"Come out! Come out wherever you are!" shrieked the Braviary in the sky. His manic voice boasted incredible confidence as he blasted away nearby trees with his psychic might. "You can either join my army or join us for dinner!"
Silver scowled at the Flying-type, wishing he would get closer so that he could rip the feathers off of his wings. Yet, he couldn't do that while he was still bleeding from the previous engagement. Hiding behind a tree, he put pressure on the deep cut on his arm, thankful that his mother taught him basic survival skills like that.
Totodile wrapped a bandage over the cut, sealing the wound. "We can't take him and the slaves at the same time. There's just too many. We should cut our losses!"
"We have to take him down," the Sneasel insisted. Braviary needed to be taken, here and now. Not only was he a massive threat to everyone, she reminded him too much of one of his father's most powerful henchmen. "Besides, they have something of ours!"
They had a plan, but that required seeing it through.
"I hate it when you make sense!" Totodile grumbled.
"There you are!" Braivary's voice filled the air.
The tree Silver and Totodile had been standing, tearing it limb from limb.
Braviary looked upon them both with a glint of malice in his eyes. "You will make excellent additions to my army, just like your friends!"
"I'll distract him!" Totodile shoved the former human aside as he charged the fully evolved Flying-type. "Hey, Bird Brain! Give us our friend back!"
"Totodile!" The Sneasel hissed, but knew it was too late. "Fine, see if I care!" He leapt into another tree, hoping that Totodile's distraction would buy him enough time.
A light distortion emitted from Braviary's crown and he flapped his wings. A gale of wind and psychic force lashed out from his body, rushing at the offending Water-type. Several trees fell to pieces and caved in on him, dust and debris falling on the air.
"Totodile!" Silver hissed, rage burning up in his heart.
He leapt to another tree, only to find a familiar pair of claws moving right at him.
Silver batted them away, landing on a nearby tree branch.
Gligar looked at Silver with a blank expression in her gaze. There was no hatred nor fear in those eyes; she did not so much as blink at him. It was like she had been hollowed out and turned into a sockpuppet. It reminded him too much about those Dark Balls wielded by some Executives.
Gligar lunged again, extending her tail as she went to lash him, swift and without any hesitation.
The Sneasel batted her attack away and closed in with metallic claws. Gligar blocked the attack with her own claws, more daring than she would have been.
"Snap out of it!" Silver hissed as he leapt backwards. He and Gligar were not friends, they were at most… people who traveled together, but he loathed to see her in this state.
And then he saw Braviary shift in the corner of his eyes.
He tackled Gligar and sent the two of them falling onto the ground and off tree. They impacted the bushes with a thud.
From behind him, Silver could see the tree where he had fought Gligar explode as the Flying-types psychic force impacted the tree.
From under the Sneasel, Gligar struggled to get free, lashing out at Silver with her pincers and tail with envenomed weapons. Silver ignored those jabs, letting his body's innate poison resistance take the brunt. Instead, his eyes locked focus around the strip of metal that had been wrapped around Gligar's neck. He ripped it out and shattered it in his grasp.
Gligar blinked dizzily at him, her eyes refocusing.
"What…. Happened?" Gligar moaned.
"You better hide!" Silver spat as he got off his returned ally. "You're too injured."
"But I…" Gligar groaned. "What did I do?"
"Get in the way," Silver hissed. "Now get out!"
Scrambling to her feet, Gligar ran as fast as she as her legs could take her.
Silver looked up and saw Braviary hover just out of reach of claws.
"You are tenacious. My offer still stands. I need generals to lead my army!" Braivary declared, extending his wings and emanating a glow to make herself seem more impressive.
Several other Pokémon, none of which were evolved, walked out of the bushes. There were maybe a dozen or two of them, all with that blank expression Gligar had. They stood under Braviary, waiting for direction.
Silver wasn't impressed however. "Some army! You're just kidnapping runts and playing pretend!"
"All good things must start small!" Braviary decreed, his eyes focusing onto the Poison-type. "But in due time, we will secure stronger Maiju. And from there, we'll expand and grow our numbers exponentially. Can't you see this is the start of something grand?"
From the corner of Silver's keen eyes, he could see something blue move behind the trees. Meanwhile, the most important member of this task got into the position opposite the other. This wasn't the original plan, but Silver figured that it would have to do. He just needed to buy more time.
Silver scoffed. "All I see is someone who didn't earn anything!"
"You mock me?" Braviary shrieked. "My army will tear you apart! Go, my minions! Rip this insolent apart so that we may have sustenance!"
The smattering of a dozen Pokémon rushed Sneasel, moving away from their master.
That was when a jet of water came rushing out at the Flying-type's left.
Braviary blocked the attack by summoning a plane of translucent force from his wing.
Silver rushed forward leaping through the band of misfit runts. He had no intention of fighting them however and rapidly dashed through them as he made his way towards the Braviary.
"You fool! You charge to your doo-" But Braviary's words were cut short as a bolt of intense lightning went through his right and shocked the Flying-type.
The deranged eagle fell to the Earth as his muscles locked up and he became incapable of supporting his airborne body. He landed with a dusty thud.
Leaping forward, Silver shoved through several Pokémon and leapt towards the dazed eagle. Yet, the Pokémon still guarded the way, pushing back and preventing his advance.
Totodile came from behind him and shot several Pokémon with his Water Gun, whilst Voltorb rolled forward and wrapped several Pokémon in a Thunder Wave.
The stunned Braviary rose slowly. He flapped his wings violently, sending waves of psychic force in every direction. Several of the Pokémon were blasted away.
With speed at his side, Silver leapt onto her and landed right on his neck. He saw his target and smashed the jewel on the Flying-type's forehead… and his forehead.
Braviary let out a shriek of agony. The other Pokémon under his command collapsed, like puppets with their strings cut.
Silver grew a manic grin and he slashed wildly at the avian's head with his poisoned claws! "THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SIMPLE MISSION!" he shouted right into his face.
Braviary collapsed further.
"WE WERE SUPPOSED TO FIND A LOST TEDDIURSA!" Silver still wailed as he continued to lash out, envenomed claws rendering into flesh. He went onto the Flying-type's wings and cut away feathers and beat at his bones.
