POKEMON
Chapter Thirteen:
The Silph Co. Showdown
The two brothers, Danny and Billy, and their two friends Jonathan and Stefan, had entered the Silph Co. skyscraper. Nobody was in the main lobby, not even at the receptionist's desk. The four boys went up the stairwell to the second floor.
"What do we do now?" Billy asked.
"Whoa, check it out," Stefan said as he pointed to a large tile on the floor in a different translucent color. "It's a warp tile. My mom's friend works here and we've used these before. I know were some of them go, and so let's give them a shot."
The four boys and Danny's Pikachu all stepped onto the warp tile together and found themselves in a completely different hallway. A nearby sign said that they were on the eighth floor. But just as they began walking ahead, a Team Rocket grunt spotted them!
"I am one of the four Team Rocket brothers!" the grunt exclaimed.
"Don't worry, guys," Danny told his brother and friends. "I'll handle this one."
The Rocket brother sent out his Weezing, and Danny's Pikachu was able to take it down with one Thunderbolt! And yet another Thunderbolt zap knocked out the Rocket grunt's Golbat. Then Danny let his Alakazam defeat the Rocket's Koffing with a single blast of Psybeam.
"Whoo! Oh brothers!" the grunt said. "I'll leave the rest of you up to my brothers!"
The four trainers then explored the area a bit more and found a fancy electronic door. Stefan tried to work it, only to exclaim "Darn! It needs a card key! I know where there might be some."
Stefan led his friends to the elevator. But on the way, another Team Rocket member stopped them. "That's as far as you'll go!" he said.
"Let me battle him," Billy told his brother and friends.
And so, Billy let his Pikachu out to zap the Rocket grunt's Raticate, Zubat and Golbat with Thunderbolt, and knock out the grunt's Rattata with Bubblebeam!
"Not enough grit!" the Rocket grunt groaned.
"Pika-pi!" Danny and Billy's Pikachu high-fived each other.
Then they were able to get into the elevator and take it down to the fifth floor. Among getting out, Stefan began to lead them down a hallway. But then Danny noticed someone. "Hey, is that one of Professor Oak's aides? What is he doing here?"
"Be careful," Jonathan warned him. "He might not be who he seems."
Sure enough, the figure in the lab coat and glasses overheard them, and approached them while laughing sinisterly. "We study Pokéball technology on this floor! Stay out of our way!"
"Eeeek! An evil scientist!" Danny exclaimed. "I'll battle him."
Danny's Alakazam was able to knock out the Team Rocket scientist's Magnemite, Magneton, Koffing and Weezing with Psybeam.
"Dang! Blast it!" the evil scientist cursed.
They headed down a narrow hallway, only to encounter a warp tile taking up much of the space at one point.
"Now what?" Billy asked.
"We take this warp tile to wherever it goes, and take it back here," Stefan explained. "Simple."
So with a couple of steps and warps, they headed to the ninth floor and back again to the fifth. But another Team Rocket grunt stopped them.
"I heard some kids were wandering around!" the Rocket member said. "Let me at 'em!" He sent out his Arbok!
"Chaaarrr-bokah!" the Arbok cried out.
"Go, Alakazam!" Stefan said as he sent out his own Psi Pokémon.
Stefan's Alakazam didn't let Arbok's bite stop it, and succeeded in knocking out the cobra Pokémon with its' Psychic attack.
"Boom!" the Team Rocket grunt said in frustration.
They treked down the hall some more and found a card key on the floor. Stefan scooped it up and said, "This'll be useful. Back to the ninth floor!"
So the four boys and their Pokémon trekked back to warp tile and zipped to the ninth floor. Among arriving, they were able to sneak by another Team Rocket scientist without getting noticed and test out the card key on one of the electric doors, and it worked!
"Come on, there's a nurse here that can heal up our Pokémon for us," Stefan said. "No need to go back to the Pokémon Center just yet!"
But as they headed to another electric door, another Team Rocket grunt stopped them! "I am one of the four Rocket Brothers!" he announced. "One of my brothers just contacted me and warned me about you four pesky kids! Now I'll stop you!"
"Not on my watch," Jonathan said as he got into the battle stance.
Jonathan had his own Pikachu zap the Rocket brother's Golbat with Thunderbolt, and his Pidgeot knock out the Rocket's Drowzee with the Fly attack. But another hit of Fly wasn't enough to take down the Rocket brother's Hypno, whom retaliated with the Hypnosis attack! Pidgeot began dozing off.
