Hey guys! I'm back from the dead! Here's another chapter. Warning: foul language is present throughout this chapter.
Chapter twenty-four: The Battle of Outpost 3C 273 part 3
A few minutes after our encounter with the Graveler and Poliwhirl, we have almost reached Compound E; however, for some time now, we have been fighting aggravated wild Pokémon left and right and they have slowed our progress down a bit. Nevertheless, without the Team Rocket grunts and their machine guns it would take twice as long to get to our destination.
I, Lucas Bright, am hanging on Rigel's shoulder as our group heads down the fenced road leading to Compound E. After I can see what appears to be a gate, a wild Pokémon appears and blocks our way: it's covered in blue tentacles and its face is hidden because of them.
"What is that?" Cy asks.
Rigel takes out his Pokédex and scans the creature as Km aims her gun at the Pokémon, "Not sure-"
The creature suddenly attacks by quickly extending its long tentacles at the humans. They are given no time to react and it slaps both grunts' wrists and disarms them. Km tries to use ember with her hand, but it only manages to release a very weak flame. She becomes angry and brings her hand up to her face.
"Why can't I set my hands on fire again!?" Km shouts to herself before taking out a Poké ball. Cy hears a noise behind Km and he shouts, "Behind you!"
Km looks behind her but is then ensnared by several vines and it turns out to have come from a wild Ivysaur, which is an evolved version of Bulbasaur.
Cy tries to help her but his healthy leg is caught by a blue tentacle and it causes him to fall. After yelling in pain, he looks at the tranquilizer gun near him and tries to grab it but he is soon dragged across the pavement towards the mysterious Pokémon.
"Orion, ThunderBolt!" Rigel commands after putting his Pokédex away.
Orion, who is standing beside Rigel, tilts his head in confusion since he wasn't given an exact target, but he decides to save Cy. The Pikachu charges his body momentarily before shouting loudly. The thunderbolt successfully strikes the creature, but unbeknownst to Orion, it also travels to Cy because of the tentacles. Thankfully, because of the Pokémon's resistance to electric-types, Cy was not injured as much as he could have been; however, the monster refuses to let the human go. Instead, it begins to tighten its tentacles in order to suffocate Cy.
"Get this…thing…off…!" He barely manages to say as his body is compressed. Rigel runs toward Cy to save him.
"Orion, Quick-Attack! Hurry!"
Km, in the meantime, is able to press the button of her Poké ball thanks to her wrists being free from the vines. The ball releases her signature Pokémon, "Growlithe, roast this walking vegetable!"
Before the dog can do as Km has commanded and before Rigel and Orion can save Cy, another Pokémon appears. It lands on the ground behind us and folds its wings neatly on its back before displaying its bladed arms. It then screeches loudly.
"A Scyther!?" Rigel says, staring at the bug-flying Pokémon in astonishment, "Wow…"
Orion also becomes distracted and stops heading for the other Pokémon after hearing Scyther's cry; however, hearing Cy's gasps, Rigel resumes heading for the adult grunt, but Scyther screeches again, only this time directly at Rigel, and then charges at him. Orion, as a result, goes down on all fours and prepares to fight.
"Stop! We're not helping Team Rocket!" I shout at the Scyther as it approaches us but it ignores me just like all the others, which we have encountered before, have.
"It's no use, they won't listen." Orion tells me from afar. The Pikachu begins to run towards us to block Scyther's attack.
I keep trying to persuade the Pokémon but the closer the aggressive Pokémon got to us, the more it became clear that I must fight back. Scyther, while running on the ground towards Rigel, lifts up one of its arms and prepares to strike him. The boy stops running and looks at the Pokémon in horror as a result. I retaliate by releasing a ThunderShock at the green reptilian-bug, who is just a few feet away. Before Scyther can hit us with its blades, it is electrocuted by my lightning bolt; however, to my surprise it doesn't damage it at all. It's not because of my level or because it's immune to it, but rather because I had unknowingly used a different move all together: I had just used ThunderWave.
As a result of this: Scyther begins flinching in pain as electricity travels throughout its body. Because it has just been paralyzed, it cannot attack Rigel.
As that's going on, Growlithe looks back at its trainer and releases fire toward the Ivysaur. The vines holding Km catch on fire and Km closes her eyes, expecting to feel pain, but she remains unharmed, most likely because of her compatibility with fire. The Ivysaur lets go of the female human and faints after the fire on its body extinguishes.
"Thanks." Km says as she shakes her body before quickly kneeling down to grab her gun. Growlithe tilts his head in confusion, still wondering why his trainer has recently turned into a fire-type.
"Let's hurry!" Km and Growlithe quickly run to Cy's aid.
Scyther continues to try and attack us but its efforts are in vain; however, once we thought it was safe enough to move away, it manages to temporarily break its status-effect. I hear it screech once more as I look back at it and squeak in surprise.
"Look out!" I shout as Rigel looks at the green insect and yells.
It almost hits Rigel's shoulder, where I am standing on, with its blade, but just before it can do this, Orion appears and slams on Scyther's arm, smacking it away and saving our lives in the process. He jumps back and lands on the ground before striking the bug-type again.
