Chapter 10: A Heist In Saffron City

Doomsday arrived over Celadon City and flew down to the ground just outside the Celadon Game Corner. Several citizens stared in amazement and fascination at the huge Pokémon as it arrived. Ruby expected to attract attention like this for these people had likely never seen an Eternatus before. Now they were down on the ground, Ruby returned Doomsday to its Pokéball. It was too big to take inside and Team Rocket's hideout would likely offer little space for it so it was better off staying in its ball for now. She, Hop and Ash stood in a line together and looked up at the flashy sign that advertised the Celadon Game Corner.

Celadon Game Corner was a popular tourist attraction and often found itself with many gamers and gamblers playing inside in hopes of scoring it big with their money. But it was also a controversial attraction for Celadon's citizens felt the casino detracted from the city's beautiful image. Ruby agreed with them. With its purple roof, bright garish sign above the door with a Porygon in its logo, flashing lights, white and red striped pillars and orange walls, it looked out of place in this city and would be better off being removed. Ruby could hardly believe this was seriously where Team Rocket was hiding out under. A hideout under a casino?! Wasn't that pretty much an invitation for the police to come looking for them? Then again, she supposed that was the point: it was too obvious a hiding place so nobody would think to look for it there. She certainly wouldn't have suspected it herself for she'd have assumed Team Rocket would be smarter than that. She and her companions had all the information they needed and upon receiving June's text earlier, they had an extra mission: find a Kangaskhan that had been stolen from Trace's mother. With any luck, it would be here in the hideout for them to retrieve.

The Champion and her husband and friend entered the casino. Celadon Game Corner didn't look any better on the inside. With its garish orange floors, flashing lights from various slot machines that people shoved coins in to in the hopes of winning a game and loud music blaring from the speakers all around the casino, it was both an eyesore and a pain in the ears at the same time. Hop shook his head disapprovingly. What loser actually wanted to hang out in this place? He couldn't even imagine anyone actually enjoying it for the atmosphere because this atmosphere was anything but enjoyable! And yet there were people who seemed to be having a good time all around them. There were many players trying their luck on the slot machines and there were others sharing drinks and having a laugh together. They were all having fun, not knowing that right below their feet was where Team Rocket lurked.

Ruby, Hop and Ash scanned the walls for any signs of a secret passageway. The grunts they'd interrogated had told them there was a flyer on the wall hiding a button that would open up said passageway and let them in. Ruby spotted it and went over to it. The flyer was pink in colour and said in capital letters:

DO NOT TAKE THIS FLYER DOWN. THERE IS AN ANGRY HORNET HIDING BEHIND IT WHO WILL STING YOU IN THE NECK. OH GOD, SEE THAT BULGE RIGHT THERE?! THAT'S HIM!

Ruby rolled her eyes in exasperation. Did anyone looking at this flyer actually believe such nonsense? If this was meant to hide the button then it did a terrible job at it for the laughable message only made it more conspicuous! Ruby could already imagine someone ignoring the poster and pressing the button anyway. How many ended up unwillingly stumbling into Team Rocket by accident this way? And did those people ever get out again? Ruby ripped the flyer off the wall, exposing a huge red button set in it and she thumped on it with her fist. All at once, a section of the wall on the other side of the counter slid up to reveal a secret passageway into Team Rocket's headquarters. Nobody heard the noise as the music was too loud but some saw the wall open up and they stared in surprise as it did so. Ruby went back over to Hop and Ash.

"I swear Team Rocket want to actively insult people's intelligence." the silver-haired woman sighed, "Hiding somewhere incredibly obvious and putting a poster with a comical message on the wall to hide the button that opens up their secret passageway? They thrive on "so obvious, it's overlooked"!"

"I speak from experience when I say subtly is NOT their strong point!" Ash jeered, "Jessie, James and Meowth especially wouldn't know subtle if it slapped them in the face!"

"Imagine if they're down there now." Ruby said dryly, "You can get them back for all the times they've kept trying to steal Pikachu from you."

"Pika!" Pikachu concurred.

"Well, in we go." Hop murmured, "And with any luck, the information we coaxed out of those two in Vermilion City will save us from stumbling into any traps."

"It will. We're prepared for this raid." Ruby insisted, "We arrest everybody there and with any luck, get back Trace's mother's Kangaskhan while we're at it."

The three adults headed down into Team Rocket's headquarters together…


Meanwhile, June and Trace had followed Tricia's Magneton all the way to Saffron City and they cycled on through to Silph Co. headquarters. June wished she could've had time to explore Saffron City for it was said to be a beautiful city with its mostly yellow colours and she would've liked to have seen what the city had to offer. Once she and Trace were done with Team Rocket, they could have a proper look around and see what the city was truly like.

