"You made a mistake sticking your nose in a place it doesn't belong, kid," the first Rocket – a twenty-something blonde man – sneered. "But thanks for bringing us some valuable Pokemon. A Larvitar and something that even I haven't seen before."
Ash gritted his teeth and clutched the stun baton in his hand tighter. Team Rocket stirred up a multitude of emotions inside of him, including malice and rage he didn't even realize he had in him. Dark memories flooded his mind.
Cold metal crushing bone, complete helplessness, failure.
Everything in him urged him to charge ahead with his team and get some satisfying retribution. Except he wasn't the same person they met in Pewter. Zeal had been tempered by experience. He wasn't stupid enough to overestimate himself this time. He had no illusions that there were likely higher ranking members with more firepower somewhere in the compound.
But if it was a fight they wanted…he could handle a few grunts.
"Aurora, Ice Shard," Ash muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.
Aurora created a large ball of ice in her mouth and hurled it at the Team Rocket member's head, forcing him to leap out of the way.
"Take out the Larvitar and the fox, then go after the boy!" the second Team Rocket member – a forty-something man with short black hair – ordered.
Ekans slithered towards Titan and spewed crystallized barbs of venom from his mouth that Titan batted away after shielding himself with Iron Defense.
Ekans quickly changed tactics and lunged at Titan, wrapping his body around Titan's legs to try to trip him up.
Aurora fired a very weak stream of icy breath to aid her teammate. The Larvitar seized his foe who had loosened his grip due to the shock of the cold air and chomped down on the serpent.
Ekans let out an agonized hiss and thrashed in hopes to break free from Titan's grip, prompting Drowzee to intervene with a wave of glowing telekinetic energy.
Aurora fired a couple shards of ice to intercept the pathetic excuse for a Psychic attack, creating a stalemate between the telekinetic energy and the massive chunks of ice. A more experienced telepath wouldn't have any issue throwing the ice back at his foe, but the inexperienced Drowzee had his concentration broken from trying to block Aurora's barrage of Ice Shards.
Aurora seized on the distraction and fired a blast of cold air in Drowzee's face that caused the telepath to shudder. Drowzee fired a iridescent beam of telekinetic energy at Aurora only for Titan to jump in front of the blast to shield his teammate and use the beam against Ekans.
While the beam barely made Titan flinch due to Iron Defense helping soften the blow, Ekans lacked the same armor.
Titan shrugged off the Psybeam and turned his head, swinging Ekans and slamming his head into the wall repeatedly.
Drowzee fired off another wave of telekinetic energy that knocked Titan off his feet and threw him into the wall, causing him to release Ekans from his jaws.
Bloodied, battered, and bruised, Ekans hissed and turned his gaze upon Ash. He opened his mouth and spewed barbs of crystallized venom aimed for Ash's head.
Aurora fired off an Ice Shard to block the barbs of venom and growled at Ekans for having the audacity to try to kill Ash. She retaliated with a Freeze-Dry. The stinging cold of Aurora's breath caused Ekans to recoil. His species wasn't built to withstand the cold, especially when that cold air was Aurora's icy breath capable of inflicting instant frostbite. It made them lethargic and dulled the senses.
Aurora alternated between Powder Snow's weak icy gusts and the more powerful gales of Freeze-Dry to wear down her foe. Drowzee fired off another Psybeam to try to distract Aurora from Ekans only for Titan to tear up part of the floor of the trailer and toss it up into the air to block the incoming beam of telekinetic energy.
Ekans felt his eyelids grow heavy and spewed dozens of venomous barbs at both Ash and Aurora in a last-ditch effort at taking out his foes.
Ash dropped to the floor to duck underneath the barrage of Poison Sting while Aurora blocked the remaining needles by deflecting them with Ice Shard. A single Ice Shard to the head was all that needed to subdue the exhausted serpent.
The older Team Rocket member reached for the other Poke Balls on his belt. "Last chance, you are about to be outnumbered. Surrender your Pokemon and we won't be forced to resort to force." he warned.
"It's a little late to use that now, don't you think?" Ash retorted as he reached for Orion and Typhoon's Poke Balls before tapping the release button and causing them to expand in size.
The older Team Rocket grunt shrugged. "We have been showing restraint," he remarked before a Mankey, Meowth, and Raticate appeared in front of him in a flash of light.
His younger partner immediately followed suit. An undersized Golbat, likely only recently evolved or evolved before fully ready for the next stage of development; a Spearow, and a second Ekans were released onto the battlefield.
"Final warning, brat!" the younger blonde shouted.
