Seven Days of Terror (now with an epilogue)
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PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror
status report
As very few of you know, I haven't written a single word of chapter 13.
The reasons for this are many. First and foremost, I no longer like this fic. After re-reading it from the beginning, I found so many errors and inconsistencies (including the logical ones Newdude pointed out in his almost-review) that it's mind-blowing that you all have stuck with it for this long. After a few writing competitions, it's clear that a few of you praised this story because my name is pink, not because it's that great a story.
That said, I thank those of you brave enough to get through chapter 12 and still ask that I finish the story. This is my very first attempt at serious fan fiction, so for it to be received so well means a lot to me.
"Well PMJ, what happened? Why don't you like this story anymore?"
The answer to this question is simple - I killed May. Out of all the stupid mistakes I made when writing this story (and there are a lot of them), killing off May was far and away the biggest. Why? Because she was the last girl. What does that have to do with anything? I'll explain.
A while back, bacon guessed that Ash and May would be the only ones alive at the end. I thought it was a random guess (and perhaps it was), but I realized there was a reason bacon predicted that - logically, May should have survived because she isn't a villain and is the only one who hasn't done something worth dying for.
Keeping May alive would have opened so many possible situations - having her live on without her brother or eyesight would have made a much better story than simply killing her off.
It also would have provided some means of a happy ending for Ash, enabling him to get on with his life despite losing Misty. Now that she's dead (and Ash isn't gay), the story will end on a low note no matter what I do.
Every time I want to write, I keep kicking myself for bringing back Brock instead of May. As far as this story goes, Brock is a total nobody. I put May through so much turmoil and hardship, having her get through it all would have been much happier for her (and the reader). Now that she's dead...
You get the idea.
"Okay. But you said you were gonna finish!!"
Yes, I did, and I still am. The main reason I'm posting this is to confirm that yes, I am going to finish this story. There are two reasons why:
1) I said I would
2) There's only one chapter left.
That said, I still cannot get over how dumb I was to kill May. This story is a shining example of how unbelievably important it is to have an outline and a plan before you type the very first word of the very first chapter. Writing as you go is NOT A GOOD IDEA.
I will finish this story, but let me be honest here. Writing Seven Days of Terror has become a chore. It will probably take a long time to do. Once it's done, I will let this story die and life will go on; I will feel content that I actually finished a story, no matter how much I screwed up when doing it.
If I ever start a second fic, I promise you all that it will have all of the awesome and none of the gayness that this fic has.
status report
As very few of you know, I haven't written a single word of chapter 13.
The reasons for this are many. First and foremost, I no longer like this fic. After re-reading it from the beginning, I found so many errors and inconsistencies (including the logical ones Newdude pointed out in his almost-review) that it's mind-blowing that you all have stuck with it for this long. After a few writing competitions, it's clear that a few of you praised this story because my name is pink, not because it's that great a story.
That said, I thank those of you brave enough to get through chapter 12 and still ask that I finish the story. This is my very first attempt at serious fan fiction, so for it to be received so well means a lot to me.
"Well PMJ, what happened? Why don't you like this story anymore?"
The answer to this question is simple - I killed May. Out of all the stupid mistakes I made when writing this story (and there are a lot of them), killing off May was far and away the biggest. Why? Because she was the last girl. What does that have to do with anything? I'll explain.
A while back, bacon guessed that Ash and May would be the only ones alive at the end. I thought it was a random guess (and perhaps it was), but I realized there was a reason bacon predicted that - logically, May should have survived because she isn't a villain and is the only one who hasn't done something worth dying for.
Keeping May alive would have opened so many possible situations - having her live on without her brother or eyesight would have made a much better story than simply killing her off.
It also would have provided some means of a happy ending for Ash, enabling him to get on with his life despite losing Misty. Now that she's dead (and Ash isn't gay), the story will end on a low note no matter what I do.
Every time I want to write, I keep kicking myself for bringing back Brock instead of May. As far as this story goes, Brock is a total nobody. I put May through so much turmoil and hardship, having her get through it all would have been much happier for her (and the reader). Now that she's dead...
You get the idea.
"Okay. But you said you were gonna finish!!"
Yes, I did, and I still am. The main reason I'm posting this is to confirm that yes, I am going to finish this story. There are two reasons why:
1) I said I would
2) There's only one chapter left.
That said, I still cannot get over how dumb I was to kill May. This story is a shining example of how unbelievably important it is to have an outline and a plan before you type the very first word of the very first chapter. Writing as you go is NOT A GOOD IDEA.
I will finish this story, but let me be honest here. Writing Seven Days of Terror has become a chore. It will probably take a long time to do. Once it's done, I will let this story die and life will go on; I will feel content that I actually finished a story, no matter how much I screwed up when doing it.
If I ever start a second fic, I promise you all that it will have all of the awesome and none of the gayness that this fic has.
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Well... what can I say?
I for one did not like this story just because you are pink (lol). Or because it was long (always something I like).
I like this story because it gives something I really cannot achieve myself to anywhere near the same degree; it gives text that flows really well and demands to be read because it is so well put together. I make no excuses when I say that your english skills are much better than mine, even if you are modest about it. Simply put, in terms of actual description, my story was NOTHING compared to this. I could do action nicely, and I made a stab into description, but in all honesty the way you developed most of this really got me going with my own fic... and for that I am thankful.
I'm happy that you've been able to look at this again without rose-tinted glasses on though; reflection is perhaps the best way to learn in writing, and I think to criticise yourself in that manner takes a lot of courage. Yes, courage. People are naturally afraid of admitting their own flaws, and this is an admirable trait for you to show. Again, I commend you for that, as it has the potential to serve as an inspiration to ALL fic writers here.
I will most definitely look forward to the end of this, even if it isn't as good as what you might have hoped for in the end.
Well... what can I say?
I for one did not like this story just because you are pink (lol). Or because it was long (always something I like).
I like this story because it gives something I really cannot achieve myself to anywhere near the same degree; it gives text that flows really well and demands to be read because it is so well put together. I make no excuses when I say that your english skills are much better than mine, even if you are modest about it. Simply put, in terms of actual description, my story was NOTHING compared to this. I could do action nicely, and I made a stab into description, but in all honesty the way you developed most of this really got me going with my own fic... and for that I am thankful.
I'm happy that you've been able to look at this again without rose-tinted glasses on though; reflection is perhaps the best way to learn in writing, and I think to criticise yourself in that manner takes a lot of courage. Yes, courage. People are naturally afraid of admitting their own flaws, and this is an admirable trait for you to show. Again, I commend you for that, as it has the potential to serve as an inspiration to ALL fic writers here.
I will most definitely look forward to the end of this, even if it isn't as good as what you might have hoped for in the end.
RE: Seven Days of Terror
I actually set aside about two hours earlier today to reacquaint myself with this story (translation, finally reading it). I'm really at a loss for words, and at the risk of sounding cliche, I'm... saddened that this story is coming to an end. It's been a good run definitely. I remember when you first posted this story, I loaded the page, and wondered why it was so long. Oh, how far we have come. After becoming a sort of meme for PokéBeach, 27772 is finally almost finished.
I have a feeling the end of this story will exceed our wildest expectations, but at the same time, will leave us wanting more. I look forward to the last chapter, and on the same note, your next fanfic.
So, after this over-exaggerated post, hopefully will come the last chapter. Don't let us down!
I actually set aside about two hours earlier today to reacquaint myself with this story (translation, finally reading it). I'm really at a loss for words, and at the risk of sounding cliche, I'm... saddened that this story is coming to an end. It's been a good run definitely. I remember when you first posted this story, I loaded the page, and wondered why it was so long. Oh, how far we have come. After becoming a sort of meme for PokéBeach, 27772 is finally almost finished.
I have a feeling the end of this story will exceed our wildest expectations, but at the same time, will leave us wanting more. I look forward to the last chapter, and on the same note, your next fanfic.
So, after this over-exaggerated post, hopefully will come the last chapter. Don't let us down!
RE: Seven Days of Terror
I'll admit, I got linked here, saw the length and got scared off. Once I saw that it was actually well written, (unlike most stories on here), the story was actually compelling. The story was popular because you're a Super Mod, but also because you are a good storyteller, and you doubt yourself on that. The only thing this needed was a plan to how you were going to write it. That being said, I still haven't read the latest chapter, but I'll probably read it soon. ;p
dmaster out.
I'll admit, I got linked here, saw the length and got scared off. Once I saw that it was actually well written, (unlike most stories on here), the story was actually compelling. The story was popular because you're a Super Mod, but also because you are a good storyteller, and you doubt yourself on that. The only thing this needed was a plan to how you were going to write it. That being said, I still haven't read the latest chapter, but I'll probably read it soon. ;p
dmaster out.
PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror
As Biggoron once said, "Woooooowwww!!!!"
I can't believe it. I haven't spammed my fic link at anyone in a long time, and I log in to find my story brought back from the dead by some unknown who I later find has 1 post, and what a post! Man.
I've had one or two people sign up to tell me how much they loved my walkthroughs, but never in a million years would I have guessed anyone would sign up solely to try to get me back into hearting this story.
Wow.
As far as simply changing it goes, I realize that... yeah, you're pretty much right. I've always seen it as once it's in the public eye, it's too late, but... no one who has read this story has seen May's death as a good thing, myself more than anyone. I just wish I'd realized it sooner.
But if going back and fixing my mistakes makes the story better for everyone, then why not fix them?? Up until now I've seen doing it over--that is, bringing May back to life after I established she was very much dead--as cheating, like I would be admitting how noob I was if I did (as if that woulda been the first time I've admitted I was wrong, lol).
Now I realize, I am writing noob. This is my first story. Mistakes are to be expected. I'm still a little shocked it's been received so well, especially when I think about everything I did wrong.
But I digress. Redoing chapter 12 would definitely spark my interest in writing again, so I'll do it. And you're right, it won't take much. In short, yes, it worked, although not so much from guilt trip as it was a little self-realization after reading your post, lol.
That said... I have a HeartGold/SoulSilver guide that needs to be finished before anything else. That's my plan for the next couple weeks. I should be done by the first of May (hurrrr). I should be able to fix things up by then, but no promises. But yes, the rewrite is coming. Just... not until later.
I hope you'll stick around our forums longer than it takes me to finish this story; you sound like you could offer opinions on other stories here.
I guess this is considered a status report now! 27772 is coming back, run for the hills (until I update. Then come back. :>)
As Biggoron once said, "Woooooowwww!!!!"
I can't believe it. I haven't spammed my fic link at anyone in a long time, and I log in to find my story brought back from the dead by some unknown who I later find has 1 post, and what a post! Man.
I've had one or two people sign up to tell me how much they loved my walkthroughs, but never in a million years would I have guessed anyone would sign up solely to try to get me back into hearting this story.
Wow.
As far as simply changing it goes, I realize that... yeah, you're pretty much right. I've always seen it as once it's in the public eye, it's too late, but... no one who has read this story has seen May's death as a good thing, myself more than anyone. I just wish I'd realized it sooner.
But if going back and fixing my mistakes makes the story better for everyone, then why not fix them?? Up until now I've seen doing it over--that is, bringing May back to life after I established she was very much dead--as cheating, like I would be admitting how noob I was if I did (as if that woulda been the first time I've admitted I was wrong, lol).
Now I realize, I am writing noob. This is my first story. Mistakes are to be expected. I'm still a little shocked it's been received so well, especially when I think about everything I did wrong.
But I digress. Redoing chapter 12 would definitely spark my interest in writing again, so I'll do it. And you're right, it won't take much. In short, yes, it worked, although not so much from guilt trip as it was a little self-realization after reading your post, lol.
That said... I have a HeartGold/SoulSilver guide that needs to be finished before anything else. That's my plan for the next couple weeks. I should be done by the first of May (hurrrr). I should be able to fix things up by then, but no promises. But yes, the rewrite is coming. Just... not until later.
