Ash's Team: Charmander, Nidorino, Pikachu, Hitmonlee
Leaf's Team: Ivysaur, Metapod, Sandshrew
Brock's Team: Geodude, Onix
REVIEW as it motivates me to update quicker!
Chapter 19: Meeting Detective Looker
"Crap!" Ash cursed, diving across the floor to avoid the object heading towards him. Machamp roared, continuing to throw whatever he could at both him and his Pokemon. The desk sailed overhead, shattering across the wall it connected to.
"Where the hell is it?!" Silver pulled his hair, continuing to open every cabinet he could in the background.
"Nidorino, Fury Attack! Hitmonlee, Double Kick!" Ash instructed, pointing towards Machamp as the battle progressed. They had already been going for several minutes, only achieving progress due to outnumbering Machamp. It didn't seem like Silver had any other Pokemon. Perhaps, the redhead was too preoccupied in finding whatever he was searching for to care.
Both Pokemon landed their respective attacks, causing Machamp to fall on one knee in anguish. However, it didn't take long for Machamp to lash out an arm, sending Nidorino across the ground roughly.
Ash dove to the floor again, using his body to catch Nidorino. Looking down on his Pokemon in a concerned manner, Ash bit his lip nervously upon seeing Nidorino's swirling eyes. Nidorino had fought extremely well, but Machamp was more than anything they had faced thus far.
Machamp turned his attention to Hitmonlee, who had backed up and created some space between the two. Machamp raised his arm as his hand became engulfed in flames, preparing a Fire Punch. Ash's eyes widened, preparing to advise Hitmonlee as Machamp stormed forward.
"Jump over and use Double Kick!"
Hitmonlee jumped over Machamp, causing the larger Pokemon to look around in confusion. As Hitmonlee remained in the air, he successfully threw two remarkable kicks in succession to the back of Machamp's head.
"Now, Sucker Punch!" Ash shouted, his tone carrying his excitement due to Machamp being stunned. Machamp wobbled as he stood, clearly struggling to regain his balance and form.
Hitmonlee was already close enough to throw the punch as he cried out in determination. Somehow, Machamp caught the punch with his bottom two arms.
"Use Blaze Kick to get him off!" Ash ordered, though his words were in vain. Machamp raised his top two hands, using Dual Chop on both sides of Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee crumbled to the floor, laying face first on the marble. Ash recalled both Nidorino and Hitmonlee quickly, getting up on his feet to defend himself.
Silver was still buried in the shelves and cabinets at the back of the office, growing even more frustrated somehow. If he wasn't fearing for his life, Ash would feel guilty that this person's office was completely ravaged and demolished.
'I'm out of Pokemon to use, but I doubt it would matter with this Machamp. I left Pikachu with Leaf, and I only have Charmander left. Even if Charmander was fearless, I doubt he would be enough to stop this thing.' Ash thought, refraining from releasing his starter Pokemon.
Machamp opted not to throw anything else, instead charging straight to Ash. Due to the size and surprising speed of Silver's Pokemon, Ash barely avoided Machamp's arms from grabbing him. Unfortunately, Machamp rotated at the last second, swinging one of his arms wildly and hitting the teen.
Ash shouted as he was lifted off the air barely, falling on his butt. Gripping his ribs, he dove once more as Machamp threw an officer chair. As the teen rose to his feet and slipped onto the wall tiredly, he detected a fire extinguisher attached beside him.
"Machamp!" Machamp grunted its name, cornering Ash. Grabbing the tank from the wall, Ash pointed the hose and sprayed it directly into the Pokemon's eyes. Machamp backed away cautiously, swiping uselessly at the air and around his eyes.
Not able to see due to the white cloud now being present, Ash could only hear the intimidating sounds emitting from Machamp. Even worse, the Pokemon's stomps grew much louder as he closed the distance once more.
The Pallet Town native made a costly mistake, dropping the tank as Machamp's punch became visible. Ash dropped to the floor fearfully, with Machamp's punch going through the office wall easily, right where Ash was previously standing. Ash stared upwards as he remained on the floor, with Machamp cornering him completely with his chilling form.
