To most, being on the receiving end of a Machamp's Close Combat would be the same as walking right in front of a bullet train. Being on the receiving end of Bea's Machamp would make 99 percent of living beings choose the bullet train. Yet, Astro moved faster than anyone expected of the emanation Pokemon. He dodged punches that most were only seeing the afterimages of. That was until the glow in his eyes stopped, making Astro freeze where he stood and Machamp from connecting a punch inches away from the blue Pokemon's face.
Bea, with her arms folded, remained stoic. "Your Pokemon did well in learning Detect."
"Thanks for teaching it to my Pokemon! Although Prince Nidorino already knows Protect." Ash looked back to see the Poison Type standing on top of a tree, looking down on Bea's Machamp.
'Foolish small one,' Nidorino's distant and somewhat muffled voice said. 'There is no way you can be taller than I, Prince Nidorino!'
'But I am?' The advantage of having four arms was expressing multiple forms of confusion simultaneously. Poor Machamp scratched his head and shrugged his lower pair of shoulders at the same time.
'Enough of your lackadaisical grandstanding!' The fighting type only spoke three words, but Prince Nidorino went on. 'Ash, fetch me what you humans call a stretcher! Wait! I shall search for it myself! Come, Team Luckless, we must begin our exploration!' The poison type began before searching the trees.
Seeing his Pokemon all chase after Prince Nidorino, Ash cried out, "Guys, wait!" before following after them.
Bea stared in disbelief as the trainer chased after his own partners. "I must admit, his Pokemon are very..."
Wes finished for her. "Weird?"
"I was going to say expressive." Although, they could both tell that the word crossed her mind. Bea turned to Wes. "How did you two meet?"
The silver-haired young man thought back to a great train robbery with pizza fights before shaking his head. "Let's just say he gave me a headache."
Meanwhile, Ash was trying to look for his Pokemon, but a loud growl caught his attention. The teen followed the sound and spotted his Pokemon gathering around something.
It took Ash a second to recognize the object as a person, lying on the ground with ripped and torn clothes while his stomach made growling noises.
Ash knew he had to help the poor soul, so he turned back to call his other friends.
"Hey, guys?! There's a hobo over here!"
No one paid attention to the "hobo" grunting against being called that.
It took some time before the group helped patch up the downed man. He had oddly styled brown hair, a torn white cape, and torn purple suit with a fancy red bow.
"Who is he?" Ash asked after they helped patch the guy up.
"His name is Eusine Eugine. He's from Celadon City; he's 32; he's not married; his birthday was two months ago, and his address is... I have no idea what that means." Everyone turned to Wes as he read from the guy's ID, which was from his wallet.
Also, if anyone asked, it never had any bills in the first place when Wes opened it. Luckily for Wes, no one did.
"From what I gather," Bea looked at the man. "He seems to be just exhausted for some reason."
"Not just any reason!"
The man, who didn't twitch beforehand from his slumber, shot up from his bed at speeds that would make sprinters jealous. But it was a shame the stranger did this while closest to Bea, whose protective instincts were faster in the form of a right hook.
One black eye later, Eusine sat up again to meet his rescuers. "I apologize for startling you, and I thank you for helping and feeding me. However, I must continue my quest!"
"What quest is that?" Ash asked.
The older man turned to the teen with a sense of beaming pride despite his black eye. "You see, there have been sightings of Suicune in the area, one of the legendary dogs of Johto!"
Many reacted at the prospect of meeting Legendary Pokemon, even if they weren't natives of the land. Wes and his Pokemon gave more complex reactions.
"Suicune is here? The real one?" Ash's eyes widened. The teen thought it would be cool to meet the real Suicune. Hopefully, it wouldn't try to kill him like the holographic clone.
"Of course—wait—what do you mean real?" The flamboyant man shook his head. "The point is that I was hot on Suicuine's trail long before I realized I had not eaten within a day. But now, I must be off! I have wasted enough time as is!"
"What makes you think it's Suicune?"
Everyone turned to Wes, who also seemed confused at why he suddenly blurted it out. The silver-haired young man shrugged his shoulders to hide his sudden interest. "All I'm saying is that Suicune is a water type despite being a Legendary Pokemon. And water types stay nearby areas with large bodies of water. The valley-like surroundings look more like something Raikou would pass by."
It sounded like it made sense. Yet, the man who danced the line between Suicune-fanboy and angry zealot took offense to the logical question. "How dare you!" He stood up with a huff. "I've been following Suicune for years, studying everything about the glorious Pokemon! There's no way I'd ever mistake the legend for their siblings! In fact, I'm sure there's a secret freshwater lake within this area where Suicune will arrive! Come, I'll show you how I will be the true trainer of Suicune!"
