Chapter 43: Killing in the Name
Looking at the two ships dominating the sky, Pikachu felt a chill go up his spine and his stomach dropped.
They can't be here.
Dealing with Team Rocket was bad enough but now another group too? The mouse had no idea if they were working together or if things were going to get ugly but no matter what, they can't get caught in the middle of this.
"(We need to go.)" He firmly said as he turned to Buneary.
Snapping out of some sort of trance, she stopped staring at the airships to look back at him. After another beat, she nodded her head and they started to search the area to see if there was some sort of way out of this mess. Eventually, Buneary's attitude momentarily perked up.
"(Hey! How 'bout that?)" She asked, pointing at a small life raft.
Pikachu tilted his head upon seeing it. Well...it's not like there was a better option right? Looking off to the side, he saw some small plastic oars.
"Attention members of Team Rocket, you are trespassing on PLA territory. State your business or you will be asked to leave." The figure on the computer monitor announced. The speaker was a man in his mid-thirties and was surrounded by other people bearing the same logo on black uniforms. His hair was snow white and quite long and he proudly displayed a youthful face. The man sported a jacket with his group's logo and his overall outfit slightly differed from his coworkers.
Just from a glance, it appeared that this man was the one in charge.
From Team Rocket's ship, everyone murmured amongst themselves.
"Let me handle this." The one-eyed man muttered as he leaned over to the microphone. "This is Gamma-7 and I'm in charge of this operation."
When he said that, T-5 quietly scoffed and looked away.
"Gamma-7 huh?" The PLA leader chuckled as he shook his head before looking back up. "So is that what you're calling yourself now...Mr. Eric Johnson?" He sarcastically asked with a smirk.
The man calling himself Gamma-7 looked surprised as did his co-leader.
"H-How did-?" T-5 asked before he was cut off by the PLA leader.
"We do our best to know who we're talking to Mr. T-5. Or should I call you...Mr. Eric Johnson?" He laughed as did several of his PLA teammates. "No wonder you were assigned codenames, having the same real names and all."
"Never mind that!" T-5 shouted. "We've been given orders by Giovanni to conduct business in this region."
"Your boss isn't our boss. You do not have permission to be here." The PLA speaker flatly remarked, the emotion on his face quickly disappearing.
"There was no announcement made that Unova was PLA territory." Gamma-7 quickly replied.
"The PLA has always had strong ties in Unova. Your activities here can be considered an affront to us." The PLA leader remarked.
"There was nothing mentioned about PLA territory in Unova at the previous summit." T-5 retorted. "So then, it appears that we're at an impasse. Mr...I didn't catch your name."
The PLA speaker leaned back a little and scoffed. "Valens...and there is no impasse sir. State your business. Otherwise you all are free to leave."
"We have our orders. This is non-negotiable." Gamma-7 sternly said.
The PLA speaker named Valens gave a small sigh and twirled his wrist. "Alright look, I'm sure common ground can be found. Surely we can speak on the same level from one syndicate to another."
Gamma-7 was about to lean in to say something when T-5 sputtered, unable to properly form words out of sheer disbelief. Then, the burnt-faced man moved in front of his partner and snatched the microphone.
"You guys really make me laugh you know that? Syndicate? You're a glorified crew!" T-5 shouted.
Valens, continuing to remain calm, raised an eyebrow. "You all consider yourselves businessmen, so let's talk."
Still holding the microphone, T-5 stepped to the side to avoid his constituents' attempts at stopping him from speaking any more. "Yeah alright, let's talk. First off, you all are done. The PLA don't got that kind of muscle no more! Your leader's in jail right? You got run out of Sinnoh and crews from all over are looking to take your place. And you got the nerve to tell Team Rocket what to do?!"
Valens merely glared at them. "The PLA is under new management now and our presence in Unova has always been strong. An unsanctioned action in Unova territory is unsanctioned action against the PLA."
Smirking, T-5 took up a proud pose. "Oh really? Well if anybody wants to make a move...!"
A silent moment passed between the two groups before the PLA speaker gave a quiet exhale.
"Alright. If you really don't believe us..." He said as the rest of his crew began to quickly brace for something.
"(Just keep rowing okay?)" Buneary whispered as both she and Pikachu tried using oars to push their little life raft further away from the cargo ship, an action of which was made difficult given their small sizes.
"(Okay. Do you see if anybody noticed us?)" Pikachu asked in-between breaths.
Buneary took a moment to look up and squinted her eyes. She didn't see any commotion or indication that they had been spotted. "(Nope. Doesn't look like it. Just keep at it 'till we get to the island.)" She said before resuming her own rowing duty.
"(Right.)" Pikachu firmly replied as he continued to try and make the life raft travel faster across the water.
They were still a ways off from the island but at this rate, it shouldn't take an absurd amount of time to reach the shore. Admittedly, it was a pretty shortsighted plan. Once they reached the island, then what? Wait until one of the groups reach them? And who was to say that members of either group weren't already there?
But really, what was the alternative? Stay on the boat with a criminal organization that specialized in snatching Pokémon? Get caught in some sort of turf war with another, potentially violent gang?