Still refusing to go down, the Scyther, even though it's still paralyzed, tries to go for us again. Before Orion can counter attack once more, we see a needle suddenly strike the bug-Pokémon's body. Soon after, it falls down on the floor and faints. We look behind us to see Km arrive with her Growlithe, "Use Ember on that thing before it kills Cy!"
The dog roars and releases its usual small pockets of fire toward the Pokémon, that is still strangling Cy. Soon after, it bursts into flames and passes out just like the rest. Cy gasps for air as Km kneels down to help take the tentacles off him.
"You alright?" She asks.
Still gasping for air, Cy simply nods.
Meanwhile, Rigel is lying on the floor, staring at the bug-Pokémon that could have killed him while Orion walks toward us. I look down at him as he asks me, "That was ThunderWave wasn't it?"
"Believe it or not, it was."
"Since when could you use that move?"
"Since just now." I retort.
"Makes sense I guess…you're getting stronger with every Pokémon fight you're in." Orion says, "Eventually…you'll be using ThunderBolt too."
Before I can reply, the female grunt walks over to us and crouches down to grab Rigel's arm, "Stand up kid…we've got to get moving." Km commands Rigel, making him stand up as I almost lose my grip and fall. Orion responds with a growl but Km sneers angrily at him, "You, shut up!"
Km directs Rigel to Cy as Orion follows closely behind, about to attack the female for abusing Rigel. The adult male finally stands up and grabs his gun from the floor nearby. He then speaks to us, but his voice is rough and uneven: a result of being choked.
"Let's…let's get…the hell out of here…I am sick…of this damn place!" Cy says between breaths.
We all start making our way to the gate nearby as Orion looks up at me and he asks me, "We came here to save…her? Now I'm thinking she's worse than Bartoli herself!" His expression is that of annoyed.
"She's only second rate to Bartoli…" I retort sarcastically, "But I know what you mean. She thinks she can push anybody around."
We continue to talk amongst one another until we arrive at our next destination: Compound E.
Just like the previous compound, this area has been almost completely demolished from the ongoing battle in the outpost; however, there seems to be several buildings that remain mostly undamaged, and we soon discovered why.
"Get down!" Km whispers, forcefully bringing Rigel down on the ground as Cy, with Growlithe beside him, carefully kneels down and goes prone soon after.
What we can see is a tall building that is littered with gun nests: many of which are firing upon a group of wild Pokémon.
"Can you stop being so rough!" Rigel says but Km covers his mouth soon after, but Orion, having enough of this girl's attitude, zaps her hand with a weak lightning bolt. She moves her hand away from Rigel's mouth and scolds the Pikachu as I try not to giggle.
Cy, in the meantime, is watching the rooftop of the building and gasps when he hears a patrol nearby. He tries to tell Km the news but she continues with her temper tantrum. Pointing a finger, and almost shoving it on Orion's chest, while whispering, Km is loud enough for any nearby grunts to hear. Cy continues to try and get her attention, but she ignores him.
"I am sick and tired of your damn Pokémon…if you don't put them inside Poké balls right now, I'm going to grab them and throw them into the air for a Fearow to catch! I bet they'll make good supper!"
"Who's there!?" We hear nearby before we hear several guns cock, "It's the prisoners!" We look behind us to see a group of grunts pointing guns at us, "Drop the guns. Arms on your heads and stand up!" An officer wearing a trench coat shouts, "Slowly!"
"Damn these patrols…" Cy says softly.
The humans do as they say before several grunts grab Cy, Km, and Rigel's arms and restrain them. Growlithe, Orion, and I growl in response.
"One more step from your Pokémon and they will be shot." The officer commands, several other grunts point their guns at us.
"Guys…calm down." Cy asks us, but we still keep an aggressive stance.
"Who's down there?" We hear a voice from the rooftop. We look up to see a shadowy figure, which is hidden by darkness and it appears that the person can't see us either.
"Bartoli's prisoners…we've just captured them."
"Did you really…" The shadow moves its hand toward us and a spotlight suddenly shines on all of us, blinding us in the process.
Through the blinding light, I can hear slight laughter, "Cy…we meet again."
"I knew who it was the second I heard it…Rk." Cy says to the large grunt.
"I bet you did. You know, that wasn't very nice what you did back there with my men. And now, you went so far as to destroy a medical outpost too by setting the Pokémon here free as well."
Cy doesn't answer back, he merely tries to hold in his anger.
"Km…lovely as ever. It was very brave for Cy to travel a great deal to get to you. I commend you Cy, for having such ambition."
"Rk…why side yourself with these assholes!?" Km retorts.
"The pay check is good. I have to pay off student loans after all." Rk chuckles, "I know you guys make good money as well. Good enough that you can buy yourselves cheap perfume or even…instruments."
When he said instruments, Cy is filled with even more rage. Rk simply takes it as a response and smiles. He lowers his head down, trying to hold in another chuckle, before looking at Cy again.
"Anthony told me about the guitar…and look…I'm sorry, I truly am…for breaking such an important instrument that means so much to you. It must have been heartbreaking for you to see your favorite toy be crushed to pieces and worst of all…it can't be replaced." Rk teases the younger grunt.
"You fucking piece of shit!" Cy shouts while trying to break free, but the tall grunt holding him covers his mouth. The young adult responds by biting into the man's hand, "You little brat!"
