Chapter Fifteen: Power Play
The next day, the rain cleared up, and Serena and Ash broke up camp to resume their journey. Serena had been awake for much of the night, thinking about her conversation with Ash, and by his slightly sleep-deprived look, she figured he'd been thinking a lot as well.
Despite mulling things over for hours, though, she still hadn't gotten any closer to figuring out how she even felt about their conversation, let alone coming up with a clear path forward. All she knew for sure was that her feelings for Ash hadn't changed, and even though his feelings might not be exclusively for her, he certainly had them, which was positive, even if she didn't know for sure just how positive it would turn out to be.
But while she had plenty of time to think about it on the road, she also knew that she couldn't let it take over her mind completely. There was still the Exposition in Lavender Town to work towards, and all the ones after that, and who knew what else might still come on her path that she and Ash would have to deal with.
How did people manage this kind of thing? She wasn't even in a relationship yet, and already her thoughts were so occupied by it. Would things get easier or more difficult if she and Ash got closer? Would Ash want to, given what he'd said? He didn't seem to be against it, anyway, but he'd been fairly clear about not wanting to give up his dreams.
For that matter, Serena wasn't entirely certain how she envisioned a relationship with Ash. What did she want? What did she hope for? Did not immediately knowing the answers to those questions simply mean she wasn't ready for a relationship, or was it normal to feel that way?
Stories always made it look so easy. Even when the couples in stories had problems, it was usually something easily solved by a simple conversation, but she and Ash had had a conversation, and it had just given her, and probably both of them, more questions to find an answer to. Maybe it would be better just to let things rest for a while and allow answers to come to her more naturally. She could always talk to Ash more, of course, or her Pokémon, or even Ash's Pokémon. Right now, it was just too…fresh. Nothing really made sense yet, so maybe it just needed more time.
At least the interactions between her and Ash didn't seem to be any different from usual. They'd just had breakfast like they always did and then broken up camp to get back on the road, and their conversation was light and non-consequential. Serena wasn't even sure how to bring the subject up again, even if she'd known anything new to say or ask. So, unsatisfying as it felt, she decided to just leave the matter for now, and focus back on the journey itself.
"Did you go to Lavender Town on your first trip?" she asked. "I mean, since there isn't a Gym there, and everything."
Ash nodded. "We did. I got absolutely slaughtered by Sabrina in Saffron City, and her father told us that I'd need a Ghost-type to really stand a chance against her. Pikachu and I took that a bit too literally and we died for a bit, but we got better."
"You died?!" Serena asked.
("Well, sort of,") Pikachu amended. ("We were in a tower that we thought was the Pokémon Tower, and we did find some Ghost Pokémon, but a chandelier fell on us and they pulled our souls from our bodies and we flew around with them for a bit.")
"I remember pranking Misty when I was a ghost, though it was a bit weird to look at my own body from the outside," Ash said.
("But they eventually returned our souls to our bodies and Haunter came with us to Saffron City,") Pikachu said.
Serena shuddered. "I'd be terrified," she said. She held up a warning finger and said, "If you 'die' again you'd better get back into your body immediately, you hear?! No jokes like that on me!"
"I won't," Ash promised.
"Come to think of it, just don't die at all…" Serena said quietly.
"Hey, I'm fine," Ash said reassuringly. "No one's going to kill me, although I suppose plenty of people and Pokémon have tried."
("Yeah, they have…") Pikachu said darkly.
"Look, I promise not to die if you promise the same, okay?" Ash asked, clearly sensing where the collective mood was headed.
Pikachu sighed, but smiled and said, ("Sure. I promise not to die.")
"Yeah, I promise too," Serena said, also with a small smile.
At that moment, Pikachu's cheeks sparked and he looked up.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked immediately.
Pikachu shook his head and closed his eyes, cheeks still sparking. ("I'm not sure. It's…it feels like there's a lot of static in the air. A bit like how it felt when Dedenne tried to reach me, but it's different, too,") he said.
"Are there Dedenne in Kanto?" Serena asked.
Ash shook his head. "I don't think so. I can't remember ever seeing one before I went to Kalos, anyway."
("It's not a Dedenne,") Pikachu said. ("It was like a power surge, almost. As if a very powerful Electric-type used an attack that sort of…lingered.")
He opened his eyes and looked at Ash. ("I don't know what's going on, but I think we should check it out,") he said.
Ash didn't need to think about it for long. "Right. Lead the way then, Pikachu," he said.
Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and took off, with Serena and Ash in close pursuit. He led them down an overgrown side path off the main road, until he eventually stopped running, and Serena could immediately see why.
There was another Pikachu on the path ahead, leaning against a tree and clearly injured.