I hope you'll stick around our forums longer than it takes me to finish this story; you sound like you could offer opinions on other stories here.
I guess this is considered a status report now! 27772 is coming back, run for the hills (until I update. Then come back. :>)
PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror
For anyone who's been watching (or perhaps for the person who's been waiting for me to start this up again):
I have actually started making real changes to chapter 11 of 27772. Since I wrote a chapter ahead of it, of course I'll have to make changes to that too. I won't be updating until I finish chapter 12, since I think it'd be rather silly to have one chapter in which she's alive and then one in which she isn't. lol.
Now that I've decided how I'm going to keep May alive, I feel extremely dumb for not thinking of it in the first place. It might seem like a total cop out, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that it would have gone through like this in the first place.
So, uh... yeah. Since I'm not writing full chapters, it shouldn't take too long to fix everything up, but yeah. We'll see how long that lasts lol.
For anyone who's been watching (or perhaps for the person who's been waiting for me to start this up again):
I have actually started making real changes to chapter 11 of 27772. Since I wrote a chapter ahead of it, of course I'll have to make changes to that too. I won't be updating until I finish chapter 12, since I think it'd be rather silly to have one chapter in which she's alive and then one in which she isn't. lol.
Now that I've decided how I'm going to keep May alive, I feel extremely dumb for not thinking of it in the first place. It might seem like a total cop out, but the more I think about it, the more I feel that it would have gone through like this in the first place.
So, uh... yeah. Since I'm not writing full chapters, it shouldn't take too long to fix everything up, but yeah. We'll see how long that lasts lol.
PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror
:> yay~
I agree with your stance on writing canon (big surprise). Many times I have wanted to write a certain pairing but decided not to because I didn't really know them as a character. My current idea for my second fic focuses on Mars and Jupiter, and since they don't have any sort of back story, that means I get to build it myself! Should be fun
The title is a little misleading, yes. To be honest, I hate it. (This is why I keep calling it 27772.) I could not think of anything to call it (seriously; I called it "Matt's Pokemon Story" up until... chapter nine, I think. Check the old post titles and see for yourself).
I am as creative as a brick wall. I once made a game in RPG Maker that I could not think of a name for, so I literally called it "The Untitled Story" because when I was writing the script for it, I saved each installment as Untitled, Untitled2, etc. It even has a sequel called "The Untitled Story II: Still Doesn't Have a Name." LOLOLOL
The opening battle was just meant to introduce Ash and Misty (but mostly just Ash) into the story. I figure it would have been better to do than just have them sitting around doing nothing.
The second battle between Ash and Misty probably could have been erased. I basically only included it because I like writing battles, lol.
The tag battle primarily exists because I like me some doubles and I had not written one until that point. Also, the way I saw it, since Max is a trainer in the story, the one thing he would want to do more than anything is to have a battle against Ash, especially since they live in two different countries.
Weavile fen! \m/
I started writing this story about halfway through the third generation. XD hadn't even come out yet, so Orre really was a barren wasteland, and Swords Dance actually increased Shadow Ball's damage. When I picked this story back up, neither of those were true, but I still left them alone because there is no way I could have made it work otherwise.
I am super ultra mega monstrously bad at writing human emotion. It is my worst nightmare and by far the biggest thing I suck at. I have no excuses for this, but at least I know I am horrible at it and do not try to say otherwise. All I can do about this is practice...
Misty's attempted suicide definitely could have been done better. Truth be told, if I had known that people with water in their lungs sink instead of float, Ash never would have seen her and Misty would have died right there. He never had a reason to actually look into the pool, so I couldn't even make him do that. That is part of the reason why I simply left the error there.
May is definitely coming back. I am an Ash/Misty fan through and through, but May is definitely a close second. I can't really see Ash with anyone else, anyway. Since this story is based on the anime, Blue does not exist, so obviously he could not be with her.
Said is dead! The new chapter eleven has a lot less said and more awesomeness like 'he soothed the trembling girl.' You know this~
If I had known you earlier in this story, I'da used a lot less said, but I do not care enough to go change a bunch of said in any chapter not called 11, 12, or 13. There's always next fic, though! :>
Regarding the word count and the wildly scattered chapter lengths, that (like this entire story) is the result of bad (no) planning, lol. Also, you are the only person who has ever said something about losing their place (mainly because you are on a wii), so that has never been an issue for me. That said, I'm with you on making the chapters less nutso crazy length.
Then again, less words per chapter means more chapters, which could be just as off-putting as one enormous chapter. Or not. If I ever get started on my second fic, I promise you there won't be any ridiculous 20k silliness.
...Maybe. I don't know okay D:
But, y'know, duly noted~
Also as an aside, please point out any future grammar errors you find :> Pretty please :>
I think 27772 is best described as the best worst story on the beach. The general consensus seems to be that realistically, the story would never happen, but unlikely though it may be, it was written well.
Regarding new material, you should know that I am rewriting chapter 11 to bring May back from the dead, so to speak. I do not have much left to go, but I have to redo chapter 12 too before I post my fixes (chapter 12 is really short so it should not take that long). Don't worry, no way I forgot about this You will have your update soon enough~
:> yay~
I agree with your stance on writing canon (big surprise). Many times I have wanted to write a certain pairing but decided not to because I didn't really know them as a character. My current idea for my second fic focuses on Mars and Jupiter, and since they don't have any sort of back story, that means I get to build it myself! Should be fun
The title is a little misleading, yes. To be honest, I hate it. (This is why I keep calling it 27772.) I could not think of anything to call it (seriously; I called it "Matt's Pokemon Story" up until... chapter nine, I think. Check the old post titles and see for yourself).
I am as creative as a brick wall. I once made a game in RPG Maker that I could not think of a name for, so I literally called it "The Untitled Story" because when I was writing the script for it, I saved each installment as Untitled, Untitled2, etc. It even has a sequel called "The Untitled Story II: Still Doesn't Have a Name." LOLOLOL
The opening battle was just meant to introduce Ash and Misty (but mostly just Ash) into the story. I figure it would have been better to do than just have them sitting around doing nothing.
The second battle between Ash and Misty probably could have been erased. I basically only included it because I like writing battles, lol.
The tag battle primarily exists because I like me some doubles and I had not written one until that point. Also, the way I saw it, since Max is a trainer in the story, the one thing he would want to do more than anything is to have a battle against Ash, especially since they live in two different countries.
Weavile fen! \m/
I started writing this story about halfway through the third generation. XD hadn't even come out yet, so Orre really was a barren wasteland, and Swords Dance actually increased Shadow Ball's damage. When I picked this story back up, neither of those were true, but I still left them alone because there is no way I could have made it work otherwise.
I am super ultra mega monstrously bad at writing human emotion. It is my worst nightmare and by far the biggest thing I suck at. I have no excuses for this, but at least I know I am horrible at it and do not try to say otherwise. All I can do about this is practice...
Misty's attempted suicide definitely could have been done better. Truth be told, if I had known that people with water in their lungs sink instead of float, Ash never would have seen her and Misty would have died right there. He never had a reason to actually look into the pool, so I couldn't even make him do that. That is part of the reason why I simply left the error there.
May is definitely coming back. I am an Ash/Misty fan through and through, but May is definitely a close second. I can't really see Ash with anyone else, anyway. Since this story is based on the anime, Blue does not exist, so obviously he could not be with her.
Said is dead! The new chapter eleven has a lot less said and more awesomeness like 'he soothed the trembling girl.' You know this~
If I had known you earlier in this story, I'da used a lot less said, but I do not care enough to go change a bunch of said in any chapter not called 11, 12, or 13. There's always next fic, though! :>
Regarding the word count and the wildly scattered chapter lengths, that (like this entire story) is the result of bad (no) planning, lol. Also, you are the only person who has ever said something about losing their place (mainly because you are on a wii), so that has never been an issue for me. That said, I'm with you on making the chapters less nutso crazy length.
Then again, less words per chapter means more chapters, which could be just as off-putting as one enormous chapter. Or not. If I ever get started on my second fic, I promise you there won't be any ridiculous 20k silliness.
...Maybe. I don't know okay D:
But, y'know, duly noted~
Also as an aside, please point out any future grammar errors you find :> Pretty please :>
I think 27772 is best described as the best worst story on the beach. The general consensus seems to be that realistically, the story would never happen, but unlikely though it may be, it was written well.
Regarding new material, you should know that I am rewriting chapter 11 to bring May back from the dead, so to speak. I do not have much left to go, but I have to redo chapter 12 too before I post my fixes (chapter 12 is really short so it should not take that long). Don't worry, no way I forgot about this
You will have your update soon enough~
PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror (NEW (old) CHAPTER)
NEW AND IMPROVED WHOOOOOOOOOOOOA SNAP DAWGS
Word count: roughly 6,800
With Shelly's command, Magnezone and Mamoswine charged forward with amazing speed; Weavile, still much quicker, jumped in Ash's way and fired a quick shot of Ice Beam at the mammoth, temporarily halting his pursuit. Magnezone, not restricted to ground travel, soared over Mamoswine and headed straight for May, intent on finally releasing all its excess electricity. Weavile, noticing Magnezone's movement, ran straight for it, its left claw glowing bright white.
May knew she wasn't going to get out of this alive. How could she? Even if she did manage to survive the Pokemon's attacks, Shelly would kill her herself. She sighed. This wasn't like her to just give up, Even if she couldn't see, she could, in theory, turn right around and run back into the forest... right? The path was completely clear - Weavile had seen to that. She could just run, run, run... maybe the other Pokemon wouldn't chase her, she thought. She felt bad about leaving her friends to die, but Ash was right - she was completely useless to them right now. She had to do what she could to stay out of their way and maybe, just maybe, they'd survive. Oh, she was probably ruined either way - Shelly knew she couldn't see where she was going, and it was likely she'd just run into a tree, someone else, or even worse, one of Shelly's Pokemon.
Even with the odds stacked against her, she decided to run for it... and didn't get to take a single step. She nearly fell over when Weavile leaped onto May's shoulders. "Weavile fen!" he shouted as he raised a Protect shield with his other claw. The attack hit the barrier with enormous force, causing both of them to tumble into the sand. Ash immediately ran to May's side, scooped her into his arms, and fled into the forest.
Weavile was barely on the ground before he rose to his feet and threw his charged Focus Punch with all of his strength. Magnezone fell to the ground instantly, put out of commission in a single blow. Smoke poured from the large crack Weavile had made in its face. While he would have preferred to crush Magnezone into pieces for what it had nearly done, he knew that simply knocking it out would have to do for now.
"Mr. Mime, Swagger," Shelly commanded calmly, safely behind her Pokemon. "Target... him," she said, pointing at Tracey. Tracey looked at Shelly and then made the mistake of locking eyes with Mr. Mime, unknowingly locking himself in Mr. Mime's psychic gaze.
"You're a murderer," Tracey found himself saying to himself. "A cold-blooded killer."
"That's... that's a lie..." he muttered. "A lie! She forgave me!"
"Don't kid yourself. Sure, she told you she did, but then she took it back! Doesn't sound very sincere to me..."
"Shut up!" Tracey shouted, unable to look away from Mr. Mime. Was he the one talking to him? It couldn't be... this other voice, it was undeniably Tracey's, but something about it was... odd.
"Tracey, snap out of it!" Brock yelled, rushing to his friend's aid. "Come on, pull it together!"
Tracey did not hear him as he was too deeply pulled into Mr. Mime's trance. "It's your fault she tried to kill herself. Don't you realize that? All her pain, all her sadness... it's all because of you... her death would have been on your hands if Ash hadn't intervened."
