Do you guys have any idea about what's going on? Ash asked.
He was sitting in an open field next to camp, his pokémon in a semi-circle before him. Night had fallen; illumination was provided by the lights from the nearby airfield. There were a few other people in the field getting some late-night training in with their teams.
There's going to be a big fight soon and your friend's right in the middle of it, Butterfree said. Ash, I'm so sorry about that.
Team Rocket's reached a new low, Bulbasaur spat. I ain't an expert on human civilization, but it doesn't seem like they're getting much out of this other than causing a whole heap of trouble for everyone in the region. They won't be able to hold the city for long.
In my experience, sometimes just causing trouble is what you need to do, Squirtle replied. But I don't think that's the case for Team Rocket.
I want to beat Team Rocket again, Charmander squeaked. I want to hurt them until they quit hurting everyone else!
It's going to be dangerous, Magikarp said.
We're going to have to fight lots of 'dem Team Rocket, aren't we, Primeape said, cracking his knuckles.
Whatever you need, Ash, I'm ready, Pidgeot told her trainer.
We're not going to fight anyone, Pikachu growled. Ash is in Search and Rescue and we should do our best to make sure that he doesn't fight.
Team Rocket doesn't seem like the sort to give him the choice, Squirtle said. They're the worst.
They're the sort that needs to be fought, sooner rather than later if you can manage it, Bulbasaur agreed.
They're a bunch of Damians, Charmander added with a growl.
I don't know what we'll be doing exactly yet, Ash said, waving everyone down. According to Leaf we should find out tomorrow.
Well, no matter how this shakes out, it's a new experience for me, Bulbasaur commented. I've never taken part in a siege or any big battle before. It's all been small unit stuff. I knew I made the right choice coming with you, Ash!
I thought Melanie pushed you into it? Squirtle asked, posture relaxed, forepaws behind his back.
She did and I trust her judgement, Bulbasaur replied quickly. Therefore, I knew coming with Ash was the right choice.
Sure…
Shut up!
Are you going to be riding me? Pidgeot asked.
According to Jared I don't have enough experience, Ash sighed. Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone wanted to sit this out-
No.
No.
No.
Not on your life.
Not when there's a chance to die!
I'm not letting an utter idiot like you go into battle without supervision!
Ash, I'll help you no matter how dangerous it is! You can count on me!
I'm always up for a fight.
It looks like we're unanimous, Pikachu said, turning back to Ash. Now, let's start worrying about how to keep you safe, shall we?
I can keep myself safe- Ash began.
Oh, wow, he said that with a straight face, Squirtle said in an exaggerated aside to Bulbasaur.
Humanity's greatest strength is their talent for self-delusion, Bulbasaur replied.
I know, Pikachu said. Can you believe he thinks he can get along without us, or more specifically, me?
Of course, certain pokémon can be adept at self-delusion, Bulbasaur commented.
Oh, ha-ha-ha.
I can keep myself safe, Ash protested. I did it for years before I met you guys.
No, your parents kept you safe, Pikachu replied, turning back to Ash. And then they gave me the job.
Wonderful job you've been doing of it so far, Bulbasaur said, rolling his eyes.
Anyone feel like some cooked greens? Pikachu's cheeks sparked.
I haven't tried those yet, Butterfree said, fluttering up and down. Let's have some cooked spinach now, I've always wanted to see what that's like!
I think Pikachu was threatening Bulbasaur, Charmander told the bug-type.
Awwww…. Butterfree's head drooped. That's not very nice of you, Pikachu.
Anyway, Ash clapped his hands together. I uh- um…. Thank you all for sticking with me. And I'm not too worried about my safety, Team Rocket's already taken two cracks at me and failed. But they've got my friend Gary and I am worried about him. So, again, thanks in advance for helping me save him.
Any friend of yours is a friend of ours! Butterfree exclaimed. Don't worry, we'll definitely save him.
Yeah! Charmander joined in, jumping up. He's going to be fine!
Thanks, Ash said, misty eyed and voice thick. Anyway, let's get a little last-minute training done. We're going to be fighting in a city so I want to practice some close quarters combat…
"You don't seem very surprised by this, Boss." Arianna said to Giovanni. The two of them were in the Silph Co. headquarters, staring at a trashed server room, computer parts and wires scattered about everywhere.
"I'm not," Giovanni replied, surveying the room calmly.
"This wasn't done by any Silph Company employees, we had them all accounted for. And it wasn't done by the Oak boy either, we've confirmed that via security footage." Arianna went on.
"Indeed," Giovanni nodded. "Something along these lines has happened before. Remember our dead operative in Pewter City?"
Arianna nodded as she recalled the incident.
