak hit her just underneath her chest, and a crackling sound was heard before the force of the attack pushed her backwards and then down onto the ground, landing back first.
Domino had lost consciousness thanks to the hit, and her prone body laid before Marowak as he declared his victory... by raising his left hand up in the air and catching his bone club.
"Maro!"
A few minutes later, Domino woke up, aching both in the ribs just below her chest and the left side of her stomach, just above her hip. She tried to move her hands to massage the pain away, but was unable to do so. She felt that she was tied at the wrists and at the ankles. Feeling the dirt beneath her, she also could tell she was on the ground.
She then looked to her right, and saw Maria, whom was found by Erika after the battle, was holding Marowak still as Giselle used a pair of tweezers to pull the tulip that was stuck in his skull out. After a few tugs, Giselle succeeded in dislodging it, to Marowak's relief.
"How dare you do this to me!" Domino yelled. "Don't you know who I... OWWWWW!"
She had tried to sit up, but the pain was so excruciating just from lifting up a few inches that she was forced to lay back down.
"What did you do to me?"
Erika walked in from out of Domino's view to try and calm her down.
"That last attack may have cracked, if not broken, at least one of your ribs," explained Erika.
"What?"
Domino glared at Giselle.
"Injuring another trainer is against the rules!"
"Oh? From what Erika here told me, you're technically not a trainer so... the rules don't apply to you."
"I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT WHEN I'M UNTIE... YOWWWWW!"
Domino nearly screamed at the top of her lungs, the pain becoming unbearable.
"I would calm down!" Erika warned Domino. "If one of your ribs really is broken, you could risk it puncturing one of your internal organs. And then... I'll just you won't be able to see the next sunrise."
With that deadly warning, Domino finally relented and relaxed.
"Oh... and thanks for the antidote!"
Erika was holding up a small, empty bottle that Domino had hidden in her clothes, in case she ever accidentally poisoned herself.
"My Pokémon thank you for it!"
Domino then heard Erika's Weepinbell, Bellossom, and Tangela sound off happily in the background.
"So... you're gonna take me to the hospital, and then turn me in, right?"
"In due time," Erika assured her.
"Erika tells me you're one of Team Rocket's elite agents," Giselle said, "which means you know a lot of information. Like your organization's current strength, exact location..."
"Really? You won't let me lie here and die if I tell you everything you want to know? Some good guys you are!"
"True. That's the kind of deal you would offer us if the shoe was on the other foot. But there's one fatal assumption you made."
"And what's that?"
"As loyal as you are to Team Rocket... you're not willing to die for them. Am I right?"
Giselle smirked as she knelt down beside Domino and stared into the agent's eyes. They stayed that way for a minute or two, and then...
"What do you want to know?" she relented with a sigh.
An hour and a half had passed since the explosion at the PTA complex. Instead of Gary coming back with just the doctor, he brought back the entire group. They went to work putting out all of the fires and searching to see if there were any other survivors.
Cassie was nearly in tears as the doctor finished up with Arius, who had since been pulled out of the rubble and was now lying atop a makeshift stretcher cobbled together from a blanket, rope, and a bunch of small rods, which was now just off the grounds.
"They're starting to find survivors," the doctor said. "I need to see if I'm able to tend to any of them."
He then turned his attention to one of the few others who had been extracted alive from the rubble. Arius was very weak, but conscious as Cassie walked over to talk to him.
She looked him over. He had first-degree burns on portions of both of his arms, which had been wrapped with gauze to prevent infections, and some minor cuts, bumps, and bruises attained mostly from the building he was in coming down on him. He was the luckiest one... the others that were being found still alive were mostly in much worse shape.
"I guess I should've waited for you," Arius joked. "Maybe then... maybe then I wouldn't have been here when it happened."
Cassie couldn't respond to her ex-boyfriend kidding around given everything around them. In fact, she couldn't hold back anymore as she fell to the ground and buried her face in Arius' chest. He heard her crying loudly as she pounded her left fist into his abs.
"You idiot! You could've died! You idiot, you idiot, you idiot!"
Cassie then stopped raising her fist and settled for just crying her eyes out. Arius winced as he pulled his left arm out from under his ex-girlfriend and slowly ran it up and down her back.
150 feet away, Gary had watched the whole scene unfold, and although most of his body was covered with dirt, dust, and some dry blood from those he had helped rescued, he couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside at seeing Arius and Cassie together.
"Those lunkheads deserve to be together," Gary commented aloud. "I don't know why they even broke up in the first place."
He then turned around and observed the other trainers in their group hustling about what was left of the complex. Some were tending to those having already been pulled out of the rubble, while others were still searching.
Gary got his mind back on the task at hand. They had a lot of work to do over the next few hours to save whomever they could.
The problem was... they had a whole lot more work to do tomorrow. And they didn't have any idea where Team Rocket's headquarters was.
To be continued in Part 5!
