A/N: This chapter is being released early due to class due dates and events going on this week and weekend. My blog for resources for my works is now live (found on my profile page under the writing style section). Check it out for stuff I use to help me write this story. I will be posting up material every now and then (or as readers request) on that blog.
Chapter 4: Good Evening, Viridian!
? – ?
-With Ash-
There was something touching him. He could not tell what, but something was touching him in multiple places. The last thing he remembered was getting ice cream with Leaf at a festival. It was the annual Pallet Town Summer Festival they were at a couple of months ago. They had just finished riding a couple of rides and the Ferris wheel and had just gotten ice cream. But as they were eating ice cream, he felt a light poke to his right side. Leaf looked at him inquisitively, "Hey what's wrong? Is there something bothering you? Is it my yukata? Am I not pretty enough?" she asked in a panic. She was dressed in a lovely light blue and red yukata, fitting for her. He was wearing his normal red vest, black t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and who could not forget his favorite red hat. He found himself blushing the entire time…at Leaf, whose brunette hair waved in the wind like soft grass and her complexion sparked like the starry night sky. 'Well she's certainly lovely this evening.'
"No, no, no! Wait…something is poking my right side." Ash quickly responded, waving his hands in defense not wanting to anger her. He looked down to his right, swearing to hear a cry of a pikachu. He remembered leaving Pikachu at home with his mother while they were at the festival. But he still heard a Pikachu frantically calling his name. This was followed by another frantic call and poking (well now it's more of a head-butt) by a bulbasaur. Ash tried to remember when he owned a bulbasaur. He knew Professor Oak had several running around his lab, but most did not really pay attention to him. So naturally he thought this was a very odd occurrence. Suddenly, he felt an electric shock, which made all traces of this scene fade to black.
"WAHH!" Ash let out a small yelp has he jolted awake. As he sat himself up, he found himself sitting on grassland with the dirt path only a few yards away. He looked up at the sky to find the sun high in the sky. "What the hell happened?" he wondered to himself as he looked at his two very injured, but otherwise okay pokemon. Pikachu could barely walk and Bulbasaur could barely crawl. It was truly a depressing sight.
"Alright, Bulbasaur, you need to rest up until we get to Viridian City. Return!" The ball swallowed Bulbasaur and kept it safely protected from any more harm. Suddenly, his mind begins to flood with the events that transpired the previous evening. Everything from the pidgey to the spearows, to the number Pikachu's thundershock did to everyone in sight. He then noticed the spearows were gone.
'Sigh…too bad I couldn't catch one,' Ash lamented as he pulled his PokeGear out. He checked what time it was.
'It's 10:15 in the morning,' he thought, 'how long was I knocked out?! Is Leaf and Gary okay? I think Gary can take care of himself, but what about Leaf?' He looked at his PokeGear hoping for signal but was thoroughly disappointed when there was not even a single bar. 'At least the GPS works. If anything, I can always meet the two in Viridian. I might as well head out.' He gathered his bag and started down the trail to Viridian City.
-With Leaf-
? – ?
There were lights, lights everywhere. It was the evening of the Pallet Town Summer Festival. The sounds of laughter, joy, and puking were heard (well, just in front of the "Dragon Master" ride that was supposedly the scariest ride in all of Kanto; it barely topped 75 feet and people were still throwing up). She honestly did not get it; it was basically a very tall kiddy ride. Ash, who she found her arms clung to, looked at her in anticipation of the ride's review as they stepped off.
"I'm pretty sure there's scarier in Celadon. That was nothing! I'm not sure what people's deal is," Leaf pondered.
"I'm pretty sure the people who go here have never left town, much like we haven't left town yet." Ash countered. Leaf giggled playfully at the remark, although her attention was drawn to her right side. She felt a series of jabs to her kidneys. She giggled again, "Ash! Stop it! That tickles! Heeheeheeeee!" Ash looked at her confused, on the opposite side of the jabs.
"Whatayah mean, Leaf? I'm over here…" Leaf looked to her left, and was slightly disappointed.
