In the Magnet Train between Kanto and Johto, midnight.
When Mr. Star learned from Ash of what transpired beneath the seemingly-innocent Celadon City Game Corner, though he was only given a short run-down, the old man immediately suggested another mission, and even a week of respite, for his group. But Ash was not persuaded. He vehemently declined the offer, stating that if Team Rocket was desecrating such an area, there was no one better suited to handle it than him. Mr. Star did not argue and offered his full support for the mission.
Serena was a wreck when she heard the news. Ash had half a mind to act in a similar manner Mr. Star did, but to his surprise, she declined. She had said that she wouldn't forgive herself if she was too cowardly to face the birthplace of Zero again. To say that Ash was proud would have been an understatement, but he withheld his excitement upon sensing trepidation from his girlfriend in spite of her words.
The two had neglected to tell the others in their group anything about why they seemed to grim about where they were heading. But they did inform them about their next location, only in terms of its name and city, and that Team Rocket had set up a small base there. So, they briefly returned to New Goldenrod since it currently had the only operating mode of long-distance travel in Johto. A brief call to Mr. Star set them up with an immediate train ride and they were on their way.
Ash turned to his companions. Tobias was fast asleep while Paul pretended to be so. Ash could sense he was awake. With no one to pester, Gary was talking to Professor Oak on his Secretary Bot. It was something about Zeraora from what he could tell, but he wasn't focusing too hard on it. He couldn't concentrate on much else but the mission ahead while there was this massive lump in his throat.
He turned to Serena, who was by his side. She was fast asleep, leaning onto his shoulder whilst their hands were intertwined. How lucky she was to be able to sleep. Ash was dead tired after the previous day's mission and their swift return to New Goldenrod, yet found himself so fixated upon the window next to him that he could scarcely keep his eyes shut, let alone fall asleep.
His Aura was boiling. After the comparatively scarce use of it during his previous mission, it had begun to surge once more. Still not quite back up to his maximum, but it was getting there. And when it was fully restored…
He clenched his free hand, watching the ivory auric sparks that flowed from between his fingers.
...With that power, his Pokemon and his friends, he would drive out Team Rocket once and for all. Especially from that place.
Celadon City
Ash thanked his Noivern before leaping off of its back and returning it to its Pokeball. Subsequently, the other members of his group did the same with their own Pokemon; Ash's Charizard and Gary's Arcanine in the case of Serena and Tobias. The latter did not yet want to risk using Salamence. The five trainers had hastily travelled from Saffron to Celadon, wasting not even a second of time at the behest of Ash and Serena.
As the group walked through the city, they were unsurprised to find it mostly vacant of people. Yet, in spite of that, it did not appear as run-down as the likes of Ecruteak. Tobias remarked, "This city seems to have not suffered too greatly. That's a relief at least."
"I imagine Team Rocket would like the place to look as good as possible to make it seem like they're not here," Said a narrow-eyed Paul, "But it's pretty obvious why there's no one out and about right now."
When Gary spotted the Game Corner from afar, he sneered at it. "Well," He said, "At least finding our target wasn't hard this time. How much tougher are these guys than the three from before?"
"Well, they luckily don't have giant robots to throw around most of the time," Answered Ash. "And even though their Pokemon are rarely even close to as strong as, say, our own, they'll swarm us like Durant."
Serena shuddered at the memory of their battle in the lowest basement five months prior. She could feel her Pokemon tremble in their Pokeballs with anticipation. Especially Pangoro. Ah, that was right. During that battle, he had evolved down there to save her. She hoped she had become skilled enough to where that would no longer be an issue. After all, the birthplace of her friend was being desecrated.
Ash twitched suddenly, which was something that did not go unnoticed by Serena. He shared in her mirth over this whole ordeal and was not doing well to hide it. "Ash…" A part of her wanted to comfort him and calm him down...but another part of her wanted nothing more than to fight at his side. It was an alien feeling, being as angry as this, but when sharing that feeling with Ash, it was not entirely unpleasant. Smiling at him, she nodded and said, "Let's get 'em."
He nodded eagerly. "They probably already know we're here, but they won't be able to stop us. Let's make them regret ever coming to Celadon City!"
The familiar chime of the door opening and welcoming in new customers alerted the Game Corner's bartender. "Welcome!" Beamed the man. He was a bloated man, not dissimilar to a smaller Snorlax with legs. "It's not often that we have guests these da-" He immediately went pale upon seeing who it was that had entered the Game Corner, making a dignity-ridden squeal as the air vacated itself from his throat.
A sly smirk on his face, Gary was the first to approach the man. Ash and Serena, meanwhile, walked off toward the machines. "What's shakin'?" Asked Gary as he leaned his shoulder upon the counter and spun Blastoise's Pokeball on his fingertip, much to the horror of the fat man. Reveling in the man's terrified look, Gary chuckled and said, "My friends and I were just passing through. Heard rumors of Team Rocket around here. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
The bartender went as pale as a sheet. Apparently, poker was not his forte. "O-of course not!" He cheerily replied. "Team Rocket?! Pssh. Those good for nothing troublemakers are far from Celadon City, let alone this place. Frankly, I'd be surprised if I even-"
"Found it!" Called Serena.
The bartender's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "WH-WHAT?!"
Ash had torn off a painting from the wall of the room's upper right corner, revealing a button. Apparently, Team Rocket either hadn't been here long enough to renovate the room or the ones here were idiots. Honestly, Ash couldn't be surprised with either one. But the latter would mean they were up against lower-class Rockets and they wouldn't have any valuable information about the Team Rocket Headquarters.
Serena glowered at the bartender. "Seriously? You just left it the same?"