Ash snorted. The tiny pin pricks left in the trailer walls from Ekans' Poison Sting barbs told him everything about their idea of warning and restraint.
A part of him wanted to tell them he had been holding back too, but he figured it would be more fun to show them. A second tap of the release released Orion and Typhoon from their Poke Balls in a bright flash of light.
Orion tensed and stamped his front hoof on the ground impatiently at the sight of Team Rocket's familiar black uniforms. Typhoon snarled and bared his fangs, challenging his potential foes.
And immediately all hell broke loose.
Orion spewed a gout of crimson fire that set the Meowth's fur ablaze. The feline Pokemon let out a bloodcurdling yowl of agony and crumpled to the ground.
Mankey snarled and charged ahead, drawing back a glowing fist only for Titan to rumble forward and grab his foe's fist with his jaws. A soft snap accompanied Titan clamping down on his enemy's fist with his powerful jaws and snapping the bones in Mankey's hand.
Raticate darted towards Typhoon and lunged at him, baring its fangs. Typhoon channeled draconic energy through his body and batted his enemy away with a quick flick of his arm. Raticate skidded across the floor and lunged at the water type again with killing intent as it opened its jaws wide. Typhoon snarled while forming a massive sphere of water in his left claw and thrust it straight into Raticate's head. The concussive force of the attack combined with Typhoon practically slamming Raticate over the head with the technique left the rat Pokemon unconscious on the floor.
Typhoon turned his attention to Drowzee who was firing off weak waves of telekinesis to ward off chunks of ice thrown by Aurora. Typhoon helped break the stalemate by rushing in and slashing at the psychic with his razor sharp claws, forcing it back.
Drowzee formed flimsy psychic barriers that shattered with each swipe of the Totodile's class. Distracted by the physical fighter, it never noticed the Moonblast whizzing towards it until it was too late. A loud crack accompanied by a bright flash and Drowzee was thrown across the room.
A sharp shriek turned Ash's attention away from Aurora and Typhoon's battle with Drowzee. Golbat darted ahead and flapped its wings to unleash blades of air. The trainer backpedaled, narrowly evading the first barrage.
The flurry of blades hit the floor and the walls of the trailer behind him, leaving deep scratches and dents where they struck. Ash's right eye twitched. Definitely not something he wanted hitting him.
Golbat flapped its wings again. Two, three, four blades of air sailed down from above. Ash zigzagged and jumped out of the way of the incoming Air Cutter attacks, backing further and further into the trailer.
Ash took another few steps back to narrowly avoid another flurry of attacks. He squinted. Going from the light to the dark again bothered his eyes and more importantly gave Golbat an advantage. He couldn't see the bat very well, although he heard beating wings – and at a faster pace than usual.
Ash felt a breeze start to blow around him strong enough to push him backward before a strong gust befitting of a storm outright lifted him up off the ground. He wheezed from the air being knocked out of his lungs from being slammed against the metal wall of the trailer with a thud.
Where were his teammates when he needed them?
More blades of air were whizzing towards him. Ash scrambled to his feet only to stumble over a box and land on the floor facefirst, spilling the contents all over the floor.
The stumble proved to be fortuitous in more than one way. Not only had he avoided getting sliced up, but he now had something to even the score. Given the fact that Golbat was darting towards him, it couldn't have come at a better time. Ash scooped up a stun baton in each hand and sprang onto his feet.
A touch of a button and both batons were fully active. Instead of retreating from his attacker as it bared its fangs to bite him, Ash stepped towards his foe and swung both batons in a short and compact x-like motion. Electrified metal crackled as it touched flesh and sent unknown amounts of electricity through Golbat's body. The poison type screeched in agony before plummeting to the ground with a soft thunk.
Ash spared the bat Pokemon a brief glance. Alive but incapacitated. He charged forward to join up with the rest of his team. Judging by the unconscious Pokemon on the ground, his team had won. More importantly, the Team Rocket members were retreating.
Ash gritted his teeth. They were retreating.
"Orion, Aurora, take them down!"
Orion charged ahead and dropped his head before ramming it into the older grunt's back. The man screamed as he tumbled forward and skidded across the concrete floor. The man groaned and tried to get up but merely slumped to the ground again due to his likely injuries.
Aurora followed suit and sprinted after the younger, blonde Team Rocket member as she formed an Ice Shard in her mouth. A large chunk of ice whizzed through the air and hit the man in the back, causing him to wipeout like his partner.
Ash pumped his fist, although he didn't get long to enjoy his team's successful takedown. He couldn't help but notice the blonde reaching for something.
