Surprise chapter!

Also, content warning: this chapter contains both descriptions and depictions of abuse that are not intended to be comedic in any way. If that sort of thing makes you uncomfortable, feel free to scroll down to the author's note at the end of the chapter, where I will include an abbreviated retelling of important events in the chapter so that you can find out what happened without needing to read through what is most likely going to be one of the darkest moments in the entire fic.

"Hey, Hisuian Arcanine?" said Ash. "As much as I hate to admit it, Maiden had a point. It does take a while to say your full name in battle. So…can I refer to you by a nickname? Just for convenience purposes."

Hisuian Arcanine looked up at Ash and nodded. "Arc!"

"Arc?" Ash asked. "Is that what you want to be called?"

Hisuian Arcanine shook his head.

"Oh, okay," said Ash. "But…I do think it would feel more comfortable if your nickname was part of your original name. I don't feel comfortable just calling you Arcanine, because you're more than just an Arcanine. So…how about Hisuian? No…Hisui?"

Hisuian Arcanine considered it for a moment, then nodded again. "Nine!"

"Hisui?" Ash asked again, trying to confirm, and received another nod. "Okay!" he said. "Then I'll call you Hisui from now on!"

The newly nicknamed Hisui barked his approval.

"Hey, check that out," said Clay, pointing to a nearby hospital by the side of the road. "That's Dr. Proctor's place. He's a bit of a weird one, but he knows his stuff."

"Cool!" Ash cried. "Though we don't really need a doctor at this point."

"Still, it is good to keep a place like that in the back of our minds," said Cyrus. "Just in case."

"Yeah," said Ash. "Hey, Clay? I've been thinking - it just feels awfully quiet on this route."

"Some routes are like that," Clay replied. "Not every day has to be a big adventure."

"Still, I can't help but wonder where Drake and Liza are," Ash admitted. "We haven't seen them in days."

"Well, they did probably head back to Celadon to buy some TMs," said Clay. "Y'know, after you gave them advice on how to get stronger. Still don't understand why you did that, by the way…point is, I ain't surprised that they've been missing for a while. And, quite frankly, I'm glad for that. Normal Pokemon journeys shouldn't be constantly interrupted by criminal organizations."

"Fair," said Ash. "But still…I feel like, what with being able to fly on Dragonite and all, they would've caught back up by now. Unless they ran into some sort of trouble."

"Any sort of trouble they might have run into is good for us," Cyrus pointed out.

"Yeah," said Ash. "Yeah, you're right. I really don't know why I'm worrying so much."

Some distance away, as it turned out, Drake, Liza, and Aron had indeed run into trouble. Said 'trouble' took the form of a sleek black limousine skidding to a halt in front of them.

Out emerged an old man with snow-white hair, dressed in khaki pants, a blue overcoat, and a white scarf. He had a severe expression on his face as he stared straight at Drake. Drake blanched. "Oh, no."

"Hello, Drake," said the man. "It's been a while."

Liza glanced at Drake. "Okay, what's going on? Because I'm extremely confused."

"Yeah, me too!" Aron piped up.

Drake sighed. "Just my past coming back to haunt me," he murmured. "I suppose an explanation is in order. Just bear with me for a moment, please," he added to the man.

The man sighed. "Very well."

One Quick Explanation Later

"So let me get this straight," said Liza. "You secretly came from a very rich family."

"Yep," said Drake.

"And they decided to force you into an arranged marriage."

"Yep," said Drake.

"With that guy?" Liza pointed at the old man.

"No!" Drake held up his hands. "I'm not supposed to marry Pryce! He's just the bride's father, that's all."

"Oh, that makes far more sense," said Liza.

"Indeed," said Pryce, leaning on a cane that looked like it was made of pure ice. "Now, if you're quite finished filling your…friend…in on the situation, please come with me. We have a wedding to perform."

"Ah…hate to say dis," Aron interjected, "but from where I'm standin', it doesn't look like Drake actually wants to get married."

"What Drake wants is invalid," said Pryce coldly. "The marriage has already been arranged."

"Oh, it's one of those marriages," said Liza. "No wonder Drake didn't look happy to see you."

Pryce heaved another sigh. "Do your acquaintances speak for you?"

Liza glanced over at Drake, and was shocked to see him trembling. "I…" he said, stumbling over his words. "Um-"

THWACK!

Pryce had moved faster than Liza had thought possible for a man of his age. Drake staggered, clutching a hand to the side of his face, as Pryce lowered his ice-formed cane back to the ground. "I asked you a question, boy," he said. "I expect an answer."