Silph Co. was a manufacturing company that was responsible for creating much of the technology used by Pokémon Trainers, in particular the Pokéballs they would use to catch Pokémon with, the various potions that trainers used to heal their Pokémon with, the creation of the unique specimen known as Porygon and the company also supplied the PokéMarts of its territory. June and Trace never could've imagine that any Pokéball or potion they purchased and used on their journeys would've begun their journey here. The Silph Co. Office Building was an eleven story skyscraper that easily dwarfed the surrounding buildings that stood as the tallest building in Saffron City. Any other building nearby looked puny and insignificant beside it. The building was the company's headquarters and June and Trace couldn't help but stare up at it. It made them feel a little giddy looking up at a tall building like this but they dismissed it and soldiered on. They had a job to do and they had to act fast. As Tricia's note had warned them, Team Rocket could not be allowed to succeed in this mission.

The two dismounted from their bikes and headed towards the office building. They saw one Rocket Grunt standing guard at the entrance. June wasn't surprised. Of course Team Rocket wouldn't leave the place unguarded! It was just common sense to stop anyone getting into the building while they worked. Magneton pointed at the grunt with a single magnet. June understood at once. The grunt standing guard was Tricia. Her green eyes swept over the street for any signs of intruders. June imagined she was actually waiting for her and Trace to arrive. She was tempted to go straight to her but Magneton flew in front of her and stopped her. It pointed again. June and Trace could see something white and rectangular protruding from the side of the door. What was it? They were too far away to see clearly so June got out her Rotom phone and used the camera feature to zoom in on it. Now they understood. It was a security camera. The camera moved occasionally, sweeping over the street outside and pointing back to the entrance. June could see that going up to Tricia to talk to her was a bad idea. If they did so, they'd just give Tricia away and let Team Rocket know she was their mole. Tricia likely wanted to keep up the pretence so they had to speak to her without blowing her cover.

"We should destroy that security camera." June whispered, "Then Tricia won't have to worry about being spied on while we talk to her."

"Ray can handle that easily." Trace whispered back, "His Zippy Zap will make him too quick for the camera to track and he'll break it instantly!"

"And thus we can slip in unnoticed!" June said excitedly, "You ready Ray?"

"Just say the words and I'm on it June!" Ray said eagerly.

"Then use Zippy Zap and destroy the camera." June whispered.

Ray took off like a torpedo. He charged straight towards the camera just as it was facing Tricia again so it wouldn't even see him coming. Tricia leapt back in shock as this electric blur of lightning suddenly rocketed towards the building, leapt up into the air and crashed straight into the camera.

"What in the name of-?!" she exclaimed.

The camera was obliterated by Ray's attack. It crumbled to the ground in tiny fragments, never to monitor anything again. Ray landed down beside Tricia and grinned at her. He folded his arms and puffed himself up grandly.

"Just wanted to make sure nobody eavesdrops on you!" he announced.

"Ray! It's great to see you!" Tricia said happily, "Looks like June and Trace got my message, and in good time too! Team Rocket are already trying to download the plans to the Master Ball project. Luckily for us, it'll take a while to complete the download so if we hurry now, we can stop them!"

"We're on it doll face." Ray declared, "But I'm warning you Tricia, this better not be a trick. If you're leading us into a trap, I'm gonna flat line you! Ya hear me?"

"June saved my life. Why would I ever lead her and my own brother into a trap?" Tricia scoffed, "There's no need to be suspicious of me. I'm on your side now."

"Maybe, but I'm still gonna have to hurt you." Ray said bluntly, "Nothing personal, just wanna make it look like we fought our way in so nobody suspects you're working for us."

Tricia nodded understandably. If it looked like June and Trace attacked her and fought their way into the building, Team Rocket wouldn't think she purposefully let them in should anybody ask. She even applauded Ray for thinking of that. Tricia braved herself as Ray used Zippy Zap on her. He rammed straight into her stomach and sent her crashing through the door. Glass scattered all over the floor and all at once a security alarm blared throughout the building. That only added to the ruse Ray was setting up as now it really did look like a break-in. Tricia lay on the floor, twitching from paralysis. Ray giggled sheepishly.

"Sorry, guess I overdid it a bit." he said meekly.

"Yeah…just a bit!" Tricia croaked through gritted teeth.

June and Trace ran through the broken door and over to Tricia. June scooped Ray up and frowned at him.

"Ray, Tricia's on our side! What was that for?!" she scolded.

Ray quickly explained his plan to June.

"Oh I see." June understood, "But you could've been a bit gentler! You could've badly hurt the poor girl!"

"I'm fine…just…paralyzed!" Tricia grunted, "I've…got…paralyze heal…but…don't fuss…about me! Just…stop…Team Rocket!"

"We will!" Trace declared.