"Enough!" We all hear. Another familiar figure appears and looks down at us: it's Anthony Preston.
"You all had Bartoli very worried…especially you Ansel." He says, "I was worried as well."
Silence fills the air before Km responds, "You tried to fucking kill us!"
"It was an honest mistake, I vow for it." Anthony retorts.
"Your word don't mean sh-" Km's mouth is then covered by one of the grunts.
"Please…let her speak." Anthony insists before the grunt complies.
"…asshole…" Km says to the grunt holding her before looking up at Anthony, "After all that's happened…you still want to have us around!? Why are we so important to you right now…look around you…there's buildings on fire and people getting hurt…"
"This base…and the grunts fighting for it right now as we speak are replaceable, but you, like the men holding you right now, carry exceptional skill. You are unique, you are the finest Team Rocket has to offer, which is why you are very much important to us. Besides, you gave your lives to us…after you signed your contract the very first day you showed up at Giovanni's office."
Km doesn't say anything else but she plucks her lips in anger.
The officer looks up at Anthony and asks, "Sir...do we bring them up to you."
"Well I don't know sergeant...where else would you take them..." Anthony says sarcastically.
"S…sorry sir." The sergeant says.
"I'll need to notify Bartoli of this." Anthony softly pats Rk on the back, "You're the right man for the job…she's at the detention center, go get her."
However, before they can begin to take us inside, a Spiderbot appears and slams into the side of the building. Anthony and Rk grab the hand rails and hang on as the building shakes. The grunts on the rooftop begin firing on what appears to be several wild Pokémon on the XBRM-872.
Meanwhile where we are, another group of wild Pokémon appear behind us and start attacking the patrol holding us captive.
"Look out!" The officer shouts.
Distracted, Km frees herself and punches the grunt that was holding her while I take this opportunity to release a ThunderWave on the grunt holding Rigel. Orion then jumps in the air, from where we are, and slaps the grunt in the face with his tail: which sends the human falling towards the ground in pain.
"You keep your dirty hands off my trainer!" Orion shouts.
Growlithe, who was with Cy the entire time, burns the leg of the grunt holding the young adult. The enemy soldier falls down on the floor and desperately tries to extinguish the flame.
The other grunts attempt to fire back at both the wild Pokémon and our group but Km and Cy quickly grab the guns from the floor and starts to open fire at them.
"Over here, hurry!" Cy shouts as he shambled to a crumbled wall for cover. Km and Growlithe follow Cy and they hide behind the wall with him soon after.
We follow them, but before we can get behind the wall, a spotlight shines on me, Orion and Rigel.
"Stop them!" Anthony shouts!
After the old man says that, a Spearow appears and attacks the grunts on the roof, distracting them momentarily.
Instead of taking this valuable time to head for cover, Orion brings a fist up into the air and shouts "Bring it on!" while I remain on Rigel's shoulders. I try to get him to go to the wall which is just several feet away but he instead pulls out a Poké ball and gets ready to throw it. But, Km appears and quickly grabs the boy's jacket.
"Hey, watch it!" Rigel shouts, while I cling on to him, as Km forces him to move to the barricade.
Soon after disposing the Spearow, the rooftop begins shooting at us as Orion gets angry. He shouts to Km while following us. Once we get under cover, I hear Cy say, "Thanks Km."
"Yea sure…" She responds. Km moves away from the wall to fire at the rooftop and then she moves back when they start shooting back at her.
Cy cocks his gun backwards before he looks at Km and asks, "Let's try and make a path for ourselves. Those wild Pokémon are keeping them way too busy for them to focus entirely on us."
"Which side do you want to go through?" Km asks before continuing the fire fight.
Cy thinks for a few seconds before he says, "Right."
The female then pulls out from the firefight after hearing Cy, "Where the Spiderbot is!? What's wrong with you!?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but think about it…we'll be harder to shoot and the Spiderbot is too distracted." He cautiously veers his head out of the shelter to see the building, "Heck…it's still against the wall."
"I can't think of a better idea and I bet this kid can't think of one anyway, so let's do it." Km says as Rigel tries to talk back, "I'll give you some cover while you make your way to the BRM." Km asks.
"Alright." Cy says before turning to Rigel, "Kid, help me get to that robot."
Rigel looks down at Cy, "I'm not sure about this."
"Just put your arm over my shoulder-"
Suddenly, a wild Raticate appears and tries to attack us but Km manages to shoot it in time. Because it intended to land on one of us, we move away as the rat hits the wall and faints.
"You might want to hurry if you're going to do this." Km says to Cy before she starts shooting at the rooftop.
"What do we do if this doesn't work?" Rigel asks.
"We're fucked!" Km retorts, "Now go!"
Rigel, being slightly taller than Cy, reluctantly puts his arm over the grunt's shoulder and helps walk him toward the edge of the wall. Km nods when they're ready. She begins shooting at the rooftop again as Rigel, Orion, Cy and I begin making our way towards the building. The rest of the grunts from the patrol sees us and they start shooting at us. Km decides to move her line of fire toward these grunts instead: sparing us from being shot any longer.
We manage to get to the wall of the building in less than a minute. Cy, seeing that Km and Growlithe are left behind, goes to the edge of the building's wall and starts shooting at the patrol on the ground.