Liza wasted no time in releasing Lunatone. "Now listen here, old man," she snarled ferociously. "You don't get to-"

Pryce raised a hand, and a dozen very well-dressed men stepped out from the surrounding trees, each accompanied by a rather menacing-looking Ice-type. Three Pokeballs upon Pryce's waist erupted in flashes of white light, revealing a Lapras, a Dewgong, and - dominating the scene - a massive Mamoswine that snorted menacingly, glaring down at Liza.

"I suggest you think twice before speaking another word," said Pryce. "Now, I highly doubt Drake would want to exclude his friends from the ceremony, so how about all three of you come with us?"

"I'll come with you," said Drake, still holding one hand to the side of his face. "But leave them alone. They aren't part of this."

"On the contrary," Pryce retorted, "by threatening me, they have made themselves part of this. And while being frozen solid is a painful but recoverable experience for a Pokemon, for a human it's quite a different story. Shall I demonstrate on your female friend, or will you all be coming willingly?"

Liza entertained the possibility of fighting her way out for a few moments, but a few mental calculations let her know in no uncertain terms that the odds of that plan succeeding were not appreciably high.

"So how long have you known this guy?" Liza asked, some time later, as she, Drake, and Aron sat in the back of the moving limo.

"Since I was a young boy with a Dratini and an Elekid," Drake murmured. "This 'marriage' was arranged when I was six years old. My parents didn't actually marry me off then - even they weren't willing to go far - but it was official in all but name. Pryce practically became my uncle, and he…" Drake swallowed. "He had his own ideas about how to foster obedience."

"Oh." Liza's voice was dark. "So that thing he did with that icicle-cane of his-"

"Not the first time," said Drake. "Far from it, actually."

"And your parents let him do that?" Liza asked, shocked.

"They never knew," Drake muttered. "Most of the time he'd do it to the back, where no one could see it. Sometimes he did it to the face, but then he'd always spin some excuse about how I 'fell while playing' or 'got attacked by a wild Pokemon', and my parents lapped it up. I tried telling them the truth a few times, but who were they going to believe, their clumsy young child or their trusted family friend? Pryce always just talked his way out of it, and then hit me again the next day for daring to speak out against him. I tried telling the family butler, Hopkins. He was always more willing to listen to me. He promised he'd try and do something about it - a few days later, he was fired for trying to steal a piece of family jewelry."

Drake's voice didn't change once throughout the story. "Eventually, one night, I overheard my parents discussing post-marriage arrangements," he continued. "They agreed that Pryce, once his status as a family member became official, would gain access to the family fortune, and he and his daughter would move into our house full-time. I'd kept myself going by thinking that, someday, I'd be free of him, but the thought of having to endure him for the rest of my life was just…too much. That night, I took Dratini, a little bit of pocket money, and the clothes on my back, and I ran. I left everything else behind. Money, family, Ellie…"

"Ellie?" Aron asked.

"My Elekid," Drake clarified. "Technically, she wasn't mine, she was more of a family pet, but I was the only one who really took care of her. Unlike Dratini, I didn't have a Pokeball for Ellie, so I couldn't take her with me. I wanted so badly to go back for her, but I was terrified of what might happen if I ran into Pryce…"

"And now you have," Liza murmured.

Drake nodded. "Now I have."

Liza placed her hand on Drake's. "Are you okay?"

"Of course not," Drake growled. "I've just always been good at hiding it."

"Guys?" Aron called. "I think we're here."

Drake and Liza glanced out the windows; indeed, a grand mansion was plainly visible through them, and the limo was beginning to slow to a stop. Two figures, one male and one female, were standing at the bottom of a massive staircase that led up to the front door of the mansion; to the side of that staircase was another building, this one looking like a miniature version of the mansion - though in this case, 'miniature' meant 'still larger than the average house'. The rest of the immediately visible area was made up of well-tended grass with intermittent flowerbeds, dotted with quite a few men dressed the same way as Pryce's mercenaries - clearly Pryce had more men at his disposal than the dozen that he'd brought with him to pick up Drake, Liza, and Aron.

"That's where Ellie lives," said Drake, gesturing to the miniature mansion. "Or lived. I don't know anymore."

"Where did Pryce get all dose mercenaries?" Aron asked. "Dere's enough of 'em to make da boss jealous!"

"No idea," Drake admitted. "He didn't have nearly that kind of manpower at his disposal when I left."

The limo finally halted; a few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Pryce once more. "Out," he said. "Your parents are waiting."

Slowly, Drake stepped out of the limo, with Liza and Aron following gingerly behind. The female and male figure standing at the base of the staircase at once rushed forwards. "Drake!" screamed the female figure. "It's so good to see you!"

"Mother. Father." Drake inclined his head.

Drake's mother hugged Drake tightly; his father hung back, giving him a kind smile. "It's been so long," he said. "We always hoped you'd find your way back home."

