Chapter 10: Siege on Celadon
"So tell me the plan so I know that you've got it figured out." Leaf said as she looked at Ash.
Ash was sitting across a large circular table from Leaf. There were two other people at the table who had also been planning the raid.
"We've gone over this like 50 times in the last two days. I will enter into the department store with Buzz out and two Pokeballs on my waist. I'll make it up to the third floor and look around while I wait for the commotion to start. When Hitoshi and his men start attacking the building, I'll make sure as many people as possible clear out to help the battle." Ash said as he nodded to Hitoshi.
Hitoshi nodded back and Ash continued. "After all of the unimportant people leave, I'll release Willow from the Pokeball on my belt to clear out any of the guards stationed at the 4th or 5th floor. After Willow takes everyone out she'll head back to clear a path for a team of Erika's Kimono trainers who will be coming in from the backside." Ash said as he nodded to Erika.
She nodded back and Ash continued. "The team will be led be Leaf, that is if she actually gets dressed up in the full Kimono outfit." That comment got a hearty laugh out of Hitoshi and a punch in the shoulder from Leaf. Erica didn't have any visible reaction, but Ash thought he saw a twinkle in her eyes.
"My job is to take as much as possible from the 4th and 5th floors. Our sources say that the 4th floor has supplements so I'll try to find a cart and put all of the supplements in there before going up to the 5th floor and taking their evolution stones and powerful TM's. When Leaf gets there with the extraction team we leave, taking everything with us. It should be a quick in and out, less than 15 minutes once the whole thing starts. We've been over this a ton of times guys, I'm ready." Ash finished.
Erica, Hitoshi and Leaf all looked around at each other before Erica spoke up. "You've done a great job Ash, I believe you are ready. Your team has had a lot of tough training over the past few weeks and these last two days have been some well-deserved rest. Tomorrow will be the day that we strike."
Everyone at the table agreed. Tomorrow would be the big day.
X
Ash released his full team as he went over the plan with everyone.
"Okay guys, so unfortunately for Clefairy she draws the short stick. She's going to be stuck in a Pokeball while everyone else is taking out Team Rocket." Ash said as he looked around. It was important for him to sell this point because he knew otherwise Totodile and Blizz would be very upset they weren't going with Ash.
"Totodile and Blizz, you guys will be with Josh and Hitoshi laying siege to Team Rocket. They are good trainers, listen to them. You guys get to have the most fun and take out some weak Rockets." Ash said as Totodile and punched Blizz in the shoulder. Perhaps they had spent too much time with Hitoshi.
Blizz grinned and bared his teeth as he imagined taking down the enemy.
"Buzz, you'll be with me inside the building. We shouldn't have to do any battles but we have the important task of raiding everything important or valuable that we can. Leaf will be leading a team with some of Erika's trainers to come and extract us and the items we grab. Easy in, easy out and then we meet back in the secret tunnel. You two have to listen to Josh. I won't be around and they are going to need your ranged attacks." Ash said as he emphasized the point of listening as he looked at Blizz.
Blizz made eye contact with Ash before looking away and nodding. Ash was certain he would listen, so he said his final encouragements as he recalled everyone except for Buzz. They made their way to the front of the secret hideout they had been staying in. Ash had been told that it was actually underneath the old gym, which was now a perfume shop. Or, maybe it had already been the perfume shop but also the gym? He wasn't really certain of the whole situation, but from his experience with Erika that wouldn't be surprising.
Erika was very different from Brock. While Brock was very serious with his training and it seemed like his whole life was dedicated to the cause, Erika seemed to care… less. It wasn't that Brock was mean or Erika wasn't involved with the fight, it was just that Erika had a much more upbeat and positive attitude. Leaf and Erika couldn't be further apart in demeanor and yet they seemed to work very well together. Leaf actually relaxed and Ash hadn't heard her laugh near as much as he had in the last two days. When Ash pried into the issue he learned that Leaf had received her Ivysaur from Erika and actually trained with her for quite some time.
Ash slowed as he approached the exit and saw three figures standing there waiting for him. Ash nodded to Hitoshi, Leaf and Erika as he came to a stop. Ash nodded to Hitoshi and handed him the two Pokeballs.
Hitoshi nodded back. "We will take care of them as if they were our own. I give you my word we will take care of them."
Ash smiled as he nodded. He knew that Hitoshi was telling the truth but it still pained him to leave part of his family with someone else.
"I believe in you Ash. You know what you need to do and you are totally capable. You've got this." Erika said as she looked Ash straight in the eyes. Ash felt a burst of confidence from her kind words. He nodded as he turned to Leaf and handed her Buzz's empty Pokeball.
Leaf took it before speaking up. "I may be biased, but I might be handing you the strongest Pokemon on all of Kanto. Do not lose this Pokeball. If you get into any sort of trouble release Willow immediately. Do not lose this ball, do not let it out of your sight, do not get beat up before releasing this Pokemon. Do you understand the importance of this?" She stared Ash down.
Ash felt the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. "Yes, I understand. I will not let anything happen to Willow."
"No Ash. You will not let anything happen before releasing Willow. Willow will make sure nothing happens to you, your only responsibility is making sure she gets out of her Pokeball." Leaf said firmly.
Ash nodded back in confirmation. "It's going to be okay," Erika said as she put her hand on Leaf's shoulder. Leaf let out a sigh before handing Ash Willow's Pokeball. As Ash held the Pokeball he could see and feel the wear on it from years of handling. He wondered if that was how Buzz's Pokeball would be eventually.