"Km!" He shouts as he shoots his gun.
Km takes this opportunity to shoot at the roof, so she can get to us. Just after the grunts on the roof take cover, she springs into action: both Km and Growlithe make a run for it toward us. Cy stops shooting momentarily before Km passes by his line of sight. She makes it to us successfully. After she does, Cy resumes shooting but he pulls back after the patrol shoots back at him.
Km takes out the gun's magazine and examines it. She then throws away both the magazine and the gun, "How much do you have left." She asks as we can hear the patrol grunts calling to the other grunts on the rooftop: most likely to tell them where we are.
Cy says, "Not a whole lot…maybe we can-"
"Behind us!" Rigel suddenly shouts while pointing at the Spiderbot behind the group: Cy looks behind him and shoots his tranquilizer gun at a wild Pinsir which had just jumped off the XBRM. It dashes toward us and manages to avoid every needle heading towards it. The Pokémon bares its teeth at the grunt and prepares to retaliate, but just before it can strike us, Growlithe jumps toward the bug-type and tackles it; however, Pinsir grabs the dog and then jumps in the air. Once in midair, it throws Km's Pokémon toward the ground and it strikes the pavement very hard: creating a crater in the process.
"Growlithe, get up!" Km shouts, "Come on!"
"Orion, get in there and help Growlithe!" Rigel commands, Orion nods and runs on all fours toward Pinsir, "Use Slam!" Rigel shouts.
"There they are!" Rk shouts as several grunts on the rooftop start shooting us. Cy shoots back and shouts to Rigel and Km, "Let's get to that gate!"
As the rooftop shoots at us, I can see what appears to be a telephone pole nearby and I can also see that some of its wires are connected to the roof. I immediately use ThunderShock on it and the top of the pole explodes as the electricity travels through the wires toward a box-shaped device on the rooftop.
"Get away from the wires!" Rk shouts as the grunts nearby run for cover before the device on the rooftop explodes as well. Fire begins to spread on the rooftop.
"Nice thinking Lucas." Cy says.
No longer being shot at, Km and Rigel quickly help Cy. The three humans, and I, cautiously make our way underneath the Spiderbot.
While underneath it, Cy takes out and throws his Poké ball into the air, "Diglett, dig and hit the Spiderbot's legs." Right away, the mole digs underground.
Then, one of the legs from the Spiderbot manages to strike a wall in front of us which catches us off guard. It appears that the wild Pokémon that was fighting it have now fainted, so it can now focus on us.
"Don't let them escape!" Anthony shouts to the robot. It looks toward us and prepares to attack by releasing needles from its sides. Then, the earth underneath one of the robot's legs begins to rumble before Diglett appears and causes the robot to trip and fall towards the ground. It falls because I realize that two of its legs have been damaged prior to it striking the building, most likely because of the Pokémon it was fighting.
Diglett soon rejoins us, "Good job Diglett." Cy says to his Pokémon.
Rk takes out a tranquilizer pistol and begins shooting at us. I turn around and release a ThunderShock at him. Rk ducks and the bolt missed its target, "There's no use running!" He shouts to us before he sees the Spiderbot try to recover, "Damn you Cy…" He says to himself.
"We must extinguish this fire, quickly!" Anthony shouts to several grunts.
Around the same time, Orion had struck Pinsir as planned: the Pikachu had used his shoulder as he tackled the larger Pokémon's abdomen. Without Rigel around to give him commands, Orion made his own decision to release a lightning bolt on the opposing Pokémon.
The Pinsir falls down and hits the ground while Orion lands next to it. Orion's electrical discharge disappears soon after as he smiles proudly. Unfortunately, the Pikachu is standing next to its pincers. The Pinsir moves again and almost manages to grab the electric mouse, but Growlithe, who's nearby, roars as it releases bursts of fire at Orion's direction. Still unaware of the danger behind him, Orion moves away while the flames strike the Pinsir behind him. The mouse jumps back in surprise after looking back.
By the time we have reached the gate, Km looks at Growlithe and shouts after hearing her dog roar, "Growlithe, hang on…I'm on my way!"
Km looks at Cy, "I'll be back!" Km says before sprinting to her dog.
"Don't take long!" Cy shouts.
Shortly after, Rigel turns to Cy, "What happened here?" Rigel says as he looks at what used to be the gate but is now destroyed and blocked off by a fallen watch tower.
"Diglett…hurry up and dig a hole large enough for us to get in, so we can get to the other side of this place!" The Pokémon begins digging.
As Km heads back, some more flying Pokémon arrive and begin to harass the grunts on the rooftop once more.
"I'm out of ammo!" One grunt in a gun nest says to Anthony.
"Same thing here!"
"Dammit!" Rk smacks his hand on the hand rails of the rooftop and shouts at the Spiderbot, "Get up you stupid robot and stop them now!"
Km arrives in a matter of seconds and sees her dog on the floor, unable to move. She sends her Growlithe back into his Poké ball and then rushes back to the others. Orion follows behind her soon after.
Unfortunately, the Spiderbot then withdrawals its legs and tires appear and it begins to roll around until it sits vertically. Then, its tires retract and the legs are drawn once again. It starts chasing Km and Orion. Rigel and I crawl inside the hole before Cy does the same. He hears Km call him as he looks in horror, "Shit! Hurry up, it's behind you!"