"Then who was that poking me on my right side?" There was a faint cry of a jigglypuff as the series of pokes continued. She swore she left Jigglypuff at home; just what was it doing here? Then a cry of a squirtle was heard. 'Wait…a squirtle? When did I ever own a squirtle? I saw one at Grandpa's lab, but never actually interacted with one…wait a second…I'm not actually at a festival am I' She then heard an angry cry of Jigglypuff and then felt a very hard slap. Her surroundings faded to black in a flash.
"OW!" Leaf cried, forcing herself up and rubbing her cheeks where Jigglypuff made impact. She looked at her right where she saw Jigglypuff and Squirtle looking at her inquisitively. "Where am I?" she wondered out loud as she took in her surroundings. To her right was a cliff with grassland to the left. Behind her was a hill where she deduced that she must have rolled down. She looked down at her attire and saw it was caked with mud. 'Ah crap…I'm gonna have to wash these later…'
"Guys," Leaf talked to her pokemon, "what happened out here? I'm a complete mess and it looked like it rained." She took a minute to where she looked at the imprint she left in the mud. After giving it an intense stare, the memories of yesterday came flooding back, everything from the pidgey, to outrunning the spearows, to being picked up by the fearow and tossed to the ground. She shuttered at the thought. She was never going to see birds the same way again.
"Alright, let's say we get going to Viridian City and get there before nightfall" Leaf decided as she pulled out her PokeGear to get her bearings. Squirtle and Jigglypuff nodded in agreement and they made their way back to the path.
-Somewhere on Route 1-
12:00pm
The sun blanketed the Western Peninsula in heat and humidity. Its punishing rays shined down onto the route where we find Ash and Pikachu walking for what seemed like eternity…well it has only been an hour and a half walking down the path. He contemplated on stopping for lunch until he saw a figure in the distance, a girl in a white fedora to be exact. 'Wait…a girl in a white fedora. Only one person I know wears that!'
"Leaf!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs. The girl looked back at him
"Hmm?" Leaf said as she turned to look behind her. She could spot a boy in a red and white hat, running quickly in her direction. 'Oh! It's Ash!'
"Ash!" Leaf shouted as she gave an energetic, friendly wave. When the two trainers met up with each other, Leaf embraced him in a tight hug, not caring if either of them was caked in mud. Ash did not really know how to respond. 'Do I hug back?' he wondered as Leaf let go.
"Oh Ash, I'm glad you're okay after what happened yesterday! It was horrible!" Leaf went on and on about her escapades with the fearow of death and its minions of spearows. Ash was incredibly shocked that she got to battle a fearow! "Hey! I didn't get to see a fearow! NOT FAIR!" Ash pouted.
"What?! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY WHEN I'VE JUST FINISHED TELLING YOU I ALMOST DIED?!" Leaf screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Oh, sorry," Ash replied meekly, "but you're okay and that's all that matters, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so. You're still an insensitive jerk, though," Leaf muttered, giving Ash a cold stare.
"I know, I know. I said I'm sorry!" Ash tried to reason. Leaf looked at him for a second before her eyes softened.
"Damn it! I can never stay mad at you, ever…" Ash only smiled at this.
"Now what do you say we find a fearow to capture!" Ash exclaimed. Leaf's right eye twitched.
"Ummmm, how about HELL NO!" Leaf screamed at the top her lungs, "I want to stay away from those things…and ALL birds if possible!"
"Oh c'mon, Leaf. They're not that bad."
"I swear it's impossible to get things through that think skull of yours. I HAVE DEVELOPED AN IRRATIONAL FEAR OF BIRDS, BIRD BRAIN!"
"Hey! That's not very nice of you!"
"No, it isn't. Now, let's eat lunch while we're here and then head over to Viridian where we can meet up with Gary." Ash and Leaf ate a couple of snacks Delia packed for them and then hit the road to Viridian. All was well for the next 4 hours they walked together engaged in small talk.
-Viridian City Gates-
5:00pm
The city was not as spread out as they thought it was. Here at the gate lies the end of the roadway that led travelers straight into downtown. The one thing they noticed, though, was the city was covered in trees, lots and lots of trees. The two trainers and two pokemon looked up at the sign that read "Welcome to Viridian City: City of Trees. Population: 115,471".
"Interesting," Ash thought out loud, "for a city with this many people, I would've imagined the city to be bigger than this." Leaf looked at him dubiously.