"We spent a while contemplating how we might convince you to return," said Drake's mother.

"We were planning to pretend we were dead to lure you here and then jump out of our coffins and surprise you," Drake's father remarked.

"But Pryce said that was a terrible idea and he'd just be willing to pick you up!" Drake's mother hugged him again. "Isn't he such a nice man?"

Even from where she was standing, Liza knew Drake was struggling not to scoff.

"What happened to your face?" Drake's father asked.

"I'm afraid he wasn't willing to tell me," Pryce interjected. "But I suppose it just goes to show there are consequences for striking out on your own."

"Oh, of course," said Drake's mother. "Living in the wild for so long - I'm glad he's only got that one scar to show for it! But at the same time, your daughter is coming along soon, Pryce, and she won't want to see her future husband with such a nasty blemish! Drake, please run along to the makeup room and-"

"I will escort him," Pryce again interrupted. "After so long away, he may not remember the layout of the mansion properly."

"Why, thank you!" said Drake's father. "You're always such a gentleman, Pryce."

"And you are?" Drake's mother asked, glancing over at Liza.

"A friend Drake met on his travels," said Pryce, shooting a glance of his own at Liza - a glance that held a note of warning in his ice-blue eyes. "I thought it would be nice to invite her to the wedding. Don't worry - my men will be happy to escort her to her room."

"How thoughtful," said Drake's mother. "Well, we'll be heading to the vault - once you're done with Drake, would you mind bringing him there? We need to have a talk with him before your daughter arrives."

"Of course," said Pryce. "By all means, head there. Drake and I will be along shortly."

"Wait!" Drake cried as his mother and father began to walk back up the grand staircase. "How's Ellie?"

"She's fine," said Drake's father. "She missed you, you know. Was practically inconsolable for weeks when you left. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again."

Liza saw Drake breath a sigh of relief. Personally, she did not share in that relief.

Pryce and several of his men escorted Drake, Liza, and Aron up the stairs after Drake's mother and father, but whereas the two of them headed towards where Drake recalled was the direction of the staircase that led to the family vault, Pryce led the rest of the group towards the left wing of the mansion. As they reached an intersection, Pryce snapped out a quick succession of orders; his men promptly dropped all pretense of friendly escort and shoved Liza and Aron further down the hallway, while Pryce himself grasped Drake's arm and dragged him to the right, heading down a completely different hallway.

"So how'd you find me?" Drake asked, as soon as the footsteps of Aron, Liza, and Pryce's men had receded into nothingness.

Pryce's face twisted into a disgruntled expression. "Pure coincidence," he admitted. "A few of my mercenaries just happened to be in a police station when a rather angry man by the name of Dario was dragged into that same station, ranting about all sorts of things that had 'conspired against him', so to speak. And in the midst of his rant, he mentioned a pair of Team Rocket agents who had supposedly refused his business, along with just enough identifying characteristics to pique my men's suspicions. They contacted me, I came over, and Dario was perfectly happy to tell me everything. The rest was simple."

"I've always been curious, Pryce," said Drake. "Why? Why go to all this trouble to set up this marriage? What's the point of it all?"

"Control," Pryce replied. "It is a simple equation - the more you control, the stronger you are." He let out a chilling sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it," he said, "your flight actually worked out quite well for me in the long run. I promised your parents I would find you, and they practically poured money into my lap so that I could do so. How do you think I hired all those mercenaries? I didn't even have to lie - their goal was to find you, just like I told your parents."

"And once the marriage is done," said Drake, "you control everything."

"Indeed," Pryce confirmed. "Your parents will listen to anything I say. I will have full, unrestricted access to your fortune and my own. I will have this house and all that is contained within. I will have a married daughter who will waste no time in bearing me an heir. And, of course, I will have you."

"Me?" Drake chuckled. "You're that obsessed with controlling me?"

THWACK! Pryce's ice-cane cracked against the exact same spot as last time; Drake's cheek burned as if set ablaze, and he only barely managed to catch himself against the wall. "I am not obsessed," Pryce said coldly. "I simply do not allow disobedience in my household. And your behavior has forced me to take rather drastic measures."

"Oh," said Drake. "So because I don't like being controlled, I deserve to get beaten."

He half-expected another strike from Pryce's ice-cane, but the man simply glanced to the side. "We are here."

"Ah." Drake reluctantly admitted to himself that he had partially forgotten the layout of the mansion.

Pryce opened the door, and Drake stepped inside. The makeup room was just as beautiful as Drake remembered from the few times he'd been able to get inside. It was one of many completely unnecessary rooms in the mansion - everything here could have fit inside one of the half-dozen bathrooms or seventeen wardrobes - but it had always been a favorite room of Drake's mother's. Filled with mirrors, brushes, face paint, fancy clothes, and all manner of grooming supplies, it was an egotistical woman's dream.

