TW: Ember has a gun in the first part of the chapter.

Chapter 10: The Rocket Guild

...

...

"Hey, you two lovebirds! Wake up already! We have a long way to go and probably a lot of explaining to do when we get there, so start moving!"

I slowly and reluctantly opened my eyes, groaning all the way. It was a bright morning, and the Sun was blinding enough to make me recoil slightly.

"It's time to wake up already?" A voice next to me groggily said.

"Guess so. I don't want to, though. It's so comfy like this" I said while closing my eyes again.

"Yeah. Just give us five more minutes!"

"Sure! Don't wanna let go of each other, I assume?"

Raising a brow, I opened my eyes and discovered that Ember and I were still hugging each other, probably even closer than last night. Ember slowly opened her eyes too and by the look on her face, I could see she had reached the same conclusion as me.

As quickly as possible, we straightened up and got out of the tent.

Kit was standing just outside, having just finished folding his tent and with a mischievous grin that gave away his intentions.

"A good night, huh? I personally think it was a bit too cold"

"Y-Yeah? Well it wasn't for us" Ember stuttered. Her cheeks were a whole different shade of red.

"It was comfortable... and definitely not cold" Despite not being able to see them, I could also feel my own cheeks redder than what they should have been.

"Yeah, it sure looked like it..."

"Hey! If you two are awake, start packing your tent and let's move!" Yelled Mismagious, interrupting whatever Kit was about to say.

"You got lucky. For now, at least. You're gonna have a looong walk back home" He snickered, grinning and walking away. After some uncomfortable silence and a quick glance, Ember and me started folding the tent.

"So, uhhh...You helped me sleep tonight, apparently. Thank you" I finally said.

"You're welcome" She simply answered without looking at me.

"Sorry if I made it awkward. Now Kit won't leave us alone for the rest of the day, and who knows how long after. Should have just had some guts and slept like a person my age"

This time, she stopped completely and looked at me. "What do you mean? I was the one that decided to hug you, remember? And just so you know, you are kinda comfortable to sleep with..." She seemed to regret that last part immediately after saying it.

"Woah! Better not let Kit hear that one..."

"Shut up!" She yelled.

Both of us blushed, but we didn't speak anymore until we finished removing the tent and putting it back in the bag.

"We are done here!" I yelled.

"Let's hit the road then!"

Taking the backpack, we set off with the hopes of making it back to town before noon. It was then when I realized we forgot to share yesterday's adventure's findings.

"Guys, didn't we say we would share what we found once we woke up?"

"Oh yeah! With all the 'go back as quickly as possible' stuff, I completely"

"I've got this..." Said Mismagious, while taking out some sort of metal cilinder from his bag.

"You took one of those things?" Ember asked him.

"What is it?"

"Some sort of flashing device, I think. Apparently, when you pull the pin, you have some time and then it explodes, flashing and blinding anyone that is within its radius. I think that's how it works"

...

Mismagious had just described a flashbang. "Where did you find it?"

"We found what seemed like an armory. It was full of weird metal sticks and boxes full of other small metal pieces. There was also another box with a few of these inside"

Wait, if they found an armory that was full of 'weird metal sticks', that must mean that the thing Ember found and has on her bag right now must be...

I could feel my face go pale when I saw what Ember took from her satchel.

"And I have this! I still don't know what it is exactly... Any ideas?"

It was a revolver. A real revolver.

"That looks a bit like a boomerang" Commented Kit.

"But why would a boomerang be made out of metal?" Asked Kate.

"It definitely doesn't sound practical" Added Nate.

"You are right... I'll try throwing it..."

I could not describe the terror I felt seeing Ember throw around something as dangerous as that. Thankfully, the weapon didn't seem to suffer any damage that could potentially cause it to activate, making me sigh from relief.

"Nothing" The fire type sighed, walking to it and picking it up.

"What if it's something else and it's just broken? Those things have probably been down there for a long time, remember" Commented Mismagious.

"Maybe, but what you found wasn't broken, was it? What do you think, Jake?"

"Huh?" The sudden mention of my name made me jump.

"I said if you had any idea of what this could be?"

"Y-Yeah, I think I do. Just let me see"

"You sound nervous. Do I need to pick it for you, so that you don't have to get too close to your little...?" Began Kit, but a sharp look was enough to make him immediately stop. "Now that I think about it, maybe I'll shut up this time"

My hand was shaking when I grabbed the weapon. I never expected to see one of these things outside of video games, much less have one on my posession. The fact that I had three fingers now didn't help at all either.

The metal felt cold to the touch, but I had no time to think about that. The first thing I did was to check if the gun was loaded. Chances were that, since they found this revolver in a bunker prepared to endure a long period of time next to 'boxes with small metal pieces', this gun was most likely ready to shoot.

Sure enough, the drum of the weapon was completely loaded with six bullets, confirming my suspicions. That only made me even more nervous.

"Jake, are you okay?" Asked Kit.

"You look like you are having a panic attack" Added Ember.

That's because it's what's happening to me now...

"I'm fine, really"

I quickly removed the bullets out of the gun and sighed. I handed Ember the now safe gun back, and put all the bullets inside my bag.

"Hey, what did you do now? What did you take out?" Exclaimed Kit.

"I just unloaded it. Now there is no danger in having it" I answered.