Finding that his words were falling on deaf ears, Brock made a dive for Mr. Mime, but didn't even get close - Mr. Mime effortlessly stopped him cold and flung him backwards into Tracey, sending the two of them crashing to the ground, ending his trance hold on the Pokemon watcher. However, this was fine, as the attack had done its job and the results were about to be made known.
Volbeat, seeing Ash flee into the jungle, gave chase. He quickly caught up to the teen, using a well-aimed Signal Beam to bring him down. He collapsed on top of May, quietly urging her to feign unconsciousness as he did the same.
Volbeat flew around the pair briefly, wondering what to make of this. Did he really knock out those two with a single hit? He didn't think he'd hit the girl at all, but there she was, unmoving. Maybe she'd hit her head when the boy dropped her... Deciding it was wiser to aid his Trainer than waste his time here, he left the pair alone and flew back into the fray.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Weavile took a moment to consider his options. His new friends would have no chance against the rest of Shelly's Pokemon, and beating them all himself would be quite a task. Volbeat was the only one with a true type advantage; this combined with the fact that Volbeat was a new face, and could fly, made for a very dangerous situation.
Mr. Mime was at the biggest disadvantage type-wise, but that wasn't saying much. After all, Mr. Mime had also been trained by Giovanni, and Weavile himself had been the recipient of some of Mr. Mime's powerful Fighting-type attacks. However, Mr. Mime's biggest strength - his incredible psychic power - would be entirely useless against him. Surely that had to count for something.
Mamoswine looked to be the toughest opponent, besting him easily in both power and durability. Weavile groaned at the thought of having to fight Giovanni's Mamoswine. That was one fight he would be thankful to win. Still, he decided to attack Mr. Mime first. Not only was Mr. Mime closer to him, but Weavile remembered that all of Shelly's Pokemon would be life-threatening to his new friends. After seeing him toss Brock like a rag doll, it suddenly became very clear what needed to happen.
He dashed towards the mime, promising to make it quick.
Mamoswine, bored of sitting still, looked over at Tracey and Brock lying on the ground. He began to charge an Ice Beam attack, but Shelly stopped him. "Wait! Just watch. This is gonna be great." Mamoswine reluctantly but obediently did as he was ordered, returning to Shelly's side to watch events unfold.
When Tracey came to, Mr. Mime's Swagger had already worked its magic. With surprising strength, Tracey shoved Brock off of him, bringing him out of his daze. Tracey lifted the breeder off the ground and punched him, hard, in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. "T-Tracey, what are you doing... snap out of it..." Tracey grabbed Brock by his hair and yanked him to a standing position briefly before he delivered a hard blow to his face, breaking his nose. Realizing that talking him out of it was no longer going to work, Brock tried a more direct approach at getting Tracey to go back to normal.
Infuriated even further by this dude who seemed to be laughing at his hits, Tracey decided to make him hurt some more. He went to punch him again, but this time the other guy caught his fist.
How dare he. With a scream, he pushed as hard as he could into the other guy's palm, determined to make him break.
Volbeat saw the fight between Brock and Tracey and right away knew what was going on. He flew over to the two of them, intent on hitting the one getting beaten by Confuse Ray for some real fun. As he fired the close-up ray, Tracey saw him out of the corner of his eye, and he slammed the small creature with a back-ended fist. Volbeat tumbled to the ground, feeling the pain from getting his face smashed in. Lesson learned, he thought to himself as he struggled to get his bearings.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Mr. Mime saw Weavile dash for him, and within seconds a barrier was put up. Weavile snickered - typical defense by a Pokemon at a disadvantage. Mr. Mime began to charge a powerful Focus Blast, but did not anticipate Weavile completely shattering his constructed barrier with a well-aimed Brick Break with one claw, followed by a powerful, dark-enhanced Night Slash with the other. With no time to react, the dark attack tore clean through Mr. Mime's neck, separating his head from the rest of his body.
Mamoswine growled. All this action was happening around him and he was being held back from the fight! He looked over at Shelly with menacing eyes. He could easily tear all of these humans apart! Why was she holding him back?! Weavile had already incapacitated Magnezone and Mr. Mime was obviously out for the count. It was either him or Volbeat next, and there was no way he was going to sit and watch any more of his friends get massacred. He voiced his discontent with another growl, one Shelly could not possibly ignore.
Shelly ignored him anyway, having just witnessed Mr. Mime's demise, and for the first time since arriving, felt... afraid. She looked at Weavile, who flicked off some of the blood that now stained his claw. "Never should have let him out of my sight," she chastised herself. True, she hadn't expected Weavile to defect, but she'd had the power of numbers and strength on her side. How could one Pokemon take out two without breaking a sweat? She glanced over at Volbeat, who'd just been smashed by Tracey. She couldn't rely on him now, and from the look on Weavile's face, she knew that he'd be coming after her soon enough - perhaps she was next?
No way was she finding out. "Mamoswine, get him!" she cried, making a dash for the door. Weavile quickly blocked her path and slashed at her, but Mamoswine shoved the woman out of the way with his enormous tusks. Weavile looked up at his old friend, trying to figure out an efficient method of attack. Deciding he'd use his blinding speed to his advantage, he quickly circled around the larger Pokemon, intent on delivering a powerful Brick Break from behind. Volbeat had other plans, however - he fired an intense Signal Beam right at Weavile, downing the Dark-type in one blow.
Wasting no time at all, Mamoswine lifted his front legs high off the ground, intent on crushing the vermin below him. Thinking quickly, Weavile threw up a Protect before the crushing could happen. Mamoswine hit the barrier and lost his balance, toppling over with a mighty thud. Volbeat had to quickly dash out of the way of getting squished himself. Weavile immediately sprang into action, punching Mamoswine's underside with a flurry of Brick Breaks in attempt to make the enormous creature faint.
Volbeat was not about to sit there and allow his teammate to get beaten so easily. He flapped his wings as hard as he possibly could, hoping he could muster the energy needed to effectively use the technique. At first, nothing happened - Weavile continued bashing Mamoswine's belly with increasingly stronger jabs of Brick Break. Before long, however, the Bug Buzz began taking its toll; Weavile felt like his insides were burning. He stopped his assault, clutching his stomach in pain, using one hand to fire off Ice Beams at the flighty little bug in an attempt to get him to stop the attack. Volbeat was able to dodge them fairly easily, making it clear that Weavile's aim was suffering.
It was then that Weavile caught Shelly out of the corner of his eye, simply watching the battle unfold, and Weavile came up with a plan. It was a dirty trick, one that Giovanni had taught him to utilize in case the chips were down, and Weavile was hoping Volbeat, not having been trained by Giovanni, would fall for it. He did his best to charge a bit of power into the next Ice Beam, though the searing pain from the Bug Buzz was nearly enough to make him keel over on the spot. He fired a shot, but deliberately missed. The attack hit the door of the house instead, making a clean hole right through it.
Volbeat panicked after seeing the attack on his Trainer - exactly what Weavile was hoping for. With the last of his strength, he fired another shot directly at Shelly. Volbeat flew directly in front of her and attempted to use Light Screen to stop the attack, but he was not fast enough. Volbeat was hit dead on, frozen solid by the powerful attack. He fell to the ground, completely crystallized.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Meanwhile, Ash and May were still lying on the ground just inside the forest. "Keep still, May," he whispered, taking a chance by looking at his surroundings and was appalled to find that Tracey was laying into Brock with everything he had, stomping repeatedly on the other man's chest, neck, and face. Without a second thought, Ash scrambled to his feet and dove into the Pokemon watcher, sending the both of them tumbling to the warm sand below.
"What are you doing?!" he screamed as Tracey slowly came back to his senses. "What's gotten into you?!"
"My head... what in the world..." Tracey sat up slowly, trying to remember what had happened. He looked towards the house and saw Weavile, Volbeat, and Mamoswine engaged in combat, with a fearful-looking Shelly keeping her distance from them. He looked to his left and saw what he did not yet know was his handiwork. "My god. Brock... what happened?" He rushed to the man's side, surveying the brutality he'd done.
Ash was appalled. Was this his idea of a joke? "What are you talking about, Tracey? You happened! I look and see you're beating the daylights out of Brock for some reason I don't even know! Look at your hands. That's his blood on your hands! You're seriously gonna sit here and play dumb with me?!"
"Ash, I swear, I don't know! Brock's my friend! Why would I ever--" He stopped as he thought back to the last thing he remembered. "Wait a minute. The last thing I remember is Shelly telling Mr. Mime to..." he looked down at Brock's bruised, bloody, unmoving form and raced to find a pulse on him.
"What? Told him to what?" Ash asked.
Tracey looked like he was going to cry. He tried adjusting his fingers several times, assuming his positioning had been incorrect, but could not find a pulse no matter where he searched. "He's dead," Tracey murmured, torn at now being directly responsible for the ending of two lives. "I killed him," he declared, visibly disturbed by what he had done. "Swagger... the Swagger, I - god, Ash, I don't know what to say," he cried, unable to look away from the destruction he caused.
Ash didn't know what to say, either. What could he? He knew that Tracey was still recovering from the guilt from killing Misty's Vaporeon, and now Brock's blood both figuratively and literally stained his hands as well. There was no way Tracey would ever be the same. He glanced over at May, who still hadn't gotten up, and quickly became worried. "Tracey, listen. Don't go off and get yourself killed, all right? We need you. I need you. Pull it together for just a little longer, and we can all go home. Okay?"
Tracey nodded through his tears. What had he done to deserve having to suffer through this? To not only take two lives, but those of his friends?
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Shelly pulled Volbeat's Poke Ball from her belt, and with a sigh, brought Volbeat back into the ball. She considered her situation. Magnezone lie in a smoking heap on the ground, alive but unconscious. Mr. Mime was missing a head, so he wasn't going to be helping... ever. Luxray was dead, too. For crying out loud, were all the casualties on her side? Mamoswine was the only one of her Pokemon who was even capable of battle, and even still, he'd been severely weakened. She looked at Weavile, who lay sprawled on the sand nearby, knocked out by Volbeat.
Volbeat... Shelly thanked her lucky stars that though Volbeat was frozen and unable to battle, he was still alive. Unlike the rest of the Pokemon she'd been loaned, Volbeat was the only Pokemon she'd taken with her on her assignment. In fact, Volbeat was one of her first Pokemon, having received him as a gift before she joined Team Aqua. Yes, she was thankful for his safety, and proud he was able to hold his own.
She looked for any human casualties. By the water's edge, Tracey sat on his knees, staring at Brock, who lay unmoving on the ground next to him. Judging by Tracey's behavior, Shelly assumed that the Swagger plan was a total success.
Then Shelly realized that Ash and May were both gone. She couldn't remember if May had actually been hit by that Thunder attack - it was so bright... She recalled Weavile leaping onto May's shoulders right before the attack fired. The next thing she knew, May was gone. "Ash must have taken her into the forest," she surmised.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Ash hurried back into the forest, where May continued following Ash's given direction to the letter. Watching her stare blankly into the sky like that sent a chill down the young boy's spine. If it weren't for her pink skin and visible signs of breathing, Ash would have thought she was dead.
He grabbed the girl's hand to pull her to her feet. "It's okay now," he soothed the trembling girl as he drew her into a firm embrace. "You're safe."
May threw her arms around him. "R-Really?" May stammered. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." he confirmed, hugging her tighter. "You're safe, May. It's over."
Hearing the sounds of Pokemon being recalled, May clutched Ash tight. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "What was that?"
"Shh, calm down, May. It's just Shelly feeling bad about getting whipped by Weavile," Ash assured her. "I need to get back out there and check on Tracey, okay? Stay here." He kissed the girl's forehead and left her alone in the forest.
Having just put Mamoswine and Magnezone back into their Poke Balls, Shelly was preparing to turn around and head for her boat when Ash stopped her.
