AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. We get the continuation of both sides of Ruby and Roman's missions. This time, we start with Roman as he meets his own duo of evil dowers. I should also mention that I am only doing a RRR section of this series right now before switching back to another of my fanfics. I will have a Save State chapter before going, and when I come back, it will be returning to the other group in Alola. Still, I have a few chapters here to go through, including the very special final gym for Ruby. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
See the most recent Save State Chapter for Cover Art details.
Chapter 49 – Origins
Near a fire pit in the middle of the forest, Anabel examined the charcoal as Roman looked over the area, "Whoever was here left in a hurry." She said before looking at the ground, seeing a trail of footprints, "They went this way." The Pokemon detective said as the orange-haired criminal followed. After making their way deeper into the woods, she held her hand near his chest, signaling to get down, "Over there." Anabel whispered as she pointed.
Roman looked over to see a person in a black trench coat and fedora, "Well, I think that's the guy." He said before focusing in, seeing the person stand up, "Still, I have a bad feeling."
"We can't let him get away." Anabel responded as she followed through the brush, "Just stay out of sight and-" she was saying until her left foot sunk into the ground, "Eh?" The Pokemon detective said before falling into the trap hole. She then hit the ground with a popping sound, "AAAAHHH!"
"What happened?" Roman said as he went to the edge of the pit. However, upon taking a step on a pile of leaves, a rope net ensnared him and hung him in the air, "What the hell is this!?"
"Roman, what's going on up there?" Anabel said before seeing the trench coat man approaching the edge of the hole.
"Hehehehe, I can't believe you fell for such a simple trap." He spoke in a raspy voice before pulling off his trench. Underneath was a young man with green hair in a bowl cut. He wore a black uniform with white gloves and boots and a red 'R' on his chest, "Pun unintended."
"I think it was very intended." A female voice spoke from a nearby tree. Roman looked over to see a young woman with dirty blonde in two static pigtails and bangs. She had the feminine version of the uniform the man had, but with purple triangle earrings, "We don't do anything without thinking of the best possible way to humiliate our foes." She spoke as she stood next to the man near the edge of the pit.
"Who are these two?" Roman called out to Anabel.
"I think I read their report before, two of Team Rockets' notorious admins." Anabel spoke before looking at the blond-haired rocket member, "That's Cassidy." She then looked over at the green-haired rocket member, "And that's Biff."
"Gah, the name's Butch!" the green-haired rocket member shouted, "Seriously, how are you a detective when you can't get someone's name right!?"
"In that case, we should introduce ourselves properly," Cassidy responded.
"Yeah, you're right," Butch responded.
Suddenly things went dark before the two individuals were seen in a spotlight, accompanied by ominous music being played.
"Prepare for trouble," The blond-haired rocket member sang.
"And make it double," The blue-haired rocket member added while posing his arms, one hand over his face.
"To infect the world from devastation," She added.
"To blight all people within our-," He continued until he was pecked in the face, "OUCH!"
"Mur!" Murkrow squawked before flying back.
"What!?" Cassidy looked over to see Roman back on his feet, his Murkrow landing on his hat, "How did-"
"Next time, don't make a net with holes big enough for a Pokeball to go through and rope weak enough for a bird to peck to pieces." Roman responded, "And you call yourself criminals? You could have tried to mess around with us first, but you had to sing." He said before sighing, "Seriously, criminals these days have no sense of class." The orange-haired criminal said before smirking, "I guess I get to beat some sense into you."
"You're judging us on class?" Cassidy responded, "I only know two other dweebs who dress like you."
"Yeah, you would fit in well with those losers," Butch responded.
"Shut up, Bitch." Roman responded.
"Hey," Cassidy said in the offense.
"Hey, the name's Butch!" He clarified, then took out a Pokeball, "You're going to pay for that one!"
"No, we shouldn't take him on now." Cassidy responded as she held the Pokeball, "Our mission is to buy as much time for the Boss as possible."
"Tsk, fine." Butch responded before he and Cassidy ran into the woods, "We'll let you off with a warning, this time."
"Later losers!" Cassidy added on as they fled.