"This isn't over, brat," he hissed through clenched teeth as he unclipped a radio from his belt.
"Don't let him use the radio!" Ash shouted.
Aurora yipped and locked the man in place with Disable just before he could press the button to speak. Ash rushed over and kicked the radio out of his hand, sending it skidding across the cement floor and out of the man's reach..The blonde man inched forward on his belly and reached his hand out for the radio only for Aurora to trap him in place with Disable and Ash to press the end of one of the stun batons against the man's back.
"Move so much as a finger and we'll see the voltage on Team Rocket stun batons." Ash warned.
The Team Rocket grunt snorted. "Like a brat like you would have the guts!"
Ash activated the baton in his left hand for a split second and slammed it down next to the man's head, causing sparks to jump from the point of contact with the ground.
"Want to try that theory out?" Ash hissed before motioning for Orion. "Orion, hold him down!"
Orion whinnied as he trotted and stepped on the Team Rocket member's arms, prompting a wince from the blonde due to the weight of the Ponyta pressing his arms against the solid concrete. Ash couldn't help but smirk at the reversal of the situation in Pewter.
A dark part of him enjoyed this. Not that he would indulge in it…too much.
He pointed to the other Team Rocket member with the stun baton in his left hand. "Typhoon, Titan – make sure the other Team Rocket member doesn't go anywhere or try anything," he instructed.
The water type grumbled enthusiastically and sprinted over to their defeated foe with Titan following suit, rumbling ahead with plodding footsteps. Typhoon towered over the man like a conqueror standing atop his foe.
"Good work, guys!" he exclaimed before turning his attention to the defeated Team Rocket grunt at his feet.
"How adorable, you named them?" the blonde mocked.
"More memorable when they win, wouldn't you say?" Ash retorted, shutting the blonde man up at least for a moment.
Ash took a deep breath. He had his attackers subdued. While he had taken down Team Rocket members before, he hadn't really been in a situation where they were restrained. What was the smart thing to do?
He did a careful look around the room. The last thing he wanted was to be caught off guard by not realizing the loading dock was under surveillance by camera and more Team Rocket goons were coming. Fortunately, he wasn't seeing any cameras which meant they were not in any imminent danger.
His next instinct told him to question them, get answers, and gain more intel about the facility. But the more rational part of him immediately rejected the idea. Even if he could pry information out of them, what would he do with it? March through the rest of the base, hoping to overpower everyone in his way? He had tried that once already and it resulted with him pinned beneath a heavy metal statue at the Pewter Museum. Only the insane tried the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
"Bite off more than you can chew, brat?" the blonde grunt mocked.
Ash pressed the stun baton in his hand to the blonde Team Rocket grunt's side and turned the device on, sending a jolt through the man's body that rendered him unconscious.
If nothing else, he was shutting the loudmouth up. He was definitely getting on his nerves and trying to make sure he was restrained was a bit of a pain. Zapping him unconscious was a good first step to determining a course of action.
Ash glanced down at his PokeNav before tapping the touch screen and calling the police. The Celadon Police and the gym could handle these creeps.
A faint dial tone rang for a few seconds before a woman answered the call. "Celadon Police…you have an emergency?"
Ash recoiled at the sardonic tone. "My name is Ash Ketchum and I want to report criminal activity. I called regarding a critically wounded Raticate earlier." he began only to be interrupted.
"Look, we have better things to do than look into wounded Pokemon. If that's all you…"
Ash gritted his teeth. "Let me finish!" he snapped. "I decided to do some investigating because I had suspicions that it had been wounded by a trainer. I traced the trail back to the Game Corner and stumbled across some Team Rocket members from the Game Corner who came out from the loading dock. The place is crawling with Team Rocket members."
The operator on the other end of the line went silent for a good thirty seconds. Her tone shifted. "Hold on, you came face to face with Team Rocket members?"
"Yes!" Ash insisted. "Black uniforms, red R insignia, and threatened to call reinforcements."
"Are you absolutely sure that you saw Team Rocket?"
Ash rolled his eyes. "Did I stutter?" he replied, a hint of frustration starting to leak into his voice.
"We'll send units and get the gym involved right away."
"That's all I ask," Ash replied before hanging up and turning, looking back at the doors of the loading dock.
He motioned for his team. "Gather around, I'm returning you guys to your Poke Balls. I think it's time to get out of here. I called the police and they should be able to take care of this."