Danny reached into his backpack and tossed his Poké Flute to Jonathan. "I hope you know how to play something on this!" he said.
"Yep, I do," Jonathan replied, and he played the haunting tune Danny had also played to wake up the wild Snorlax he encountered. Pidgeot quickly woke up and got back into battling position.
But Hypno used Disable, and with a noisy flash, Pidgeot's Fly attack was temporarily disabled!
"Geez, that's just as loud as Leer!" Billy commented.
"No problem," Jonathan said. "Pidgeot, use the Wing Attack!"
And that was enough to take down the Rocket grunt's Hypno.
"Warg!" the Rocket brother groaned as he sank to his knees. "Brothers, I lost!"
Stefan used the card key to enter another doorway, and found themselves in a room with cots and a Pokémon healing machine. A Nurse Joy greeted them, "You boys and your Pokémon look tired! You shoud all take a quick nap."
So Billy, Danny, Jonathan and Stefan took a quick refreshing rest on the cots as Nurse Joy healed their Pokémon.
"There, now isn't that better?" the Nurse Joy asked them. "Now, don't give up! I know you can save us from Team Rocket."
As the four boys, along with Danny, Billy, and Jonathan's Pikachus all walking together, headed back to the elevator, Stefan told them, "Now that we have a card key, we'd better get to the Silph Co. president's office. First, we go down to the third floor."
So they headed back down to the third floor. But as they headed to the electric door, another Team Rocket grunt confronted them. "Quit messing with us, kids!" he snarled, sending out a Raticate.
Billy took the challenge this time, having his Pikachu defeat the Rocket member's two Raticate using Thunderbolt, and his Blastoise taking down Hypno with Bite and Bubblebeam.
"I give up!" the Team Rocket grunt fumed.
They entered the electric doorway and encountered another warp tile. "I'll go first," Stefan said. "Then you, Danny. Then Billy and Jonathan go." He stepped onto the warp tile and disappeared in a flash of colored light.
Danny followed, finding himself on the seventh floor. But Stefan looked nervous. "Danny, watch out!" he warned. "Isn't that your rival?"
But before Danny could answer, Butt Oak caught sight of the two! "What kept you, Danny?" he teasingly greeted. He turned to a similar-looking boy and said, "Excuse me for a moment, cousin Gary." Then he walked up to Danny and laughed. "I thought you'd turn up if I waited here!"
Billy then materialized on the warp tile. He looked surprised. "Butt? What's HE doing here?"
"Well, well, well," Gary called out, in a nasally voice similar to his cousin Butt. He approached Billy and said, "I figured if your brother Danny was here, YOU might also be here, Billy boy!"
"Gary!" Billy growled.
"I guess Team Rocket slowed you both down! Not that we care!" Gary teased.
"We saw you brothers were in Saffron City," Butt added, "so we decided to see if you two got better!"
Jonathan then materialized on the warp tile and saw what was happening. "You stupid Gary!" he called to Gary. "Leave Billy alone!"
"Wanna make something of it?" Gary teased.
"I sure do," Jonathan said as he got his Pokéballs ready.
"Ha! A two against one battle," Gary scoffed. "I'm not gonna let that stop me! Go, Pidgeot!" He sent out his own bird Pokémon.
"I'll start," Billy told Jonathan. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
As Billy's Pikachu started shocking Gary's Pidgeot, Butt smirked at Danny and said, "Come on, Danny! Let's get it on! I choose you, Sandslash!" And with that, Butt tossed a Pokéball that let out his Sandslash Pokémon.
"Go, Blastoise!" Danny commanded as he sent his Blastoise to battle.
It was yet another tough match between Danny and Butt, but fortunately, Danny's Blastoise was able to defeat Butt's Sandslash and Flareon, Pikachu zapped Cloyster, Kadabra took down Magneton, and Charizard fried Kadabra.
Meanwhile, Billy's Pikachu zapped Gary's Pidgeot, his Blastoise drenched Growlithe, and Jonathan's Pikachu defeated Gary's Exeggcute, his Beedrill took down Alakazam, and his Vensaur knocked out Gary's Blastoise.
"Oh ho," Butt said as he tried to hide the bitterness in his voice, "so, you boys ARE ready to battle the boss!"