"Wait, it wasn't safe before?" Questioned Mismagious.

"You picked it up from an armory, what did you expect? It's a weapon, and I simply disabled it"

"A weapon?" Asked Kate.

"You just took a few pieces out. I don't see how that could disable anything" Added Nate.

Before I could answer that, Ember interrupted me by yelling something. "Hey guys! There is a switch here! I'm gonna press it!"

"Wait, don't...!" I tried to say, but it was too late.

*Click*

...

"Huh"

It was at that point that I felt on my knees. "Jake! What's wrong with you?!"

"Don't give me those kind of heart attacks, please"

She tilted her head. "I don't get what you mean..."

"Look, just... leave it for when we get back home, alright?"

"Okay?" She said while putting away the gun.

Again, no one spoke for a while, which was something that I was grateful for. It was like that for a long time.

"That thing was disappointing" Finally said Kit, breaking the silence.

"You haven't checked what my thing can do, then" Commented Mismagious.

"I'll explain to you all later. Can we not talk about it for now, please?"

A few nods later and we were back to walking in silence. This time however, it was interrupted shortly after by casual chat that lasted for the rest of the way.

Some hours later, the gates of the city finally made themselves visible, their usual guards standing beside them, greeting us as we passed.

"Home, sweet home! We are finally back!" Exclaimed Ember, waving back to the guards, specially to the Ampharos.

"And we still have half of the day to spare! A succesful expedition if I've ever seen one!" Added Kit.

"Just wait until you have to handle all the paperwork. You'll be lucky if you finish by the end of the day" Mismagious commented, sighing.

"But we don't have a lot to share, do we?" I asked.

"Maybe you don't, but we found a whole armory, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that!"

Despite trying to sound calm, I was thinking hard trying to come up with a way to convince Mismagius not to tell anyone about what they had found.

"Hey, Ember?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you come with me for a second?"

"Sure"

"The little couple is already planning their first date? How cute~"

Ignoring Kit, we began walking a bit slower to let the group go forward and have some privacy.

"What do you need?"

"Look, I know it may sound weird, but I need you not to tell Blaze about what we found"

"What?! But it's an important discovery! Everyone will want to explore and see it for themselves!"

"That's the thing! You see, Kit and I have enough leads to think that place was built by humans. We don't know how or why, but that place may contain secrets about myself, Ember. If we report the findings, any clues may be lost, or it could lead more people to our same conclusion! What if they find out that place is human? How do you think they will react?"

After pondering for a bit, she smiled softly, and nodded. "I get it. I knew those things were weird the moment I saw them. If yout think it will be worse if we tell them, I won't say anything"

"Yes! Thank you, Ember!"

"But how are we going to convince Mismagious and his team?"

"Leave it to me"

Walking forwards towards the group, we headed straight for team Shadow, trying our best to ignore Kit's teasing.

"Hey, Mismagious"

"Hm?"

"Would you mind lying and telling Blaze we didn't find anything inside that bunker?"

"Um, why? You know the trouble that could bring you?"

"You see..." Interrupted Ember, pushing me while she gritted her teeth. She probably wasn't expecting me to be that direct. "We think that if we say the truth, everyone will want to go there and inspect everything, and we won't probably be able to go back again. If the E.S. goes there, there is a high chance we won't be able to-"

"Sure"

"What?" Ember and me exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah, I also want to explore that place more in depth. And maybe we could use your team's help?" That last part sounded forced.

"Just like that? What about 'all the trouble that could bring us'?"

"Bah, it's nothing. If you don't make the fact that you're lying obvious, no one will notice. It's not like we haven't done it before"

"We have a deal then?"

"Yeah. If we are not too busy, you can tell us and we'll go with ya. We are normally around town, so you shouldn't have problems finding us"

I sighed. "Thanks"

"No problem, Jake. Didn't know that place was so important to you that you all would agree with keeping quiet. I'll just tell my team, and we'll keep going, sounds cool?"

"Yeah"

He floated away, and began talking with his team. "That was easy, don't you-OWW!"

Ember punched me on my shoulder, making me wince. "You didn't need to be so blunt about it, you know? It was so obvious that something was up!"

"You didn't need to hit me so hard..."

"Come on, you are supposed to be a steel type, not a little kid! I didn't even hit you too hard"

"You know that punching your boy won't make him love you any more, right?" Said Kit from behind us.

"Will you shut up? We are not a couple, and he is not my boyfriend!" She yelled, as red as a tomato. Or would it be a Tamato berry in this situation?

"Your face and actions speak louder than a Loudred, m'lady"

"S-Shut up already!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her display of embarassment. "Not you too!"

"Alright, I already told my team. At least most of it" Mismagious suddenly interrupted.

"What does that mean?"

"We've got another teammate. She is not too fond of going on explorations, so she usually just hangs out doing other things, like managing our money, and all that"

"Sounds like a lovely girl to me" Commented Kit.

"Oh, the irony"

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Can we go on, please?" Said Kate.

"We would like to get this over with" Added Nate.

"Sure, let's go"

The town hall. I've been here countless times already, but somehow it still amazed me. Its imposing structure and beautiful colors were truly a spectacular sight to behold, no matter the amount of times you already did it.