"Hide the bruise," Pryce ordered from the doorway, "and put on some nicer clothes. That vest looks ridiculous, and I want my daughter to see a proper gentleman when she arrives."

"Yes, Pryce," Drake growled.

"And one more thing." Drake turned back to Pryce to see him holding up a miniature radio. "Remember, my men still have your friends. Try anything - put one toe out of line - and I'll have the girl frozen solid."

"You're really leaning into that 'ice' thing, aren't you?" said Drake.

Pryce's hand tightened on the handle of his cane. "Don't test me, boy. Face paint can hide more than one bruise." With that, he closed the door behind him.

Drake sighed, turning back to the rack of face paints. There were several colors, ranging from black to white to even various shades of red, green, and blue. He picked up the tan one Pryce, held it up to his face, and then stopped.

Tan…black…white…

A smirk began to grow on Drake's face. I've got a plan.

Pryce sighed frostily as Drake finally exited the makeup room, scar gone and nicely dressed in a tuxedo. "Finally. You took your time. Come."

Slowly, Drake nodded. Pryce turned on his heel and began to stride towards the staircase leading to the vault. He hid a smile as he walked. Finally, the boy has learned to hold his tongue.

Indeed, Drake remained silent throughout the walk to the vault - much more preferable to the pointlessly combative and defiant demeanor he'd held on the way to the makeup room. Eventually, after several more winding hallways, Pryce and Drake finally walked down one final staircase and entered the vault.

Drake's mother and father, already standing by the back wall, smiled as Drake entered. "Look at you!" said Drake's mother. "So dapper!"

"And it looks as if that scar was never even there," Drake's father added. "Pryce, I'm sure your daughter will be very pleased."

"Oh, yes," said Pryce.

Drake's mother now turned towards her son. "Drake," she said, "while we're very happy to see you again, we can't help but wonder why you ran away in the first place. We tried to give you everything money could buy - what did we do wrong?"

This was an unacceptable line of questioning, so Pryce smoothly stepped in. "He mentioned something about 'living free'," he said. "I feel like it was simply a consequence of an unfortunate rebellious attitude. Perhaps he met a rolemodel who steered him down a dangerous path?"

Drake's father sighed. "Honestly, you should act more like Pryce," he said. "Now there's a rolemodel you should look up to. Anyway, onto a happier topic - Pryce, when will your daughter arrive?"

"I've already had her contacted," Pryce replied. "She'll be here in an hour, two at most. And as soon as my daughter arrives, the marriage will be finalized, correct? So as per our earlier arrangements…"

"Yes, yes, by marrying into our family you'll get access to our fortune," said Drake's father.

"Don't forget to use it responsibly!" Drake's mother reminded.

"Oh, yes," said Price, a frosty smirk adorning his face. "I'll find good uses for that money…"

"Drake, honey?" Drake's mother queried. "You've been awfully quiet. Are you feeling alright?"

Drake mutely shook his head.

Pryce resisted the urge to give him a sharp whack with his cane. Not in front of his parents. But afterwards…Pryce made a mental reminder to give him two - one for the impertinence and one for the delay. He wanted to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that no disobedience would be tolerated.

After all, if Drake had still been disobedient enough to run away when he was a boy, then obviously Pryce hadn't been hard enough on him. He would have to double down in order to prevent a similar incident.

For now, though, Pryce contented himself with fixing Drake with a glare, one that promised later retribution. Drake didn't react, merely continuing to resolutely stare straight ahead.

Pryce let out a huff and turned away - and then froze.

Slowly, he looked back over at Drake. He hadn't really been watching the man - he hadn't felt a need to, not when he knew his threats would keep him cowed - but now he peered a little closer at Drake. And as his eyes scoured the man's form, Pryce realized that, in the comparative darkness of the hallway and staircase and vault, he'd missed all sorts of little imperfections. The odd stillness of the facial features. The unblinking eyes and unmoving mouth. The places where spots of an odd lilac color shone through the tan skin and black hair.

Slowly, Pryce raised his cane and poked Drake in the cheek.

"Now, Pryce-" Drake's father began, and then stopped speaking as Drake's face bent inwards with a loud squelching noise.

"What is this?" Pryce demanded.

Drake turned towards Pryce and spoke. One word, one single word, and with that word Pryce knew all of his careful planning was about to go down the toilet.

"Ditto!"

Pryce let out a strangled roar. "Mamoswine!" he bellowed. "Earthquake!"

"Wait, not in our vault!" Drake's mother cried, but Mamoswine had already emerged from his Pokeball. A loud trumpeting roar sounded as Mamoswine stomped down; the ground shook and dust rained from the ceiling as the rapidly deforming Drake was thrown backwards by the force of the attack. He slammed into the opposite wall with another squelch, his entire body deforming now.

