The cave seemed to stretch on for quite some time, both Jenny and Joy having to duck multiple times to avoid hitting their heads on the uneven ceiling. They could see the Charizard's footprints heading forward in the dusty floor, indicating they were on the right track at least. Jenny had taken out a flashlight when they had entered, so they had no trouble seeing where they were going.
"I don't understand it." Joy mused. "What possessed this Charizard to move that massive boulder and head into this cave? What was she looking for?"
"More importantly," Jenny echoed grimly; "What moved the boulder back in place?"
Neither of them had an answer for that, which was more than a little worrying.
As they turned a bend, Jenny suddenly motioned for Joy to stop and moved her flashlight around to scan the chamber they had found themselves in. Burn marks covered every wall and even appeared on the ceiling, with long cracks and signs of damage visible all around them. The smell of smoldering rubble was thick in the air.
"Looks like something spooked her." Jenny mouthed as Joy knelt down to touch the damage dealt to the cave floor. "Either that, or she was attacked. What do you think it was, Joy?"
"I don't know, but she evidently fought a lot judging by all this damage. What worries me is that we still haven't found her this far down." The further they went, the more worried Joy was getting. This didn't feel like a natural occurrence, seeming more like the Charizard was lured here. But why?
Jenny chuckled a little despite herself. "It'd be a hell of a thing if we get to the end of this cave and she doesn't turn up. We'll find her."
Jenny tried shining her flashlight down one of the offshoots to get an idea of how much deeper it went, before her face went pale. Ahead of them was a large industrial door, large enough to fit a car through it. Completely ordinary looking, but totally out of place this deep into the cave. On one side was a smaller metal door.
That couldn't have been a coincidence, especially in such a remote location, far from any known infrastructure. They had to find out what lay beyond.
Approaching the smaller door, Jenny tried to open it. Naturally, it was locked. A keypad was positioned beside it, but with no clue what the password was there was little hope in getting past it.
Then, Jenny remembered something and began to rummage through the bag she had bought with her.
"What is it?" Joy asked.
"Something I confiscated from this punk tourist from Sinnoh a month ago. Pretty sure he'd stolen it, and I've not been able to locate the owner so I've been looking after it myself." As she spoke, Jenny pulled out a Pokeball and threw it, from which a Rotom flew out.
Joy gasped in awe, never having seen a Rotom for herself. They were not native to Kanto and were uncommon enough that the average tourist would not have one in their possession. Without even needing to be given a command, Jenny's Rotom spotted the keypad and made straight for it. Before their eyes it changed form into a semi-solid bolt of electricity and downloaded itself into the keypad, which turned bright orange as the Pokemon possessed it.
Unfortunately, while the Rotom may have been trying to gain control of the keypad to learn a new move, the machinery was unable to accommodate it and quickly spluttered and shut down, causing the Rotom to fly back out in disappointment. Luckily, it had the exact effect Jenny and Joy were hoping for, as the sound of the door unlocking echoed around them.
Gently trying the door, Jenny found it was indeed now open, and quickly summoned the Rotom back to its Pokeball so they could proceed. Joy nervously followed behind her, wanting to stay close to her more experienced partner.
Beyond the door was a long manmade hallway with numerous pipes and cables lining the walls, resembling an industrial maintenance tunnel. No mistake; this was definitely here for a purpose. But only by going deeper would they figure out what was truly going on here.
Walking down the hallway, Joy shivered in trepidation. This was all a new experience to her, so she was having trouble acclimating to it. Jenny, meanwhile, had been in all sorts of dire situations in her career and so felt that she was prepared for whatever they were going to find.
"I don't like this place." Joy said quietly. "It's giving me a bad feeling."
"Don't worry." Jenny replied reassuringly. "Just stick with me and we'll be fine."
Eventually the hallway led to a set of double doors, these ones seemingly not locked. Jenny quietly went over to open it and peeked through to see what lay beyond. There was a long silence as she looked.
"What do you see?" Joy asked, unable to tell what would be in the room the doors led to aside from a slight mechanical whirring sound.
Jenny did not reply at first, and it seemed like an eternity before she finally turned back to Joy, her face white with shock.
"I… think what's going on here is larger than we could have known."
Joy, growing increasingly concerned by such a vague reply, ran over to take a look for herself.
The sight made her blood run cold.
Rows upon rows of glass capsules were visible in the warehouse-sized room before them, many stacked atop each other. Inside each one was the unconscious silhouette of a Pokemon, very few of which were moving. Different types from every region were distinguishable, lit up by the green luminescence of whatever liquid they were suspended in. And each one had numerous tubes and wires connected to their bodies, leading to connecting machinery that criss-crosses around the room. Their purpose was for now a mystery, but was almost certainly not good.
And the identities of who had done all this? Easily identifiable by the giant red "R" insignia plastered on the far-wall.
It was all falling into place.
