Mahogany Town
"Dragonite!" Lance ordered, waving his hand forwards as the said Pokemon, a yellow-orange colored dragon, punched the desk of the souvenir shop owner, sending him backwards from the shockwave of the damage. He collapsed on his back, groaning in pain, while Lance and his Dragonite stood over him, glaring down at him.
"Dragonite. The Dragon Pokémon. Dragonite is capable of circling the globe in just 16 hours. It is a kindhearted Pokémon that leads lost and foundering ships in a storm to the safety of land." Jackson heard his Pokédex explain the dragon before him, and the only thought in his mind was, "Kindhearted? That some power for kindheartedness."
They had just arrived on the scene, with Jackson asking Lyanne to hide at the Pokémon Center and heal up the red Gyarados. He didn't want her to be involved with Team Rocket again, especially after the last encounter. Once she was gone, they went to the souvenir shop, and Lance was interrogating him with a sort of 'good cop, bad cop' routine; him being the good cop and Dragonite being the bad cop.
"That was a bit overkill." Jackson noted, looking at the man, seeing his top button to his shirt unbutton, revealing his clothes underneath, which was black. He hopped over the ruined counter, and opened up his jacket, revealing a familiar 'R' logo on it. "Looks like you were on the ball, though. He's a secret Team Rocket member."
"That part was obvious." Lance answered, walking over to a painting on the back of the wall. He examined it before grabbing the frame, lifting and pulling it off the wall. Jackson came to his side as he saw what Lance discovered; a secret panel containing a keyboard and a button. "This one just as much so." Lance continued, tapping away at the computer, before pressing a button. In a hidden back corner of the room, the two trainers looked to see the floor give way, forming a secret staircase that led downward.
"Secret stairs? Why not?" Jackson asked.
"Not your first time encountering them, huh?" Lance asked, a little amused at his sarcasm.
"It's gimmicky." Jackson answered, "Ever been to a ninja's hideout? Those secret passageways are everywhere."
"Except Team Rocket are not ninjas. But they are just as tricky. Be on guard." Jackson nodded at this warning, and the two went downstairs, with Dragonite and Leafeon in pursuit of them.
On the ceilings above, cameras were looking down at the intruders that were coming into their bases. In the main office of the hideout were two characters. One of them was Ariana, who glared at the image of Jackson going down the stairs. The other was a thin-faced man with short purple hair and a goatee, wearing the black and red attire of Team Rocket, though it also had yellow trimming distinguishing him from the regular grunts, and a small kit on his belt.
"Man, that was a lot quicker than I expected!" the thin-faced man snickered, "And look! It's the current champion of Johto, no less. He even brought a kid along! Ain't that cute!"
"Don't underestimate that kid, Petrel." Ariana warned him, "He's a lot stronger than his appearance says. It's thanks to him that we couldn't capture Latias in Alto Mare."
"That kid?!" Petrel asked, looking to him, "Doesn't seem like much. You sure you didn't slip up?"
"He had his Leafeon fight without command against my Arbok, and I underestimated how skillful she was." Ariana explained, "I already placed it in the report. That won't be a mistake I'll make again."
"Hey, look!" Petrel pointed out something, looking to see someone at the top of the staircase, going down after the pair of trainers, "Seems like someone else is coming after them!"
"Unbelievable..." Ariana sighed, walking to the door, "I will get our grunts to work to stop them! You stay here and keep out of sight! The last thing we want is for you to be caught by them. We'll initiate the security locks on the door."
"You sure like to boss me around for someone who lost very recently." Petrel scoffed, "But I gotcha. They can't get to our power source without my voice gettin' them in! I'll be a good boy." Ariana glared at him as the door slid open, and she walked through, closing the door behind and activating the lock.
(Insert 'STAND UP' by Twill (full version))
Music Intro
(Traveling through shining golden tunnel of energy, leading out into space with many world, all of which different colors, with the central world being the Pokémon world. The logo 'Jackson in Johto' appears on screen, before the camera passes through the arch of the 'n' from 'in, going into the world, through the clouds, where the glowing shadow of Ho-Oh can be seen, to the sea, where the shadow of Lugia is flying beneath the waters, before reaching the shoreline, getting blinded by the sun.)
Yeah, stand up boys!
Come on, face forward
(Jackson stands up, with Quilava at his side, followed by Dewott, Weavile, and Scizor, all of which expressing their unique personalities to Jackson.)
The call enveloping you is your guide
Step towards tomorrow
(Dewott gets angry at Weavile for trying to act so cool, while Jackson rolls his eyes before he, Quilava and Scizor took off ahead, with Weavile following behind, ignoring Dewott, who panicked and ran to not be left behind.)
Yeah, stand up girls!
At the end of what's more than real
(Leafeon rises up with Lyanne as Jackson and the boys pass by. The two look to one another, before giggling at the sight of the boys, before looking to the sky.)
We'll grab a light that's been covered by thick clouds
(Camera goes up into the starry sky, where a ball of light was slowly falling down, with the image of Gardevoir inside, her eyes slowly opening up as she looked up.)
How we spend our days before isn't good enough
(Camera passes by still images of all the companions and gym leaders that he has met or will meet in the future, including Cypher at the end of the pictures, while Jackson, Lyanne, Leafeon, and the rest of his current team walked along the bottom of the screen.)
At full speed
We can blast through
Even the highest wall
(Team Rocket suddenly appears, with the four admins of Team Rocket standing together, with the images of their ace Pokémon at their side, and the satellite system right above them.)
Stand up for your dream!
(Jackson draws his sword, while Lyanne turns into her Latias form, and the rest of his team ready to fight together.)