Km and Orion look behind them to see the Spiderbot moving towards them; however, because of its damaged legs, which it is dragging across the ground, it has difficulty gaining enough speed to catch up to them. Once the two arrive, Cy goes inside the hole and Km and Orion prepare themselves to do the same thing. The Spiderbot arrives and slams into the fallen watch tower just as they crawl in the hole. We all make it to the other side of the wreckage. We quickly get out of the ground before Rigel and Km grab Cy and help him. I finally jump down from Rigel to reunite with Orion. We all start making our way through the fenced road leading to Compound D: where the truck is located.
On the rooftop, Rk stomps his feet in anger, "That's it." Rk says to Anthony, "I'm going down there…Spiderbots are useless without a-"
"Wonderful…" Anthony interrupts, "Get on with it."
Rk says nothing more: he opens a door and heads downstairs toward the first floor. Afterwards, Rk heads toward the Spiderbot, which has fallen yet again from crashing into the watch tower. He climbs the robot and then presses a switch which ejects a flying disk into the air: a scannerbot. Rk then pulls out a device from his pocket in order to control the movement of the flying robot. From a camera on the scannerbot to a screen on the handheld device, he manages to find Cy and the others. After targeting them, he sets the machine on auto pilot.
Meanwhile, Anthony is about to leave with the other grunts on the rooftop to meet up with the patrol officers downstairs; however, the man hears a shout below the building.
"Anthony Preston!" He looks down and sees a female, wearing a lab coat, stepping out of a jeep: It's Bartoli.
The scientist instructs the grunts, inside the jeep, to get out and go inside the building.
"How dare you have the gall to run away after the incident! You were responsible for the entire ordeal and yet you became a coward and ran."
"Bartoli…not too long ago, Ansel and his group passed by. He's heading to Compound D…where Rk's truck is located."
Bartoli looks at the wreckage and then back at the older man, "If what you say is true then why do you stand there and do nothing…get some of your men to move this thing…now! You're lucky I didn't find Cy underneath that rubble."
"Of course." Anthony retorts. He rounds up the grunts nearby and orders them to move the watch tower, so vehicles can cross.
"And Anthony…" The scientist looks back at her, "…you're going with my men...quietly."
The grunts from Bartoli's jeep, now on the roof, grab Anthony and lead him towards the door.
"Treason!" He shouts.
"Lieutenant! Take him to the nearest available cell and leave him there."
"Understood!" The tall man takes out handcuffs and restrains the male scientist.
"Bartoli...don't do this!"
Bartoli then shifts the gear and steps on the pedal hard after the Spiderbot clears the guard tower blocking the road.
…
Several minutes passed by and we have finally reached the final Compound: freedom is in sight. Like the others before it, this compound has been destroyed by the wild Pokémon, but fighting in this compound is strangely absent: most likely because the wild Pokémon have either migrated to another compound or have escaped entirely.
Rigel and Km continue to help Cy move properly while Orion and I walk near the humans as we examine the ruins around us. We enter the alleyway, from where we first went through when we got here, until we see a sign on a wall: Parking lot D.
"About time." Cy says softly, "The truck should be around the corner."
When we all reach the parking lot, our eyes focus on two trucks: one of which has been reduced to a mere skeleton.
"Well damn…the truck I drove is either gone or destroyed." Cy says softly, lowering his head.
"Can you get the other one to drive?" Km asks.
"I guess I can try."
Orion's ears suddenly twitch; they then droop before he expresses horror on his face. I nervously touch his shoulder, "What…what is it?" However, I too begin to hear the sound: a metallic clunking, a sound that Orion and I never want to hear again. Cy, Km, and Rigel eventually hear it too before the earth shakes beneath us.
Then we hear something lift off the ground nearby before it travels above us, landing on the opposite side: it's the Spiderbot from before! Unfortunately for us, it's missing its two damaged legs, so it can now move faster than before. We see a spinning disk hovering in the air, which lands on top of the robot and latches on.
"Run!" Cy shouts, pointing towards the alleyway, but the Spiderbot withdraws its legs and manages to roll towards the allyway: blocking it completely before its legs appear again.
We all stop heading for the alley and prepare ourselves to fight; however, the Spiderbot refuses to attack and instead stands still until we see steam seep out from the sides of its head. The Head splits in half and reveals a cockpit inside: and inside the cockpit is Rk himself.
"Why are you so surprised?" Rk asks Cy and Km, "Didn't you know grunts can pilot these stupid things…but of course, only the most privileged get to learn how to pilot them."
Cy wastes no time and shoots Rk, but the older grunt dodges the shots and the cockpit closes. Cy runs out of ammo soon after, "Dammit…" He drops the gun.
We all take steps back slowly as the Spiderbot stomps closer to us just as slowly, "It's over. Your meddling ends here now." We all hear from the Spiderbot, from what appears to have come from several speakers.
Cy looks toward the truck nervously, which is almost next to the robot.
"Did you really think…" Rk unexpectedly strikes the truck with one of the robot's arms, which sends the vehicle hurtling into the air. Once it strikes the ground, it rolls over several times: rendering it inoperable, "That you had a chance…to escape?"
