PiPo: I'm updating ALOT today! Well, it's probably because I was thinking: 'They deserve more than just one chapter... I should upload like, three.' And, so I did. :D

Are you guys proud of me, yet? And I'm quite surprised at how short these chapters look. Like, on Word it looked WAY longer than that. :/

You know already, right? I don't own Pokemon other than the games and merchandise that I bought.

Chapter Three

Kid did not know whether or not she should be delighted that breaking into a Pokémon lab was so easy. After all, Oak could have planned his security that way – letting the thief think that it would be easy to steal from him, but then, when the thief is about to make a get-away, one of Oak's aides would pop out of no where and beat the thief with their Pokémon.

She sighed as she quietly turned to face her Quilava and Zubat. "Keep a lookout." She whispered harshly to them as she headed farther into the lab. Both Pokémon nodded, and then cautiously began following their trainer.

The blonde made her way towards a dome-like contraption in the middle of the lab. She looked at it, and then tilted her head to the side. "I'm guessing this is where the Pokémon are..."

Looking over the many colourful buttons, Kid wondered which one she would have to press so that the dome would open. After a few minutes of searching, she face palmed when she saw a button that clearly said 'Open'.

"I can't believe I was so dumb." She whispered to herself as she pressed the button. Both Tipes and Zane watched in awe as the dome slowly opened, revealing three PokéBalls, each labelled with the name of the Pokémon that was held within.

Squirtle.

Bulbasaur.

Charmander.

Kid quickly snatched all three of them, and then stuffed them into her bag. She was about to turn to high tail it out of there, when she saw that, in the middle of the platform where the three PokéBalls were, there was a circular lid with about the same circumference as a PokéBall. Her guess was that a 'back-up' Starter was there, just in case there was one trainer more than the usual three. She shrugged. She was here, anyway. She might as well steal that one, too.

She pressed the button that was beside the small lid, and then waited for the last PokéBall to emerge. She tapped her foot impatiently onto the white marble floor of the lab, but she tried to make as little noise as humanly possible. Kid huffed as she picked up the final PokéBall after it had emerged from its hiding place from within the dome-thing.

This one was different from the others. She spun on her heels, heading for the exit as she inspected it. Instead of the regular red and white design of a regular PokéBall, this one was all white. A Premier Ball. She grinned to herself. If this Pokémon was held in a Premier Ball inside of a Pokémon lab, then this had to have some sort of value. She was glad she took this one.

"Mightyena! Shadow Ball!"

... Aw, shit.

Kid turned around to grab her Pokémon into her arms before jumping out of the attack's way. She glanced over at where the Shadow Ball had hit, and was instantly glad that neither she or Tipes or Zane were in the way.

Tipes yipped angrily as it faced the person who would dare even attempt to harm his trainer, fire blazing from the red spots on his body. "Quil!"

The attacking Pokémon, Mightyena, snarled at them, bearing its teeth at the intruders. "Grrr..."

Just then, the voice that had commanded Mightyena to attack came back. "Who are you? What're you doing in here?"

Kid glanced up to face the source of the voice. From the eye slits of the mask, she made out the figure of a boy around her age. His arms were crossed, and his ocean blue eyes, though were half lidded due to the fact that it was an ungodly hour of the night, burned with an angry fury. His blonde hair was ruffled and matted, most likely because he was laying in bed a few minutes prior to this.

... Now that she thought about it... This boy looked very familiar...

Both the boy and his Pokémon snarled when they did not receive an answer. "You know what? You don't have to tell me who you are. I already know that you're from Team Rocket." He grimaced as he said 'Team Rocket'. It was as though those words tasted like bile. "Still, I want to know what you're doing here!"

"Wills!" A voice came from another room. "I just called Officer Jenny! She should be here soon!"

The blond boy, Wills, looked towards the direction from which the other voice came. He grinned. "Thanks, Tracey."

And it was at this moment that Kid thought it would be safe to run, seeing as the two boys were distracted. "Tipes, Smokescreen!"