Braviary stared at him weakly.
"NOT A MONSTER LIKE YOU!" Silver kicked her while she was down. He prepared to wind up another punch, only for Totodile to grab onto his arm.
"Enough, it's over!" Totodile said with an exhausted expression. "We've won."
The Braviary was battered and would be unlikely to be a threat to anyone anymore. She was simply a weakling who thought she could have gained power by taking it from someone else instead of earning it.
Silver grunted. "Good riddance!" He turned his back on her. They'd have to send someone to jail him, but given his injuries and condition, the Braviary was not going to be standing anytime soon. If they were really lucky, he'd expire from her injuries. Whatever, the Sneasel didn't care. They had more important concerns.
Silver then stared at Totodile and noticed several cuts on his belly, some of them quite deep. "Are you well?"
"Nothing some gauze couldn't handle," Totodile waved him off. "Besides, we're probably going to get hazard pay from this." he then narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so worried?"
"You'd slow us down if you were too badly hurt," Silver stated simply.
Totodile snorted. "Liar."
The Sneasel made an exaggerated roll of his eyes. At least, Totodile sounded well enough to jab at him.
Voltorb rolled over to the knocked out Pokémon, most of whom were just barely beginning to wake up.
"Nice work on the Thunder Wave," Silver commented.
The Grass-Electric-type bobbed its body uncertainty. "Uh, yeah… uh thanks!"
What was wrong with him? Silver simply stated a fact.
Gligar limped over to them. "You guys okay?" she said, putting a supply satchel onto the ground.
"As well as could be expected," Totodile said as he walked towards the sack and covered up his wounds with bandages. "Honestly, I had no idea we'd run into some sort of trouble when I picked that job for us."
"This was supposed to be a simple job to make money for our living and travel expenses, not us getting wrapped up in… whatever this was." Silver complained for everyone to hear.
"Yeah, well, who would have thought our lost Teddiursa was kidnapped by some lunatic with mind control talismans?" Totodile snorted as he then walked over to the collapsed Pokémon and took away one of the collars wrapped around their necks.
"It's sadly always a possibility," Gligar moaned as she hovered nearby. "Someone who has twisted ambitions gets access to a few schematics and they think they can conquer an island. They never do, but it's always scary when it happens."
As Silver walked closer to the Pokémon, they raised their heads to him. Several looked up at him with hesitancy and fear. Others clung onto their compatriots for security. Some started to cry, moaning about things that were hard for him to understand.
"What's wrong with them?" Silver commented, his eyes moving in a sweep.
Gligar made a gulp as she reached towards the neck of one of the Pokémon and pulled off the collar. "That's the aftereffect of being tormented by these things, Silver. I haven't worn my collar for long, but… it was frustrating being a prisoner in my own body. They've been wearing theirs for longer."
"That sounds familiar." Silver inclined his head and the young Pokémon all withered at his sight. He walked over to a Teddiursa and helped her up. "You are so lucky your parents are paying for your safety."
"You're not going to hurt me?" The Teddiursa looked fearfully at him.
"No, your parents hired us to find you."
Suddenly, the Teddiursa grabbed onto Silver and wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! It was so horrible!"
"Hey, no hugging," Silver growled. Though as he went to push her off, some of other Pokémon, such as an Espurr or even Sandshrew went to grab hold of him. His annoyance ignored, he turned towards his companions. "Do you mind helping?"
Totodile giggled at his expense. "Alright, alright. Everyone in a group! We'll get you all home and then the militia or someone will come and figure out where you live!"
The young Pokémon all eagerly leapt away from Silver, much to his satisfaction, and formed a small mob, headed by Totodile and Voltorb in the front. In rear, Gligar and Silver followed. It was not a long distance to travel to the nearest settlement, but it was still tedious to walk from one side of the woods to the other.
"So, a while back, you were very scared about being enthralled. You believed Pokéballs did… whatever those collars did. So, what's the big deal? How are they different?" Silver asked, eventually. He just couldn't get his mind off of those… eyes and he hated not knowing what was going on.
"The difference is that you can destroy the talismans. The talismans have to be worn and simply breaking it frees the Maiju enthralled," Gligar explained. She was no longer as shaken or weary as she had been after the fight.
"So, you can always destroy a Pokéball, too," Silver said.
Gligar shook her head. "A slave ball's ink is maintained even if not on the Maiju is a far distance away. If you are ensnared by that spell, the only freedom is in death or if someone finds the ball that has enslaved you. You will obey every order given to you until you die or your enslaver deems otherwise. In contrast, you can always free a Maiju trapped by a talisman."
Silver stared at her. At first, he thought it was uncanny that these talismans made Pokémon act in a way similar to what the Iron Masked Maruader's Dark Balls did, but now he was certain they were very similar. "How… old are these talismans?"
"No idea, but before written language," Gligar hovered over with a claw over her mouth. "The oldest versions of them were whole suits of armor that had to be worn to affect their spell, but mad artificers have learned to make them smaller over the years. Thankfully, the skills to create them are rare."
"Not rare enough," Sneasel murmured. "Who created them?"
Gligar nodded in agreement. "Humans did. Humans have repeatedly enslaved Maiju in the past, using similar spells, always binding it to an object or a place where we would be forced to obey their whims. That is why we are here, away where no human could reach."
Silver squinted an eye.
"I mean what I said, Sneasel," Gligar emphasized. "No humans are here, we are safe."
Silver understood what Gligar might have been implying. Simply put, she did not want to see him as a human, so she deliberately chose to refer to him as a Sneasel. The Poison-type accepted that.
On the other hand, he still did not understand why the Pokémon of Citrine assumed all Pokéballs were like Dark Balls. Then again, it didn't matter to him. The Pokeball he had belonged to Totodile and he kept his out of some sense of nostalgia.
Not too much later, the group arrived at the nearby village, where Teddiursa's parents lived.
Upon crossing the threshold that separated the wilderness from civilization, Teddiursa ran and jumped towards two Ursarang. "Mama! Papa!"
The two large bears wrapped their daughter in a hug.
Several of the other young Pokémon were eager to meet their own parents, too.
