Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
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Sol barked at me and jumped back when I went to touch him, tail wagging up a storm as he spun around in a circle a couple of times before coming back to me and repeating the process.
"Okay, calm down. Hey, I'm serious!" My words weren't having any effect. "Well, I guess you don't want it then!"
That got his attention, making him almost stumble as he rushed over and sat down in front of me, whining impatiently and scooting closer.
"There you go." Scratching his chin, I gave him some attention while taking him in one more time. It was an hour or so after my disappointing match with Erika, and we were outside of Celadon, hiding in a sizable clearing among a copse of trees. The others were still in the city, keeping an eye on the Game Corner while trying not to draw attention to themselves.
Which was likely a doomed effort, to be honest. While I'd admit that I'd come to care for them – a little, a tiny, itty bitty amount – subtlety wasn't their strongest suit.
Or mine, for that matter.
My team gathered around Sol and me, with varying levels of attention. Vulpix had given up almost immediately, seeing as she wasn't the center of attention and tried to engage Eevee, and after that failed, Hercules, in some playtime, but they refused, preferring to stick around and watch. Since then, the Ice/Fairy-Type had moved back with a deeply offended huff and was grooming herself demonstrably, refusing to look at the rest of us.
Everyone else, barring Honedge, were watching curiously. Even Betty was silent for once, sitting with her stubby legs splayed out in front of her and eyes full of envy directed towards her friend.
It was a special day, after all. It was only the second time it happened for us.
"Everyone says it's okay," I gazed into the yellow-orange of the Fire Stone in my hands, seeing the internal flame shift and move. I'd done a bit of research on the evolution stones, and there wasn't that much publicly available – that I could understand, anyway. There were a lot of scientific papers on the effects of the evolutions, and some mineralogical forums speculating on the origin of such concentrated Type energy that it gained physical form and solidified.
But they were still very much a mystery. Which didn't ease my nerves.
"I don't know why I'm being such a pussy about this. I guess I just don't want you to be stunted or held back just because I was impatient. If being the strongest Arcanine you can be involves waiting, then that's an easy choice, but-HEY! Get off, you fat bastard!"
Being taken to the ground and buried under the Growlithe, Sol's warm and wet tongue dragged up my forehead and into my hair as the dog groomed me. I grumbled, yet still sank my hands into his soft fur, enjoying the last moments before things changed.
But we were on a clock.
"Alright, up you get," I clapped his side, making him jump up with his tongue flopping out of his mouth, "enough standing around. Here."
I thought he might be ceremonious about it, slowly approaching the Stone as I held it out and touching it with a sense of reverence.
I should've seen the overly enthusiastic tackle coming. At least I managed to let go and push him away before Sol's large shape erupted into light like a star going supernova, bathing the clearing in light.
Despite having seen the process with Growly literally the day before, it did nothing to diminish the awe I felt as Sol's quadrupedal form grew and grew, getting taller and wider than his already large frame.
Especially when he reached Gary's Arcanine's size and just kept going, shooting past first the six-foot, and then the seven-foot, mark without hesitation.
By the time the blinding light faded and our group was able to take in the newly evolved Fire-Type, every single one of us had to crane our necks to meet the fist-sized, black eyes as they in turn darted between every member of the team before landing on me as we stared at each other.
Growly had been an impressive specimen, not disappointing Flame, the Growlithe's mother, and standing over seven feet at the shoulder.
Sol's head, bigger than my torso, hung 8 feet over the ground, and that was with him slouching a bit. Almost as if hearing my thoughts, the Arcanine straightened up, peering down his nose from what felt like double my height. His width was even more impressive, if possible. Sol had always been stocky, but after evolution, he was built like a Taurus, hard, bulging muscle shifting with every movement, even under the thick fur.