In a desperate attempt to pick up his failing act, the bartender stammered, "I-I don't even know what that is! I just work here!" He made a mad dash for the door only to bump into something hard and fall flat on his back. When he looked back up, he nearly wet himself upon seeing the face of Gary's Blastoise leering down at him.
"Yeah, nice try," Said Gary sarcastically. "Now we know you're in on this. Might as well give up and make it easier on yourself."
To everyone's surprise, Ash said, "Leave him. He's not working with them."
An incredulous Tobias asked, "How can you be sure? Does your Aura run that far?"
Ash let out a sigh, looking upon the power the universe's creator had gifted him with conflicting emotions. "...Apparently so," He said at last. "I can sense his intentions aren't entirely malicious at least. He has another goal." Turning to the fat man, he asked, "You're not part of Team Rocket, are you?"
The obese man somehow managed to push himself onto his feet and look to Ash. "...N-no," He answered truthfully. "I just work the bar, I swear! I take the pay because-"
Raising a hand to stop him, Ash finished his sentence for him. "It was the only job you could find, right?" The bartender looked surprised at him, but nodded. In turn, Ash did the same. "Well don't worry. You won't have to work for them for much longer. Once Team Rocket is out of the picture, I imagine Mr. Star will be opening up a lot of jobs all over the world."
He appeared shocked at that, yet some color returned to his face. "You...you know Mr. Star? Of the Star Foundation in New Goldenrod City?!"
Ash flashed him a grin. "We're working with him to take down Team Rocket once and for all. You don't need to worry anymore. You don't need to work for this filth anymore." Activating his Secretary Bot, he said to Holo-Alice, "Take a picture of this guy and send it to Mr. Star. Find him a job somewhere in New Goldenrod and set up a ride on the Magnet Train."
With a humble bow, the hologram turned to the bartender, snapped a picture, then turned off once again.
It was a miracle that the bartender's wobbling legs did not collapse under his weight. With watery eyes, he cried, "Thank you, Chosen One! I didn't know how much longer I could stand working for these...evil people! Is there anything- anything at all that I can do for you!"
Merely smiling at him, Ash nodded towards the door. "It'll get ugly here real soon. If you want to repay us, go and tell the local Officer Jenny that Ash Ketchum is on the job."
The bartender eagerly nodded. "I-I'll do it at once! Again, thank you, Chosen One!" With that, the pudgy man sprinted for the door and burst out, crying Officer Jenny's name as he went.
Ash stopped the door from closing again and released Noivern. The bat-wyvern barely resisted the urge to bellow in excitement when called upon, looking down at his trainer expectantly. Ash pointed to the man and said, "Follow that guy, please. I probably just made him a target of Team Rocket, but if they see you, they'll think twice about acting on it." A slight curve appeared on his lip, but he managed to suppress it. "After all, they'll have something more pressing to deal with soon."
Noivern appeared hesitant to leave his trainer, especially at a crucial moment like this, but a kind smile from Ash alleviated some of its fears. Deciding to trust in his trainer, Noivern nodded and took to the skies after the obese man.
"That was...rather unexpected," Said Tobias. "I was under the impression this place would give you a bad mood."
"A bad mood doesn't mean being heartless," Retorted Ash. He nodded to the desk and added, "Plus, I sensed a button under the counter. My guess is that it would have alerted the Rockets."
Gary saw what he was getting at. "But he didn't press it. Even when I was…" He rubbed his head sheepishly and groaned. "And there I was kicking the poor guy around."
Ash nodded. "I didn't want to make an enemy out of a friend. And yeah, I'm still in a terrible mood. Just being here makes me feel sick to my stomach even though I can't sense the suffering I did here before."
"Suffering?" Asked an inquisitive Paul. "You haven't told us what happened here that made you and Serena hate it so much and I'm tired of being left in the dark."
Frowning, Serena turned to the button that would open the path to the laboratory below. "You'll see for yourself soon enough, Paul." Vivid memories of the bloodbath on the bottom basement flashed before her eyes, making her shudder. Ash tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, using his Aura to soothe her slightly. Though he couldn't do much for her when the same unpleasant memories were plaguing his mind as well.
Paul began walking toward the button. "Then we might as well stop wasting time." Upon pressing it with the side of his fist, he ushered in a stairway that opened from below. A familiar metal door showed itself to them. Ash and Serena glowered at it. Tobias and Gary looked at them with concern, but Paul did not appear to share their trepidation. "Let's move," He said, walking toward the door with a Pokeball at the ready.
Throwing open the door, he threw the Pokeball in and released Ninjask. Contrary to their first encounter with the base, this time, there were two Team Rocket grunts waiting for them. "Looks like the scouts were right," One of them said as they tossed out a Golbat and a Graveler. "Can't believe there are still people stupid enough to-"
"Ninjask, X-Scissor!"
With blinding speeds, Ninjask raked its claws across the bodies of the two Pokemon and sent their bodies crashing into the walls behind them. "Wh-what the-?!" Cried the other guard, his eyes now wide with shock.
"Hmph," Spat Paul as Ninjask returned to his side. "Apparently those scouts of yours aren't being paid enough or they're just as garbage at their jobs as you are at raising your Pokemon. Even poachers knew how to do that much." He motioned for the others to follow in from behind. The guards nearly wet themselves when they saw Ash among them. "You would think that having the Chosen One enter your city would cause more of a commotion."
One grunt tried backing away, but a single hand motion from Paul sent his Ninjask to the opposite side of the room, trapping them in place. "Unfortunately," Said Paul, "We can't let you get away and tell the others. Ninjask, False Swipe."