Not to mention that there was one other, little disturbing tidbit...
For as long as the two could remember, they had always dealt with the Team Rocket trio but they also had to realize that the group, as a whole, was still composed of legitimately scary people. Quite frankly, it was a miracle that their main interactions with them in general were with the idiot rejects that served as more of a nuisance than a threat.
So in the end, even if it was a hastily-prepared, shortsighted plan...it was the only option they really had.
"(When we get there, we'll hide out until things cool down.)" Pikachu said as he continued to row. "(Then we'll take the life raft back to the mainland and alert the authorities.)"
"(Makes sense to me.)" Buneary huffed as she too continued to try and make the raft gain distance from the cargo ship. "(And then we-huh?)" She muttered before her hearing picked up on something above them. Without thinking, she stopped rowing and looked up only for her mouth to hang open in silent shock.
"(Hmm? What's up?)" Pikachu asked, blinking as he saw her reaction. "(Bun, what's-?)"
"(LOOK OUT!)" She shrieked as she suddenly lunged towards him and pulled him to the floor of the life raft.
"(G'AAH! What're you-?!)" He screamed before he managed to catch a glimpse of something coming down from the PLA airship. Out from the corner of his eye, he saw what looked to be a small comet propelling down and heading...
...Towards the cargo ship.
Neither of them had time to scream before the deafening sound of an explosion erupted a short distance away, the groan of metal being torn apart and fire crackling through the air mimicking some great beast roaring in both fury and pain. The force of the impact was so strong that almost immediately, the duo felt their life raft being rocked and carried by rather large tidal waves. A moment later, the two were shot out into the now chaotically splashing water.
So caught off guard was Pikachu, that he barely had time to take in a breath of air before he landed in the deep blue sea. He fell in headfirst and while underwater, he could still hear the crackling of the explosion from a ways off and what sounded like the cargo ship make another droning sound as it began to move.
Once he got his bearings under the dark waters, he quickly swam up to catch a breath of air. As soon as he emerged, he frantically looked around.
"(Buneary?!)" He cried out as he struggled against the unrelenting waves. His eyes darting across the ocean, Pikachu rotated his body to try and catch a glimpse of brown and cream colors among the homogenous blue sea yet he couldn't see anything other than the cargo ship now on fire and beginning to sag to one side. In his haste, Pikachu saw several people and Pokémon on it running back and forth, some jumping into the water to avoid the flames.
For a moment, he watched the chaos in horror. Reality crashing back to him, Pikachu steeled his nerves and tried to remember where everything was located. So if that's where the ship was, then on the opposite side...
Pikachu turned around and saw the island off in the distance, not too far to swim towards.
But...
...
No.
He wouldn't go without her! Even if he has to search every inch of the sea, even if he risked being caught, they would go together no matter what!
Gathering his strength, Pikachu repeatedly dove under the water to try and see if he could find her anywhere. Instead, all he saw was darkness and when he emerged, the only other things he saw in the water were debris from both the ship and their life raft. Regardless, he spent the next few minutes frantically searching for her, repeatedly calling her name along the way. It was only when he heard a second explosion from the ship did he stop and look back.
Indeed, a fireball began to arise from the deck of the now half-sunk steel mass and all at once he could see the water rushing away from it, almost like it was fleeing in terror from the conflagration.
Pikachu's ears twitched and fear finally overtook his very being as he saw the massive waves coming towards him! Panicking, he started swimming towards the shore, hoping that the water would crash a safe distance away. Instead, he felt his body swept up and before he knew it, he was several feet above where he was a few moments ago.
As he felt his body being tugged down into the ocean by the wave, he could only wonder where she was.
"Sir, the fire has reached the fuel tanks. Second explosion reported." A female Team Rocket member said as she focused on a computer monitor that displayed the now destroyed cargo ship.
Valens calmy smiled as he stared them all down. "That was a warning shot. The next one goes in the center of your airship."
The rest of Team Rocket looked on in silent shock as they saw their massive cargo ship beginning to sink beneath the waves, several of their teammates desperately swimming away from it.
"Sir, the ship is lost but we can still save our crewmates." The female Team Rocket member said as she leaned away from her computer monitor.
Her comment was only met with more silence as both Gamma-7 and T-5 glared at the PLA speaker.
"We'll give you some time to gather up your crew members and...the rest of your things." Valens laughed as did several of his subordinates. "I expect an answer from you, but I'm sure you'll make the right call." He said, smugness palpable in his voice.
"Sons of bitches..." T-5 muttered under his breath.
"Until then..." The PLA speaker said with a little smile and with that, communication was cut and the computer screen went blank.
"Opposing airship is backing away." One Rocket member said, watching a computer that showed the PLA air fortress moving into the clouds and out of sight.
"Sir, shall we start implementing rescue protocols?" Another member asked.
"Sons of bitches..." T-5 repeated while shaking his head as his hand clasped around his face.
All was dark. Pikachu felt like he was tumbling in an endless void, no moment of peace, no stability, no sanity.
Just this.
He shouldn't be that surprised. He's been here before. Lost in this endless darkness.
Still, for nothing being around...there sure was the strange sound of...the ocean?