The Quilava then opened its mouth and released a large cloud of black smoke towards Wills and his Mightyena. Kid grinned when she saw that neither one of them could move due to the fact that they were having coughing fits. She turned to her Pokémon, and then motioned towards the door. When both Tipes and Zane nodded in understanding, they bolted towards the lab's exit.

But, of course, that would have been too easy.

"Venonat! Use Tackle!"

And then, not even a second later, Kid had the wind knocked out of her by a relatively large, purple insect Pokémon. She gasped in pain as she landed onto the cold, hard floor, causing her bag. She panted as she held onto her side where the Venonat had tackled her.

"Good job, Venonat!" The other boy, Tracey, ran up to the big purple fuzz ball, grinning as the Pokémon squealed happily as it jumped into his arms. He then turned to face the Rocket on the ground, who was being shielded by both of her angry Pokémon. "You didn't think that we'd let you go so easily, did you?"

"Quil!" Tipes roared at the two boys and their Pokémon, his eyes wide with fury. It opened its mouth, ready to unleash a powerful Flamethrower attack.

"Don't." Kid heaved, grabbing one of Tipes' hind legs, who immediately ceased his attack, and then turned to face his Trainer.

She could hear the siren of Officer Jenny's motorcycle. And it was getting louder. She huffed in frustration. They needed to get out of there. Fast.

Meanwhile, Wills had walked up to the intruder's bag, and then picked it up. He stuck his hand into it, and then dug around; looking for what the thief had attempted to steal. His eyes widened when he felt PokéBalls. Four of them. Grabbing the first three and then taking them out, he turned to glare at the Rocket before him. "Really? The Starter Pokémon? You even took the fourth one… Ugh! Sometimes, I can't even believe you guys…"

Oh, no. She had to think fast. This mission was about to be a failure! She quickly turned to Zane, who was hissing wildly at Wills' Mightyena. "Quick, Zane, Shadow Ball!"

A large, black ball formed at the Zubat's mouth. It turned sharply to face the blond boy, and then released its attack.

Kid watched as Wills' face contorted in pain as he made contact with her Zubat's attack. And, just as she had wanted, he let go of her bag. She was not stupid. She was watching. The boy, Wills, had only taken out the three PokéBalls. He did not remove the Premier Ball, yet. She glanced at her Pokémon, hoped that they got her unspoken message, and then made a mad dash for the exit.

She was sure that, had one of the Grunts seen her running towards the exit without her bag, then she would be the laughing stock of Team Rocket. She smirked, however, when she heard Tracey's angry screech, as Tipes and Zane went straight for her bag, and then sped off to follow their Trainer.

The blonde growled as she saw the unmistakable red and blue flashing lights of police car lights. She was surrounded. Damnit, she thought to herself, I'm gonna have to fight them, now.

"Halt!" The blue-haired Officer Jenny yelled, her Growlithe barking angrily, "You are under arrest!"

… You know what? She might as well act like a total ass about this whole thing.

So, she smirked, even though she knew they would not be able to see her face due to the mask. "You think that's gonna stop me?"

It was then that Tipes and Zane had caught up to her. They looked at her expectantly, waiting for her commands. Kid grabbed her bag from her Pokémon, and then nodded at them, signalling them to prepare for a battle.

Tipes roared, his back ablaze with angry fires, while Zane hissed angrily.

"Growlithe!" Officer Jenny yelled. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Swift!" Kid pointed forward, like how she saw many other Executives do when they were commanding their Pokémon to do something.

In all honesty, she had absolutely no idea as to why they did that. Maybe it was just for dramatic purposes.

She smirked as she saw her Quilava's attack overpowering the Growlithe's. That's what several years of being together will do to you.

All of the police officers gasped as Tipes' Swift overpowered Growlithe's Flamethrower, effectively hitting the poor orange Pokémon in the face. Kid watched as Officer Jenny ran over to her Pokémon. If she was not wearing the mask, they would have seen the flash of regret in her eyes. She sighed, turning to Zane. If Growlithe was the only Pokémon present, then maybe she would attack it...

"Oh, no you don't! Mightyena! Shadow Ball!"

"Venonat! Use Tackle!"