Ash and Bea were interested in seeing a legendary Pokemon. As such, it didn't take them long to follow after Eusine. Wes felt more annoyed than anything. There he was, asking genuine questions, and the caped drama nerd threw a hissy fit as if insulted. But the Snagger let it slide; other things were speeding through his mind.
The top question among the thoughts: was that his Suicune?
Wes' story isn't what anyone would call consistent. Wes was born in the harsh lands of Orre and raised by criminals. Said Criminals taught him how to survive before Wes decided to show his gratitude by blowing up their base and stealing their most prized possession: the Snag Machine. What was supposed to be his ticket out of Orre turned into him being roped into a Region-wide adventure with him saving the very lands that laid him low in the first place.
If put in Wes' own words, "My home made my life miserable, but I ended up saving it anyway. And I didn't even get a crummy T-shirt for thanks."
But within that adventure, Wes encountered the Legendary Trio of Johto: Suicune, Raikou, and Entei. Or rather, he was at the receiving end of their darkened powers. This is because the organization known as Cipher turned Pokemon stronger by suppressing their kinder emotions. Their influence grew enough to capture and enslave the Johto Trio under their control. And only Wes had the power to save the Legendaries with his ability to steal Pokemon away from Trainers.
Although, Wes would agree that was easier said than done. Facing off against the Shadow Legendaries nearly killed him and his friends with each encounter. Yet, even he had to admit using their powers on his side to wipe out Cipher grunts was quite cathartic. Eventually, with Cipher defeated, Wes knew he couldn't hold back all three Legendaries from whatever responsibility they needed to do. So he let them be free before he left Orre with Rui.
So, the idea of seeing any of the Johto Trio made the Snagger unusually on edge. It's true; he saved them and, by extension, the world. Yet, Wes wasn't ignorant to forget about how Legendaries tended to punish wicked people. He was far from a goody-two-shoes and imagined the only reason the Trio worked with him was out of necessity than bonding. Would they strike him down now that their truce was over? And the other option of being liked was also annoying: how the heck could he explain to his new travel companions that a Legendary Trio knew him? Wes would probably prefer to be attacked than tell Ash about his story and have the teen call him a Hero or something stupid.
But that all depended if it was Trio that he caught.
Wes stewed in annoyed silence as Eusine led them to a hidden spring inside one of the caves. It was serene, lush, and beautiful, with traces of greenery that glowed like crystals in the cave's shadows. With Ash's Riolu, the four hid behind stalagmites with eyes on the spring.
"There, I'm sure this is where Suicune frequented recently!" The fancy man spoke in a hushed tone. "According to my notes, it should arrive here soon! Young man, you have a Riolu. As such, warn us when he notices an unmistakable aura!"
Everyone did as they were told. Seconds passed, minutes went by, and hours started to rise in number. When the moon rose, even Eusine felt disheartened.
Wes, finally losing his patience, opened his mouth. But froze when Astro suddenly stiffened and motioned everyone to be still.
They all did so, and even though none held the Emanation Pokemon's aura, they could feel a shift in the air. Something was here. The little moonlight in the cave cast a shadow of a four-legged being walking toward the spring.
The shadow was vague, but Wes and Eusine recognized the size enough that it must have belonged to one of the Johto Trio. No one peeked as to risk the legendary noticing the slightest of movements.
The quiet of the spring allowed everyone to hear the faint sound of lapping water, signaling the Legendary was drinking.
Eusine slowly reached for his Poke Ball belt. This was it: he could capture Suicune here and now. He'd challenge it to an epic battle and prove himself worthy of...
Whatever thought he was about to finish got interrupted when the ground started to shake violently, followed by what sounded like the cries of wild Pokemon.
Faster than any of them could react, the figure left, seemingly racing after the cries of Pokemon. Eusine got out of his hiding spot, only to see a shadow racing out of the exit. Whatever curse he was about to shout got interrupted when the entire cave shook.
Power thrummed inside a tower forged of metal, gears turned in rhythmic timing, and a strange crystal hummed with an odd energy.
"No matter how many times I look at it: this thing gives me the creeps." He was tall and blunt. But looked like a man quick to anger. Although, many would question why someone would wear sunglasses in a dimly lit room.
"As long as it does its purpose, its appearance matters little." His partner was a smaller man with silver hair and icy-colored eyes who kept pressing buttons on a nearby console.
"So what is that shiny rock supposed to do anyway?" A third, more callous voice asked from behind the two.