"N-no, wait-"
"D-don't-"
Their cries for mercy were cut short when Ninjask sliced at the backs of their necks, knocking them out in a single hit. Their bodies fell to the metal floor with a loud clang. Serena and Gary looked at them with concern, but the others didn't spare so much as a passing glance. Least of all Ash. Stepping past Paul, he made his way to the next door, nodding to Pikachu before he entered. He opened the door slightly to allow his partner to enter.
Pikachu crouched onto all fours and sparked his cheeks threateningly in preparation for whatever grunt would await him on the other side, but found only an empty hallway. There was, however, a door that opened left up ahead where sound was coming from. It definitely sounded like someone was talking, but he couldn't quite hear what they were saying. Pikachu turned back to the door to tell the others as best he could.
A Rocket grunt leaned back in his chair and yawned. Rubbing his tired eyes, he asked the grunt next to him, "Hey, you hear about those trainers that came through here?"
The other man, who was busy shoving food in his mouth in a manner that was uncaring toward his beard that was getting messier by the second, shrugged and replied, "Yeah. Those two weirdos ordering everyone around were yelling about it a few minutes ago while you were in the bathroom."
Chuckling at that, the first grunt said, "Guess I got lucky then. Can't believe the boss lets idiots like that run an operation."
"Well," Said the second grunt with a smirk, "We are talking about the guy who put us in charge of camera duty again after what happened the last time this place was occupied."
The first grunt's mood soured at this. "Aw, don't even r'mind me of that, Dale. Had to get a tooth replacement after that-I mean who just slams a guy's head into the floor?!"
"Ohhhhhh!" Cried Dale, snapping his fingers. "So that's what happened! I swear, Rick, I don't remember half of what happened, other than my face hurtin' like Distortion World."
A groaning Rick sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, mumbling to himself about the ordeal. He glanced up at the cameras for a moment, briefly checking the camera of where the painting was before quickly shutting his eyes again as to not tempt fate a second time. "Y'know," He said, "I gotta wonder who those guys were. To just up and invade a Rocket base like that and trash the place. Heard the doc got taken out too."
"Beats me," Dale responded lazily. That ended the conversation for a brief moment. Dale leaned back in his chair, turning away to look at the walls for the umpteenth time this night in a vain attempt to alleviate his boredom. Turning back to Rick, Dale asked, "What if they come back?"
Rick laughed at the idea. "Seriously, man? Those guys probably died in the war or got taken out by those crazy Nova Branch bastards."
Dale shrugged. "Maybe...but, like, what if they did show up again? Like, what would we do?"
An amused Rick scoffed. "Those jack-Mudbray have all the Pokemon in the world and decided not to give the guys watching their butts any Pokemon. Nothing is what we'd do. Honestly, I'd just let them go and pretend we didn't see 'em." He leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "Hell if I'm taking another trip to the floor for their sake. They don't wanna arm us, they can fight for us."
"Is that right?"
The two guards looked behind them at the sudden voice, finding Paul and the others leering down at them. The Pokeballs lining their belts were clearly on display. "Are we to take it that means there won't be any trouble between us?" Asked Paul.
Rick and Dale glanced to one another, then back to Ash's group. Dale replied by turning back around and pressing a button on the camera control panel, shutting them off. "Fellas, we are not paid enough for this." The two took off their caps and lazily tossed them to the floor. With that, the two went on their way, disappearing around the corner as they walked up into the casino.
The flabbergasted group of trainers stared at them as they went, until Serena broke the silence. "Well...that was weird. Do you think we still have to worry about them?"
Ash shook his head and approached the camera system. "I don't think so, but just to be sure…" He nodded to Pikachu, who returned the gesture, leapt off his shoulder, and sent an Iron Tail cleaving through the screens. They sputtered and flickered for a moment before ultimately succumbing to the blow and turning off altogether, where Pikachu then returned to Ash's shoulder. "Nice work, buddy," Commended Ash, earning a satisfied coo from his partner.
With that out of the way, Ash motioned for the others to follow him out of the room. When the group traversed through the hallway, they eventually came across an open room. And it was one that Ash and Serena recognized.
"This is…!" Whispered a wide-eyed Serena under breath.
Ash nodded solemnly. Before him was the same room where they had first heard of Zero from the records detailing her creation. "Zero…" He glanced up to the camera in the room and found that it was still there. Taking a page out of Riley's book, Ash used his Aura to hold it in place. He had his doubts that the camera station from earlier was the only one.
Perking up at the name, Paul asked, "Zero? That was the kid you had with you before the war, right?"
"Dude," Said an appalled Gary. "What the heck, man?"
Ignoring the sheer scope of Paul's unintentional rudeness, Ash stepped into the room. "Yeah," He said, his eyes locked on the table where the first record entry lay. "That was her. And this place was where she was-"
His Aura suddenly flared upon sensing people approaching. "Get ready!" He shouted, reaching for a Pokeball. "There are Team Rocket guys incoming!"
True to his word, the next door over was thrown open and a multitude of Team Rocket Grunts piled into the room, surrounding them. Pokeballs in hand, they leered at the group of trainers with crooked smiles. Scowling back at them, Ash surmised, "Guess they learned from the camera before."
"I dunno what kinda idiots just waltz into a Team Rocket base," Said one of the grunts, as he tossed his Pokeball in the air and let loose a Raticate, "But it's gonna be the last mistake you ever make. Raticate, use-"
"Pangoro, Brutal Swing!"
Surprising even Ash, Serena sent out her Pangoro and immediately went on the offensive. The ferocious panda Pokemon barreled past the others and slammed the full brunt of his arm, which was covered in a dark, stygian energy, and sent it flying right into the chest of its trainer. His eyes nearly popped from the impact as the two smacked against the metal wall with a loud clang and a sickening crunch.