Cy slowly looks down to Orion and whispers softly, "Oreo…you remember when we fought the other robot a few days ago?" Orion looks up and nods softly, "Well I want you to tell Lucas about it because I need his help too." Cy takes out a Poké ball discreetly; however, unbeknownst to him, Rk knows.
"Go ahead…try and stop me!" Rk shouts through the speakers before charging at the humans. Everyone manages to move away except Cy, who is unfortunate enough to be his first target. Rk manages to grab Cy, who drops the ball, with two of the robot's arms and brings him up to its head. Km swiftly picks up Cy's Poké ball and throws it into the sky, "Diglett!" The brown Pokémon appears and looks up toward his trainer in surprise.
"Go for its legs!" Km says before Diglett nods and digs under the earth.
Rigel also springs into action, "Charmeleon!" The ball releases the reptilian Pokémon soon after.
Cy struggles as the Spiderbot prepares to shoot a needle from one of its 'ears'.
"Why does this always take…there we go!" Rk says.
Just before Cy can experience his demise, Orion slams his body against the Spiderbot's supporting bars, which are the bars connecting the body and the head. It collapses unto the ground and the needles fired from it fall back to the earth harmlessly; however, Rk is still holding Cy hostage.
Diglett begins to emerge from the ground but Cy hears Diglett and shouts in response, "Wait!" Diglett stops.
Thinking Cy was asking for mercy, Rk did not pay attention to the plan Cy had in store for the older grunt. Using the built-in tires to stand vertically again, Rk unknowingly exposed the Spiderbot's weak point for Diglett: the bottom portion of its body.
Cy orders Diglett to retaliate. The ground-type emerges from underground and strikes the Spiderbot's body which causes it to move uncontrollably.
Orion cheers, "Yea! That'll show him!"
But, Cy is suddenly electrocuted by the electricity coming off from the damaged robot that he shouts in pain. The robot drops the human and he hits the ground hard. Km and Rigel run to help him: they pick up Cy, who's barely conscious, off the ground and hurriedly make their way behind hard cover.
Rk manages to regain control of the Spiderbot and tries to find the humans, ignoring the Pokémon surrounding him. Rigel notices this and says, "Heads up!" The humans hide behind the capsized truck.
Charmeleon begins heading for the Spiderbot as steam leaves his nostrils. Orion sees him charging toward the robot and soon follows.
"Let's hurry!" Orion looks back at me as he runs toward the robot.
The Spiderbot moves toward the alleyway but Charmeleon steps in the way and releases a barrage of fire toward the robot, but one of its arms slams into the Pokémon which sends it flying before it hits the ground.
"Hey! Don't mess with Charmeleon!" Orion shouts from several feet away.
Orion runs toward the robot aggressively, but Rk manages to see Orion, since Charmeleon fell in the Pokémon's direction. The Pikachu slams into the robot's lower body instead of the supporting bars because Rk made the robot move suddenly. The Spiderbot retaliates by grabbing Orion and then it throws him toward the ground near me.
"Orion!" I shout.
Once the Pikachu hits the ground, I release a ThunderShock at the robot but I yell in frustration when I remember the ineffectiveness of the move toward the machine.
Rk responds by making the Spiderbot jump high into the air: where it will crash on the both of us.
Orion sits up and looks toward me and then above us. He gasps as he goes on all fours.
"Above you!" He shouts, gaining speed thanks to quick-attack. I look up and my heart almost stops.
A second before certain disaster, I am grabbed by a yellow blur and quickly moved to a safer location. The robot slams into the ground and causes dust to rise from the ground, clouding everyone's vision.
Orion picks me up from the ground, "Lucas, we need to make a hole underneath the robot, then we need to shock it…that's the only way it's going to-" We are pushed out of the way before the Spiderbot's legs hit us. We look at our savior, Charmeleon, as the dust clears.
"Thanks." Orion and I say softly. I look at Orion, "I actually saw a crack on the robot earlier…It's probably because of Diglett."
"Alright, let's get this over with. Let's get him now!" Orion shouts as he runs toward Rk with us following behind.
Rk tries to find the humans in the alleyway, but finds nobody. He then turns the robot around and manages to see Rigel's bag from where the truck is. Rk smiles mischievously before heading toward them.
"I'm going to go help my Pokémon…" Rigel whispers, just before stepping out.
"Rk isn't after them, he's after us…" Km retorts.
Cy points to Rigel, "We…need to-"
Then suddenly, the Spiderbot uses a leg to grab the truck and then it throws the vehicle away like a toy. The humans look in fear afterwards.
The robot aims one of its 'ears' toward Cy and Km…and fires. Cy sacrifices himself by pushing Km away, sparing her of the ordeal. The grunt feels two needles strike his skin. Cy, already feeling exhausted because of the electric shock he received, collapses into the ground and loses consciousness very fast.
Km looks behind her and realizes what had just happened, "No!" She screeches in horror before crawling toward Cy. She hugs him before looking up at the Spiderbot, "Bastard!"
Before Rk can fire again but from the other 'ear', Diglett appears and tries to retaliate by hitting the robot's legs, but Rk notices the mole's attempts and makes the Spiderbot sit on Diglett, crushing him.
"Diglett!" Km manages to scream.