"Ignore my associate. I forgot he doesn't do memos." A fourth voice responded after, but everyone spotted the glint of glasses in the darkness. "Hun, status report on the emanation of the Miracle Crystal."
"The crystal is stable. It's emanating the energy pulse needed to attract electrical Pokemon within our range and draining electrical pulses coming our way." The silver-haired man in an R uniform began.
"Electric Pokemon? We should be after dark types instead." The third gruff voice began.
"Agent Iron Marauder," The 4th voice chided the third. "I know you are an obsessive idiot, but do try to keep your asinine comments to yourself. Professor Sebastian has potentially solved all forms of the energy crisis with this new device. But I suppose it's a little too much for a rusted mind like yours to comprehend."
The one called Iron Marauder growled at the condescending tone of his superior but said nothing more than that.
"Attila, go with Iron here and round up the electrical Pokemon nearby. Hun, when they are finished, travel towards more densely populated areas with electric Pokemon. I believe we can push tests ahead of schedule."
The two agents were about to accept the order when they felt the entire room shake violently.
"What was that!?" Eusine asked as everyone got out of their hiding spots.
Ash looked to Astro, who only shrugged his shoulders. However, they got their answer when they heard the sound of thunder crashing down on something in the distance.
"Thunder? But the weather wasn't that bad." Ash said aloud before all four of them bolted out of the cave.
They didn't know what to expect, but no one expected bodies of unconscious electric Pokemon littering the ground.
"Hey, are you guys alright!?" Ash went up to fallen Electabuzz.
'By jove! We got in quite a sticky whallop from that pahooka ding-dong! What say you holler a benderman to pottle over yonder?'
A second nobly sacrificed itself to give those who 'understood' him time to digest his words.
If that was any more literal, then they would have barfed from food poisoning. "Why do we understand Pokemon less?" Wes looked to Bea for some attempt at sanity.
"Look! Over there!" Luckily for the trainers, Eusine pointed beyond the drained and beaten bodies to what looked like a black tower with spider-like legs. A latch the size of a car opened up, showing an odd glow of green before blasting at a random area. Eusine could have sworn that he saw a noble four-legged creature before the blast crystalized, creating a dome around an area.
"It must be Suicune!" Eusine raised his fist. "It left to defend these Pokemon from that odd machine! We must stop those poachers!" He didn't wait for an answer and rushed in, making everyone else follow after.
Everyone except Ash.
'Oi,' The Electabuzz's question made the teen stop. 'What's that git on about with Suicune?'
"Didn't Suicune protect you?"
'Nah, mate! It was...'
A part of the tower machine opened up, revealing two strangers wearing uniforms with a large letter R.
"Check it out, Hun, the good professor was right! This invention works on even Legendary Pokemon!" A large man with gold hair and sunglasses leaned forward on the rails of the new platform to admire the sight before him.
A thinner man with a cold expression walked forward while holding a tablet. "Indeed, Attila. The output of our prey is more than I expected, but the Miracle Crystal is still within safe levels."
"Then let's catch it and be done with it!" The blonde man was excited to say this. But his excitement fell when two pulses of psychic energy struck the front legs of the tower, causing it to stagger and make the energy web open up for Raikou to escape.
Wes with Espeon and Eusine with Alakazam raced forward as the others followed. Eusine pointed first. "You there, fiends! Unhand Suicune!"
"Suicune?" The R men looked confused before they spotted Eusine ordering his Pokemon to attack the green light exposed inside the tower.
"Use Psybeam!" The evolved Pokemon fired a concentrated beam that went straight for—a Drapion? Out of the darkness, the poison and dark type slid in between the attack and the green light. Being a dark type, the psychic energy shattered at the touch of its body.
"Trainers. I thought this area was supposed to be clear of the roads." A third figure walked out, wearing an iron mask that obscured his face. He tossed an unfamiliar black ball in the air before catching it. Wes couldn't help but feel a dangerous sense of Déjà vu when looking at it. "Don't matter. The boss said to get rid of them."
The Drapion roared before it fired a barrage of Poison Sting down on the trainers.
Espeon and Alakazam moved to dodge, but as they did, two figures flanked them from opposite sides: an Alolan Muk for Espeon and Alolan Sandslash for Alakazam. Fortunately for Espeon, Umbreon was rarely out without his brother and intercepted the colored Muk's attack with Secret Power. The same could not be said for Eusine as the ice/steel Sandslash nailed the psychic with a clean Icicle Crash.
"Grapploct, Close Combat!" Bea cried out as her Pokemon rushed to counter the Sandslash. However, her attack was intercepted when Drapion dropped down with Cross Poison. Seeing the potential of being poisoned, Grapploct quickly backed off after the first few strikes, not finishing the attack. Yet, both Bea and her fighting type suddenly noticed the odd black aura coming off the poison and dark type.