His chest tightening a little, Pikachu gave a light groan as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision took a moment to adjust and when he could finally register what he was looking at, he realized that he was lying on the soft warm sand of a beach, some tropical greenery off to the side.
Blinking, he slowly started to move his body to get up, his fur feeling rather heavy due to still being soaked.
Where in the world was he-?
Before Pikachu could finish that thought, he suddenly felt salty water in his mouth and he immediately started coughing it up.
When he was finished, he spat and then took a few steady breaths before looking around. Just as he thought...he managed to make it to the island. That second explosion must've carried him over here and at some point, he blacked out.
No sooner did he realize that did another, more horrible thought come to his mind. Gasping, he frantically looked around.
Where was Buneary?!
His eyes carefully scanned the area for any clue of her but instead he saw nothing of the sort. He took in a breath, ready to call her name out when he suddenly stopped himself and slapped his paws over his mouth.
Wait.
There was no telling who else was on this island. Team Rocket. PLA. Other potentially hostile forces...
So instead, he cupped his paws around his mouth and he whispered her name every which way. If she was here and looking for him, her superior hearing would pick up what he was saying.
He paused. A few moments later, he didn't hear or see anything else. Gulping, he looked around again. Then he stared at the jungle-like forest.
Welp...
A few minutes went by of Pikachu trekking through the island's foliage, trying not to make any more noise than he had to. It was like finding a needle in a haystack to look for her in here so instead, he would find higher ground and get his bearings. He debated if he should've stayed on the shore but if anything, that would've made him more visible to both groups. At least he would have a chance of staying out of sight here.
As he continued to make his way through the forest, his mind swirled with thoughts about her well-being. Surely if he himself had made it this far, she would've too right? Yeah, she was tough! Tougher than him he would say! Chances are, she's doing the exact same thing he's-
His ears pricked up as he heard something off to the side: the faint rustling of leaves. Startled, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked for the source of the noise. A moment later, he saw the leaves of a bush being ruffled...and it looked to be headed in his direction!
Panic beginning to set in, Pikachu carefully started to back away.
"(B-Bun...?)" He quietly whispered only to hear a low guttural growl from behind that bush.
Whatever it was...it definitely wasn't Buneary!
Pikachu stayed perfectly still, momentarily petrified by fear. It was only when he stepped on a twig and snapped it did he immediately turn and sprint in the opposite direction.
He ran as fast as he could, dodging trees left and right. It wasn't usually like him to run from a fight but this wouldn't be a normal battle between trainers or anything. He could be outnumbered, they could have some sort of capturing mechanism, who knows how it could go down? Not to mention that if Team Rocket was active in this area, surely they were up to something really bad right? Maybe it was important enough to kill over...
Besides, he wasn't here to start fights. What he needed to do was find Buneary, lay low and get out of this whole mess.
As he ran through the darkened forest, his vision focused on a source of light in the distance, made all the more noticeable by the shade provided by the trees above. Not far behind, he could hear grunting and frantic movement!
Gritting his teeth, Pikachu ran towards the light. When he could see the other side, he realized that he was staring across a small chasm, the bottom of which contained nothing but rocks. He blinked, barely even understanding what he was looking at. Then he looked back and heard his pursuer only getting closer. Turning back to the chasm, Pikachu quickly glanced around to see what his options were. He took notice of a tree overhanging the small gorge, its branches just long enough to get over and it appeared to be sturdy enough to hold his weight. Without a second thought, he climbed up it, ran across the branch, and jumped to the other side. Just for good measure, he shot out a Thunderbolt to zap off the branch, seemingly the only way to get across.
Hearing some sort of frustrated growl from the darkness, Pikachu continued to run through the forest. Actually feeling good about what he had just accomplished, he briefly looked back to see if he was still being pursued.
Didn't look like it. Heh, try chasing him now you bast-
Both his thoughts and racing body stopped in place upon crashing into someone. Plopping onto his behind, Pikachu groaned as he rubbed the back of his head and he opened an eye only to look up at an unamused shiftry.
"(Uhh...)" Pikachu absentmindedly muttered as the dual-type looked down at him.
"(Hey, what was that?!)" Another voice cried out from the trees only to reveal the culprit to be a crobat.
"(Looks like someone's lost.)" Shiftry muttered as they both turned to the mouse. "(Where're you heading off to in such a hurry?)"
"(I-I...)" Pikachu mumbled, glancing between the two.
"(Maybe he's with another crew.)" Crobat whispered to his comrade.
"(Maybe.)" Shiftry quietly replied before giving the mouse a hard look. "(What outfit are you with?)"
"(Outfit?)" Pikachu wondered aloud as they stared him down. Before he could say anything else, he heard the leaves behind him rustle and all three looked in the direction of the noise.
"(He ain't with no outfit stationed here.)" A third voice grumbled as the bush parted, revealing a scyther. "(I saw him come from the beach, and none of the other crews have a pikachu with 'em.)"
Pikachu quickly rose to his feet and stared him down. So he was the one chasing him! The electric mouse took notice of the Bug-type's wings. Huh...guess that explains how he got over the chasm then.