"Well, we're moving on up and ahead," Gary added. "By checking our Pokédexes, we're starting to see what's strong and how they evolve!"
"Yeah," Butt continued, "we're going to the Pokémon League to boot out the Elite Four! I'll become the world's most powerful trainer!"
"Not if I do first!" Gary countered. He then turned to the other boys and said, "Billy and Jonathan, well good luck to you!"
"Yeah, don't sweat it, Danny!" Butt added. "Smell ya!"
Then they both headed to the warp tile that Stefan, Billy, Danny, and Jonathan had come into the room on and dematerialized.
"They're so stupid," Jonathan muttered while they were gone.
Danny shook his head and added, "I'm not surprised Gary Oak is just as much of a jerk as his cousin Butt."
The four boys approached a nervous-looking man. "Oh! Hi! You're not from Team Rocket! You four came to save us?"
"We sure did," Stefan replied.
"Why, thank you!" the Silph Co. employee said, looking more relieved now. "I want you to each have this Pokémon for saving us." He reached into his bag and handed Stefan, Jonathan, Danny, and Billy each a Pokéball. "They are Lapras," he continued. "They're very intelligent. We kept them in our lab, but they will be much better off with you young trainers! I think you will all be good trainers for those Lapras! They're good swimmers. They'll give you a lift!"
"Hey, thanks!" Bill said. Then the four boys got out their Pokédexes, and sure enough their lights began blinking as the four Lapras Pokéballs dematerialized to Professor Oak's lab. The trainers checked their Pokédexes to learn a bit more about this Pokémon.
Danny's Pokédex gave the summary: "Lapras. The transport Pokémon. Lapras is nearly extinct. A gentle soul that can read the minds of people. It can ferry people across the sea on its' back."
"Cool," Danny said.
Putting his own Pokédex back into his pocket, Stefan told his friends, "OK, one more warp tile to step on to get to the president's office. This way!"
And so the four boys made their way to the warp tile.
"How about you two go first?" Jonathan suggested to Billy and Danny. "Then Stefan and I will follow up after a bit, just in case there's any trouble."
So Danny and Billy took to the warp tile to the eleventh floor – the top floor of the Silph Co. The hallway they arrived in had no access to the stairs or the elevator. But as they began stepping off the warp tile, who should approach them but a very familiar Team Rocket trio!
"Hold it right there, you brats!" Jessie called as she, James and Meowth ran up to the brothers.
"You two again!" Billy cried out in annoyance.
"You twerp brothers better prepare for trouble," Jessie said.
"You're not the only ones who can make it double," James added.
"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie began their motto again…
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie said as she and James struck a pose.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James finished.
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth added.
"Our boss is in a meeting right now," Jessie said.
"You better not disturb him," James warned.
Jessie tossed her Pokéball and called out, "Go, Arbok!"
James did the same and commanded, "Weezing, attack!"
"Chaaar-bokah!" the purple cobra Pokémon said among emerging from its' Pokéball."
"Wee-ee-ziiing!" James's Weezing croaked.
"Well, you two had better prepare for trouble," Billy retorted.
"Yeah, and you'd also better make it double!" Danny added. He then ordered his Pikachu, "All right Pikachu, Thunderbolt that Arbok!"
As Danny's Pikachu began generating electricity from his cheeks, Billy sent out his Alakazam and commanded it, "Alakazam, Psybeam on that Weezing!"
Sure enough, Pikachu zapped Arbok as Billy's Alakazam took down Weezing.
"Now, I get to go!" Meowth said as he leaped into the battle stance.
"Not on my watch," Danny countered. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt them all!"
"Piii-kaaa-CHUUUUUU!" With another Thunderbolt, Danny's Pikachu was able to fry Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Like always…" James groaned.
Right after he said that, Jonathan and Stefan materialized on the warp tile behind the brothers. "You two OK?" Jonathan asked as he and Stefan stepped off the warp tile.
Still scorched, the Team Rocket trio all said "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light! Again…" And they headed to the warp tile and dematerialized out of the hallway.
"A Team Rocket grunt held us up," Stefan explained.
"And it looks like you two ran into a couple as well," Jonathan added.
"Yeah," Danny answered. "It was that darn Jessie and James and their talking Meowth."
"Complete with their motto," Billy added.
Jonathan looked around the hallway and said, "I only see one door, over at the end."
"That's where the president works," Stefan explained.