"I KNEW it!" Jenny angrily whispered. "I knew Team Rocket must have been involved! They've managed to have us all running around like fools this entire time!"
Joy remained silent. The sight of all these Pokemon held in suspended animation before her, all evidently either grabbed from the wild or stolen from passing trainers, was deeply upsetting to her. Tears started to well in her eyes as she reached for Jenny's hand to hold for support.
Jenny blushed with surprise when she felt Joy's hand squeeze hers, but her initial indignation fell away as she saw a tear roll down her partner's face. This was clearly a lot for her to take in.
Quietly shutting the door, Jenny turned to face Joy properly. "Listen, I know this is not what we expected to find, but–"
"It's barbaric." Joy said quietly. "All of these Pokemon, kidnapped and subjected to the whims of these monsters… how could they do such things…" She trailed off, her voice uncharacteristically filled with anger.
Jenny knew that she would have to choose her words carefully. "Well, they clearly didn't count on anyone finding out what we were doing. We're in the perfect position to stop whatever they're doing here, Joy!"
Joy wiped a tear from her eye. "How? We don't even know what their plan is."
Jenny furrowed her brow. "I'm not sure yet. But I'm sure we can think of something."
At that moment, voices became audible on the other side of the door, so Jenny shushed Joy and opened the door a crack to look. Coming into view were a small group of figures. Most of them were generic Team Rocket Grunts, but the two in the front were more interesting. One was a woman dressed in an all-black suit, tie and sunglasses, while the other was a scientist wearing a messy lab coat and carrying a pile of papers.
"How is the research coming along?" said the mysterious woman in a low voice.
"It's progressing on schedule, as I have been telling you in my weekly reports. I do not know why you must interrupt my work." The scientist replied in a nasally tone.
"Our leader is growing impatient. And as I represent their interests, so do I." the representative cut in. The low light in the room meant Jenny was unable to make out her face very well. The scientist, meanwhile, was in full light and clearly visible, sporting unkempt gray hair and glasses. "He wants to start seeing tangible results from these experiments we have been bankrolling, not just more estimates and promises."
"All in good time, Ms. River." the scientist smoothly continued with a smile. "What you have asked of me is no small feat. It has taken me a long time to amass the necessary Pokemon to build a sample group required to begin testing. But with the addition of the Charizard we acquired just this evening, we are very nearly at that stage."
At that point, the group walked over to one of the glass containers. Inside this one was a Charizard, likely the very same one Jenny and Joy had been looking for. She was awake, and numbly thrashing in the chamber.
"As you are well aware, we have designed these pods to siphon the powers of any Pokemon we wish. With the transmutative coil we have installed inside, any ability that we wish is captured and distilled into a usable serum. Observe."
The scientist pressed a button on the console in front of the Charizard's chamber. A few moments later the machinery inside whirred to life and a great burst of energy consumed the Pokemon as it cried out in agony. Jou let out a numb cry and moved away from the door, unable to bear the sight. It continued for several moments before suddenly stopping and powering down, the Charizard now unconscious from the pain.
"There, you see?" The scientist said as he removed a small vial from the console, containing a vivid orange liquid. "Contained in this serum is everything that powers the fire energy this Charizard possesses. Once injected, humans will gain its abilities and be able to flawlessly reproduce them themselves. At long last, we will be able to equal Pokemon in power!"
The representative named Ms. River seemed reserved in their assessment, even as the other grunts applauded in approval. "When can we expect it to be ready for our use?"
"Within the week." The scientist replied smugly, pocketing the vial of Charizard essence. "We have been conducting human trials for some weeks, and I am positive that it is almost perfected."
With a smug smile, the scientist walked up close to the representative. "Tell your leader that they shall soon have the power to rule this region and all others. Professor Edward Vilsy Ence swears it!"
At that, the group continued walking and left the room, heading down an adjacent corridor. Jenny dared not move until she was sure the coast was clear, before shutting the door and turning to Joy.
"We don't have much time. If that scientist is able to give Team Rocket the ability to use a Pokemon's abilities on their own, they will be unstoppable!"
As Jenny tried to get her Xtransceiver working, Joy tried to process everything she had heard. She had always known that Team Rocket were an awful group of people, but this was a new level of evil. It was an affront to everything she believed in and she would be damned before she let it go on.
"We have to stop them now, before they hurt any more Pokemon." Joy said finally, her voice breaking with growing determination. "Are you able to get in contact with the rest of the police force?"
"Trying." Jenny replied, fiddling with her Xtransceiver before letting out a sigh of defeat. "No signal. Most likely they're jamming anything not on their own network for several miles. We're on our own."
As Jenny finished speaking, Joy turned to the door dividing them and the innumerable stolen Pokemon that needed to be saved.
"Very well. It is up to us then."
With that, Joy strode over to the door and opened it wide, looking upon the scene before her with resolve. She was going to put an end to this, with her own life if necessary…