Typhoon grumbled and folded his arms, seemingly annoyed he was being deprived of his guard duty and an opportunity to fight while Titan seemed far more upbeat that they were done. Orion gave him a disappointed look but acquiesced while Aurora merely yipped in agreement.
Ash returned his entire team to their Poke Balls and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, he froze in his tracks. While he called the police and was sure they could handle themselves, a horrifying thought came to mind.
Who was to ensure they didn't get rid of the evidence when the police arrived? What if they decided to kill off Pokemon or tried to take them with them as their operation collapsed around them?
Maybe they couldn't save them, maybe he couldn't stop them from getting away, and he certainly couldn't stop them by force; but something had to be done.
Ash's eyes lit up upon eyeing the unconscious Team Rocket grunts lying on the floor. The older man's uniform was far too big for him, but the loudmouthed blonde's uniform was just about his size.
Perhaps the jerk had some usefulness after all.
Ash pocketed both Team Rocket members' IDs, swiped the radio transceiver lying on the ground, and clipped the stun batons he had found to his belt.
He adjusted his right sleeve and gave himself a once over. The black uniform was still a little baggy on him even though he was wearing it over his clothes but he looked the part of a Team Rocket member.
It was time to take a risk, albeit a calculated one. He was going to sabotage their operation from the inside – or at least explore the place, gather evidence, and scope things out to make sure Team Rocket didn't destroy things before the police arrived.
Ash left the loading dock behind, opting to wander amongst rows of wooden pallets stocked with food, medical supplies, racks of alcohol, labeled crates of various types of capture balls, and large cases filled with the disks used for TMs until he reached a narrow hallway that led away from the loading dock and supplies.
Cement floor gave way to white tile once he made it to the end of the dimly lit hallway. He stopped upon running into what felt like a wall and tapped the touch screen of his PokeNav to cause the device's screen to light up. Using the light of the screen to illuminate his surroundings, Ash gave the wall in front of him a quick once over.
Apparently, the wall in front of him was not a wall but rather a door – a heavy metal door with a push bar lock system at that. He frowned, somewhat leery of what awaited him in the next room.
He imagined it led to areas restricted to the Game Corner staff like the kitchen, offices, or control rooms for surveillance. Once he entered, there was likely no turning back.
Ash reluctantly pushed against the lock and opened the door before stepping into the main building. He winced due to how much brighter the room was compared to the hallway and held his hand over his eyes to shield them from the lights on the ceiling. It took a good thirty to forty-five seconds for his eyes to finally acclimate to the change in lighting but he glanced around the room once his eyes adjusted.
White tile floors and matching sterile white walls surrounded him…no wonder he had trouble seeing. The lights alone weren't the only reason everything seemed brighter. The white interior of the room was a stark contrast to the dingy loading dock and warehouse and made the color pop.
Ash pressed onward, occasionally peeking inside the rooms as he moved down the corridor. The first room had a desk and several file cabinets while the second room had a large table and chairs all around the table. Two rooms became four and four became six, but the constant remained that each room either was some sort of conference room or an office. His tour was quickly proving to be far less exciting than he expected due to the fact he wasn't finding anything of significance.
He turned a corner and another – both of which merely led to more hallways and the occasional office. Although he flinched upon reaching a wider corridor and seeing three Team Rocket members – a teenage guy with slicked back black hair, a young brunette, and a portly, middle aged man – frantically darting in and out of an office far larger than the other offices in the facility.
All three carried cardboard boxes full of papers and shoved them into a metal trash can set up in the middle of the hallway. The portly man leaned the can forward, allowing a Growlithe at his feet to spew fire into the garbage can and ignite the documents.
The brunette woman and the teen scooped armfuls of paper and dumped them into the fire, causing the flames to surge.
Woosh!
Orange flames flickered up from the garbage can and the occasional pop was accompanied with glowing embers floating upward and dancing in the air.
Ash grimaced. He hated to watch them burn the papers that were in all likelihood information about their activities. Financial statements, the names of people involved, people connected to any projects at the Game Corner – were they worth blowing his cover for?
He moved his hand towards one of the Poke Balls clipped to his belt only to stop upon noticing the emblems on their uniforms. Judging by the patches on their sleeves, they were distinguished and higher up on the command chain than the average footsoldier. Fighting them likely wasn't a good idea, especially when he didn't know what Pokemon the three Team Rocket members had.
"What are you doing here?" the portly man scolded, an accusatory tone in his voice.
"Yeah, you shouldn't be back here!" the brunette chimed in.
Ash's eyes widened. Was his disguise not believable enough? Had he been figured out already?