"Why, Shelly?" he asked, slowly walking towards her. "I just don't get it. Why? How could you take the lives of my friends without any remorse? First Misty... then Max... blinded May and nearly killed her... you manipulated one of my friends into killing another... even Jessie! She was your friend, Shelly! What could you possibly be getting out of all of this?"
"Money, sweetie," Shelly said, putting her hands in her pockets. "That's all there is to it."
"And May... why? What could she possibly have done to deserve such treatment? She's innocent, kind and sweet... one of my closest friends. She didn't deserve what you did to her. Why? Why single her out?"
Shelly looked up at the sky briefly answering Ash's question. "Listen, kid. Like I said, it's nothing personal. This is just a job to me. I was warned not to socialize too much, but Jessie and I ended up becoming friends anyway."
Shelly sighed. "Sometimes I wish we hadn't. It certainly would make my task a lot easier. May is nice, and innocent too, as you say. I decided to... destroy that. Letting her live the day I attacked her was an impulse decision that, I have to say, I am quite pleased with. Not only did she have to struggle to just get by, but she was living in constant fear knowing that her attacker could have been any one of us."
"What do you mean? We'd never--"
"I was in disguise when I did it," Shelly explained. "Disguised my voice, too, just to throw her off. And to complete the destruction of her mind, I made her witness her own brother's death... I really messed her up. She probably wanted to die after listening to that."
"And Misty?" Ash inquired. "What terrible things did you do to her before you killed her?!"
"I didn't kill Misty. Jessie did."
"You lie," Ash seethed. "You admitted to it!"
"Oh? When did I say that? I said I was responsible for her attack. I told Weavile - not that little ingrate lying there, but the other one, his brother I think - to attack Misty. Sure, I guess you could say that I indirectly tried to kill her, but she survived. Jessie is the one who went into her room last night and killed her, not me. I assume it's all in that letter she wrote... I didn't read it because she was my friend and I respected her privacy. Right before she died, she asked me to let you know the truth, and that's it. Jessie killed Misty, not me."
It was then that Ash saw James out of the corner of his eye, peering through the hole in the door. He quickly focused his eyes back on Shelly and prayed that she did not catch him looking.
"Pretty convenient explanation, now that Jessie's dead!" Ash accused her.
Shelly nearly blew up at the young lad. "Are you even listening to me, kid? Jessie was my friend! You really think I wanted to kill her? Of course not! I hated it because she was my friend!" She calmed down a little after that. "I tried to make her death as quick and painless as I could. Meowth's, too. I even apologized to both of them right before they d--"
Just then, James burst through the front door. "I'll kill you!" he screamed, rushing at her with a large knife. Shelly had barely any time to react, only having sufficient time to turn around before James plunged his knife into her stomach. The redhead staggered backwards a few steps, bewildered at what just happened.
"You make me sick," James growled as he pulled the knife from her body. He punched her once, hard, in the same spot he'd stabbed her, sending her straight to the ground. She clutched her stomach tightly and coughed violently, staining the sand dark with her blood. James forced her onto her back and knelt over her, knife in hand. "You... you disgust me. You don't deserve to live."
"Listen... listen, James. Jessie-"
"You have no right to speak her name!" he screamed, plunging the knife into her again, causing her to scream in pain. James brought the knife to her throat and pressed the blade against her flesh. "Tell me where she's buried," he growled.
Shelly would have laughed if she were able. "S-stupid man," she croaked. "I'm dead any...way... s-suffer with me."
James' eyes went wide with horror. "No! Don't you do this to me!" he pleaded with the dying woman. "Please," he added, tears coming after realizing what his haste brought. "Please, tell me."
Shelly said nothing, already having succumbed to her injuries.
Remembering what Shelly had said about Jessie's letter, Ash turned Shelly over and carefully removed it her back pocket. Finding two pieces of paper, he unfolded them and, seeing his name at the top of one of them, began to read.
Ash:
If you're reading this letter, then I succeeded in taking the life of Misty's murderer.
Yes... I killed her. I'm sorry you won't be able to ask me the question I know you want to ask me, and I'm more sorry I won't be here personally to give you an answer, but I pray you will read this and learn the whole story.
Before I say anything more, you need to know something. James and I... we've been sent here to kill you. Giovanni ordered us to come here, and offered us a big fat raise if we could complete the mission he gave us. From the very start, James expressed his doubts, bringing up some very valid points about Giovanni's sincerity. I simply dismissed it as paranoia, too blinded by the money signs Giovanni put in my eyes and worried myself about being thrown on the street if we failed.
I had no reason to refuse. I couldn't lose. Sure, I'd never killed before, but I assured myself it would be no problem. As it turns out, that wasn't further from the truth. When James came to me with his doubts, I couldn't shake them out of my head. I had horrible nightmares nearly every night.
Shelly and I became friends through our love of torture - in particular, torturing guys who cheat on their girlfriends. As you know, we spent a lot of time together... just girl talk, really. She said she felt relaxed at the waterfall, and it reminded her of home. I made it a point not to tell Shelly about our mission, despite the fact that I trusted her. I couldn't risk her telling you.
The morning before Misty died, I woke up from a particularly vicious nightmare. I still get chills thinking about it, so I'll spare you the details. Shelly told me that you came to check on me, though, and I thank you for your concern. For the past few nights, these nightmares had me scared silly - I even started bringing a knife with me to bed. When Shelly asked me about it, I told her about our mission. I was so moved by her kind words that I told her everything. However, I also told her that I would stick with James, who offered to take me in - even quit Team Rocket and get honest work - if Giovanni kicked us off the team.
I thought that was the end of it. Neither of us had planned on following through with Giovanni's orders, so please don't be angry at James for keeping you in the dark. If not for my sake, then his, because I'm sure he isn't taking my death lightly. Anyway, Giovanni actually contacted me after I told Shelly that I was aborting the mission, and he told me all sorts of lies about James in order to make me hate him, and even offered me even more money in exchange for my cooperation.
Of course, I believed his lies, and got suckered in with fat sacks of money. I told Shelly that the mission was on, and she even agreed to help me by even killing a few of you so I wouldn't have to. I felt relieved that I could trust her.
That night, I learned that Shelly did some horrible things to May. At the time, I didn't really care, but now I see how totally wrong I was to go along with her. Please offer May my sincerest apologies.
I decided that same night that I would start killing. I was a bit nervous, but Shelly had offered me words of wisdom and courage, and I was set. I went to Max's room first, but... I couldn't kill him. Even my conscience objected to it. Shelly had given me strict instructions not to kill May, and the only other one I felt comfortable going for was Misty. Her room was next to mine, so that helped, too.
I went in, just looking at her sleeping, trying to steel my nerves and get it done. She woke up as I killed her... gosh, that was horrible. As she lay there, dying before my eyes, she asked me the same question you're probably asking me: why?
I looked in her eyes. She didn't look angry. I think I would have felt a little better if she did. Alas, she looked... sad. Betrayed. I realized that... this wasn't right. This was a human life I was taking! Unfortunately, I realized it too late, and Misty died.
You can hate me if you want. I hate me, too. I'm sorry... I can't say it enough.
James was shocked to learn what I did, and when I confronted him about what Giovanni had said, James convinced me that they were all lies. Then I told him that I did kill Misty, and that I didn't want to do it anymore, and he supported me in that decision. He came up with a plan to escape. Unfortunately, I won't be around to see that plan in action. I hope it goes well.
I won't dare to ask for your forgiveness, Ash, but maybe you'll accept my corpse as justice done. An eye for an eye, as they say.
I'm almost out of paper, so I'll cut this message short. Get off this island as soon as you can. Shelly is a danger to you all.
And I know it doesn't mean much now, but for what it's worth, on behalf of James, myself, and Meowth, I'm sorry for the years of torment we put you and your friends through.
The other piece of paper is a letter addressed to James. If he doesn't have it already, please see that he gets it.
Jessie
"Hey, James," Ash said to the blue-haired man, who was still on the ground staring at Shelly's body.
"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to look up at him.
"Here," Ash answered, offering him the second sheet of paper. "It's a note from Jessie. Probably a suicide note. I mean, that's what mine sounds like."
"What?!" James said, surprised. He snatched the paper from Ash's hand, almost tearing it in his rush.
"Yeah, I got one too... it was very interesting. We'll have to talk later. I'm going to go check on May."
James nodded as he tried not to break down while reading.
My dearest James...
I also wrote something for Ash. It's on the other piece of paper. Would you please give it to him if he doesn't already have it? Thanks. Now then...
I don't know where to begin. I have so much I want to say, but when I put the pen to the paper, the words won't come.
I suppose I'll start by apologizing. I've been doing that a lot lately. I'm sorry that you had to see me like this, but... I believe it's for the best. I've done a great wrong, James, one I can't ever forgive myself for.
I'm scared. I'm actually trembling right now. Next to me is the knife that will be buried inside me by the time you read this letter. I leave it in the open to serve as a reminder of what I did and what I need to do to atone for it.
I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first... your suspicions. At first, I worried only about myself. Team Rocket is all I have. What's a few lives to ensure my own well-being? When I heard what we were being rewarded, I was sold. And then you and Meowth came to me with your crazy ideas... I dismissed it as paranoia, but in reality, I was the one who was paranoid. I was afraid of losing everything... losing you.
My life before I joined Team Rocket wasn't a pretty one. I wish I could tell you everything, but I'm afraid I don't have room, or the time, to do that. You know a few things, though, and I hope you of all people could understand my wish to stay on Giovanni's good side.
I used that as my reasoning to block out your attempts at convincing me that what I'd agreed to was wrong. Considering who it was we were ordered to kill, it would have taken a lot to make me see the light. I never would have imagined that actually completing the task I was given would have such a profound impact on my life.
I'm sorry for making you try so hard getting me to believe your story. Part of me has always wanted to believe you... the part of me that knows that you've always looked out for me... the part of me that knows how much you love and cherish me and would rather die than see any harm come to me. But the other part of me... the doubting part, the scared part... that part kept me from believing anything you said straight away.
That's also the part of me that believed Giovanni's filthy lies about you. I can't begin to apologize enough for this. It was in that vulnerable state that Shelly took advantage of me and manipulated me into telling her everything, and it was also the time that I swore to myself I would complete the mission without fail, with the help of someone who I thought was a real friend.
I have to tell you this as well. While I may have been the one to kill Misty, everything that has happened to May was Shelly's doing. Shelly is also the one who ordered Weavile to attack Misty. I tell you this because I think Shelly won't hesitate to kill the rest of them once I'm gone, and she will probably try to kill you, too.
While Shelly may have given me the gun, so to speak, I was the one to pull the trigger. I was a fool, and with this knife, I will pay the price for my foolishness.
However, I want to at least spend one last, glorious day with you. When night falls, however, I will kiss you goodnight for the last time.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Get these kids out of here before anything else happens. I'll miss you... and Meowth, too. I pray that he is safe. If you see him alive again, please offer him my apologies as well.
Be strong. Be safe. I love you.
Jessie
James closed his eyes, clenching the letter tight in his fist. So that's why she'd wanted to spend so much time with him today... why she didn't want to leave his side for even a moment. He turned his saddened gaze to the sky. "Why couldn't you trust me?" he asked. "I... I can't believe you thought this was the answer."
He looked at Shelly. Was she really going to tell him where she'd buried Jessie? He admitted to himself that he had acted rather swiftly. It wasn't like there were a lot of places she could have done it. Could she have lied about killing her?
"No," he thought as he walked towards where the others were standing. "I don't think she'd lie, but..." James saw Tracey hugging Brock's body and guessed what had happened. "I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No! He's alive," Tracey cried, holding Brock's upper half up for James to see. Indeed, it seemed to be true; he weakly opened an eye and held a thumbs up before letting his hand fall limply back to the ground. "He's alive..."