Be enthusiastic at what you do, no matter what it is
(Jackson rushes forward as he slashes his blade against Team Rocket grunts, followed by a spin kick, sending them flying, while Leafeon leaps up and unleashes a forward somersault Leaf Blade, taking out their Pokémon.)
Push your way through to make an opening
(Weavile unleashes an Ice Punch as Dewott throws a Water Pulse at a different direction, followed by the pair unleashing simultaneous Night Slashes. Quilava leaps through their attack, going into a Flame Charge.)
No matter how far
The answer you're seeking is
Stand up for your dream!
(Scizor flies in, striking with a couple Bullet Punches before firing a Hyper Beam. Latias flies above him, unleashing a Mist Ball, sending it ahead. The attacks all created an explosion that consumed the scene in smoke.)
Even if my feeling show weakness
Your voice that I hear close by
(In the burning Ecruteak City, a serious Jackson raced along the path with Leafeon and Quilava at his side, towards the two towers, where a deranged Ho-Oh and Lugia were at, unleashing Aeroblast and Sacred Fire onto the city.)
Gives me courage and strength
I can go the distance
(Jackson leaps high, landing on Latias's back as they flew off, with the rest of the team leaping with him before encased in a stream of their signature colors, before the screen turn white, with a crystal blue Pokéball with a gold and silver sword crossing behind it the only thing remaining.)
Jackson and Lance reached the bottom of the stairs. They saw a long stretch of path ahead of them, with cat statues that Jackson recognized as Persians from the other Pokémon world. Lance looked about, noticing something off.
"No guards in sight." he pointed out.
"Not suspicious at all." Jackson noted, looking to the statue near them. He waved to Lance and the Pokémon not to join him as he crept over to it, getting a close at it as he did so, stopping before he gets in its line of sight. "This things got sensors in its eyes." he noticed, "I bet they'll alert the whole place if we get in its line of sight."
"It's the only path forward, though." Lance pointed out, "Should we just risk it and see if we overpower it, or destroy the statue itself?"
"I got a better option." Jackson answered, moving away from the statue, digging into his backpack, "I know I placed it securely in a box in here... Ah, ha! Got it!" He grabbed a box from within his backpack, and opened it, revealing a lone glove. However, this glove was different, as it had wiring and tech all around it. He placed it on his right hand, flexing his hand, before checking it out.
"What's that?" Lance asked.
"The Miles Machine Defuser Mark III." Jackson explained, "My buddy, Tails, gave this to me as a secondary way to deal with Eggman's robots and all his tech he has. Allows a normal human like me to do so much more."
'Normal human?' Lance and Leafeon questioned what he considered normal.
Jackson looked at the backhand, seeing the dial on it. He turned the dial ninety degrees, causing the wiring to glow and spark. He then took a martial arts stance, facing the Persian statue, concentrated, before slamming his palm onto the statue. Suddenly, it unleashed a spark that startled everyone, before it died away. The same went for the eyes on the statue.
"Impressive." Lance noted, "What did you do?"
"An on-contact EMP pulse." Jackson explained, showing the lit energy output device on his palm, "Slamming my palm on the Persian statue sent a wave that short-circuited it from the inside. Should be safe to cross."
"If we run into more statues, can you short-circuit them like you did with one?" Lance asked, the team racing past the statue.
"I could, but overusing it will overheat the device. Best find the security system and deactivate it." Jackson answered, leading the charge towards their destination. They saw another Persian statue ahead, but there was a separate corridor they could also take, so they went that direction, avoiding the security system. After about a minute of running around and avoiding getting caught, they found the security system room, where a scientist was frantically at the computer, wondering why a few of the statues went dead.
"Get away from the computer!" Lance ordered as he, Jackson, and their Pokémon entered the room.
"Huh?! How did you get here?!" the scientist demanded, before pulling out a Pokéball, "Magnemite, stop them!" He tossed out the Magnet Pokémon, ready to fight.
"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Jackson shouted, and his partner immediately responded by leaping in and unleashing her green glowing tail that struck the opponent in the eye, the difference in power clearly shown when it was sent flying into the scientist's gut, knocking the both of them to the ground, spirals in their eyes.
"And you call me being overkill." Lance pointed out what Jackson said before, who raced over to the computer and deactivated the security.
"That should do it." Jackson told him, "Course, I could only get up here. Downstairs might have something else."
"Then let's continue onward!" he told Jackson, and they raced out of the room.
They reached the next floor, where they found a pair of grunts and an important set of secure doors that led into somewhere. Lance took care of the grunts on his own while Jackson tried to hack into the controls to enter the room.
The grunts, along with a Zubat and Raticate they had, were down and out on the ground, while Lance looked to Jackson, asking, "How's it look?"
"Not good, I'm afraid." Jackson answered, "Team Rocket has some tight security. It's password AND voice-locked. Can't get in there without the person themselves telling the password. Even an EMP from my glove will just keep us locked out."
"That'll be a problem." Lance muttered, turning to the path ahead, "We're gonna have to find who's the person who can open the door. Let's keep going."
They raced on ahead, going throughout the facility, dividing up with Jackson and his Leafeon, while Lance and his Dragonite took a different path. They encountered many members of Team Rocket along their path, but both of them were able to deal with them rather easily.
"Attention, all personal! We have intruders in the Rocket Hideout!" called a familiar voice that made Jackson and Leafeon stop to look up at the speaker, "If you see them, use any means necessary to apprehend them and their Pokémon!"
"Figured we would be discovered." Leafeon stated.
"That sounded like the woman we encountered in Alto Mare, Ariana!" Jackson recalled, mentally adding, 'Good thing we didn't bring her. She would be recognized.' With that fact putting them at ease, they pushed onwards, going to the next floor below.