"Ever thought that people live on the outskirts of town, under the sea of trees?" Leaf deadpanned.
"Oh yeah," Ash replied.
"Anyways, let's find the Pokemon Center and Hotel. PokeMaps said it's at the corner of Main Street and Indigo Road in downtown. It's about 3 miles from here. Let's move it!" The two made their way through the gate and onto the side of the boulevard. They found the street get wider as they saw more and more neighborhoods pop up out of nothingness, bust still buried in a sea of trees. They got to a large bridge where they hear cars hurrying back and forth to various destinations. Three bridges span the 8-lane freeway below: the wide bridge in the center carried traveling cars while the two spans that flanked it carried pedestrians on each side. The bridge itself was encased and supported by a viridian-colored lattice archway; its majestic form stood in front of the traveling party.
Ash ran to the center of the bridge and looked towards both sides. He hung his head over the side facing east and watched the eight lanes of cars below whiz by him and then looked beyond to the forests of the East. Pikachu and Bulbasaur (who had come out of its home) also stared on in wonder. Leaf, whom was impatiently waiting for them to finish taking in the view, decided it was getting late. She walked up beside him and stared out to the horizon, all while holding that flirtatious smile.
"You know, you're quite the cutie when trying to figure out what a freeway is. It's like you've never seen one before." Leaf suddenly said, startling Ash in the process.
"Whaa? But I've never seen this wide of a street or cars that go this fast! It's pretty neat," Ash countered, "and how is this even cute?"
"But the innocent look on your face says so! Now I'll ask that cute, innocent face of yours if we're going to continue to the Pokemon Center. Maybe we can share a room…" Leaf flirtatiously (and impatiently) replied, topping it off with a wink, as she started off in the direction of town. Ash grunted and motioned Pikachu and Bulbasaur to follow. Pretty soon, the houses gave way to small buildings to where they hit Indigo Road and modest-sized office towers and condos sprung up from the ground. Ash and Leaf continued down Indigo Road whilst looking at all of the buildings. It was a downtown like they had never seen.
It was around 9:00pm when they reached the Pokemon Center at the busy intersection of Main Street and Indigo Road. The building itself was circular-shaped and about 5 stories high, with convenient driveway and valet service. Unsurprisingly, the large, ball-shaped glass dome was in a shape of a pokeball. Ash and Leaf walked up to the door where they find two bellhops: one with violet hair and the other with magenta hair.
"Good evening, travelers, will you all be staying the night?" the bellhop, who was female, politely asked. Ash thought about it for a moment, but Leaf beat him to the thought.
"Yes, we'll be staying for the night. But first, we need to find the Pokemon Recovery Center. Do you know where that is?" Leaf quickly asked. The male bellhop gestured his hand towards the right.
"Follow this hallway and it should be further down. Enjoy your stay!" The male bellhop waved, wearing a crooked smile. Leaf looked back and was unnerved by the entire scene.
"Hey Ash," Leaf began as they walked into the center, "is it me or do those two look suspicious?"
"Now that you say it, I noticed the female one eyeing my pokeballs, like she was trying to see what's inside them. It's like they wanted them."
"Well I'm sure we're both imagining things. I mean, what's a bellhop to do with pokemon anyways?" They both reached the counter where they encountered a young, pink-haired woman donned in a nurse's attire accompanied by a Chansey in similar attire waiting behind the counter. She took notice of the two and promptly greeted them with a warm smile.
"Good evening and welcome to the Viridian City Pokemon Center. I am Nurse Joy. We offer the quickest recovery for any pokemon and the finest services for their trainers. Our services are free of charge if present with a valid trainer's certification and license." Ash and Leaf took out their pokedexes and flipped to the page with their information on it. When handed the devices, Nurse Joy looked confused.
"That's odd," Nurse Joy said as she looked at the strange, tablet looking device, "I've never seen a Trainer ID issued this way."
"Professor Oak of Pallet Town is having us test these prototype database tablets. It holds our trainer information as well, apparently," Ash said, hoping to provide clarification to the otherwise technologically confused nurse.
"Interesting…" Nurse Joy mused as she handed back the pokedexes, "how many we help you two this evening?"