Like the other Arcanine I'd recently seen, there were paler patches of fur on his chest, legs, and tail, but where they'd been beige on the female, Sol's were pure white, like when he was a Growlithe. Likewise, the almost electric yellow pelt with black stripes still remained, but as I watched it shine in the sunlight, I could've sworn it shimmered and moved in the heat, flickering like fire. Unconsciously, my hand moved up and – in a truly dumb move when faced with a newly evolved Pokémon whose behavioral changes hadn't been explored – buried my hand in the thick fur, watching my fingers disappear under the coat. It had always been warm, yet as an Arcanine, it was like a heating pack, scorching heat barely contained by a soft wrapping.
Remembering myself, I looked back up to find his great head inches from me, dark eyes staring down at me with the most inscrutable expression I'd ever seen on the lazy dog.
"... wow." Great start, Peri. "I mean… wow. Are you oka-OOPH!"
My answer came in the form of what felt like over a thousand pounds of happily panting dog pushing me over with his snout and flopping down on top of me. The air in my lungs was violently expelled in a loud oomph! Even as a Growlithe, he'd been heavy. As an Arcanine, there was no chance I'd be able to move him or breathe.
Slapping him, he shifted around to take some of the pressure off of me. At the same time, it also gave the ridiculously huge canine the ability to lick my face over my protests, saliva lightly steaming despite the warm day.
I don't know what I'd been worried about. As if the slobbering beast would ever have the will to be an issue.
That was clearly way too much effort.
Finally getting off me, the gigantic dog looked and sniffed at himself curiously. Spotting his newly elongated tail, he twisted to try and grab it, spinning in circles until his new form made him trip over himself.
"Right, need to get that worked out before tomorrow. Everyone, gather around!" I clapped my hands to get their eyes on me, having to do so an extra couple of times to get Vulpix's attention, the drama queen. "We're on a deadline and need to get Sol as used to his new body as possible before the attack. So with that in mind," I rubbed my hands together with a smirk, "we're going to be doing some full contact Tag, where everyone is it and trying to get Sol. Ranged attacks are allowed." There was something gratifying about seeing the enormous Arcanine's eyes widen until they threatened to pop out of his skull.
Thought he'd get to take it easy after evolving, the lazy bastard, but no. Presumably, the Rockets were going to see our match against Erika and expect a Growlithe, which is why I waited so long.
Now I needed Sol to be combat-ready enough for the deception to pay off, and we had less than 24 hours to get there.
"Let's get to work."
—-
The Celadon Department Store was the largest shop in the original Pokémon games, and the seller of many items only found in the building. The exclusivity part didn't hold up, but the sheer size and renown did. There were only a few shopping centers in Kanto that could compete, and perhaps a singular one better.
The building reflected that. The outside was what you'd expect, full of banners and advertisements. Most of them were focused on plant-based products, like perfumes, Pokémon food, special shampoo, and oils that promised various 'Master-level results'. Of more interest was the more Trainer-oriented stuff, like the extra strength Repels, the 'all natural' Potions – which seemed to just be mashed up Berries – and so on.
Probably worth a look, which was fortunate, as pretending that it was the only time we'd swing by was the whole point.
Though it was entirely possible that it truly was the only time we'd come to the Department Store, depending on how things went. Optimism had kicked my ass one too many times for me to take our success as completely guaranteed.
Even my dumb ass could learn after being punished often enough.
Eventually. Somewhat.
As the automatic sliding doors opened, we were greeted by the wall of noise I'd started to get accustomed to in Celadon, dialed up to eleven. Hundreds of people rushed back and forth between individual shops, carts full of items. In the center of the ground floor was a wide selection of ordinary PokéMart things, like standard Potions and Antidotes, while there were open doors along the sides, leading into separate areas. Above, a bunch of signs with arrows indicated the way towards different floors, each catering to a specific interest.
"MAN, THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! SUCH A SHAME THAT WE'RE LEAVING SO SOON, LIKE, IN A COUPLE OF HOURS!"
"Inside voice, Ash, please." It was probably a good thing that Green was the one to ask him. The rest of us wouldn't have been so nice and might've said too much in the heat of the moment. "But yeah, it is pretty great, once you know where to go. The middle stuff is being sold by the Gym, while the smaller stores are mostly private sellers. You can find just about everything here."