They arrived in time to see three grunts surrounding Lance and his Dragonite. His partner was having no problem dealing with the Spinarak and Sandshrew. However, the third grunt was about to have her Gastly target Lance himself, about to use Hypnosis. "Dewott, Night Slash!" Jackson shouted, tossing his ball out, bringing out the Discipline Pokémon to the battlefield, who drew out his scalchop and slashed down the Gastly before it could do anything, sending it floating to the ground.
"You guys have no honor whatsoever!" Dewott scoffed, while Gastly's owner was stunned at the surprise attack, before she got taken down by a thrust from Jackson's flattened hand, striking a nerve on the back of her neck to knock her out.
"Thanks, Jackson." Lance thanked him, "Dragonite, Twister!" his partner flapped his wings and summoned a typhoon that knocked the two Pokémon and their trainers out, practically devastating the part of the corridor they were in.
"Jeez, I almost feel sorry for them." Jackson muttered as he and his Pokémon walked up next to Lance, seeing the damage.
"True, but it was thanks to them that I learned of who is able to open the door to what is basically the power station to the radio tower that is producing the signals."
"Great!" Jackson answered.
"We do have a problem, though." Lance continued, "The person is in the head office in the floor below, which is locked by two passwords. I was able to gain one, which was 'SlowpokeTail', all one word."
"Slowpoke tails, again?" Jackson echoed, recalling Azalea Town, and gaining a glare.
"Let's searching around for the other password." the champion told Jackson, "They must've given it to someone else around here."
"Got it. I'll go on ahead!" Jackson told him, putting Dewott back in his ball, before charging on ahead with Leafeon.
Lance and Dragonite watched him go, the dragon looking to his trainer. "I know. He's straight-forward, but has an honest and just heart. It's reflected in his Pokémon, as well. He has grown from the trainer I saw a while back." He paused for a second, before saying, "Let's go. We have to hunt for that other password, too." He and Dragonite turned to go a different path when a foot stomped on the stairs nearby, and he looked to see someone had reached their level. Lance raised his eyebrows, before asking, "You're not a member of Team Rocket, I know that. Are you here to help?" He only got silence and a raised Pokéball in response, signalling a battle he wanted to have.
Jackson made sure to check not just the grunts and scientists, but also spare drawers and computers for any signs of a physical copy of the password, but nothing. "We should keep moving." Leafeon told Jackson after reaching another dead end in one of the rooms.
"Right." Jackson answered, stepping away from the drawer he looked into.
"Hold it!" called a voice from behind, and they turned to see another scientist there.
"Do you have a password to meet your boss here?" Jackson asked, turning to him.
"Sure, I have A password, but it requires two passwords to reach the boss!" the scientist stated, adjusting his glasses, "Not that you can get it from me! I have a surefire way of winning battles!"
"Sounds like a challenge." Jackson answered, "Leafeon, let's do it!"
"Understood!" she replied, ready to go.
"Ditto, it's time!" the scientist declared, calling out a pink clump of goo with tiny eyes and a mouth.
Jackson didn't recognize the Pokémon, and pulled out his dex to examine it. "Ditto. The Transform Pokémon. Ditto rearranges its cell structure to transform itself into other shapes. However, if it tries to transform itself into something by relying on its memory, this Pokémon manages to get details wrong."
"Now, Ditto. Transform!" the scientist declared, and it glowed as its body morphed, turning into a perfect copy of Leafeon.
"A copycat Pokémon?!" Jackson gasped.
"It will have all my moves AND ability!" Leafeon argued.
"Now, according to this..." the scientist looked at a tablet on hand, "So those are your Pokémon's moves. I'll beat you with your own power! Iron Tail!" His Ditto launched forward, its tail glowing for a strike.
"Leafeon, Iron Tail!" Jackson called out, and his met her copy with her own Iron Tail, the two equal to one another.
"Heh! My Ditto can copy yours in both power, endurance and speed!" The scientist warned Jackson, "But I trained my Ditto to have far more stamina than any of its opponents, so you can't top that!"
"I think you're missing 'skill' in that plan." Jackson argued, getting a puzzled expression from his opponent, before he shouted, "Dance with blades!" Leafeon's eye glinted as she started to demonstrate her swordsmanship, slashing Ditto, who couldn't keep up with her talented skills, and after a final horizontal slash, she sent her opponent at the man's feet, where it transformed back into its normal form again.
"That wasn't part of the plan!" the scientist exclaimed, dropping his tablet.
"You can have the same power as your opponent, but the one with the most skill is the one who will come out on top!" Jackson argued, "So says the philosophical judo master Akisame Koetsuji."
"Who?" Leafeon asked, never hearing the name before.
"Another master at the dojo I trained at. He wasn't training me, though." Jackson argued, stepping past her before approaching the beaten scientist, who fell backwards as he came forward, "Now, about that password?"
"Alright, alright!" he exclaimed, "I know one of the passwords is 'RaticateTail'. All one word! But like I said, it's useless without both passwords!"
"Then it's a good thing I know the other one." Jackson answered, passing by him, with Leafeon following behind. He turned back to the stunned scientist, adding, "Forgot to mention that, didn't I?" With that, Leafeon hopped onto his shoulders, and they took off.
Now that Jackson knew the passwords, he had no time to deal with any more grunts or scientists. Any that tried to stop him ended up getting knocked out by his martial arts skills. He did discover a map of the hideout, so he knew where the boss's room was at.
He had stopped to catch his breath and make sure his team was doing fine, before gathering himself together to move on. "We're almost there." Jackson told Leafeon, "Let's go."