"Given what happened there," Giovanni continued "I figured that our mysterious foe would appear when we made another big move."
"Then why didn't you warn us?" Arianna whirled around to glare at him. "Operation Totality is a complete failure-"
"That's where you're wrong," Giovanni replied, still calm. "I apologize for keeping you in the dark about this. While I know you loyalty is absolute, we both know that leaks this aren't always intentional. I felt it best to play my cards close to my chest."
"That's fine boss," Arianna said, hands on her hips. "It's the other stuff, the fact that we've failed-"
"We haven't failed," Giovanni corrected her. "One of the things I've been hiding is that we've made significant advances on Masterball technology from our end. We've also been in contact with a private individual in the Orange Islands who has been pursuing a similar technology, though his interests are more…. shall we say, 'specialized' than ours. Between our exchange with him and our own research, we are already close to achieving Masterball technology. We're only missing a few key pieces, pieces that we can still find here."
"You're planning on using, what, the prototypes to fill in the gaps in our own Masterball technology?" Arianna asked.
"That's one thing we'll need to look into." Giovanni said. "Also focus on acquiring personal notes, old data stored in unusual locations, and information on any third parties that took part in the project."
"I'll get on it," Arianna saluted.
"Meanwhile, I have my own duties to attend to," Giovanni said, pulling a full-faced mask out of his jacket.
"Interrogating the executives?" Arianna asked.
"Correct," Giovanni nodded. "Then I must address the men, review the progress on the fortifications, check-up on leads about the leak, review the deployment of our forces, and take care of several administrative details."
"Ha, better you than me," Arianna snorted. "After all, isn't that why you're paid the big bucks?"
"I don't actually draw a salary from Team Rocket," Giovanni stated while putting on the mask. "It's the League who pays me for this."
Arianna let out a wicked little laugh.
As if to mock Ash's ever-growing anxiety over Gary's possible fate, the next day was bright and sunny, the morning frost vanishing before he could even wake up. There was a slight chill in the air despite the presence of the sun.
Most occupants of the camp were already up, people and pokémon bustling about. Ash yawned and stretched as he watched a trainer herd a group of cactus-like grass types down one of the grass lanes of the camp. The air traffic had dropped off overnight, now only the airships occupied the sky.
"Did we miss anything?" Ash turned around and saw Leaf emerging from her tent with bleary eyes and frazzled hair. "Isn't there like a morning roll call or something?" She asked, trying to rub sleep out of her eyes.
Ash just shrugged.
"Then I'm getting breakfast," Leaf said. "You coming?"
"Sure," Ash said. "Just have to grab something." He ducked back into his tent and picked up Pikachu, who was still asleep. The electric type groaned and snuggled into Ash's arms, refusing to wake up.
"He sleeps outside of his pokéball?" Leaf asked when Ash re-emerged.
"Yeah," Ash said, yawning again.
"He really must like you then," Leaf said. "Well, come on, let's see what horrors their kitchen has in store for us today."
Breakfast consisted of porridge, lukewarm and tasteless. Ash ate it without complaint, while Leaf...
"It can't be that hard to add some flavor," she said, sticking her tongue out and poking at the gruel in her bowl with her spoon. "Just some imitation fruit juice or a pinch of sugar. Are they too cheap for even that?"
Ash just shrugged.
About twenty minutes after they finished breakfast an announcement blared over speakers scattered throughout the camp, ordering everyone to report to their commanders in fifteen minutes. Ash and Leaf hurried back their unit's campsite and joined the small crowd of people waiting outside Jared's tent.
Ash took a brief moment to study the crowd; the majority were trainers around Jared's age, with a few adults who looked in their mid to late twenties. There was no one else around Ash or Leaf's age.
Jared eventually emerged from his tent, grinding his teeth together while his eye twitched. He started muttering while checking his watch and Ash was close enough to overhear some of it.
"Bad enough you gotta call us all here…. tellin' me who I can and can't… just let me fly already, assholes."
Eventually he looked down at his watch and then addressed the crowd.
"Good news folks," Jared said tersely. "Our orders came in this morning. First things first, we're entering a total communications blackout, immediately. Nobody's sending messages, not even the brass. And if you try anything, they're sending you straight to the brig."
There were murmurs from the crowd at that. Several people looked annoyed and a few people went pale.
"So, if you got something you want to say to friends, families, lovers, or fuck buddies, write a letter to be delivered later," Jared went on. "And do it soon, because we're moving out tomorrow."
More murmurs and pale faces.
"In the meantime," Jared said, clapping his hands together, "we've got work to do. You've all probably guessed the gist of what we'll be doing from our unit name, but now we have the specifics. We'll be operating behind the front lines, extracting trapped civilians and anybody who can't evacuate under their own power."