"What happened to him?" James asked.
"Shelly happened,” Ash answered. “She ordered her Mr. Mime to hit Tracey with Swagger. Tracey did the rest."
"I can't believe she'd do that. Swagger on a human. Honestly..."
"Yeah," Ash said plainly. "Unfortunately, Tracey really did a number on him. Think you can find out enough about what's wrong with him so we can get him on his feet? I want to go home. I have a bone to pick with your boss."
"As do I," James replied. He knelt down next to Brock. "Brock, can you speak?"
Brock nodded. "Hurts though," he groaned through a small gap in his mouth.
"I see," James said, his mind running through his knowledge of injuries. "Tracey, what exactly did you do to him?"
"I have no idea," Tracey remarked, disheartened that he'd caused so much damage. "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything about it."
"Not a problem. Okay, Brock, you probably have a broken jaw. Looks like you have a bit of swelling... I'm going to put my hands on your face, and just feel your jaw bone, okay? Let me know if you feel any discomfort."
A nod as James did as he said he would. "I’m glad to see May’s all right."
“Long-term injuries notwithstanding,” the young coordinator said with a smile.
"Heh. Yes, of course," James said, finishing his examination of Brock's face. "Brock, it does appear that your jaw is broken; however, while I do have some knowledge of medicine, I'm not an expert in the field by any means. When we get back to Kanto, I'll take you to the hospital in Saffron City before we go pay a visit to Giovanni. Tracey, would you go into the house and get some ice? Wrap some ice cubes up in a cloth or something, it'll do. If Giovanni has any ice packs here, bring that instead, but don't forget the cloth."
"Right. Got it." Tracey scurried to his feet, anxious to help.
"Okay, Brock, where else is hurting a lot?"
"Chest," he muttered. "Can't breathe deep."
"Ah, this one's easy. Broken ribs. I treated Jessie for this a lot. Normally, you just take it easy for a while and the bones will heal by themselves, but it looks like Tracey really did a number on you. It's entirely possible that the damage is far worse on the inside. Now you'll definitely want to get yourself checked out. Can you stand?"
Brock nodded, slowly getting to his feet, being careful not to exert himself too much. "Ready."
Just then, Tracey returned from his task. "Here you are," he said, presenting James with the item.
"Wonderful. Thank you," James replied. "Brock, here. I'm sure you know what to do with it," he said with a chuckle.
Brock nodded, placing the makeshift ice pack on his cheek. He sighed inwardly. What a vacation this turned out to be... at least now their troubles were over. He felt bad that he wasn't able to do more to help, but he still felt happy that he'd been able to keep Tracey's attention during his confusion, preventing him from doing damage to anyone else, including himself.
Ash rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "Oh, Weavile!" he exclaimed after spotting the Pokemon lying face down in the sand. He rushed to the Pokemon's side, hoping he was still alive. Turning him over, he found no external damage. Could he be...?
A groan. Yes! He was alive! Weavile clutched his stomach with one of his claws, still badly injured. "You're alive!" Ash exclaimed. "I... I can't believe it!" He ran over to Shelly's body and tore Weavile's Poke Ball from her belt. "I'll get you fixed up when we get back home. Take a nice, long rest. You've more than earned it. You saved us, Weavile. Thank you."
A slight grin from Weavile as the ball's light enveloped him, sending him back to the ball. Ash minimized the ball and put it in his pocket, overjoyed that there was another survivor. He'd seen enough death for one lifetime...
"We should get our things together and get out of here," James said, walking towards the door. "I don't want to wait three days for Giovanni's men - if they're even coming at all."
"Oh. Oh, yes, that reminds me, James. Says here,” Ash began, holding up Jessie’s letter to him, “that you two were sent here to kill us! What’s up with that, James?!”
“Ash, calm down,” May pleaded.
"It’s okay, May,” James assured her. “He has every right to be angry.” He sighed. “Yes, what she said is true. We were sent here to kill you." He kept talking before Ash could object. "However, you should know that I've been against this plan since day one. I'd been trying to figure out just what Giovanni had planned, and I wish I could have told him sooner about Shelly. We might have been able to save some lives with that information. I have it all written down in my diary. If you want to read it, be my guest. It's in my room. But you need to know that I had no intention of following through with this mission. I'm on your side, now more than ever."
Ash took a moment to think about this. He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I went off on you. I'm very stressed out right now, you know?"
"I know. You don't have to apologize. Now then, what do you guys say we get out of here?"
With agreement from all, the group headed back into the house to gather their things, not bothering to move Shelly or her Pokemon.
(note I said I was going to finish chapter 12 first but I have to post this earlier, like any of you guys are gonna complain lol)
NEW AND IMPROVED WHOOOOOOOOOOOOA SNAP DAWGS
Word count: roughly 6,800
Chapter Eleven: Retribution
Warning: Character death
Warning: Character death
With Shelly's command, Magnezone and Mamoswine charged forward with amazing speed; Weavile, still much quicker, jumped in Ash's way and fired a quick shot of Ice Beam at the mammoth, temporarily halting his pursuit. Magnezone, not restricted to ground travel, soared over Mamoswine and headed straight for May, intent on finally releasing all its excess electricity. Weavile, noticing Magnezone's movement, ran straight for it, its left claw glowing bright white.
May knew she wasn't going to get out of this alive. How could she? Even if she did manage to survive the Pokemon's attacks, Shelly would kill her herself. She sighed. This wasn't like her to just give up, Even if she couldn't see, she could, in theory, turn right around and run back into the forest... right? The path was completely clear - Weavile had seen to that. She could just run, run, run... maybe the other Pokemon wouldn't chase her, she thought. She felt bad about leaving her friends to die, but Ash was right - she was completely useless to them right now. She had to do what she could to stay out of their way and maybe, just maybe, they'd survive. Oh, she was probably ruined either way - Shelly knew she couldn't see where she was going, and it was likely she'd just run into a tree, someone else, or even worse, one of Shelly's Pokemon.
Even with the odds stacked against her, she decided to run for it... and didn't get to take a single step. She nearly fell over when Weavile leaped onto May's shoulders. "Weavile fen!" he shouted as he raised a Protect shield with his other claw. The attack hit the barrier with enormous force, causing both of them to tumble into the sand. Ash immediately ran to May's side, scooped her into his arms, and fled into the forest.
Weavile was barely on the ground before he rose to his feet and threw his charged Focus Punch with all of his strength. Magnezone fell to the ground instantly, put out of commission in a single blow. Smoke poured from the large crack Weavile had made in its face. While he would have preferred to crush Magnezone into pieces for what it had nearly done, he knew that simply knocking it out would have to do for now.
"Mr. Mime, Swagger," Shelly commanded calmly, safely behind her Pokemon. "Target... him," she said, pointing at Tracey. Tracey looked at Shelly and then made the mistake of locking eyes with Mr. Mime, unknowingly locking himself in Mr. Mime's psychic gaze.
"You're a murderer," Tracey found himself saying to himself. "A cold-blooded killer."
"That's... that's a lie..." he muttered. "A lie! She forgave me!"
"Don't kid yourself. Sure, she told you she did, but then she took it back! Doesn't sound very sincere to me..."
"Shut up!" Tracey shouted, unable to look away from Mr. Mime. Was he the one talking to him? It couldn't be... this other voice, it was undeniably Tracey's, but something about it was... odd.
"Tracey, snap out of it!" Brock yelled, rushing to his friend's aid. "Come on, pull it together!"
Tracey did not hear him as he was too deeply pulled into Mr. Mime's trance. "It's your fault she tried to kill herself. Don't you realize that? All her pain, all her sadness... it's all because of you... her death would have been on your hands if Ash hadn't intervened."
Finding that his words were falling on deaf ears, Brock made a dive for Mr. Mime, but didn't even get close - Mr. Mime effortlessly stopped him cold and flung him backwards into Tracey, sending the two of them crashing to the ground, ending his trance hold on the Pokemon watcher. However, this was fine, as the attack had done its job and the results were about to be made known.
Volbeat, seeing Ash flee into the jungle, gave chase. He quickly caught up to the teen, using a well-aimed Signal Beam to bring him down. He collapsed on top of May, quietly urging her to feign unconsciousness as he did the same.
Volbeat flew around the pair briefly, wondering what to make of this. Did he really knock out those two with a single hit? He didn't think he'd hit the girl at all, but there she was, unmoving. Maybe she'd hit her head when the boy dropped her... Deciding it was wiser to aid his Trainer than waste his time here, he left the pair alone and flew back into the fray.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Weavile took a moment to consider his options. His new friends would have no chance against the rest of Shelly's Pokemon, and beating them all himself would be quite a task. Volbeat was the only one with a true type advantage; this combined with the fact that Volbeat was a new face, and could fly, made for a very dangerous situation.
Mr. Mime was at the biggest disadvantage type-wise, but that wasn't saying much. After all, Mr. Mime had also been trained by Giovanni, and Weavile himself had been the recipient of some of Mr. Mime's powerful Fighting-type attacks. However, Mr. Mime's biggest strength - his incredible psychic power - would be entirely useless against him. Surely that had to count for something.
Mamoswine looked to be the toughest opponent, besting him easily in both power and durability. Weavile groaned at the thought of having to fight Giovanni's Mamoswine. That was one fight he would be thankful to win. Still, he decided to attack Mr. Mime first. Not only was Mr. Mime closer to him, but Weavile remembered that all of Shelly's Pokemon would be life-threatening to his new friends. After seeing him toss Brock like a rag doll, it suddenly became very clear what needed to happen.
He dashed towards the mime, promising to make it quick.
Mamoswine, bored of sitting still, looked over at Tracey and Brock lying on the ground. He began to charge an Ice Beam attack, but Shelly stopped him. "Wait! Just watch. This is gonna be great." Mamoswine reluctantly but obediently did as he was ordered, returning to Shelly's side to watch events unfold.
When Tracey came to, Mr. Mime's Swagger had already worked its magic. With surprising strength, Tracey shoved Brock off of him, bringing him out of his daze. Tracey lifted the breeder off the ground and punched him, hard, in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. "T-Tracey, what are you doing... snap out of it..." Tracey grabbed Brock by his hair and yanked him to a standing position briefly before he delivered a hard blow to his face, breaking his nose. Realizing that talking him out of it was no longer going to work, Brock tried a more direct approach at getting Tracey to go back to normal.
Infuriated even further by this dude who seemed to be laughing at his hits, Tracey decided to make him hurt some more. He went to punch him again, but this time the other guy caught his fist.
How dare he. With a scream, he pushed as hard as he could into the other guy's palm, determined to make him break.
Volbeat saw the fight between Brock and Tracey and right away knew what was going on. He flew over to the two of them, intent on hitting the one getting beaten by Confuse Ray for some real fun. As he fired the close-up ray, Tracey saw him out of the corner of his eye, and he slammed the small creature with a back-ended fist. Volbeat tumbled to the ground, feeling the pain from getting his face smashed in. Lesson learned, he thought to himself as he struggled to get his bearings.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Mr. Mime saw Weavile dash for him, and within seconds a barrier was put up. Weavile snickered - typical defense by a Pokemon at a disadvantage. Mr. Mime began to charge a powerful Focus Blast, but did not anticipate Weavile completely shattering his constructed barrier with a well-aimed Brick Break with one claw, followed by a powerful, dark-enhanced Night Slash with the other. With no time to react, the dark attack tore clean through Mr. Mime's neck, separating his head from the rest of his body.
Mamoswine growled. All this action was happening around him and he was being held back from the fight! He looked over at Shelly with menacing eyes. He could easily tear all of these humans apart! Why was she holding him back?! Weavile had already incapacitated Magnezone and Mr. Mime was obviously out for the count. It was either him or Volbeat next, and there was no way he was going to sit and watch any more of his friends get massacred. He voiced his discontent with another growl, one Shelly could not possibly ignore.