"I don't know who you all are or where you've come from," A fourth voice made the trainers look up to see a man with glasses and a knotted-up ponytail. He, too, had a large R across his black jacket. "But no one crosses Team Rocket and gets away with it."
"Team Rocket!?" Eusine cried out. "They're still around!?"
"Who are they?" Wes and Bea asked aloud and at the same time.
"Ugh!" The glasses Team Rocket member pressed a hand to his face. "I understand the boss' order to stay under the radar, but it still hurts to see the once great name of Team Rocket left behind in the dust!" The man took out a bizarre black Poke Ball before bringing out a black Charizard.
The fire flying type roared, but the trainers noticed the black aura around the creature with deep red eyes. Wes, in particular, narrowed his eyes in disbelief and annoyance. The black aura he saw from the Drapion wasn't a fluke. Yet... it was different from...
"Charizard, Frustration!" The glasses guy threw his hand out as the black Charizard dashed forward towards Espeon and Umbreon and, with speed neither expected, smashed into both of them.
The evolved fire type roared before looking past the two eeveelutions and avoiding a barrage of Vaccum Waves and incoming Rock Tombs. Ash rushed in with both Astro and Prince Nidorino. However, instead of facing the uniformed menace, the teen pointed to the dome with his two Pokemon.
"Strong Style!"
The two mons fired empowered attacks right for the dome in a concentrated area, shattering it completely.
As the energy dome fell, a figure started to appear from the dust.
"Guys," Ash cried out. "It's not Suicune!"
Eusine balked and was about to ask what Ash meant before a figure pounced from the prison and rammed its body weight into the black Charizard. The strike caused the dual type to crash into Drapion.
As everyone saw the figure stand tall, Ash's words started to make sense. Suicune wasn't gold and black, for one. Nor did the water Pokemon have electricity flowing around their body.
Ash said the name of the creature they accidentally tailed, the one the Electabuzz saw, "It's Raikou! Wes was right!"
At that moment, the legendary dog of thunder turned its gaze towards the Snagger of the group. Wes saw it in the eyes of the Legendary: recognition. This was the Raikou he partnered up with. The electric Pokemon broke off, gathering energy before firing off a Thunder right for the Team Rocket members.
However, the attack narrowed and went past them. Looking like it was absorbed into something inside the moving tower.
"And there they go, releasing such a promising capture." The glasses Team Rocket pinched his nose. "Let's retreat. Although the Miracle Crystal was a success, I doubt these odds are in our favor."
The member with an iron mask stepped forward while juggling several more black Poke Balls.
"No way we're leaving without a constellation prize." With speeds no one expected of the towering man, he tossed the two mysterious balls up in the air.
With everyone's eyes following the tossed spheres, Wes realized his mistake. "You two, duck!"
The masked man moved faster than cowboys in a western showdown. The Team Rocket agent picked two more balls from his belt and threw them towards Eusine's Alakazam and Wes' Espeon. Wes, aware of the distraction, commanded his duo to avoid the black Poke Ball and counterattack. Eusine was not as lucky as the ball nailed Alakazam.
The sphere opened up and absorbed the evolved Pokemon as if he was a wild Pokemon. Acting fast, Iron Masked Marauder activated a function on his glove that recalled the ball back to his palm.
"Alakazam!?" Eusine and everyone were surprised to see a Trainer's Pokemon stolen. Wes thought only the Snag Machine could turn Poke Balls into Snag Balls; he was unaware of Snag Balls being premade!
"Lay cover fire! Hun, activate the escape function!"
The black Charizard roared at the order of its trainer while the other Pokemon went on the offensive and further split the trainers apart. Ash, Astro, and Prince Nidorino swooped in to save Eusine from the Alolan Muk. Bea and her Grapploct fought the incoming Drapion and Sandslash.
The Charizard fired a powerful, almost shadowy black fire at Raikou. Raikou tried to blast the Charizard, but his electrical attacks flew off course and got absorbed into the Tower.
Wes turned to Raikou after his twins avoided another toss of Dark Balls. "Use your non-electrical attacks! Extrasensory!"
The Legend didn't even turn as the gem on his forehead started to shine. The area around the starter shimmered before an unseen energy sent Charizard reeling into Drapion. Bea saw her chance and ordered Grapploct to capitalize on the distracted Alolan Sandslash. However, the Iron Mask Marauder saw his opportunity. He threw several Dark Balls, all toward Raikou.