"Alright Ash," Erika spoke up as Leaf stepped back. "Your job is very simple and I have total faith that you'll blend in without a problem. Hitoshi will start the attack at 11:30 and Leaf will be there to extract you by 11:45. That should give you more than enough time to gather as many valuable items as possible before getting out. Good luck and keep an eye on the time." She finished as she motioned Ash out exit.
Ash walked up a spiral set of stairs before appearing before a large trap door. He gave three knocks quick in a row before two spread out and the door opened for him. He climbed through the entrance and saw two Kimono girls standing beside the door. He nodded to them and made his way out of the perfume shop and into the streets of Celadon.
X
Ash had never been in Celadon before, but Erika and Hitoshi explained the lay out to him and showed him a map. Ash had plenty of time before he had to be inside the department store, which was good because he took a couple of wrong turns and ended up having to backtrack more than once. This was a much bigger city than Vermillion where he had grown up, and he was impressed with the large buildings. He heard that Saffron was even larger and he couldn't imagine what that would be like.
After what felt like forever, Ash found the Department store and headed inside. As he walked in to the reception area he eyed the clock and saw that it read 11 am. He had plenty of time to look around. He smiled as the receptionist greeted him and he made his way to the back of the building where the stairs were. Ash walked up the first flight of stairs.
Upon arriving at the second floor, Ash noticed there was a man standing in front of the staircase to go up another floor. Ash knew that there was nothing but potions and similar items on this floor, so he pretended not to notice the man blocking his way as he began trying to climb up another floor.
"Where do you think you're going?" The Team Rocket man said as he eyed Ash. Ash saw that he was wearing Black, symbolling he was an Officer, but he was missing the insignia that Senior Officer's had.
"I'm going up to the third floor." Ash responded back, doing his best to imitate Leaf's level of confidence and gruffness. His heart began beating faster.
"You can't go up there kid, it's only for Officer's and above. It wouldn't be fair for you to have access to stuff that other agents don't." The man said as he put a hand in front of Ash. Ash's heart began beating even faster as he tried to stay calm. He technically didn't need on that floor yet but he needed a better vantage point to make sure everyone was leaving like they were supposed to.
"Look, I know usually Agents aren't allowed on the third floor but Senior Officer Proton told me to come and grab him a TM that he requested." Ash hoped that his voice didn't sound as shaky as it felt.
"You mean Executive Proton?" The man asked back as he eyed Ash warily.
Ash blanked for what felt like an eternity before responding. "Oh good, so you've heard about his promotion. Perhaps you've met him then. So you know that if I have to go all the way back and find him and have him come here and have you explain why his messenger wasn't allowed to grab what he needed, well you know how that would go. Yes?" Ash watched as the man's face visibly changed as he imagined what that would be like. Ash could see now why Leaf enjoyed being like this.
"Yes, well, yes sir right this way!" The man said as he stepped aside for Ash to pass.
"Thank you. I'll make sure Executive Proton doesn't hear about this little mix up." Ash said as he walked past the man. His heart was beating a thousand beats per minute but he thought he handled that pretty well.
Ash looked at the clock on the wall as he exited the stairs and entered the third floor. 11:15. He had 15 minutes to explore the walls of TM's that Officers were allowed to purchase.
Ash stifled a laugh as he looked at some of the machines. He had to guess some of these were made up, as he saw one that said Tackle on it. If a Pokemon needed a TM to learn Tackle, then there was definitely something wrong with them.
Ash kept scrolling through. Hail, Roar, Calm Mind…. Ash sighed. He expected most of these to be terrible, but he was hoping that there was something he could use. All of the stuff he was seeing so far was completely useless for his team.
Skill Swap, Sunny Day, Snatch, Silver Wind, Roost… "Wait a second," Ash said audibly as he scrolled back and grabbed a TM. He looked at it hungrily. He had watched as many videos that he could find from Beedrill battling on the Pokedex, and this move was something that a few trainers had used pretty successfully. If he remembered right, it was the same move that Queen Bee had used in its battle before it used Hyper Beam and then…
Ash grabbed the TM as he continued scrolling, trying to get his mind off of that horrible event. Ash picked up Thunder Wave also and continued scanning the TM's as he looked up at the clock.
11:29. It was time. Ash took a breath as he pretended to keep thumbing through the TM's. Now all he had to do was wait until the call came in that they were under attack. He didn't have to wait long before he heard a rough male voice come in over the speakers.
We are under attack. Every none essential personal needs to exit the building and prepare for battle. This is not a drill. Grab your Pokeballs and exit the building and prepare for battle. We are under attack. Let's show these scum the power of Team Rocket!
Ash looked around at everyone else on his floor. There were maybe five or six other people on the floor and they all looked very confused. This is where Ash stepped in.
"Didn't you hear him? There are people attacking! We have to get outside and stop them! I'll make sure there's no one in the bathroom! Hurry!" Ash yelled, trying to sound as panicked as possible. He ran to the back of the floor where the bathrooms were. His exclamation broke the confusion in the room as all of the Officers ran downstairs.
Ash ran into the bathroom and waited for a few moments to make sure that anyone who was clearing out had a chance to get down the stairs. He didn't want to get caught by anyone.
"Crap," Ash muttered to himself as he realized how stupid his plan was. It would be better if Willow knocked everyone out before they went downstairs to help the fight. Especially since anyone who would be coming from the fourth or fifth floors would be Senior Officers or above. Ash grabbed the well-worn Pokeball and released the beast of a Shiftry.
Willow turned and stared into Ash's soul as he tried to maintain the eye contact. Ash wasn't fond on being intimidated but had to break the connection after only a few moments. Something about the dark-leaf type made him shutter. He looked at her feet and said, "Everyone that is going to be leaving should be gone by now. Leaf said you were going to go up to the fourth and fifth floor before heading down the stairs to meet up with her. I'll see you on the other side." Ash said as he brought himself to look her in the eyes for the last bit.