"Tell me about it," Misty nodded agreeingly. I'd been surprised how well the two girls got along, given their respective temperaments, but they made it work, somehow. "I remember visiting as a kid. I thought I could spend the rest of my life here without leaving once."
"YEAH, LEAVING! Something we're also doing when we're done here, REALLY SOON-AW!"
"Stop yelling! You'll give us away!" Misty hissed, kicking Ash in the shin again.
"Misty, everyone's looking at us!"
"Because you started it!"
"No, it's because you kicked me!"
"No, it's your fault!"
"NO, IT'S Y-"
I clapped one of my hands on either of their shoulders, leaning in between them with a disarming grin.
"If you don't shut the fuck up right now, it's going to be my fault your teeth are on the floor." I glanced at Misty, the girl I'd been trying pretty hard to impress. "No offense, sweetie, but it's seriously not the time."
Damn Team Rocket. Didn't even have time to be horny anymore.
Misty's nose scrunched up in disgust at the term of endearment. "Never call me that again. Or any pet name, for that matter."
"No promises." Not giving her a chance, I raised my voice to get everyone's attention. "Okay, let's split up. We need an ass-load of medicine, first and foremost. Green, you know the place the best, mind grabbing it? Take the moron with you as well to help carry. "
"HEY, WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MOR-MMMMMHHH!"
"Sure, Peri." Green smiled somewhat weakly, one hand over Ash's mouth and the other taking him by the collar as she dragged him away towards the escalators.
"She better not fuck this up," Gary mumbled darkly, staring after Green. Before I had a chance to respond, he grunted something about food and stalked off, bumping into the other shoppers on his way.
"What a dickhead," Misty snorted, making me give her a look. "What, it's true! Even you're not that bad!"
I frowned, pretty sure that was an insult, and tried to think of a response. Brock decided to be a grown-up, however, and cut me off.
"As much fun as this is, we really do need to get moving. While the others are getting the stuff, we can take a look at the TMs."
Misty shrugged and walked off, me following along behind them and pondering my choice of companions.
They did like me, right?
The second floor greeted us with a large banner with the text 'Trainers Market!', flanked by a pair of PokéBalls. Beneath it was the tagline 'Top Grade Items for Trainers!'
And while I couldn't tell the quality from a distance, I would give them something.
They had a lot of stuff.
Rows and rows of plastic trays containing colorful disks, ready to teach hundreds of different moves. At a glance, the Department Store didn't have the S.S. Anne's selection – which, fair enough – but there was definitely a whole lot more to choose from.
Quantity was a quality all of its own.
Further in, gleaming rows of PokéBalls – Normal ones, Great Balls, Love Balls, Premier Balls, and so on. There was even a limited selection of Ultra Balls under lock – shone from display cases, smaller stores showing off a collection of Evolution Stones out in front of their shops.
Then there were the more uncommon things. Weight vests, made for a variety of body types, targets for target practice, whole cubes of metal for lifting or punching. Something I hadn't considered was the books and pamphlets full of anatomical drawings and information about Pokémon for people who didn't have a PokéDex.
Any other day, I could've spent hours getting lost amongst the rows of items.
But not that day.
"You got it?" I turned my head, pretending to read the back of a Solar Beam TM, mumbling to Brock out of the side of my mouth.
"Yeah," he whispered back, checking out a Rock Slide TM. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lift a hand to his waist and tap one of the four PokéBalls on his belt. "Did it while you were battling."
"And they didn't suspect anything?"
"No," he sighed, shoulders slumping. "I hate this."
I wished I had better words for him. "Yeah, well, at least you'll know more soon."
"Not sure I want to know more." That was entirely fair as well.
Changing the subject, I sighed and placed the TM back on the shelf. "Wish I hadn't blown all my cash on the S.S. Anne. Or Erika paid more. There's some good stuff here. For the future, I mean, I know we don't have time right now." Best keep it vague, letting our presumed watchers think I meant us leaving.