The rest of the grunts were taken aback to see that the first one to draw blood was none other than the thin, frail-looking girl with an unusual darkness in her gaze. "I don't remember there being grunts this high up before," Said Serena as she returned Pangoro and let Braixen loose in his stead. "Hopefully that means the management is different around here. I don't know if I could stand having to listen to that scientist again."
Serena's sudden change of mood surprised everyone in the room, especially Ash, though he was far from displeased by this development. He couldn't help but smile, realizing that he had rubbed off on her much more than he thought. He held out his fist to her, which she eagerly bumped with her own.
"Think you can take these guys by yourself?" He asked, earning a smirk from his girlfriend.
She replied, "I think I'll take you up on that offer. I spent a lot of the five months training when I saw what the world was becoming on the news."
Ash's smile faltered at that. "I wish I could say the same."
"Don't keep beating yourself up over it," She replied. "You earned that break and you're here now. Can't save the world when we're swimming in self-pity, can we?"
The chosen one could have sworn she had been hanging around Misty during his time off. With a chuckle, he backed off to allow her the space she needed to fight. "I guess not. Good luck, and be sure to make this a fight they'll never forget!" He waved his hand to the others to tell them to back off as well.
The surrounding grunts were not pleased by the assertion that the girl before them could beat them all to say the least. "You really think you can get away with underestimating us?!" Demanded one. Another one vehemently cried, "We ain't about to go down to some punk kid!" One pumped their fist into the air and shouted, "Let's crush her and make her regret ever crossing Team Rocket!"
The cheers of the criminals' rally roared loudly as the grunts unleashed their Pokemon all at once. It was much too irritating for Serena's mood to deal with. She flitted her eyes from man to man, Pokemon to Pokemon to see what she was up against. Many Houndour, Koffing, Zubat, Golbat and Geodude. She smirked at them, getting a sense of gratification out of the irritated expressions it brought on. The Pokemon they'd had to fight last time were much more intimidating.
Still, though their Pokemon were clearly untrained, she wouldn't put it past them to attack her while Braixen was busy. "Actually," Said Serena as she reached for the rest of her Pokeballs, "How about we even the odds a little bit?" The surrounding Rocket grunts sneered as the seemingly-unimpressive Sylveon and Clefable appeared from their Pokeballs. Though they alone would have been more than enough to wipe those looks from their faces, it was the overwhelming presence and roar of Pangoro that did it first.
"Sylveon, Clefable, stay be me," Ordered Serena, earning a trusting nod from the two. She then looked up to address the Team Rocket grunts with a smirk that would make Gary competitive. "Well, boys, are you gonna come at me any time soon or are you just going to tell us where your leaders are?"
The grunt nearest to her snarled at her. "Didn't think there were any trainers with egos left in the world." His expression crawled back up into a grin, smiling at her sinisterly. "But that just makes it all the more satisfying when we put you back in your place. You're gonna regret ever messin' with Team Rocket, you little brat!"
A loud mass of orders came from the array of grunts, making it impossible for Serena to hear any in particular. The same could not be said for the individual Pokemon of each one, and soon enough, they came barreling towards her from every angle. At least they were easy to read. It was little wonder why it took the apocalypse for Team Rocket to achieve dominion over the world when they were comprised of idiots like these.
"Braixen, Flamethrower!" She ordered, thrusting her hand out toward the crowd of Pokemon. "Clefable, use Barrier around us! Pangoro use Brutal Swing on any who get close to you, and Sylveon, stay by Clefable and I and use Moonblast to pick them off one by one."
With their orders given, Serena's Pokemon nodded and jumped into action. Braixen spewed flames from her mouth toward the floor in front of them, making the nearest enemy Pokemon quickly screech to a halt to avoid being cooked. A Geodude, using its typing advantage to minimize the damage, rolled through the fire only to immediately be met with a Moonblast that sent it careening back through the flames and into the wall with a loud crash.
"Now, Fire Punch!"
Diving through her flames, Braixen rolled underneath the nearest Zubat and threw a fiery uppercut into its midsection, throwing its body into a Koffing and knocking them both out in one fell swoop. Enraged by this, the nearby grunts roared at their Pokemon to attack Braixen now that she was alone and her flame wall prevented orders or assists from Serena and Sylveon.
But Braixen was not disturbed by this in the slightest. Fighting through the hordes of Ultra Beasts that swarmed every inch of her vision and blotted out there sky five months ago was a far more imposing experience than this. And besides that, Serena had been training her and her teammates on how to fight alone.
Braixen lit her hands and feet aflame and began twirling about, summoning a mass of spiraling flames around her that left fleeting trails wherever she stepped. She then turned her head up, unleashing a torrent of fire from her mouth.
Her enemies were quickly forced from offense to defense amidst the sudden fiery chaos. Those that hadn't gone down from the first lick of the flames on their bodies were weaving through the air in a desperate attempt to not catch a second dosing. And with their trainers scampering around to not get hit by the stray trails themselves, they couldn't rely on orders.
On Serena's opposite end, Pangoro was having a blast. For different reasons than his trainer, he had bad memories of this place as well and was now taking full advantage over the situation. No longer was he weak enough to be crushed underfoot by Team Rocket's Pokemon. Thanks to Serena, he had completely turned the tables on them.
It took only the light, casual, backhand of a Brutal Swing to make any Pokemon dumb enough to attack him regret it. "Behind you!" Called Serena. On reflex, he turned around and snatched up a Zubat that had gotten close to his neck by its wings, letting it furiously and helplessly flail in his grip.
The Zubat's fangs were colored purple, revealing its intent to use Poison Fang. Pangoro brought the small bat up to his face, grinning at it cruelly before it whipped back around and hurled it into the forehead of a Houndour. When he looked down at the various Pokemon that opposed him, he simply stomped down on the metal flooring and briefly blew them off of their feet.
