Chapter nine: Resonance
It is probably the loudest noise I've ever heard in my life. It is a painful ear-piercing sound that surprisingly sounds like music, bad music. It is so bad that my ears are twitching uncontrollably. The pitch kept changing from high to low in an endless cycle. It is a familiar rising and falling note that you hear in big cities, small cities, large towns and small towns. It's a siren. To be more exact, it's an alarm.
Above me are flashing lights that spin very fast in synch with the alarm. They light up the room enough for me to see everything dimly. They do so because the alarm must have shut off the primary lights inside this laboratory. Yes, I was in a lab but now it felt more like I was inside a mouse trap, a really big mouse trap.
To my left I can see a figure standing next to me. The siren lights make it hard to see its yellow fur. Its name is Orion and it's a Pikachu. Concerning my statement earlier about mouse traps, he is a mouse Pokémon, so bad news for him. Unfortunately, as I now remember, I am also a Pikachu myself. How did this happen? Why did it happen? How do I fix it? These questions no longer deserve a place in my mind because I have found that my instincts have begun to cloud my judgment. Instead of asking myself what was going on, I told myself that I was in danger. Abstract thinking was replaced by fierce growls. These were instincts of a Pokémon.
So this is what being a Pokémon is all about, dropping myself on all fours to growl at the most immediate threat? All my life I've watched from far away, wondering how these creatures felt. Now, I was part of that experience. I was about to find out what it truly means to be a part of a Pokémon battle.
Heading straight for us on the other side of the large room is a brown mole-like creature that is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Orion and I are barely affected by each other's electrical discharge, but the enemy that we are up against is completely immune.
Instinctively, I run toward the exit to try and escape but I find it to be locked. I notice that Bartoli has disappeared from the room. We must have scared her off, or worse...she probably locked the door to trap us in while she gets help.
"No way out." I say softly.
"Behind us." Orion says as I turn around quickly, "It's a Diglett. Lucas, I hope you know about type-effectiveness because he's a Ground-type."
"Yea I do…I don't know anything else but ThunderShock."
"You should know Growl as well. I'll take care of the rest." He instructs.
"I don't want to feel left out!" I retort.
"You won't be! Your growl's going to help against him!"
"I-"
I am suddenly struck by Diglett's hidden claws and I stagger a few feet back in pain as a result. I look up in fear as Diglett is about to attack once more; however, in a split second, Orion picks up the unusually bigger Pokémon and then he throws the creature down on the ground. Believe me when I say this: the Diglett was big compared to the rest of his kind, and he easily towered above us. To see Orion, a smaller than average Pikachu, grab this mole and throw him was the last thing I could expect the electric mouse to do...what he did was really awesome.
"You know Slam? That's great! What else do you know?" I ask.
"Quick Attack and Double Team. Hey…how do you know what it's called? Never mind I already know what you're going to say..."
"Because I've heard about it as a human…"
"And you said it anyways…" He sighs softly.
We hear a shout from the other side of the room, "Diglett! Dig!"
Orion jumps away from the brown Pokémon as it disappears under the metal floor. It leaves a large vacant hole as a reminder.
"Orion, Double Team!" I shout.
He tilts his head, to the right, towards me, "Right."
The Pikachu begins moving around the Diglett-hole with incredible speed. It gets to the point where I can see another copy of him following the original in an endless cycle. The Diglett emerges from the ground but it only manages to attack the fake copy as it vanishes. Orion proceeds to counter attack by jumping several feet away and then running towards Diglett with increasing speed, but the Ground-Type manages to dig under the earth again. This causes Orion to squeak in surprise as he hits the cold metal floor with a thud.
"Use Double Team again!" I instruct to Orion as I try to find a way through the door. He nods as the same thing as before happens again. I wish I could help him in this fight, but there really wasn't much I could do…until now.
I hear the door open and I jump back with fright, because numerous flying robots, manufactured by Team Rocket, enter through the door with syringes attached to their sides. My eyes widen because these weren't just made by Team Rocket, in fact they appear to be superior compared to other models used by authorities for controlling rampant Pokémon in city centers and town plazas. They're called XARM-872 but most people call them Needlebots. How do I know this...it's because my family had one for protection.
They fly in quickly and scan us by using a built-in camera. The flash emitted from their devices blinds me temporarily while Orion seems unaffected thanks to Double Team. Instinctively, I use ThunderShock without any sense of direction as I hear several loud objects hit the ground. I rub my eyes as my vision returns: I have destroyed them; however, more enter the laboratory like a swarm of bees. I take deep breaths as I continue with my assault against the Needlebots.