"Where is he?" Pryce demanded, spittle flying from his mouth.

The creature looked up at him. "Ditto," it said gleefully, and then it dissolved entirely. The fine suit it had been wearing dropped to the ground as a purple mass of goo - parts of which were painted black, white, or tan - flowed out of the pile of clothes and promptly flooded into a nearby air vent.

Pryce snatched his wrist radio from his pocket. "This is Pryce!" he bellowed into it. "Freeze the girl! Do it now!"

"Wait, what?" Drake's father asked.

Liza was trying her best to hide it, but - for the first time in a while - she was genuinely scared. Pryce's mercenaries had, unfortunately, known better than to put her in a room that happened to have helpful tools for escaping. Instead, the room she'd been locked in, though it looked like it had once been used as a storage room, was completely empty - empty, that is, except for her and the pair of ice blocks currently holding Aron and Lunatone.

She knew they'd be fine once they were thawed out, even if she wouldn't be in that same situation. But the fact that they were currently frozen meant that she had no Pokemon to defend her - quite an uncomfortable situation. If Pryce decided Liza had outlived her usefulness, then that was that.

She had seated herself on the cold stone floor ten minutes ago, trying to meditate, but nervousness kept pricking at her, entering her mind and displacing any sense of calm. Now she finally gave up, heaving a quivering sigh as she opened her eyes. She looked back at the pair of ice blocks, her eyes falling on the larger one, the one containing the Pokemon who had been her partner for years and years.

"Lunatone?" she whispered telepathically.

"Yes, Mistress Liza?" came the response. At least Lunatone could still think while inside the ice block.

"Can you maybe try and break yourself out of the ice somehow?" Liza asked.

"I have been trying," said Lunatone sadly. "If I knew a Fire-type technique, perhaps, but this ice is too solid for blunt force to have any appreciable impact. Not even my Psychic abilities are leaving a dent. Perhaps with time…"

"We don't have time!" Liza shouted.

She regretted it immediately. Lunatone did not reply; Liza frantically looked over at the ice block containing the Rock/Psychic-type, but she was as motionless as ever. "Lunatone?" she thought desperately. "Lunatone, are you there?"

The room suddenly shook, hard, as a muffled boom sounded from somewhere Liza couldn't place even if she'd been trying to. A few pieces of plaster fell from the walls. Liza paid them no heed. "Lunatone, please answer me!"

"I am here, Mistress Liza." The response was quieter than it had been before.

Liza swallowed around a lump in her throat she hadn't even noticed was there. "Please don't leave me, Lunatone," she whispered.

Lunatone hesitated. "Do you remember when we met, Mistress Liza?"

"Of course," said Liza. "I'll always remember."

"I said then," Lunatone murmured, "that I would always be there to protect you, no matter what happened. And I am so very sorry that I cannot keep that promise now. But I will not leave you, Mistress Liza. No matter what happens."

Liza heard the rustling of keys in the lock of the room's door. "Thank you, Lunatone," she said, and then cut the telepathic connection as the door swung open.

Two mercenaries were standing at the doorway, a pair of Jynx standing protectively in front of them. "Sorry, little girl," said one of the mercenaries. "'Fraid boss has ordered us to ice ya."

Liza rolled her eyes.

"Oh, give us a break!" the other mercenary complained. "We've got a theme, and by Articuno, we're gonna stick with it-"

Abruptly, a pair of large draconic arms reached out, grabbed the mercenaries' heads, and slammed them together, knocking them both out cold in an instant. The two Jynx spun, eyes widening, but before they could do anything a cackling Haunter burst out of the shadows and unleashed a pair of Shadow Balls. Both struck true, and the Jynx dropped.

"Drake?" Liza asked.

The man in question stepped into the room. "Sorry I'm late. Dragonite, use Ember - melt those ice blocks around Aron and Lunatone. C'mon, Liza, up you get."

Liza took Drake's hand and allowed him to haul her up from the ground. She smiled. "Good to see you, Drake."

"Likewise." Drake returned the smile, then looked over her shoulder. Liza turned in time to see Lunatone and Aron force their way free of the rapidly-melting ice blocks, both of them shivering.

"Ugh!" Aron cried. "Dat ain't an experience I'd care to repeat. So…not dat I ain't glad to see you too, but how'd you manage to get away from Pryce and his goons?"

"To make a long story short," Drake replied quickly, "Pryce is almost certainly now aware I have a Ditto, and I'm strongly considering taking up a secondary career in artistry. Now come on!"