Another Brutal Swing caught them all in a double-armed clothesline before he spun around, hurling them into the air to knock down the Golbats that thought they might be safe. He smirked down at the grunts that had been knocked down by his stomp as well, reveling in their shocked expressions as their Pokemon fell at their feet.
"This is...honestly even easier than I thought," Mused Serena. She wanted to get some stress relief out of them, but now, she just felt bad for them. The last of the enemy Golbats was knocked out of the air by Sylveon's Moonblast. Soon after, Braixen's wall of fire had settled down, unable to burn away at the metal for long. Serena saw Braixen use a trail of fire from her foot to sweep out a Houndour's feet from under it and then kick its airborne body into the wall.
Serena and her Pokemon looked around anxiously as they waited for the next attack, but...it never came. The grunts were defeated, and their Pokemon all unconscious. Paul's eyes narrowed at the sight. "I don't trust this," He said. "It's too easy. The three clowns and the poachers were more trouble than this, not even counting Zeraora."
Seeing what he was getting at, Tobias nodded. "It does seem suspicious for sure." He glanced around at the grunts as the ones still conscious picked themselves up and said, "Perhaps they could be new recruits. Or…"
"It's a trap," Finished Ash. As a precaution, he summoned a series of Auric barriers around himself and the others.
One of the grunts' eyes went wide as he saw this, pointing a shaking finger at Ash as he recognized him. "Y-you're Ash!" He cried. "A-Ash Ketchum!"
The name immediately made the lagging grunts leap back to their feet and stare at Ash with a newfound fear. Ash himself wasn't sure whether to feel proud or sickened by their reactions. "We gotta get outta here!" One cried as they all made a mad dash for the door. "Contact Dr. Namba now!"
Ash sneered at them as they departed, but did not lower his barrier. He didn't have as many encounters with the real Team Rocket as they did the trio, but he could be sure their obsession with traps was mutual. Before he could make a decision as to what to do next, the shrill cry of an activated intercom made the group wince.
"How gracious of the Chosen One himself to visit me," Droned someone. Their voice was scratchy, high pitched and downright irritating to listen to. Serena returned her Pokemon and went to Ash's side cautiously, placing her back against his in case some sort of trap sprung out from the walls. The voice continued. "Oh, and I remember you very well. You body-slammed me into a wall, you little devil! And ruined my glorious plans as well!"
He spoke as if he knew Ash personally, making him raise his brow in confusion. But before he could ask the man who he was, the floor suddenly opened up underneath himself and Serena before slamming shut again to prevent the others from following. "Ash!" Cried Gary, rushing to the floor panel. "Go, Nidoking! Bust the floor with Earth Power!" He threw the Pokeball and released the fearsome Nidoking, but before the beast could tear through the ground, more grunts piled into the room.
"Thanks for staying in one place," One of them said. The group turned around to find dozens of grunts in the room, and all of them were grinning at them, eager to crush the band of ambitious trainers that were interfering with their business. "It makes it easier to put you outdated trainers in your place. Don't you know the world's already moved past your kind?"
Paul had scowled a lot in his life and given many a nasty look to many people in his lifetime. But the one he met these grunts with was unlike anything from before. If looks could kill, there would have been a lot of bodies. "Keep talking, fodder," He spat vehemently as he walked to the front of the group, a Pokeball in hand. "But I'll make sure you regret it. And I'll make sure you and your kind are forgotten." He threw out the Pokeball toward them, roaring, "Drapion, standby for battle!"
Just before they hit the ground, Ash caught Serena and Pikachu with his Aura before gently lowering them to the ground. He let out a quick breath and asked, "You guys okay?"
"Pi-ka!" Replied Pikachu with a nod.
Serena sighed with relief, placing a hand to her collarbone. "Yeah, I'm okay," She replied, looking back up to the roof above her, "But what about the others? And where are we?"
The room around them was completely black, only lit enough for them to see about a foot in front of them due to Ash's auric glow. Ash sensed for the life forces of their friends and found both them and more. "They're not hurt, but they're surrounded. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt up there." He pointed up underneath the largest concentration of grunts in the room above. Nodding, Ash's partner leapt up and shot the stream of lightning up where he pointed to, only for some kind of energy to absorb and disperse the attack. "What the-?!"
Serena stared up at the black ceiling intently. The way the energy dispersed was familiar. She couldn't put a finger on how or why, but she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach all the same. Then it hit her, and she clasped a hand to her face to keep herself from losing her last meal. "O-oh Arceus...I think we're…"
Her nausea was slightly eased when Ash put a hand to her shoulder. "I know what you think," He said, "But don't worry. There's no way we're that deep yet." He turned and narrowed his eyes at whatever may be in the dark waiting for them. Placing his hand on the metal flooring, he sent a pulse of Aura throughout the base to see what was there beneath them.
The first thing he found were grunts. There were easily over a hundred of them; most of them right above their heads and either taking on their friends or waiting in the halls for their turn. There weren't many others below. Just a few scattered about, either in small groups or alone. He guessed that they were running the electricity or something. But there were two in particular right below the floor and just a few feet ahead. Were they supposed to be the trap?
Without realizing it, he had scanned far deeper than he intended. And he found…
Ash gasped loudly, opening his eyes wide and staggering backwards as if he were struck. Hastily, Serena went to his side and wrapped her arm around him. "Hey, hey!" She said gently, holding him tightly while he struggled for air. "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shhhhhhh. Just take it easy." Pikachu looked up at him with worry, which did not go unnoticed by Ash. But every breath he took just felt like air escaped him more and more.