Pikachu ran over and asked, ("What happened? Are you okay?")
("I need…help,") the other Pikachu said, and Serena was glad that, for a change, she could understand a Pokémon she didn't know.
"I've got some medicine with me," Ash said. "Hold on."
He knelt down next to the injured Pikachu and rummaged in his backpack for some healing items. "I can't help you as well as Nurse Joy could, but this should make you feel a bit better, at least."
A moment later, the second Pikachu, whom Serena decided to name Pika in her head just to distinguish her from Ash's Pikachu, sat up straighter and sighed in relief.
("Thank you,") she said.
("What's going on?") Pikachu asked. ("I felt…well, I don't what it was, but it was strong.")
Pika nodded. ("That was Zapdos,") she said. ("They're trying to protect us from the intruders.")
Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance. "What intruders?" Ash asked.
Pika shrugged. ("I don't know. At first they were just tinkering with the old machines, but then they began to go after the Pokémon. Two people and a Meowth who speaks like a human.")
("Team Rocket,") Pikachu said darkly.
"What machines were they tinkering with?" Serena asked.
("There's an old power plant down this path,") Pika said. ("My family and friends live there with a lot of other Electric-type Pokémon, and Zapdos keeps us safe. The humans wanted to break down the plant when they abandoned it, but Zapdos interfered and now they just leave us in peace for the most part. But this…Team Rocket? They just showed up with a lot of tools and they began messing around with the machines.")
("And Zapdos let them?") Pikachu asked.
("Well, they're powerful, but they're cautious when it comes to humans, and at first the humans didn't seem to mean us any harm. That Meowth even told us they wouldn't hurt us, so we just let them be,") Pika said.
"And then they betrayed you?" Serena asked angrily.
Pika nodded. ("Yes. We didn't even realize it at first, but they were trapping more and more of us, and when we found out we tried to chase them away, but they fought back. They had…a machine of their own. It looked like a giant Electabuzz, only made of metal. Then Zapdos arrived to fight them, and I guess that's what you felt earlier. That's how I got injured, too. One of the old machines in the plant exploded in the fight while I was running away.")
"We need to go and help Zapdos," Ash said immediately.
"Wouldn't Zapdos have been able to deal with Team Rocket alone?" Serena asked. "I mean, at Mt. Moon we didn't exactly have a hard time getting rid of them."
"Still, if there's something we can do we need to do it," Ash said. He looked at Pika. "Do you think you can lead us there? And can convince Zapdos not to attack us? This isn't the first time Team Rocket made a Zapdos angry, but those guys never learn," he said.
("I think so,") Pika said hesitantly. ("And I think Zapdos is going to need your help. That Electabuzz-machine was really powerful.")
"Alright then. Lead the way, Pikachu," Ash said.
Pika nodded, and she and Pikachu took off ahead of Serena and Ash. They ran further down the winding path, until Serena saw a decrepit building up ahead. There was an old transmission tower next to it, but the wires that had once run from it were gone. All in all, it certainly didn't look like a friendly place to live, especially given the long grass surrounding it, and the ivy snaking up the walls.
("We'll need to go through the old control room to reach the transmission room. That's where Zapdos lives,") Pika said.
"And Team Rocket?" Ash asked.
("They were near the generator itself, but they moved closer to the transmission room later,") Pika said.
"Alright then, let's go."
The group cautiously began to move forward, but before they could enter the power plant, a Raichu approached them, sparking his cheeks threateningly.
("It's okay!") Pika said quickly. ("They're here to help.")
Raichu said something that sounded a bit suspicious, and Serena couldn't blame him for that.
("I know, but they already helped me,") Pika said. ("And they seem to know those other humans.")
"We do," Ash confirmed. "And we know they're bad guys. We've fought them before, though, so we want to help you fight them now."
Raichu still didn't look convinced, but he seemed to trust Pika, because he made a gesture with his head, and they entered the power plant.
"Pikachu, once we find them, I need you to hang back, buddy," Ash said. "There's no way they won't be shock-proof if they're in here."
Pikachu sighed in frustration but said, ("Yeah, I know. Just promise you'll let me Thunderbolt them if we can get them out of whatever stupid robot they built this time.")
"You, and every other Pokémon in here," Ash promised.
("Why do you know them, anyway?") Pika asked.
Pikachu shrugged. ("They seem to think I'm special,") he said. ("Because the first time I met them I sent them flying, but that was because I was supercharged by a bunch of other Pikachu.")
"And they've followed us halfway around the world to get their hands on Pikachu," Ash added. "Except sometimes they come up with other, equally dumb plans, and we usually end up stopping them."