'Guess I'm screwed now.' Ash scoffed mentally, accepting his fate as Machamp towered over him. Ash could only glare at the Pokemon, who raised his arms overhead to finish the perceived threat. Just as it seemed like it was over, a deafening siren rang out. Machamp paused, dropping his arms as multiple red lights went off along with the siren.
Ash and Silver both paused, looking around in confusion. Realizing he didn't have any more time, the color on Silver's face drained.
"No, no, no, no. NO!" Silver shouted, pacing around the office. Machamp left Ash for the time being, opting to stand by his trainer waiting patiently for the plan. Ash sighed loudly, letting his head fall backwards into the wall in complete exhaustion. Silver must have heard Ash, as grew more panicked. Ash was forced to open his eyes upon being dragged up from the floor, with Silver holding Ash by the collar of his shirt.
"I should kill you right here." Silver barely gritted out, pressing Ash against the wall as they stood face to face. Ash grunted from the pressure, growing slightly dizzy from his head hitting the wall.
For the first time in his life, Ash had felt a rampant fear coursing through his entire body. It was different than fighting Team Rocket in Pewter City. Less frightening running from a terrorizing Onix in Mt. Moon. Anything he had felt or done in a stupidly dangerous manner didn't come anywhere close to the present.
Sweating profusely and attempting to keep his cool, Ash's mind raced. There was no way of getting out of the situation physically, but he wasn't the only one in a precarious situation.
"You could." Ash shrugged, feigning neutrality in the matter. "But you're just wasting your time. I don't know what you did to clear the security from here, but from the way you're acting, it can't be long before shit hits the fan."
Silver's grip loosened slightly, likely taking Ash's words at face value. It couldn't be long before others got here. The member of Team Rocket was running on borrowed time.
"If I cross paths with you again, I won't show you the same mercy." Silver whispered furiously. Before Ash could respond, his vision went completely dark.
He felt more relaxed than ever, encompassed in a welcoming space of nothingness. Drifting off, with nothing to harm, stress, and inconvenience himself with. Pure bliss.
Voices sounded from a distance, their words indistinguishable and meaningless. It was impossible to decipher what was said, but as time progressed, they became much clearer.
Pokes and prodding became noticeable, as well as mild discomfort. Previously free from the outside, he began to experience the discomfort of reality.
Suddenly feeling a blistering pain on his head, Ash's eyes struggled to open. Although the light overhead was simply an average bulb and brightness, it only seemed to cause more of an ache.
"Oh, you're finally up!" Brock exclaimed, though winced as Ash groaned due to his voice being too loud. "Sorry, your head must be hurting pretty bad."
"Where am I?" Ash moaned out, scanning his surroundings. He was lying on a bench, though with the sheets and pillow on it, it appeared as if somehow temporarily created a bed with it. The room was fairly void of any belongings, with the exception of a desk in the middle and a chair on each side. Brock sat by Ash's feet, looking at his frend happily.
Leaf entered the room, typing her hair in a ponytail as she approached the bed. She had probably heard Brock from outside. She crouched beside Ash, leaving her hair alone to now grab Ash's face. Ash groaned in annoyance as Leaf rotated his head, scanning his face.
"Ouch. Why are you doing that? You're not even trained medically speaking." Ash grumbled, though Leaf remained quiet. After a few seconds, Leaf finally removed her hands, only to card them through Ash's uncontrollable hair. Ash sighed in relief, enjoying the touch.
"You have a bad bruise on your cheek. Even I could tell if it's gotten better or worse." Leaf explained.
"We're actually in one of Saffron City's Police Stations."
"Huh?!" Ash responded to Brock, sitting up swiftly. It turned out to be a stupid mistake, as Ash moaned due to the pain in his head multiplying.
"Don't worry! We're not in trouble. Well, we would have been due to the whole trespassing thing. But that's beside the point." Leaf remarked, attempting to calm down her friend.
"Ok, but why am I here and not in a hospital? Seriously, this is like the worst set up of all time." Ash motioned at the room.