Thankfully, Voltorb handled them. "Alright kids! We're going to stop by elder's house and we'll try to get in touch with your parents in no time! Now follow me!"
The young Pokémon followed Voltorb as he rolled towards an old house in the middle of the settlement.
Silver let out a sigh. "This better be worth it."
"I don't know." Totoddile pointed to Teddiursa and the two Ursarang. "It's a good ending, don't you think?"
The Sneasel rolled his eyes. "I'm no sap," he replied. "I just want to get paid and get out of here."
Gligar landed and tilted her head. "Really? You can't be excited about reuniting a child with their parents? Wouldn't you be glad to see your-"
Silver scowled at her, not eager to think about his parents. He couldn't imagine them being gratefulfor his safe return.
"Sorry," Gligar corrected herself.
"Just forget about it," SIlver replied back, his gaze locked onto the Teddiursa as she was bounced in her father's arms.
That was something… unbefitting of the Boss of Team Rocket.
James looked at his ship with awe. Ever since they had disposed of that ruffian, Dewott had done what was promised and took him to a nearby port. His family were rich and in turn paid handsomely for not only their son's return, but also for the bounty that Serperior had managed to accrue.
Since then, the Pikachu had waited anxiously as scores of Pokémon transformed an old junk into a seaworthy vessel once more. Yet, as a member of Team Rocket, merely fixing up the old boat wasn't enough. James added his own innovations and… he might have had a bit of nostalgia biting at him.
He wondered what exactly possessed him to paint the entire ship orange and give it exaggerated fish eyes on its bow. There was even a fake crown that he had gone through the trouble of carving. It could have been the fact that with its barred sails, it looked like a fish already and all the Pikachu needed to do was make his ship look the part.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen someone make a Magikarp boat before, and I don't know why," Dewott said from behind him. He and his Pokémon were still recovering from the Serperior's attack, so they were stuck on the land for the meantime. He was present solely because it was entertaining. "I've seen a lot of Gyarados boats, but no Magikarp."
"Well, that'd require a Magikarp to own the boat usually, right? I don't think most Magikarp would own their own boats," James offered.
"Yeah, they kind of don't need them, being fish and all. Though, I do know several Gyrados who uh… loan their boats," Dewott agreed before frowning. "I don't think you have either of those in your crew."
"We… had the opportunity, but things went south." James replied, thinking of the entire mess aboard the S.S. Anne and the Magikarp who evolved into a Gyrados. "It just didn't work out between us."
Dewott made a thoughtful look. "If you say so."
James reached into his bags and pulled out the hat he had taken from that no good pirate. He was a jerk, but the Serperior had a superior sense of style. He put the hat on and then went to get the rest of his new outfit.
"What are you doing?" Dewott questioned.
"I'm trying to look the part," James smirked. He produced a blue frock and a white waistcoat from his bags. It was something he had made in his spare time, in anticipation of when the ship would be ready. He put on his new costume, no, uniform, and immediately felt a surge of authority go through thim. "What do you think? I based it off of an old Galarian style!"
"You are a weird Pikachu," Dewott commented.
James then walked up the gangplank to board his ship and do a more direct inspection from inside the craft… and immediately got swallowed by an overeager Victreebel!
"Victreebel!" the Pikachu shouted from inside his Pokémon's mouth.
The living pitcher plant spat his trainer up. "Sorry! I uh… I cleaned the ship just like you asked for! Sweet scent plus chemical wash down with a weak acid, the works!"
James adjusted his hat to make sure it was still on his head. So far, the only thing wrong with his get up was a faint coating of liquids over his body. Oh well, Victreebel just wanted to show how happy he was. Besides, he did sort of earn it, since he did his assigned task. "Well, I can't be too upset."
The Pikachu walked over and grabbed onto the Grass-type's vine. He was nowhere near big enough to properly grab the pitcher plant's body, so this was the best he could manage. "I'm happy to see you, too."
The vine promptly wrapped against James's waist. "Same!"
It was the closest thing the two of them could do to a hug.
"Let's take a look at the new ship, shall we?" James suggested.
"Let's go, Pikachu!" Victreebel laughed as he grabbed onto his trainer and carried him into the air.
"Hey!"
The Grass-type gently put his trainer onto the leaf over his head
"Huh, so this is what it's like," James commented as he tapped a foot onto Victreebel's leaf. It was holding up his weight fairly easily. And the view at this height was closer to what he had experienced back when he was human; without having to be the one walking everywhere. Was this why the Twerp's Pikachu was always on his trainer's shoulders or head?
"I'll carry you, okay?" Victreebel suggested, as he carried his trainer up the gangplank and onto the top deck of the ship.
The masts were fairly standard for Citrine, being the fish fin shaped. However, the entry point to the cargo hold featured a working elevator. Near that was the workshop, which was well suited to all of Team Rocket's needs, save the ability to build robots. On the ship's sides were portholes that lead directly to rocket tubes, the main way the ship would defend itself with its relatively small crew.
"I could get used to this, you know?" James commented as the brief sweep through the ship came near its end. Victreebel's hopping to move from place to place was mildly nauseating, but the Electric-type still found the trip rather enjoyable.
Victreebel shook lightly. "Aw, shucks, James! That means a lot."
"I do wonder what it is with Grass-types, or really just the plant Maiju," Dewott commented. "Those Sunflora still want you."
"Don't remind me," the Pikachu groaned, remembering how he had to be forcibly extracted from a local bar. Thankfully, James was not ever going to go back there.
"One last stop!" Victreebel shouted as he bounced towards the main cabin.
"Captains Quarters, here we come!" James shouted; he was honestly enjoying himself. This last stop of the little tour war was the most important.
Flicking his vine, Victreebel opened the door and hopped inside.
However, James's anticipation promptly died when he saw an Eevee and Arbok stuffing possessions into the closet.
"What are you doing here?" James shouted as he leapt off of his Grass-type. "I thought you were going to get the groceries!"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking my rightful place as Captain!" Jessie said with very distinct smugness on her face. "After all, how could you expect someone as beautiful as me to be anything else?"
"But I'm the Captain!" James complained. "I have the costume and everything!"
"Well, that's an ugly costume!" The Eevee said as she flicked her tail into the Pikachu's face. "Besides, who defeated the big bad pirate and got us that bounty anyways!"