... She forgot about those two.

"Tch." She turned to glare at the two aides before glancing back at her Pokémon. "We need to get out of here." She muttered so that only her Pokémon can hear. Both of them nodded in agreement.

Wills saw this. "Give up whatever you're planning and give back that Pokémon!"

... He thought that she was planning something else. She sighed. She was being an ass about this anyway. She might as well be a jerk about it, too. "Psh. What makes you think I'm gonna listen to you?" She snorted for an added effect. "You've already taken back the other three... And this one was just a benchwarmer, anyway! Just give this one," she patted her bag, "to Team Rocket! After all, 'sharing is caring', am I right?"

To her, Wills had come off as such a strong person, seeing as he was not afraid to stand up to her and stuff. However, when Wills heard her speak, his eyes widened in horror. She tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, but then decided that this would work to her advantage.

"Zane, Supersonic! Tipes, Smokescreen!"

And then all that was seen was a black smoke that engulfed the Pokémon lab, while all that was heard were the cries of all of the people being affected by the Supersonic.

She was so tired. She sighed as she crawled after Tipes in the small tunnel he had made so that they could escape. Zane would not have been able to go through here, so she had called him back into his PokéBall.

Hearing the sigh from behind him, Tipes stopped digging and then turned to look at his Trainer, worry evident in his eyes. "Quil..."

Kid glanced at the Pokémon, and then smiled, forgetting for a moment that she was still wearing the Cyndaquil mask. "I'm fine, Tipes. I'm just tired." She patted his back. "And your Dig has really improved, huh? I mean, you've been digging for a while already, but you're still not tired!"

To that, Tipes puffed his chest in pride. "Quil!"

She grinned at her Pokémon, and then opened her mouth to say something... But then she closed it when she heard voices coming from behind them.

"Where'd they go?"

"How should I know? I was blinded by the Smokescreen, too!"

"Huh." She blinked. The voices were coming from Pallet Town. She silently prayed that none of them would find the soft earth where Tipes had tunnelled their way out of there. She motioned for the Pokémon to keep going. Apparently, they were not far enough from the small town.

The voices continued.

"Damnit! What're we gonna do now?"

"Hey, what's wrong with Wills?"

"Wills, are you okay?"

She glanced back again, waiting to hear whether or not this Wills guy was okay.

"WHERE DID SHE GO?" Kid shuddered as Wills' voice echoed throughout the tunnel. Well, she was not expecting that. "Where did she go?" What was heard after that were the cries of the police officers and Tracey... It sounded as though they were holding him down.

She sighed as she continued after her Pokémon. People sometimes...

The voices were still there, but were getting softer. They were getting farther away from Pallet Town.

"Wills! Calm down!" That was Tracey's voice.

"I can't!" She heard Wills' shaky reply. "I can't because –"

And then the tunnel behind her caved in.

It took about an hour more for Tipes to finally dig to the outskirts of Celadon City. They both sighed as they finally resurfaced and could breathe in the fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air can be right next to a relatively large city.

Tipes had climbed out of the tunnel first so that he can help his Trainer climb out, too. He grinned as he saw the blonde attempt to squirm out of the hole in the ground. "Quilava." He yipped jokingly.

Kid looked up at her Pokémon, and then playfully glared. "I'm not getting fat, Tipes." She hoisted her bag up so that she would have less trouble pulling herself up. "I'm just injured."

She meant that as a joke, but seeing her Pokémon's expression wilt with worry, she just grinned. "I'm joking. Now, help me up."

Her Pokémon did not look convinced that she was uninjured, but he put on a small smile, and then grabbed the back of her shirt with his paws, and pulled her out. She grinned at him and murmured a small 'thanks', before standing up.

The volcano Pokémon gasped when he saw his Trainer clutch her side. "Quil!"

Kid shrugged. "It just hurts a little. Nothing to be worried about."

Tipes would not have it. He growled. "Quilava."

The blonde sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll get Holly to look at it when we get to the Hideout, okay?"

The Pokémon nodded. As long as she gets her side checked, he does not care who checks it.