Liza didn't need to be told twice; she wasted no time in scrambling through the open door and into the hallway beyond, making sure to step on both the unconscious mercenaries as she did so. "Right," she said as Aron and Lunatone moved through the doorway after her. "What's the plan?"

"Let's just start with 'getting out of here' and figure out the rest as we go along," said Drake, starting to step down the hallway. "And once we've done that, we can contact the boss, let him know what happened, and figure out what to do when Pryce comes for us again, because there's no way he's gonna take this lying - DOWN!"

The yell came just in time; Liza ducked, narrowly avoiding the pair of Icicle Spears that sailed over her head. Dragonite let out a bellow of pain as several of the ice spikes buried themselves in his skin, his large size rendering dodging practically impossible for him. Liza narrowed her eyes at the culprits - another pair of mercenaries standing at the end of the hallway, commanding a Cloyster and a Weavile.

"Keep firing!" yelled one of the mercenaries. The Cloyster and Weavile gave matching grins and unleashed another barrage of Icicle Spears down the hallway at the group.

"Get back!" Liza yelled. "Lunatone, Aron! Use Rock Tomb!"

"Take dis!" Aron cried as he and Lunatone unleashed a storm of stones, shattering the barrage of Iciclle Spears and sending the Cloyster and Weavile stumbling backwards.

"Look out!" one of the mercenaries yelled. "That girl's some kind of Rock-type Trainer!"

"No, I'm not!" Liza screamed. "I'm a Psychic! Psychic!" She called out that last word telepathically for emphasis.

"You sure?" one of the mercenaries called. "Because you've got two Rock-types, and-"

"Lunatone, Confusion!" Liza snarled.

"Yes, Mistress Liza!" Lunatone sounded positively eager as she unleashed a wave of Psychic power down the hallway. The mercenary who had been speaking collapsed to the ground; the other mercenary gave a frightened gasp and began digging around in his pocket.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Aron lunged for the man.

"Oh, yes, he does!" The Weavile rose up in his path, the telltale dark red color of a Fighting-type attack glistening across his claws.

"Oh, no, he doesn't!" Drake's Haunter lunged from above, flinging a Confuse Ray into the Weavile's face. Weavile tried to swat the Ghost-type and punch Aron at the same time, and somehow ended up faceplanting into a wall instead. The mercenary had barely managed to get a radio out of his pocket when Aron collided headfirst with his wrist. A nasty crack echoed down the hallway; the mercenary's agonized scream was abruptly cut short when Haunter hit him with a quick Hypnosis.

Liza took a quick look around, noticing that Lunatone had finished off the other mercenary's Cloyster and that no more mercenaries were coming. Then she stepped up to the end of the hallway and peered out. "It shouldn't be that much further to the front door. Any idea how many of Pryce's men are in this place?"

"No," said Drake, "but in case you hadn't noticed, this house is huge, and that's not even including Eliie's house or the mansion grounds. Once we get outside, it's a different story, but I doubt we'll be meeting any more until then. Before we think about that, though, we have to wait for Ditto."

Abruptly, a loud rattling noise sounded from the right. Aron, Drake, and Liza all whipped around to see a multicolored sludge forcing its way underneath a nearby door. Drake relaxed. "Now that's what I call good timing."

"That's Ditto?" Liza exclaimed. "I thought that was an Alolan Muk or something!"

In answer to her question, the sludge reformed into the telltale shape of Ditto, if not necessarily the telltale color. "Ditto!"

"You know what?" Liza decided. "I'll ask later. Let's just get out of here."

In front of the doors to the mansion, one of the two mercenaries set to guard the doors turned to his partner. "Hey…any chance we can go inside? This wind is snow joke."

"Ugh," said the other mercenary. "Dude, chill."

"Sorry, I was just trying to break the ice," said the first mercenary. "Don't give me the cold shoulder."

The second mercenary shook his head. "After that quake a minute ago, I want to be ready for anything. So stay frosty."

"Don't worry about me," said the first mercenary. "I'm as cold as ice."

All of a sudden, the doors to the mansion flew open, disgorging Drake, Liza, and five Pokemon of varying shapes and sizes.

"Hey, freeze!" the second mercenary yelled, releasing his Piloswine - straight into a Body Slam from Dragonite. The Ice/Ground-type flew straight through a railing and fell all the way down to the ground, roaring in frustration. The first mercenary didn't even have time to release his Pokemon before Lunatone's Hypnosis dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Haunter wasted no time in using his own Hypnosis to drop the second mercenary.

"Go!" Drake yelled, and the group raced down the mansion's front staircase. Already several mercenaries had spotted them and were running towards them from all areas of the grounds, releasing Ice-types as they went. Ice Beams, Ice Shards, and Icicle Spears flew past the group as they ran.

