Author's note: Heyo!
Look! We've hit 40 chapters! Woo! :D And, what do you know, the story's nowhere near over yet! There's plenty more to come in future! Yay!
As for now, though, hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Forty: Surprises
Now standing on the smallish black cuboid that counted as the stage, Pikachu looked around at his friends. They were all situated in one of the two designated areas, thirteen pokémon at the front and three humans in the back. Also at the front was the Jibanyan doll, which Piplup had offered to look after, since Buneary had been told to stand on the stage.
To Pikachu's surprise, Mamoswine and Torterra did indeed fit perfectly inside the huge black square on the floor, just like Jamin had said they would. It was quite impressive, really! Just how had the man known exactly what size they'd be?
Speaking of Torterra, Jessamine had been wearing a strained smile when she'd politely asked Staraptor not to stand on the tree on his shell. Pikachu didn't really know why it was necessary for everyone to stand on the metal floor, but that woman kind of scared him, so he wasn't going to question it.
"(So, um...)" Buneary asked, standing beside him on the stage, "(why did they want the two of us up here again?)"
... Ah. Right.
"(Uh, well...)" he replied, turning to her, "(I had something I wanted to-)"
There was a loud clap, startling him. He turned to see Jessamine with her hands pressed together.
"Alright, Pikachu, you take the floor!" she said with a grin. "We at POPSTAR will be cheering you on from over there!" She, Jamin and Meo all pointed in perfect synch towards the bushes.
He blinked at them. "(Oh, okay...)" he replied, a bit confused as to why they weren't sticking around.
"Popstar?" Brock asked with an eyebrow raised.
Choosing not to reply - or maybe not hearing him? - POPSTAR dashed off. Pikachu blinked again, turning towards the crowd of pokémon and humans in front of him.
... Oh boy.
"So, uh..." Ash asked, as everyone looked over at the stage, "what's this about, buddy?"
"(W-Well...)" Pikachu replied, his heart hammering in his chest. Oh no, he was starting to falter!
"Are you gonna put on a show?" Dawn asked excitedly.
Pikachu shook his head. "(N-No, I-)"
"And why's Buneary on the stage, too?" Brock asked. "Is she joining you?"
Pikachu's breathing grew heavier as the panic really started to set in. Oh, lord, he needed to calm down!
Breathing exercises. He needed to do them. Right now.
Closing his eyes, he took up the pose from earlier. One paw resting on the other, he slowly lifted them as he breathed in. After holding his breath for a moment, he just as slowly released it through his mouth, lowering his paws at the same time.
"(... Pikachu?)" Buneary asked.
Okay. His heart had calmed down a bit now. Next, he ran through the other scenarios in his head. He imagined himself meditating... practicing... psyching himself up...
Yes. He could do this.
Opening his eyes, he frowned, nodding to himself, before smiling at the crowd. "(Hey, everyone!)" he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "(Thanks for coming! I've... been practicing a little something all day, and... now's the time to finally do it!)"
Pachirisu beamed. "(So you are putting on a show?)" he asked.
"(Not quite. There's... something I want to say to Buneary.)" He glanced at his girlfriend, who was watching him with her eyes wide in surprise. "(But... well, you all know how bad I am with words...)" Various pokémon murmured their agreement, much to his shame. He looked back at the crowd. "(So POPSTAR agreed to help me! And... they figure the best way to do this is with all of my friends watching.)"
Again, he really wished he could have done it in private, but they were the experts.
"(Popstar?)" Piplup asked, raising an eyebrow as he readjusted the Jibanyan doll in his flippers.
"(Yeah, it's short for... the Pokémon... No, wait...)" Pikachu paused to think about it, slowly going over all the letters of 'POPSTAR' in his head. "(... The Professional Organisation of...)" He strained his brain. "(... Pokémon Speech Therapists...)" It was like a light bulb went off in his head. He beamed. "(And Reformers! Yeah, that was it!)"
He was actually kind of proud of himself for remembering that.
"(Speech therapists, huh?)" Buizel asked with a smirk. He folded his arms. "(You sure need 'em.)"
A few chuckles followed this statement, furthering Pikachu's shame. He had to stay focused and on-track, though, no matter what!
"Uh, what's going on?" Ash asked, looking perplexed.
"Wish I knew..." Dawn replied with a shrug.
"Hmm," Brock murmured in thought while frowning slightly.
... It was a pity the humans couldn't understand the pokémon speech, but maybe they'd get the gist of the conversation once Pikachu got going. Or at least Brock would, then he could explain it to Ash and Dawn afterwards!
Urgh, he was starting to feel his nerves flare up again. Deep breaths...
"(Okay, well...)" he said, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully. He turned fully towards his girlfriend. "(Buneary...)" Reaching out, he gently gripped her paws in his and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "(The thing I... wanna tell you is...)" He could do this. He could do this! "(I...)"
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet opened up. With a yell, he and Buneary tumbled downwards, landing with a thump inside the black, metal walls of the cuboid, their paws violently separating from the impact. Elsewhere, Pikachu heard the screams of all of his friends, pokémon and human alike. Before he could so much as think about what had just happened, there was a rumbling sound above them. Then something clanged and they were cloaked in darkness.