Willow seemed to let out an amused humph at Ash's courage as she nodded to him before turning and disappearing around the bathroom wall. Ash wasn't sure how she moved so silently and fast, but he was glad he didn't have to try and fight Willow.
Ash turned to Buzz and said "You ready?"
Buzz nodded back and they were off, running back through the floor they were just on and headed towards the staircase. Ash saw one Team Rocket body on the floor, knocked out (Ash hoped) from a hit from Willow. Ash doubted that the lady had even seen Willow coming. Ash stepped around the lady's body as he climbed up the stairs to the fourth floor.
Ash took in the view as entered the next level. There were two Rocket's who looked like they could have just been taking a nap on the ground behind the counter. Ash knew better. Ash found a wire basket and grabbed it as he made his way to the large medicine cabinet that was on the back wall. Ash was dumbfounded by the sheer number of bottles of every different kind of supplement. Half of the case looked like it had already been raided, and Ash spied a large X above that side.
Ash avoided the X series items, like X Accuracy or X speed but shoveled the other bottles into the basket he had taken. Ash fit as many bottles as possible into the basket before realizing that the basket was too small and he ended up grabbing a shopping cart and throwing the rest in it. Ash also took a couple small bottles of each kind of supplement in his backpack next to the TM's he had grabbed. He knew they were taking this stuff back to Hitoshi and Erika and he wanted to make sure he got something.
Ash looked at the rest of the medicine cabinet to see if he had missed anything. He looked closely at the X series bottles to read their description. He was told by Hitoshi and Leaf that they weren't necessary but he didn't know what they actually did.
Give to your Pokemon to gain a temporary boost in performance! Our patented technology provides added energy to certain functions of Pokemon ability to give a temporary boost in power! This product does not have any long term benefits
"Huh," Ash said as he looked at all the different bottles. "Well, let's see if they actually do anything," Ash took one pill from each of the bottles and handed them to Buzz. Buzz sniffed them before eating them all in one gulp.
"Anything?" Ash asked.
Buzz shook his head no.
"Oh well, let's head up to the next floor. We will take the basket with us but leave the cart. We'll get it on our way back down." Ash said as he stepped over the body that was supposed to be guarding the entrance to the next floor. Ash looked down and saw that it was a Senior Officer on the ground and was glad that Willow had come through earlier.
Ash looked around at the fifth floor. It was different than the others; instead of having an open floor plan the level was covered with small offices. It looked like most of them had been deserted when the call came in to take action, although Ash saw a few bodies that had been taken out by Willow. They all seemed to be breathing, which Ash was thankful for. He knew Leaf was dark so he wasn't certain just how far they would take it.
Ash walked around, peering through the doors of the offices as he went. He couldn't see anything valuable. He went through some of drawers in the offices and found nothing but papers. Ash pulled out the Pokedex to check the time. 11:38. Ash had to hurry.
"Buzz, split up, see if you can find anything. Evolution stones, TM's, anything that looks valuable. We've got to hurry." Ash said as he began running frantically through the floor. Buzz took off flying in the other direction as Ash tried to find something worthwhile. This was supposed to be where all the good stuff was and now it just looked like an office building.
Ash ran past another Rocket that was slumped on the ground as he continued running through the building. Ash turned back and looked at the body lying on the floor. It was in the middle of the hallway, which was a weird spot for someone to be at. Ash looked more closely at where the Rocket was at. He could almost see an indent in the wall…
Ash pushed on the wall and it began to move. Ash yelled out to Buzz as he barged into the unknown room.
"Bullseye," Ash muttered as he looked at the center of the room. The walls were lined with TM's but Ash's eyes were fixed on the large case filled with stones directly in the middle of the room. Ash walked up and saw what he had been looking for. In the top right corner of the case was a stone that was an aquamarine blue that was frozen on the outside but seemed to have running water in the center. Ash had heard that no matter what the temperature around it, the Ice Stone was always freezing cold.
"Now Twerp don't get ahead of yourself," A voice said.
Ash jumped as he looked up and identified the sound. Standing at the back of the room was a Rocket Officer that looked vaguely familiar. Ash cursed under his breath for not examining the room better as he came in. He quickly pressed the button on Clefairy's Pokeball as the Fairy type appeared.
"So that's how it's going to be huh?" The Rocket said as he released his own Pokemon. It was a Wartortle and suddenly Ash realized where he recognized this trainer from.
"Oh you're that kid! This should be pretty easy then. It only took one move for me to knock your Pokemon out last time," Ash said with a mock. He was trying to stall until Buzz came in.
Gary growled as he realized who Ash was. He dropped his hands down and grabbed the two other Pokeballs from his waist. "I've trained with Surge in Vermillion since then twerp. This'll be a whole different show." He said as he released the two other Pokemon.
Ash gawked as a Pidgeotto and a Nidorina appeared and stared down him and Clefairy. Ash took a couple steps back as he began yelling. "Dazzling Gleam! Get them on the defensive and knock them out ASAP! Buzz I need you!"
Clefairy started firing short blasts of Dazzling Gleam at the enemy. They quickly dodged out of the way as Gary took cover before yelling out his own commands.
"Battle Formation 3! This is what we've trained for!" Gary yelled as his Pokemon began to move.
Pidgeotto used Double Team and began circling in the air. Wartortle met the Dazzling Gleam with his own Water Gun as Nidorina jumped out of the way. Wartortle fired an array of Water Gun's as Nidorina began charging towards Clefairy.
