"Finally," Ash said as the pokémon center came into view, hidden in a dip in the grassy plains of eastern Kanto.
After getting the Soul Badge Ash and his friends had briefly stopped by the Safari Zone for a quick tour and then had gone east, traveling along the gulf until they reached the town where their ferry had come in. From there they cut east across the grasslands to travel north on the eastern coast of Kanto, heading for Lavender town. Ash had decided against taking the bridge and had chosen to take the foot paths on the coast that ran parallel, heading for the pokémon center where the route east out of Vermillion hit the coast.
The journey had been uneventful for once; the most exciting thing that had happened was that Ash had met some wild pokémon local to the area and introduced them to his team. They answered some of the wild pokémon's questions about being trained pokémon and then had played with them for a short time.
Brock and Misty had seemed slightly put off by the ease at which Ash had befriended the wild pokémon, but hadn't said anything. The only comment Brock had made about the affair was that it was nice that they hadn't had to deal with anything exciting.
That had happened only a few days previously. After that they had been looking for the pokémon center; Brock and Misty looking forward to showers and laundry, Ash looking forward to another taste of civilization.
"You think they'd put up some signposts," Misty groused. "Or do the staff here take sadistic joy in making trainers comb through every nook and cranny for ten miles?"
"Hmm… that puts the image of a sadistic Nurse Joy into my head," Brock said, stroking his chin. "I'll have to, uh, think about that…"
"Not remotely what I had in mind you hormone crazed bastard," Misty said with a shudder. "And even if it was run by a sadistic Nurse Joy, I'm sure she'd be more interested in giving you shots and making you eat disgusting foods for your own good."
"Yeah, that's fair," Brock sighed.
"Wait, what did Brock have in mind?" Ash asked.
You don't want to know, Pikachu said from his perch on Ash's head.
"You don't want to know," Misty unknowingly echoed Pikachu's warning as they strode into the center.
The three humans dropped their pokémon off for checkups and basic care, Ash waving goodbye to Pikachu, before they went off to the cafeteria. They grabbed a table and then Brock and Ash eagerly went to the buffet.
"I don't get why you two are so excited," Misty said, giving the food on offer a small grimace. "Brock, your cooking is so much better than this slop."
"But I don't have to cook this," Brock explained.
"There's lots more food here," Ash added. "I can keep eating without running out."
Misty just sighed.
Sitting down at the table, they began to dig in. Ash caught snippets of conversation coming from the rest of the cafeteria while he stuffed his face.
"No news from Saffron in how-"
"I heard that there was an earthquake-"
"No, it was Moltres on a rampage-"
"Nonsense. I heard-"
"Did you hear about the weather crisis to the south? I heard Lorelei is being called away to help out. No word on how long she's going to be gone."
"-that smuggling ring that got busted recently? It turns out they got busted because there was high demand for some high-tech products being driven entirely by an 'unidentified private individual'. Whoever it was emptied the market and the smugglers were desperate to restock."
"Hey, Aaron, what'cha thinking about?" Misty asked, drawing Ash's attention back to the table.
"Nothing," Ash answered and then silently thanked the fates that Pikachu wasn't there to make his usual remark. For once he wouldn't have to hear-
"Wow, you're being honest about that," Misty grinned.
"Oh, hahaha," Ash rolled his eyes. Pikachu wasn't required for his suffering; he'd need to remember that.
"Did you notice the nurse on duty?" Brock asked. "It was the Nurse Jenny the other brats have been gossiping about."
"I thought it might have been her, but I didn't get a good look," Misty replied.
"No doubt about it," Brock said. He learned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "And even better, I snuck a peek at her desk and do you know what I saw?"
"What?" Misty asked, also leaning forward and lowering her voice.
"It was a photo of her and her wife, an Officer Joy," Brock grinned.
"Oooooh," Misty shook her head. "She avoids all the other stereotypes from her clan, only to fall prey to that last one."
"You can't really blame her on that account though," Brock replied. "Joys are good looking and that Officer Joy knows how to wear a uniform."
"I'd really like to see a male version of a Jenny or Joy," Misty sighed. "And before you say anything, I don't mean just male members of the clan who look like everyone else."
"Go ask around in one of the larger city's computer networks," Brock advised. "I wouldn't be surprised if you could find enough artwork for a collection."
"I'm afraid that's not the sort of art I'd enjoy," Misty rolled her eyes. "Moving on, where are we headed next, Aaron?"