"I'll make you the same deal I made with Ash and lend you the money, but," he cut off my protest with a raised finger and a stern look, entering 'Dad Brock' mode, "you will be paying it back! We'll set up a monthly repayment plan, to be sure. I wouldn't do it normally unless you were desperate – if you're old enough to be a Trainer, you're old enough to save your money if you want to buy something – but the Department Store truly has some good things, and it would be a shame if your teams had to miss out."
"... alright fine." Him being that firm about the repayment actually made me feel better about it. I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of the guy. "In that case, can you help me pick out an oil for Honedge? I know Steel-Type ain't your speciality, but close enough."
"Sure," he nodded, raising a hand and waving over Misty when he caught her eye, "let's grab the others and go together. Might as well get stuff for all your Pokémon at once. Luckily, you're with a future Breeder, so I'll show you the good stuff!" He puffed his chest up exaggeratedly.
"Knowing you, Pokémon is gonna be the only thing you're breeding."
He deflated comically. "Why you gotta do me like that, Peri?"
I shrugged. "Somebody's gotta remind you of reality."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't, I'm charming as shit."
"Now who needs reminding of reality?"
The banter continued as Misty joined us and jumped into the verbal sparring headfirst, and then we all ganged up on Ash when we found him again.
It was a good distraction for our next move, keeping the topic light as we did our shopping on the Pebble Clan's dime, getting loaded up with special shampoos and oils that Brock insisted we needed, the teen getting increasingly animated as he got to indulge in his favourite hobby: Pokémon care.
The whole time, though, the actual purpose for the trip lurked in the back of my mind.
The bait was set, the trap ready. Now we just had to actually do it.
Easy.
—-
The Celadon Game Corner was, from the outside, a normal casino. A single-story building with a giant flashing sign saying 'Game Corner!' and another displaying 'Huge Prizes!'. It was located in one of the busier parts of the Rainbow City, quite close to the Department Store and not that far from the old Clan district.
Prime real estate.
Inside, the first impression was much the same, I decided as I stepped through the doors, adjusting my enormous sunglasses and straightening my hat. There was an almost palpable sense of desperation and sadness that pervaded the larger room, over 50 slot machines lined up on one side of the room, a constant 'BlimBlimBlim' followed by a negative buzzer providing the customary gambling theme song. Other tables had different games, many of which I recognised. One was just Black Jack, with no alterations, and another was a weird version of Poker. There were tables for dice, cards, roulette, and the usual.
And in the back, behind the large cash-in desk with dual receptionists and a pair of large, burly guards standing watch, was a single, unmarked door that said 'Employees Only'.
"You look ridiculous." I flinched from where I was hunched over a slot machine in the back, hidden from sight. Turning around, I lowered my sunglasses and pulled the fake beard down around my chin.
I kept the hat, ratty coat, and hood on, though.
"Where's your fucking disguise!?" I hissed, seeing Gary with his hands stuffed into the pocket of a hoodie, a cap pulled low over his hair.
He sneered at me in return, looking me up and down condescendingly.
"Bro, I guarantee you that you look way more suspicious than I do. You see a lot of tiny homeless guys in here?"
While I grumbled to myself, we were joined by Misty and Brock, who both had followed Gary's example of a hat and oversized clothing.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Misty questioned me.
"A disguise! What are you-" Again, I was interrupted by someone in a huge jacket that went down to their knees, a gnarled branch serving as a cane despite the leaves still attached. An exasperated Green stood over the weird hobo's shoulder, as the guy with an obviously fake beard that was a completely different color than the black hair poking out under his top hat, beamed at me.
"Hey, guys! It's me, Ash! Bet you couldn't tell, huh!?" I stared at the Ketchum for a moment before removing my beard and stuffing it into my pocket with a sigh.