Clefairy barely managed to jump out of the way of the Nidorina's horn as it barreled towards her. Just then the Pidgeotto used Quick Attack and struck the distracted Clefairy square in the body. Clefairy also took a Water Gun from Wartortle which knocked her back.
Ash watched as the Nidorino again charged Clefairy, intent on finishing the fairy type off with her horn. "Flash!" Ash yelled as he closed his eyes. Clefairy released a bright light that blinded everyone in the room. Ash heard Gary yell as he fell down, rubbing his eyes. Pidgeotto's keen eyes were even more sharply aware of the blast of bright light as it flew into the wall as it was temporarily blinded.
Nidorina was similarly stunned and Clefairy was easily able to jump out of the way of the charging Pokemon as she fired a Dazzling Gleam into the hide of the stumbling beast. Clefairy turned and began running towards the Pidgeotto as she fired a couple Dazzling Gleams at the Wartortle to keep it preoccupied.
It responded by firing blasts of water to block the incoming attacks as the downed bird struggled to regain flight. Clefairy jumped up to Headbutt the bird type but was taken down by the Nidorina midair. Clefairy tumbled to the ground as the Nidorina roared its challenge. Clefairy stood up to face it but was hit in the back by another burst of water from Wartortle.
"BUZZ!" Ash yelled as he watched the gruesome onslaught. Clefairy couldn't take this much longer.
Suddenly three Beedrill flew through door and charged the Wartortle. The first two were struck down by a couple of Water Gun's before the third one slammed into the turtle Pokemon with a vicious Poison Jab. Buzz followed up with an Electroweb before turning and using Double Team again as the swarm flew towards the Pidgeotto.
"Rapid Spin, get it off of you! Take out that stupid bug!" Gary yelled as Buzz appeared. The Pidgeotto squawked as it began tearing through some of the bugs with its beak and talons. The Wartortle began spinning as it shook off the web around it and the Nidorina started firing Poison Stings at Buzz.
"Clefairy hit the Nidorina with Shadow Ball! Electroweb on the bird Buzz!" Ash called out as he sensed the tide of the battle turning. Buzz was practically flying circles around the Pidgeotto. Ash watched as Clefairy formed a ball of darkness and launched it at the Nidorina that was too preoccupied trying to hit Buzz to notice the ghost energy soaring towards it. Nidorina yipped as the ghost energy slammed into her side and Ash was very happy that the training with Umbreon was paying off.
Ash watched with awe as Buzz quit the Double Team and stared down the Pidgeotto as he fired an array of Twineedle at the bird. The bird disappeared and Buzz activated Iron Defense barely before Pidgeotto slammed into him with Aerial Ace. It grabbed Buzz with its talons and attempted to peck open the bugs carapace. It hit its beak on the steel casing and recoiled in pain. Buzz opened his mouth and fired a large Electroweb that covered the Pidgeotto. It began twitching as it fell, still holding Buzz in its talons.
Buzz jabbed the falling bird with his lances trying to get it to release him but with no avail. They both hit the ground hard. The Wartortle, now free from the Electroweb fired a couple of blasts of water at Clefairy and Buzz as Gary recalled his unconscious Pidgeotto.
The water slammed into both of Ash's Pokemon as Buzz got back into the air and Clefairy faced the Nidorina.
"Take out the bug but don't get caught by the other one!" Gary yelled. Whatever his battle training had been, it hadn't really taught him to think on his feet as these directions were pretty vague. Ash wasn't upset, he would take every advantage he could.
"Double Team! Get in close and use Rock Smash and Electroweb on either one. Clefairy, keep them guessing! Dazzling Gleam won't do much to the Nidorina but it'll hit the Wartortle hard! Ash yelled.
Ash's team began carrying out his plan. Buzz was still bursting with energy as he replicated himself what seemed to be a dozen times. The Beedrill were flying around in all different directions, each firing out Twineedles. Wartortle and Nidorina seemed lost trying to identify the proper Beedrill but Wartortle was barely able to dodge out of the way as Clefairy fired a Dazzling Gleam at it.
The Wartortle jumped to the side when suddenly Buzz came from behind and hit it with a Rock Smash from both lances before firing off three Electrowebs that covered the Wartortle. It spasmed uncontrollably but was otherwise unable to fight.
Ash watched as the Nidorina thought it saw its chance and charged Buzz now that he was on the ground. It didn't notice the Shadow Ball coming at it from Clefairy, which laid into its side and knocked it over. Buzz fired a couple of Electrowebs that held the Nidorina in place as he hurried over and hit the poison type with a couple of Rock Smashes. Ash watched as both the Nidorina and Wartortle were recalled.
Ash looked at the other trainer, trying to figure out what to do with him. "Buzz, tie him up with just a regular web shot. If he tries to run then throw some electricity in." Ash said as Gary looked horrified. He didn't run though, and the web completely covered him.
"You're not going to get away twerp. You were barely able to beat me and there are a lot of stronger trainers here." Gary yelled at Ash as he began grabbing everything valuable in the room.
"Oh yeah. That's why I was able to get in here, right?" Ash smirked back.
"Yeah you're right, we didn't let you in or anything. You really need to be careful with who you trust, never know when someone will turn on you." Gary laughed an evil laugh. Ash's blood turned to ice.
"Keep talking and I'll have Buzz make it electric. It looked like Wartortle sure liked that." Ash spat back. He was done listening to this guy.
"Oh you little runt you're lucky I-" Gary stopped talking as Buzz opened his mouth and electricity crackled from it. Buzz closed his mouth back and helped Ash throw every TM and stone in the bag as possible. Ash put the Ice Stone in his backpack before turning to leave the room.