"Saffron City," Ash said through a mouth full of a cheesy potato casserole with green beans. "I'll get the badge and then go to Cinnabar Island."
"How are we getting to Cinnabar?" Brock asked. "Taking the ferry again?"
"Or we can catch a water-type big enough to carry us all," Misty rubbed her hands together in glee. "We can go looking for a gyrados, or a lapras, or a wailord, or maybe we'll get really lucky and run across a milotic-"
"Even I know that milotics are very rare," Brock snorted. "We'd have to spend years searching to even see one."
"We could get lucky," Misty shrugged.
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed. Brock and Misty both gave him a glance and then looked at each other.
"Okay, so probably not," Misty said. "But we could still catch one of the other large water types."
"I think I'll just take the ferry," Ash said. It had struck him that it would be cool to see a pokémon as rare as a milotic, but the thought of acquiring a pokémon just to use as transportation didn't sit with him very well. It struck Ash as too mercenary.
"Well, at least I can fish from the ferry," Misty sighed.
"What's after Cinnabar?" Brock asked. "If you get that badge as easily as you got all your other ones."
"Why wouldn't I?" Ash asked, tilting his head. "Is the Cinnabar Gym really hard?"
"No, but you are going through the gyms pretty quickly," Brock pointed out. "It's not unheard of for a rookie trainer to blow through all the gyms in under a year, but it's rare."
"Plenty of trainers start to stall when it comes to the last couple of badges," Misty added. "The requirements for the last three are pretty high."
"Good point," Brock replied. "I guess we're putting the cart before the tauros here. Aaron, you might end up spending more time than you planned in Saffron City."
"No thanks," Ash said, sticking out his tongue. "If I'm having trouble getting the badge then I'll go train somewhere else. Maybe I'll just go to Cinnabar first then and see if I do better there."
"Well, if you do that, keep in mind that getting your sixth badge first means Saffron Gym's requirements will be even higher," Brock warned.
"You know, five badges is more than enough to start applying for positions in the League or in a gym. I mean, if that's what you want to do," Misty said.
"No," Ash shook his head. "I want to keep travelling! There's still so much to see and so many pokémon to meet!"
Even disregarding his fear of his hunters and the dangers of remaining in one place for too long Ash had no desire to settle down.
"Were you expecting a different answer?" Brock asked Misty.
"I guess not," Misty said with a small shrug.
The trio continued to chat while they ate. After dinner they returned to the lounge to wait for their pokémon to be returned to them. They grabbed one of the available televisions, sat down, and began to argue about what to watch while fiddling with the TV.
"Ugh, what's wrong with this channel?" Brock said, thumping the television. The picture was distorted and partially obscured by static. "If I'm going to have to miss 'Romance at the End' because of technical difficulties, then I swear…."
"Eh, I've seen better movie adaptations of that story," Misty shrugged.
"Okay, first of all there are no better movie adaptations of the tale of the great Kanto chiefess and her rescue of the gentle lord from Johto," Brock said. "Second, it's not just a story, it's an important piece of our history! We all need to read or watch it whenever we can!"
"I'm sure that stance of yours isn't influenced by fantasies of being rescued by a beautiful chiefess that you must have had when you were younger," Misty said, rolling her eyes.
"No!" Brock protested, blushing. Misty sniggered at that response and even Ash had to chuckle.
Still blushing, Brock turned back to fiddling with the television. No matter what settings he changed, or how he fiddled with the connection, nothing seemed to get the channel to work. Brock ended up swearing at the device, which caught the attention of a nearby trainer.
"You're trying to get that channel to work?" He asked, crouching down next to Brock. "I'd give up. Starting yesterday the Saffron television station started having technical issues. The live stuff was canceled and everything else has gone to crap."
"Oh great," Brock snapped, shooting a glare at the tv. "Well thanks for the warning."
"You're welcome," the trainer said and then walked off.
"So, what are we going to watch now?" Brock sighed.
The trio spent a good twenty minutes arguing about what to watch, which, if Ash was being honest with himself, was almost as fun as actually watching something.
"Here, let's just watch whatever's on this….." Misty held down the channel up button on the remote as watched as images flickered across the screen, "channel," she finished, letting up on the button.
The show initially appeared to be a documentary about water-type pokémon. Brock glared at Misty while she looked smug. Soon however, Brock let out a chuckle and Misty let out a groan as the title of the documentary, 'Fire-Types of Alola', crawled across the screen.
"Okay, we can switch," Misty said, reaching for the remote. Brock grabbed it before she could.