"Alright, fuck it, who cares at this point. Right, so we're all here now-"
"Uhhh, excuse me? Do… you guys need help, or?" While we'd been distracted, a pimpled teenager around Brock's age had approached us. Based on the shirt he was wearing, with a winking Voltorb under the text 'Celadon Game Corner', he was an employee of the establishment. He probably saw a group of – let's be honest – pretty suspicious characters arguing and came over to see if anything was wrong.
Mistake.
The guy tried to scream, but was blocked by my palm as my hand clamped over his mouth to muffle the sound. At the same time, Gary kicked him in the knee while Misty pulled him closer, and in short order, we were all sitting on the poor guy, hands tied behind his back and Honedge at his throat.
We then handled the close call very maturely and calmly.
"WE'VE BEEN MADE!"
"THEY KNOW WE'RE HERE!
"ABORT, ABORT!
"FUCK THAT, CHARGE!"
"FORWARDS!"
If the gamblers of the Celadon Game Corner had bothered looking up from their games, they'd have seen six people, two of whom were trying way too hard to be anonymous, sprint across the casino floor towards the desk area.
One of the guys standing guard stepped forward with a raised hand, the other resting on a PokéBall at his waist, looking bored despite the speed we were coming in with.
"Hold it there. Form a lin-AAHH!" Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by Brock's Geodude being released and thrown at him, the sentient rock knocking him out with a punch to the jaw. Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped the second guy, leaving the way to the door clear. We ignored the receptionist as she screamed, and the people behind us finally registered that someone was essentially robbing the place, and I kicked the door to the back area open.
BANG!
"What the fuc-" The man rising from his seat at a small round table didn't have time to say anything else before a chair hit him, followed closely by another, and then finally me as I got close enough to grab him. A few punches to the face, and he was down with a flattened nose. Looking up, I could see that the other two with him were down as well, Starmie and Clefairy having handled them.
"Good job!" I praised, while outside we could hear glass breaking and people yelling as the looting began. I didn't pay it any mind, focused instead on the next door. It was a heavy one, made of steel and multiple massive locks, reminding me of the one from Sevii.
Guess the Rockets used the same designer for their bases. Made sense.
Regardless, it crumbled like paper under Sol's Brick Break. I had to recall the Arcanine afterwards, since he wouldn't fit into the newly exposed tunnel, but the help was still great.
"Go, go, go!" I waved the others through, waiting for the last one – Green as she fumbled with her pocket for some reason – before bringing up the rear as we descended the staircase. I trusted Brock to at least hold on for a moment before I got there.
Based on the sounds coming from ahead, that was exactly what had happened as well.
By the time I stepped off the last step, I barely had time to release Siren and Eevee, the Feebas hitting a slithering Ekans with a Water Gun, before the last of the three people – dressed in black Team Rocket uniforms that made my blood boil and Gary take a deep breath through his nose – were unconscious on the ground alongside their Pokémon.
"Which way!?" Brock yelled back, and that was an excellent question. We were standing in a large corridor, wide enough for five of us to stand shoulder to shoulder, and well over ten feet high, that split into three directions: left, right, and middle. The surfaces were hard-packed dirt that had been burned to turn it clay-like, and artificial blue light shone down from a row of fluorescent lamps in the ceiling.
As soon as I saw that the path split, I knew it was coming, and Gary did not disappoint.
"We split up! Me and Peri right, Brock and Ash left, girls middle!"
"That's a terrible idea!"
"You can't be serious!"
"Are you stupid!?"
"We don't have time for this, come on!" Gary didn't care about the others' protests, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me off. I could've resisted, but we didn't have the time to argue. I'd just have to trust that the others would be fine.
And like that, the plan was ruined.
It was eerily quiet as we ran, feet pounding against the hard ground. One good thing about splitting up was the extra space we had for our teams. Our dual Arcanines were out in front: Hercules, Betty, and Graveller on their tails, while the rest hung back with us squishy humans or protected us from behind. Like last time, Siren was in my hands while I kicked open door after door, looking for anything to fuck over the Rockets.
The Fire-Types rounded a corner up ahead, muffled shouting ringing out.
"What the fuck is that!?"