They made their way to the door, and Stefan opened it using the card key. But among the door opening, the four trainers saw Giovanni, the Team Rocket boss, standing there with his Persian Pokémon.
"Ah, Danny and Billy!" Giovanni said with a smirk. "So we meet again! And you brought a couple of friends along. The Silph Co. president and I are discussing a vital business proposition. Keep your nose out of grown-up matters… or, experience a world of pain!"
Danny turned to Jonathan and Stefan and told them, "Billy and I will battle him. We've done this before."
Giovanni approached the boys and sent out his Nidorino and Rhyhorn. "Attack!" he ordered them.
Danny sent out his Venusaur, and Billy had his Blastoise come out to battle. Venusaur was able to take down Nidorino using Razor Leaf and Cut, not letting Poison Sting stop it. At the same time, Blastoise knocked out Rhyhorn with a blast of Bubblebeam.
Danny's Pikachu began to cheer. But Giovanni noticed and ordered his classy cat, "Persian, how about a little game of cat-and-mouse on that weak little Pikachu?"
With a "Peerrrrr-sian!" the cat Pokémon leaped at Pikachu and used its' Pay Day attack, scattering coins around!
"Quick, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Danny commanded.
Pikachu got up and retaliated with its' electric attack, knocking out the Persian.
Taking out two more Pokéballs and throwing them, Giovanni called out, "Nidoqueen and Kangaskhan, attack those boys' Pokémon!"
But Danny had Venusaur defeat the Nidoqueen using Razor Leaf and Cut, while Billy's Blastoise took down Kangaskhan using Surf.
"Arrgh! I lost again?!" Giovanni groaned in frustration as he recalled his fainted Pokémon back to their Pokéballs/
"Yay! You did it!" Jonathan and Stefan were cheering.
"Blast it all!" Giovanni cursed. "You meddling brothers ruined our plans for the Silph Co.! But, Team Rocket will never fall! Danny and Billy, never forget that all Pokémon exist for Team Rocket!" As he spoke, the sound of a helicopter grew louder from the open skylight window. "I must go, but I shall return!" A rope ladder descended from the helicopter through the skylight, and Giovanni grabbed hold and ascended from the Silph Co. building.
"He does know how to make an exit," Danny commented.
"Like a real movie villain," Jonathan added.
The boys approached the Silph Co. president, and he told them, "Thank you all for saving the Silph Company! I will never forget you saved us in our moment of peril! I have to thank you in some way! Because I am rich, I can give you anything!" He reached into a nearby box and continued, "Here, maybe these will do!"
He handed each of the four boys a violet-and-white Pokéball with a small "M" on the top half – a Master Ball!
"You can't buy those anywhere," the president continued. "They are our secret prototype Master Balls! They will catch any Pokémon without fail! You should be quiet about using them, though."
"Don't worry," Stefan assured the president. "We'll be careful!"
The president's secretary added, "Thank you for rescuing all of us! We admire you boys' courage."
The four boys all blushed a bit among hearing that. Danny's Pikachu seemed to blush as well.
…
Among leaving the Silph Co. skyscraper, the four boys noticed the mood across Saffron City was cheerier. A random man told them, "Yeah! Team Rocket is gone! It's safe to go out again!"
"Well, we did it," Stefan told his friends. "Where to next?"
"The Pokémon Center, of course!" Billy said with a grin. "We have to heal up our Pokémon again!"
So they did. The Pokémon Center was abuzz with people glad that Team Rocket left Saffron City. As their Pokémon were being healed, the boys met up with another boy cheering, "Team Rocket took off! We can go out safely again! That's great!"
The four boys deposited their Master Balls into their own item storage PCs via the Pokémon Center's computer. Then once their Pokémon were fighting fit again, it was time for them to part ways.
"I'm gonna take on that Fighting Dojo to train up for battling Sabrina," Jonathan said.
"That's right," Danny realized. "Now that Team Rocket is gone, the Saffron City Gym is accessible again. I'll have to train up as well."
"I think I'm ready to take on Sabrina," Billy said. "See ya!" And he hurried out of the Pokémon Center.
Jonathan shook his head and said, "I forgot how much he tries to get ahead of the others. He didn't even say goodbye."
"I just hope my own brother doesn't become as big a rival to me as Butt…" Danny said uncertainly.
"Pikaaa…" his Pikachu agreed.
TO BE CONTINUED