The familiar Quilava was looking at the bulletin board. "Blaze! We are back!" I yelled.

His ears perked up and he turned his head around, looking away from the board and began waving at us when he saw us walking towards him.

"Team Indigo! And team Shadow too! Welcome back!"

"Hey, Blaze! Long time no see, huh?"

After everyone greeted the fire type, he gestured us to follow him into his office.

The room wasn't as big as the mayor's, but that was to be expected. It had wooden floor and walls, which contrasted with the owner's firey nature.

The walls were also full of notices and diplomas, and the table at the center was full to the brim with papers. There was also a photo of a few Pokémon, all of them wearing some golden badges and cheering, Blaze among them. I assumed that was the Expedition Society.

After he sat on the other side, he searched in the big pile of papers, and took one of them, followed by a quill.

"So! What did you guys find?"

Alright, Jake. Make it sound convincing.

"This will probably make you sad, but we didn't find anything"

Blaze's ears visibly drooped. "What? Nothing at all?"

"Well, we found the room, and we found that it had a basement, but it wasn't anything special, just a place full of moldy food and rusty equipment. We think it is just a very old bunker. We even explored the surrounding area to see if there was something else, but we didn't find anything"

Yeah, that'll do.

"Really? That sucks. Anything else to add, Mismagious?"

I looked at him and we shared a glance for a short time before he looked back at Blaze.

"Nothing. Just as Jake described, there was just what looked like a really old and useless bunker"

"Oh well. I guess it was just a waste of your time then, wasn't it?" He chuckled. "I'll report the results to my colleagues at the Expedition Society. Meanwhile, why don't you enjoy your day off and a half?"

"Wait, day off?" Asked Kit.

"When explorers are sent to a mission that requieres takes more than a day, it's a rule to leave the day they come back and the next one for them to take a rest. Which means, that we have a day and a half of nothing to do" Explained Mismagious.

"You mean I have a weekday afternoon and day to do nothing at all?" Ember exclaimed.

"Yep"

"Well then, team Indigo and team Shadow. You are free to go. I will send this report to the E.S. immediately. Mismagious, inform Jessica about your arrival and tell her to take some rest for once"

"Jessica?"

"The other member that doesn't do field work, remember?"

"I forgot you didn't know about her. Jessica is the fourth member of team Shadow. Though, it is not often that we see her around here" Explained Blaze.

A silence fell over the group.

"So, we are free to go?"

"Yep. But don't relax too much, just in case there is an emergency. You'll be called immediately if that's the case!"

"Okay, then. Let's go team! Mission: Free time!"

Exiting the office and then the building, we began talking about what we would do for these two days.

"I can't believe we just got away so easily"

"Relax, Jake. Remember the important point: We have a day and a half of free time! That's something I wouldn't even be able to dream with Agatha!"

"Yeah. My stomach is craving some food though" Added Kit.

"Well, then. How about we eat at my place? We can leave all we found there, and maybe Jake can explain something about them"

"Sure"

"Let's go then!"

Kit and I sat on the while Ember cooked the food. Kit tried to volunteer to make it himself, but Ember didn't let him. Apparently, cooking was not one of his abilities, nor putting out fires.

I had left the laptop on top of the sofa in the living room, and I was examining one of the bullets I had taken out of the gun before, while Kit took his time to examine the gun itself.

Before long, lunch was ready and three plates full of steaming rice were put on the table. "Alright kiddos, time to eat!" The Braixen exclaimed.

"Thanks, mom" I answered, rolling my eyes and smiling.

"Alright, Jake" Said Kit while tossing the gun to me. "What in Giratina's domain is this thing?"

I barely managed to catch it before giving Kit an angry look. "Be more careful with it!"

"Why? You still haven't told us what it is!"

"That's a gun" I sighed. "It's a weapon used by humans to..."

"Yeah?"

"Kill other humans. Just what any weapon is used for"

Silence fell over all three of us.

"Oh, I get it now. That's why you were so freaked out, isn't it? Honestly, I would be too"

"Wait. Does that mean that all of those metal sticks that we found..."

"They were probably all guns. Different types, but still the same"

More silence.

"And... how does it work?" Asked Ember after a long pause.

"Remember that 'switch' you pressed before?"

She nodded.

"That's called the trigger. If I hadn't unloaded it, you would have shot what's called a 'bullet' at aproximately 340 meters per second" I explained while showing them the small metal piece.

"So that's why you took those metal pieces out?"

"Yes"

"So you mean I could have... killed you while we were sleeping?"

Both of us turned to look at Ember. Her face had turned pale out of the dread of imagining what a wrong misstep could have caused.

"Hey, Ember. Relax. Shooting a gun doesn't automatically mean killing someone. You would have to actually aim at them. And considering that it was inside the bag, which was left next to you while we slept, I doubt something truly bad would have happened. Worst case, the recoil would have hurt someone"

"But what if it did?"

"Ember, please. Have you listened to what I've said? The gun is safe now. Nothing will happen as long as it stays like it is now"

After looking at me for a long while, she finally sighed and calmed down. "Alright, fine, I'll believe you. Let's eat before the food gets cold"

The rice was delicious and took my mind off the possibility of the gun having shot itself for some reason back while we were sleeping.

"I suppose the cilinder Mismagious has is some sort of weapon too?" Asked Kit.