But he didn't want to just leave Tricia on the floor unable to move like so. He fished the Paralyze Heal out of her pocket and fed it to her. Then he and June ran off, leaving Tricia behind to keep up the act. She stayed on the floor with her eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious. Her Magneton lay beside her, also pretending to be unconscious. Tricia lay there for about five minutes before a Rocket Grunt found her and ran over to her. The grunt shook her and she pretended to wake up. Tricia groaned, this time for real. She really was in pain after Ray's attack. She rubbed her stomach.

"What the hell happened?!" the grunt demanded.

"Ugh…I was on guard and then something attacked me and Magneton." Tricia explained, returning Magneton to its Pokéball, "It happened so fast that I didn't see what it was and then next thing I know, I'm waking up surrounded by broken glass!"

"We best be on the lookout!" the grunt muttered, "We could have intruders in the building! The boss won't want our mission being sabotaged!"

"We'll catch them for sure." Tricia declared.

She allowed the grunt to help her onto her feet and then they ran off in search for the intruders. Tricia wondered how far June and Trace had gotten ahead and how many grunts they were going to be confronted by. With any luck, they'd be able to handle them all…


As one heist was being carried out, so was another.

Ruby, Hop and Ash were inside Team Rocket's hideout and keeping a careful watch out for any signs of danger. The hideout, they were told, had four floors to cover and their boss had his own office that they would be expected to find him in. The adults agreed to cover one floor at a time and work their way down to the boss's office. The hideout hardly looked inviting. With its drab coloured walls, steel coated floors, dim lighting and not much of anything else to it, Ruby wondered why anyone would want to hide out here. Even if she'd been a criminal herself, she wouldn't want to hang out in a place as lifeless and as boring as this!

Before the adults did anything, Ruby brought out Reaper the Ceruledge and ordered him to phase through the walls and find the control room. They didn't want any security cameras to notice them and thanks to the grunts she'd interrogated in Vermilion City, she could tell Reaper where the control room was. It was on the fourth floor. Reaper phased all the way down to the fourth floor and found the control room in a matter of seconds. Being half Ghost-type had certain advantages like this and it was really helping his trainer out! The Fire/Ghost Pokémon snuck up on the Rocket Grunts monitoring surveillance and quickly knocked them out with a powerful blow to the head with his elbows. Once that was done, Reaper destroyed all the controls and computer monitors. The surveillance cameras went down. Nobody was going to see them coming. Reaper returned to the first floor and confirmed to Ruby his mission was successful. Ruby returned him and gestured for the men to press on now it was safe and they could remain undetected.

The adults walked slowly through a corridor that had at least four doors leading to rooms. They peeked through the doors but only found empty rooms that contained just beds and nothing else. They must be where the Rocket grunts sleep at night or rest after a mission. It didn't seem possible for a bedroom to look so uninviting but these managed it. Ruby would've assumed they were prison cells if it weren't for the ordinary looking doors that led into these rooms. They closed all the rooms and carried on through the corridor. They turned a corner and made their way down another corridor that had four more doors to look through. These were also sleeping quarters. The adults began to wonder if every room on the first floor was just where the grunts slept and the rest would be on the lower floors. They turned another corner and found themselves travelling down another corridor. Once again, they only found empty bedrooms. It took them half an hour to search the whole first floor. Just as suspected, only bedrooms were on this floor. They would have to go down to the next floor and hope they'd find anything interesting there.

Hop spotted a staircase nearby and led the way down it with Ruby behind him and Ash watching from the rear. They entered the second floor and walked into a corridor that had a lot of rooms to check. There seemed to be about six doors to peak through in this corridor alone. The lights seemed dimmer here than the first floor, casting the corridor in a lot of shadows. Ruby gestured for Hop and Ash to check two rooms up ahead while she checked the first one. The men went up ahead and Ruby walked over to the first door. She could feel her heart pounding as her hand closed around the door handle. The Champion whipped out a Pokéball ready to use. Her hand pulled down the handle and the door opened. Immediately, Ruby was met with the sight of several Rocket Grunts. This room seemed to be where the grunts hung out to play together. There were four of them gathered around a large round table playing cards together and at least five more watching them play. Of course, they were playing Pokémon cards. The trading card game was a popular game and hobby for players and collectors everywhere and for some who couldn't be Pokémon trainers, this was their alternative to Pokémon battles. Ruby imagined Team Rocket made a lot of money from stealing these cards and selling them for outrageous prices since many of the cards printed were worth thousands of Pokédollars. Were they playing with stolen cards at this moment? It didn't matter.