"You're going after Team Rocket again?" said a familiar voice. Jackson spun about, ready to fight, when he realized it was not a grunt, but rather a familiar red-head.
"Cypher?!" Jackson asked.
"You just have to jump the gun again, and beat me to destroying them." he growled, "You must really like Team Rocket, don't you?"
"Look, I don't have time for this!" Jackson argued, turning around, "They need to be stopped, no matter who gets to them, first. I'm gonna take on their boss."
"Let me guess; you're only doing this for the sake of the Pokémon, right?" Cypher asked, making him stop again, "You and that bleeding heart of yours. Same goes for that dragon tamer."
"You mean Lance?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah. He was super strong." he explained, "I came at him with all my Pokémon, and I still lost against him."
"You fought him just now?!" Jackson asked, incredulous that he would face a trainer in a place like this, especially Lance, who was stopping Team Rocket like he was.
"Yeah. I don't have that big of a problem with losing to him." Cypher continued, "He was incredibly powerful, no mistaking that. But..." He tightened his fists as he growled, "The fact he said I lost because I didn't love or trust my Pokémon?! That's nothing but absolute drivel!"
"You really refuse to believe that, don't you?" Jackson asked him.
"I feel bad for his Pokémon." Leafeon muttered, to which Jackson nodded in agreement.
"You have a problem with that?" Cypher demanded, "Hmph! I don't have time to argue like this!"
"For once, we agree." Jackson replied, turning around and running down the hall, with Leafeon behind him. Jackson was running ahead, but then heard the sounds of feet behind him, looking around to see Cypher following behind. "I thought you were done with me!" he asked.
"I am. I just wanna stomp Team Rocket to the curb to prove how pointless they are!" he answered, "And you won't get in my way!"
"Are your Pokémon recovered from being beaten by Lance?" he asked. Based on Cypher's contorted face, he hadn't reached that point yet. "Then why don't you watch me do all the work." the swordsman trainer asked, "Maybe you'll see how much trust affects a battle!"
"It doesn't." Cypher bluntly denied, but continued to follow Jackson, nevertheless.
The trio reached an important pair of doors. Jackson could see the computer next to the door, and tapped in the two passwords he gained. The door beeped, and unlocked itself. Jackson and Cypher stood side by side as they door slid open, reaching the main office of the room. There, they witnessed a person sitting at the desk in the office. It made Cypher gasp. The man had thin hair on his head, beady eyes, and wore a black suit with the Team Rocket logo over his heart, a white undershirt, white gloves, and black shoes. There was a Pokémon in the office; a parrot with musical references on its body, who was fast asleep.
Cypher was petrified as Jackson and Leafeon glared at the man who stood up at his desk, smirking as he looked back at them. He gave a malicious laugh as he started, "We've been waiting for you. So, you must be Jackson."
Cypher regained his cool as Jackson asked, "Yeah, that's me. Who might you be?"
"Me? You don't know who I am?" he asked, giving a half grin, "It is me, Giovanni. The majestic Giovanni himself!" He laughed abruptly with his introduction.
"Yeah, you ain't even close." Cypher responded, stepping forward.
"What? You say I'm a fake?" Giovanni asked.
"Are you kidding me? How you look, how you sound, your overall personality. It doesn't even come close to that old man!"
Jackson was impressed by Cypher's deduction of the man before them, before he heard Giovanni, now speaking with a different voice, "No fair! I worked so hard on impersonating him!" He grabbed his shoulder, tore off the garments he wore, hiding his body momentarily, before revealing himself as the man before, Petrel.
"What a disguise!" Leafeon stated, "I was almost fooled!"
"I'm one of the Team Rocket Executives, Petrel!" He introduced himself, looking to Cypher, "Not bad deducing I wasn't the boss! But how do you know him?" He looked carefully at Cypher, before a cocky grin formed on his face, realizing, "Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait! I know why! Wow, what a coincidence you would show up here." Cypher gritted his teeth, hating what he was implying.
"We don't have time for this!" Jackson argued, "Look, I know you're the key to stopping the radio waves that are causing Pokémon to become rampant and forcefully evolve around here! The door upstairs is password and voice-locked. Bet you're the one who can access it, right?"
"You're pretty smart, kid!" Petrel answered, "Yep. I'm the one who can access the radio-transmitter room. But guess what? I ain't doin' nothing for you! The password is 'Hail Giovanni', but good luck trying to get it out of me!" He tossed two Pokéballs up, and out came a Raticate and a Pokémon that looked like the evolved form of Koffing. "Ariana said you were pretty tough, but I bet all this running around has made you weak!" Petrel accused.
"I admit, I am a little tired." Leafeon agreed to the accusation.
"Then let's choose someone else for this." Jackson told her, pulling out two balls, "Scizor, Quilava, go!" Jackson tossed out two balls, bringing out the two Pokémon in question onto the field, before drawing out his Pokédex. "Weezing. The Poison Gas Pokémon, and the evolved form of Koffing. Weezing alternately shrinks and inflates its twin bodies to mix together toxic gases inside. The more the gases are mixed, the more powerful the toxins become. The Pokémon also becomes more putrid."
"You don't have time to analyze!" Petrel proclaimed, as Jackson listened to his dex entry. "Raticate, Double-Edge! Weezing, Sludge Bomb!" Raticate glowed as it charged, while Weezing shot a ball of sludge from its mouth.
"Don't take advantage of my sensei's learning!" Scizor answered, launching forward and punching the Sludge Bomb out of existence with his Steel-type body, before using Bullet Punch to counter Raticate's not very effective attack. It came to a halt, before Scizor knocked Raticate back to his starting position.