"Well, we would like you to heal our pokemon. They've been in a pretty tough fight against a flock of spearow and fearow on the way up here," Ash said.
"Well that explains the mud-caked attire you two wear. Alright, if could just place your pokemon in this tray and I'll call for you when they are fully healed. The healing process should take no more than 90 minutes. And that means your Pikachu and Jigglypuff need to go back in their balls for the procedure to work." Pikachu and Jigglypuff frowned at the statement.
"C'mon, you two," Ash said, "if you guys want to get better, could you please just get inside your pokeballs?" Pikachu let out a sigh and hopped into his pokeball while Jiggly followed suit. The two trainers placed their pokeballs in the tray and handed it back to Nurse Joy, who in turn gave them a pager much like at the Pallet House back home.
"Oh yeah!" Ash remembered as she began to walk towards the back, "we're hungry and we were wondering what's the best place to eat around here."
"We have a self-service restaurant on the second floor. Please make yourselves at home while I take care of your pokemon. I will call you when the procedure is finished."
"Thank you!" Ash and Leaf yelled as they walked towards the escalator. Once they reached the top of the escalator, the floor opened up to a large cafeteria with a buffet line. There were tables everywhere and people as well as other trainers conversing with each other. The ceiling rose 3 stories up and was decorated with lights and fans and the walls held the rooms that housed travelers. Ash was solely focused on the amount of food he saw in front of him. As soon as he got his seemingly growing pile of food, Leaf looked at him disproving his choice amount.
"Are you sure we can afford all that, Ash?" Leaf asked out of concern. Ash looked at the amount of food he got…and suddenly realized that the food may cost money. When they got to the cashier, Leaf was ready to take out her debit card. The cashier stopped her, though with a smile on his face.
"Mam, you look like a trainer. All trainers get their first meal free and then a monthly allowance that is allowed to accumulate. The Pokemon League does not want the trainers to spend their own money on their journey. So if you have a Trainer's ID on you, you may pass through." Leaf looked at the cashier in disbelief.
"I don't believe you," she simply stated.
"Oh you don't?" The cashier kindly replied, "look at the sticker in front of you." Sure enough, there was a large, white sticker explaining what the cashier had said earlier and even had the official League seal on it. Leaf gasped and pulled out her pokedex. The cashier looked at her confused.
"This is a prototype device made by Professor Oak; it has the ability to hold our information in it as well," Leaf explained. The cashier nodded and let her through. Ash also pulled out his pokedex and followed through. They looked around for an empty table when they stumbled upon a person they wanted to see after the fiasco the day before.
"GARY!" they both yelled walking towards the teen in a black polo. Gary looked up from his dinner and groaned. 'Well it was nice while it lasted. At least they made it out of that hell.'
"Well it's about time you two got here. What kept you two?"
"I don't know. Maybe the fact we were knocked out for the entire night?" Leaf chided.
"Okay, okay, pesky girl," Gary muttered, "just eat your dinner. You both must be starving." And that's what Ash and Leaf did, Ash being comparable to those Saiyans he's read about in mangas and Leaf a little bit more civilized, but still scarfing down the mountain of food.
"So what have you been doing in town, Gary?" Ash piped up, trying to make conversation.
"Just training, waiting for you guys. I go west of town to the mountains for that during the day."
"Run into any other trainers?"
"No. Just training with Charmander and Pidgey."
"Ah," Ash ended, the conversation growing more awkward. Fortunately, the pager that Leaf had rang.
"Looks like your pokemon are healed. Go get them. I'm heading to bed," Gary said before heading off to one of the rooms. Ash and Leaf made their way back to the recovery center and passed by a meowth dressed in bellhop attire.
"Do you know where the bathroom is?" it asked in a heavy accent, akin to the accents found in Unova.
"Uhhh…I believe its pass the recovery center to the right…." Ash slowly said, not really believing his own ears when he thought the pokemon was actually talking.
"Thanks a bunch!" the pokemon said as it walked away. Leaf looked to Ash, who looked on at the pokemon walking towards the recovery center.
"Something's fishy here," Ash thought out loud as they neared the desk. Nurse Joy was waiting for them with their pokeballs in the tray.