The grunts looked up and gasped, unable to believe they had an intruder. Who the hell was this woman and how had she gotten in here?! They jumped up from their game and the nine grunts scrambled for their Pokéballs to attack the intruder. Ruby beat them to the draw as she already had a Pokéball in her hand. She threw the ball and brought out a Pokémon neither of them had ever seen before. On her journey, she'd caught a Duraludon and named him Shard. Shard had helped her win some battles in the Champion Cup and had played a part in defending her title from challengers seeking to become the next Champion. But Shard wasn't a Duraludon anymore. It had been discovered during a trip to Paldea that Duraludon could evolve into Archaludon. Ruby had evolved Shard on that trip and now he was much stronger and more powerful than ever before. Archaludon were Steel/Dragon Pokémon with four legs, large pointy elbows, a small head, silver steel body with blue and red on the underbelly and a long body that bent in three places. Archaludon carried on the building theme that Duraludon had. If Duraludon resembled a skyscraper, then Archaludon resembled a bridge and could even unfold its body in order to resemble one while attacking. Appropriately enough, it resembled the famous London Tower Bridge in that form.

Shard unfolded into his bridge form now and fired a powerful attack at the grunts. It was called Electro Shot and it was the signature move of Archaludon. It raised the user's Special Attack by one stage as it charged up and then fired a powerful electrical beam at the opponent. Shard blasted the grunts with Electro Shot, firing straight from his mouth as if he'd turned into a rail gun and was shooting the enemy. The grunts were electrocuted instantly and they collapsed onto the floor unconscious. Ruby then sent out another Pokémon, Sydney the Galvantula, and ordered him to web up the grunts. Sydney sprayed them with Sticky Web, fastening them to the floor. They weren't going anywhere. Satisfied, Ruby left the room to keep searching for more grunts.

Up ahead, Hop went into the room he chose to search and he was also confronted by Rocket Grunts. They'd been training together with their Pokémon to hone their skills for battle and were furious to see an intruder was here and interrupting the battle. Hop smiled coolly and threw a Master Ball he owned. It opened up and out came the legendary Zamazenta. He was one of Galar's two legendary heroes with Zacian, his older sister, being the other. She was with Emerald while Hop had Zamazenta. The Fighting/Steel Pokémon stampeded into the grunts with Behemoth Bash, his signature move. His mane formed a giant shield around his neck and he charged like a bulldozer through the grunts. He mowed them down effortlessly and knocked them flying across the room. He looked like a snow plough easily pressing its way through piles of snow. The grunt's Pokémon tried to attack but Zamazenta took them down without even trying. As a Legendary Pokémon, he was much too strong for any of them to fight. Hop then brought out his Rillaboom and had him use Drum Beating in order to wrap the grunts up with vines. That would hold them until the authorities arrived to take them away!

Ash had gone into a third room and he and Pikachu were also confronted with Rocket Grunts. This room looked to be some kind of Gym for both people and Pokémon to exercise with. There were treadmills, gym mats, climbing frames, hoops hanging from the ceiling for gymnastics, a pool for swimming in and exercise bikes. Many of the grunts were using these resources now to keep themselves in shape. Ash could see four grunts on a treadmill each, one grunt climbing up and down a climbing frame, two swimming in the pool together and one on an exercise bike. They didn't seem to have noticed him coming into the room. They were too busy exercising. Seizing his chance, Ash ordered Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on all the grunts in the gym. Pikachu leapt off his shoulder and fired off a sizzling bolt of electricity that spread out and hit every grunt except for the two in the pool. Ash didn't want to kill them by accident so instead, he sent out his Venusaur to snatch them out up of the pool with Vine Whip. The grunts were all unconscious or wrapped up by Venusaur's vines. Ash and Pikachu congratulated each other on a job well done and moved on to find more grunts.

The three of them continued their operation until eventually every grunt on the second floor was restrained and detained. With that done, Ruby thought now was a good time to call the Celadon City Police to come and arrest the grunts. By the time they arrived, the whole hideout would be theirs for the taking with nobody able to resist them. The trio moved down to the third floor and repeated their process. They moved fast and efficiently so no grunt would sound the alarm and give them away. They wanted to capture everybody in the hideout so if nobody knew they were here, they wouldn't be able to flee. Ruby had Shard knock out the grunts and Sydney web them up, Hop had Zamazenta bulldoze them down and Rillaboom wrap them up with vines and Ash had Pikachu use Thunderbolt to knock them out then use Electroweb to immobilize them. The Rocket Grunts never got to use a single Pokémon to fight them off with.

That all changed once they reached the final floor. Ruby, Hop and Ash took the stairs down to the fourth floor. They presumed all the captured Pokémon and any remaining Rocket grunts would be here. Their boss might be in his office too, completely unaware of their existence. Their mission was almost complete. The adults pressed forward but unfortunately for them, they were spotted. A Rocket Grunt on patrol turned a corner and saw them. He gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Intruders!" he exclaimed, "We'll deal with you! Team Rocket, we have intruders in the base! Put everyone on high alert!" he barked into a radio he wore on his uniform.