"I...I saw it…" He stammered out as he slowly began to regain himself. "The...the basement. Sweet Arceus, it's all still there…" Apparently, this new batch of Team Rocket had yet to venture down that far. Because it hadn't changed a bit from when they left it. The machines that held Zero and presumably other experiments. Two of which were broken, though he didn't have a clue what that meant. Was it always like that?
There was also that damned screen where the evil doctor responsible for that madness sat, laughing at their attempts to free Zero. If he was still out there somewhere, Ash would make him pay dearly for all the suffering he caused.
And of course...there were the bodies. Victims of Zero's slaughter, given neither a grave nor a memory. They had been left there to rot, forgotten by their comrades and the world at whole. It would have been funny if it wasn't sick . The only people who remembered them were himself, Serena and Riley, who they were trying to kill on that day.
"It's all still there," He murmured under his breath, putting a hand to his head. "Everything in the basement...it hasn't been touched!"
"The basement, hmm?"
Ash and Serena's attention snapped up toward the sound of the voice, then shielded their eyes as the room suddenly lit up. Spotlights from the floor on either side of the walls turned on and raced across the floor until they met the room's end, revealing a large screen.
Ash glowered at the sight. After all this time, was the doctor still here?! But he sounded nothing like before.
"Get out here!" He heard Serena call angrily. "How dare you come back here after what you did last time?!"
She was answered by the sound of whirring metal. Ash reflexively summoned another barrier around them. Another set of spotlights shined down upon a single circle of flooring that opened up, letting a pedestal with two figures atop it rise out.
"Prepare for trouble," Chanted a woman's voice, though it wasn't Jessie.
"And make it double," Followed the scratchy voice of a man.
The woman leapt down from the pedestal and into the light. She wore the typical Rocket attire, sans the cap, and two long, blond streaks of hair spiked at each end like a mace for hair.
Raising her head to smirk at Ash and Serena, she said, "To infect the world with devastation!"
Following her, the man revealed himself as well. He wore the same uniform as his partner and had plain green hair, but try as he might, his face wasn't as sharp as hers. In fact, outside of the green hair and voice, he looked pretty plain.
Mirroring the woman's expression, he followed up with, "To blight all people in every nation!"
The blond-haired woman stood tall, raising her chin to look down on the two. "To denounce the goodness of truth and love," She continued.
Rising into a battle-ready crouch, the man added, "To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch, of course!"
The dynamic duo tossed two Pokeballs into the air and caught them, pointing them toward Ash and Serena with malicious intent. Striking a pose, Cassidy cried, "We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day, all night!"
Butch mirrored Cassidy and shouted, "Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"
Behind them, the large screen flickered to life and revealed a boney old man with a receding ginger hairline and a matching moustache that stretched below his chin. "Dr. Namba, that's right!"
Serena scowled at them. "Great," She hissed in annoyance, "Another trio to deal with. How many of you are there?"
"Just us and three rejects," Answered Cassidy snidely.
Ash couldn't help but to snicker flatly at that. "Sounds about right. But anyways, you three have some explaining to do."
He tried his best to withhold his anger, but was largely unsuccessful. His eyes narrowed at them with a deathly frigidity to them, clearly disturbing them even though they didn't want to show it. Frantic streaks of ivory light danced across his body and the barrier as energy seemed to escape his control on his own.
It was like his Aura was begging him to go on the attack. And his Aura was his truest sense of self. A part of him was disturbed by how much he wanted to attack them then and there, - to demand answers from them - but he was far too angry for his better judgement's voice to be heard.
It was this cursed place. This cursed facility that could only be described as a microcosm of hell on Earth. Just being here made his blood boil, and it was getting more difficult to bear by the second. Especially now that he was face to face with who he believed to be the ringleaders of this new operation. The ones responsible for digging up Zero's grave.
He took a step toward them, sending a loud bang through the room. "I don't know who you are," He said as an equally-angry Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder, "But I want answers now. Why are you here, and why in Arceus's name could you not just let the past be buried?!"
Cassidy scoffed at him. "Well, if you must know, then…wait." Her pompous bravado appeared to fall apart suddenly. "You...don't know who we are? You forgot us?!"
Ash looked at her oddly. "Have we met before?"
"OF COURSE WE DID!" Bellowed Dr. Namba and nearly deafening everyone in the room. "How could you just forget the great Dr. Namba?! Are you telling me you don't remember my great exploits with the Rage Crown in Johto?!"
Cassidy stomped her heel and huffed in irritation. "And us as well! I clearly remember Botch and I fighting with you whenever we met each other. Thanks to Professor Namba, we even beat you once!"
Angrily, Biff stomped his foot and cried, "It's Butch!" Turning back to Ash, he pointed a finger at him and said, "And you! Isn't it bad enough that you can never remember my name?! You had to forget me too?!"
Ash stopped and stared at them thoughtfully. Admittedly, he didn't have that good of a memory and he met many members of Team Rocket on his journey. It stood to reason that he wouldn't remember all of them.
Shaking his head, Ash glared at them and shouted, "Don't change the subject! Why is Team Rocket here?!"
Dr. Namba harrumphed. "Well, if you must know, this place has been occupied by Team Rocket for years! We're simply repurposing it...since there's no one left to stop us!" He devolved into laughter for a moment, furthering Ash and Serena's irritation.
"Of course," Continued the doctor as he twiddled with his stache, "I also happened upon some intriguing information when we arrived: A project regarding the splicing of human and Pokemon DNA to create a superhuman with the power of a Legendary Pokemon!"
Ash's scowl deepened with such ferocity that it looked like it might fall clean off of his face. "I thought so. You've got a lot of nerve digging up the past like that! Why can't you just let it go?!"