"Oh no," Anabel commented, "Roman, purse them, don't let them get away!" She said before looking down at her right leg, "I think I broke my ankle in the fall, so I would only slow you down. You must…Roman?" the Pokemon detective said upon realizing nobody was there.
"Get back here you cowards!" Roman said as he ran after Cassidy and Butch.
Meanwhile.
Ruby face down Team Rocket in the middle of the plains. While they had Pokeballs in hand, she had none. However, she saw the large bag of pokeballs near the turned-over air balloon basket. The red-hooded trainer dashed for the bag, hoping to get one of the partners out to battle.
"Stop right there," Jessie said before she tossed her Pokeball, "Wobbuffet, Counter!" she said before Ruby saw a cyan Pokemon in the shape of a dummy boxing bag.
"Wobbuffet!" the cyan Pokemon spoke with a gaping mouth and sideways v-like eyes, "Wob!" he said before making a walled stance in front of Ruby, glowing in an orange aura. In running into it, Ruby was bounced back by countering energy.
"Right, now it's my turn." James said as he tossed his Pokeball, "Morpeko, roll over our foes and you get a tasty treat." He said he tossed out the Pokeball, causing a hangry Pokemon to emerge.
"Oh no, another one of those." Ruby commented, recalling Marnie's from before, "I need to get my Pokemon back to have a fighting chance." She said before seeing Morpeko sniff the air, "Eh?"
"Morpeko!" The hangry Pokemon said before running over the wreckage, fining the remaining cookies, "Peko!" she said before eating one, her eyes lighting up with glee.
"James, tell your Pokemon to stop eating all our cookies," Jessie called out.
"Eh, Morpeko, we have a battle here!" James added, "I said we would eat afterward."
"Now's my chance," Ruby said as she made a run for the bag of pokeballs again. However, Wobbuffet still walled her path. In response, Ruby did not tackle him but simply ran past as the cyan Pokemon could not attack back, "Yes," Ruby said as she made it to the bag but saw a massive pile of almost a hundred Pokeball inside, "Which ones are mine?" she said as she picked up a few, trying to examine them.
Suddenly, she instinctually jumped back to avoid Meowth's slash, "Not so fast, you have to face me now."
"Tsk," Ruby said before looking down, seeing that she got three Pokeball, "I think this one's Roserade, so come on out!" she said while throwing the Pokeball.
However, while it was a plant Pokemon, this one was more frog-like. Its body was a light green, but the bud on its back was a deeper shade. "Bulbasaur!" the Pokemon spoke before landing, then had a look of confusion, "Saur?"
"Whoops." Ruby spoke, "That's not Roserade." She said before the bub frog Pokemon looked back at her, "Hey, I know this is a bit sudden, but can you help?"
"Bulba?" Bulbasaur said before looking back at Meowth, causing his red eyes to flare at the rocket Pokemon, "Saur!"
"Well, long time no see old pal." Meowth said with a smirk, "It looks like you're without the twerp to give you orders."
"Saur!" Bulbasaur focused before vines extended from its bub, trying to wipe Meowth.
"I guess they know each other," Ruby said before seeing Morpeko finish the last cookie.
"Mor?" Morpeko said in confusion, then went purple with rage, "PEKO!" She said before rushing towards Ruby in a dark Aura Wheel. She jumped out of the way, but the attack continued to crash into the red bike. The metal warped and charred before falling over. Suddenly, Ruby's eyes filled with rage as she got back up, "That was my mother's bike!" Ruby said before seeing Morpeko rolling back towards her. The red hooded girl readied another Pokeball, "Please, be one of mine." She said before tossing the Pokeball.
Emerging from the Pokeball with an orangish and yellow shell that rapidly spun toward the aura wheel. The two attacked and collided with a stalemate, but the shell landed near Ruby. Poking out from the shell were light blue parts of a turtle Pokemon, but with a swirled tail, "Squirtle!" he said before looking around, "Squirtle?"
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur called out, causing Squirtle to turn. The two looked at each other in focus before nodding.
"I guess they know each other two," Ruby commented.