"And I spent days working with the shipwrights to get it in working order!" James shouted. And what right did she have, disrespecting his costume?
"And as the Captain, I am very thankful for your service," Jessie said with a smile. "Now, be a dear and get out of the room."
"It's my room you…. You wastrel!" James complained, reaching for a rarely used word. "Just because you had a lucky fluke, you think you can coast on that forever!"
"Why, I never!" Jessie made a pout as she turned her body away.
Arbok leaned down towards the Pikachu. "Hey, James, I know you were really set on getting to be the Captain and all, but… well, she's kinda the only lady here."
James rolled his eyes. "Some lady, she is!"
That was when Jessie turned to face him, again, a harsh glare in her eyes. "You… take that back!"
"Take what back?" James snapped. "I'm just being honest!"
Arbok let out a groan. "Here we go again…"
Jessie took the first move. She lunged at the Pikachu and threw him out of the room with a Tackle.
James threw his partner off and then slammed his tail right at her face.
"Hey!" The Eevee spat.
The Pikachu zapped her, causing the Eevee's mane to frizz as the electricity ran through it. "Hey, yourself! You should see how you look."
Jessie shook herself, unbundling her hair. "That's it. No more being nice!" She glowed faintly, a buzzing noise coming from her. Then a wave of electricity exploded out from her.
"Ah!" James bounced out of the way, narrowly avoiding the bolt… by hiding behind the mast.
Jessie leapt and then let out another discharge, this time James wasn't able to avoid it.
The Pikachu felt the surge of electricity going into him and… felt nothing other than a light strain on his body. James wondered if something was supposed to happen. And then he remembered that he was a Pikachu now. He was so used to being electrocuted every few days that he had forgotten that he was no longer as vulnerable to shocks as he used to be..
Jessie stared at him, as if realizing the same thing.
James buffed out his chest and gave her a smug look. "Haha! This how you really do it!" He sparked his cheeks and then shot out a bolt of electricity right at the Eevee.
Jessie leapt out of the way, taking cover behind a crate.
"You're not hiding that easily!" James exploded the crate and then shocked his partner.
The Eevee fell to one side, mindly injured. "Ow, that hurt!"
"It's supposed to!" James said, catharsis running through him.
Jessie eyed one of her paws and then her belly. "You're making me hideous! I'm covered in soot now!" He leapt onto her feet and then… promptly set herself alight. "You'll pay for that!"
James didn't have much time to react. He ran down to the stern and… promptly got a face full of flaming Eevee.
The Pikachu tumbled and was launched to the side, only kept from falling out of the ship by the wooden railing. He shook himself and stared at the fiery Eevee. "That's cheating!" he said, realizing that Eevee shouldn't learn… whatever it is Jessie was doing right now.
"Yeah… since when were Eevee supposed to do any of that!?" Dewott murmured. "I mean, there's the electric move and now there's this!"
Victreebel made a shrug with his leaves, not knowing either it seemed.
"Well, I guess that makes me special!" Jessie said, stepping forward while engulfed with flames that didn't hurt her.
"As if you need an even bigger head!" James snarled. Really, did he really have to have to fight the one Eevee who had outright illegal moves? This was so unfair!
Jessie leapt at him again.
This time, the Pikachu batted her away with his tail, sending her away.
However, as he did that, he suddenly realized that he had set himself on fire on contact upon touching the Eevee. He ran like a maniac and leapt into a barrel of water to put himself out.
Still on fire, Jessie gave the Pikachu a smug look. "Give it up, James! We both know that you can't beat me with your pathetic plain Pikachu moves!"
"No!" James leapt out of the barrel. He wasn't going to give up so easily, not when he had every intention of winning. If only there was a way to put her friend out! That would show her! He stared wistfully at the seat outside the boat, wishing for a moment that the water would come and douse the Eevee.
Jessie hoped forward, intent on another charge. "Suit you-" At that moment, a large wave suddenly leapt onto the boat and washed over the Eevee.
James blinked, wondering what just happened.
As the wave dissipated, Jessie was left behind. Her fur soaked, she shook herself and coughed. "Bleh, salt water!"
James wondered if he could do that again. He looked at the water once more, and… willed it to repeat.
Just as Jessie had finally got herself dry enough, the wave came and washed her again, soaking her once more.
James laughed. "Ha, you're not the only one with moves they shouldn't know!"
"Wait, you know Surf?" Dewott sounded incredulous.
"Apparently!" James laughed some more. "I control the waves!"
He willed yet another wave to wash the Eevee away, only this time, it snap-froze just before touching Jessie.
"You'll pay for that!" Jessie shouted, a wave of ice engulfing her.
James was suddenly knocked back by a frigid wind, snow and frost coating his fur.
Jessie ran up to him and knocked him away with another Tackle.
The Pikachu made a controlled roll and managed to land on his lower feet. He looked at the sea once more, wanting to unleash the biggest wave he could to send the Eevee into the bay…. Only to find no response. The wave did not come, it did not rise unnaturally.
That was when he noticed that his hat was on the floor, right behind the Eevee.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the Eevee hissed. "I'm waiting for you to douse me in salt sea water!"
James did not know why, but he lacked the ability to use Surf without the Captain's hat. He didn't know why he had this strange power, but maybe there was a reason for it.
Jessie however, did not worry about such things. She lunged at him, covering herself in fire yet again.
Instead of scoring a hit, the Normal-type smashed into a crate and got herself stuff, buying the Pikachu precious time to figure out what to do.
James stumbled onto his backpack and seeing no other options, reached inside.
He pulled out the top hat and bowtie that he had gotten as part of his costume for the Game Corner. Something within him told him that he had to commit to a costume. Not seeing any option, he threw off his blue frock and placed the bowtie onto his neck.
Jessie broke out of the crate, fire covering her body.
Panicking, James put on the top hat and then extended his paws forward. "Take this!" A wave of fire, in the shape of the crescent moon lashed out at the Eevee, knocking her back and into the crate she burst out of..
"By the ancestors! What is going on!?" Dewott stared. "You know Mystical Fire!? How do you know Mystical Fire?"
"Jessie and James aren't very normal," Arbok murmured. "They never were."