"Here you two go. Your pokemon are all healed," Nurse Joy said, "please enjoy your complimentary –" the power was suddenly cut and the entire Pokemon Center plunged into darkness. Leaf instinctively latched onto Ash's arm and held onto it tightly. Sounds of frantic shuffling can be heard down the hallway and back into the recovery center. Ash wondered where Nurse Joy was, still not noticing Leaf attached to his left arm.
Within about 3 minutes of the power outage, there were sounds of pikachus running in a group returning emergency power to the recovery center. Nurse Joy made her back out from the generator room to find the two trainers staring blankly.
"Well that blackout was taken care of. Let me see if the pokemon are still here." Nurse Joy said as she left to check the recovery ward. The recovery center also held pokemon overnight for serious injuries and require more than 4 hours for recovery. She let out a gasp and ran back out to the desk.
"Oh no!" she cried in severe panic, "all of the critically injured pokemon have been stolen!" Ash and Leaf looked at each other and then back at Nurse Joy. She, in turn, looked them suspiciously.
"You both wouldn't know what happened to the pokemon, would you?"
"Why would we ever want to steal pokemon? We haven't moved from this spot from the entire time!" Ash gave her a face. "Shut up! Just because I'm the tricky one doesn't mean I steal for fun!"
"Well you both were the only ones in the room when the power went out!" The three then heard a hot air balloon taking off, and maniacal laughing over the Pokemon Center's intercom system.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," a female voice (oddly very similar to the female bellhop) began, "we would like to thank you for your generous donations to the Team Rocket Pokemon Project!"
"Your pokemon will be deeply cared for and well trained by us. So thank you again for your donations and we will be looking forward to see you all again!" a male voice joined in (again, oddly similar to the male bellhop). In an instant, the entire center was in uproar.
"Oh no! They stole our pokemon!"
"My pokemon were in the recovery ward!"
"How could the Pokemon Center let this happen?!"
"Somebody call the police!" Amidst the chaos, someone quietly, but quickly made their way to the front. Ash, Leaf, and Nurse Joy ran outside to see the balloon take off. Ash readied his pokeball.
"Oh hell no they don't!" Ash cried as he released a pokemon, "go Bulbasaur and Pikachu!" Bulbasaur and Pikachu stood at the ready, and visibly angry as well.
"C'mon out Squirtle and Jigglypuff!" Leaf cried as they both stood next to the other two pokemon ready for battle.
"Don't mind me if I join you two," a third voice suddenly joined in seemingly out of nowhere. The two trainers looked to the right and saw none other than Gary Oak, dressed in night wear. "Let's go Pidgey and Charmander!"
"Gary?! " Ash yelled, "the hell you get here?"
"As the only person at the hotel with a party of pokemon on him, other than you two apparently, I'm obliged to make sure no one's pokemon gets stolen. Now, let's take out these idiots. Charmander, scratch attack." He picked up Charmander and launched him towards the rising balloon. On one swipe, there was a large tear in the lining, sending the balloon (and the net of attached pokeballs) careening down into the center's front patio. The two bellhops landed face-first into the pavement, with the meowth Ash and Leaf encountered earlier landing on top of them. The pokeballs landed next to the fallen trio, miraculously still in the net. As quickly as they fell, they got back up. Now dressed in white Rocket uniforms (the female Rocket wearing a midriff), they both turned to the party, visibly angry.
"Just when we were about to make our biggest catch, you twerps had to go and ruin shit!" the female Rocket exploded.
"And we had a brilliant plan, too!" the male Rocket joined in. The meowth eyed Ash and Leaf.
"Oh by the way," the meowth spoke, "thanks for showing me where the bathroom was, the generator was right below it, heehee."
"So you guys were the ones who caused the power failure!" Ash cried, "who are you guys anyways?!"
"Oh, excuse us for being so rude," the female Rocket curtly replied.
"Please allow us to introduce ourselves," the male Rocket finished, spotlights coming out of thin air.
'What the hell?' all four thought as the courtyard floodlights randomly focused on them. As if on cue, microphones were in the hands of each of the Rockets.
"Prepare for trouble!" the female Rocket began.