"Squirt!" Squirtle said with a smirk towards Morpeko, then extended his right arm in a taunt. "Squirtle."
"Okay, that just leaves you." Ruby was saying as she turned to Wobbuffet. She then looked down at the last Pokeball in her hand, then tossed it into the air. Emerging was a massive orange dragon-like Pokemon with a yellow stomach. The end of its tail had a fire with red-hot heat emanating from it, "…Wow." Ruby said in awe as the Pokemon flapped its greenish wings before landing.
"RRRRRRRRRR!" the fire dragon-like Pokemon roared, then looked over the area.
"Oh no, it's Charizard!" Jessie commented in panic.
"This is bad," James added in worry.
"Now you're gonna get it." Ruby commented before pointing, "Charizard, take them down….Eh." The red-hooded trainer waited, but as she turned to the fire dragon-like Pokemon, he appeared to be sitting down with his eyes closed, "Uh, you gonna move?"
"Rrr." Charizard responded before laying on its side, one hand on his head, "Rrrrr." He yawned.
"What!? Come on, move!" Ruby said as she tried to push Charizard into action. She then looked back to Jessie and James, who snickered as Ruby gritted her teeth.
Meanwhile.
Roman made it to a clearing as he stopped to catch his breath, "Where are those two?" he said in rage while Murkrow looked around as well. Suddenly, he turned to a rustling bush, then saw a massive brown and white rat Pokemon lunge at him.
"Raticate!" the rat Pokemon screamed as it opened its fangs toward Roman's head. However, the orange-haired criminal blocked with his cane. The wood was caught in its teeth, which glowed with a white aura. Roman jumped back as his cane was snapped in half, "Raticate!"
"Hehehehe, looks like we broke your walking stick," Cassidy said as she walked out from behind a tree.
"And we're about to break a lot more." Butch said as he throw out his Pokeball, "Go Shuckle!"
Emerging was a red and white rock with holes in its structure. Out of four of the holes, a yellow noodle-shaped mold emerged. From a fifth hole, a larger mold with a face on it was seen, "Shuckle!"
"Fine, two against two it is." Roman said as he took out a second Pokeball, "Golbat, you're up!" he said as the massive blue bat was seen.
"Raticate, bite that bat with Hyper Fang!" Cassidy called out.
"Raticate!" the massive rat plunged into the air with a white aura on its fangs.
"Poison Fang," Roman called out with Golbat evading the attack, then biting down on Raticate's body with toxic teeth, "Now, Murkrow, Peck that weird worm."
"Mur!" Murkrow drove to attack Shuckle, but the yellow mold withdrew into its rock, "Mur!" the blackbird Pokemon recoiled.
"Shuckle has the highest defense there is. You can't harm its rock-hard shell with that beak." Butch responded, "Now, Sludge Bomb!" He called out with brown globs of gunk shooting from the holes of the rock.
"Dodge it!" Roman called out as Murkrow tried to evade each of the bombs, "Lookout!" he shouted as one bomb was about to hit the blackbird Pokemon.
Cassidy and Butch looked up in glee at the explosion. However, they both gasped as a Pokemon fell out of the smoke, but it was not the blackbird Pokemon, "Rat…" Raticate said in pain before hitting the ground.
"What!?" Cassidy said in shock before looking back at the rest of the smoke clearing, seeing Golbat and Murkrow glaring down at them, "They threw my Pokemon in the way of the attack?"
"How would they know to do that?" Butch responded before hearing Shuckle rustling.
The two Team Rocket members turned to see Roman holding Shuckle, "They learned it from watching me." The orange-haired criminal said before tossing Shuckle into the air, then kicking it like a football. Shuckle was flung and hit Butch in the face before ricocheting off him and hitting Cassidy, knocking both out. Shuckle then hit the ground, the yellow mold plunging out with swirled eyes. Roman smirked, looking down at his steel-toed shoes, "Okay, come back Gobat." He called out as he recalled the massive blue bat Pokemon, "And Murkrow, Thief them for anything good."
"Mur!" Murkrow flew over to Cassidy's body, pecking at it, but finding nothing. In moving over to Butch, he did pull out a teal disc from his back pocket, "Mur!" he said before flying it back to Roman to read what was written on it.