"Yeah, but that's why we like them!" Victreebel agreed.
"I think it's because I'm a magician right now." James didn't know what was happening, but he was starting to understand. For some reason, if he had a costume, he could use moves that were somehow related to it. The possibilities were endless… What kind of move would his Moltres wingsuit give him? He had it somewhere in his belongings.
But he didn't have time to ponder that. Jessie staggered out of the broken crate, a fury in her eyes. "I don't know what's happening, but I am going to beat you up!"
"Bring it!" James agreed. "Then, I'll be Captain!"
Both Pokémon stared at each other, preparing to make one last attack to settle the matter
"JESSIE! JAMES!" Meowth's voice called out
Both of them turned towards Meowth as he walked up the gangplank, several sacks of supplies in his hand.
"What happen to da ship!?" Meowth shouted.
"It got destroyed, I think," Weezing hovered right behind him, also wearing several bags strapped onto his sides.
"Dat's a rhetorical question." Meowth put his paw over his face. "I go shoppin' and I comes back and it's all a wreck!"
James swiveled his head around the ship, noting all of the scorch marks and the scattered bits of wooden debris everywhere.
Jessie must have noticed that, too. "We uh… had practice!"
"Yeah!" James agreed, feeling his cheeks turn red… redder.
Meowth let out a sigh. "Victeebel? Arbok?"
"James and Jessie were trying to figure out who should be Captain," Victreebel ratted them out.
"I must say, I did not know Pikachu or Eevee could… use whatever those moves are," Arbok supplied.
Ignoring that, Meowth let out a sigh. "Ya know we's supposed to vote on da Captain right?"
"We did!" Jessie nodded. "We just… thought to be more direct on our voting."
James smiled and nodded his head.
"Whateva, just get dat stuff fixed up before we set sail!" Meowth said as he walked into the Captain's room. "We gotta make it ta Tanzanite!"
Seeing no point in resisting, James bent down and sorted the wreckage.
"We both agree, he shouldn't be Captain, right?" James proposed to the Eevee.
The fox dragged away what she could with her jaws to pick up any of the supplies that had survived the brawl and put them in a pile. "Of course, but that's only because I want to be Captain!"
James nodded in acceptance. That was likely the best he was going to get.
As he gathered the remains of his Galarian Captain outfit and stuffed it in his bag to repair it later, the electrical rodent wondered just exactly what gave him this sort of power. He knew of no other Pikachu who had such a natural affinity for…cosplay? Acting? It might have even put him on a level that no other Pikachu he met had obtained, not even the Twerp's.
Was the price of this strange ability his inability to evolve?
If so, what other tricks could he learn? What other costumes could he make to give him an edge?
But as he thought about this, it started to rain, drawing his attention back to reality.
"Oh come on!" Jessie let out a complaint as she leapt under a tarp. "It's starting to rain!"
"You didn't read the notice, did you?" Dewott provided. "The Weather Guild is scheduled to give this area three hours of rain today."
Apparently, there was an entire guild somewhere that controlled the weather, instead of merely forecasting it.
"Well, look on the bright side, you can wash that salt water out of your fur," Pikachu supplied, just because he wanted to get back at her for what she did earlier.
The fox gave him an annoyed look and pulled out a bar of soap…and then threw it at his face.
Jessie hated the taste of soap in her mouth, but if it meant being clean she could suffer just a little indignity. Even though the rainwater clung onto her fur, she liked the sensation of it running down her body and rinsing away all the ugly dirt and unbecoming mess that James had put her through.
Still, it was surprising just how flexible her own body was. She could reach her back with her head if she really tried. And that let her soap her whole body by herself, barring the very back, but that was easily handled with a little help.
Arbok slithered over and scrubbed her back..
"Oh, what would I do without you?" Jessie murmured as she let the water cascade off. She felt heavy, with all of the water stuck in her fur, but this was all for the sake of beauty.
"Probably get nowhere," Arbok said as he rubbed at the Eevee's fur, forcing soap and water to peel out. "I think we're done."
"I am starting to get tired of carrying my own weight," Jessie agreed. She shook her body, throwing off water as she stepped out of the rain and into what was supposed to be the Captain's Cabin. Though for the meanwhile, no one really knew who the Captain was.
Inside, she could hear Meowth and James talking to each other in the room next door, but it was hard to make out what they said with the rain pouring overhead.
As she entered, Victreebel, the gentleman, brought a towel and pulled it over the Normal-type's body.
"Oh, finally, someone treats me how I like!" Jessie sighed.
The giant pitcher plant rubbed the towel into her fur, absorbing most of the water and leaving the Eevee only slightly more moist than usual.
He then moved on to Arbok, since he had also been in the rain as well. Though he only needed a light pat down since he had no fur and water did not stick onto his scaly body.
Jessie walked over to the tall mirror that one of the shipwrights had installed at the entrance. She walked over to it and saw that the streak of hair dye that she had used to color her forehead had faded away, leaving herself near indistinguishable from a normal Eevee yet again.
Gazing at her reflection, she placed a paw onto the glass pane.
The female Rocket member let out a sigh as she wistfully imagined herself back in her human body. She missed her hair, her beautiful luscious hair. Maybe if she tried, she could imagine her tail being her hair, but it just… wasn't the same.
"Hey, don't worry Jessie," Arbok called as he slithered beside he and provided reassurance with his presence alone. "If there's a way to help you get your hair back, we'll find it okay?"
"... Oh, Arbok, I'm glad that you're my partner." Jessie put her paws over the giant snake.
Arbok leaned in. He was always so considerate, so wise. Unlike someone else.
"Be honest, the hair dye didn't work, did it?" the Eevee wept, her ears dropping.
"No, it just… didn't work, I'm afraid," Arbok replied. "It stuck out, made you noticeable, but it didn't seem very natural or well… cute."
Jessie almost wanted to throw the snake off the boat for that. She made an annoyed expression.
"Hey, I'm saying, you were very naturally striking before!" Arbok replied, a chuckle escaping on his lips. "You had a unique style and it made you stick out among humans."
"In a good way?" Jessie said in a warning tone.
"Hm, I'm not a good judge of mammals except Zangoose," Arbok said. "But I… liked how you looked before."