Ash noticed that color returned to a select few faces.
"Normally, we'd leave this up to professionals or certified amateurs, but we don't have enough of those! So, for all of you who don't have the certification, today we're going to be going over the very basics of emergency human retrieval," Jared went on. "We're going to see whose teams are gentle enough to care for delicate individuals and whose teams can only contribute brute force. You're also going to have to memorize some basic procedures and yes, there will be a quiz before dinner."
Groans from the crowd.
"If you pass, you'll be in my squad, if not, then you'll be put into the general SAR pool. Now, line up in alphabetical order people, by family names if you got one, personal names otherwise." Jared said. "You've got five minutes."
Ash found himself near the front of the line. He saw Leaf, who didn't have a family name, in the middle of the line. When everyone was queued up, Jared led the column to an open field, with training dummies and piles of stone.
Jared explained the test to the group. Each trainer would have to have their pokémon quickly and gently extract the dummies from the rubble and carry them away. The dummies would change color if handled too roughly and meaning the trainer had failed.
Testing commenced and Ash saw that the few trainers ahead of him had large pokémon or fighting types, which, he reflected, was probably the reason they were assigned to this unit in the first place.
When it came his turn, Ash had Bulbasaur, Primeape, and Butterfree team up to move then rubble and then gently extract and carry the dummies.
"Fuck," Jared swore as he watched Ash's team work. "Aaron, do you mind if I mark you down as failed?"
"Why? We did great!" Ash protested.
"Because if you're in my personal squad," Jared explained, massaging his temple, "you're more likely to get killed. SAR's general pool is safer."
"But we can help more people if we're with you," Ash said, crossing his arms and meeting Jared's eyes. "We did good. Write that down."
"Girgantia damned junior adrenaline junkie," Jared growled. "Fine. Please do us all a favor and fail the quiz tonight."
He thrust a booklet at Ash that had the procedures and then shouted for the next trainer to take the test. Ash took the booklet, recalled his team, and went off to the sidelines. He started reading and rereading the procedures, hoping to memorize them quickly.
Sometime later a shadow fell over him.
"When you passed the test did our glorious commander throw a temper tantrum for you too?" Leaf asked. She was also carrying a booklet.
"He was mad, yeah," Ash replied, putting aside the booklet.
"He's acting like an old man even though he's not even five years older than us," Leaf snorted. "It's not like we're doing anything too dangerous. Team Rocket shouldn't attack us when we're just- Oh, yeah, maybe not…." Leaf trailed off, giving Ash a strange look. "I can't believe I managed to forget about your latest misadventure."
"You mean the poachers?"
"I managed to forget about your last two misadventures," Leaf closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Aaron, can you make sure to stick with me tomorrow? Just so I can help out when things inevitably go wrong?"
"I thought we were both helping because things already went wrong," Ash replied, looking east.
"Good point," Leaf sighed.
Brock groaned as he stretched. He had been in meetings for the last several hours and had been operating on four hours of sleep after the late-night planning session. It was evening and he hadn't had a chance to grab lunch. Brock just hoped that they had hammered out everything they needed to worry about until sometime after midnight. He just wanted to eat and then sleep until the scouts got back.
That, of course, was when he noticed his fellow gym brats huddled together in an unused tent. Brock looked over at the mess hall and sighed. Dinner would have to wait.
"What's going on?" Brock asked, ducking under the tent flap.
Amanda was sitting in the center of the group looking like she was on the verge of tears. Cindy sat next to her, giving her a hug and rubbing her shoulder. Visquez, Misty, and Kayden stood around them.
"Oh, they finally let you out," Misty commented. "It's Amanda…."
"I'm fine," Amanda protested, her voice almost breaking. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "My eyes are just dry. I was up too late last night."
"Yeah, so was I," Brock said, kneeling down next to her. "This is about the Saffron Gym, isn't it?"
"There is nothing happening," Amanda insisted, an indignant tone almost masking the trembling in her voice. "I am fine. We will be evacuating the city tomorrow and if there is anyone from the gym left, they can join in the evacuation."
"Hey," Misty said, putting a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "It might not be that bad. Maybe the gym's just sealed off or something. Everyone inside could still be fine."
"No matter the case, you're allowed to be upset that your gym is smack dab in the middle of an occupied city," Visquez told her.
"Being 'upset', as you call it, is useless," Amanda huffed, crossing her arms, looking away from the group. "If there is a problem occupying my attention then I should be creating or executing a plan of action to resolve it."