Kid smiled. "Ah." She gasped as she tried to wipe the sweat off her brow. "I still have the mask on!" She turned to her Quilava. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tipes shrugged, and then did the Pokémon equivalent of a snicker.

"You thought it was funny?" Kid laughed. "Ugh. Now my face is gonna be all sweaty... C'mon. Let's go wash up at a lake."

Tipes yipped happily as he followed his Trainer. It was true that he hated water, but after being in a stuffy tunnel for about an hour and a half, he would really appreciate splashing some water on his face.

The lake was not very far from where they were. So close, in fact, that Kid almost fell into it because she was not paying any attention to where she was going. This, of course made Tipes laugh at her. Again. So, the blonde growled playfully, toed off her boots and socks, and then jumped into the relatively shallow lake to grab a handful of water and splash her Pokémon companion.

"Quil!" The Quilava yipped as the cold water almost hit one of the red spots on his back. "Quilava!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tipes." Kid laughed as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I didn't mean to."

Tipes shrugged, and then gave her a forgiving grin. He had travelled with this girl since he was a Cyndaquil – way before they had even joined Team Rocket! He did not want her to be the criminal she is. He knew her better than that. He just wanted her to smile. The Pokémon sighed, and then pointed to his face, telling the blonde that she was still wearing the Cyndaquil mask. "Quilava."

"Gah!" Kid squealed. "Oh, that's right! Ahaha! I'm supposed to take the mask off!"

She removed her trucker hat first so that she would not have to struggle as much to remove the mask. She huffed when she felt her hair was matted and sticky from sweat. She would have to take a bath later.

Kid then grabbed the Cyndaquil mask's nose, and then pulled it upwards so that the strap would not be damaged. She threw both the hat and the mask towards Tipes, who caught it with a startled yip.

The blonde chuckled as she watched her Pokémon yell at her from the land. She turned slowly to face the surface of the lake. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm sorr—"

Her stomach did a backflip when she saw the face in the water staring back at her. What was Wills doing here? He could not have followed them, could he? "Get away!" She squeaked as she ran towards Tipes, who was readying for a fight.

She scrambled onto the land, hid behind her Quilava, and then grabbed the other two PokéBalls to send her other Pokémon out into battle. "Tipes, Flamethrower!"

The Pokémon obediently followed her orders, opening his mouth and unleashing a powerful fire attack. Kid sent out Zane and Mari while the other Pokémon was attacking. "Zane, Shadow Ball! Mari, Bubble Beam!"

She watched as all three of her Pokémon attacked Wills. He probably would not get out of that attack alive, but that was what he got for following them all the way to Celadon!

After a few more seconds, Kid called off the attack, confused as to why she was not hearing any cries of agony and pain. Once the Pokémon stopped and looked back up at her, she slowly stepped back in the water, which was too hot for her liking due to the trio's attack. Kid glanced around. She was sure she saw Wills here a few seconds ago... Where did he go?

"Mari, come here." The blonde called out to the water mouse, wanting to be safe from anything that may come near her while she was washing some of the dirt and sweat off of her face. She grinned as Mari jumped into the water and swam up to her, a worried look in her eyes. "Don't worry, Mari. I'm fine. I just wanted you to stay here just in case Wills comes back."

The Marill tilted her head (body) to the side. "Marill?" She was sure that no other human other than her Trainer was here.

Kid frowned. "Didn't you see him? I mean, he was just here a few seconds ago..." And then she glanced down again to wash her face.

Just like the first time, she squealed out of fear when she saw Wills' face staring at her. However, this time, she stared back, realizing that Wills was imitating her facial expression. She waved her right hand, and watched as Wills waved his left. She waved her left hand, and Wills waved his right. Mari looked up at her Trainer, worried that exhaustion has finally gotten the best of her, causing her to see random hallucinations.

Kid gasped after a few seconds of playing 'Mankey-see-Mankey-do' with Wills. She knew she had seen his face before, but she could not pinpoint where exactly, but now she knew...

... Since she barely ever looked into the mirror, she was not really accustomed to how her own face looked like.