"Thanks, Scizor." Jackson thanked his partner, putting his dex away.
"Hmph! Once again, you rely on your Pokémon to back up your weak trainer skills." Cypher huffed, "You hadn't changed since we last fought."
"You're wrong. I taught them to fight even without my commands." Jackson answered, "It's through that trust with one another, plus my unorthodox training, that allow us to grow stronger individually and together."
"Are you done flapping your lips?!" Petrel asked, "Raticate, Crunch on Scizor! Weezing, Sludge Bomb on Quilava!"
"Quilava, blast away with Flamethrower!" Jackson ordered, "Scizor, X-Scissor!" Quilava unleashed a deluge of flames from his mouth, destroying the Sludge Bomb, and damaging Weezing with the attack. Meanwhile, Scizor came at the glowing-fanged Raticate with a cross-slash with his pincers, the Bug-type move overpowering the Dark-type move, and doing a lot of damage to Raticate, knocking him out.
"That was easy." Leafeon noted.
"Now it's just the one." Jackson told Petrel.
"Wow, you're good!" Petrel admitted, "And here I thought it would be easy."
"No, you're just weak." Cypher replied, "You rely on your grunts to wear down your opponents before beating them. That's plain pathetic."
"Heh! Says the guy who has to stand on the sidelines because he was too weak to stop one Champion." Petrel mocked, causing Cypher to grit his teeth in frustration, "We're still trying to regain ourselves after three years, when Team Rocket was disbanded, and our boss, Giovanni, disappeared. But we got big plans that'll get his attention. He will surely come back to us once it's complete!"
"And what plan is that?" Jackson asked.
"I'll tell you when I unlock the door to the radio-transmitter room, which is never!" Petrel answered, "All you need to know is that what we're doing right now is merely the warmup to what we have in store! For now, I'll leave you with this: Weezing, Explosion!"
The attack shocked Jackson as Weezing started to glow, building up energy within his body. "Get down!" Jackson shouted to his team, before turning and high-tailing it out of the room, instinctively grabbing Cypher by the upper arm, forcing him out. There was a massive explosion, and everyone hit the floor to avoid the worst of the attack. Smoke consumed the place, causing everyone to cough from its fumes. Jackson heard the sound of pattering feet as Petrel was making his grand escape.
"Let go of me!" Cypher forcefully dislodged Jackson's hand off of him, before getting to his feet, "You're letting him get away!"
"I didn't! I was saving all of us from being blown up!" Jackson argued.
"Whatever!" Cypher growled, "I'm going after him. You stay here on the ground like a coward! I won't stop!" He took off after Cypher, despite Jackson's call to him. He had already left.
"He really doesn't like that guy, does he?" Leafeon asked as she, Jackson, Scizor, and Quilava got to their feet again.
"He just hates Team Rocket in general." Quilava argued, "Why is that?"
"Seems like Petrel recognized Cypher, so maybe there is a connection?" Jackson assumed. After a second, he sighed as he stated, "Well, it doesn't matter now. They both are gone, and I don't see any way of getting Petrel to say the password. Damn, if I didn't record his voice on my tablet!"
"The password is 'Hail Giovanni'!" Petrel's voice suddenly came out of nowhere, making them jump. They looked about, till they looked inside the office as the smoke dissipate, revealing the parrot had woken up, cleaning his feathers. He looked to Jackson and the others, before calling out, in Petrel's voice, "The Password is 'Hail Giovanni'!"
"Whoa! It sounds just like him!" Jackson exclaimed, "How is that possible?!"
"That's a Chatot! They're great at mimicking others!" Leafeon explained, while Jackson pulled out his Pokédex again, examining the Pokémon. "Chatot. The Music Note Pokemon. It can learn and speak human words. If they gather, they all learn the same saying. It mimics the cries of other Pokémon to trick them into thinking it's one of them. This way they won't attack it."
"So it mimicked Petrel's voice and password." Jackson understood, "Then we can use him to unlock the door!"
"Convenient." Leafeon answered, "I'll go ask if he can do that for us." She wandered over to Chatot, speaking to him for a moment, before Chatot flew onto her back, and she guided him back. "He's willing to join us. He actually finds it too boring around here, so he wants us to guide him out of the hideout."
"Fair trade." Jackson answered, "Let's blade things up a notch, and get on outta here!" Jackson told the team, returning Scizor and Quilava to their balls, before they took off.
Lance was back at the bottom of the staircase, looking about with Dragonite at his side. "I'm concerned about the explosion I heard earlier." he muttered, "Is Jackson in the middle of that? Or that Cypher kid? I should be concerned about them, but I also need to find that password, plus the password to open up the room above."
"The password is 'Hail Giovanni'!" said a voice, causing Lance to turn to see Jackson, Leafeon, and the perched Chatot on her back coming towards them.
"Lance!" Jackson called to him.
"Jackson!" Lance answered, "What happened?!"
"Met the Team Rocket Executive who had the password to open up the transmitter room above." Jackson explained.
"So that room was for the transmitter." Lance understood, "Well, where is the executive?"
"Came and went, with Cypher on his toes." Jackson answered.
"I see..." Lance understood, now knowing that task was impossible.
"Don't worry. We got the next best thing." Leafeon noted, showing off the Chatot perched onto her, who repeated, "The password is 'Hail Giovanni'!"
"A Chatot?" Lance asked, looking at it, before gasping, "Hang on, did it record the executive's voice saying the password?!"
"As it keeps repeating it, I'd say so." Jackson answered.
"Incredible!" the dragon tamer stated, smiling as he looked to Jackson, "You and your team are full of surprises." Jackson smirked at this compliment. "Now, let's go up to the door, and get inside to stop the radio waves!"