"No, no, we have to stay on this channel, that was the rule," Brock said with an evil little laugh.
"Yeah! I want to learn about the fire-types from, uh, Alula," Ash said.
"Alola," Brock corrected.
"Yes, that place!" Ash said, nodding.
"Oh, fine," Misty grumbled.
Ash sat, engrossed by the documentary, while Brock zoned out and Misty pretended to pout while secretly watching out of the corner of her eye. Both her and Ash let out a groan when an emergency broadcast screen interrupted their viewing.
"It's probably a test," Misty sighed, grabbing the remote. "Let's watch something else until it clears up."
Her plan ran headfirst into a problem; every other channel they tried had the emergency broadcast screen.
"I don't think this is a test," Brock said, standing up and looking around. Ash followed suit and saw that every television that had been turned on in the lounge also had an emergency broadcast screen. The other occupants began to talk all at once and the lounge was filled with noise.
Harsh high-pitched tones interrupted the babble.
"A state of emergency has been declared by the Kanto Legislative Assembly," came the smooth sounding announcement. "Travel to Saffron City and the surrounding townships is currently off limits. Any individuals in Saffron City and the surrounding townships who receive this message should evacuate themselves and their family as soon as possible. Active pokémon trainers with five or more badges should report to the nearest pokémon center and await further instructions. I repeat…"
"This is not good," Brock said, while Misty took out her pokégear.
"I'm being told to report in as well," she told Brock and Ash. "It's a general message for all gym trainers in the Lavender Town County."
"They're grabbing everyone around Saffron City," Brock commented. "Fuck, this is big. Are they going to do a full mobilization?"
"Oh, Kyogre no," Misty closed her eyes and put her hands together.
"What are we going to have to do?" Ash asked, pulling out the small booklet he kept his badges in.
"I didn't even think about that," Misty moaned. "Fuck! You've got five badges. You're going to get drafted."
"Don't worry," Brock said, though his face was pale. "You're young, they'll probably have you helping out with scut work."
"Hey! I can fight!" Ash protested. "I've done it before."
"We don't even know if there's going to be any fighting," Brock said. "Maybe it's just a natural disaster."
"I hope it's just that," Misty said.
"Well, let's go report in," Brock said. "We can find out what happened later."
There was a small line at the front desk where all the gym trainers and trainers with five or more badges were reporting in to the front desk. Ash and his companions gave her their information and were told that they would receive more instructions later. Twenty minutes after that their pokémon were ready. The three of them collected their teams and headed back to their rooms.
Brock and Misty sat on their beds, staring at their pokégears. Ash quickly explained what was going on to Pikachu and the rest of his team, still in their pokéballs.
They screwed up the tvs? Pikachu growled. I'll make whatever is responsible pay.
What if it's a flood? Ash asked very quietly. Or an earthquake?
I can electrocute a flood, just you watch me!
"What in the Distorted World is taking the official announcement so long?" Misty growled. "Just tell us what's going on before I go crazy!"
"Too late for that," Ash muttered just loud enough for her to hear. Misty shot a glare at him.
"My pokégear's got a radio," Brock said. "I'm going to see if they've got an announcement on another channel."
"Can you do that outside?" Ash asked. "I think I want to go to sleep now."
"That's probably a good idea," Brock said, getting up.
"I'll go with you," Misty said to Brock. "I'm not going to be able to sleep until I know what's going on."
They left. Ash got into his sleepwear and then turned out the lights.
So, what do you think we're going to be doing? Pikachu asked as Ash burrowed under the covers.
No clue, Ash replied, adjusting his pillow before resting his head. But it's kinda cool, you know? I've got enough badges that people think I help with big things!
Much to my displeasure-
You're never happy anyway-
Much to my displeasure, Pikachu repeated, shooting a glare at his trainer, you were 'helping out' with 'big things' long before you got your badges.
Yes, but now other humans think I'm a person who can help out, Ash explained. It's…. I don't know, like I've evolved and everyone's just noticing.
It's pretty hard not to notice when someone's evolved, Pikachu said. But then again you humans can be so unobservant…
Thanks, Ash replied dryly. I'll try not to walk under any low hanging branches anytime soon.
Hah! You'll probably end up hitting yourself in the forehead instead of getting me!
Keep telling yourself that.
I will, thank you very much, Pikachu said, standing on Ash's chest. But, back to our original topic, what do you think we'll be doing?