"And make it double," the male Rocket continued.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extent our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket: blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" the talking meowth finally joined in. Nurse Joy just about had enough of the scene.
"Hey! You have no right to be stealing other trainers' pokemon!" The trio only manically laughed.
"Who cares? It's Team Rocket's mission to steal pokemon to make a profit. In this case, we have every right to steal pokemon!" James said his smooth tone as he prepared his pokeball.
"And because it's our mission, we won't let you get in our way! Go Ekans!" Jessie shouted, releasing a snake-like pokemon. Having never seen this pokemon, Ash consulted Dexter for analysis.
"Yo Dexter! Give me some info on Ekans," Ash said as he looked at the snake pokemon.
"Gladly will. Ekans, the snake pokemon. It moves silently and stealthily. Its diet consists of eggs of birds, such as Pidgey and Spearow, whole. Its known attacks are wrap, leer, poison sting, and bite."
"Bulbasaur, tackle the ekans and stabilize yourself! Don't let it wrap around you!" Bulbasaur ran up to the snake at full force. The snake slithered to the right and dodged the tackle. Bulbasaur stabilized himself upon landing and unleash a new attack from its bulb. Seeds began to spit out and land on the snake pokemon and it began to be covered in seedlings. It looked like it was losing stamina as the snake slowed down a bit. 'What attack was that?' Ash wondered.
"That would be leech seed," Leaf said, "Squirtle, bubble attack while its down!" Ekans was hit with a barrage of bubbles, crying out in pain as it happened. James noticed his partner in trouble. "Let's go Koffing."
Gary pulled out his pokedex, unsure what the purple balloon in front of the group is. "Koffing, the poison gas pokemon. Because it stores several kinds of toxic gases in its body, it is prone to exploding without warning. Known attacks are poison gas, tackle, smog, and smoke screen."
"Koffing," James commanded, "poison the squirt." On cue, the purple balloon let out a plume of purple gas from its pores. In an instant, everyone (including the Team Rocket Trio) was down on the ground. Squirtle withdrew to his shell. Pidgey flew up to avoid the poisonous cloud.
"Dammit, James!" Jessie yelled, "that only (cough cough) works in a one-on-one (cough cough) battle, now I'm (cough cough) down, too, idiot!" giving him a slap in the process.
"Sorry! Koff-(cough cough)-ing, use tackle on that (cough cough) squirtle!" The balloon pokemon tried to find Squirtle in the cloud, couldn't find it. Suddenly, a pair of blue legs appeared and launched itself at the balloon, tackling it out of the air.
"Pidgey (cough cough), gust attack to get rid of the cloud!" Pidgey flapped its wings hard and cleared the area of poisonous gas. Soon, the air was clear and everyone was back on their feet. Nurse joy took this opportunity to secure the bag of stolen pokemon.
"Jigglypuff, pound that Koffing into the ground!" Jigglypuff jumped up and completely pummeled the balloon into the ground, making a rather large crater.
"Leaf, help Nurse Joy guard the stolen pokemon while we send these bastards to the sky." Meowth was already nearing the bag and Nurse Joy stood in front of it, guarding it with her life.
"You can't take these pokemon!" she cried as her arms flew out protectively.
"Lady," the kitten pokemon chided, "move and you won't get hurt."
"Squirtle! Bubble attack!" and the bubbles made contact with the talking feline.
"Argh DAMMIT! I HATE WATER!" it cried as it was pushed back to the two human Rockets, whose pokemon are down at the moment. Leaf stood protectively in front of the bag of pokemon while Ash and Gary looked at each other.
"Ready for it?" Ash said as he smiled at Gary.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with…" Gary replied as he readied Charmander.
"Thundershock! Ember!" they both shouted at the same time, the attacks combining to form a raging flame of electricity. The attack connected sending trio skyward with their pokemon, crying in anguish as well as fried from the flames and electricity.
"Damn that Pikachu!" Jessie cried.
"Damn that Charmander!" James added on as they faded to a point on the horizon, due north.
Once the battle was over (and all of the pokemon moderately injured), the party returned to the medical ward severely exhausted. The onlookers of the battle stared on as Leaf helped Nurse Joy carry the bag of stolen pokeballs back into lobby, followed by Ash, Gary, and the Officer Jenny that had just arrived on scene. The power had been restored and the crowd went wild as they walked through the front door.