"Good answer," Jessie replied.
She got away from her only remaining Pokémon and made her way to the next room.
It was a good thing that the Pokémon in the dockyard made push doors that were designed to be opened by any Pokémon who were between Charizard size or Eevee size, otherwise, her situation would have been even more frustrating than it was already.
James and Meowth sat at a table, both doing different things.
"I'm just sayin', we dun need a steam engine if we gets a bird to Tailwind for us!" Meowth proposed as he looked over a blueprint.
"I'd rather not hire anyone we don't know the background of!" James sighed. He was going through various bits of clothing and accessories, such as assorted hats and scarves. "I don't want anyone who's going to not stand by our side of that Arcanine shows up again."
"Yeah, like we needta repeat of last time," Meowth agreed.
"Steam engine?" Jessie said, wondering just where exactly steam engines fit into this strange land. They hadn't seen any industrial machinery so far.
"They exist," James supplied. "Apparently, some Pokémon in the past brought them over, but they never caught on in Citrine because they're too expensive to create or fuel. And you know, most Pokémon have better performance than a steam engine at the fraction of the cost."
"And dat's a problem," Meowth complained. "Either we go and gets ourselves a Pokémon to blow da sails or we're stuck here waiting for an engine."
Jessie let out a sigh, knowing just enough about mechanical tinkering to know the problems. "And then we'd have to install the engine and then link it to a propeller."
"Bingo!" Meowth exclaimed as he put down a blueprint of the ship and pointed at it with a claw. "We's already on a deadline. And we gotta get to Tanzanite before the Twerps are done with da place."
"And even if we did install the engine, it'd still be slower than a Pokémon just using Tailwind," James exclaimed.
"Why do we need a steam engine?" Jessie blinked. "What's wrong with using an electric motor like we always do?"
"We can't exactly use da bikes, Jessie," Meowth gestured at her. "And dis ship's alot bigger dan da sub."
"We'd also have to make an electric motor and that'll mean making an electromagnet," James made a thoughtful expression. "And then a power source. Where are we going to get the electricity?"
Jessie rolled her eyes and wondered if she was surrounded by morons. "We could just use hamster wheels. Or you know…" the Eevee let out an electrical pulse, causing her body to glow faintly. Meowth twitched uncontrollably as Jessie shocked him.
"Ow…." Slightly crispy, Meowth shook himself. "Okay, I forgot 'bout dat. And the da fact James is a Pikachu."
"I keep forgetting it sometimes, too!" The Electric-type's ears dropped.
And this was why Jessie was the Brains of their Team Rocket cell, on top of being the Beauty.
"... Should I allocate the required money?" Arbok slithered behind.
"Go ahead. But we're still gonna need a Tailwinder until we can install da engine and a propeller or somethin'." Mewoth frowned. "But again, if we get a Tailwinder, then we won't need an engine."
"We could just hire one… temporarily," Jessie suggested. "Or you know, just not have a Pokémon using tailwind."
"Dat's gonna mean we'll be slower dan we needta…"
"We'll need a smith to make the parts if no one's knows how to make an electric engine." James scratched his head. "We can always have Dewott get the parts for us and pick them up if we need to swing by. He was very interested in the elevator we made and it just uses a simple pulley system. He can probably hook us up with a Flying-type until then, too."
"I tink we have some plans we can show Dewott when I meet him," Meowth agreed as he took a sheet of parchment and began writing. "Hey, Jessie, how come you and James are so weird now?"
Jessie blinked. "Whatever do you mean?"
"I mean, I thought it was weird we can't evolve," James supplied. He then took off his hat, which was currently a straw hat. "But now, we're both a little… odd from a normal Pokémon."
"It's kinda funny. We spend a year chasin' after dis silly Pikachu 'cause he's so strong and now James is now like dat Pikachu," Meowth laughed. "But, for reals. How'd you get like this?"
Jessie shrugged. "I honestly didn't even realize it until everyone made a big deal about it. Then again, I think I remember seeing that Pirate Captain getting burned and I don't remember what caused that."
"It's a big mystery!" James don his straw hat. "But maybe it's the big power boost we need to keep ourselves safe from that Arcanine!"
"Yeah!" Meowth agreed. "And when we get back home, da Boss is gonna give us a promotion! And forget all about us sinking his blimp!"
Jessie looked skeptically.
"Just tink! Yous two are real special. An Eevee and a Pikachu with special moves!" Meowth revealed his idea. "Jessie, you got lots of power and who knows how many types you can use! And for James, you could be anyting! You're not just grunts, but also Pokémon! And Biff and Cassidy ain't gonna know what hit 'em!"
"Oh, if only I had my costume catalog!" James beamed.
Jessie's mind wandered as she conceived of the world Meowth told her about. Her dream ever since joining Team Rocket was to become a top agent, and for a while, it seemed that the sky was the limit, before they met that annoying Twerp and his Pikachu he wouldn't just let them steal..
Maybe this was the big break they needed to finally get their careers back in order. Sure, she wasn't thinking turning into an Eevee would be the road that she'd walk, but on the other hand, she had obvious power now. And who would suspect a cute Eevee to be a top Rocket agent?
Hm, if only she had her gorgeous hair back and then it would have been perfect…
"Maybe it won't be so bad," Jessie mused, already imagining the admiration of all of her peers.
"So, does dat make me the da normal one?" Meowth laughed
Jessie, James, Arbok, and Victreebel gave the scratch cat a skeptical look.
"What?"
After the rain subsided, Meowth left the ship with Weezing behind him once again.
When they had saved Dewott a few days ago, he had taken them to a harbor town that was apparently not too far away from the Capital of Citrine itself.
It featured an extensive dockyard where Pokémon assembled ships by hammering and shaping wood into place. A dizzying mess of small workshops existed to feed all of this boat-making, each one specialized into making specific parts such as sails or oars. And then there were all of the other services that existed to meet the needs of the workshops.
Meowth actually liked the sight, since it reminded him of home back on the streets of Hollywood. Replace all of the boat-making with moviemaking and it was more or less the same; big boats were like big movies and a surprising amount of work went into making sure such big projects were even profitable.