"Are those Arcanines!?"
"Wha-AAAAAHHHH!"
Shoes skidding across the floor, I followed them while Gary panted after me. Four Rockets stood protected behind their 11 Pokémon as they faced Sol and Growly. Even as I ran up to join them, another two came out of the door lining the tunnel, adding another five Pokémon to the total.
Once upon a time, that would've spelled the end of our little caper. The sheer numbers would've ground us down; whatever strength advantage we had wouldn't be enough to overcome the disparity.
That was a while ago, though.
"Get them!"
The Arcanines took off like cannons at my words, Growly leading the charge with her greater speed. She more closely resembled an orange jet as her graceful form crashed through the enemy formation, Raticate and Houndour flying through the air as she punched a hole.
A hole Sol was more than willing to exploit.
If Growly had been a jet, sleek and fast, Sol was more of an old-school bomber, slow and lumbering. Yet, when he hit the disoriented Pokémon and Trainers, it was like a nuke, a third of our adversaries down in seconds as he trucked through.
I'd been too distracted – and bad myself – to notice the previous times I'd fought Team Rocket, but as I'd been running through my memories in preparation for the latest assault, I'd realised something.
Most of the Rockets weren't that good.
The Executives were out of our league, sure, but there were only a handful of those. Even people like Scott from Mt. Moon – who, in hindsight, was probably around the fourth or fifth Badge level – were squad leaders.
The average Team Rocket Grunt was lucky to be at a second-third Badge level.
I ducked under a screaming Grunt's arm as he swung a random pipe at me, taking his chances with the Trainers rather than the Pokémon ripping through the Rockets like wet paper. He likely regretted that when I grabbed him by the wrist and elbow, directing the piece of metal into his jaw with a spray of blood and broken teeth. An Ekans, the Grunt's I presumed, leapt at me with a hiss. That hiss turned into a shriek when Honedge shot up from my shadow and carved a deep wound into its side, sending it flying into its Trainer with a smack of its scabbard. I grabbed the Steel/Ghost-Type to keep it from killing them both, as we had bigger priorities, yet when I looked around, I saw that the battle was more or less over already.
"Arrrrgghh, you dumb brat!"
"Fuck! You!"
CRACK!
I turned around in time to see a Grunt with an arm bent the wrong way, on his back, with Gary on top of him with his fist pulled back.
CRACK!
The green eyes of the man rolled back into his head instantly.
But that didn't stop Gary.
CRACK!
"FUCK!"
CRACK!
"YOU!"
"Gary." I tried, but he didn't seem to hear me.
CRACK!
"GARY!" He slapped my hand away, eyes wild and pupils blown out from the adrenaline as he panted like his life depended on it. Looking behind me, seeing his team watching him seemed to bring him back to reality, and he gazed down on the beaten Grunt and his own blood-soaked hands with shock.
Sighing, I knelt to check the guy's pulse. He was going to be eating through a tube for months, and his nose would never recover, but there were a few faint bubbles in the blood leaking from his mouth, his chest moving slowly.
"He's still alive." A huge sigh of relief left Gary, something he immediately seemed embarrassed by. "Yeah, turns out it's a whole lot easier to say you're going to kill everyone than actually doing it."
"You did it, though." I grimaced at the muttered words, checking our surroundings. It really wasn't the time to have the conversation, but I needed Gary to be mentally with me.
"Gary, I don't remember what happened on the S.S. Anne. I blacked out." His jaw dropped open at the words, but I pushed him ahead before he could respond. "We don't have time for this. Don't worry about their lives right now; ours are more important. Trust your team and think about it later. Just take them down and move along. We can't lose our shit on every one of them individually."
His expression firmed, and he nodded, but I knew it was easier said than done. I'd just have to keep an eye on it.
Thankfully, Gary's moral quandaries didn't stop him from fighting, as we rounded a corner and ran into another two Grunts. Literally ran into, Gary falling on his ass like the almost sickly thin guy who hit me.