"(So if he's not with us...)" Shiftry muttered as both he and Crobat began to back away.
Pikachu looked between the three and realized that they were forming a triangular pattern around him.
"(You must be a local then, kid?)" Crobat asked, eyeing him up and down.
"(A pikachu in Unova? On this island? That must be unique enough to bring in...right?)" Shiftry asked.
"(I'd say so!)" Scyther replied, steadying his razor blade-like appendages.
"(Unless he's with those PLA guys running around.)" Crobat muttered.
"(Even better then. One less of 'em to deal with!)" Scyther said with an eager grin.
Pikachu continued to look between them. Steeling his nerves, he prepared himself for what was about to happen next.
Buneary continued to trudge through the darkened forest, having awoken a few minutes ago not too far away on the beach. Uncurling both of her ears, she constantly looked around to pick up on any sign of Pikachu. Back in the ocean, she could hear him calling out for her but having been caught off guard by the explosion, she didn't have a chance to shout back while she struggled to keep her head above the water. When the tidal waves began to form, she didn't have much choice but to go in a direction away from him. When she was finally close to the shore, she swam towards it and as soon as she was out of the water, she plopped onto the sand, utterly exhausted. She must've been out for only a few minutes before deciding to go searching for him.
At least she has the advantage of having great hearing. If he were to call out to her now, she was sure to-
She heard something. Stopping in place, she turned towards it.
It didn't sound like Pikachu...
"(Hey, get off my back wouldja? I'm goin' I'm goin'!)" A rather irate pinsir groused.
"(We're already on thin ice man, boss says he wants that thing up and running today!)" A vigoroth sternly replied.
They sounded like they were headed her way.
Slightly panicking, Buneary hopped in the other direction and headed towards a source of light. Crossing it, she entered into a clearing and she immediately noticed several large wooden boxes scattered about. A moment later, she realized that each of the boxes had a large red "R" logo painted on them.
Uh oh...
Hearing their footsteps not far behind, she frantically rushed forward, hoping to get to the other side of the clearing and into the safety of the trees.
...Only to see other shadowy figures approaching from that direction as well.
Skidding to a halt, she stifled a gasp as her hearing picked up voices from all around, converging on her location.
Oh...crap, crap, CRAP!
On the verge of completely freaking out, she looked around.
Where to go?! WHERE TO GO?!
Her gaze rested on the boxes and she noticed that several of them were actually open. Without a second thought, she rushed towards a container that was more than twice her size, got in and put up the wooden panel behind her. As she settled in, she realized that the box contained evolution stones which were nestled in packing material that resembled cream-colored paper or hay. Wanting to be safe, she put some of the material over her body, curled up into a little ball in the corner and waited.
A few minutes later, she heard voices of all sorts around her. Some were human, others were from Pokémon. She couldn't see any of them, but if she were to guess, she'd say that there were at least two dozen of them.
"Chief, all heads are accounted for." A male voice firmly said.
"Alright, we've spent enough time here. Let's call it in." A female voice replied. A moment later, the static sound of a walkie-talkie buzzed through the air. "Beta-1, this is Tango-88, we're ready for you."
"Alright, start securing the payloads!" A third voice commanded from the device.
With that, there were mutterings and footsteps around Buneary's hiding spot. She heard them tap and pound on what sounded like wood. Were they inspecting each box?
She heard footsteps approach her container and she stayed perfectly still. The inside of the crate wasn't very spacious but it was rather dark.
"(Eh? The side of this one isn't secured in place.)" A granbull muttered as he took the loose side of the wooden box and inspected it. Then he peered inside. Buneary reached deep down inside of herself to not shake in place. She could feel him continuing to stare in her direction.
"(Hey man! Something wrong?)" A hariyama called out from the side.
The granbull moved away from the box and snorted. "(Nah man. Just some stones and that packing crap.)"
"(Well then board it up and put it to the side. We gotta put the important cargo in first.)" The hariyama sternly remarked.
"(Tsk. Yeah, yeah.)" Granbull grumbled as he placed the loose side of the container against the box. A few moments later, a few nails were hammered in to secure it in place, startling Buneary when it first happened.
When she heard him walk away, she eased up a little in the darkness. Jeez, that was close!
No sooner did she think that did she hear something approaching from above. It sounded like it was getting closer...because the wind began to pick up and her container started slightly rocking in place. It sounded like a helicopter of some sort.
A few moments later, it touched down to the ground and immediately, she could hear shouts and commands. Curious, Buneary opened her eyes and in the darkness she saw light coming in through tiny slits in the wooden paneling. She peered through and saw that there was indeed a fairly large aircraft that resembled a helicopter nearby.
She saw how several humans in Team Rocket uniforms were pushing larger crates into the aircraft.
Not wanting to risk it, Buneary gently plopped down and covered herself up again.
Oh great...looks like she was going for a ride.
Barely able to move, Scyther slowly began crawling from where he had fallen and tried heading back towards the tree line. Out from the corner of his eye, he could see both Crobat and Shiftry lying motionless on the ground groaning in pain. Occasionally, sparks of electricity appeared on random parts of their bodies.