"Probably. What did it do to you, Ember?"

"It flashed and blinded us"

"Yeah, that's called a flashbang. You are supposed to throw it after pulling the pin as a way to distract your enemies. I think it's just like the move Flash"

"How do you know about all of this? Did you use these things a lot back in your world?" Questioned Ember.

"I've seen a lot of movies and played a lot of video games when I was young. Those kinds of things just get inserted into your brain without even realizing it"

"Movies?" Asked Ember.

"Video games?" Added Kit.

"I forgot you have nothing like this around these parts..." I said while rubbing the back of my head and chuckling awkwardly.

"Movies are umm... like a book? Yeah, it's like a comic, but instead of being in paper, it's being represented by people. And then you can watch it as many times as you want. Does... that make sense?"

"Well... Yeah! I sort of get it" Kit said.

"Alright, so a video game is a bit harder to explain. Imagine a fight between two Pokémon. A video game is where, for example, you control one of the Pokémon while the other fights for itself. And there are no consequences if you lose. Ummm, something like that?"

"Whaa... Did you understand anything, Ember?"

"Uhh, no"

"It's hard, you know? You would at least have to be slightly familiar with the concept of human technology"

"Well, no worries then. After that music player you showed us last time, I think I have enough dose of human technology for a while. I can still feel that guitar solo playing in my head..." Joked Kit.

"Speaking of..."

"Nope. Sparky told me once that he always has his afternoons full of work. I think he would just tell us to stick the... laptop? Right up our asses"

"Maybe tomorrow morning then?"

"Sure, we can ask him then"

"Guys, the rice is gonna get cold..." Ember warned.

"You know, you sometimes remind me of my own mom"

The table fell silent for the rest of the lunch. It wasn't too long though, as the food Ember prepared was delicious and we ate it very quickly.

"That was amazing!" I sighed.

"You have truly improved your cooking skills ever since I last came here, haven't ya?"

"Try cooking a meal for two Pokémon and see how good you become at cooking! Or actually not. No one wants to eat something that's completely burnt"

Kit stood up from his chair. "So what do you guys want to do now? Any ideas?"

"Well, I wanted to check up that laptop a bit more thoroughly. Maybe you can help me out and make sure I don't break anything?"

"Sure!"

"We'll gladly help!"

"Thanks guys. You are the best!"

"I think you said that like... ten thousand times already?" Laughed Ember while rolling her eyes.

"It's true though!" I chuckled.

Walking towards my bag, I took the laptop out and checked the underside. This looked like a laptop that had a removable battery.

Now that I looked at it, I noticed that the battery was a bit puffed, which meant that if the laptop had actually switched on, it would have most likely ended up very poorly.

"Alright, so I have some bad news"

"Bad news? What are they?"

"Firstly, we are lucky that the laptop didn't switch on" I removed the battery from the device. "You see this? Notice how it looks a bit round? That means that if the laptop switched on, it would most likely have exploded or catched on fire"

I left the battery on the table. "Good news, however, is that laptops can operate without the need of an external battery. This leads us to more bad news, though. Laptops that have their battery removed requiere a constant input of energy, which means that we need Spark not to shock it once, but to be constantly using his electrical power on it"

"That's a big drawback..."

"We could test our luck with trying to use the laptop with its battery in place, but knowing that Raichu can store up to 100,000 volts, I don't want to risk causing an explosion in the middle of the street"

"We'll have to bring him some Elixirs..." Ember thought out loud.

"I can get them for tomorrow. I think I have a few of them in my house, and I can buy more in the Kecleon store" Answered Kit.

"I suppose those are the equivalent to energy drinks from my world?"

"Nah, we got those here too. Elixirs are just for helping a Pokémon recover their power to use moves. Energy drinks just give you energy for everything else"

"Huh... Anyway, time to look at the inside of this thing. I don't know if they exist here , but could you lend me a screwdriver?"

"Yeah, I got one somewhere. Let me check" Answered Ember looking inside the drawers in the kitchen. A few moments later, she came back with the tool in her paws.

"How about this one?"

I picked it up and took a look at it before comparing it with the screws of the laptop.

"Hmm... It may just barely work..."

With big difficulty due to still not being used to having two fingers less, I removed all of the screws and took out the cover.

I was no computer expert, but the wiring and the components didn't look rusty or wet. The only sign of old age was the big amount of dust. Even for the most sophisticated laptops, this was something almost unlikely, but still perfect for this situation.

"I think everything's good around he-" I was interrupted the moment I looked upwards. I saw that both Kit and Ember had beyond astonished expressions. "Something wrong, or...?"

"What even is this?" Ember asked.

"It's full of wires and... human technology!" Added Kit.

"Oh, it's just that. If you think this is amazing, you haven't seen a real computer yet..."

"I've never seen such a big amount of wires together! And what are those plastic pieces?" Questioned Kit.

"If only I knew... I may know how to operate a computer, but how it works is a completely alien thing to me"

"The human world must truly be amazing!"

"Hey, if we find out how I got here, maybe we could use it to go back and show you guys around? I don't know, it would be fun I guess..."

Silence once again fell over us. This time, it was only interrupted by the sound of me putting the laptop's cover back on.

"So what are we going to do this afternoon? We still haven't decided" Asked Kit, interrupting the silence.