The moment he finished talking, Ruby and Hop had short forward and grabbed him by the arms together. They tackled him into the wall and floored him with a punch to the sides of his head. The grunt crumpled but it was already too late. His order had been received and now every Rocket grunt on the fourth floor was swarming out of the rooms and coming to defend their base. Ruby just smiled coolly and cracked her knuckles.

"Good. I was worried this was going to be too easy." she said sarcastically.

"At least most of the team's unable to help." Hop noted, "We've got this."

"Get ready Pikachu! Things are about to get serious!" Ash warned.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu concurred.

The corridor was filled with angry Rocket Grunts who were keen to stop the intruders no matter what. Several of them threw Pokéballs and brought out Golbat, Weezing, Raticate, Arbok, Hypno and Machoke to battle against the adults. Ruby, Hop and Ash used Shard, Zamazenta and Pikachu respectively. Naturally the grunts stood no chance at all. The trio's Pokémon were either Champion tier level or Legendary Pokémon so they were much too strong. Shard's Electro Shots, Zamazenta's Behemoth Bash and Pikachu's Thunderbolt brought a swift end to many of the grunt's Pokémon. Neither of them were able to last more than a single blow before they went down. At least one grunt could see they were hopelessly outmatched so he began shrieking into his radio.

"Attention all Rocket members! The intruders are too powerful, repeat, too powerful! We need to evacuate on the double!"

But Ruby, Hop and Ash weren't going to let them leave that easily. They used their Pokémon to take out the grunts and stop them from fleeing. They continued their way through the fourth floor, taking out any grunt that stood in their way. At least one grunt had tried to attack the group himself by sneaking up on Ruby and grabbing her arm. He forced it behind her and held on tight with Ruby squirming furiously.

"Get your hands off me!" she snarled, wrestling herself free from his grip and driving her knee straight into his groin. The grunt crumpled and fell to the floor in agony.

Another grunt tried to ambush Ruby but Hop grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her back. He pinned her against the wall and drove his fist into her gut. The grunt spluttered furiously and doubled over.

"Nobody puts their hands on my wife!" he growled.

He threw her to the floor next to the other grunt. Another snuck up on the two with a Machoke by his side. The Machoke was about to grab Ruby and Hop but Ash spotted it and intercepted with Pikachu. Pikachu zapped the Machoke with Thunderbolt and brought it down instantly. Then Pikachu tackled the grunt with Quick Attack. The grunt was knocked down and he didn't get back up again. The trio continued their attack until they came across a large room that contained all the Pokémon Team Rocket had stolen in their missions. The room was full of cages containing frightened Pokémon that were begging to be released. There were Pokémon of all kinds from Jigglypuff to Victreebel to Sandshrew to Dodrio and more. Ruby, Hop and Ash scanned all the cages and opened them up as they went around freeing the Pokémon. Zamazenta and Shard broke the cages open with ease and the grateful Pokémon thanked them for releasing them. Unfortunately, the trio found no trace of a Kangaskhan with a Mega Stone on her wrist. Ruby felt worried. Had the Kangaskhan been sold off already and thus they'd have no idea where to find her? Trace would be heartbroken to hear they'd lost her forever! She, Hop and Ash left the room and headed on towards the boss's office. Maybe they could coax the Kangaskhan's whereabouts out of him.

The boss's office was at the end of the corridor and was sealed off by a large steel door that required a code to open. Ruby ordered Shard to knock the door down with Flash Cannon. Shard blasted the door off down with a single blast and the trio ran in. The boss's office was empty. The office looked comfortable enough for someone to occupy with a large, softly padded armchair at a neat black desk and a smart red carpet lying on the floor. The dark colours were a reminder that this was the office of a crime boss and it wasn't meant to be inviting. The boss wasn't here. Ruby presumed he'd probably fled when the alarm had been raised. Hop picked up one of the grunts and glared at him angrily.

"Start talking! Where's your leader?" he demanded.

"Not here. He left hours ago." the grunt sneered, "You'll never find him!"

"Oh we will." Ruby said coldly.

She brought Houdini out and had him hypnotize the grunt into spilling the beans for her. The grunt answered her questions about the boss and Kangaskhan's whereabouts and after that, Houdini put him to sleep. Ruby sighed irritably.

"Just our luck. We carry out this mission and their boss is elsewhere." she groaned, "I wish I'd thought to ask those grunts back in Vermilion if he would be home."

"If they'd said yes, we still could've missed him." Hop noted, "There was no telling when he was going to go out on a mission. Nevertheless, we best make our way to Saffron City before those criminals take over Silph Co."

"And we can get Trace's mother's Kangaskhan back from their boss!" Ash declared, "I hope he's not planning to use her to help in their operations!"