"So, Jessie and James are plenty powerful now," Weezing interjected, bringing the scratch cat back to reality. His voice came out of both heads at the same time.
"Yeah…" Meowth agreed, feeling a pang of shame upon him. Not only were they Pokémon now and thus didn't need a translator, the two of them were special, marked by having access to abilities that an ordinary Pokémon was supposed to have. "Hey, Weezing, you ever feel like you're… redundant or something?"
"A little," both heads spoke. "I mean, it's not like I got hands or anything and I mostly just spend my time floating about and watching the clouds."
"Yeah, but at least you can do something, anything," Meowth replied. "You can fight and do a whole bunch of stuff that the team needs."
"You were very useful to have around for when I need to talk to-" Weezing cut himself off. "Oh."
"Exactly," Meowth shrugged.
"Well, I can't exactly be a mechanic and every hand that's available really helps the team," Weezing proposed. "Like, even Arbok can carry things by themselves."
"I suppose," Meowth sighed. "But you know, it's… not just that."
"You're jealous?" Weezing spoke.
"A little." Meowth shook his head. "Okay, very jealous. It's just… A while back Pikachu said that Jessie and James were better at me at the whole being Pokémon part and… this just drives the point home. They're natural at being what they are, no training needed." And neither of them get odd looks while they're walking down the street.
"So?" Weezing questioned. "What are you going to do about it?"
"For now, do business," Meowth answered as he made a turn and found himself at his destination.
Dewott's family lived in a large building that was not too far from the waterfront. The square compound bore three floors and a wide floor space to accommodate nearly anyone who could enter. For decoration, banners featuring conical seashells with sharp blades of water were scattered over every major location. From what Meowth understood, it served as both a living quarters and something of a company office.
From the front, Meowth could see dozens of Pokémon lining up, each of them waiting to meet an Indeedee receptionist at the front desk. A recruitment poster hung behind her.
Fortunately for Meowth, he was something of a VIP in this situation; he wasn't looking for a job. He bypassed the line, causing several of the Pokémon to take note of him.
"Oh, come on!" complained a Gible.
"I got business with the guys who own the joint!" Meowth explained as he walked through and stepped over to a different table. He held a slip of paper that Dewott had given him and presented it to the clerk. "Who do I need to see to speak to Dewott? I have business with him."
Upon seeing the documents, Wingull waved a wing. "Uh, on the second floor, Sirs!"
Meowth flashed a smile, satisfied that he was finally getting some respect.
He and Weezing walked up a flight of stairs and were directed to a meeting room.
Moving close to the shoji door, he overheard Dewott speaking through. "-You can't be serious!"
"It's obvious if you know what to look for," said an older, gruffer voice. "But son, quiet down. Lest unfriendly ears overhear."
"That's… preposterous!" Dewott said back, he sounded distressed. "I mean, they seemed so… nice, if a bit weird."
"They're talking about us," Weezing commented in a whisper.
Meowth nodded his head, though at the same time he wondered why being nice was seen as something hard to believe.
Figuring he had come all this way, the cat tapped on the door.
There was a muffled whisper between the two inside the room.
Eventually, the older, gruffer voice spoke. "You may come in."
Meowth slid the shoji open and found Dewott and his father sitting on large floor cushions.
The Samurott laid on his belly. His dark seashell armor was decorated with golden edging, whilst silver jewelry hung around his neck. "We've been expecting you."
"Yeah…" Dewott agreed, though he seemed more hesitant than he had been earlier that day.
The cat bowed his head as a gesture of gratitude and then took a seat, whilst Weezing hovered over a cushion nearby.
"I must thank you yet again for saving my son. Even though doing so required you to smuggle yourself in one of my ships." The large Water-type reiterated. They had all met him earlier in the week, when they arrived, though only long enough for the Water-type to pay them the bounty for the pirate Captain. "So, what brings you here again? And without the other four."
"I'm just here to do business, since the other two are fixing up the ship," said Meowth.
The Samurott eyed him inquisitively. "Oh? Is that it then? Very well, I will grant this audience, since I am impressed with what I have seen from you already." He then lowered his head by a fraction. "You may call me Fjord, the proud owner of this building and the Fjord Trade Company. I do not think I caught your name before. Do you have a name, yourself?"
Meowth shook his head. "Just Meowth."
"Wait, so you're subordinates?" Dewott stared at him incredulously.
"No!" Meowth scowled. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"I am," Weezing said plainly. "But Meowth isn't."
"I mean, you don't have a name!" Dewott spoke. "And I mean, Jessie and James have theirs, so I was wondering just exactly how your group worked."
"Why does a name matter?" Meowth questioned. "You don't have one either."
"They are outsiders. For them, the rules are slightly different," the Samurrot spoke in an authoritative tone. "Meowth, to understand my son's confusion, you must understand that names, proper names belong to the worthy within Citrine. It is simply the way of things here, as to be nameless to be of little note. To possess a name is to become distinguished enough to merit one.."
"Yeah, that whole trip I nearly got captured? That was as much me trying to prove I deserved a name as much as it was about making money," Dewott deflated.
"Huh, so if you're special you deserve a name?" Meowth questioned.
"Nothing technically stops one from getting a name at any point of time, it is simply seen as… pretentious to have a name and not earn it. Though, being born into a position of authority can be seen as sufficient enough." Fjord continued to explain. "Coincidentally, it is common for Maiju to expect the named individual to command the unnamed."
"Which is why it was so strange for Jessie and James to treat you like they do," Dewott frowned.
"I mean, they're kind of special already, with their special powers and what not." Meowth shrugged. "Either way, I'm here to give you something." He reached into a sack and pulled out a paper and presented it to Samurott.
The large Water-type raised a paw and pressed it against the paper as he lowered his eyes to meet it. "This is a strange contraption. What is it?" the Samurott questioned.
"It's called an electric motor. The way they work is well, basically it uses an electromagnet to spin a rotor at high speeds to cause something else to spin," Meowth explained proudly.
"I only got half of that because of your thick accent," Dewott shook his head.
"What accent?" Meowth snapped. This happened every time. Someone would say he had an accent and for the life of him, the feline couldn't figure out what anyone was referring to. "I mean, I don't hear anything wrong with my voice."