"But there's not much you can do right now," Cindy said, still hugging her. "You have to sit and wait until tomorrow and that bothers you."
"Inaction does grate on me, yes," Amanda admitted. "But I fully understand why we must wait."
"There's something else, isn't there," Brock said, trying to remember what pokémon she had. "Has your jynx heard anything from the gym?"
"A-Absolutely nothing," Amanda said, not able to hide the trembling in her voice, gripping her pants legs and looking down.
"Oh," Misty said softly.
"I thought- I thought Sabrina would manage to get a message out by today," Amanda said, still looking down. "If she hasn't-"
"Maybe they're jamming her?" Visquez suggested.
"She would have found a way past that by now," Amanda replied. "Or some other individual at the gym would have managed."
"It might be something new," Kayden said.
"It doesn't matter how they were psychically jamming our gym, there should have been some word by now," Amanda sniffed. "They would have found some to bypass it. We're not the sort of people to give up. The fact that there's been no word-"
"May just mean that things are taking longer than usual," Brock reassured her. "We won't know anything for certain until tomorrow."
"We know enough as it is," Amanda countered, looking up and glaring at him. "Otherwise, there would have been no need to assemble an army."
"If you can call it that," Brock muttered, before normally. "But, as long as we're on the topic, there is something I've been meaning to tell you all. One of the officers suggested putting all of you in a vanguard squad but discarded the idea because they didn't know your limits. Me, on the other hand, I know what you can do. Would you all be willing to be part of a vanguard squadron, directly under me?"
"You're headed for the front lines?" Kayden asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's going to be in man the command center then?"
"My second in command, which I choose, oh Groudon was it that long, five hours ago," Brock said, rubbing his forehead. "Tory Nasuma. She's with Counter-Smuggling."
"I think I know her," Amanda said, wiping her eyes and putting her glasses back on. "Given what Misty's told us about your recent…. behavior, I'm surprised you're not trying to spend more time with her."
"She's your type after all," Visquez sniggered.
"You mean, pretty, female, and not a gym brat?" Kayden smirked.
"I didn't even think about that," Brock sighed. "There's been too much going on. I just chose her because she's competent and knows more about the other units than anyone else here."
"Ouch," Misty winced. "That bad, huh?"
"Yes," Brock nodded. "I've slept for four hours and have been dealing with interservice squabbling just about every other minute of the day."
"Isn't that something gym leaders normally have to deal with?" Visquez asked, looking surprised.
"No," Brock shook his head. "At least I've never had to back at Pewter City."
"That bastard," Visquez growled. "That lying fuckin' bastard!"
"Who?" Cindy asked, looking taken aback at the outburst.
"Surge!" Visquez snarled. "He pawned his dirty work off on me! He said it was training for when I'm running the gym!"
"And you believed him?" Kayden sniggered. "I've got a bridge in Canalave to sell you."
Visquez gave him a gesture that consisted of a single raised finger.
"Anyway," Brock rolled his eyes. "Are you all willing to be part of the vanguard squad?"
"Damn straight!" Visquez crowed, raising her fist.
"Sure, I'm in," Kayden said, leaning against a tent pole.
"I can help," Cindy said, standing up. "I can at least treat whomever gets hurt."
"Yes," Amanda nodded.
"Of course," Misty said and then gave Brock a wry grin. "I'm currently two for two against Team Rocket. If I can go three for three, I can beat Aaron's record."
"Let's just hope he doesn't hear that and try to join us," Brock said with a mock groan.
"Aaron's the kid you two are tagging along after?" Kayden asked.
"Yeah," Brock sighed. "We were supposed to be protecting him in case Team Rocket wanted to retaliate after his encounters with him in the Viridian Forest and Pewter City…."
"But he went and found them," Misty finished for him, rolling her eyes. "The kid is a trouble magnet."
"What's it like having to tag along after a baby trainer?" Kayden asked.
"Not too bad," Brock replied, standing up. "He's a good kid."
"And he's got five badges so he's not exactly a baby trainer anymore," Misty added.
"Five badges… so that means he's here, right?" Cindy asked. "In the camp I mean."
"Yeah, he should be in the Search and Rescue Unit," Brock said. "I managed to peek at his assignment before I went to bed last night."
"Well, if we're fortunate, we won't catch a glimpse of him tomorrow," Amanda said. "Brock, if we're going to be part of this vanguard squad, are we going to be issued arms and armament? I don't have any personal weapons or body armor on me."
"We've got some spare sets of body armor, no guarantees that it will fit though," Brock told her. "We'll also each be issued a crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a knife, and a baton."
"I'll pass, I brought my own party supplies," Kayden smirked.