"I can imagine him being sadistic enough to do that." Ruby muttered, "I hope we get it back before Trace learns the boss has his mum's Pokémon. He's had enough grief as it is."

They left the office and made their way out of Team Rocket's hideout. They would fly to Saffron City next and round up the squad that was in operation at Silph Co. They would capture the boss and free the Kangaskhan to give back to Trace's mother! In the meantime, the Celadon City Police could tidy up. They even saw the police cars arriving as they left the Came Corner. The police swarmed the building and filed inside to arrest all the incapacitated grunts. Ruby brought Doomsday back out of its ball and she, Hop and Ash jumped onto its back. Doomsday took off and flew straight towards Saffron City…


Little did they realize was that somebody else was doing their job for them. June and Trace here racing up the stairs to find Team Rocket and put a stop to their operations in the Silph Co. Office Building. They'd tried to use the life but it refused to work for them so they had to take the stairs instead. Team Rocket had control of the building and had locked down the lifts to prevent anyone else from using them. They reasoned anyone trying to foil their plan would have a harder time getting to them without the lift as the stairs would have guards posted and they'd only take longer to get up the building that way. The criminals had even disabled the building's famous warp tiles so no intruders could teleport and the staff wouldn't be able to sneak away from them. June and Trace didn't care about that. They were going to go through all eleven floors and stop Team Rocket from getting the Master Ball project!

It surprisingly took them at least a couple of floors before they ran into some Rocket Grunts. They'd been standing guard and keeping an eye on the office staff until the grunt that had found Tricia radioed ahead and warned the team there might be intruders in the building. That was why they'd ended up spotting the kids so quickly. They'd been watching the stairs to see if anyone would come and there they were. June and Trace stood side-by-side as two Rocket grunts blocked their path. They were both female, one with brown hair and one with blonde hair, and they had a Pokéball each in their hands.

"Hey!" the brunette grunt barked, "This building is under the control of Team Rocket! No kids allowed!"

"I'm pretty sure no criminals are allowed in this building but you're here anyway!" June retorted, "Ray, use Zippy Zap!"

"Follow up with Buzzy Buzz Eevee!" yelled Trace, throwing a Pokéball just as Ray jumped off June's shoulder.

Ray charged into the blonde grunt before she even had chance to throw a Pokéball. The grunt was electrocuted and instantly paralyzed by Ray's attack. Eevee charged into the brunette grunt and electrocuted her too. Both girls lay on the floor unable to move thanks to paralysis. They twitched uncontrollably, their bodies rigid from the electric shocks. Another Rocket Grunt, this one a male with black hair, rushed in and he was able to send out a Pokémon before June and Trace could react. He'd sent out an Arbok and he ordered the cobra like Pokémon to use Poison Sting on the kids. He figured taking them out would end the threat quicker than actually fighting their Pokémon. June and Trace ducked out the way so the poison stings missed and they fought back with another Zippy Zap and Buzzy Buzz respectively. Ray torpedoed into Arbok and sent it flying backwards across the office. It crashed straight into the grunt and knocked him down. Then Eevee tackled them both while they were done, causing further pain and paralyzing them both. A fourth grunt stepped in and sent out a Sandslash to fight. June and Trace frowned as they found themselves face-to-face with a Ground type.

"Well that sucks. Our electric attacks will be useless!" Trace muttered.

"I know, but we're covered for Ground-types." June declared, "Come back Ray. I think it's time our new friend had his time to shine."

"If anyone can handle it, it'll be either Trace's Ivysaur or both your new Squirtles!" Ray agreed.

June and Trace both sent out Leonardo and Squirtle respectively. The two turtle Pokémon appeared out of their balls together and clenched their fists. They were determined to have some payback after Team Rocket tried kidnapping them earlier. It was also their first time having a battle since June and Trace caught them both so they were keen to prove themselves. Sandslash made the first move by using Rollout. It curled up into a spiky brown ball and rolled towards the two Squirtle like a runaway boulder. It ran them over and sent them flying backwards. They retracted into their shells and let them take the impact as they crashed down onto the floor. Sandslash rolled towards them again but the Squirtles hid in their shells and Sandslash rolled into them. The Squirtles ricocheted off of Sandslash and bounced off of office desks and walls back and forth as if the whole thing had turned into some giant pinball machine. The two Squirtles crashed into Sandslash, causing it to careen upwards like it had gone over a speedbump and it crashed into a nearby office desk, knocking a computer monitor and several papers off onto the floor. Leonardo and his brother came back out of their shells, feeling dizzy from that brief pinball game. Sandslash picked itself up and charged back towards them with Rollout. But the Squirtles were ready for them with Leonardo blasting it with Bubble Beam and Squirtle firing off Water Gun simultaneously. The two water attacks hit and Sandslash came out of its roll, groaning from the splashes of water and explosive bubbles that bombarded it.