"I think this one of these CD moves that Red got after that one gym," Roman commented before seeing the name of the attack on it, "But I guess we can use this one." He said with a grin towards Murkrow, who responded in kind.
Meanwhile.
Ruby tried to tackle Jessie and James, but they dodged out of his way while laughing, "This Twerp doesn't give up." The red-haired rocket commented, "But it is fun to keep tripping her."
"Indeed." James said as Ruby rushed in again but was tripped as a slid across the ground, "But I'm getting a bit bored." He said while simply holding out his right hand, grabbing the top of her head to look her in place. The red-hooded trainer swung her arms in rage, but none could hit him. "In that case, why don't you run on back to mommy." The blue-haired Rocket Member, "Hahaha-" he said before something hit him in the back of the head. Ruby jumped back as he was knocked out.
"Huh?" Jessie looked at what it was, discovering it was Meowth with swirled eyes. His body was ensnared with seeds and vines. She then turned to see Bulbasaur with a snare.
"Bulba," Bulbasaur said before unleashing razor leaves from its bud, "Saur!"
"AH!" Jessie screamed before grabbing, Wobbuffet, and using him as a shield.
"Wob!" the teal Pokemon said before radiating the counter aura. The razor leaves bounced off and went back towards Bulbasaur.
The bub frog Pokemon jumped to dodge the hit, but he looked back to see the razor leaves heading towards Charizard, "Saur!" he called out, but the fire dragon-like Pokemon remained unmoving. Charizard then heard a cutting sound in front of his body, causing him to half open his eyes. In looking forward, he saw Ruby had used her body as a shield to interpret the razor leaves.
"Why would she do that?" Jessie said as James and Meowth regained consciousness.
"Because I said that I would get these Pokemon back," Ruby said before falling to one knee due to the pain, "And that also means I won't let you hurt them." She said before extending her arms, "Even if I have to take every hit myself." Suddenly, she felt a claw on her right shoulder. Turning around, she looked to see Charizard standing up, "Huh?"
"Rrr," Charizard growled towards Ruby before looking back to Team Rocket, "RRRRRRRR!" he roared as flames built up in his maw.
"That doesn't sound good," James said before he cowered behind Wobbuffet with Jessie.
"It's fine, we have the ultimate counter here," Meowth said as he joined the two. However, he then looked over to Bulbasaur, whose bub was glowing white, "Uh oh."
"Is that Solar Beam?" Ruby commented before seeing Morpeko using Aura Wheel toward Bulbasaur, "Look-" Ruby was saying until she saw Squirtle bashed his skull into Morpeko's back, sending her into James's body as well, rendering the hangry Pokemon unconscious.
"Squirt," Squirtle spoke with a smile towards Bulbasaur.
"Bulba," Bulbasaur nodded before both focused on Wobbuffet.
"Wob…" Wobbuffet said with his body covered in the counter aura and sweat.
"SUAR!" Bulbasaur said before unleashing the Solar Beam.
"SQUIRTLE!" Withdraw into his shell before blasting hydro pumps from the openings of his shells.
"RRRRRRRRR!" Charizard breathed a flamethrower with the force to scorch the ground beneath it. The fire combined with the solar and water energy melded into one triple elemental attack. Team Rocket all had looks of dread before the beam collided with a massive explosion, sending them and their Pokemon into the sky.
"I can't believe we lost to a twerp without any Pokemon!" Jessie complained.
"And that we were so close to finally getting that other twerp's Pokemon!" James added on.
"Well, all but that one he keeps with him." Meowth corrected.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet added while covered in bruises.
"Mor!" Morpeko said as she found another cookie in the bag to eat.
"It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" they all spoke while reaching the edge of the sky, leaving only a twinkle behind.
"…Well…I guess that's not the first time this has happened to them." Ruby said as she looked at the sky. However, she turned back to Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charizard, "Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to save all of them without your help." She said with a smile, causing all three Pokemon to nod.