Shelly ignored him anyway, having just witnessed Mr. Mime's demise, and for the first time since arriving, felt... afraid. She looked at Weavile, who flicked off some of the blood that now stained his claw. "Never should have let him out of my sight," she chastised herself. True, she hadn't expected Weavile to defect, but she'd had the power of numbers and strength on her side. How could one Pokemon take out two without breaking a sweat? She glanced over at Volbeat, who'd just been smashed by Tracey. She couldn't rely on him now, and from the look on Weavile's face, she knew that he'd be coming after her soon enough - perhaps she was next?
No way was she finding out. "Mamoswine, get him!" she cried, making a dash for the door. Weavile quickly blocked her path and slashed at her, but Mamoswine shoved the woman out of the way with his enormous tusks. Weavile looked up at his old friend, trying to figure out an efficient method of attack. Deciding he'd use his blinding speed to his advantage, he quickly circled around the larger Pokemon, intent on delivering a powerful Brick Break from behind. Volbeat had other plans, however - he fired an intense Signal Beam right at Weavile, downing the Dark-type in one blow.
Wasting no time at all, Mamoswine lifted his front legs high off the ground, intent on crushing the vermin below him. Thinking quickly, Weavile threw up a Protect before the crushing could happen. Mamoswine hit the barrier and lost his balance, toppling over with a mighty thud. Volbeat had to quickly dash out of the way of getting squished himself. Weavile immediately sprang into action, punching Mamoswine's underside with a flurry of Brick Breaks in attempt to make the enormous creature faint.
Volbeat was not about to sit there and allow his teammate to get beaten so easily. He flapped his wings as hard as he possibly could, hoping he could muster the energy needed to effectively use the technique. At first, nothing happened - Weavile continued bashing Mamoswine's belly with increasingly stronger jabs of Brick Break. Before long, however, the Bug Buzz began taking its toll; Weavile felt like his insides were burning. He stopped his assault, clutching his stomach in pain, using one hand to fire off Ice Beams at the flighty little bug in an attempt to get him to stop the attack. Volbeat was able to dodge them fairly easily, making it clear that Weavile's aim was suffering.
It was then that Weavile caught Shelly out of the corner of his eye, simply watching the battle unfold, and Weavile came up with a plan. It was a dirty trick, one that Giovanni had taught him to utilize in case the chips were down, and Weavile was hoping Volbeat, not having been trained by Giovanni, would fall for it. He did his best to charge a bit of power into the next Ice Beam, though the searing pain from the Bug Buzz was nearly enough to make him keel over on the spot. He fired a shot, but deliberately missed. The attack hit the door of the house instead, making a clean hole right through it.
Volbeat panicked after seeing the attack on his Trainer - exactly what Weavile was hoping for. With the last of his strength, he fired another shot directly at Shelly. Volbeat flew directly in front of her and attempted to use Light Screen to stop the attack, but he was not fast enough. Volbeat was hit dead on, frozen solid by the powerful attack. He fell to the ground, completely crystallized.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Meanwhile, Ash and May were still lying on the ground just inside the forest. "Keep still, May," he whispered, taking a chance by looking at his surroundings and was appalled to find that Tracey was laying into Brock with everything he had, stomping repeatedly on the other man's chest, neck, and face. Without a second thought, Ash scrambled to his feet and dove into the Pokemon watcher, sending the both of them tumbling to the warm sand below.
"What are you doing?!" he screamed as Tracey slowly came back to his senses. "What's gotten into you?!"
"My head... what in the world..." Tracey sat up slowly, trying to remember what had happened. He looked towards the house and saw Weavile, Volbeat, and Mamoswine engaged in combat, with a fearful-looking Shelly keeping her distance from them. He looked to his left and saw what he did not yet know was his handiwork. "My god. Brock... what happened?" He rushed to the man's side, surveying the brutality he'd done.
Ash was appalled. Was this his idea of a joke? "What are you talking about, Tracey? You happened! I look and see you're beating the daylights out of Brock for some reason I don't even know! Look at your hands. That's his blood on your hands! You're seriously gonna sit here and play dumb with me?!"
"Ash, I swear, I don't know! Brock's my friend! Why would I ever--" He stopped as he thought back to the last thing he remembered. "Wait a minute. The last thing I remember is Shelly telling Mr. Mime to..." he looked down at Brock's bruised, bloody, unmoving form and raced to find a pulse on him.
"What? Told him to what?" Ash asked.
Tracey looked like he was going to cry. He tried adjusting his fingers several times, assuming his positioning had been incorrect, but could not find a pulse no matter where he searched. "He's dead," Tracey murmured, torn at now being directly responsible for the ending of two lives. "I killed him," he declared, visibly disturbed by what he had done. "Swagger... the Swagger, I - god, Ash, I don't know what to say," he cried, unable to look away from the destruction he caused.
Ash didn't know what to say, either. What could he? He knew that Tracey was still recovering from the guilt from killing Misty's Vaporeon, and now Brock's blood both figuratively and literally stained his hands as well. There was no way Tracey would ever be the same. He glanced over at May, who still hadn't gotten up, and quickly became worried. "Tracey, listen. Don't go off and get yourself killed, all right? We need you. I need you. Pull it together for just a little longer, and we can all go home. Okay?"
Tracey nodded through his tears. What had he done to deserve having to suffer through this? To not only take two lives, but those of his friends?
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Shelly pulled Volbeat's Poke Ball from her belt, and with a sigh, brought Volbeat back into the ball. She considered her situation. Magnezone lie in a smoking heap on the ground, alive but unconscious. Mr. Mime was missing a head, so he wasn't going to be helping... ever. Luxray was dead, too. For crying out loud, were all the casualties on her side? Mamoswine was the only one of her Pokemon who was even capable of battle, and even still, he'd been severely weakened. She looked at Weavile, who lay sprawled on the sand nearby, knocked out by Volbeat.
Volbeat... Shelly thanked her lucky stars that though Volbeat was frozen and unable to battle, he was still alive. Unlike the rest of the Pokemon she'd been loaned, Volbeat was the only Pokemon she'd taken with her on her assignment. In fact, Volbeat was one of her first Pokemon, having received him as a gift before she joined Team Aqua. Yes, she was thankful for his safety, and proud he was able to hold his own.
She looked for any human casualties. By the water's edge, Tracey sat on his knees, staring at Brock, who lay unmoving on the ground next to him. Judging by Tracey's behavior, Shelly assumed that the Swagger plan was a total success.
Then Shelly realized that Ash and May were both gone. She couldn't remember if May had actually been hit by that Thunder attack - it was so bright... She recalled Weavile leaping onto May's shoulders right before the attack fired. The next thing she knew, May was gone. "Ash must have taken her into the forest," she surmised.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Ash hurried back into the forest, where May continued following Ash's given direction to the letter. Watching her stare blankly into the sky like that sent a chill down the young boy's spine. If it weren't for her pink skin and visible signs of breathing, Ash would have thought she was dead.
He grabbed the girl's hand to pull her to her feet. "It's okay now," he soothed the trembling girl as he drew her into a firm embrace. "You're safe."
May threw her arms around him. "R-Really?" May stammered. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." he confirmed, hugging her tighter. "You're safe, May. It's over."
Hearing the sounds of Pokemon being recalled, May clutched Ash tight. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "What was that?"
"Shh, calm down, May. It's just Shelly feeling bad about getting whipped by Weavile," Ash assured her. "I need to get back out there and check on Tracey, okay? Stay here." He kissed the girl's forehead and left her alone in the forest.
Having just put Mamoswine and Magnezone back into their Poke Balls, Shelly was preparing to turn around and head for her boat when Ash stopped her.
"Why, Shelly?" he asked, slowly walking towards her. "I just don't get it. Why? How could you take the lives of my friends without any remorse? First Misty... then Max... blinded May and nearly killed her... you manipulated one of my friends into killing another... even Jessie! She was your friend, Shelly! What could you possibly be getting out of all of this?"
"Money, sweetie," Shelly said, putting her hands in her pockets. "That's all there is to it."
"And May... why? What could she possibly have done to deserve such treatment? She's innocent, kind and sweet... one of my closest friends. She didn't deserve what you did to her. Why? Why single her out?"
Shelly looked up at the sky briefly answering Ash's question. "Listen, kid. Like I said, it's nothing personal. This is just a job to me. I was warned not to socialize too much, but Jessie and I ended up becoming friends anyway."
Shelly sighed. "Sometimes I wish we hadn't. It certainly would make my task a lot easier. May is nice, and innocent too, as you say. I decided to... destroy that. Letting her live the day I attacked her was an impulse decision that, I have to say, I am quite pleased with. Not only did she have to struggle to just get by, but she was living in constant fear knowing that her attacker could have been any one of us."
"What do you mean? We'd never--"
"I was in disguise when I did it," Shelly explained. "Disguised my voice, too, just to throw her off. And to complete the destruction of her mind, I made her witness her own brother's death... I really messed her up. She probably wanted to die after listening to that."
"And Misty?" Ash inquired. "What terrible things did you do to her before you killed her?!"
"I didn't kill Misty. Jessie did."
"You lie," Ash seethed. "You admitted to it!"
"Oh? When did I say that? I said I was responsible for her attack. I told Weavile - not that little ingrate lying there, but the other one, his brother I think - to attack Misty. Sure, I guess you could say that I indirectly tried to kill her, but she survived. Jessie is the one who went into her room last night and killed her, not me. I assume it's all in that letter she wrote... I didn't read it because she was my friend and I respected her privacy. Right before she died, she asked me to let you know the truth, and that's it. Jessie killed Misty, not me."
It was then that Ash saw James out of the corner of his eye, peering through the hole in the door. He quickly focused his eyes back on Shelly and prayed that she did not catch him looking.
"Pretty convenient explanation, now that Jessie's dead!" Ash accused her.
Shelly nearly blew up at the young lad. "Are you even listening to me, kid? Jessie was my friend! You really think I wanted to kill her? Of course not! I hated it because she was my friend!" She calmed down a little after that. "I tried to make her death as quick and painless as I could. Meowth's, too. I even apologized to both of them right before they d--"
Just then, James burst through the front door. "I'll kill you!" he screamed, rushing at her with a large knife. Shelly had barely any time to react, only having sufficient time to turn around before James plunged his knife into her stomach. The redhead staggered backwards a few steps, bewildered at what just happened.
"You make me sick," James growled as he pulled the knife from her body. He punched her once, hard, in the same spot he'd stabbed her, sending her straight to the ground. She clutched her stomach tightly and coughed violently, staining the sand dark with her blood. James forced her onto her back and knelt over her, knife in hand. "You... you disgust me. You don't deserve to live."
"Listen... listen, James. Jessie-"
"You have no right to speak her name!" he screamed, plunging the knife into her again, causing her to scream in pain. James brought the knife to her throat and pressed the blade against her flesh. "Tell me where she's buried," he growled.
Shelly would have laughed if she were able. "S-stupid man," she croaked. "I'm dead any...way... s-suffer with me."
James' eyes went wide with horror. "No! Don't you do this to me!" he pleaded with the dying woman. "Please," he added, tears coming after realizing what his haste brought. "Please, tell me."
Shelly said nothing, already having succumbed to her injuries.
Remembering what Shelly had said about Jessie's letter, Ash turned Shelly over and carefully removed it her back pocket. Finding two pieces of paper, he unfolded them and, seeing his name at the top of one of them, began to read.
Ash:
If you're reading this letter, then I succeeded in taking the life of Misty's murderer.
Yes... I killed her. I'm sorry you won't be able to ask me the question I know you want to ask me, and I'm more sorry I won't be here personally to give you an answer, but I pray you will read this and learn the whole story.