"Smell ya later," Ash said as he shut the hidden door behind him. He hoped that Gary would have to sit in there for a long time before anyone came to help him out. Ash looked at the clock on the wall when he got back into the main room. 11:55
"Crap, we're late. Let's hurry!" Ash yelled as he and Clefairy ran down the stairs. Buzz flew by their side. Ash placed the basket with the TM's in the cart once they reached the 4th floor and continued down the stairs. It was a bumpy ride with the cart but Ash didn't want to risk getting stuck in an elevator.
Ash made it all the way down to the first flight of stairs before he ran into Leaf. He literally ran into Leaf as he was heading down the stairs with the cart.
"Hey, watch it!" Leaf yelled as she stumbled back.
"Get out of my way, I've got a cart!" Ash yelled back as a few bottles of supplements spilled out of the cart. He quickly picked them up and threw them back in the cart before finishing going down the stairs. Ash looked around and saw that it was only Leaf and Willow in the lobby. She looked funny in her Kimono garb and the hairband on her head.
"Where's everyone else Erika? I mean Leaf," Ash asked playfully.
Leaf was out of breath. "There's more out there than we expected. They saw us coming. The rest went back to heal or help Erika. Did you get everything?" She asked as she looked up at Ash.
This was bad. Ash had never seen Leaf this exasperated before. "Yeah everything I could. There was a secret room and I had to battle a guy but we handled it. All the supplements are in the cart and the TM's and stones are in the basket. I didn't get to look at any of them I just threw them in here." Ash replied.
Leaf looked at Buzz who was doing the equivalent of pacing back and forth in the air. "Easy battle?" Leaf asked as she examined him.
"It wasn't that easy, Buzz took a few hits but Clefairy got the brunt of it. I don't know what's up with him." Ash responded. Buzz was acting very strange.
Leaf looked at him for a moment before asking, "Did you give him any of the X series items? It looks like there might be some extra adrenaline in his veins."
"Oh yeah. I gave him one of each of those earlier but I didn't think they did anything…" Ash said as he realized what happened.
"One of each? You're crazy!" Leaf let out a hearty laugh. "Sounds like Buzz will be able to help us with some cover fire as we try to get out of here. It was looking pretty rough earlier," Leaf said as she prepared to head back outside.
"Willow will stay by our side. Ivysaur is already out there, once we get out there have Buzz fly around our perimeter also. You ready?" Leaf asked.
Ash nodded as he prepared to exit the building. He reached for the door before Leaf grabbed him.
"No you idiot not that door! The backdoor. You think I just stormed through the front? Come on now kid think."
"How was I supposed to know there was a back door?" Ash replied as he followed Leaf to the back. They exited the back door and Ash saw a number of Rocket bodies lying on the ground next to a lot of Pokemon.
"Let's go!" Leaf said as she began to run. Ash followed as they made their way through the buildings towards where they were supposed to meet with everyone else. As they ran a number of Rocket Grunts and Agents saw them and yelled at their Pokemon to chase them down.
Ash looked at the Rattata and Ekans coming towards him. He yelled at Buzz who flew over and unleashed a barrage of Twineedles that knocked out the much weaker Pokemon. Ash and Leaf were almost to the meeting place when a blast of fire tore through the sky back where the main battle was happening. They turned and saw a huge Pokemon flying through the air, shooting bursts of flames towards what Ash assumed to be Erika and Hitoshi's teams.
"That's a Charizard." Leaf said as she stopped in her tracks. Willow stopped by her side as they turned to look at the newcomer.
"Admin Pierce is the only Team Rocket member who has a Charizard. He also has a Tauros, a Snorlax, a Rhydon and a Nidoking. He changes out his fifth Pokemon quite a bit. He's the strongest Admin that Team Rocket has." Ash said as he watched the Charizard wreak havoc. He had spent years studying the Admins, watching every battle he could find. His goal had always been to one day be at their level, but Pierce was especially dangerous.
"Crap. Kid, get this stuff to safety and wait there, I've got to go help them." Leaf said as she began running back towards the battle.
"I'm coming with you!" Ash said as he left the cart in the middle of the road and chased after her.
"No, you're not. It's too dangerous. Stay where it's safe and watch out for the goods. That's what we came here for anyways." Leaf spat back as she turned to look at Ash. There was a fire in her eyes that almost made him turn back and do as she said.
"I can't." Ash said back. "Totodile and Blizz are in that fight. You know as well as I do I can't leave my team now." He meant every word he said.
Leaf looked at Ash before relenting. "Fine. Stay safe, I can't spend my time protecting you right now. Find your Pokemon, grab them and then try to get everyone to retreat. Meet me back at the hideout when it's all over." She said as she reached into her bag and grabbed her other Pokeballs. "Go hide that cart so it's not visible from the street," She said to Willow as she ran towards the fight.
Ash recalled Clefairy and followed her, Buzz flying low next to him.
As they rounded the corner and came into view of the fight, Ash gasped at what he saw. The whole entire block was covered with Team Rocket Members and their Pokemon, with most of them wearing the black uniforms of Officers with a few white shirts spread in between. There were a lot of unconscious Pokemon, with some Rocket grunts looking around trying to find theirs and take it back to the overcrowded Pokemon Center. Ash guessed that's where most of the Grunts and Agents were at.
The worst part was the small two alleys that all of the Pokemon were attacking. Ash assumed that must have been where Erika and Hitoshi were, and his thoughts were confirmed as he watched the Charizard dive towards the alley and light it up with flames. Ash watched as a light blue shield appeared and the flames bounced harmlessly off, but he knew the Protect's wouldn't last forever. They were not in a good spot, but luckily Leaf and Ash hadn't been seen yet.