"Maybe we could go to a cafe and have something? Just chat about things?" I suggested.

"That sounds great!" Exclaimed Ember.

"Yeah, the perfect setting for a date" Kit teased.

"Team Indigo, are you there? I repeat, team Indigo, are you there? "

"...Or that's going to have to wait for tomorrow..." I sighed, unpinning my badge and answering Blaze's call.

"Yeah, Blaze, I hear you loud and clear. What's up?"

"Jake, we need you and your team here at the town hall as soon as possible! "

"Sure. What's the matter?"

"We'll explain once you get here. See you soon! Over " As quickly as it had began, the call was over.

"Guess your little date is going to have to wait, huh?"

"Shut up and let's go. Let's not make him wait"

Sprinting towards our destination, we saw Blaze talking to a Magnezone in the distance. He was wearing a small cap on his head, just like Spark's, so I guessed he worked for the police.

Next to them, there was what looked like a Typhlosion, but instead of the usual flames sprouting from the back of her head, what looked like ethereal flames were coming out. She also carried what looked like a purple and red collar pattern on her fur.

As far as my human knowledge was concerned, those types of Typhlosion, native to Hisui were long extinct, but again, this world was not like mine, so who knows what else is different?

"Team Indigo! Sorry to interrupt your day off so suddenly after I told you to relax, but officer Magnezone has requested to speak to you today"

"Sure! But, who is...?" I said while looking at the Typhlosion.

"Oh! You haven't met her yet, have you? This is Jessica, the fourth member of team Shadow. She was coming to see her team when officer Magnezone came to tell me he wanted to see you" He answered, making the fire type nod.

"Wait, she is Jessica?"

"Yeah. She is not very keen on talking, so don't expect her to speak too much"

After a small pause, Blaze spoke again. "Anyway, we are leaving you with the officer. Good luck!"

Both of them turned away from us, and began walking away. I could swear I saw the Typhlosion glaring at Kit with a killer look, which sent shivers down my spine.

I didn't have too much time to take it though, as the voice of the Magnezone interrupted my thoughts. "BZZT! Team Indigo, the police department needs your help! BZZT!" The officer said with a mechanical voice.

"Sure! What do you need exactly?"

"I hope you remember the two criminals you arrested a few days ago? BZZT!"

"The Mawile and the Lycanroc?"

"BZZT! Indeed! Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to make them confess anything to us, but we believe they are near their breaking point. It is for that reason that we thought that maybe the team that captured them can give them the push they need! BZZT! BZZT!"

"Wait, you need us to do an interrogation?" Asked Ember.

"Affirmative! BZZT!"

"But we don't know anything about interrogating Pokémon!"

"Speak for yourself! I know a thing or two about exerting my pressure on other 'mon" Kit added with a smirk.

"BZZT! We thank you in advance for helping us! Now if you please, follow me! BZZT! BZZT!"

"Does he have to do the buzzing thing? It's kind of annoying" I whispered to Ember.

"It's a natural thing, I think. Just try your best to ignore it " She whispered back.

We started making our way to the station. We didn't speak too much while we walked, just casual chatter among ourselves. Or that was until someone suddenly shouted our names. "Mommy, look! It's the three Pokémon that saved me!"

Running towards us came a little kid with the form of an Igglybuff. The same one we had saved from those criminals.

Following closely behind, his Wigglytuff mother panted as she came to a stop just behind him. "Alan! What did I tell you about running off on your own? Have you not learnt anything yet?"

"Sorry, mom..."

She deeply sighed and then smiled as she looked at us. "Hello, team Indigo. It's a pleasure to meeting you properly. You have been making a name for yourselves lately, isn't that right?"

"Yeah! You guys are so cool! And thanks so much for saving me! I was so scared when I got inside that dungeon I couldn't even move!"

"Heh, thanks, but we can't be that known, can we?" I sheepishly said.

"Don't be so sure about that! You were already the talk of the town when word spread about you saving my dear Alan, and now you may be one of the most well-known explorer teams in the town! Everyone talks about how well and efficiently you do your jobs and how helpful you are! You should be proud of yourselves!"

"Oh, come on miss! It can't be like that... We are just doing our job" Ember answered, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah, and you don't need to thank us for helping you, kid! It's what anyone would have done!" Kit added with a smirk

"Still, it's only fair you receive a proper thank you. Without your help, I... can't even imagine what would have been of my poor child"

"You are welcome, ma'am"

"Well, now if you don't mind, we should keep going. Thanks again for everything"

"No problem. Goodbye!"

After waving goodbye to the duo, Magnezone urged us to keep walking, so we did just that and followed the steel type.

It didn't take too long to arrive to the Police Station. The building was painted with the stereotypical light blue and white, and had a big metal plate depicting the symbol that was in all of the police Pokémon's caps.

The inside was not much different. The same color of the outside was present on the walls, and the reception consisted of a few seats for visitors to sit and plants to decorate.

We walked through the back door and down some stairs, leading to the prison cells and the interrogation room.

Before entering, Magnezone told us that he had to speak with us for a moment.

"BZZT! Listen, team Indigo. Inside of this room, both of the criminals are present. They have already been interrogated a few times and they have only recently showed signs of budging. We hope you will be able to get something out of them. Both are handcuffed, so they will not be able to use any attacks, and even if they do, officers will enter and help you incapacitate them, understood? BZZT?"