Again, I don't know, Ash replied. I think it will be difficult. I am definitely apprehensive. But I think I can handle it and I want to try as soon as I can.
Of course, you do, Pikachu sighed and then gave his trainer a small smile. I can get where you're coming from though, I feel the same way.
Of course, you do, Ash said with a grin. There's a reason you stuck with me.
"Still nothing," Brock sighed, setting down his pokégear.
"There are still some stations you haven't tried," Misty pointed out.
"They're just music stations," Brock replied, slumping down against the hallway wall outside their room. "They're not going to say anything."
"We're just going to have to wait until we get the official announcement in the morning?" Misty crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to him.
"Yeah. So much for sleep, right?"
"We can't all be like Aaron," Misty shot a glare at the door. "Drifting off without a worry in his little head…"
"You're barely any older than he is," Brock pointed out.
"I'm fourteen and he's like twelve!"
"You're barely fourteen," Brock reminded her. "It's hard to tell since he never told us his birthday, but there was at least a couple of months when you were thirteen and he was twelve."
"Still much older than him!" Misty insisted, tightening her arms.
"Yeah, a whole year's difference," Brock said, but his voice was flat and empty.
"My point exactly!" Misty huffed.
"And now you're both being called in to help with a dangerous situation," Brock went on. "Fourteen and twelve. So young."
"Wow, I didn't know you became a senior citizen at eighteen," Misty rolled her eyes. "And don't worry about me. If this is a natural disaster, I'll be assisting with aquatic operations. I'm safer in the water than on dry land. Worry about Aaron instead."
"Whatever is happening they won't give him a dangerous assignment, they just can't," Brock said, almost pleading. "He's too young. They'll just put him on supply duty or transport or maybe they'll send him up in the air. He'll be doing something safe."
"I'll try to keep an eye on him if I can," Misty reassured Brock. "Besides, we don't even know what happened. We might be getting all worked up for nothing."
"You're right," Brock sighed.
"I'm going to go see if they've got someplace to swim around here," Misty said. "Burn off some energy, you know."
"That's not a bad idea," Brock said, getting up and stretching. "I'll see if they've got some place to work out. Heh, if this is just disaster relief then my job might just be carrying heavy weights anyway. I'm just getting some practice in."
"Sure…." Misty rolled her eyes. "And I bet you're not currently entertaining any fantasies of one of the available female nurses stumbling across you while you're exercising and staying to 'observe your form'"?
Brock's blush answered her question all on its own.
The official announcement came in the morning. Variations were broadcast across all the television news stations and on every radio station. Newspapers all across the region had it as their headline.
Saffron City Occupied by Team Rocket. Kanto Mobilizing.
The mood in the pokémon center was dark. All the non-gym trainers with less than five badges were leaving as fast as they could, scattering for Lavender Town and Fuchsia City. Ash, Brock, and Misty, who hadn't spoken since hearing the news, found everyone who was left huddled together in the lounge and cafeteria.
Some were putting on brave faces, stoic and solemn. Some were trying to put on brave faces, but even Ash could see them tremble. Others were openly scared. One trainer seemed to be silently crying while being comforted by what Ash guessed was his boyfriend.
No one was immune to the atmosphere. No one was smiling. No one was talking in a voice louder than a whisper.
Ash and his companions ate in silence as well. For once Ash didn't enjoy the food. He didn't even finish his plate. He had no appetite after hearing the news.
Around ten in the morning the pokémon center received orders. The League trainers in charge of the operation were gathering all the forces they could in a camp on Route Eight to the east of Saffron. All drafted personnel were to go there.
The trio set out at once, still silent. They spent the day like that, silently hiking, making their way to the site. It wasn't until well after night fell, when they were getting tired, that someone spoke up, and even then, it was just Ash suggesting that they make camp soon.
Dinner was simple and Ash didn't enjoy it any more than he had enjoyed breakfast. For some reason it was just flavorless unless Ash really focused on the taste and that made it hard to enjoy the food. It reminded Ash of eating those awful protein bars when he was with Melanie.
That brought Ash back to the other memories of those days, of being hunted by Team Rocket. It made Ash remember the pain in Aoba's voice and what the Rocket had admitted at the end.
Ash didn't notice that his hands had become fists until he heard his chopsticks break in his hand. It was only then that he recognized the heat flowing through him, the growl in his throat, and the tensing of his muscles.
The same group that had hurt Aoba, that had killed Ted, that had been willing to kill Melanie, now had an entire city in their grasp. Ash couldn't even imagine what they could be doing now.