Sandslash collapsed to the floor, drenched and already feeling like it was too tired to carry on any longer. Just to add further insult to injury, June and Trace ordered Pikachu and Eevee to follow-up with Double Kick. They both kicked the Sandslash twice and that was enough to take it down. The grunt gulped in response. He had no Pokémon left and the two kids had four Pokémon ready to deck him if he so much as sneezed. Ray and Eevee glowered at him as if to say "Run for it! We dare you!". The grunt didn't dare. He would be tackled and paralyzed before he even had time to turn around and flee.

"We're putting a stop to your little operation!" Trace declared, "You're not getting that Master Ball project! Now you best tell us where the main power supply is and where your boss is hiding or else our Pokémon might have to zap the information out of you!"

"You think I'm an idiot? If I tell you, you'll just electrocute me anyway!" the grunt retorted.

"As if we'd be that underhanded." June scoffed, "Tell us now and we promise not to hurt you."

"No way! I ain't giving you anything!" the grunt sneered, "I'd rather just let the rest of Team Rocket deal with you brats! Anything's better than letting a couple of kids mess with us!"

Trace promptly ordered Eevee to use Buzzy Buzz and paralyze the grunt. The teens were forced to leave him behind twitching on the floor as they ran up to the next storey. It was annoying they hadn't been able to get him to talk but with any luck, they'd get somebody else to do so. They ran onto the fourth floor and saw more Rocket grunts on patrol. A couple of office workers had been taken hostage and were sitting cowering in a corner as a Rocket grunt's Weezing loomed in front of them. The message was clear: move and you'll get poisoned. Luckily, the grunts hadn't seen June and Trace yet. They ducked back down the stairs before they could be spotted. While the team was on the alert for intruders, this particular squad was to remain where they were. June imagined they were waiting to see if they'd turn up and then they could threaten the hostages to make them back off. She looked anxiously to Trace.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, "The moment those grunts see us, they'll get Weezing to poison the hostages. Those grunts will see us if we try to get close!"

"I'm sure Ray's Zippy Zap will make him fast enough to hit Weezing before it can poison anyone." Trace suggested.

"But what if it isn't?" June asked worriedly, "I can't risk it. We need to think of something else."

She thought long and hard about their situation. How could they stop the Rocket grunts on this floor without risking the lives of the hostages? A distraction would be very handy in this situation. A distraction…yes, maybe that was it! June had an idea so crazy that it might just work. She only hoped she wouldn't be wrong. June brought Victoria out of her Pokéball and ordered her to use Toxic Spikes. The poisonous spikes shot up from her back and scattered all over the office. The Rocket grunts cried out in worry and leapt back to avoid being poisoned.

"Hey, who did that?!" cried a female grunt, "You two, go see who that was! Weezing, come here and absorb these Toxic Spikes so we don't get poisoned!"

Two grunts nearest to the stairs turned to investigate while Weezing came away from the hostages to absorb the Toxic Spikes. Any Poison type that stepped over them absorbed them all up and got rid of the poisonous trap permanently. As soon as the two grunts came to the stairs, Eevee mowed them down with Buzzy Buzz and Ray jumped over their bodies towards Weezing. Weezing just finished clearing up the Toxic Spikes as Ray hit it with Zippy Zap and paralyzed it. Now it was unable to move, June and Trace charged in and Victoria took Weezing out with a single Drill Run. The other grunts tried to fight back only for Ray, Victoria and Eevee to take them down with ease. Ray and Eevee paralyzed them and Victoria knocked them out with a powerful punch. Once the grunts were taken down, June and Trace ran over to the office workers and helped them up. They were very grateful for their aid.

"Thanks so much you two! We were worried nobody would come and fight these fiends off!" one worker cried.

"It's our pleasure!" June said cheerfully, "I know it's wrong of me to ask but where's the building's power supply? We need to shut it off to stop Team Rocket from downloading the Master Ball project."

"Oh we'll handle that." the worker offered, "We know where it is so we'll just go ourselves. We'll have to hurry, I can't imagine they've got much time left before they're finished."

"And how about Team Rocket's boss? Where is he?" Trace asked, "Someone told us he'd be here too."

"He's on the top floor with the president of Silph Co." another worker explained, "He's keeping him hostage to try and keep anyone from attempting to break into the president's office and put a stop to his operations."

"You leave that to us. You lot get the power shut off." Trace declared.

"And for goodness sake, please be careful!" June insisted, "We can't fight Team Rocket and worry about you at the same time!"

"We'll be careful. You two should do the same." the worker insisted.

June and Trace left them to do their job while they carried on to the top floor. It would be a long climb before they eventually reached the 11th floor but once they were there, they'd stop the boss and rescue the company president while they were at it.