Back at the Pokemon Lab, Professor Oak was talking with a just arrived Rosa about the situation. However, the two looked up to the sky. There, Ruby rode Charizard while Bulbasaur and Squirtle held the bag of pokeballs. The red-hooded girl waved in joy, having saved the Pokemon as she promised.
Meanwhile.
Back in the hole, Anabel waited for someone to return. Suddenly, she looked up to witness someone reaching down for her. "Grap," Grapploct said as she extended a tentacle.
"Thank you," Anabel said as she was lifted out of the hole. She then looked over the area, seeing a fainted Pincer nearby, "I take it you won."
"Loct." Grapploct said before flexing, then lead the way through the woods. Anabel followed before eventually, finding Roman sitting on a stomp, "Grap." She said as she nuzzled her trainer before getting recalled to the Pokeball.
"Well, it looks like I did your job for you." Roman said before pointing to Cassidy and Butch bound by some vines, "Got any questions to ask them?"
"Yes, a few." Anabel said as she knelt towards the Team Rocket members, "Where's your boss, Giovanni?"
"Hehe, why would we tell you?" Cassidy responded.
"Because she is the good cop, and I'm the bad cop." Roman responded, "You want to go for round two?"
"We don't know where the boss is, only that this was his last mission for us." Butch answered, "To make sure nobody was following him while he meet with someone else."
"Someone else?" Anabel said before pondering, "Who?"
"We don't know," Cassidy responded, "But this conversation is over." She said before pressing a hidden button on her heel. Suddenly, a plume of smoke filled the area. Anabel and Roman recoiled from the smoke, then looked up to see Cassidy and Butch riding a hot air balloon in the shape of a Raticate, "Hahaha, so long, losers!"
"Hehehehe and remember the name of the Great Bu-" Butch was saying until he realized something, "Wait, where's that TM I got from the boss?" he said before looking over at Murkrow flying at them at eye level.
"Murkrow," Roman called out with a grin while tipping his hat, "Hurricane."
"MUR!" Murkrow said before glowing with a white aura, causing the winds to spin and clouds to ripple. The two Team Rocket members panicked as their air balloon was being twisted with the high winds, "MURKROW!" the blackbird Pokemon called out before the hurricane winds ripped the air balloon apart, then cracked the burning, causing an explosion.
"Gah, I refuse to expect this is how we leave here," Cassidy responded as she flew through the sky.
"This is just like those losers," Butch added.
"It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again." They spoke before reaching the edge of the sky, leaving only a twinkle behind.
The winds calmed down as Murkrow landed near Roman, who recalled him back into his Pokeball, "Well, don't need to worry about them anymore." He said before walking away, "Should we continue looking for their boss?"
"No, with how much time has passed, he's already gone." Anabel responded, looking done at her leg, "And with my injury, I wouldn't be much help in pursuing him. So, we should head back." she then turned back to Roman, "If it's not too much, can I borrow your cane?"
"Wouldn't help, it broke," Roman responded.
"Oh," Anabel said before seeing Roman knelt, "What are you-"
"I don't want to stay in these woods any longer so let's get this over with." Roman quickly responded, "So, I do this, and you tell nobody."
"…Deal," Anabel said with a smile forming before she hoped on his back for him to carry her.
"So, any ideas who he's meeting?" Roman asked.
"Yeah, I think I do," Anabel responded.
"…Same," Roman responded.
Meanwhile.
Near a different section of the woods, Summer walked up to a man in a black trench coat and fedora. He turned to her, taking off his hat to reveal his short black hair and piercing gaze. However, the white rose woman responded with a slight smile and giggle.
AN: There you go, not only do we get Jessie and James, but Cassidy and…Uh, what was his name…Buzz…Botch…Kagami…One of those is right. In any case, Roman got to beat down some more crook with his way of doing things, and even got to give his Murkrow a new move to replace Haze. On the other end, Ruby gets to send out a few more cameos to help her take down Team Rocket. I had a lot of fun with the original starter trio showing up here and will give a few more cameos next chapter as Ruby begins more of her preparations to challenge her mom. Speaking of which, she does meet up with Giovanni, but you won't see that conversation right away. I just wanted a small showing of the two in the same scene here. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.