Before I say anything more, you need to know something. James and I... we've been sent here to kill you. Giovanni ordered us to come here, and offered us a big fat raise if we could complete the mission he gave us. From the very start, James expressed his doubts, bringing up some very valid points about Giovanni's sincerity. I simply dismissed it as paranoia, too blinded by the money signs Giovanni put in my eyes and worried myself about being thrown on the street if we failed.
I had no reason to refuse. I couldn't lose. Sure, I'd never killed before, but I assured myself it would be no problem. As it turns out, that wasn't further from the truth. When James came to me with his doubts, I couldn't shake them out of my head. I had horrible nightmares nearly every night.
Shelly and I became friends through our love of torture - in particular, torturing guys who cheat on their girlfriends. As you know, we spent a lot of time together... just girl talk, really. She said she felt relaxed at the waterfall, and it reminded her of home. I made it a point not to tell Shelly about our mission, despite the fact that I trusted her. I couldn't risk her telling you.
The morning before Misty died, I woke up from a particularly vicious nightmare. I still get chills thinking about it, so I'll spare you the details. Shelly told me that you came to check on me, though, and I thank you for your concern. For the past few nights, these nightmares had me scared silly - I even started bringing a knife with me to bed. When Shelly asked me about it, I told her about our mission. I was so moved by her kind words that I told her everything. However, I also told her that I would stick with James, who offered to take me in - even quit Team Rocket and get honest work - if Giovanni kicked us off the team.
I thought that was the end of it. Neither of us had planned on following through with Giovanni's orders, so please don't be angry at James for keeping you in the dark. If not for my sake, then his, because I'm sure he isn't taking my death lightly. Anyway, Giovanni actually contacted me after I told Shelly that I was aborting the mission, and he told me all sorts of lies about James in order to make me hate him, and even offered me even more money in exchange for my cooperation.
Of course, I believed his lies, and got suckered in with fat sacks of money. I told Shelly that the mission was on, and she even agreed to help me by even killing a few of you so I wouldn't have to. I felt relieved that I could trust her.
That night, I learned that Shelly did some horrible things to May. At the time, I didn't really care, but now I see how totally wrong I was to go along with her. Please offer May my sincerest apologies.
I decided that same night that I would start killing. I was a bit nervous, but Shelly had offered me words of wisdom and courage, and I was set. I went to Max's room first, but... I couldn't kill him. Even my conscience objected to it. Shelly had given me strict instructions not to kill May, and the only other one I felt comfortable going for was Misty. Her room was next to mine, so that helped, too.
I went in, just looking at her sleeping, trying to steel my nerves and get it done. She woke up as I killed her... gosh, that was horrible. As she lay there, dying before my eyes, she asked me the same question you're probably asking me: why?
I looked in her eyes. She didn't look angry. I think I would have felt a little better if she did. Alas, she looked... sad. Betrayed. I realized that... this wasn't right. This was a human life I was taking! Unfortunately, I realized it too late, and Misty died.
You can hate me if you want. I hate me, too. I'm sorry... I can't say it enough.
James was shocked to learn what I did, and when I confronted him about what Giovanni had said, James convinced me that they were all lies. Then I told him that I did kill Misty, and that I didn't want to do it anymore, and he supported me in that decision. He came up with a plan to escape. Unfortunately, I won't be around to see that plan in action. I hope it goes well.
I won't dare to ask for your forgiveness, Ash, but maybe you'll accept my corpse as justice done. An eye for an eye, as they say.
I'm almost out of paper, so I'll cut this message short. Get off this island as soon as you can. Shelly is a danger to you all.
And I know it doesn't mean much now, but for what it's worth, on behalf of James, myself, and Meowth, I'm sorry for the years of torment we put you and your friends through.
The other piece of paper is a letter addressed to James. If he doesn't have it already, please see that he gets it.
Jessie
"Hey, James," Ash said to the blue-haired man, who was still on the ground staring at Shelly's body.
"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to look up at him.
"Here," Ash answered, offering him the second sheet of paper. "It's a note from Jessie. Probably a suicide note. I mean, that's what mine sounds like."
"What?!" James said, surprised. He snatched the paper from Ash's hand, almost tearing it in his rush.
"Yeah, I got one too... it was very interesting. We'll have to talk later. I'm going to go check on May."
James nodded as he tried not to break down while reading.
My dearest James...
I also wrote something for Ash. It's on the other piece of paper. Would you please give it to him if he doesn't already have it? Thanks. Now then...
I don't know where to begin. I have so much I want to say, but when I put the pen to the paper, the words won't come.
I suppose I'll start by apologizing. I've been doing that a lot lately. I'm sorry that you had to see me like this, but... I believe it's for the best. I've done a great wrong, James, one I can't ever forgive myself for.
I'm scared. I'm actually trembling right now. Next to me is the knife that will be buried inside me by the time you read this letter. I leave it in the open to serve as a reminder of what I did and what I need to do to atone for it.
I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first... your suspicions. At first, I worried only about myself. Team Rocket is all I have. What's a few lives to ensure my own well-being? When I heard what we were being rewarded, I was sold. And then you and Meowth came to me with your crazy ideas... I dismissed it as paranoia, but in reality, I was the one who was paranoid. I was afraid of losing everything... losing you.
My life before I joined Team Rocket wasn't a pretty one. I wish I could tell you everything, but I'm afraid I don't have room, or the time, to do that. You know a few things, though, and I hope you of all people could understand my wish to stay on Giovanni's good side.
I used that as my reasoning to block out your attempts at convincing me that what I'd agreed to was wrong. Considering who it was we were ordered to kill, it would have taken a lot to make me see the light. I never would have imagined that actually completing the task I was given would have such a profound impact on my life.
I'm sorry for making you try so hard getting me to believe your story. Part of me has always wanted to believe you... the part of me that knows that you've always looked out for me... the part of me that knows how much you love and cherish me and would rather die than see any harm come to me. But the other part of me... the doubting part, the scared part... that part kept me from believing anything you said straight away.
That's also the part of me that believed Giovanni's filthy lies about you. I can't begin to apologize enough for this. It was in that vulnerable state that Shelly took advantage of me and manipulated me into telling her everything, and it was also the time that I swore to myself I would complete the mission without fail, with the help of someone who I thought was a real friend.
I have to tell you this as well. While I may have been the one to kill Misty, everything that has happened to May was Shelly's doing. Shelly is also the one who ordered Weavile to attack Misty. I tell you this because I think Shelly won't hesitate to kill the rest of them once I'm gone, and she will probably try to kill you, too.
While Shelly may have given me the gun, so to speak, I was the one to pull the trigger. I was a fool, and with this knife, I will pay the price for my foolishness.
However, I want to at least spend one last, glorious day with you. When night falls, however, I will kiss you goodnight for the last time.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Get these kids out of here before anything else happens. I'll miss you... and Meowth, too. I pray that he is safe. If you see him alive again, please offer him my apologies as well.
Be strong. Be safe. I love you.
Jessie
James closed his eyes, clenching the letter tight in his fist. So that's why she'd wanted to spend so much time with him today... why she didn't want to leave his side for even a moment. He turned his saddened gaze to the sky. "Why couldn't you trust me?" he asked. "I... I can't believe you thought this was the answer."
He looked at Shelly. Was she really going to tell him where she'd buried Jessie? He admitted to himself that he had acted rather swiftly. It wasn't like there were a lot of places she could have done it. Could she have lied about killing her?
"No," he thought as he walked towards where the others were standing. "I don't think she'd lie, but..." James saw Tracey hugging Brock's body and guessed what had happened. "I'm sorry," he apologized.
"No! He's alive," Tracey cried, holding Brock's upper half up for James to see. Indeed, it seemed to be true; he weakly opened an eye and held a thumbs up before letting his hand fall limply back to the ground. "He's alive..."
"What happened to him?" James asked.
"Shelly happened,” Ash answered. “She ordered her Mr. Mime to hit Tracey with Swagger. Tracey did the rest."
"I can't believe she'd do that. Swagger on a human. Honestly..."
"Yeah," Ash said plainly. "Unfortunately, Tracey really did a number on him. Think you can find out enough about what's wrong with him so we can get him on his feet? I want to go home. I have a bone to pick with your boss."
"As do I," James replied. He knelt down next to Brock. "Brock, can you speak?"
Brock nodded. "Hurts though," he groaned through a small gap in his mouth.
"I see," James said, his mind running through his knowledge of injuries. "Tracey, what exactly did you do to him?"
"I have no idea," Tracey remarked, disheartened that he'd caused so much damage. "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything about it."
"Not a problem. Okay, Brock, you probably have a broken jaw. Looks like you have a bit of swelling... I'm going to put my hands on your face, and just feel your jaw bone, okay? Let me know if you feel any discomfort."
A nod as James did as he said he would. "I’m glad to see May’s all right."
“Long-term injuries notwithstanding,” the young coordinator said with a smile.
"Heh. Yes, of course," James said, finishing his examination of Brock's face. "Brock, it does appear that your jaw is broken; however, while I do have some knowledge of medicine, I'm not an expert in the field by any means. When we get back to Kanto, I'll take you to the hospital in Saffron City before we go pay a visit to Giovanni. Tracey, would you go into the house and get some ice? Wrap some ice cubes up in a cloth or something, it'll do. If Giovanni has any ice packs here, bring that instead, but don't forget the cloth."
"Right. Got it." Tracey scurried to his feet, anxious to help.
"Okay, Brock, where else is hurting a lot?"
"Chest," he muttered. "Can't breathe deep."
"Ah, this one's easy. Broken ribs. I treated Jessie for this a lot. Normally, you just take it easy for a while and the bones will heal by themselves, but it looks like Tracey really did a number on you. It's entirely possible that the damage is far worse on the inside. Now you'll definitely want to get yourself checked out. Can you stand?"
Brock nodded, slowly getting to his feet, being careful not to exert himself too much. "Ready."
Just then, Tracey returned from his task. "Here you are," he said, presenting James with the item.
"Wonderful. Thank you," James replied. "Brock, here. I'm sure you know what to do with it," he said with a chuckle.
Brock nodded, placing the makeshift ice pack on his cheek. He sighed inwardly. What a vacation this turned out to be... at least now their troubles were over. He felt bad that he wasn't able to do more to help, but he still felt happy that he'd been able to keep Tracey's attention during his confusion, preventing him from doing damage to anyone else, including himself.
Ash rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "Oh, Weavile!" he exclaimed after spotting the Pokemon lying face down in the sand. He rushed to the Pokemon's side, hoping he was still alive. Turning him over, he found no external damage. Could he be...?
A groan. Yes! He was alive! Weavile clutched his stomach with one of his claws, still badly injured. "You're alive!" Ash exclaimed. "I... I can't believe it!" He ran over to Shelly's body and tore Weavile's Poke Ball from her belt. "I'll get you fixed up when we get back home. Take a nice, long rest. You've more than earned it. You saved us, Weavile. Thank you."
A slight grin from Weavile as the ball's light enveloped him, sending him back to the ball. Ash minimized the ball and put it in his pocket, overjoyed that there was another survivor. He'd seen enough death for one lifetime...
"We should get our things together and get out of here," James said, walking towards the door. "I don't want to wait three days for Giovanni's men - if they're even coming at all."
"Oh. Oh, yes, that reminds me, James. Says here,” Ash began, holding up Jessie’s letter to him, “that you two were sent here to kill us! What’s up with that, James?!”
“Ash, calm down,” May pleaded.
"It’s okay, May,” James assured her. “He has every right to be angry.” He sighed. “Yes, what she said is true. We were sent here to kill you." He kept talking before Ash could object. "However, you should know that I've been against this plan since day one. I'd been trying to figure out just what Giovanni had planned, and I wish I could have told him sooner about Shelly. We might have been able to save some lives with that information. I have it all written down in my diary. If you want to read it, be my guest. It's in my room. But you need to know that I had no intention of following through with this mission. I'm on your side, now more than ever."