"I found you unconscious in the President's office. Not long after, the Police came up and escorted us out. You received medical attention from first responders, but you don't even have a concussion so you were cleared. Since we were trespassing, they took us to the station for questioning." Lead rolled her eyes, sounding nonchalant about the whole situation.
"So you're basically saying we're in some shit." Ash deadpanned.
"Actually, not at all! The owner of Silph Co. decided to not press charges, once he was informed that you two fought against Team Rocket up there." Brock jumped in.
"If it wasn't for the Police apprehending that Team Rocket grunt Hitmonlee knocked out, then we were probably in pretty deep Diglet shit." Ash raised an eyebrow, choosing to ignore the end of Leaf's explanation.
"I'm assuming Silver got away?" Ash asked, drawing confused looks from both Brock and Leaf. "The grade A douchebag."
"Oh, him! Looks like it. There were sightings of him leaving, but everything points to him having escaped. He's probably long gone from Saffron City." Leaf replied honestly, removing her hand from Ash's hair. Instead, she offered an ice pack from the desk beside her, which Ash took gratefully as he applied it to his jaw. "Bruising is pretty bad underneath your eye and jaw. Was he the one to knock you out?"
Ash nodded in response, grimacing at the cold touch applied to the sensitive area.
"Yeah, it's kind of blurry but it had to be." Ash struggled to remember the full events, not exactly recalling how he was knocked unconscious. It couldn't have been Machamp. Any strike or force from that Pokemon would result in a serious injury, rather than some mere swelling and bruising.
It was odd, thinking that the Team Rocket member let him off the hook so easily. There have always been reports of the organization acting in violent and inhumane manners. Perhaps Silver didn't have the stomach for it? Silver didn't have enough time to do what he would have liked? There were plenty of possible explanations, but it didn't matter considering he wouldn't find out without Silver telling him why himself.
Attributing the situation to pure luck, Ash pushed it to the back of his mind and continued the conversation with the two. Leaf explained that once they were taken to the police situation, a Lieutenant kindly accepted Leaf's request to notify Brock of what occurred. It didn't take more than an hour for Brock to reunite with Leaf, where he learned the full situation and details from the brunette.
The group was also free to leave whenever, as they were cleared of any possible charges due to their involvement in stopping Team Rocket. When Brock had asked what the organization was looking for in the first place, the Chief of Police ignored the teenager, opting to remain silent on the matter.
As the group exited the questioning room, Ash took in the scene inside the middle of the police station. There were plenty of officers, the majority of them working tirelessly filling out paperwork in their respective desks. The ones who weren't seated roamed across the rooms hastily.
With Brock leading the way, Ash and Leaf followed behind to exit the building. No one paid them much mind, occupied with their work. It wasn't until they reached the main exit that they were interrupted.
"Leaving so soon?" A middle aged man asked, approaching the group from behind. He wasn't dressed like an officer, wearing a dark brown formal attire, covered partially with a light brown trench coat. His short brown hair was slightly pointed to one side and his brown eyes pierced through the group, almost suspiciously.
"Hello again, Detective. Do you need anything else from us?" Brock greeted the detective. Detective Looker forced a smile, training his eyes on Ash.
"No, not from you or Leaf. Though I haven't gotten a chance to introduce myself to your friend. You can call me Detective Looker." Looker outstretched his arm formally in greeting. Ash quickly accepted the handshake, staring up at his face as the man was quite a few inches taller than him, at about Brock's height.
"Nice to meet you Detective. I'm Ash Ketchum."
"Just wanted to see the face of the kid who created quite the ruckus at Silph Co."
At Looker's words, Leaf glared at the man, finding issue with both his tone and accusation. Looker didn't pay her much mind, scanning Ash's face for any reaction. Ash remained straight faced, not seeing any reason to act offended or confrontational. It wasn't as if Leaf and him were supposed to be in Silph Co. in the first place.
"I apologize for that, sir. It wasn't our intention to be involved, much less interfere with any operations you have ongoing in Saffron City." Ash replied formally. Looker appeared taken back for a moment. After a few seconds, Looker sighed and took on a more relaxed and understanding expression.