"Return fire!" Liza commanded. Aron and Lunatone launched more Rock Tombs, shattering several of the Ice-type attacks coming at them. Haunter launched a Shadow Ball at a Glaceon, knocking the Ice-type over, while Dragonite unleashed a Hyper Beam that sent a Delibird flying. Ditto, for its part, transformed into a copy of Lunatone and added his own Rock Tombs to the barrage of counterattacks.

"We need to get Ellie!" Drake yelled over the din. "There's no way I'm letting her stay here - not with Pryce!"

"We ain't got time to waste doin' stuff like that!" Aron cried as he blasted away an incoming Ice Beam with another Rock Tomb.

"No, Drake's right!" Liza called. "We can't - Lunatone, Confusion on that Glalie - just leave someone Drake cares about at Pryce's mercy!"

"Ditto!" Ditto agreed as he sent another Delibird flying with a Confusion of its own.

Dragonite rose, letting out a loud bellow of rage, and unleashed another Hyper Beam straight at an Abomasnow that was standing between the group and the mini-mansion that Drake had said was Ellie's home. The Ice/Grass-type took the beam straight to the face and was flung backwards straight into a Froslass, bowling them both over. But as the two tumbled to the ground, a Jynx teleported into view from out of nowhere and flicked an Ice Beam straight into Dragonite's side. Dragonite fell, roaring in pain, still conscious but clearly wounded.

Drake recalled him as Haunter blasted the Jynx away with another Shadow Ball. "The path's open, hurry!" he yelled, charging forwards; Liza could see the door to the mini-mansion shuddering as if something was striking it from the opposite side, and even over the sound of yells and crisscrossing attacks she could hear a faint buzzing coming from the door.

"Cover him!" she yelled. Aron, Lunatone, and Ditto-Lunatone unleashed a trio of Rock Tombs in all directions. Ice-type attacks crumbled, and a Cloyster that had clearly been trying to rush in and use Explosion fell backwards with a cry of pain. Lunatone twisted - "Mistress Liza!" - and then Haunter shot between Liza and the Ice Beam that she hadn't even noticed coming her way. The Ghost/Poison-type screeched in pain and fell like a stone.

"No, you don't!" Liza furiously unleashed as much psychic power as she could muster. The Dewgong who had fired the beam was blasted back into its own Trainer. Liza staggered - she hadn't done that in a while - and Lunatone at once floated between her and the ground, holding her up. "We must follow Drake, Mistress Liza!"

"I know!" Liza exploded into motion, hurling herself after Drake. She barely noticed Aron blasting a Weavile full in the face with a Rock Tomb as she ran; Lunatone and Ditto-Lunatone floated on either side of her, warding off any further Ice-type attacks. Haunter came on behind, body half-frozen over but still throwing Shadow Balls and Confuse Rays at any Ice-type he saw.

And then a Piloswine dropped from a Hypnosis and a pair of Rock Tombs bowled over a Glalie, and suddenly there were no more attacks coming at them. Liza sucked in a breath and glanced around; while there were still shouts and cries coming from elsewhere in the mansion grounds, all of the immediate threats had been dealt with, and the few remaining nearby mercenaries were recalling their unconscious Pokemon and fleeing to safety. Haunter let out a menacing snarl in their direction, and then collapsed as his adrenaline failed and his body realized that by all rights he should have been unconscious by now.

"Drake, Haunter's down!" Liza called.

Drake looked back - and at that very moment, a mercenary charged around the corner of the mini-mansion, releasing a towering Walrein as he ran. "Blizzard!" the mercenary ordered with a savage grin.

"Drake, look out!" Liza screamed.

The Walrein inhaled - and then the door to the mini-mansion exploded outwards, and a yellow blur slammed into the side of the massive Water/Ice-type, sending it reeling with a bellow of pain. Drake promptly released Dragonite, who - just as promptly - blasted the Walrein with a Hyper Beam, hurling it to the ground.

"Ellie!" Drake practically squealed, a second before he was bowled over by a full-force tackle from the very happy-looking Elekid.

"Oh, Ellie, it's so good to see you!" Drake cried, hugging the Elekid close to his chest. "Yes, it's me, Ellie! Did those mean men lock you in here so you couldn't meet Daddy? Daddy is so sorry he couldn't come to see you! Who's a good girl! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

Aron gaped. "Um…who are you and what have you done with Drake?"

Drake glanced around the room. "Uh…ahem!" He stood, still holding Ellie. "We'll get a Pokeball for Ellie later," he said.

"Agreed," said Liza. "And I do believe that makes four Pokemon. You're certainly building a team, aren't you?"

"If today's taught me anything," said Drake, "it's that I'm going to need one." He recalled Haunter. "Ditto, transform into Dragonite, and let's-"

"DRAKE!"