"On it!" Jackson answered, and they went up the stairs back to the doors.
They returned back to the door once again. Jackson turned to his partner and asked, "Leafeon, if you would?"
"Chatot, play it again." the Verdant Pokémon asked.
"The password is 'Hail Giovanni'!" Chatot mimicked. Suddenly, there was a beep and a boom as the door accepted the mimicry of Petrel's voice and password, unlocking and opening up the door to the radio-transmitter room.
"Excellent work!" Lance told the team.
"As promised, we'll help you outta here." Jackson told Chatot, "But first, lets stop the transmitter."
"Hold it right there!" called out a voice, and the two trainers and their Pokémon turned to see Ariana with four Team Rocket grunts by her side.
"You again!" Jackson growled, "Ariana, right?"
"I'm glad you remember me, boy." she replied, "You'd think we'd let you do whatever you want? Team Rocket has their pride at stake, and we won't let a brat, or even a Champion, get in our way to our goal! Grunts, show the Champion the true might of Team Rocket! The boy is mine."
"Yes, ma'am!" the grunts answered, tossing out their balls to reveal Ekans, Machop, Ariados, Gloom, and Golbat.
"I can deal with them." Lance told Jackson, "If you need help..."
"I got this." he answered, giving him a serious expression to show he could do it. Lance nodded in understanding, and he and his Dragonite went to work on the grunts.
"Don't think it will be the same as back in Alto Mare." Ariana argued, pulling out a ball, "Don't get so cocky like you did then!"
"I wasn't cocky. I just knew Leafeon was more capable for that fight. Plus, I had to take care of Latias."
"Well, now you should have your attention on me! Vileplume!" she tossed out a ball, and out came a Pokémon with a rafflesia flower on top of its blue-bodied head, with stubby arms and legs.
Jackson pulled out his Pokédex, examining the Pokémon. "Vileplume. The Flower Pokémon, and the evolved form of Gloom. Vileplume's toxic pollen triggers atrocious allergy attacks. That's why it is advisable never to approach any attractive flowers in a jungle, however pretty they may be."
"Okay, Quilava, let's do this again!" Jackson called out, tossing out his Fire-type onto the field.
"Typical choice. Vileplume, Sludge Bomb!" Ariana ordered. Vileplume lowered its head, directing the hole in its head, before shooting a ball of sludge at Quilava.
"This again?!" Quilava asked.
"Same as before. Quilava, Flamethrower!" Jackson ordered, and Quilava shot the flames at the Sludge Bomb, However, instead of overpowering the attack, it got canceled out.
"Like I said, don't get so cocky." Ariana huffed.
"Her Vileplume is stronger than Petrel's Weezing." Leafeon pointed out.
"Then let's add in the damage. Quilava, Aerial Ace!" Jackson ordered.
"Time for speed!" Quilava roared, dashing at high speeds at Vileplume, leaving streaking winds in his wake.
"Toxic!" Ariana roared, and Vileplume shot a ball of poison at Quilava as he came at her. He couldn't avoid it in time, and got hit. However, he pushed through, and struck Vileplume in the face, sending it flying. It did some damage, but Quilava's face looked sick.
"He got badly poisoned by the Toxic!" Leafeon exclaimed.
"Vileplume, Giga Drain!" the red-haired woman ordered. Vileplume regained itself, her body glowing green as it shot strands of energy at Quilava, causing him damage as his vitality got sucked up and into his opponent. The Fire-type looked like it was in pain, both from the attack and the poison.
"Quilava, Flamethrower again!" Jackson ordered. Quilava was able to push through the Toxic and Giga Drain combo, his eyes flashing as he inhaled and unleashed a deluge of flames from his mouth, striking Vileplume hard, making it stop its attack, and fall over.
"But how?!" Ariana gasped, looking from her Pokémon to Quilava, who looked worn out from the damage he took.
"Quilava, here!" Jackson shouted, throwing something at him. Quilava looked and saw it was a Pecha berry. He grabbed it in his mouth, munching down on it. A second after swallowing, the sickness on his face vanished, his poison cured.
"Let's see you try that again! Toxic!" Ariana barked, and Vileplume shot another ball of poison at him.
"Dodge and use Flame Wheel!" Jackson called back. Quilava evaded by sidestepping the attack, before spinning into a ball and igniting in flames, flying at Vileplume, and hitting her. There was a fiery explosion, which caused Ariana to shield her eyes. When she unveiled them, she saw Vileplume as collapsed on her back, spirals in her eyes.
"Tch! You really are strong!" Ariana muttered, putting Vileplume back into her ball, "That battle before was no fluke."
"You wanna continue?" Jackson asked, "I know you have more Pokémon than that."
"No. I'll recede this time." Ariana noted, hearing an explosion behind her, and saw the grunts were knocked out, while their Pokémon were defeated. Lance and Dragonite stood together, the latter barely looking scathed. "I know it would be pointless to continue a battle such as this." she noted, "It is a shame. If you joined Team Rocket, you could've been an executive."
"Yeah, no." Jackson argued, "I'm not planning to join anyone who causes so much pain to Pokémon, and profiting off of it!"
Ariana huffed as she stated, "Well, it doesn't matter whether you join us or not. We gathered the data we needed from our radio signals. And don't even bother looking for it, cause we deleted the information shortly afterwards. You have no idea what we have in store for the world."
"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." she answered, pulling out a ball, and calling out her Arbok, "You will fear Team Rocket soon enough. For now, we'll say farewell once again, young boy! Arbok, Haze!" Arbok exhaled smoke all about, causing everyone to shield themselves from the smoke. Jackson drew out his sword, and with one swipe of his wind blade technique, dispersed the winds. Ariana and her Arbok were gone. All that remained was the defeated Team Rocket members.