That changed as Leaf let out a battle cry as she released her Pokemon. Umbreon appeared next to Spruce, as well as her Crawdaunt and a Houndoom, as well as two other Pokemon that Ash didn't recognize. One looked like a giant Cactus and the other was a small purple creature with large ruby eyes. Ash watched as Leaf started shouting out commands and her Pokemon went to work.
Willow and Spruce ran towards the front lines of Pokemon that were advancing against Erika and Hitoshi and began taking them out from behind. The Houndoom and Crawdaunt started firing large beams of fire and water respectively up towards the Charizard, as the cactus thing began fighting off any Pokemon it could see. The small purple Pokemon stayed close to Leaf, looking ready to fend off any attacks that would try to take out its trainer.
"Oh so we want to play the type advantage game huh? Let's see how that works out for you!" Leaf yelled as a Hydro Pump slammed right into the unsuspecting Charizard. It roared as it was knocked back and tumbled threw the air before regaining balance. It turned and unleashed a torrent of flames towards the new arrival that was met by Houndoom's own Flamethrower.
Ash surveyed the situation and tried to figure out what his best move was. Leaf had obviously brought all the attention to her, which was good but he needed to find a way to get his allies out from where they were and run to safety. The alley that they were in was between two buildings with a large building behind them as well. Perhaps if he could clear out a path from behind and then bust out the wall…
Ash began running as he followed his half formed plan. He wanted to get away from the main battle and see what was going on the next block down. As he ran around the main fight he caught glimpses of Leaf's team shredding the remaining Rocket Pokemon on the street. Ash smiled as he continued running, hopeful that Leaf was as strong as she thought she was.
As Ash turned the corner and ran onto the next street, he slowed as he saw a number of Rocket's looking at him and Buzz. He paused as he took in the people who must have been too afraid to jump in to the main battle. He was surprised none of them were attacking him yet, until he realized that he had his Rocket uniform on. He examined them carefully.
Out of the dozen or so trainers, there was only one Officer. The rest were either Grunts or Agents, with an assortment of Rattata, Raticate, Ekans and the occasional Zubat or Koffing. The Officer had a Golbat, a Persian and a Weezing. If Ash had to guess the Weezing and the Golbat had probably been with the trainer longer, with the Persian being the most recent addition. Ash took a breath as he looked at Buzz.
Buzz was practically bursting with energy from the battle enhancers he had taken before. Ash hoped that it would be enough to fight off these trainers, as he needed to in order to clear a way out for the fighters in the alley.
"You ready?" Ash asked Buzz quietly as he reached down to grab Clefairy's Pokeball. He was glad he had returned her, as she would need to be as well rested as possible for this battle. She had taken a few nasty blows in their bout with Gary and they hadn't had time to heal from that.
Buzz chittered in response as Ash released Clefairy and shouted his commands.
"Take them out from range! Hit the weakest ones first, we don't want to get overwhelmed. Twineedle, Poison Sting, Clefairy use Water Gun!" Ash said as he looked at the fairy type. She looked worse than he remembered, with large bruises covering parts of her body. She winced as she turned to face the opponents but dutifully began blasting out beams of water.
Buzz used Double Team and the copies began to fly all over the place. Ash thought he saw a couple go into some of the buildings even. The Team Rocket Officer tried to command her squad.
"Everyone, take out that kids Pokemon! He's one of them, let's get him!" She shouted as she pointed towards where Ash was. Although Ash figured she probably didn't need the pointing as the many illusions of Buzz began shooting volleys of Twineedles and Poison Stings towards the enemy Pokemon.
All of them fell for the illusion and began frantically trying to get out of the way while simultaneously trying to return fire on the Beedrill. Ash watched as the illusions were slowly popped out of existence as more and more of the Pokemon were able to hit the one firing at them, causing it to dissipate.
Clefairy continued launching Water Guns at the distracted Pokemon, and every one that landed knocked out the unsuspecting Rattata or Koffing that got in its way. After only a handful of shots she switched over to Dazzling Gleam, apparently too tired to continue with Water Gun.
Ash watched as Buzz started picking off the other Pokemon. He started by incapacitating the Golbat with a strong Electroweb and a Rock Smash. A Twineedle that landed all five stingers right into a Rattata's hide. A quick Poison Jab and Rock Smash into an Ekans that was distracted by a clone. Ash watched as the number of Pokemon he was facing thinned out and was relieved to see the battle turning in his favor.
Suddenly a skinny Raticate came bursting forward and slammed into Clefairy. She went tumbling backwards as the Pokemon charged her with an open mouth. She was barely able to shoot a Dazzling Gleam square into its face before it chomped on her. The Pokemon recoiled in pain as she charged forward with a limp and used Headbutt right into the underside of its jaw. The small Raticate didn't get back up, but Clefairy had no time to rest as an Ekans shot forward and wrapped her small body up in its coils. Clefairy tried to get herself free but was unable to as the Ekans latched on with its jaws and began releasing poison.
Ash cursed as he called Buzz and grabbed Clefairy's pokeball to return her. She had fought well and wasn't quite unconscious but Ash didn't want the poison to work its way through her veins. In the Pokeball at least the stasis could temporarily pause the poison. Buzz flew over to the Ekans that had taken out his ally and landed a few quick blows that knocked it out.
As Buzz lifted from the unconscious snake a lithe Persian swatted him out of the air. Buzz tumbled as another Raticate pounced on him with Fury Swipes. He spat an Electroweb on the rat and used Poison Jab a few times on it before shoving the still twitching Pokemon off of him.
As Buzz tried lifting off the ground a large wave of acid splattered onto him. The poison couldn't get in his veins, but the burning acid clung to his wings and made it difficult for him to fly. He turned to look at the large Weezing that had sent the attack.