("Humans are weird,") Pika said with a shake of her head.
("You don't know the half of it,") Pikachu agreed.
The inside of the power plant was just as overgrown and rusty as the outside, and again Serena just couldn't imagine wanting to live there, though she could understand why humans would avoid the area. Old machines, the function of which Serena could only guess, littered the walls, and frayed cables littered the floor.
("Through here,") Pika said, indicating a small opening between a machine that had partially fallen over into another one.
They crawled through and emerged into what seemed to have been the control room once upon a time, because the walls here were lined with computers and monitors, rather than mysterious machines. All of them were very much broken, but they were at least recognizable.
They reached a door at the end, on which Serena could still see a faded and torn warning label.
("The transmission room is beyond this hallway, through the big doors on the right,") Pika said. She hesitated. ("I don't know what we're going to find there, so be careful.")
Raichu angrily said something and Pika gasped. ("Everyone?") she asked.
Raichu nodded.
("Ash, we need to hurry,") Pikachu said.
"Right. Let's go," Ash said.
They headed through the door and followed the hallway until the doors Pika had indicated, and pushed them open just a crack to see what was beyond it. Serena could see that the roof of the power plant was entirely broken here, and that plants had overgrown many of the coils that had once connected to the tower outside.
In the middle of the room was a massive robot that indeed looked just like an Electabuzz, which seemed to be wearing a massive backpack — and opposite it, looking very injured and trapped in a familiar-looking energy web, was Zapdos.
"Oh no," Serena whispered.
Raichu became enraged at what he saw and stormed forward, furiously shouting something at Team Rocket's robot.
("Raichu, don't!") Pika yelled, but it was too late.
The Electabuzz robot turned around and shot out an arm, which effortlessly grabbed Raichu and dropped him into the backpack.
"That's enough, Team Rocket!" Ash said, now also stepping forward.
"Prepare for trouble, it's the twerp of the hour."
"And make it double, because this time we've got the power."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"And James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."
"So surrender now, or prepare to fight."
"Meowth, that's right!"
"How nice of you to join us, twerp, but there is nothing you can do to stop us. Even Zapdos was no match for our Electabuzz-bot!" Jessie's voice said through a speaker in the robot.
"Let the Pokémon go, Team Rocket," Ash said angrily.
"Or what, precisely? You'll yell at us? No, I think we'll be having those two Pikachu there and then we'll bring all of these Pokémon to our boss," Jessie said, and without warning the arm shot forward again.
"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash yelled. "And then use Iron Tail on the hand!"
Pikachu jumped up into the air, avoiding the grabbing hand, and his tail glowed white before he slammed it down on the Electabuzz-bot's 'wrist' — but it didn't do any damage at all.
"Did you really think we would fight Zapdos without being prepared?" Jessie gloated.
"This fine machine is resistant to anything you can throw at us," James added.
"Keep running, Pikachu, don't stand still or they'll get you!" Ash yelled.
"Ah, but there is another Pikachu we can grab, isn't there?" Jessie said malevolently, and the arm once again shot forward, this time towards Pika.
"No!" Ash yelled, throwing himself in front of Pika to shield her, and ending up grabbed himself, before being unceremoniously dunked into the backpack by the robot.
"Well, Jessie, we seem to have caught the twerp himself this time," James said.
"He had his Pokémon with him, so the boss will appreciate it, I'm sure," Jessie replied.
"Ash!" Serena yelled. "Braixen, use Flamethrower, and Pancham, use Stone Edge!" she added, releasing her Pokémon, before crouching low and looking at Pika. "You go and hide, okay? We'll deal with Team Rocket," she said.
("Right,") Pika said shakily. ("Good luck.")
Braixen fired off her Flamethrower, but the attack didn't seem to have any effect. Pancham's Stone Edge slammed into the robot from the front as well, but even though it was pushed back, it didn't seem like any real damage had been done.
Serena frowned. She was worried about Ash, but she knew he'd be able to take care of himself. Right now, she had to think. That robot had to have some kind of weakness to it.
"Use Slam, Electa-bot!" Jessie said, and immediately the arm shot towards Braixen and Pancham with incredible speed.
"Sylveon, Protect!" Serena yelled, summoning her last Pokémon to help as well. A shimmering green wall blocked the arm from the robot and deflected it, but that didn't bring Serena any closer to defeating the Rockets.
"Come on, Serena, think!" she said angrily, while her Pokémon ran and dodged to avoid the sweeping arms, joined by Pikachu.
Clemont would surely have known how to deal with a massive robot. His own inventions certainly had a habit of blowing up in his face, after all, usually because they got hit in the wrong way — but what was the wrong way, for this machine? All of her previous attacks had been aimed at the center of the robot's body, but of course that would be its strongest point. But it needed to be capable of moving, and while its 'legs' were treads, its arms were normal. If she could just disable those, it would already be much easier to deal with.