They managed to run up two more floors and take down the grunts on patrol there. After they'd finished on the sixth floor and were making their way up to the seventh, the lights all around the building suddenly switched off and any computers they saw in the officers went blank. June smiled with relief. So the office workers had managed to turn the power off! Nobody would be downloading anything now and chances were Team Rocket's progress would've meant nothing in the end because it was interrupted before they could finish. They'd never build the Master Ball if they didn't have the whole plans.

Now that phase of the plan was done, they continued their way up. They didn't get any further. As soon as they'd reached the seventh floor, they were met with a terrible sight. A huge Rhyperior was standing at the top of the stairs and glowering at them with its red eyes. The bulky rhinosaurus growled menacingly at the teens. June and Trace only had time to scream in shock before the Rhyperior suddenly lashed out at them. It grabbed them both by their shirts and hoisted them off the stairs. Then it threw them onto the floor and clenched its fists. June and Trace were helpless. They could only watch as the huge Pokémon drew its arms back. They were certain they were about to die at this very second. One punch to the head from a Rock/Ground type Pokémon like this would kill them instantly. But a voice called out to the powerful Pokémon.

"At ease Rhyperior. I want those children alive. I'd very much like a word with the pair of them."

The teens turned to see a man in a dark suit lurking in the shadows further up the stairs that led to the eighth floor. Presumably this was Team Rocket's boss. June guessed that he'd heard about what was happening and after the power had been turned out, he'd decided to get involved himself. He'd succeeded in where the grunts had failed. Rhyperior nodded and stayed its hands. Instead of punching them, it grabbed June and Trace by their necks and picked them up. Ray and Eevee tried to stop it but Rhyperior knocked them both out with a single swipe of its boulder-tipped tail. Ray and Eevee lay unconscious on the floor much to June and Ray's horror. The boss smiled dryly.

"Don't worry. Those two will be well cared for. The same cannot be said for you two…"

He turned and walked back up the stairs. His Rhyperior carried the teens up after him. June and Trace didn't even try to struggle. What good would it do? They'd never break free of a Rhyperior's grasp! They looked at each other in worry. What was going to happen to them now? June closed her eyes and began praying for a miracle.

Mum…dad…Ash…I hope you're on your way! she prayed.

Trace was also praying for a miracle. He remembered that Tricia was still around. Maybe she would be able to get them out of this mess. As he thought about Tricia, the purple haired girl had managed to give the other grunt the slip and was racing up the stairs trying to catch up to them. She wanted to see how they were doing. But as she got up to Floor 5, her radio crackled into life.

"This is the boss. The intruders are detained, repeat, detained. You may resume your operations. Get a crew down there to cure all paralyzed Rocket members and get the power back on so we may continue our task."

Tricia's heart turned to ice. June and Trace had been captured! She felt her head spin and she had to steady herself against a wall to prevent herself from collapsing. This couldn't be happening! Her plan was all falling to pieces!

This can't be happening! This can't be happening! she shrieked, The boss has June and Trace! Oh no, what have I done?! I've got them into this mess so now I've got to get them out of it!

She forced herself to calm down. There was still a chance they would make it out alive. She would see to that! Tricia ran up the stairs, hoping that she wouldn't be too late to save them…


Team Rocket's hideout has been successfully raided and it'll be a hideout no more! But June and Trace have been captured! Can Tricia help them out of this mess? What will Giovanni do to them? Find out as June and Trace find themselves "Prisoners of Team Rocket"...

Trivia: Let's address the Copperajah-in-the-room: yes, as you can see, Shard the Duraludon has since evolved into an Archaludon. The moment it was revealed in the new trailer for the upcoming Scarlet and Violet DLC, I had to make it so Shard has evolved and Ruby now has an Archaludon. We still don't know how it evolves though so don't expect me to explain how and when he evolved. THAT is something for a future Plot-Scorbunny... ;)

Giovanni has a Rhyperior instead of a Rhydon as you can see. That was deliberate since with all the new Pokemon that have since been discovered, of course he'll have a Rhyperior at this point. I can easily imagine he's discovered what a Protector is and went to Sinnoh to get one and evolved his Rhydon as a result. :)

And before you ask about the poster warning about a hornet that'll sting you in the neck, that's a reference to pettyartist's LeafGreen Nuzlocke challenge where in that comic, a Rocket Grunt actually put up a flyer over the secret button to their headquarters that says word-for-word what it says here. It was too funny to leave out so it had to be included. XD

Originally, Rhyperior was going to knock June and Trace out once they reached the top floor but I didn't want to drag the chapter on any longer and surviving a Rhyperior punching you in the face seems a tad unrealistic so I didn't have that happen. It made more sense for it to just grab them and carry them away.