Buzz tried flying towards it but was swatted out of the air again by the Persian, although this time its claws pierced Buzz's thin wings. Buzz released an Electroweb at the cat as he tumbled to the ground, wings flapping furiously but unable to keep him up. The Persian easily dodged the haphazard web of electricity that was thrown at it.
Ash surveyed the area to see how many Pokemon were still left standing. It looked like the Officer still had all three of her Pokemon healthy, and there were two other trainers that each had a Raticate in fighting shape. The other trainers were just standing around, not knowing what to do now that there Pokemon were knocked out. The situation could have been worse, but with Buzz's wings taken out of commission Ash didn't like his odds.
"Don't just stand there you idiots, get the kid!" The Officer yelled to the other Team Rocket members. They all started running towards Ash. Ash froze, uncertain of what to do. He knew he was in better shape than all of the other kids, and could easily outrun them if he ran away. But there was no way that he could leave Buzz alone while he was so outnumbered. Ash also knew he couldn't fight the other kids. Even if he could take one or two of them, there were almost a dozen of them and most had at least a year or two on Ash in age. Even though Ash was sure he had trained harder, a few months of pushups couldn't make up for two extra years and puberty.
Ash thought about picking rocks up to throw at them, but thought better of it. They might get the same idea, and then he would really be in trouble. Ash instead decided on a plan that he wasn't certain would work.
"Try to hit them with Twineedle! If they get close hit them with your lances and Electrowebs! Lookout for the Weezing!" Ash yelled as he ran to his left. He needed to stay close enough to give commands to Buzz, but he had to keep moving or risk being caught by Team Rocket. Talk about the ultimate game of tag.
Ash ran as Buzz dodged one Raticate that jumped at him. He slammed it with a Poison Jab before another one jumped on his back and bit into his shoulder. He fell forward and flipped around as he tried throwing his lances into the attacking Pokemon. Once he had gotten free of it he shot an Electroweb in its face but was hit once again by a wave of Sludge from the Weezing.
Ash couldn't watch now as he was being tailed by two of the Rocket members and another in front of him. The kid in front of him didn't really look like a fighter so Ash took his chances as he yelled and raised his arm, making a fist ready to swing. The boy froze and ducked behind his arms, closing his eyes. Ash pushed him over as he ran past him. One of the boys chasing Ash ran straight into the boy with his eyes closed and they both tumbled into the ground.
Buzz fired Twineedle at the incoming mass of fur. The attack landed solidly but it didn't stop the Pokemon as it crashed into Buzz. They both ended up on the ground and Buzz used Bug Bite to chew up the Pokemon before it stopped resisting. He pushed the body off of him as another more slender figure hit Buzz across the face with its paw-
Ash dodged back and forth as he tried to evade the Team Rocket members. There was one point where one of the older boys had actually gotten a hold of him, but Ash took a note from Machop's book and swept the kids feet out from underneath him before giving him a karate chop and running away again. Ash looked over to Buzz to give some commands before fear settled in.
Around Buzz were three unconscious Raticate, but what made Ash's heart stop was the Persian resting atop Buzz's body smacking him with its claws. Buzz tried to block the attacks but was covered in Sludge and obviously exhausted. Ash's mind flashed back to when Giovanni's Persian had rent through Buzz's body in Mt Moon.
Ash changed directions as he headed straight towards the Pokemon battle. He couldn't let that happen again to Buzz. Ash rushed towards the battle as the Persian was just finishing its bout of Fury Swipes and was finished with Buzz blocking its attacks with his lances. It placed its paws on them to keep them in place as the gem on its forehead began to glow.
Ash ran even faster as the gem turned black and a pulse of dark energy leapt from it and slammed into Buzz's skull. Ash yelled as he reached the scene and swung his leg as hard as he could into the unsuspecting Pokemon. The cat yelped as it was thrown from its perch.
The next thing Ash knew he was being tackled by one of the boys who had been chasing him. His head hit the ground as he fell and he saw stars. The boy turned him over and nailed him in the face with his fist. Once, twice, three times.
As the boy lifted up his fist to hit Ash a fourth time, he suddenly decided to stop and jump off of Ash's body.
"This is strange," The delirious Ash thought as he rolled his body ever so slightly to see where the boy had jumped off to. He saw the place where the boy lay, and it looked like he had sweat through his uniform, but only in a circle on his chest.
"He must have a really hairy chest," Ash laughed to himself before remembering that Buzz was in trouble. He rolled over onto his other side and looked straight at the unconscious bug. Cold chills rushed through his veins as he feared the worse. He examined the insect's body and was relieved to see that it was fully intact. He pulled out his Pokeball and pressed the button to return his companion.
As Buzz's body left the pavement Ash was able to see what was going on past where Buzz had been laying. Instead of finding the nasty Persian staring at him, Ash was able to see the Weezing shooting Sludge at something out of sight. Ash watched as it was pegged by some white daggers that did serious damage to the poison Pokemon. The daggers didn't stop coming, and eventually the Officer recalled her Pokemon.
She turned and tried running but was hit in the back by something that reminded Ash of a snowball. She landed in the street with a thud. Ash sat up and tried to collect his thoughts as he looked around. He noticed that there were less Rocket members than before, and the ones that were left around all had sweaty chests like the one who had jumped on top of him.
He turned and looked the other direction just in time to see a small crocodile jump into his arms. Ash was shocked at first but grabbed onto Totodile as he realized what happened.
"Hey boy, did you and Blizz come to save us?" Ash asked as he loosened his embrace with his Pokemon. Totodile nodded and smiled back as Blizz also jumped into Ash's arms. Ash grunted as the heavy steel type landed on a part of him that was covered in bruises but he was too happy to see his Pokemon to care about that.