The Bug-type's desperate attempt at escape was immediately cut short upon feeling a weight suddenly press on his lower back. Yelping from the sudden contact, Scyther felt his body being turned over and with a pained groan, he looked directly into the eyes of a furious Pikachu.
The electric mouse – not a hair out of place – grabbed him by his chest and held him up to his face.
"(Team Rocket...you guys never quit huh? Can't go anywhere without you terrorizing people!)" Pikachu growled as he noticed Scyther's expression become absolutely terrified and his body trembled in his paws. "(I swear...I will put all of you under a jail!)" He shouted as he shook the Bug-type back and forth.
"(W-Wait...!)" Scyther coughed, slowly lifting his arm to cover his face. "(N-No more...please!)" The Bug-type pleaded, the horror in his voice crystal clear.
A moment passed as Pikachu glared at him before easing up a little. "(I don't have time for this.)" He muttered as he shoved his opponent to the ground with a loud thud and a surprised cry. "(I've got places to be and you idiots are interrupting my search.)"
Groaning, Scyther struggled to lean forward and when he finally did, he only saw the unamused, darkened eyes of the electric mouse. He gulped and started slowly backing away along the ground.
"(W-We're just following orders I swear! That...that tower is their idea!)" He stammered, unable to take his horrified gaze off of Pikachu.
"(Huh? Tower? What are you-?)" Pikachu muttered before he heard movement from nearby.
"(Alright man, I think you hurt 'em plenty!)" A male voice cheerily called out from the bushes, causing Pikachu to whip his body in its direction. As soon as he directed his focus off of Scyther, the Bug-type took off in a mad scramble and disappeared into the forest.
Pikachu blinked and then grit his teeth upon seeing a gengar emerge from the foliage. Feeling ready for anything, his cheeks began to emanate sparks of electricity.
"(Are you with them? I just took care of your buddies, don't think I won't-!)" He shouted before the gengar gently waved his hands in front of himself.
"(No, no. We're not with them.)" The Ghost-type said with a smile before lifting up an arm to show that he was wearing some sort of cloth band that had a familiar-looking logo on it. "(The name's Sid, nice to meet ya!)"
Easing up a little, Pikachu gave him a confused look. "('We'?)"
As soon as he said that, a grovyle and a skuntank also emerged from the bushes.
"(We just saw your little performance.)" Skuntank said, motioning towards the two fallen opponents on the ground, still completely knocked out.
"(Yeah, that was pretty impressive! We're not creeps I swear, we just didn't know if you were friend or foe.)" Grovyle laughed.
Looking between them, Pikachu eased up a little more, the sparks on his cheeks fully disappearing. He saw that they too were wearing the same bands with the logo.
"(So...you're not with Team Rocket then?)" He asked.
"(Pshh, no way!)" Sid proudly replied as he puffed out his chest. "(We were actually planning on getting past these guys when we saw you wander over!)"
"(Yeah and I gotta say, I can't remember the last time I saw someone take out so many opponents so quickly!)" Grovyle said, a look of admiration on his face. "(And not a scratch on ya too!)"
Still confused, Pikachu continued to stare at them. "(Er...thanks. I was just on my way to...somewhere else.)"
"(Oh? Where to?)" Sid asked with a smile.
"(N-Nowhere in particular. Just trying to get away...from these guys.)" Pikachu hesitantly replied as he looked back at Shiftry and Crobat.
"(These guys? You mean Team Rocket?)" Skuntank asked.
"(Yeah.)" Pikachu flatly said.
"(Well if you don't have a particular destination in mind...might I suggest coming with us?)" Grovyle asked with a smile.
His ears pricking up, Pikachu made a strange, surprised sound. "(Huh?)"
"(Yeah, a tough guy like you would fit in perfectly with us! Plus you hate Team Rocket too so...)" Sid beamed.
"(With you three...?)" Pikachu wondered aloud.
"(Well, not just us. The Pokémon Liberation Army!)" Grovyle declared.
Pikachu felt goosebumps all over his body upon hearing that.
Oh boy.
"(The...Pokémon Liberation Army?)" Pikachu muttered, trying to stay calm.
"(Yeah man! We're our own organization!)" Skuntank chirped.
"(An organization?)" Pikachu repeated, trying to sound as confused as he could before looking back at Shiftry and Crobat.
"(Not like Team Rocket of course!)" Sid quickly retorted, immediately picking up on what the mouse was implying. "(You see, Team Rocket goes around stealing Pokémon, we go around freeing them!)"
"(Yeah, and not just freeing them from dumbasses like these guys. We mean anyone with a Pokéball!)" Skuntank followed up.
Looking between them again, Pikachu's mind raced.
That's right...he remembers now.
He thought that the logo looked familiar and upon seeing their name on that airship, he was struck by a rather inexplicable feeling. Eyeing the three other Pokémon, his mind raced back to when he saw that news coverage in Sinnoh.
How it was their group who was responsible for several attacks across the region.
How they were the ones who broke into the Oreburgh Mining Museum.
...And how it was them who released the Aerodactyl that nearly killed him.