His left hand crept down to his belt and hovered over a Poke Ball once more while his right hand grazed the handle of one of his stun batons.
"I…Pardon?"
"We don't have much time, don't know how they found the place but the police found us and are raiding the place. We're trying to destroy as much paperwork as we can, but Koji is going to need some help in the laboratory with some of the merchandise and with the Berserkers." the portly man remarked.
Ash raised an eyebrow. He hadn't ever heard that term before.
"Don't just stand there, get moving!" The portly man barked, pointing down the hallway.
"Yes, sir," Ash replied, running down the hallway as fast as he could in hopes of finding whatever room he was being sent to.
He peeked over his shoulder.
He couldn't help but be conflicted as he watched them toss more papers into the burn barrel. On one hand, he felt relief they hadn't seen through his cover but he also felt guilty he was just letting them burn evidence that could be used against them.
It wasn't too late to try to salvage the documents. Could the combined strength of his team overpower them?
Ash pushed the thought aside. As dismayed as he was about the evidence, he was being given a bigger opportunity. While he wasn't sure he wanted to know what a Berserker was, he had the distinct impression that going to the lab and encountering them was more important.
He made his way through another hallway and paused for a moment. The hallway offered him two separate directions – another long hallway and a large, brightly lit room.
Ash stepped through the swinging doors and gasped upon taking a quick look around the room.
The laboratory was far bigger than he expected.
Shelves of books stood at the very back of the room. Rows upon rows of cages like the one he saw in the loading dock were stacked on top of each other with some of the stacks nearly touching the ceiling.
Ash gagged a bit from the sight of bloodied Pokemon inside several of the cages, many of which were bruised and bloodied from gashes on their heads. Others appeared to have chipped teeth, specifically a couple Raticate and an Eevee. Judging by a couple deranged Meowth mindlessly beating their heads on the cage bars or biting them, the wound likely had hurt themselves by attacking the cage bars.
A few that hadn't hurt themselves out of mindless anger had cuts and incisions on their bodies similar to the deep gashes the wounded Raticate he and his team stumbled upon had. The Spearow, Rattata, and Ekans that suffered this fate were alive but just barely clinging to life.
Those that weren't physically wounded were clearly mentally wounded, lying flat on the floor of the cage with a spacey stare. They were alive but their glassy eyes clearly indicated they weren't all there.
A few (specifically a Poliwag, a Zubat, and Pidgey) were outright dead – face down on the floor of their cage – which might have been a blessing given what state the other Pokemon were in.
Ash swore under his breath. To maim, to mutilate, to kill, to treat life with so much disregard…he shouldn't have expected any less from the organization that tried to kill him in Pewter but his mind still could not comprehend just how sick they truly were.
A rail-thin redhead in a lab coat shuffled over to Ash and adjusted his glasses. "Thank Mew, some help," the scientist laughed as he dipped the syringe in his hand into a beaker containing some unknown liquid. "I underestimated what it takes to put Berserkers down, they'll need another dose and we don't have much time."
Before Ash could even react, the scientist stuck the needle through the cage bars and jabbed a Spearow in the side with the syringe to inject the chemicals. In a matter of seconds, the bird shrieked in agony and spasmed on the bottom of the cage violently.
"Works like a charm," the scientist beamed.
No more than thirty seconds and the Spearow lay on the floor of the cage lifeless. Ash's right eye twitched and he felt his blood boil.
"Don't just stand there, let's get the rest," the scientist instructed, pointing to another syringe on the table.
Ash's unclipped Aurora's Luxury Ball from his belt.
"Aurora, Disable," Ash instructed as the Alolan Vulpix emerged from stasis.
The scientist turned and scowled at him only for Aurora to hold him in place with telekinesis. Ash reached for one of the stun batons clipped to his belt and thrust the weapon into the man's chest before activating the stun baton. The man whimpered as Aurora released him from her telekinetic grip and let him fall to the ground unceremoniously. His arm twitched, seemingly creeping towards his belt for a Poke Ball. Ash jabbed him in the chest a second and third time for good measure until he finally went unconscious.
One down. Unfortunately, the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway behind him meant it was far too early to celebrate. Had the other Rocket members he encountered in the hall heard them? Were they coming to check on their progress?
Ash reached for Typhoon, Titan, and Orion's Poke Balls. Whatever the case, they were going to have to fight their way out.
"Get on the ground!" a shrill voice rang out.
Ash pivoted to face the likely deluge of reinforcements only for a plume of dust to swirl around the room.