"Thank you for saving our pokemon!"
"You guys are awesome!"
"I'm glad my pokemon are safe!"
"Can I have your number?" Leaf could tell that remark was meant for her only to walk on and ignore the douche of a trainer. Ash heard said comment and glared at the same trainer, giving off the impression to kill. The trainer slowly crouched into a fetal position, seeing the power of these trainers first-hand.
"Okay everyone! The pokemon will be returned to the ICU as they were. Please return to your rooms. Thank you! You four, come with me to the recovery ward" Officer Jenny yelled at the top of her lungs. Everyone made their way back up the escalators and elevators to their rooms and the party followed the officer to the lobby of the recovery center. As Leaf, Ash, and Nurse Joy finished putting back the pokeballs in their assigned slots, Gary sat with Officer Jenny to go over the details of the attempted robbery. Chansey brought out a pot of coffee and two cups with cream and sugar and Officer Jenny took out her tablet.
"Thank you, Chansey. Now, Mr. Oak, can you tell me a little about the robbery?"
"Yes. Well, it all started when…"
-With Gary-
9:45pm
Soon after Ash and Leaf left to retrieve their pokemon, Gary left the cafeteria to go up to his room. It was one of the rooms to the back of the hallway on the 4th floor. He trudged up the steps down the plain hallway. The hallway had a simple green carpet design with plants very now and then. Each wooden door he passed had a single peephole along with an aluminum-plated room number. He passed a set of elevators that traversed all five floors to his right and a vending machine area to the left. After a few more doors, he had finally reached his room at the end of the hallway. 'Is this 420? Yeah, it's 420'
He used his keycard to open the door to his room. It was a small room, fit with two bunk beds, a night stand separating the two with an alarm clock on top, a bathroom to the left of the entrance, and a couple dressers to finish it off. Overall, it was much like the dorms he went into while visiting Kanto State University in Celadon. He found his bed to the right and sat down in it. He laid his pokeballs down on the dresser and took a hard look at them, almost analyzing them.
"You guys trained hard and well today, but I expect an improvement tomorrow. Good job and get a good night's rest. I'll see you guys in the morning," Gary said with little to no trace of emotion. He got out his toiletries from his black backpack and proceeded to the bathroom. He came back out into the room brushing his teeth while checking messages on his PokeGear. 'Hmmmm…there's one from Mom, one from Sandra, one from Melanie, a couple of girls whom I don't know how they got my number, another from Grayson asking when I'm going to football camp, one from Jamie…why do I have so many fan girls…' He continued to read the essay of a text Sandra had sent him just before his journey chewing him out for choosing the pokemon journey over her. 'As bad as I feel about this, I felt I won't have a future with y-' That was when the room suddenly blacked out, the phone being the only light source. He quickly shot up and headed for the light switch, which he swore it was on. He flipped it a couple times to make sure it was indeed on and sure enough, there was no power. He poked his head outside to the hallway and also saw it was pitch black. He decided to retreat to his room and continue reading the text essay. About 4 minutes later, he heard the intercom above him come to life.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," a female voice rang throughout the room, "we would like to thank you for your generous donations to the Team Rocket Pokemon Project!"
"Your pokemon will be deeply cared for and well trained by us. So thank you again for your donations and we will be looking forward to see you all again!" a male voice joined in (again, oddly similar to the male bellhop). Gary immediately ran outside and straight into what looked like chaos and pandemonium. The cries of trainers losing their injured pokemon filled the hallways and pushing and shoving commenced in the darkness. Gary knew where the rear stairs were since it was right next to his room. He proceeded to slam through the fire door and jump down full flights of dark stairway. He burst out to what was the technology center and ran past the many rows of computers and video phone booths. After taking a sharp left, he found the dim lights of the recovery ward and the lobby where he found three people and five pokemon outside looking up at an escaping hot air balloon in the shape of a meowth…with a net full of pokeballs shining in the full moonlight.
"Oh HELL no!" he thought out loud as he ran towards the group. As he got closer, the outlines of the group slowly took form of three familiar people: Ash, Leaf, and Nurse Joy.