"Drat! She got away!" Leafeon growled, with Chatot flapping its wings, coughing from the Haze.
"She's good at escaping, no doubt about that." Jackson grimaced.
Lance and Dragonite approached Jackson and his team, asking, "Are you and your team doing okay?"
"Yeah. Takes more than that to put us down." Jackson answered, poking a thumb at himself.
Lance smiled as he stated, "Good. I'm glad. You really are showing how far you've gotten since we last saw one another."
"Still not at your level, but every step we take is a step closer." Jackson answered.
Lance nodded as he was glad to see Jackson was able to see he wasn't strong enough to beat him just yet, unlike before, when he was going right into a battle against Clair, not able to do anything to her and Dragonair. He got serious again as he looked to the radio transmission room, telling him, "Let's save the talking for later. We have a machine to stop!"
"Understood!" Jackson replied, and the pair raced over to the main machine in the room. Entering in, they found the machine was well-built, and had an unusual power supply in it; large white and red balls, looking like oversized Pokéballs.
"They were using Electrodes to power this?!" Lance gasped, "Team Rocket will not get away with this!" Jackson approached the machine, examining it deeply, looking at it from a mechanic's point of view. The pair of trainers looked around the machines, seeing the six Electrodes attached to the machine, unable to move, looking weak from their electricity being drained.
They came back together again as Lance stated, "I don't see a switch or any other way of turning it off. We might need to harm the Electrodes in order to stop it."
"Not unless we cut off the power supply WITHOUT harming the Electrodes." Jackson argued, getting Lance's attention, "I'm mostly sure how this is built. If I strike the machine at the right area with my MMD Glove, we should be able to deactivate it. Of course, I need to make sure the EMP doesn't travel to the Electrodes. I'd hate to find out what would happen when Electric-types are hit with an EMP."
"I bet that wouldn't be pleasant for them." Lance argued, while Jackson prepared his glove, setting the level of the EMP on-contact burst.
The others gave Jackson space as he backed off, looking at the machine. He got into his martial arts stance, his palm at the ready. 'Okay, Jackson. You got this.' he told himself, 'Combine your tech know-how with your martial arts skills. Precision and understanding of machines. Two different things put together. Do enough to damage the machine, while not harming the Electrodes.' Jackson glared at the spot on the machine he knew would be his on-contact point. It was high above, and required a jump to reach it.
He dashed forward, leapt up at the machine, everyone watching him soar. He aimed and slammed his palm into the point of contact, the EMP pulse activating, sparking about with Jackson glowing in its light. After a couple seconds, Jackson stopped his attack, landing on the ground, hearing the machine suddenly stop working. A few seconds later, the devices keeping the Electrode in place detached themselves from Electrodes, freeing them.
"It worked!" Quilava cheered.
"Well done!" Lance commended Jackson.
Leafeon bounded to the Electrodes, who looked too weak to move. "We should take them to the Pokémon Center to get them healed up." she suggested to everyone.
"Good idea." Jackson answered, turning to Lance, "Let's take them to Nurse Joy."
"I agree. We should also call the authorities that we secured a Team Rocket Hideout. With any luck, they might've left something behind to hint us at what they were trying to do with the radio waves they were sending out." They went to work on setting their plan in motion.
Dusk had approached, and Jackson, Lance, and their Pokémon had saved the Chatot and Electrodes, the former flying as soon as they escaped, while the latter were being taken care of by Nurse Joy. Lyanne had reunited with Jackson, the red Gyarados in tow. Now that the radio transmitter stopped working, the Pokémon were no longer in pain or rampant in town or anywhere in the vicinity.
Jackson, Lyanne, Lance, and their Pokémon waited for the police to arrive on the scene, arresting the Team Rocket members who couldn't escape the vicinity thanks to the heroes. However, there was no signs of the executives, who already escaped. They went in to investigate on any information they could get from Team Rocket's plans, while the
"I can't thank you two enough for all your help." Lance thanked Jackson and Lyanne, "You really stepped up when it came down to it."
"Hey, we're just glad you asked us to help take them down." Jackson responded, "Too bad about the executives. If it hadn't been for Ariana's Haze."
"I wouldn't worry yourself about that." Lance assured him, "If anything, I'm pretty sure we'll discover their main plan of action. We'll still need your help on that."
"Count on it!" Leafeon answered, while Lyanne nodded in agreement.
Just then, a familiar voice spoke up as he said, "Don't stick your nose in where it doesn't belong, kid!" The group turned to see Cypher standing there, glaring at the group.
"Cypher!" Jackson growled, seeing his rival reappear, after his pursuit of Petrel. By the looks of things, he didn't catch him.
"So, you've come back once more." Lance stated, coming in between Jackson and Cypher, "Were you planning to stop Team Rocket, or aid them?" Jackson and Lyanne looked surprised at his questioning, before looking to Cypher, who looked away.
"Do I look like I wanna help a useless group of idiots who are a bunch of minions who don't know how to act without their leader? I am strong without that extra baggage. And I can fight them on my own, without your help. So back off!"
"Says the guy who stopped fighting Team Rocket for a pointless fight with Lance!" Jackson argued.
"But you still are involved with them, whether you like it or not." Lance pointed out, "After all, your father is the leader of their group, Gio-."
"SHUT UP!" Cypher roared, looking furiously at the dragon master. Jackson, Lyanne and Leafeon all looked surprised, for two reasons. One was the obvious truth to who his father was, while the other was the rare uprising emotion he just unleashed.