Ash screamed in pain from inhaling the dust and he felt his eyes water. Not only did the dust burn his eyes but inhaling the substance made his lungs and sinuses feel like they were on fire.
He lifted the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth, hoping to shield himself from the worst of the haze but it seemed to do little good.
A few seconds of exposure and the world began to spin around violently. He staggered backwards due to the spinning catching him off guard and making him dizzy.
Even with his face covered, whatever was already in his system continued to work its magic. Ash felt his eyelids go heavy and his brain was left in a fog. He tried to resist and shrug off the sudden exhaustion he felt but he realized he was only fighting the inevitable.
He was way too tired and judging from Aurora lying on the floor beside him she wasn't holding up any better.
Ash fell face down on the floor and shut his eyelids, succumbing to his exhaustion before everything went black.
Ash groaned. His sinuses burned, his eyes stung and he couldn't stop the tears rolling down his cheeks from whatever was hurting his eyes, and the world around him was spinning. He tried to rub his aching head only to realize his hands were behind his back and bound.
He tapped his wrists against the floor beneath him to figure out what he was bound with. Judging by the weight and the faint sound they made when he tapped them against the ground, whoever decided to restrain him used handcuffs – metal handcuffs at that. A shiver traveled down his spine as the realization hit him that he was restrained in a place crawling with Team Rocket members.
His body's fight or flight response kicked in and the adrenaline coursing through his veins made his mind a tiny bit sharper, took away some of the lethargy, and his vision a bit clearer due to his focus from the adrenaline. Even if it wasn't negating all the lingering side effects completely, it certainly helped.
Ash squinted, trying to make out his surroundings through his watering eyes. He couldn't make out or find Aurora but he could make out the faint silhouette of a girl moving towards him even if he couldn't make out any details thanks to the dust or powder he had been doused with. His heart sank, memories of Pewter flooding his mind as he could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer.
Was this where he died? Ash gritted his teeth. Even if they tried to kill him, he wouldn't go down without a fight. If he could press one of the release buttons against the body of his foe or against a solid surface…all he needed was one of his teammates to give himself a fighting chance.
"Oh good, you're up," the girl squeaked. "Because I have a lot of questions to ask you!"
Ash's dread vanished due to the sound of her voice and he couldn't help but laugh. She sounded young – only a few years older than he was.
"What are you laughing about, Rocket scum?" the girl hissed.
Ash couldn't help but laugh even more – mostly out of relief. The police had arrived and with them likely came backup from the gym.
"You think this is funny?" she hissed, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up off the floor.
He immediately stopped laughing, partially from him composing himself and partially from remembering he had a Team Rocket uniform on which came with its own set of problems.
"I'm not Team Rocket," he blurted out.
The girl snorted. "What kind of fool do you take me for? You just happen to have the uniform, the weapons, and magically found yourself here."
"I put on the uniform from a grunt to sneak around…"
"You have got to be…" the girl interrupted, clearly agitated at this point if the frustration leaking out into her voice was any indication.
"I called the police and…" Ash interjected only to be cut off.
"Like I'm supposed to believe that,"
"Let him go, June, I can handle this," a soft, yet authoritative voice rang out from afar.
"Yes, ma'am," the younger girl practically whimpered, scurrying away if the frantic footsteps moving away from him was any indication.
Another set of footsteps tapped on the floor and the silhouette of a taller woman moved closer. A radiant light glowed from behind the woman and gave her an almost angelic appearance.
In a matter of seconds, he felt substantial relief from his pain. His sinuses were no longer burning and his weariness had lifted. A hand caressed his chin and tilted his head up before a chilly liquid was dropped into his eyes that soothed them.
Ash blinked away the eye drops to see just who had helped him. The young woman flashed a polite smile, even if her eyes seemed to convey her distrust from the way she kept her looking down at the Poke Balls and Luxury Ball attached to his belt. He recognized this young woman. The flowery kimono patterned after Meganium definitely gave her identity away.
Erika – the Kindly Sage of Celadon – had come to deal with this situation herself. She motioned for a tiny, white fairy clinging tightly to the stem of an orange flower as it floated towards Ash and stared at him inquisitively. Ash flashed the creature a smile.
"Hello, uhh…" he greeted, pausing as he realized that he actually didn't have a clue what he was even looking at. He definitely would have scanned the mysterious Pokemon with his Pokedex to identify it if his hands weren't restrained. "Little guy?"
The flower Pokemon recoiled in disgust and her eyes narrowed to slits.
"This is Dawn and she does not like being referred to in such a dismissive way." Erika remarked.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult her, just not familiar with this species of Pokemon. Never seen anything like her, actually."