"Don't mind me if I join you two…"
-Back to present time-
"Okay, can you describe what the thieves looked like?"
"There was a girl, I think in her mid-20s with magenta hair, a guy about the same age with violet hair, and a talking meowth. All were in Rocket uniforms. Come to think of it, they were in bellhop attire when I met them earlier in the evening." Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow.
"A meowth that can speak?"
"Yeah, it was the strangest thing. It started spitting out stuff like 'Meowth, that's right!' and 'I wouldn't, if I were you, lady'…or something like that. My grandfather has never heard of such thing. But anyways, their names were Jessie, James, and unsurprisingly Meowth."
"…interesting…wait, did you say 'Rocket uniforms', like 'Team Rocket'?" Officer Jenny suddenly inquired, like she had an epiphany.
"Yeah, why?" Gary hesitantly asked, seeing Officer Jenny tense up like that. He had a hunch of who Team Rocket was.
"This is crucial information. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Oak; you may return to your evening activities."
It was around 11:30pm when all questioning was finished and Officer Jenny left to report in. Gary bade his farewell for the evening, which left Ash, Leaf, and Nurse Joy in the recovery ward.
"Thank you guys so much for rescuing those injured pokemon. I don't know what I would've done without you three there. It was a much impressive display of battle. Are you three seasoned trainers?" Ash and Leaf looked at each other nervously.
"Hehe…we only stared our journey two days ago," Ash responded meekly. Nurse Joy's eyes dilated.
"Wow! You three have great potential to be amazing trainers! Keep it up and maybe you all have what it takes to get into the Pokemon League tournament."
"What do we need to do?" Leaf asked.
"You mean you don't know how to qualify?"
"I'm pretty sure I read it somewhere in the trainer's handbook…but I honestly don't remember," Ash said. He was pretty sure he read the entire thing, but glazed over a couple of sections; it was all a fleeting moment for him.
"You have to earn eight badges to be able to register at the complex about 35 miles northwest of the city." Ash and Leaf nodded in understanding.
"I'm sure you two need a room for the night seeing how it is quite late. Will we be needing two rooms?"
"Nah," Leaf quickly said, "we're comfortable sharing a room." The nurse raised her eyebrows, hinting at perversion.
"Oh really…" she slowly said, "you know that we have a noise policy at this center." Ash and Leaf faces fell, and their bodies followed immediately afterwards anime-style.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Leaf yelled. Ash's heart randomly dropped again, yet he still had no explanation to why it does this.
"As you say. Your room is Room 418. Here is your room key, please return it to the front desk when you check out. Elevators are to the left of the lobby, the stairs are beside this ward. Until then, have a good night and thank you for everything!" As soon as Ash and Leaf bid their farewells, they made their way to the elevators. Once they got to the 4th floor, they traversed the hallway to the end where there was a room beyond them before the emergency stairs. They opened the room to find a room exactly like how Gary described to Officer Jenny, only mirrored. Ash sat his belongings down next to the bed on the left and laid his pokeballs on the dresser while Leaf did the same on the right side of the bed. It was around midnight when they were completely ready for bed.
"Geeez, I'm exhausted," Ash yawned as he plopped down on his bed.
"You and me both," Leaf agreed, "and I didn't get to wash my clothes. Guess I'll have to wear my backup." Ash blushed at the thought, knowing full well what the backup clothing was and how it looked on her.
"And I'm going to wearing it just for you; you know you like it," Leaf added flirtatiously, moving closer to him in the process, "your blush shows it." She was literally leaning over him with a smirk.
"AM NOT!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs.
"KEEP IT DOWN! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" a muffled voice sounded through the walls, oddly sounding like Gary.
"Sorry!" Ash and Leaf said at the same time. They both returned to their beds and shut off the lights.
"Well good night! I'll see yah in the morning," Ash sleepily said as he got underneath the blankets.
"You, too. And sweet dreams," Leaf replied, the last bit whispered mostly to herself. Both trainers succumbed to a deep slumber as the night pressed on.
A/N: These author's notes that explain what is going on per chapter will now be moved to the blog. I will only do this if readers request for clarification on plot material Also, please review as I live and learn on the criticism of others.