"(Wh-What's going on?!)" Buneary cried out in alarm.
Pikachu frantically looked around him. "(I-I don't-!)"
The ground rumbled underneath him, shaking violently and throwing him and Buneary apart. They crashed on opposite ends of the small cuboid - their feet still touching in the cramped space - as it seemed to rise off the ground. It made loud, metallic noises, whirring and clanging as it moved.
After a loud clunk, the cuboid seemed to rise a bit more, whirring as it turned in a full circle. As it clicked into place, finally settling and no longer moving, Pikachu looked around in a panic.
It was only then that he caught sight of a very small, circular window on the side. Clambering to his feet - and regrettably nudging Buneary a few times, with some hasty apologies - he hurried over and peered outside. His eyes widened when he saw how high up they were.
Below the window was a long, black, metallic structure that stretched all the way to the ground. Attached to it a bit lower down from the cuboid was a huge black cube. A small window on the cube revealed a few familiar faces, all pressed up against the glass and looking either angry or scared. Pikachu stared in disbelief. Why were his friends in there?!
Looking down at the ground, he saw a deep, rectangular-shaped hole where the humans had been standing, but now they were lying in a heap at the bottom of the hole. Just what was going on?!
From somewhere outside, he heard laughter. Loud, mocking laughter.
Looking around, he spotted POPSTAR, who were purposely walking into his line of view and smirking up at him.
"(P... POPSTAR?)" he asked cautiously. "(What's going on?)"
The three of them each grabbed their fancy suits and, in one swift movement, ripped them off and threw them away. Underneath two of the suits were white and black uniforms, emblazoned with a red R. The other revealed a pokémon underneath.
Pikachu's mind went blank with shock.
"Listen, is that a confused little mouse I hear?" Jessie asked, a hand to her ear.
"He's squeaking to me, loud and clear!" James added, producing a red rose and holding it delicately to his face.
As they recited their motto, Pikachu continued to stare, an icy cold glacier dropping into his stomach. POPSTAR... were... Team Rocket? They'd... been Team Rocket all along?
As the trio reached the end of their motto - topped off by Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. - Ash cried out from the bottom of the hole in anger. Pikachu, however, was still stunned.
"(You... tricked me?)" he asked.
"Dat's right!" Meowth replied with a toothy grin. "Only a dope would buy into dat whole 'pokémon speech t'erapist' bit!"
Pikachu felt his ears droop in disbelief, sadness and shame all at once. "(But...)"
Jessie laughed heartily. "Too true!" she replied. "Though, being a twerp's pokémon, what do you expect?"
"(That's the way it is, ma'am!)" Wobbuffet said, saluting.
"And, about that little speech..." James added with a smirk and a shrug. "While I'm sure it was very heartfelt, it will have to wait."
Jumping onto his shoulder, Mime Jr. shrugged. "(It will have to wait~!)" he parroted, smiling.
"Yeah!" Meowth agreed, grinning. "Save it for when yer sittin' in de boss' office!"
Pikachu couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe he'd been tricked. Lied to. Made to believe that everything could work out well for him...
He hadn't recognised them at all, and he felt immense frustration and shame bubbling in the pit of his stomach.
"(So...)" he said slowly, "(all that help you gave me... Was... none of it genuine?)"
"Hmm?" James asked curiously. "What's he saying, Meowth?"
"He's askin' if our help was genuine," Meowth replied.
Jessie chuckled. "Well, I suppose it was, a little bit," she replied. Her smirk widened as she rested her wrists on her hips. "After all, we heard your pathetic attempts at practice after lunch today... and you looked so pitiful that we decided you desperately needed help."
Pikachu's stomach sank further at hearing this. So, when he'd been talking to himself in the bushes, they'd heard him and taken pity on him?
"But also!" James added gleefully, as he clapped his hands together. "Not ones to look a gift horsea in the mouth, we saw an opportunity! A way to snatch up both you and all your friends, all at once!"
"A fifteen for one deal!" Meowth added happily.
"So," Jessie continued, shrugging with one hand, "we could have just taken you for an easy win... but why should we settle for less?"
"The more, the merrier, as they say~!" James sang.
"Yeah, less is for chumps!" Meowth added. "And more is a score!"
"For sure!" the other two agreed in perfect synch.
Wobbuffet saluted. "(That's right!)" he said.
Mime Jr. also saluted. "(That's right!)" he parroted.
Pikachu didn't know what to say. He was stunned back into silence. Over in the rectangular hole, he could see Ash desperately trying to clamber up the walls, only to slide back down again.
Behind him, he heard shuffling, and felt his girlfriend nudge him slightly as she came closer.
"(Are you okay?)" she asked tenderly.
"(... No,)" he replied. "(No, I'm not okay.)" Frustration bubbled up inside him and he smacked the glass of the window. "(I trusted them, and... and they...)"
"(... That's really mean. Tricking you like that.)" Glancing over, he saw her frowning. "(We can't let them get away with it!)"
He stared for a moment, awed by her getting angry on his behalf. After a moment, he frowned back and nodded. "(Right.)"