"Clearly, sir!"

A nod later, and the Magnezone floated inside a door that was just next to the other one, leaving us alone.

"Well, are you guys ready?" I asked a bit nervously.

"I guess... Do you think that we'll achieve something? And why let us do the final push?" Ember thought.

"Well, we've been earning a reputation lately, so I guess they believe we can do it? No matter the answer, though, we have to try" Answered Kit, full of determination.

I nodded and took a deep breath. Nodding to the two Pokémon behind me, I grabbed the handle and opened the door.

The inside was just like the typical interrogation room you'd find in any movie about crime: A room with a table, a few chairs and a one way glass, which I assumed it hid any policemen that were watching the interrogation.

On the side of the table farther from the entrance sitting on a chair each were the familiar Mawile and Lycanroc.

"So we meet again" Calmly stated the Lycanroc. Despite that, his expression carried a hint of nervousness and fatigue.

The Mawile, however, looked like she was trying her best not to jump at someone's throat. "Ugh, you again! Do you really think we'll tell you anything? You'll have to beat us to the ground first!" She finally yelled.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

Without any warning, Kit suddenly slammed both of his claws on the table, making everyone in the room jump.

"Listen here, squirt. You think you are tough? Well, we are tougher than what you'll ever be. Not only that, but we also have the law on our side. So any little bullshit and you aren't seeing the light of the sun in a long time, got it?" He almost snarled.

The Mawile just scoffed.

"Oookay!" Interrupted Ember, clapping her paws. "You do know that if you cooperate, it will be easier for both sides. Maybe we can even shorten your stay at prison of you are lucky"

"We w-won't say shit! We may be rookies, but we are loyal to the organization!" Yelled the Lycanroc, a small sweat drop falling from his forehead.

"Organization, huh?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Exclaimed Mawile, managing to slap her partner.

The Lycanroc only winced.

"I think we need to push that Lycanroc all we can. He's the one that's going to fall first" Kit whispered to us.

We nodded.

"What organization are you talking about?"

"Hey! This rookie dumbass may have blurted something he shouldn't have, but he is not going to commit the same mistake twice! Right? " She answered, while looking at her partner with a look that clearly said 'Fuck up again, and I'll kill you myself'.

He rapidly nodded.

"Whatever. Let's just continue. Why did you try kidnapping that kid?"

"Because we needed money, duh! Why else would we want to go after a random kid we found inside the forest?" She answered, sounding almost offended.

"See, now we're getting somewhere!" I looked at the Lycanroc, who was trying to look as small as possible so he wouldn't get noticed. "They told us that they already interviewed you. What exactly did they talk about? If you tell us, we can avoid repeating unnecessary questions"

"Th-They asked about why we did what we did, and if we worked for someone else. They also asked us if we thought about harming the kid, or... k-killing him" He gulped.

"Ember and I will keep pushing, you finish him, okay? " I whispered to Kit.

"Got it"

"And you didn't, did you?" Ember asked, raising a brow.

"N-No! Of course not! We just wanted to get money in exchange for him! We would never think of killing him!"

"We are criminals, not monsters! We would never even think about harming a kid" His partner yelled.

They weren't lying. "Well, that's good to know"

"Why go after him specifically?" Ember kept pressuring.

"I don't know! We just saw a kid alone in the forest and thought it was an easy target!" The Lycanroc was sounding more nervous by the second.

"Who sent you?"

"I-I..." He looked at the Mawile, who was looking at him fiercely. "I... can't answer that"

"You know that if they find proof of you working for an organized criminal band and/or organization, you could spend 30 years in prison at most, right?" Kit suddenly stated.

The Lycanroc widened his eyes. "Yeah, think about it. Up to thirty years of your life rotting in a moldy cell, regretting everything you've done, just because you don't want to answer a simple question. What's it going to be?" He kept going, with a tone that sent shivers down my spine.

"I-..." The Lycanroc was looking more and more nervous by the second. I smirked.

Perfect.

"Now, we'll leave you a few minutes to discuss what you are going to do. Use them wisely" With that, I signaled both of my friends to get out of the room.

The door closed with a loud sound behind us. "Better than I expected. Did you learn how to do it from one of those 'movies'?" Kit said as soon as we exited.

"Sort of, yeah"

"How many of those movies have you watched?" Ember asked.

"A lot of them, but I think we are going off topic. Remember, that Lycanroc looks like he's about to spill everything, so we need a final push. Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Always ready!"

"Then let's some time and hope we are lucky"

After a few minutes of silent waiting, we entered the room again and took a look at its two occupants.

The Mawile was as stoic as a statue. Not a hint of emotion in her face, not even anger. I could only sense a bit of nervousness coming from her, as well as anticipation. She knew who our target was.

The Lycanroc looked on the verge of suffering a panic attack and was sweating a river. After sharing a quick glance, I gave a nod to Kit and he began walking around the table, ocassionally stopping to look at one of them.

Finally, he stopped besides the Lycanroc and again, slammed one of his claws onto the table.

"Alright listen up, you mutt! I don't care about what you two have talked about, you are going to spill everything you know, got it?!"