All eyes turned to the mansion entrance. Pryce was standing upon the top of the steps, his Mamoswine, Lapras, and Dewgong arranged around him, with Drake's parents huddling in the doorway behind him. "Pryce, don't hurt him!" Drake's mother cried.

"You're not getting away!" Pryce snarled, seemingly heedless of Drake's parents behind him. "Lapras, Dewgong, Blizzard!"

"Dragonite, Ditto, Hyper Beam!" Drake yelled; Pryce's Lapras and Dewgong stepped forwards and, together, unleashed a massive wave of ice that surged through the air towards the Team Rocket Trio. But Dragonite and the newly-transformed Ditto-Dragonite met the wave with a pair of Hyper Beams; the wave did not break, but it did slow, halted by the full force of the twin attacks.

"Mamoswine, Earthquake!" Pryce commanded.

Mamoswine leaped down the steps with shocking agility; as he landed, a rapidly-moving wave of earth swept outwards from the impact point, streaking towards the trio. "Into the air!" Drake ordered, clambering onto Dragonite's back. Liza leaped onto the back of Ditto-Dragonite, sweeping Aron off the ground with one hand as she did so, and the two Dragonites rose up off the ground, still holding their Hyper Beams to keep back the combined Blizzard; the Earthquake ripped across the grass beneath them, missing entirely.

"No!" Drake's mother wailed. "Our well-tended lawn! Now we'll never make Top 10 Best-Kept Yards in Kanto this year!"

"Let's fly!" Drake bellowed. With one final exertion, Dragonite and Ditto-Dragonite broke off their Hyper Beams and soared into the air. The Blizzards swept forwards, any resistance to them eradicated, but the two Dragonite were too fast; the wave of ice swept under them as they flew upwards, wings beating madly as they carried their Trainers away from the mansion.

Ice Beams nipped at their heels as Pryce's remaining mercenaries arrived too late to actually do anything to help their boss. "This isn't over, Drake!" Pryce yelled, his furious voice carrying through the air. "You can't escape me forever! I will find you! Do you hear me, boy? I will find you!"

He shouted more, but by that point Drake, Liza, and Aron were out of earshot.

"I still don't really understand why that kid thought his Farfetch'd was too weak to fight," said Clay. "Did he even try to fight with it before we came along?"

"It is likely," Cyrus guessed, "that he was unlucky enough to face some very strong opponents early on and assumed that all other Trainers were that strong."

"At least he's no longer trying to steal Pokeballs anymore," said Ash. "Though you have to admit, his face when Genesect came out yelling 'PO-KE-MON - THIEVES - WILL - BE - EX-TER-MI-NA-TED' was a sight to behold!"

"I am fairly certain he wet himself," Cyrus noted.

"Cyrus!" Clay chided, but before he could say more a Dragonite plowed into the ground in front of him, sending up a spray of dust that had all three Trainers choking and coughing.

Ash peered closer as the dust cleared. The sight that came to his eyes was shocking: Drake was lying on the ground next to his half-frozen Dragonite with both his arms wrapped around an Elekid, his partially-transformed Ditto was flopped nearby with Liza and Lunatone sprawled out on top of it, and Aron was on his back between the two Team Rocket trainers, half-embedded in the ground with all four stubby legs in the air. All of them looked absolutely exhausted, seemingly uncaring of how undignified they looked as they gasped for breath.

"What happened to you?" Ash asked incredulously.

Drake looked up at Ash, still panting heavily. "You can…go on ahead," he gasped out.

"We really…don't want…any trouble," Liza panted.

"Yeah," said Aron. "We've…had enough…of dat…for today."

Ash shrugged. "All right," he said, and he, Clay, and Cyrus walked on, leaving the breathless members of Team Rocket in a heap behind them.

I will confess to having cheated slightly with regards to Ellie. She is not random - instead, as part of my ongoing quest to give Drake the entirety of his canonical team, I simply replaced Growlie with her, as unlike the other two members of his team I couldn't figure out an easy way to give him an Electabuzz otherwise.

Now for the hard part. As you probably noticed, this was a bit of a tonal shift from the previous chapters. The thing is, all of this abuse is all but confirmed to have happened to James in canon. It's just that Jessebelle was a farily comedic character, and as a result, much of the abuse was played for laughs. Pryce, by contrast, is not a comedic character, and so when he ended up replacing Jessebelle, I realized that there was no way I could play the abuse for laughs anymore. Hence the content warning.

Don't worry, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled humorous Pokemon fic next chapter!

Oh, right, I did promise an abbreviated version, didn't I? So here goes: Pryce replaced Jessebelle, Drake's parents are rich, jerks, and not very smart, Drake now has an Elekid named Ellie, and Pryce is definitely coming back later.