The doctor laughed. "And miss this golden opportunity to succeed where a colleague failed?! Never! I am the greatest scientist in all of Team Rocket!"
Cassidy eyed Ash with interest, attempting to read him. "It seems like he knows something about the project, doesn't he?"
Butch nodded in agreement. "I think you may be right, Cassidy. Why don't you spill it, boy? Or else things might get dirty."
Ash wasted no time throwing down his entire team. Before the Rocket duo knew it, they were soon faced with five powerful-looking Pokemon. And by the looks on their faces, they shared the same sentiment about the duo as Ash did.
"By all means," Welcomed Ash, "Be my guest and try. I don't care if you know me or not. Give me an excuse and I'll crush you without asking questions." He turned away from the now-considerably-more pale Cassidy and Butch toward the doctor. "But before that, I've got a question for you. Where's the doctor that ran this place before?"
Dr. Namba rubbed his chin. "A trade of information then? So be it." He grinned down at Ash, not saying anything for quite a time. Ash and Serena watched him anxiously. As they stared into the doctor's unmoving eyes, they could feel themselves subconsciously rising to the tips of their toes as the silence continued. Then, at last, Dr. Namba gave them their answer.
"I have no idea."
Ash and Serena fell flat on their face in disbelief. "What?!" Cried Serena as she rose back to her feet. "How do you not know where he is?!"
Enraged, Ash let out a growl that barely sounded human. "You expect us to believe that?! Give me one good reason why we shouldn't tear this entire place apart and bury it for good?!"
The doctor snickered. "You can feel free to try, but I have a feeling that my new and improved weapon will make you think twice." He shrugged. "But there's no need for that, is there? I'd like to take this time to chat. It's not every day the Chosen One shows up on your doorstep after all. Plus, my tater tots are still in the oven."
Ash's eye twitched. "I'm not in a talkative mood, so excuse me when I say no."
Casually waving him off, Dr. Namba replied, "Oh, don't be like that. It's not like you're going anywhere anytime soon." Ash opened his mouth to retort, but was swiftly interrupted when the doctor added, "Don't think I didn't see your earlier attempt to break out. Now then, I trust you saw that book in the room above you and know exactly what it means. Rocket intelligence saw you with the project before it disappeared." He grinned down at Ash widely. "And I want to know what it did."
"Why ask me?" Asked Ash with an ever-deepening scowl. "You've seen the basement. That should be enough to convince you to just let Zero sleep!" He immediately cursed himself for revealing her name and bit his tongue, but it was too late.
The doctor suddenly leaned in far too close to the camera. "Zero, you say?!" He chirped with glee. "So that was its name!"
"Her name," Hissed Serena. She pointed a finger at him aggressively and said, "She was a little girl, not just some project!"
Her efforts only served to goad the doctor on, making him lean forward more and more with every word until he eventually smooshed his face clean into the screen.
"S-sir, you're too close!" Stammered Butch.
Jerking back into his seat, the old man returned to fiddling with his moustache. "Pardon that, but this is all just so fascinating. Anyways, you were saying something about the basement?" His face wrinkled with disgust. "What in the world is down there? We've been trying to get there to get the other books, but it just smells so bad!"
Ash raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Wait," He said, "You mean...you haven't even been there?"
Dr. Namba leaned back in his chair, dramatically holding his nose and fanning the air with his hand. "As if! We haven't even gone past the fourth floor because of that horrid smell, so we've just been waiting for the place to air out."
"So," Said Serena, "You...don't even know what the project was?"
In response, Dr. Namba merely shrugged. "That's what I've been asking you. It's rude to ignore your elders, you know!"
Ash suddenly felt a chunk of his anger wash away, now replaced with a deep sense of confusion...and disappointment. Surely Team Rocket had to have been employing people smarter than the trio to have been as successful as they had been. But the fact that this doctor, who was evidently far less intelligent than his wily appearance would suggest, was not only employed, but put into a position of power. It boggled his mind.
His scrambled train of thought came to an end at the hands of a gruff, "Hmph," from the old man. "This is taking too long!" Whined the doctor. "If this isn't over with soon, my tatertots will burn! Cassidy, Ben, why don't you make our guests feel welcome?"
"Aye-aye, professor!"
"IT"S BUTCH!"
Two Pokeballs were loosed from their hands, revealing a Hitmontop from Butch and a Houndoom from Cassidy. They matched the leers of their trainers with a disturbing similarity for the difference of species. Then, from below, two smaller pedestals rose up in front of the two Pokemon. On it were what appeared to be matching metal crowns of sorts, fitted with a large red gem at its front. But at a closer look, Ash and Serena saw that the gem was just painted glass and the parts of the metal were rusty.
"You may claim not to remember me," Started the mad doctor, "But maybe this will jog your memory? These are the new and improved Rage Crown EX!"
Ash asked, "What does the EX stand for?"
Twirling his moustache with pride, Dr. Namba chuckled and answered, "To make it sound cooler!"
And yet again, the notion that this man was entrusted with a squadron of over a hundred men sent Ash's mind swirling. Once more, he felt his face becoming hotter with rage. These idiots doing what they were doing at a place like this, where innumerable horrors and deaths had occurred, was akin to drunkenly dancing on a graveyard.
Continuing, the mad doctor explained, "The previous models were meant to bring out the rage in a Pokemon through their minds. These models, however, send the stimulants all throughout the body! Now a Pokemon that wears the crown won't even need to think! The rage that would flow through its body would force them to attack on their own, bringing out their true strength!" He smirked at the two trainers, far too content with his work. "Some recent research found that some aspects of memory could be found through areas of the body not limited to strictly the mind? I wonder if rage can do the same?"