"Brother dearest, I know you love being a ninja, but do you have to bring your weapons everywhere?" Cindy asked. "It would make more sense to leave them at the gym. Jasmine is usually good at remembering to bring everyone's stuff with when she moves the gym."
"And be caught with my pants down one of these days? No thanks." Kayden scoffed. "If you're going to lug that fancy doctor's kit everywhere in case of an emergency, I'll do the same with my knives and shuriken."
"That reminds me, Cindy, we've got some surplus medical supplies," Brock said. "You're going to want to pick through them before tomorrow."
"We should also get some team practice in," Misty said. "A few hours might not be enough to make us into a real squad, but we should at least be familiar with each other's teams. And maybe try out some of our old combinations, like Ice Amor."
"Attacking tomorrow is ridiculous," Kayden sighed. "I know why have to do it, but one day isn't enough time to build an army. Most of the irregulars still won't have a clue how to do their jobs."
"The commander doesn't know how to do his job," Brock groused. "This is not what I had to deal with when I was a gym leader."
"You sort of did," Misty pointed out. "You had to run the gym, talk to the police, to the city, and to any League units operating around Pewter. You had to work with them to plan operations and logistics."
"I wasn't in charge of those though," Brock pointed out. "I spoke for the gym; I wasn't responsible for everything. And I had help from my gym trainers. I could always count on Edwin."
"But, if a situation like this had developed around Pewter City, then you would have been put in command, like you are now," Amanda pointed out.
"I would have still had the help and I would be familiar with the territory," Brock retorted, rubbing his temple. "It doesn't matter. We all need as much sleep as we can get, so let's do that training now. I'll meet you all at the north field, I'm going to grab a bite to eat."
Everyone nodded and then they all filed out of the tent. The other gym brats headed north while Brock tried to remember where the mess tent was.
"See you in a bit, Brock," Cindy waved as they left.
Brock gave her a small grin and returned the wave. Once they were out of sight though, his expression became grim.
It was settled. Tomorrow he would be leading people he considered family into danger. Their lives would be his responsibility.
Brock wondered if he would get any sleep that night.
Night had fallen. Clouds rolled across the sky; patches of the winter night sky still visible in places. A waning crescent moon gave scant light when permitted.
"Ugh," Leaf groaned. She and Ash were sitting outside their tents, gazing up at the sky. Pikachu snoozed next to Ash and the boy was gently petting him. They had recently gotten back from a late dinner after passing the quiz on procedures, much to Jared's displeasure. "Aaron, how did you deal with this?"
"With what?"
"Nerves," Leaf replied, sticking out her tongue in disgust. "Being nervous. Worries. Being worried."
"Uh…" Ash tried to recall how he had dealt with that. "I don't think I did."
"Great," Leaf groaned. "So, we just have to endure?"
"I guess," Ash shrugged. "It's not so bad this time. At least I know when the thing is gonna happen. Last time I had no idea."
"Oh, you're no help," Leaf moaned, resting her face in her hands. She was quiet for a moment. "Did you know…. the first time in Viridian?"
"Know what?"
"Know that you could do it?" Leaf drew her knees up to her chest and curled her arms around them, letting her head hang down. "Know that you wouldn't just break down or run away?"
"I did run away though," Ash replied. "They just attacked me 'cause they were looking for Misty. I was only trying to get away from them until she saved me. I tried to fight them later."
"Why did you decide to fight instead of running away again?"
"I don't think I really choose," Ash admitted. "They just kinda were on top of us, so we couldn't really run. Well, Misty tried to get me to run away, but I wasn't gonna leave her."
"But that means you did choose to fight," Leaf pointed out. "You had the chance to run, but didn't."
"Well, yeah," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. "I told you, I couldn't just leave her."
"Did you even think about it?"
"No," Ash shook his head.
"I guess that's the key then," Leaf sighed. "I just need to quit thinking about it."
"You'll do fine," Ash reassured her.
"You don't know that, not really," Leaf said, still looking down. "I don't know that. None of us will know that until tomorrow."
Ash just shrugged.
"Bleh," Leaf groaned. "This year is going to suck."
Ash just shrugged again.
"Guess there's nothing for it then," Leaf said, standing up and stretching. "We should probably go to bed. We'll need plenty of sleep for tomorrow."
"Yeah." Ash nodded, also standing up.
Leaf stretched a bit more and then turned to face the east, towards Saffron City. She raised a fist to her chest and muttered something that Ash wasn't sure he was supposed to hear.
"Hang on Gary, I'm coming for you."
AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading.
Not much to say yet, other than to reassure people that the pacing will be quicker than the forest arc, since some of you seemed concerned.
Don't forget to review!