"(So whaddya say? Interested at all?)" Sid asked, as all three looked directly at him.
Making a dry gulp, Pikachu tried not to shake in place. "(W-Well...I dunno. If it involves putting me in a Pokéball-)"
"(Oh no, not at all! No Pokéballs for our group! Any Pokémon are free to come and go as they please! We're here of our own choosing and not because somebody locked us away in a cage!)" Sid quickly remarked.
"(I...I don't know. I'm actually kind of looking for someone. We uhh...got separated. B-Because of Team Rocket of course!)" Pikachu muttered.
"(Oh really? Jeez, that's too bad.)" Grovyle replied with a huff. "(Although, chances are that your friend's been captured by now.)"
Pikachu jerked his head back a little. Buneary...captured? How long was he knocked out on that beach for?
"(Y-You think so?)" Pikachu stammered only to be met with the three nodding at him.
"(I'd bet my money on it. Actually, I'm a tad surprised you haven't been caught yet. This area is crawling with Team Rocket guys.)" Sid replied.
"(I...managed to fend some of them off.)" Pikachu said.
"(Heh, no surprise there.)" Skuntank chuckled to which he was joined by Grovyle. Pikachu, however, looked rather uncomfortable.
Shifting in place from one foot to the other, the mouse looked down at the ground. "(Thanks for the offer...but I think I'll take my chances.)" Pikachu quietly muttered.
"(Hey man, it's up to you. We're only offering this opportunity once. That scyther is definitely gonna come back with reinforcements.)" Sid replied while shaking his head and giving a shrug. "(I gotta say though, you have a better chance with us. Strength in numbers and all that y'know?)"
"(Yeah...)" Pikachu muttered before looking elsewhere. "(Well again, thanks for the opportunity but I think I can-)"
"(Plus there's that tower.)" Skuntank said.
Pikachu looked back at him. "(...What tower?)"
"(Team Rocket's been setting up shop on this island.)" Sid said, looking off into the forest. "(Our guys say that they're building some kind of tower. For what, we don't fully know, but they think it's some kind of homing beacon. Something to attract the wildlife towards it.)"
Pikachu blinked at him. "(...Really?)"
"(Mhmm.)" Grovyle replied. "(They arrived here before we did so we're still looking, but we think we're getting close. Dunno how they've been keeping it hidden for so long, but it's only a matter of time.)"
"(And when that tower is activated, all walks of life on this island will head towards it and then bam!)" Sid said before punching one fist into another. "(Captured!)"
Pikachu looked back at the forest. Jeez, if that's true...
"(But again, it's up to you. We can't stick around waiting for you to change your mind though. We gotta take off now so...)" Sid firmly said.
Gritting his teeth, the mouse quickly weighed his options as he continued to look away from the group.
Okay, it was either continue to wander around this unfamiliar island that was crawling with Team Rocket grunts or go with these guys. If he went off on his own, there's no telling if he'd find Buneary and even if he did, could they even hide out until things cooled down?
Plus there's that tower. If what these guys are saying is true...then nobody would be safe here.
And if he went with them...well...there's no telling what would happen. Where they would go or what they would do...
But then again, if Buneary was indeed captured...wouldn't being with a group help with finding and rescuing her?
Pikachu fully turned away, hoping that the other three wouldn't be able to read his expression.
This was crazy, was he seriously considering going with them? They seemed nice right now but that didn't hide the fact that these guys were responsible for a lot of trouble last he remembered.
Man...he was really between a rock and a hard place huh?
Slowly, he began to turn back towards them. "(...If I go with you, does that mean we'll face off against Team Rocket?)"
Sid snickered. "(Heh, yeah probably. They've trespassed on PLA territory. Anywhere in Unova and Sinnoh is our stomping ground.)"
"(You think they've captured other Pokémon already?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Oh yeah, without a doubt!)" Grovyle replied. "(We know they have! In fact, they probably have prisoners on that airship of theirs.)" He said, motioning towards the sky.
Pikachu felt his heart sink down into his stomach. Oh...right. The Pokémon on the pickup truck...plus it was almost guaranteed that there were others.
Well great...now he can't go off on his own. He couldn't bear to think of Team Rocket flying off with a bunch of captured Pokémon...
Sighing, Pikachu looked Sid directly in the eyes. "(...Alright. I'm in.)"
Immediately, the three of them looked rather pleased.
"(Heh, good choice.)" Grovyle said with a smile.
"(You'll need to learn the ropes of how things work with us, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time.)" Skuntank followed.
"(Alright, we need to get moving.)" Sid ordered, motioning for the mouse to follow him. "(Come along, we're waiting for someone to pick us up.)"
"(Pick you up?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Yeah, to our airship. We have one of our own.)" Skuntank said as he began walking past the mouse.
"(Yup. C'mon, walk with us, talk with us.)" Sid said as he and Grovyle also began to walk past Pikachu.
Suddenly, they paused and looked down at Shiftry and Crobat. They looked at each other before Sid let out a hearty laugh.
"(Before we do...boys...!)" He declared. "(Do your thing!)"
Pikachu's eyes widened in horror as both Grovyle and Skuntank approached his fallen foes...