He pulled out a book, which Ash and Serena recognized as one of the entries detailing Zero's creation. "If Project Zero was as fearsome as you described, imagine what a perfected version could do while wearing one of my Rage Crowns. Team Rocket would dominate the world in no time!"
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
Without hesitation, Pikachu darted from his spot with all the haste of the lightning he produced, and with one clean swipe of his metal-coated tail, scattered the two Rage Crowns all across the floor before quickly jumping back to Ash's side.
Dr. Namba and the Rocket duo blinked at the shrapnel on the ground blankly. When their minds finally caught up with what happened, they shrieked in disbelief.
"What have you done?!" Cried the doctor. "My work! My research! How dare you?! Do you have any idea how long it took to make those?!"
Ash, Serena and their Pokemon stepped toward Cassidy and Butch. Upon their faces were the darkest of scowls, making the Rockets' blood run cold. "How dare us?" Asked Ash. "You don't know what happened here, and still, you try to make the same mistake as the last nutcase that ran this place."
"But we won't let you!" Insisted Serena. The memory of Zero and the nightmare below their feet caused tears to rise at the edges of her eyes, but she bit her lip and wiped them away before they could show themselves. "Zero was not a tool, and she's suffered enough! The Pokemon it took to make her...the pain she had to endure...we won't let it happen again!"
Ash nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "It has to end. And it will end right here and right now." His next step forward sparked his Aura and caused the remains of the Rage Crown to move backwards, almost magnetically, to Cassidy and Butch's feet.
The two Rockets stepped back without realizing it, as did their Pokemon. "P-professor?" Asked an unsure Butch. "Do you happen to have any other crowns in stock?" But when he turned back to the doctor, he found only a folded sheet of paper that said, 'Sorry, food is ready. Be back soon. Love, Dr. Namba.'
With disbelieving wide eyes, Cassidy and Butch cried, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Author's Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Regarding the team of trainers we had accompanying Ash, the trainers we had in mind to begin with were, obviously, Serena as a first pick and second was Gary. I thought having Gary and Paul bicker would be funny, but I haven't had the occasion to really show that off yet. The final pick as the fifth member of the team was a very divisive choice. In fact, it was a decision argued over since midway through Arc 1 (Around Chapter 10 or 11). The Creator wanted Tobias just because I liked him and wanted to expand on his character. Hydra argued against it, thinking he would have been much too overpowered.
So, for a very long time, Alain was set to fit the role of the fifth party member. But The Creator still wanted Tobias. That want was increased the more he wrote the scenes with Tobias in them toward Arc 1's end. Eventually, Hydra was convinced, but only if his Legends were...no longer part of the equation. Considering The Creator is an evil fuck of a writer, he had no problem killing them off. Now you know how and why Tobias was integrated as part of the main cast and why his team had to die. Blame Hydra.
(Bonus Fact) The two named grunts featured in this chapter, Rick and Dale, were not introduced in this chapter. Our older readers may remember them from Chapter 10, the same chapter that introduced Zero. We figured that now would be a good time to bring them back since we found their gag funny.
Creator: Many many apologies for the delay. There have been many things happening in our lives, like my mom temporarily being kicked from work due to someone at my work having Covid. Luckily, my mom doesn't have it. Ain't pandemics fun?
Anyways, about this chapter, I had lots of trouble with standard dialogue and looping it into the combat section that will happen when we come back to Ash. I also had trouble deciding where to end it and whether or not to split it again. That was another reason for the delay. Eventually, I just decided to end it before the fighting broke out since I remembered we still have the above team and the grunts to deal with. This chapter would have gone to 20k words if that happened.
I wanted to bring back Cassidy, Butch and Namba since Team Rocket is going to be a major focal point in this arc, but between their goofy nature and the somber tone this chapter would naturally have with returning to Zero's birthplace, there was definitely a clash between humor and sadness. I tried to amend that with Ash's mental remark. "It's like someone drunkenly dancing over a graveyard." Not sure how much it helps, so tell me what you think.
Hydra: What is up boys and girls sorry to keep ya waiting but you know when life hits ya gotta take care of it. Hopefully you guys enjoyed Dr. Namba we felt it was a shame he was never utilized much in the anime so we brought him back because he's just too funny of a character to ignore.
To the reviews.
Amourshipper35: "Oh, that Mew, turning that kid into a Pokemon like that. Not cool."
Creator: For real. We don't like the idea of humans transforming into Pokemon in fics normally, but I suppose that's rather the point. We're not supposed to like it in this scenario. But oh, will that plot lead to other...developments.
Hydra: The whole side story with Shaun and Mew will be one of the best in this fic trust me on that. Mew is my favorite legend so I have a lot in mind for her and Shaun.
DarkPugLord23: "Yeesh, Mew seems just a little overbearing. I hope Shaun manages to get through this unscathed, physically AND mentally. At least I know not to mess with Space Cat God now. Can't wait for the next chapter, which judging by the 'Next Time', sounds like a lot of drama is gonna unfold, and everyone loves drama. Especially me!"
Creator: Being deprived of her motherly needs for so long has left Mew wanting. So now, she's going to attempt to make up for millions of years with poor little Shaun. The poor kid's been through a lot already. Who knows what might break him for good?
Hydra: If you like drama my friend then oh boy are you gonna love what happens. I'm the master of drama.
MUILucario: "SHAUN! SHAUN! SHAAAAAUUUUUN!"
Creator: Love the Heavy Rain reference. We were thinking that to ourselves the entire chapter.
Hydra: SHAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!
Creator: That'll be all for now. Next chapter, we'll be seeing a certain Legendary again. One with ties to Zero. And...the Nova Branch.
Hydra: A fan favorite will return very soon and lets just say he will be put in a very particular position lol. See ya all next time and have a good summer!