She looked at the robot and saw a tiny gap between the armor plates on the shoulder, right at the articulation point. It was an incredibly small target, but her Pokémon were very accurate.
"Sylveon, Pancham! Swift and Stone Edge, aim directly for the small gaps in the armor on the shoulders!" she yelled. "And Braixen, Fire Blast, right at its head!"
Her team jumped into action as if this was just the showoff round of an Exposition, and all three Pokémon fired off their attacks in perfect sync. The Swift stars and sharp spike of the Stone Edge pillar hit exactly where Serena had indicated, and Braixen's Fire Blast forced back the Electa-bot once again. Both of the robot's arms sparked and smoked after the impact.
"You annoying twerpette!" Jessie raged. "Electa-bot, Thunderbolt!"
The antennae atop the robot sparked and a bolt of lightning zapped towards Serena, who flinched pre-emptively — but the shock never came.
Pika had jumped in front of the blast, negating it entirely with her Lightning Rod Ability.
("Not going to happen!") she said. ("And with that extra power…take this! Thunder!")
The massive bolt of electricity slammed into the Electa-bot from above, and with the damage on its arms, the sheer voltage now seemed to be able to do some damage. With two small explosions, the robot's arms fell off, and the sides of the backpack were ripped open.
All the Electric-type Pokémon Team Rocket had captured now escaped through the hole, joined by Ash, who called out Sceptile, Charizard, and Noivern as he landed, and was quickly rejoined by Pikachu.
"No! Those Pokémon belong to Team Rocket!" Jessie yelled.
"They belong to no one!" Ash countered. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail to free Zapdos."
("Got it,") Pikachu said, leaping up to smash the cube keeping Zapdos restrained.
They immediately got to their feet, electricity crackling around them ominously. Serena felt her hair standing up as the air became saturated with static.
Ash looked at Serena and Pika and smiled. "You're the heroes here, you do the honors," he said.
"Right," Serena said. "Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, Fairy Wind!"
"Leaf Storm, Flamethrower, Boomburst, Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.
("Everyone attack!") Pika shouted, clearly eager to join in as well.
A terrifying mixture of elemental attacks slammed into Team Rocket's robot, which didn't stand a chance against such overwhelming force. It exploded in a giant fireball, sending the Rockets flying into the sky.
"We're blasting off again!" Serena heard them shouting faintly, as they receded into being nothing but a twinkle in the sky.
Zapdos looked after them defiantly, but then sagged again, clearly still injured from its earlier fight with the robot.
"Zapdos! Do you need help?" Ash asked in a worried tone.
Zapdos said something, but even though Serena couldn't understand it she felt like Zapdos was declining any help.
("Thank you so much for helping us,") Pika said. ("I don't know what we would have done without you. Don't worry about Zapdos. They're always helping us, now it's our turn to repay that.")
The other Electric-types all voiced their assent.
"We couldn't have beaten them without you, either, you know," Serena said. "That was an amazing attack, and you saved me from that Thunderbolt at the same time."
Pika smiled shyly at the praise. ("Thank you, but I think that was enough excitement for me for a while. You're always welcome if you want to visit,") she said brightly, before turning to Zapdos and saying, ("They can, right?")
Zapdos inclined their head, clearly agreeing with Pika.
"Thank you," Serena said sincerely.
"Well, I guess we should get back on the road, then," Ash said. "I don't think Team Rocket will be coming back here anytime soon, not with the Pokémon on the lookout for them."
And so, after saying goodbye to Pika and the other Pokémon at the power plant, Serena and Ash resumed their way to Lavender Town, as the adventure continues.
It is amazing how abject failure can do so much to conceal success, Giovanni thought, looking at the readings on his monitor.
Jessie and James surely had one of the worst track records of any pair of operatives, and yet they had somehow proven themselves to be quite useful all the same. The Mt. Moon failure was irrelevant, as the grunts had already captured more than enough Zubat from there and other caves, but the power plant operation…that was something different entirely.
Having a Zapdos could move the plans forward by quite a bit, but despite failing that objective, the real mission had gone off without a hitch. The hydroelectric generator was repaired, and judging by the readings, the power it generated was sufficient to proceed with the plans. Everything was running smoothly…
Okay, so I couldn't resist ending the 'regular' part of the chapter like an anime episode, because this is another one of those, though I like this one better than the previous one, mostly because the battle just worked out better. I had some other ideas that I considered for this chapter, but I think what I ended up doing works just fine. See you next time!