...And began to promptly stomp and kick them, even as they started to cry out from the onslaught.
"(Enjoying my foot up your ass eh?)" Grovyle laughed with a rather sadistic smile as he continued to stomp Shiftry into the ground who weakly tried to shield himself by raising his arms in defense.
"(Stupid bastards.)" Skuntank growled as he continued to claw at Crobat's face who yelped in pain as a thin line of blood spurted from his mouth. "(Constantly going around and attacking other Pokémon. Killing some of them. And for what? All in the name of making money!)"
Pikachu looked between the two and could only silently watch as Shiftry tried saying something although he couldn't get a word out amongst the other Grass-type's kicking. For a moment, the fallen dual-type looked up at the mouse, his pleading eyes full of terror. Pikachu merely stood in place and looked back at him, petrified to his very core.
Grovyle stopped his assault and looked down at Shiftry. "(Huh? What's that?)" He asked before leaning forward and grabbing the fallen Pokémon by the back of his head and tightly gripped his white mane. "(You got something you wanna say?! You're lucky we don't scalp you right now!)" He roared before he leaned back, a sudden wildness coming over him. "(In fact...I just might!)" Grovyle declared as he raised an arm to which the leaves on it began to glow bright green.
Pikachu took a step forward, about to scream when Sid beat him to it.
"(Alright already, that's enough! We don't have time anyway.)" The Ghost-type said, shaking his head. The other two began to ease up on their assault and they both paused.
Giving his teammates a side-glance, Grovyle grumbled something and shoved Shiftry back down to the ground. "(Tsk, would be a hassle to carry it around anyway...)"
Sid scoffed and looked back at Pikachu who by now was doing everything in his power to keep a straight face. As soon as he saw the Ghost-type look at him, the mouse kept his mouth closed as he gritted his teeth.
"(Sorry about that. Sometimes you gotta teach them a lesson y'know?)" Sid laughed.
A moment passed before Pikachu silently exhaled and gave an uncaring shrug. "(Eh, it's Team Rocket so whatever right?)"
Chuckling even more now, Sid gave him a rather wide grin. "(Heh, yeah...you'll do well with us man. C'mon let's go.)" He said before motioning for everyone to follow him into the forest.
A chill running up his spine, Pikachu took a few tentative steps to walk past the now groaning Pokémon who clearly didn't have the strength to even look up. Morbid curiosity getting the better of him, he glanced over and saw Crobat's face bruised and clawed, bleeding from both sides of his mouth and a few pieces of wood missing from Shiftry's face. The Grass-type in particular was breathing hard to the point of wheezing.
He looked up and saw that his new teammates were heading into the forest. Watching them go, Pikachu grimaced and looked to the open sky.
"Buneary...wherever you are...please be safe." He thought before he followed the others into the foliage.
A few minutes later, Pikachu and the other three continued to walk through the forest until they came into a clearing.
"(Alright, we're here.)" Sid declared before he spotted a large boulder. Smirking, he walked over and sat on it. "(Now there's nothing left to do but sit here and wait for the others.)"
Pikachu looked around. He didn't see or hear anyone else, so it looked like it was just them being picked up.
As he saw the other two make themselves comfortable, he merely stood in place, unwilling to fully let his guard down just in case.
"(So I gotta ask...what are ya doing here?)" Skuntank asked whilst sitting on a patch of grass, his sudden question being met with Pikachu's surprised gaze.
"(Huh? What do you mean?)" The mouse asked.
"(Well I mean, a pikachu in Unova? On this island?)" Skuntank replied, causing his teammates to look at him. "(It's just sort of odd is all. I mean if it was Hoenn or Kanto or something I'd understand...)" He said, before wiping some remaining blood off his claws on the grass.
"(Yeah, isn't that why those guys were hassling you? They thought you were some sort of new breed of pikachu in Unova or something?)" Grovyle remarked as he rotated his wrist that held his now scuffed knuckles.
A cold sweat began to form on Pikachu's brow as he looked at the three of them. Oh crap, he needed to come up with something quick! If there was even a hint of suspicion, who knows how this will go down!
"(I'm...not from here. I left home a long time ago.)" Pikachu muttered, trying to look as forlorn as possible.
Sid leaned back and snorted. "(I figured as much. You must be pretty far from wherever you came from.)"
"(Yeah, I guessed as much when I saw your bracelet.)" Grovyle said with a smirk.
"(My bracelet?)" Pikachu absentmindedly muttered before looking down at his arm and to his absolute horror...he saw that he was still wearing it!
"(Forgot about it?)" Grovyle laughed.
"(Oh! That uhh...that's just...)" Pikachu stammered, trying to find his way out of this one.
"(Hey man, we all got stories.)" Sid said before leaning forward. "(But I am curious to know about how you got here.)"
Panic reaching an all-time high, Pikachu dug deep inside himself to maintain his composure. Taking a moment, he let out a rather large exhale. "(Well...if you really want to know...)" He said, waiting for their response.
"(We got time.)" Grovyle said.
Looking at the three of them, Pikachu steadied his nerves. "(I'm from Kanto. And my trainer...Red...he was...well, let's just say that he had a lot to learn about how to treat others.)"