After another moment in the embrace Ash stood up, still a little wobbly on his feet. He looked around at the human bodies lying on the ground that Totodile had taken care of. He hoped they were all still alive, but he didn't have time to check, nor did he really want to.
"It was just water, it couldn't have been that bad" Ash allowed himself to think as he hobbled towards the door that Blizz and Totodile had come from.
As Ash was entering the building he saw another person on the far side heading towards him.
"Who's there?" Ash called out as his voice cracked. Totodile and Blizz stood by his side, ready to face the intruder.
"Ash, is that you?" The man called out as he stepped into better lighting. It was Josh.
"Yeah, how are things going over there? We cleared out a path on this side to make an exit!" Ash said with relief that he didn't have to fight anyone else. He would rather let the Pokemon do the fighting he decided.
"Things weren't going great but when Leaf showed up she bought us some breathing room. She really is incredible. These two were doing great then suddenly they disappeared and I came out looking for them," Josh said sounding almost frantic.
"It's okay," Ash responded. "They must have heard the fight or seen one of Buzz's clones and followed it out here. They saved Buzz and I so it was well worth it." Ash said as Josh handed him back his Pokeballs.
"Let's go tell the others there's a path out of here," Josh said as he headed back from the way he came. Ash followed.
They arrived at the back of the group, where the alley met the building. Ash saw a hole in the window from which Blizz and Totodile must have jumped in order to save him. Ash had hoped Blizz took the first jump as the glass wouldn't hurt him near as much as it would Totodile.
"Alright, everyone move quick! We've got to get out of here before they surround us again!" Josh yelled as he opened the door that led into the alley. All of the boys who were with Hitoshi followed Josh, but the kimono girls stayed where they were. Josh propped the door open and they headed up towards the Kimono girls and Hitoshi.
"Hey, the back alley is clear let's get a move on," Josh said to the group.
"I thought you said there were too many of them out there, what happened?" Hitoshi said back as he watched the battle in front of him.
It looked like Leaf had been the thing needed to turn the tide. She was standing back to back with Erika in the middle of the street as they were both shouting orders to their Pokemon. The Charizard that Ash had seen earlier was nowhere to be found, which was very surprising. It also looked like Leaf had recalled her Crawdaunt and her Houndoom. The rest of her team looked pretty tired but the Rocket Members looked like they had it way worse.
Ash watched as Willow traded off with a Scizor, which Ash realized in horror meant that Executive Arlo was here as well. For Arlo and Pierce were basically the only Rockets left standing, but they were putting up a good fight.
"They must have all ran to the front when Leaf came. Ash had gone around back and surprised them and cleared them out. Let's move!" Josh said back to Hitoshi.
Suddenly in a flash of light three other people appeared at the other side of the battlefield. Ash recognized them as Giovanni, Admin Cliff and Admin Sierra. Ash balked at how much firepower had just arrived on the battlefield.
"Well, well Erika! How nice to see you again. And who is that little friend of yours?" Giovanni's voice boomed over the battlefield. Erika cursed as she grabbed a Pokeball on her waist and yelled, "Get out of here girls! I'll hold them off, now go!"
The kimono girls looked at each other before dutifully recalling their pokemon and running through the open door. "I think we should go too," Josh said to Hitoshi. Hitoshi sighed and nodded as he recalled his Pokemon and looked at Ash.
"Come on kid, we can't stay here. They will capture us all if we do."
"I'm not going anywhere without Leaf." Ash responded back as he looked towards the battle. Leaf didn't look like she had any intention of leaving, and Willow had just knocked out Arlo's Scizor. Maybe they could still win this battle.
Ash's hopes were cut short as Giovanni and the two Admins released their teams. Ash saw an Aerodactyl, a Tyranitar, a Walrein, a Lapras, a couple Rhyperior along with a handful more Pokemon that were extremely powerful. He had seen videos of these Pokemon fighting and knew what they were capable of. There was no way Leaf could take them all out, especially with her team having already fought two Admins.
"Get out of here Leaf, this is not your time." Erika said as she released the Pokemon from her last Pokeball. The Pokemon that she released was a monster. It stood on all fours with a hearty green shell on its back and a literal tree growing from it. Ash had never seen this Pokemon before but it looked fierce.
It looked like Leaf tried to argue with Erika but after a terse conversation that Ash couldn't hear Leaf relented and ran towards where he was standing with Hitoshi and Josh.
"It looks like someone has been to Sinnoh!" Giovanni yelled out with an evil laugh. He pointed at the new Pokemon and a litany of Hyper Beams began forming in his Pokemon's mouths. Leaf reached them and said, "Come on let's go." Right as the beams began racing towards the new Pokemon. A large Protect blocked the attacks and the last thing Ash saw before he entered the building was a glow coming from Erika and the large Pokemon.
They were running now, with everyone having recalled their injured Pokemon except for Willow. They hadn't seen any other Rocket members as they headed towards the secret tunnel. "The cart with all the stuff!" Ash yelled out of breath as they approached the area where they had left it.
"We don't have time, forget it! Any minute Giovanni could be on us, we have to get to safety!" Josh yelled back as they raced by. Ash looked to Leaf to respond but she was lost in her head and didn't have anything to say. The group ran past the hidden goods and made their way to the tunnel.
X
A/N That's it! Thanks so much everyone, and look a decent update time! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.
Williamonster: Congrats on the house and the future kid. I wish you good luck in the future.
Thank you! It's definitely an exciting time!
Hpntheman: Very unique take on Ash.
Thank you! That's what I was going for, hopefully you continued reading and have enjoyed the story more.