Astro jumped into the air. He fired two Vacuum Waves at the first balls to protect Raikou. However, the fighting type did not expect the Shadowy Drapion to fire a single Poison Sting at him. The strike flinched the blue, caped Pokemon and allowed the last Dark Ball to slip past and hit him instead of Raikou.
"Astro!" Ash cried out as he saw the Poke Ball fly up to the Marauder. The young psychic used his own telekinesis to pull back on the sphere to save his friend. But something about the darkness weakened his pull. Everyone heard the sound of humming getting louder from the tower, making the Rocket Agents, Atilla and Hun, recall their Pokemon and fall back in.
Marauder used one hand to recall Drapion while putting maximum output on his glove, making the ball with Astro fly toward him faster.
"Charizard, let's make them regret ever messing with Team Rocket! Leave them with Blast Burn!" The one who seemed to be the leader cried out.
The black Charizard flew high into the air with uncanny speed and gathered energy. Raikou couldn't counter with the tower still bearing its core that stole energy, and they couldn't avoid the attack because Ash was still trying to get back Astro.
So...
Wes decided to break his promise to Rui: never use the Snag Machine again.
Wes moved faster than a quick draw, charging an Ultra Ball and nailing the sphere right into the stomach of the Charizard about to unleash a Blast Burn.
The ball captured the Charizard, causing the leader of that group to stare in disbelief at what happened. While still processing that someone stole from Team Rocket and not the other way around, the glasses man snapped his eyes wide open. "What!? How did you do that!?"
"Dammit, Arlo! Get back in here!" The Iron Mask shouted to the man before pulling the leader into a closing door.
The Tower began to glow purple, signaling it was using stored psychic energy before vanishing into the air.
"NO!" Eusine cried out as he stepped forward, only to trip and fall on his knees. "My Alakazam! Th-They stole my Pokemon!"
Wes hated that he knew what was about to happen. The reaction of a trainer losing their Pokemon, especially if it was close to them. He saw Eusine remain on his knees, wishing silently that all of this was one horrible nightmare... but there was nothing to wake him up from this.
"Wes?" The silver-haired trainer feared this would come up, but he turned to Bea with a confused look on her face as she pointed to something close by. "Why... Why does Raikou listen to you as if you were his trainer?"
The snagger felt the presence move closer to him, and a headache too. But he didn't turn to Raikou and just sighed. "That's... a long story." He then recalled Ash had his Riolu stolen, and suddenly Wes felt sick. Ash always felt like an innocent soul, like Rui when she started out. Seeing the innocence leave her as they went through the darker parts of Orre... he didn't like it. He hoped that since Kanto was more peaceful, the teen wouldn't have to go through anything he or Rui did. But it looked like there were assholes everywhere in the world, not just Orre.
Bracing himself as he turned, Wes hoped he could channel enough of Rui to comfort Ash.
Instead, he saw two protruding rocks pointed toward where the moving tower was. It took a second for Wes to recognize it was Prince Nidorino's unique style of using Rock Tomb-like makeshift catapults/geysers to shoot people off the ground. Another second went by when he realized Ash must have linked to his Nidorino to launch themselves to one of the legs or something before it teleported away.
So, Ash was gone...with Team Rocket...
Was it a bad thing that Wes felt relieved he didn't have to comfort a sad teen?
{Author Notes}
Yo! First post of the new year! I thought about posting sooner because I was behind in my bi-monthly updates. (Also, I had writer's block in my other works...)
Anyway, here's the first adventure between the trio of Ash, Wes, and Bea: an alternate take of The Legend of Thunder! Featuring Iron Mask Marauder from the Celebi movie and Arlo of Pokemon Go! (And Eusine. But Wes doesn't really care about that guy.)
There's Atilla and Hun, which is supposed to be a play on Atilla The Hun. But as I was writing this, it felt like everyone was calling Hun their spouse. Hun could be short for honey, which most people know is a term for endearment between people in relationships. (Man gets around in Team Rocket.)
It's funny that for the first "official" Team Rocket appearance in this story, I'm using a lot of the obscure characters. It's also funny that through them, I'm re-introducing the Pokemon Go Shadow Pokemon.
Sorry to bring your trauma back into your face twice in one week again, Wes. But you've got like a lot of interesting story potential/dramatic irony I can work with.
And speaking of trauma, poor Ash. Astro got dark-a-fied(?). I was originally planning for Ash to deal with the fallout of having his Pokemon stolen. But while Ash is a caring and fun soul, he's also very proactive. He's a move first kinda guy and I ended up realizing that he would try to climb and latch on to a teleporting tower to save his friend.
So. Yeah. Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble. Have fun with the rest of the year!