Weezing made a low grumble that served as a chuckle.
"How can you not hear yourself? You inflect your words incorrectly and it shows!" Dewott replied. He then closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "It's… kind of noticeable and the way you walk is… just unnatural for a cat."
"I know it's not normal!" Meowth said. "But I've been walking like this for years already and it's handy to, you know, actually hold things with my paws!"
"Is that because you're human?" Dewott pointed a digit at him and stared with an accusatory glare.
"What?" Meowth staggered back. Suddenly, the conversation Dewott and his father just had before he and Weezing showed up came to mind.
"Son," Fjord spoke in a cautionary tone.
"I just want to know, really," Dewott almost pleaded. "So, tell me, is that why you're so strange? Same with Jessie and James?"
Weezing hovered slightly over to the cat, ready to position himself if need be.
Meowth took a deep breath and gave his answer. "I'm not human, I just… wanted to to fit in with them, because of a girl," he spat bitterly. Meowize and everything about her was still fresh in his mind. He looked at his paws. "It… didn't work out, but I got too used to being like this, since it let me be among humans."
Dewott seemed almost ashamed. "I…oh, I didn't realize. I just thought because you were… unusual that you were…"
"I know. But it's a habit I can't just… not do." Ironically, his attempts to better fit in with the world of humans just made him estranged in a world without them.
"Son," the Samurott spoke, his tone solemn. "A thing to bear in mind is that while names are seen as a sign of significance or importance in Citrine; among humans, names are almost a given, as everyone is named. If Meowth was being honest with us, it was fairly obvious he wasn't human because of his total lack of a name."
"Father, why do you know so much about them? And why is it that you're only bringing this up now?" Dewott eyed his father.
"Because it was never relevant and it is not something one can discuss without consequence. It has been over a hundred Moons since I had met a human and it never needed to be brought up," the Samurott explained. "As to why I know, well, I had spent some time traveling with humans before, but that is something I had promised to speak of. Meowth, what do you want to do with this drawing?"
"We want you to make the parts. There's a list of how big they have to be and what they need to be made out of. Once we have the parts, we can try assembling the machine," Meowth answered back, glad to have the topic move into something more comfortable.
"And this is supposed to use electricity… to provide motion. I assume that you are trying to take the motion to then make it do something useful, like you would a steam engine," Fjord surmised.
"That's exactly right," Meowth said. "Basically, what we want to do is hook it up to a propeller, that is to say, a set of spinning blades, to have it so our ship doesn't need sails. Or doesn't need them as much."
"Propellers work on any fluid medium actually," Weezing added. "Basically, you shape the blades in a way so as they spin, the air or liquid around them is moved in a certain direction."
"Very intriguing. I am familiar with the steam engine, though I have never been impressed by them before. Then again, we have never needed to create this… propeller." Samurott surmised. "Why would you create this over a Maiju that can use Tailwind?"
"We don't have anyone that can do that," Meowth answered. "And well… we're kind of not keen on having someone we don't know hanging around us." He frowned and then turned to Dewott. "I'm not human, but Jessie and James are." He said that part in a low voice, just to make sure interlopers wouldn't have heard. "I'm only saying it because you already found out."
"You should not have said that. Before, I could have simply claimed that it was merely an idle suspicion my son had, but for you to directly state that bodes ill for us all," Fjord snapped as he stamped a paw onto the floor. "It is against the law to aid humans in Citrine, among other things. If you are found, you are to be beheaded or burned alive."
"There are... laws about this?" Dewott gulped.
Meowth clapped his paws over his mouth.
"As a landowner, if I am caught aiding your friends or withholding the information about them, I will slain alongside you, do you understand?" Fjord stopped sounding so cordial, his eyes focused directly at Meowth's.
"I get it," Meowth nodded his head, worry biting his lip. He had been told something similar by that Typhlosion named Sirocco, but never so... directly. He knew that humans weren't liked.
"Good." The Samurott made an exhale. "This meeting... has never involved the topic of humans. If anyone asks, I will disavow this gathering's purpose was anything other than electric motor. On that note, I will see if my contacts are willing to make this device. Do you have a time frame?"
"We'll be out for a few weeks at sea to pick up some… friends of ours, but we'll come back shortly after," Meowth provided.
"Especially since there's a Dojo nearby," Weezing chimed in.
"Then as payment, once this machine is created, I would like to create more of them, so that I might profit from this endeavor," Fjord gave a simple demand.
"Father!" Dewott snapped. "...Are you sure, I mean… can we trust them?"
"Did you trust them before?" the Samurott questioned. "Do you think them any different now that you know more about them?"
"I… don't know," Dewott lowered his head. "It's just… this isn't what I expected. I don't understand what is going on, but I was saved because of these... visitors."
"Hey, don't worry about it. We're used to being called the bad guy," Meowth said, though he carefully let out the part where Team Rocket were actual villains. "I'll check in with Jessie and James. And if it works out, we'll ask for more electric motors."
"Then, I can have a clerk draft a contract for you to sign," said Fjord. "Just as a formality."
"Thank you for your time," Meowth got out of his seat, seeing that the thing he set out to do had been completed. "We're going to stick around for a bit longer, but we'll have to leave very soon. Probably hire a Tailwinder for the short term."
"We can probably loan you one," said the Samurott.
And with that, Meowth and Weezing took their leave.
"Are you sure about this, Arcanine?"
"I am certain. I have visited Hyacinth and seen it for myself. The humans have gone out of their way to create a blasphemy, just as Silver told us."
"So, your little stray turned out to be telling the truth after all."
"So, once again humans have always sought the power and perfection of the gods, especially the Progenitor."
"What of those criminals? The ones that Silver said hunter othr Maiju?"
"Another leader has stated that they have a lead and that they will handle the matter."
Also, I figured a chapter focusing on Team Rocket and related subjects needed to be done.
I hope you enjoy.
We get to see some Silver.
Jessie, James, and Meowth get full snippets of their own, of them going through being Team Rocket.
And well, a secret meeting with very vague details, simply because I didn't want to reveal too much.
And yes, James has become CosplayChu.
And to refence the fact Meowth doesn't realize his own accent, he talks normally when the chapter is in his point of view.