'Wait, so this Giovanni guy, the leader of Team Rocket, is Cypher's dad?!' Jackson asked.
"Don't you dare connect me with him! I don't want anything to do with my old man!" Cypher barked at Lance, "He was a wimp who ran like a coward when he got his butt whooped by two trainers. He couldn't do anything himself without having his group of followers soften his opponents up for him. I don't need anyone to do that for me! I am a strong trainer, and I will gather the strongest Pokémon. I will not be like him!"
Jackson's eyes were shadowed, but his mouth opened up at these final words. It hit him in a spot that he hid from most. A part of his heart that was both what he told himself, and the source of why he was no longer a hero.
He stepped forward past Lance, Lyanne and Leafeon, looking at Cypher with a surprisingly good-natured face. "I guess you and I have that in common, don't we?" He asked him.
"What?" Cypher questioned him.
"I really hate my father, too." Jackson stated, "He was selfish, untrustworthy, and someone whose morals were something I couldn't stand. That's why I am building myself to be a better person than he ever was. I will be stronger than that, or what his actions caused me to be. What's more, I will not make just myself stronger, but others like my Pokémon and friends. I'll make THEM strong, too, and make a bond with them. That, in turn will make me even stronger. That's why I say we're more alike than either one of us think."
Lance, Lyanne and Leafeon looked to Jackson. He was truly speaking from the heart, and could see that he was starting to understand Cypher's heart. Him, on the other hand, wasn't connecting.
"Tch! You think because we both have daddy issues, you think we're alike?" He asked, "We are NOTHING alike! I am strong, and I didn't need any stupid bonds with my Pokémon to get it. My Pokémon are strong, and I am strong. That's all there is to it. If they aren't strong, they aren't worthy of my time. And with no bond to them, I will have no regrets."
"If that's the path you choose to take, then it will be a lonely one." Lance told him, "Not making a connection between you and your Pokémon won't lead you to the strength you want to have."
"Hmph! Like I need a lecture from you again!" Cypher retorted, turning and walking away, "As for Team Rocket, they are a joke. I will put them down without any problem. Otherwise, I'll keep going my own path. Not my father's path." He wandered away, leaving Jackson and the others to watch him leave.
"I fear that boy is driven by power and vengeance." Lance muttered, "I could tell that he would rather walk that path alone, taking out all that stand in his way rather than cooperate."
"But he did join us at one point, didn't he?" Leafeon argued.
"Yeah, but only because his team got slammed by Lance's team." Jackson argued, "He couldn't fight me if he wanted to."
"Here, Jackson." Lyanne whispered to Jackson, placing the Red Gyarados's ball in his hands.
"Oh, thanks, Lyanne." he thanked her, looking at the ball for a few seconds.
"Something the matter?" Leafeon asked.
"I dunno. I only caught Gyarados to calm him down. But apart from that...I don't know what to do with him." Jackson admitted.
"You don't want him?" Leafeon asked, "He could be a new member in our team."
"I was actually thinking of returning him back to the lake." Jackson told his team, much to their surprise, "We never found a reason to be together, in the first place, apart from calming his rage. I think it's better this way."
"You positive?" Lance asked, "Clair and I both have Gyarados, and know how strong they can be. Plus, shiny Pokémon are hard to come by."
"Maybe..." Jackson replied, "Let's ask him. Gyarados, come out!" He tossed the ball out, bringing out Gyarados in front of him. "Feeling better?" he asked him.
Gyarados roared loudly, causing everyone to shield their ears from his roar, before answering, "I AM BETTER NOW! HOWEVER, I AM STILL NOT USE TO MY NEW EVOLUTION!"
"I see..." Jackson understood, "Well, there are a lot of Gyarados in the Lake of Rage, right? Do you want to learn from your peers? Or do you wanna come along with me?"
Gyarados looked to Jackson, to the lake far off, before closing his eyes and answering, "I DO NOT FEEL PREPARED TO LEAVE HOME JUST YET. ALLOW ME TO RETURN HOME TO BE WITH MY BRETHREN!"
"Will do." Jackson understood.
"That is a shame." Leafeon sighed.
"So, what did he say?" Lance asked him.
"He's not ready to leave home just yet. He wants to learn from the other Gyarados."
"That's understandable." the dragon trainer agreed, "He was forcefully evolved without adapting to his new form. Maybe it would be best to let him train in the Lake of Rage."
"Leave it to me to take him back." Jackson told Lance, "What are you gonna do?"
"I have to get going. I need to do more Champion duties at the Indigo League, while learning more about what Team Rocket has planned." he answered, "In the meantime, you continue to get stronger. I want to see you reach my level, okay?"
"Sure thing. I'll try not to disappoint you." Jackson answered, raising a hand to him. Lance shook it, before getting on his Dragonite, and they took off to the sky, leaving everyone watching him leave.
"Finally, I can talk." Lyanne sighed, "So, should we head to the Lake of Rage first?"
"Yep. Let's send Gyarados back home." Jackson replied, "Then, we can rest up and train till the gym is open."
"Sounds fine to me." Leafeon answered, looking to Gyarados, "Let's bring you home." Gyarados gave an expression of happiness, though it was still hard to tell, as he was placed into his ball, and they took off to the Lake of Rage to return it home.
Standing on the mountainside, watching Jackson and his companions make their way forward, was Suicune. It was looking down at Jackson with a stone-faced look. "Seems like Jackson was able to gain allies that allow him to overcome this trial quicker than we originally thought." he told himself, "Although, the threat is far from over. Team Rocket will challenge you again. The question is whether you are able to overcome what they have in store for you."