Erika seemingly ignored the comment although his explanation seemed to placate the irritated flower Pokemon.
"Never mind that, it is rather unimportant. I let Floette heal you because I have some questions for you. I recommend your cooperation, it would be rather dishonorable for you to repay our kindness with hostility."
Ash blinked. "Dishonorable?"
"Yes, but just because we are not on the same side doesn't mean this has to be…uncivilized."
Ash took a deep breath, realizing this was quickly going in the same direction as the last conversation even if Erika was much more polite in her approach. "Hold on, where is Auro – err, my Pokemon?"
"Your Pokemon has been returned to its Luxury Ball to reduce the chance of confrontation and as a gesture of goodwill returned to you, although that Pokemon brings up a question in and of itself of how Team Rocket has gotten their hands on Alolan Pokemon. And I would hope you would answer truthfully." Erika said, making sure to emphasize the last part.
"You guys keep saying that, but I'm not Team Rocket."
"Yes, I am aware this is what you told my gym trainer, but as much as I'd like to believe you, even you have to understand that such a claim is…dubious." Erika replied.
"I know, it's hard to believe but that's the truth. Have a psychic type read my mind or something, run some sort of lie detector test."
Erika rubbed her chin in thought. Ash could basically see the wheels in her head turning. "That sounds fair enough…umm, my apologies, I did not get your name."
"My name is Ash Ketchum, I'm a Pokemon trainer who is from Pallet Town,"
"Alright, Mr. Ketchum,"
Ash winced. Being referred to like he was an old man just sounded wrong. "Call me, Ash," he corrected.
"Alright…Ash," Erika remarked before pointing to Floette. "Dawn can sense emotions and is very perceptive. She would be able to sense ill-intent, including lies. Tell us the full story and account of your arrival and actions. If it passes with her, I will believe you."
"You can't possibly be thinking about trusting this guy, what if…" June blurted out from behind the gym leader, prompting a glare from Erika that made her shut up.
"Dawn's judgment is solid and we have no reason to doubt her," Erika chided before looking Ash in the eyes. "From the beginning, Ash Ketchum, speak clearly and spare no detail!"
He took a moment to carefully consider his words. "It all started when I came across an injured Raticate whose wounds were fatal. Everything went downhill from there after I decided to investigate…"
It only took two minutes total to tell his account of events leading up to investigating the deceased Raticate and investigating the Game Corner and for Erika and Dawn to deliberate whether his story was true; but each second seemed like an eternity. Although most of that stemmed from Erika's affability and professionalism that made her almost impossible to read. If she responded at all, it was always with a curt nod or a polite smile. Her personality was a sharp contrast to Surge and Misty who wore their emotions on their sleeves.
Fortunately, Erika and Floette ultimately decided to remove the handcuffs after lengthy deliberation – even despite her gym trainer's protests.
"Better not prove Dawn and Lady Erika's faith to be misplaced." June growled.
"I think it would be best if you assisted the police and other gym trainers." Erika said with a rather sickeningly sweet tone to her voice.
Ash raised an eyebrow. Apparently she upped the politeness even more when irritated.
"But…" June sputtered.
"Now, please," Erika interrupted.
"Yes, Erika," June sighed, reluctantly obeying and leaving Erika and Ash in the laboratory alone.
"My apologies for June's abrasive behavior, she's not usually like this. I may have made a mistake in letting her participate in this assignment. Team Rocket is a touchy subject for her and she may not be as good at detaching herself from her feelings as she claims." Erika sighed, bowing to Ash.
After years of dealing with Gary, he had become somewhat desensitized to smarminess. "She's no trouble, I have seen worse," Ash chuckled. "But if I may ask…did something happen?"
"June lost a member of her team in a raid a few months back so she treats Team Rocket with extreme prejudice and can be aggressive towards them – one might argue she's too aggressive. I haven't been able to fully break her of her vindictive streak and neither have our league therapists but she's one of my best gym trainers. I would put her on leave but we can't really afford to lose a seasoned gym trainer just because she's surly with everything going on lately." Erika explained. "Celadon is a big city and the league has the gyms and police on high alert ever since Pewter and Viridian had Team Rocket activity."
"I understand that." Ash replied.
Memories of Pewter resurfaced once more along with thoughts of darker, even more brutal ways things could have ended. He couldn't imagine how he would have felt if he lost one of his friends. If that Arcanine had been trained, could Aurora have been the one left lifeless on the ground? If Domino had been aiming to kill or had any interest in taking his Pokemon, would his first two teammates still be with him?