"What the-" the rest of his words were interrupted by my foot to his temple, his head bouncing off the wall as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. Turning to the side, I grabbed the other guy in a headlock as he was about to stomp down on Gary, the other boy frozen on the ground while the Pokémon took care of the Rockets'. The Grunt struggled in my grip but eventually went limp.
I reached out a hand to help Gary up, neither of us saying anything. More rushed steps from behind had our Pokémon readying moves, only for it to be Green and Misty that came around the corner.
"Peri, Gary!"
"Hey girls!" I greeted, Gary silent by my side until I elbowed him subtly. "What a surprise! Come here often?"
"Save it, dude," Misty rolled her eyes at me, "it's so not the time-"
WHAAA! WHAAA! WHAAA! WHAAA!
An alarm went off, a horrible screaming sound echoing down through the corridors as red lights started flashing. Misty gave me a superior look, as if to say 'see', while I rolled my eyes back at her and we started running again.
Another half dozen Grunts and doors passed by before we finally got somewhere. At the end of the corridor we'd been running down, a wide set of double doors stood, bigger than any we'd seen before. Seeing the size, Sol and Growly didn't bother hesitating and hit them at speed.
BANG!
Slowing down, we shared confused looks as the Arcanines slid to a halt and began whining, Sol going so far as to turn around and come back to me for comfort.
"What is it, boy, huh? Aren't you supposed to be a big, dangerous Arcanine now?" I scratched behind his ears as he pressed his head against my chest, slowly moving him so I could go around and take a look inside myself.
I understood immediately, staring into the large room, almost as big as the lab in Sevii. And that wasn't where the similarities ended.
Rows of cages stood in lines, each holding a Pokémon. Beeping filled the room, so much of it that it was audible over the siren, as hundreds of different machines displayed numbers and diagrams. Next to them, bags filled with chemicals in all colors of the rainbow slowly dripped their contents into IVs, the plastic tubes leading to the cages and into their prisoners. An Eevee stared ahead blankly, no reaction, even as my own Eevee approached. A Rattata in a larger cage than the others ran on a wheel, the metal spinning so fast that I thought I could see smoke as the tiny rodent's chest rose and fell like a piston. To my surprise, I saw a few Pikipeks as well, one hammering its beak into a piece of wood like a machine gun, while another stared at the floor of its cage blankly. There were other foreign Pokémon among the test subjects, a pitch black ball of curled up fur catching my eye.
Were some of them from the S.S. Anne?
Boxes were spread throughout the room, some able to hold tons and others the size of milk crates. My eyes lingered on the stylish, yellow G painted on the side of one of the smaller ones, a sense of familiarity stirring before something else drew my attention.
In the back, a section of glass cages held Gloom. Unlike the others, they were not injected with chemicals. Instead, tubes ran from the bottom into large bottles, each slowly being filled by the Grass-Types nectar.
-A pidgey mindlessly bashed its head against the bars of its cage, two wings beating furiously. The other pair of wings laid limply at its side, fresh stitches visible where they were attached below the natural ones-
I grit my teeth, pushing the memory away. I was fine.
I was fine.
Besides, other than the 'patients', the place was empty.
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"
Or not.
Sharing looks with the others, I indicated for them to spread out and come from the sides as I proceeded straight ahead. The sound had come from behind the Gloom cages, and as I slowly inched around it, I held up Siren like a rifle. Making eye contact with Misty and Starmie, I mouthed a countdown, and as one, we jumped around the cages, ready to deliver a beating.
"PLEEEEEASE, I'M SOOOORY!"
Crouched down with his arms over his head, a bald, middle-aged man in a lab coat shook in fear, shrieking as we came close. Sensible, white sneakers covered his feet, and a pair of boring brown pants made him look particularly non-threatening.
Especially with the growing dark stain on the front of said pants. My nose wrinkled at the scent of ammonia.
Ew.
However, we hadn't talked about what we'd do with non-combatants, so I was a little lost.
Gary wasn't.
"On the fucking floor, Rocket scum!"