"Are you okay?" Misty asked, leaning forward to get a closer look at him.
"No," Ash said sullenly. "We need to get up early tomorrow. We need to help Saffron as soon as we can."
"We'll get up when we're ready," Brock countered with a frown, eyebrows lowered. "It won't make a difference in the big picture if we get to the camp tomorrow at eight AM or one PM." When Ash looked like he was about to protest, Brock went on. "You'll do more good if you get enough sleep. Trust me on this."
"Fine," Ash said, sitting back and crossing his arms.
"And Aaron-" Brock began and then hesitated. "Aaron, just do your best to be careful. Please."
Ash didn't have anything to say to that.
They reached the camp late the next morning.
It was petty, but Gary was bothered by the fact he was starting to stink. It was hard to keep track of time while bound, gagged, and blindfolded, but he thought it had been around two days since he had been captured. Two days without a shower or a change of clothes.
Team Rocket had taken out the gag and removed the blindfold to let him eat, drink, and relieve himself under heavy guard. Gary had been thoroughly searched right after being captured, so he didn't know why they bothered with such measures. As far as Gary could guess they didn't want to take any risks with him after his little phone call had gone through.
(He hadn't heard anything from Squirtle and Eevee but he hadn't heard anything about them either. Gary only hoped that they had managed to escape.)
Team Rocket hadn't interrogated him, which surprised Gary. They simply hadn't talked to him at all. He wondered if they already knew who he was.
Gary had managed to explore the room he was being held in by crawling and wriggling like a worm. It was another storage room, small and mostly empty. He was alone, there were no guards on the inside of the door.
It meant that Gary felt himself slowly going mad from boredom and a lack of interaction with living beings outside of meals. Desperate for anything to do, Gary had taken to lying by the wall and listening to what was happening outside.
The hallway outside was busy and Gary was able to catch plenty of conversation between the different members of Team Rocket.
"We've got all the employees that were in the building in the cafeterias, I need you to go and get someone who looks like they know their way around this company's crazy ass filing system."
"There's an apartment building up in the north part of the city that's all barricaded up. They're refusing to hand over their pokémon, so we're going to need to put together a few squads to bust them."
"Any word on those radar contacts?"
"Boss has got me bustin' me ass searching the entire seventy fifth floor. There are whole teams up in the top of 'dis buildin' being forced to pick through the damn carpets. Whatever it is they want, it's up there."
"Still no word on the League?"
"The police put up a fight, but we've managed to neutralize them. We're presently chasing the survivors through the sewers."
"Some stupid kids tried to ram the barriers on the highway in an old pickup. Idiots nearly got themselves killed."
"Me back hurts somethin' fierce from moving all that technology up to where the eggheads are connecting it to the broadcasting system."
"Any idea why we're moving all those weird cages with butterfrees to this building?"
"My boss got suckered inta some argument with this housewife type about whether or not her furret counted as a fightin' pokémon. Come on lady, if it's as big as a person then it's a fightin' pokémon. Still, sorta wish she had won that fight, broke my heart to listen to her cry when we took the pokéball."
"Oh, human gods above, they're pulling in more people to sweep the top floors."
"I heard if they don't find what they're lookin' for they're going to have us all combing through the entire building, room by room."
"I need a drink. I just got back from taking a babysitting pokémon away from some crying toddlers. And before you say anything, it was a fully grown snorlax that knew Hyper-Beam…"
"Damn pokémon center! It's still in lockdown! Maybe they ain't been yappin' about us to the other centers, but they managed to hide the pokémon they had in storage."
That last snippet of information warmed Gary's heart. He could be reassured that all his pokémon still in the center were safe.
It was also fairly obvious to Gary that Team Rocket was after something in the Silph Co building, something they were working harder at getting then it seemed like they were working at securing the city.
It was important knowledge. Too bad Gary couldn't share it with anyone.
And so, he continued to wait, alone and helpless in the darkness.
AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading this chapter.
Not related to the chapter, but if you're going to ask me a question in your reviews, please don't use a guest review to do so. I've got no way of answering your questions if you do so, unless you go over to Ao3 and leave an anonymous comment instead.
(I just know I'm gonna get a bunch of guest reviews asking questions just to annoy me now)
Anyway, this chapter was a chance to start building on some stuff established earlier. Not too much to say about it yet, other than it's time to explore what an absolute mess the situation is for everyone and that I hope I can land it all properly.
Don't forget to leave a review! Concrit is welcome!