The mere thought made him shudder.
"That would be hard on anyone, I don't hold that against her. If I went through something like that, I would be angry too."
Erika smiled. "You're an understanding person, Ash Ketchum. In fact, there are a few attributes in you that we don't see very often in young trainers. You handled this situation very maturely and made a clever decision regarding how to handle this Team Rocket situation." she complimented. "I will put in a good word for you with both the league and the police. I wouldn't expect anything grandiose but I suspect a decent reward for your efforts."
Ash shook his head as he looked at both the mentally broken and dead Pokemon in the cages around the room. "I didn't do much. In fact, I wish I could have done more. If only I could have done something to stop Team Rocket from burning documents or gotten to the lab sooner…" he stopped, his voice cracking slightly.
Erika placed a hand on his shoulder. "You and I are quite similar, I suspect. We do not enjoy suffering, it troubles the heart to see such cruelty and contempt for life. But make no mistake – you did all you could, we wouldn't even have found this place without you looking into this and calling the police. We noticed a spike in Team Rocket activity on the outskirts of Celadon and poaching and we even cracked down on Rocket members. However, we were never able to trace them or their activity back to the Game Corner. You should hold your head up high, you put a stop to potential future suffering and alleviated current suffering."
Ash sighed. He supposed she was right. It wasn't like there was anything else he could have done because they had been using the place for a while. Although, despite the reassurance, his gaze wandered from the rabid Pokemon to one of the syringes on the table.
He still had one last question.
"Tell me, what were the Berserkers Team Rocket mentioned?"
"Where do I begin?" she replied. "Or is it something I'll have to show you?"
Erika was quickly demonstrating exactly how she got her moniker. While he had been able to follow the basics about genetic coding, her theories on gene editing were far trickier. Theoretical changes to DNA and mutant strains being introduced was where she lost him. All he knew was Team Rocket had been meddling with things they shouldn't be.
"Hold on, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying."
"The details aren't necessarily important, in fact, they're sort of speculation at this point since we still don't fully understand the gene editing process. All you need to know is that some raids lately have led to us discovering that Team Rocket has been tampering with genetics and I suspect these test subjects to be among their victims."
"And the results?"
Erika prodded at a feral Eevee by gently tapping one of the cage bars, prompting it to snarl at her from within the cage and try to swipe at her with one of its paws.
"As you can see, those experimented on and edited to have a Berserk Gene demonstrate high aggression rates and borderline psychosis." she remarked, prompting Ash to cringe as the fox went into a complete frenzy and started to bite the steel bars of its cage to try to attack them.
"We have yet to rehabilitate Berserk Gene victims or how to reverse the damages." Erika added, her facade of professionalism breaking for only a moment due to the slightest trace of a frown.
Ash stared at the snarling Eevee with remorse before turning to look at all the mentally broken Pokemon in the lab with the horrific realization that not a single one would likely ever be normal again.
He felt a lump form in his throat.
"My apologies, Ash Ketchum, perhaps I should not have told you this. This is a burden for us in the league to carry. I merely thought that since you asked and had learned about this that it is best that you know the truth. Unfortunately, the truth can hurt and this hurts us to our very core to see."
Ash waved her off. "I asked. Besides, it's better to know than to be left in the dark. Still, I wish there was more I could have done."
"I would look at this way, think of all the lives of the Pokemon that will not succumb to this fate because of you calling the police and the league getting involved. We might not have been able to save these Pokemon but how many others were spared from being brought here." Erika said, pausing for a moment and clearing her throat. "But again this should not be a burden for you to bear. And ending on that note, may I have your trainer ID."
"Pardon?" Ash replied, inwardly cursing the fact her speech patterns were apparently contagious.
"As a token of my gratitude and our city's gratitude, I will see to it you are generously rewarded for your efforts. Plus, consider it my way of apologizing for burdening you with my responsibilities and the weight of difficult knowledge – something to cheer you up."
"Hold on, I didn't even do that much…"
"I will not take no for an answer, by giving me your ID you merely make it so I do not have to resort to looking for your league file."
Ash shook his head in amusement before ultimately relenting and reciting the number from his Pokedex he had memorized by heart.
Erika was unlike any gym leader he had seen but if nothing else she definitely lived up to her moniker.
Author's Note: Way shorter than intended but I'm back with something resembling an update. Mostly wanted to introduce a particular concept from the games that will be important down the road and set up future events. Regardless, I am back in action and with any luck will build on this momentum. Hope you enjoy!