"I-I'm not a-a Rocket, I sw-swear!" The man fell to his knees, honest-to-god tears starting to well in his eyes. "T-They k-kidnapped me! M-m-my name i-is Kevin. I-I'm a scie-scientist from Goldenrod. T-t-they took me from my house and, and, made me do experiments-"
"Uh-hu," Gary snorted, moving forward with Squirty at his side, "A likely story. On the ground bitch, before I put you there."
"N-NO PLEASE!" Kevin cowered, already on the ground.
"It's okay," Green assured him, putting a hand on his arm and smiling comfortingly when he flinched at the touch. She shot Gary a look, making him stop in his tracks. "We're here to help."
"Yeah," I agreed, keeping an eye on the door, "we'll get you out of here, but you've gotta stay behind us. Up, now."
Kevin looked between the six of us, clearly not super comfortable with his rescue team being a bunch of children. Still, he nodded shakily and got up on trembling legs.
"V-very well, I-I am in your care." He really didn't sound enthusiastic about it.
Then again, I'd already gotten distracted myself, looking over the crates. Seeing an open one, I went up to it and peered inside, eyebrows shooting up at the contents.
"Green, I think I found where all those chemicals you were talking about are going."
Sure enough, inside the crate and separated by a wall of what looked like wool, were container after container of liquids, labels, and warnings covering the outside.
"This makes no sense." She mumbled, looking into one of the craters herself. "How could they steal this much without anyone noticing? This is worth millions upon millions."
"Close to a billion, actually, if you include the whole base," Kevin said, staying behind me as we looked through the room. Seeing another open crate, I pushed the lid fully off, leaning over to look inside-
CLANG!
"Tsc!" Kevin the scientist scoffed, sparks leaping from his knife as it strained against Honedge, inches from where he'd tried to drive it into my neck. From so close, I could see that his suddenly very focused eyes were a dark magenta. "Good reflexes. Unfortunate."
I stared, shocked at the sudden betrayal, but the cries of surprise from the others pulled me out of it.
Taking a swing at the scientist, he jumped back to avoid the blow, his lap coat falling off him to cover his escape.
Landing a distance away, he took off the button-up shirt to reveal a big red TR on his black shirt. Reaching up to his forehead, we looked on, stunned, as he found a seam and pulled his skin off, the removed bald cap to expose a lavender-purple mohawk, the sides of his head buzzed short. Doing the same to his chin, a patch of beard was uncovered, the same color as his hair.
At an unseen signal, three Grunts rushed in through the door to stand behind the revealed Team Rocket leader.
Taking it by the handle, I pointed Honedge at the mohawked man. "Not kidnapped, then. I take it based on the clown outfit that you're the leader of these losers? I gotta say, your guys suck."
"Oh, I agree. An unfortunate side effect of being a criminal organization is that the recruitment options are a little limited. I'm simply pleased that this batch can put their pants on without assistance." The purple-haired man paid no mind to the semi-insulted, mostly confused looks the Grunts exchanged. "But yes, I am indeed the Executive assigned to this base."
He swept down into a low bow that felt oddly sincere. "I am Petrel, Executive Petrel, Team Rockets resident master of disguise. I have to say, I'm surprised your Honedge saw through me. Many haven't."
"You're not that good." I lied. Bullshit. I'd fully bought the kidnapped scientist angle. "Playtime's over, though. I'm-
"Periwinkle." Petrel interrupted, smiling at my nonplussed face. "I know. You should hear Proton complain about you. Still, as much as I enjoy the man's misery," the sound of feet against the ground as another four Grunts ran into the storage room, "the boss is insistent. I'm afraid I'll be taking you and your Pokémon into custody. Or your bodies."
"I'll leave the choice to you."
—-
Ah, Petrel. What a goofy gobber. Doesn't he know that tricks are for kids?
In canon, he's disguised as Giovanni!? For some reason!? That stupid, so I changed it.
Also, Sol's evolution. I know it's early (in-story, at least) and there are going to be ramifications.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.