This retaliation ended up with Diglett losing consciousness as well, but the hardy structure of the Pokémon also caused the crack to expand significantly: enough for somebody to easily break apart.
The Spiderbot attempts to stand up again but Charmeleon and Orion appear and attack.
"Leave them alone!" Orion shouts as Charmeleon jumps and lands on the back of the Spiderbot's head. The machine turns a full 360 continuously as the reptile starts to slash it. At the same time, Orion, as he uses quick-attack, dodges the Spider's legs while making his way to the bottom of the robot. The Pikachu reaches his target and jumps into the air. He slams his body against the crack, making it bigger than before. He then jumps again but uses his tail instead and the physical trauma creates a hole underneath Rk's Spiderbot.
Seeing the robot's internal wires and equipment, Orion grabs onto the outer edges of the hole and begins to charge a ThunderBolt; however, Rk moves the robot sharply towards a wall, so Charmeleon will be crushed, and causes the Pikachu to lose his grip and fall.
I finally make it to the battle and attempt to help, but it's too late: the Spiderbot crashes into the wall and Charmeleon is hurt badly.
"Charmeleon, no!" Rigel runs toward the Spiderbot in anger.
Orion tries to get under the robot again but Rk finds him and grabs the Pikachu: he then pins the mouse against the wall.
Rigel goes to one of the robot's legs and kicks it repeatedly, "Let him go!"
Rk laughs over the speaker. The robot moves and uses the same arm, that's holding Orion, to smack Rigel away, "Don't be impatient, wait in line." The teen falls toward the ground in pain.
"You're going to regret doing that!" Orion shouts before narrowing his eyes in rage. He releases a ThunderBolt but it does almost nothing. He struggles before he sees me moving in to save him, "Lucas! Get under the robot and use a ThunderShock…hurry!"
I continue making my way toward the robot in an effort to save the group, but I struggle to run because of my inexperience with walking on two legs as a Pikachu.
"Where's your friend…I've had enough of this annoying charade." Rk moves the Spiderbot's upper body 360 degrees and finds me, "There you are…" Rk flings Orion, using him as a weapon, and smacks the Pikachu against me which sends me flying in the air. Orion cringes in pain as I hit the ground painfully.
"I said leave them alone!" Rigel shouts simultaneously, "Please just stop!"
With more bruises on my body than before, I painstakingly rise up from the floor. The Spiderbot points its ears at me. Despite this, I try again, I make my way toward the robot and it actually seems like I'm strangely faster this time.
"Lucas! The needles! Watch out!"
I breathe in deeply as time around me seems to slow down. I see the needles slowly launch from the Spiderbot in a group: heading directly towards me. I jump away as the needles pass by and miss me. Rk tries again and the needles travel with the same speed. I continue to dodge them, almost effortlessly, as I manage to make my way under the robot.
What's happening…why is everything so slow…yet I'm not?
Rk moves the Spiderbot's legs in desperation, to try and smack me away. The first leg: I crouch down to avoid as it moves right above me. The second leg: I jump. The third leg: doesn't make it to me on time because I made it beneath the robot. I look up and I find the hole, where I need to use my ThunderShock in, so as Rk tries to crush me underneath just like Diglett, I jump at the same time and enter inside the machine.
Soon, the world around me returns to normal speed as I try to hang on, so I don't fall out. I close my eyes and gather electricity inside my body. I feel intense amount of energy build inside me, and it will soon be released violently. I open my eyes and yell while large amounts of lightning escape my body.
Devices around me begin to spark uncontrollably, so I exit from inside the Spiderbot to find it begin to wobble above me.
I get away from the Spiderbot before Orion looks at me and smiles happily, "Lucas! You did it! We thought you were squished like a pancake!"
Rk suddenly drops Orion and the mouse lands on the ground on all fours. He runs up to me and says, "I see you've learned quick-attack too!"
"That was quick-attack…it felt strange…time almost stopped for me."
"Cool, right!?" Orion then looks away and sees Rk struggle to keep the Spiderbot operational.
"I don't think that ThunderShock was enough though, let's try again." Orion smiles mischievously as he grabs my paw and moves us beneath the robot.
"Stupid controls…eject…piece of crap!" Rk smacks the emergency button to open the head of the robot. Then, Charmeleon, who's covered in bruises like we are, shows up and jumps in front of the Spiderbot and lands on its face. He then scratches one of the eyes of the robot and causes Rk to lose sight on the right side of his screen, "This can't be happening…dammit!" He smacks the button very hard this time and it manages to open the cockpit.
While that's going on, Orion and I make it under the robot. The Pikachu next to me offers his paw to me and I look down to him. I grab his paw as we both begin to release a large amount of electricity from both our bodies. I stomp my foot into the ground. I raise my tail towards the sky and I lower my head. I close my eyes and yell as my tail explodes with electricity which is soon followed by my entire body. I extend my arms outward to release a ThunderShock toward the robot as Orion does the same. The combined strength of one ThunderBolt and one ThunderShock completely destroys the inside of the robot.
Charmeleon jumps off the Spiderbot while Rk removes his seat belt and quickly jumps off as well. Orion and I move out into a safer area. We all see the once powerful Spiderbot collapse into the ground. Rk stands up.
"Come on…It's not over yet!" Rk chuckles while displaying fire on his left hand and a Poké ball on his right at Charmeleon.