Sid chuckled. "(Heh, a trainer not treating a Pokémon well? Can't say that I'm surprised.)"
Making a dry gulp, Pikachu noted how the three of them were still eyeing him. He noticed that Grovyle was inspecting his knuckles. He looked quite pleased with himself.
For a moment, Pikachu's mind flashed back to his time in Sinnoh and he desperately tried to recall what the news and police said about these guys. Well...they were pretty anti-establishment and went against anything regarding trainers. Maybe he can work with that...
"(So anyway, I traveled with him for a while but I never really liked how I was always being told what to do. I mean, I always hated being in a Pokéball but he kept insisting that I go in. I just didn't get it...who was he to tell me what to do? Heck, I zapped him the first day we met. Right then and there, I knew it wasn't going to work out.)" Pikachu said, trying to sound as annoyed as he could.
"(Oh-ho! Zapped him? Nice, nice!)" Grovyle laughed.
"(Wish I could've seen it!)" Skuntank snickered.
"(A-Anyway, I eventually met this girl and we gave each other gifts. She got me this.)" Pikachu said, holding up the arm that the bracelet was wrapped around. "(But we had to go our separate ways and I never forgave my trainer for it. I mean, we had something special and it all had to end for him? So I would be forced to work on his dream?)"
"(Oh man, that's rough buddy.)" Sid said, shaking his head.
"(Yikes. Include a chick in the mix and it's always tough.)" Grovyle remarked.
Trying to keep it up, Pikachu cleared his throat. "(So we kept going from gym to gym...)"
Buneary curled herself up in a ball as the crate that she was in rocked back and forth, causing her body to do the same. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried not to make any noise.
Okay, this all went from bad to worse! One moment she was on a boat surrounded by bad guys, then she was on an island surrounded by them, then she got put on a helicopter piloted by them and now she was in an airship...patrolled by them.
Taking in a few deep breaths, she tried calming herself down before her frayed nerves caused a panic attack.
While both of her ears were curled up, she could still hear the faint sounds of murmuring from nearby. It was still too loud due to the airship moving, but she could definitely make out shouting, mumbling and even an occasional curse.
Swallowing hard, she looked out into the darkness.
What was she going to do?
It was only then did the rocking finally ease up and a few minutes later, she heard the sounds of footsteps accompanied by several different disgruntled voices.
Before she could fully eavesdrop, she felt her box being picked up and carried away.
"(And then I got on a boat and never looked back. Before I knew it, we were near this island.)" Pikachu said, waving his arms in the air for dramatic effect. The other three were intensely watching him tell his completely true story. "(The ship's crew saw me so I took a chance and jumped off and swam here. And...that was that.)"
"(Woah. So you really hate humans then huh?)" Skuntank remarked.
Pikachu gave a nonchalant shrug. "(It's not that I hate them, I just didn't like how things worked with them. The whole trainer thing I mean.)"
The other three smiled at him.
"(Yeah, we can relate. It's always been pretty messed up out there. The PLA is working to fix that and by the sound of things, you'll fit in pretty good.)"
"(Mhmm.)" Grovyle muttered before pointing at the mouse. "(Just make sure that you don't get captured, m'kay?)"
Pikachu blinked at him before an idea came to mind. "(I...don't think that'll be a problem. Pretty sure that my trainer never actually released me.)"
Simultaneously, the other three jerked their heads back in surprise.
"(Really? How do you figure?)" Sid asked.
"(Ever since I ran away, a couple of people have tried catching me but it never worked. Like when I first arrived in Sinnoh, this girl threw a Pokéball at me but the red light...thing...disappeared.)" Pikachu said, twirling his wrist as he spoke.
The PLA members looked at each other before staring at him again.
"(Dang...guess so.)" Grovyle muttered.
Sid began to smirk. "(Still, a PLA member that can't be captured and hates Team Rocket? Sounds like a match made in heaven if you ask me!)"
The other two murmured in agreement before suddenly, everyone began to feel a breeze followed by a droning sound from high in the sky. They looked up and saw some sort of figure slowly descending nearby.
"(That's our ride.)" Sid said as he and his teammates began to get up.
Pikachu continued staring at the descending helicopter. As it broke through the clouds, he could clearly see the PLA logo on the side.
Grovyle waved the small aircraft over, the once gentle breeze turning into a mild whirlwind before the somewhat small airship landed nearby.
As the others started walking towards it, Pikachu braced himself for the short trip to the floating fortress that still hovered the sea.
The electric mouse sighed. He had no idea how he would get out of this, but he needed to find her and help those prisoners on Team Rocket's ship.
He could only imagine how things would turn out.
Author's Notes:
Ooh boy, Pikachu basically joining a gang with a fake life story, Buneary sneaking into Team Rocket's airship...DRAMA!
I want to give a shoutout to ChristianDragon's "Desperate Love" which also involves a certain character joining some bad guys. Really helped in writing out this plot point so why not show their story some love? Do it! NOW! They've also written a sequel called "The Tournament of Friendship". So check that out too!
Things are getting exciting! Stay tuned for more soon!