"Good. Although it's not my duty as I'm just a detective, I'm sorry you two had to experience a situation like that. It's likely that Team Rocket bribed the security at Silph Co. HQ. It's why any faculty or visitors weren't granted access to upper floors, as well as staff being notified that the area was closed for the time being."
"Any luck with the interrogation?" Brock asked curiously. Looker shook his head, disappointed with their findings.
"We catch grunts like those all the time. They spill out anything they know with the simplest threats, but they never know much due to their clearance levels. This guy is just another example of that. He doesn't even know what they were looking for, insisting his partner kept him in the dark."
"So Silver was the one in charge?" Leaf asked in a disbelieving tone. Looker nodded his head. It surprised the whole group, as no one would expect a teen ordering around a grown man, especially in a notorious criminal organization.
"All signs point to that. With your description of him, we've identified his appearance pretty accurately from cameras. Unfortunately, all signs of him after leaving the premise vanished. There's not much to go off of, even with his name. It's just a nickname or alias, as anybody matching that first name doesn't appear in the Kanto database." Ash closed his mouth at Looker's words, as he was about to suggest exactly that.
"What about the president of Silph Co? Mr. Coleman? Shouldn't he have a clue what they were after? It's his business." Ash questioned, growing slightly agitated that there were not many leads.
"That's what we thought. It's plausible, but Mr. Coleman doesn't seem very cooperative. You know how all these big money guys are." Looker remarked, before backtracking as he looked at the much smaller Leaf and Ash. "Um, I guess you two don't. They're tightlipped about their products, not wanting their competition to get even a sniff on what they're working on. Point is, Mr. Coleman isn't saying a word on the matter."
"It's probably for the best, considering he wanted to press charges originally on you and Leaf." Ash quickly turned to Brock, his heart beating out of his chest. However, Brock swiftly reassured the teen that the Police insisted they were just caught in the crossfire.
"Anyways, I won't keep you all here any longer. I've already given Brock my card, in case any details you two have forgotten pop up. Please, contact me if something comes up related to this whole shitshow." Looker pleaded.
Brock shook the hand of Looker, wishing him well. From the way the two interacted, it seemed like they had already met before. Brock was the Gym Leader of Pewter City, so it was probably common for him to have been questioned for any crimes related to the city. Looker gave a cordial nod to Leaf and Ash, before leaving the group.
The group departed the station, discussing the failed Team Rocket operation. It was worrisome, not only hearing about the increase in Team Rocket appearances and attacks, but also experiencing them firsthand. It wasn't an aspect either Leaf and Ash thought would be prevalent in their journeys.
"Are you two alright? That must have been a lot." Brock asked concernedly. Leaf gave a small smile, flashing a thumbs up. It didn't seem like she was shaken up much. Ash wasn't too surprised, considering Leaf was an independent and strong individual. Not to mention that she didn't go through the same major scare as Ash did.
"I think so." Ash responded confidently. "My head doesn't even hurt that bad. Besides, that's the worst thing that happened." Ash partially lied, having no intention of revealing his true thoughts. In reality, the teen had come closer to death than he ever thought he would in his entire life. Although there was no weapon or Pokemon pressed against him in the end, it still felt hopeless.
Brock forced a tightlipped smile, not seeming very fooled by Ash's words. Luckily, Leaf didn't notice any unusual attitude coming from the teen, which was surprising considering how well they knew each other. Perhaps it was due to the brunette being more shaken up than she let on as well. Or Brock was simply more observing due to his older age and wisdom.
"If you say so. I have a feeling trouble and action follows you two." Brock joked, laughing as he then recalled their meeting, with all the chaos ensuing in Pewter City Science Museum. It lightened the mood, but also highlighted a concerning reality. They had already faced so many events that threatened their lives. Ash knew that traveling the region wouldn't be completely safe, but this was out of the ballpark.
Regardless, it wouldn't deter Ash from accomplishing what he set out to do. On their way to Vermillion City, he would defeat the third Gym Badge and be one step closer to the Pokemon League Tournament.
Hope you enjoyed this short chapter! Curious to hear what you all think about Silver! He's definitely not too sane as you can see haha. REVIEW and I'll see you all soon!