The Lycanroc had recoiled slightly, and had started to shiver.

"That kid was scared, begging you for mercy! But you what did you do? You chased him until you forced him to enter a Mistery Dungeon! He could have died, but you didn't care at all! But then you go 'Ohh, I would never think about harming a kid'!"

"P-Please, s-stop..." He whimpered.

Kit got closer to the rock type until his face was just mere inches from the Lycanroc's.

"Did you even think about what could have happened? That kid could have been DEAD! And it would have been your fault! Would you be able to sleep at night after that?!"

"Please, just s-stop it!"

Kit then slammed both of his claws on the table once again. "You just have to say who you work for! Is it that hard to say?!"

"That's enough! Leave him alone!" Yelled the Mawile with no anger in her voice, but genuine concern.

Kit didn't particularly seem to care. Instead, he proceeded to pick the Lycanroc from the fur of his chest and lift him up a bit. Small tears could be seen in his eyes.

"JUST SAY WHO YOU WORK FOR! SAY IT NOW, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

"Alright, ALRIGHT! I'll talk, I'll talk! But please, for the love of Arceus, just... leave me alone" He desperately yelled. The Mawile tried to free herself from the handcuffs to stop it, but it was useless.

Kit dropped him onto the chair.

The Lycanroc sniffed, managing to wipe one of the tears from his eyes. "We work for an organization, okay? We were sent by our boss because the guild needed some more money, so everyone was tasked with helping. It was our first mission, and they didn't bother giving us any equipment. We... we failed it miserably"

"Answer my question" Kit snarled.

After a long pause, and pleas for silence from the Mawile, he deeply sighed.

"We work for... the Rocket Guild"

A tense silence fell over the room, which I could literally feel. Ember's face seemed to go pale, and even if I couldn't see them, I could swear that something similar was happening to the policemen behind the glass.

The confusion on my face was apparent, but Kit appeared not only confused, but also afraid. But that couldn't compare to the sense of dread he was feeling.

"You're lying! They have been gone for years now! TELL US THE FUCKING TRUTH!"

"I-I'm not lying, I swear! That's what everyone believes, but it has been secretly operating for a few years now under the orders of a new boss!"

"Who is that new boss? Tell me! Or I swear I'll...!"

"I don't know! We are rookies! We don't know anything about the higher ups' identities! P-Please! That's all we know!" He cried. Even if the Pokémon sitting in front of me had tried kidnapping a kid, I still felt a bit pity.

"Is it true?" Kit asked, whipping his head at the Mawile, who just sighed in defeat and nodded.

"We are done here" He stated, turning around and opening the door, followed by him leaving.

What the...?

Ember still hadn't moved an inch.

"Ember? Come on, we are done! Let's go!" I told her, nudging her.

She finally seemed to snap out of it, and gulped. I opened the door, but before leaving, I took one last look at the room and eyed the crying Lycanroc and the Mawile who was trying to pat his back. She shot an angry look at me.

I muttered the word 'sorry' and closed the door behind me.

The tension outside in the hallway could be cut with a knife. Both Kit and Ember were leaned against the wall, each with a different emotion in their faces.

Ember was scared. Ever since the Lycanroc said who they worked for, she carried a fearful expression, as if she was terrified of what she had just heard.

I was confused, but of course, why wouldn't I be? This was obviously an important revelation, but I had no idea about who that 'Rocket Guild' was.

Kit had a mixture of both. He seemed confused, just as I was, as if he couldn't believe it, but he was also scared. Perhaps, even more than what Ember was.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door from the room next to the one we were just in opened, and three policemen came from it, among them, officer Magnezone.

"Team Indigo, thank you for your help. The Police Department thanks you three for helping with this investigation. Now, we will review everything and... inform all the police stations around the continent about it" He simply stated.

I noticed how he didn't do any buzzing anymore, which oddly terrified me. He turned around about to leave.

"They... they are lying, right?" Dreadfully asked Ember before he went away.

"We hope they are, but... If they are not, may Arceus have mercy on us"

And with that, he disappeared behind a corner.

"Team Indigo, I'll escort you out. Follow me, please" A Furret told us, wearing the same cap as the officer. I supposed he was another officer that was behind the glass since he sounded stressed.

Without any more words, we followed him outside.

Despite not being later than six PM, Kit had already headed home, and Ember and I were both sitting on her sofa.

No one had spoken a word since we had exited the police station, making me feel a bit awkward.

Finally, I tried breaking the silence. "Umm... may I ask... what's going on? Why are all of you so depressed and scared suddenly?"

"They are back" She plainly stated.

"Who?"

"Them. The Rocket Guild"

"Back? What do you mean?"

"Of course! You haven't heard about them, have you?"

I shook my head.

"They are a criminal band, Jake. The worst criminal band to ever exist! They kidnap, kill, torture,... you name it! Just to get what they want. Why do you think this place is called 'New Hope Town'? It was renamed in honor of the guild being disbanded a few years ago. But now... they are back. I didn't think of this before, but this must be why there has been this much crime lately. They... they are back, stronger than ever, and under the orders of a new boss, probably much worse than the old one, and we didn't even know it."

"Woah! That's terrible! How was it disbanded?"