Km looks at the grunt in surprise, "He knows how to use fire too?"
"He used it when we fought him at Verdigris!" Rigel shouts.
"And I let you off easy that time, but this time…I'm really going to make you cry home to your mommy, brat!"
We show up near Rk, who is unaware of our presence, and I unleash a ThunderWave which paralyzes the human completely. He collapses and struggles to move.
"Well…so much for that." Km responds.
Km takes this time to call back Diglett into Cy's Poké ball before she walks toward Rk.
"Nice one Lucas." Orion smacks me on the back. I look at him, and I close my eyes and smile, "You know…that wasn't bad at all…I think I can get used to this."
In the meantime, Km kneels down next to Rk and grabs a handful of hair from his scalp before she brings his face up to hers, "You caused a lot of pain for Cy." Km says, "You broke his leg, broke his guitar, punched him in the face, and then shot him with a tranquilizer…" She curls her hands into a fist and prepares to punch him.
Km punches Rk four times, each stronger than the last, as Rk helplessly tries to fight back. She drops him and moves away but she turns back unexpectedly and kicks him in the stomach. Km kneels down again and continues to beat Rk. Rigel takes notice of this and rushes to break her apart. He grabs her and pulls her away, "Stop! I think he got the idea!" Rigel retorts.
"Let go of me punk!"
"Just stop it, you might kill him!"
"Let go!" Km shouts again.
I consider using a ThunderWave on Km as well but Orion and I hear what appear to be sounds of a vehicle moving nearby.
"Oh man…we've got other problems now…" Orion says softly.
Suddenly, we see headlights shine on us. Km stops trying to break free because Rigel lets go and calls Orion and Charmeleon to stand by his side, which they do. The headlights turn off and a person exits the vehicle. The person aims a pistol at us and then pulls out a flashlight from his/her pocket. The flashlight turns on and we can see that it's Bartoli!
"Hello kids." Bartoli says.
"Bartoli, you bi-" Km shouts.
Bartoli interrupts, "Are you happy that you can use fire as a Pokémon type? Fire suits you really well." She looks down to me and says, "Lucas, remember when I said I'll make you a part of my team, well…it's not too late to join."
Km sighs softly, "Just do it…just shoot us…stop taunting us already." She says.
Silence grips the air before Bartoli speaks, "You and I both know that I'm outnumbered, you can subdue me at any time…so what's stopping you?"
"…the gun." Rigel retorts.
"Oh please…it's a tranquilizer." Bartoli looks around, "Where's Cy?" Bartoli looks around until she sees a body on the floor with the flashlight and she gasps, "No…tell me he's alright?"
"Yea" Rigel says while Km says, "It's none of your business!"
Km grabs Rigel's ear and says, "Shut up!"
Bartoli goes into a brief trance after looking at Cy, when she found needles on his skin, and then to me. Afterwards, she looks at Rigel and Km and says, "Listen to me and listen carefully…you're going to take my jeep and leave through the safest exit possible. I don't want you to stop for anything. Once you reach the city, stay out of sight for a while."
Km looks at Bartoli as if she's crazy, "Are you messing with our heads?"
Bartoli drops her gun on the ground slowly and reaches into her pocket just as slowly. Orion and Charmeleon react with a growl, "I'm…just giving Km my car keys." Bartoli pulls out the keys and throws them toward the grunt, "You may not have much time before Anthony arrives with reinforcements."
Km, staring at Bartoli angrily for several seconds, finally heads over to Cy and picks him up. She takes him to the jeep and places him in the back.
"Move away from the gun." Km demands as Bartoli does. The grunt picks it up and aims it at Bartoli.
Rigel moves closer and asks, "I don't understand…why are you helping us all of a sudden?"
"It was only now I realized how far Cy has come to try and save Km. He's has done so much. Because he destroyed two valuable Team Rocket facilities, Team Rocket will surely try to dispose of him if they find him again."
Silence is dominate until Km shouts, "You're so full of shit."
"Are you going to take this time to escape…or are you going to waste time insulting me?" Bartoli asks, "I am telling the truth…take my jeep and escape."
"Let's just go." Rigel suggests, using a Pokémon ball to call back Charmeleon. He gets in the passenger seat and waits. Orion and I follow as we jump into the car. Orion sits on Rigel's lap but I sit on the cup holders instead.
Km looks angrily at Bartoli before she forces the scientist on her knees.
"Stay still!" Km checks the doctor for any other weapons but finds none. She then rushes into the jeep and starts the ignition.
"Km...I know you won't forgive me but please tell Cy...that I'm sorry for everything..." Bartoli says before Km drives the jeep toward a destroyed wall and passes through it: we finally exit the prison complex!
We hang on as she drives adjacent to the prison walls and eventually finds a road. She takes the dirt road and drives farther away from Outpost 3C 273. When Rigel, Orion and I look behind us, we can see the entire area engulfed in flames with wild Pokémon still fighting Team Rocket. Soon however, it gets dark around us, but the good thing is: we escaped…and we're finally free again.
…
Hello guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to writing the next one soon. Thanks for waiting patiently!
A minor note: I have commisioned new artwork for 50,000 Volts! It can be found here: art/Commission-The-Escape-457760081?q=favby&qo=0