"Diglett, go for the other Pikachu!" I hear Cy shout. I turn to see that his finger is pointed at me. I hear cries of warning nearby as I feel the earth underneath me rip open. I feel great force hit my body as I fly into the air.
"Lucas!" Orion uses Quick Attack again on Diglett as it shakes from the pain. I fall down on the floor with additional force. This causes me to struggle as I try and get up again.
"I was right. This formula is worthless for weaker Pokémon. Too bad Dr. Bartoli didn't listen to me earlier." Cy laughs, "Finish it off Diglett, use scratch!"
As the brown mole races toward me, I close my eyes. I am ready to feel its sharp claws dig into my skin. Fortunately, that doesn't happen because when I open my eyes I can see Orion right in front of me. He took the blow instead.
"R…run!" He shouts.
I stand there in awe but nevertheless shake my head, "No! We're in this together!"
"You told me earlier that you don't belong to any trainer! Don't give him a chance to capture you!" He shouts.
"We can still do this!" I growl very loud as Diglett is caught in its path. It shakes with pain from the noise. It retaliates by attempting to scratch Orion but misses. Orion sees this as the perfect opportunity and once again grabs the Diglett and throws him into the ground.
"Diglett! Damn it! Return now!" I hear the human call out, "I left Meowth inside my room…and Fearow won't do any good against them. Guess I've got no choice…"
Orion and I slowly make our way toward Cy in a threatening manner. He places Diglett on his belt and removes another ball and throws it, "Fearow, I'm counting on you! Use Razor Wind!"
A large bird appears and easily dwarfs the room. I can hear Orion laugh as he and I try and dodge the bright-crescent blades coming out of the bird's wings. Thanks to the effects of Double Team, he's doing a great job moving toward Fearow without getting hit; however, I unfortunately am not so lucky because I am hit by several of these blades. Although it's less painful than Diglett's attacks, I am forced to stay away. I can see my partner jump into the air as electricity explodes from his body, which sends Fearow plummeting down to the ground easily.
"Of course…" Cy says softly as he calls back his bird Pokémon, "Looks like I'm out of Pokémon…"
He steps back with some degree of fear but begins to smile.
"I'll throw my shoes if you want." He says.
"Go right ahead." Orion laughs as he grins mischievously, "I've been waiting to use all my electricity on you. Now it's time you pay for what you've done! This is for Rigel!"
As he prepares to use ThunderShock, his entire body illuminates with red color. Confused, and perhaps frightened, he stops his attack to see himself. My heart stops. I step back but I then run towards Orion.
Realizing that his time in the outside world has been cut short he shouts to me, "Run-"
"No! No! Orion!"
By the time I am next to him, he disappears into a Poké ball. The red trail leads toward the door of the laboratory behind us where Bartoli stands beside it smiling, next to her are several Team Rocket Grunts. Cy laughs as I back away slowly, sweat falling from my temples. My paws are trembling with fear as my breathing quickens. It's over. This is it.
"You both make quite the team, and with enough discipline you'll become worthy Pokémon for Team Rocket." Bartoli giggles. The grunts come in and join Cy and the doctor. They all surround me.
"Where have you been?" Cy says rather annoyed.
"His ball was in storage. Remember we always put them in storage during testing."
"Whatever." He rolls his eyes as Dr. Bartoli passes a Poké ball to the young adult.
"I brought an extra for him." I have my back against a wall as the humans stand above me, "Cy, he's all yours." She says.
The ball she gave him was empty…an obvious sign that my freedom as a wild Pokémon would soon come to an end. Was I going to become a slave to Team Rocket? Is this my fate? I pray that somehow this would not happen.
Cy groans, "For the last time, I don't want a Pikachu on my team…"
"Well okay…does anyone else here want him? I've considered him but now I feel he'll fit better with one of you."
Everybody else shakes their heads.
I sigh with relief. I guess my prayers were answered.
"Maybe I'll give him to Km instead." He chuckles as he aims the Poké ball toward me.
Or not.
Around this time, I almost feel my heart stop completely as I try to back away even more but of course it's useless. He's going to catch me and like always there's nothing I can do about it.
He throws the red/white ball as it hits me in the head. I look up with fear, "No! It can't end like this! This can't be happening!" I shout as my entire body turns red. The last thing I see before I lose consciousness is Dr. Bartoli grinning like always. Sub-consciously, I try to escape from this cramped prison but after several attempts I hear a click.
I pass out.
Sorry for the short chapter guys, but a new year is dawning. I know that despite the shorter chapter, it has a lot of significant story elements going on. Stay tuned for my next update…in 2014! Happy New Year guys!