"Apparently, the old leader decided that he didn't want to do that anymore, and somehow managed to destroy it from the inside. No one knew, or knows who the leader is. They were known to take part in their operations, but no one even knows their species. After everything happened though, no one knows where they are now. Some say they died. Others say they simply live a normal life now somewhere. No one knows for sure, but one thing is clear: If It wasn't for them, things wouldn't be as they are now"

"That's... pretty heroic in my opinion"

"Yeah, but their past outweights the good actions"

"And there wasn't any attempt to find the leader?"

"They tried, but a few days after the search party was formed, a letter appeared in the police station. Apparently, it was from the leader. It stated that whoever sent it was terribly sorry for everything they'd done, and that they had disappeared forever, so there weren't too many attempts to search for them after that"

"I hope that wherever they are, they are okay"

"Yeah, until the police spreads the news, that is"

While Ember and me were talking, Kit was in his room frantically searching for something. If his house wasn't already messy, the search would have done it.

"Fuck, where are you? The only time I need you and you're nowhere to be found!" He growled, mostly to himself.

Finally, from the pile of unfolded scarves he just picked up, a small piece of paper fell. He stood some time looking at it, unmoving, dreading to even come close to it.

After a sigh and a gulp, he left the scarves on a table and picked the paper up from the ground and began reading its contents.

"I expected a betrayal from the lowest rank members. I could even have expected a betrayal from team Alpha itself, but this? This is beyond imaginable. My own family, my own partner, betraying not only me, but the whole organization we worked so hard to build. Now, here comes my question:

You think that will stop us?

When you least expect it, when you think there is nothing to worry about, when you have finally gotten used to your pathetic new life of yours and completely forgotten about us...

We'll rise again from the ashes. And this time, no one will stop us. I hope you live the rest of your miserable life regretting your decissions. -L"

Kit set the paper down on top of one of the tables, and sat down on his bed, clutching his head, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. He hadn't given that paper much thought before, but now, ir was something he couldn't scape from.

It was a reality now, after all.

"T-They are back"

"Bad news!" Yelled Mismagious, barging into his team's room in the town's hotel. It was a small room they only used on special occasions, as a base of operations outside of HQ.

All three occupants jumped when the door opened.

"Hey!" Snapped the twins.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking on the door?" Exclaimed Jessica.

"There's no time for that! This is bad! Oh, so bad!" The ghost type continued while floating from one side of the room to another nervously.

"Hey! Calm down, okay? What's wrong?" The Typhlosion inquired.

"Shitshithshit, alright!"

After a couple of deep breaths, Mismagious sighed. "Remember those rookies that failed the mission and got arrested?"

"The Lycanroc and the Mawile? How was it... team Steel Rock?"

"Yeah! Well, guess what! The fucking little mutt just told the police everything about the guild!"

Silence fell in the room, and the book Jessica was holding fell onto the ground. "What?" She roared.

"And that's not the end of it!"

"Don't say that!" Kate exclaimed.

"There's even more?" Nate added.

"You'll never guess who was interrogating them!"

"Please, don't tell me..."

"Yeah! The little human and his team!"

Even more silence. "Well, it's not thaaat bad, is it?" Tried to reason Kate.

"Yeah, the human doesn't know about us! He can't know what the Rocket Guild is!" Nate supported his sister.

"Do I have to remind you of who is in that team?" Growled Jessica.

"Well, the Lucario, that Braixen and... oh..."

"This is bad! The police is going to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity! We can't let any of the spies get too close to the city or they'll get arrested and interrogated! And we don't know who will snitch!"

Jessica pondered it for a bit, before finally grumbling. "It appears there isn't anything else to do..."

"You don't mean..."

"We are going with plan Z" She said while standing up.

"Jess! You can't be serious! We still haven't even-"

"Hush! Tomorrow evening, I want every team in their respective positions, ready to strike. We are going to take this little town down before anything spreads out, and also take a little trio of Pokémon with us on the way. I want every single inhabitant incapacitated, unconscious or dead before anyone tries to go get those three, GOT IT?!"

The three of them nodded, fear in their faces.

"Good" She said while walking out of the room. Before she disappeared from their view, she turned to look at them.

"I already told you not to call me by that name if it isn't necessary, Mismagious" She simply said.

Shakily, Mismagious picked his rocket shaped badge and pressed a button on it.

"Uhhh... to anyone that's listening, initiate Plan Z, I repeat, initiate Plan Z. Boss wants everything set up before tomorrow evening, you copy?"

"Copy that "

"Roger "

"Got it "

"Alright. Keep in mind, don't let anyone see you too much and remember the plan: We need those three, alive. That goes for you, Archer"

"Whatever "

"You can do whatever you want with rest of the town, but remember to extract all the spies among the townsfolk. Over"

Mismagious left hid badge back in his bag and looked at the twins, who hadn't even moved since the ghostly Typhlosion had left.

"What are you waiting for? Pack your things. This is the last time we are in this room, so don't leave anything behind"

He looked towards the door and closed his eyes. "We have a team to catch"

END OF CHAPTER 10

Honestly, this must be one of the chapters I'm less happy about. I wanted to make it longer, but I don't know what I could add, and some of the writting still sucks, but I hope you like it nonetheless.

Remember to leave a review with anything, even if it's just critics. They make my day.

See you on the next chapter! Because there we are so close to finishing this rewrite.