Clenching his fists, he focused, building electricity in his cheeks. He was ready to blow this cuboid sky high!
Unleashing the electricity, he watched it course around the cuboid. When he heard sudden screaming, however, he immediately halted in shock.
He whirled around. "(What- Huh?!)" he cried. "(What's wrong?!)" Looking closer, he saw Buneary wincing heavily, a bit unsteady on her feet.
"(Owww...)" she mumbled.
Panic shot through him like lightning. "(Oh no, are you okay?!)" Moving over, he put his paws on her shoulders. Ice dropped into his stomach at how pained she looked. "(... Did I hurt you?)"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" he heard Jessie say from outside. "Now, that wasn't very smart, was it?"
He looked out the window to see her waggling a finger at him.
On James' shoulder, Mime Jr. was also waggling a finger. "(Wasn't very smart~!)" he parroted.
"Dat metal t'ing yer in is extremely conductive!" Meowth added, putting his paws on his hips smugly. "So, unless yer wantin' fried goilfriend on de menu, I'd suggest ya simmer down, buddy boy!"
Wobbuffet saluted. "(That's the way it is!)" he added.
Pikachu stared, his eyes wide. When anger bubbled up within him, he couldn't help but frown in fury. They'd made him hurt her!
James giggled. "We knew you'd try that attack first!" he said. "What better way to stop you than to put your beloved in there with you!" They all laughed heartily.
Pikachu's eyebrow twitched. So they'd done this on purpose, the... the... fiends!
"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Jessie said. She pointed towards the sky. "It's on to fame and fortune!"
"Promotions galore!" James said, also pointing.
"And more!" Meowth cheered.
James beamed at the cat as he lowered his arm. "Meowth, if you please~"
"Roger dat, Jimmy boy!" Meowth pulled out a small black remote. He pressed a button on it.
Mime Jr. mimicked him, pretending to press a button of his own. "(Jimmy boy~!)" he said.
When Meowth pressed the button, the mountain of metal that was clearly a robot moved with a lot of clanging and whirring. Then a giant, black, metal arm lowered to the floor, its palm open and facing upwards. Team Rocket immediately hopped onto the hand, before Meowth pressed another button and the arm rose again. Fairly soon, they were out of Pikachu's line of sight.
Gritting his teeth in anger, he sent steel-type energy to his tail, ready to twist his body around and smash an Iron Tail right into the cuboid.
... Actually, the window was probably the weakest part, so that was his best bet! He got ready to swing, preparing to smash it as many times as it took before the thing broke open.
After a moment, though, he paused in horror, remembering that Buneary was still next to him in this cramped space. If he used Iron Tail here, now, there was no doubt he'd hit her with it! And he'd already hurt her once, with his Thunderbolt!
He could try swinging it the other way? He attempted it a few times, only to feel his tail clang uncomfortably against the metal behind him. He gritted his teeth. Argh! Alright, that was out. The steel-type energy fizzled away as he tried to think of a plan B.
What else did he have? Quick Attack? Volt Tackle? There wasn't nearly enough space to run around in here and make those moves work!
Gripping Buneary's shoulders a bit tighter - though not too much - he turned to her. "(Buneary...)" he said gently, "(I don't think any of my attacks are going to work.)" He paused, still trying to think. "(... What do we do?)"
"(I... I dunno,)" she answered, still looking a bit pained. "(L-Lemmie try...)" The fluff on the tips of her ears glowed a rainbow-tinted white.
Uncoiling and coiling one of them, she tried to punch the window, but the side of her ear keep hitting Pikachu. He tried to back away as far as he could. When he felt his back immediately hit the side of the cuboid, though, he clicked his tongue again. There just wasn't enough space!
... Wait, why wasn't this window breaking easily? Was it more of Team Rocket's 'attack-proof' glass they were so fond of?!
Oh no, that meant it would have to be hit with extreme force to break open!
As he desperately tried to think of a solution, there was a great roaring sound below them. Then the robot abruptly rose into the air, slamming them both to the ground from the force.
Buneary shrieked. "(What's going on?!)" she cried.
"(Oh no, are we... taking off?!)" Pikachu cried. They locked gazes, and he saw how wide her eyes were. He was certain his own eyes were just as wide.
"(I-I don't think Dizzy Punch is enough to break the window!)"
"(Then what about your Ice Beam?!)"
Buneary looked around her. "(I-I don't think that'll be enough, either! Especially on its own! P-Plus, what if it freezes the whole box?! And us, too?! There's not enough space!)"
Argh, and Bounce was completely out of the question!
"(Well, what are we gonna do?!)" He looked around frantically. "(We can't just sit here and be taken to Giovanni!)"
"(I know, but... I-I dunno!)"
Pikachu looked out the window again, seeing his friends struggling inside the huge, black, metal cube. They seemed to be really packed in, with not much room to break out, just like him and Buneary. Any attempt they made would probably hurt each other.
Way down below, on the ground that was getting further and further away, Pikachu could see Ash forcing himself out of the rectangular hole, but it was too late for him to do anything. All the pokémon were high in the air, with no way of getting out easily.
Just what were they going to do...?