Ash took a moment to think about this. He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I went off on you. I'm very stressed out right now, you know?"
"I know. You don't have to apologize. Now then, what do you guys say we get out of here?"
With agreement from all, the group headed back into the house to gather their things, not bothering to move Shelly or her Pokemon.
(note I said I was going to finish chapter 12 first but I have to post this earlier, like any of you guys are gonna complain lol)
PMJ
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RE: Seven Days of Terror (NEW (old) CHAPTER)
Virtually nothing is changed from this chapter; May gets... like... one line? lol. Reread it if you wish!
Word count is still a smidge past 4,000. I made it nice and short for you guys. Enjoy, and don't forget to tell all your friends.
Operation Ketchum, Day 14
Our mission has taken a turn for the worse... Jessie and Meowth were both killed by Shelly's Pokemon. It infuriates me knowing that Giovanni is sitting back in Saffron City just waiting for word that we've all been killed. He will die by my hands. For all those lost in this endeavor, I swear I will get justice by any means necessary.
I miss her. She was everything to me. I had no idea that Jessie was suicidal... I feel terrible that I couldn't see that, and even worse that she felt like she couldn't talk to me about it. Truth be told, I'm tempted to join her, but I don't think she'd want that. She'd want me to live on, although I can't fathom living my life without her.
Unfortunately, wishing she weren't dead won't change anything. She may be gone from this earthly plane, but she will always live on in my heart and in my memories...
I'm a little worried about Ash. Despite my efforts to convince him otherwise, he feels responsible for this whole ordeal. I apologized to him for keeping him in the dark, and thankfully he forgave me. He asked me if I planned on doing something about Giovanni, to which I gave him an emphatic affirmative. Not surprisingly, he asked to accompany me in whatever I choose to do.
Just what it is I will do, I'm not sure. Hopefully I can use Team Rocket's ignorance about this mission to my advantage - I should be able to sneak into HQ without any red flags being raised. I don't know how well it will go if Ash is with me, though.
This is the final entry I will be writing regarding this mission. As far as I'm concerned, this mission is over.
Until next time.
Returning the pencil to the inside of the book, James put his diary his suitcase. He felt a pang of sadness as he continued to put things into the suitcase, wishing that the extra space in Shelly's boat would be filled by people instead of things. Still, he realized, it was important to get as much of the dead's personal effects back home as possible.
He resumed looking around Jessie's room, wishing he could take everything of hers back with him. "At least there's nothing here that isn't replaceable," he thought as he rifled through her clothing. Finding nothing of importance, he left.
"James, you finished?" a voice was heard. It was Ash. "Tracey's trying to get in the safe in Giovanni's room. Me and him are looking for the key and we could use some help."
"Did you finish packing everyone's things?" James asked, in no mood to stay here any longer than necessary.
Ash nodded. "I took care of mine and Misty's things. Tracey volunteered to pack for him, May, and Max, and since you packed Brock's belongings when we came inside, that does it for everyone. Why, is something wrong?"
"Not in the immediate sense, no... I'm just a bit hesitant to stay here any more than I have to. I'll help you if you think that getting in the safe will help any."
"Yeah, about that... Tracey and I were talking about it, and we were thinking that maybe Shelly might have the key on her, since she was using that room. She's definitely the kind of person who would go snooping around for something like that, and if there's anything in that safe that will help us in our fight against Giovanni, I'm all for getting it. I know it's not something I can just ask you to do after all that's happened, but would you go out there and check her body for the key?"
James gulped. Of all the requests... Ash wasn't lying when he said it wasn't an easy thing to ask. James considered refusing him right there, but after realizing it wouldn't be any easier for Ash or Tracey to do it, James decided to suck it up and take one for the team. "Yeah. No problem," he said, hoping he could get himself to believe it. Deciding that the best way to get this done was to not waste time and be done as fast as possible. He put his suitcase next to Jessie's room and headed downstairs, passing by Brock as he did so.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" James asked him, thankful for a brief delay in his task, though still genuinely concerned for Brock's well-being.
"Doing okay," he answered slowly with a nod, careful to not strain himself.
"Good. Just sit tight. I'm sure we'll be heading out real soon," James tried to reassure him. He directed his attention to the young girl sitting next to Brock. “May, how are you holding up?”
“I’m okay, thanks. Just waiting for you guys to finish so we can get home.”
“We’re almost ready. Just sit tight,” James said as he resumed his task. Heading outside, he walked over to Shelly's corpse and, despite his promise to himself not to, hesitated before examining her. A flood of memories came rushing back to him. "Cool it, James. She's dead," he reassured himself. "You won't learn anything by beating it out of her. Just do what you came out here to do and be done with it."
He slipped a hand into one of her pockets, hoping he'd find something so he wouldn't have to examine her any further. His prayers were answered in the form of a small key that he nearly missed in his hurry. "This has got to be it," James said as he thankfully rushed back inside, item in hand. He dashed up the stairs two at a time and burst into Shelly's room, where Ash and Tracey were still searching, "Here," he said, catching his breath, presenting the small key to both of them. "You were right... she had it."
Ash took the key from the former Rocket agent. "Great. Thanks, James." He passed the key to Tracey, who was at Giovanni's desk. He'd been scrounging through the drawers when James walked in. "Let's open her up and see what we got in here!" Ash said, a bit too cheerily for James's liking.
The room fell silent as Tracey inserted the key into the safe and turned it, with all three men hearing the clicking sound of the lock opening as he did so. With a little effort, he turned the large handle and peered inside the dark safe.
"Wh...what the..." Tracey said.
Ash went wide-eyed. "Is that all money?"
Tracey scooped out several stacks of bills and set them on the desk for the others to inspect. Truly, it did seem that the safe was filled with nothing but money. James picked one of the stacks up and examined it. "This one's a 10k stack." He looked over the others Tracey had put out. "Looks like they're all 10k stacks. There must be a million Pokedollars here!"
"Let's steal it," Ash said without missing a beat. "Giovanni took so much away from us, I think it's only fair that he loses a little something in return."
Both James and Tracey were shocked at Ash's sudden outburst. Ash Ketchum, the wholesome kid from Pallet Town that both men had known for several years, not only condoning breaking into Giovanni's safe, but actually suggesting that they have at its contents? "Is that going to make you feel better, Ash?" James asked.
Ash contemplated James's question. Would robbing Giovanni for a cool million make him feel better? Well... yes, it would. Giovanni had indirectly been the cause of the deaths of his closest friends. While he would never see his fallen friends again (though he very briefly wondered if there existed an entity, Pokemon or otherwise, that could raise the dead), taking this huge sum would surely be a thorn in the Rocket leader's side.
Then again, this was the leader of Team Rocket he was talking about. Giovanni could probably fill a swimming pool with half of the cash he had. He might not even mind that the money was gone. Still, Ash pondered, stealing is wrong, and - wait, why was he even considering Giovanni's feelings?
"It's not about making me feel better," Ash finally replied. "This is about making that man suffer as much as possible. Besides, you really think I need this money? Please. I easily have twice this in the bank. We can take this money and donate it to a good cause. Who cares how that blowhard will feel? When we're through with him, some missing money will be the least of his problems."
Tracey was silent as Ash made his case. Tracey was thankful that he hadn't lost anyone especially close to him. He thought of his family back home and the Pokemon he'd left behind, thanking his lucky stars that on a personal level, Tracey hadn’t lost a thing. Still, he felt a little left out, unable to relate to his companions' troubles.
As far as he knew, Ash and Misty were never anything more than friends. He (and everyone else) always wondered why Ash never bothered to take things further, but the general consensus was that he would when he was ready. After all, they were just kids; they had all the time in the world.
”So much for that,” Tracey realized with a sigh.
James, too, had lost someone dear to him, Tracey remembered. He had no idea what James's relationship with Jessie entailed, but from James's account, the two of them were very much in love. That wasn't such a hard thing to believe, Tracey figured - after all, they were people first, and Rockets second. Both Jessie and James were seven years his senior, and Tracey imagined their relationship was more serious than James let on. Tracey had never been in a serious relationship in his life, and once again was reduced to speculation about what James was going through.
He was glad that Brock had at least forgiven him for beating him into submission, but it was little consolation compared to the rest of his troubles.
"I thought you might say that," James said, pocketing the stack he had in his hand. "I'm with you. We'll use Jessie's suitcase; it's huge. We should be able to fit all of it in there. I'll go get it."
Meanwhile, Brock sat downstairs in a chair, having overheard the conversation that took place upstairs. He couldn't blame Ash for feeling the way he did, but he was still disappointed he would choose to steal another person's money, even if that person was the leader of the world's most prominent crime organization. He hoped that Ash would keep his cool when he confronted Boss Rocket (though that hope was slowly dwindling after listening to Ash talk), and Brock hated that he would be unable to be there with Ash when he did.
"James will be with him, though," the dark-skinned man thought to himself. "He has a good head on his shoulders. Here's hoping he can convince Ash to keep his emotions in check when the time comes."
Wait a minute.
James lost someone, too.
...What if James was the one who freaked out?
"Nah, that won't happen," Brock answered his own question. "Out of the two of them, James has acted calmly and with a clear head… for the most part. But still..." He dreaded what would happen to the two of them if they rushed in without thinking. "I'll be sure to warn them before they go."
Brock sighed, wishing there was something more he could do to help his friends in their time of need.
Ash, James, and Tracey finished packing Giovanni's money into Jessie's suitcase, then the three of them brought it and the rest of their belongings downstairs.
"It pains me to see so few faces here," Ash began. "There has been so much death, so much pain, over the past few days. I'm tired of it all... and we're going to put an end to it once and for all. Here's the plan.
"James mentioned a boat on one side of the island. It's probably the vehicle Shelly used to get here initially. The five of us will take all our stuff and head to that spot and hope that the boat is still there. If it's not, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Assuming the boat is there, we will drive to the mainland, whatever's closest. Thankfully, I'm fairly famous in three countries, so assuming we hit one, it should be pretty easy to get to Kanto if we don't already end up there.
"First, we'll fly to the hospital in Pewter City and get Brock checked in. May, you should get looked at, too. I don’t think they can do anything about your sight, but it couldn’t hurt.”
“Um… yeah. That’s a good idea,” May nodded, having her own reasons for wanting to see a doctor.
“I'll have Officer Jenny give us a lift back to my house, where we will leave our stuff. Tracey and I are going to get our strongest Pokemon and then I'm flying us to Saffron City. Once there, we'll head to Rocket HQ, where Tracey and I will pose as prisoners. James will get his own Pokemon, and then we force our way to the top, where we take care of Giovanni. Are there any questions?"
No response. All the others were as ready as Ash was to bring this dark chapter to a close.
"All right," Ash said with a nod. He picked up his suitcase and the suitcase with the money in it. With a deep breath, he headed for the door. "Let's get out of here."
The group exited the mansion, eager to get home. They all ignored the corpse lying at their feet as they ventured towards the far shoreline, where Shelly's boat lay.
"You know, now that Magnezone is gone, do you think our phones would work?" Tracey asked as they walked.
"Probably, but I don't want to stop and waste time, just in case they don't," Ash answered. "Once we get to the boat, we can worry about that."
After a long walk underneath the burning sun, James spotted the watercraft he'd come across days before. It appeared to be undisturbed from the time James had examined it. "Good thing this is still here," he said as he jumped into the driver's seat. He breathed an audible sigh of relief as he saw that the keys were still in the ignition. "Don't know what we'd have done if the keys were missing..." Fortune continued to smile on them as the engine turned over on the first try. "Hop in, guys," James said with a grin. "We're goin' home."
James looked around in front of him. Water as far as he could see. "Looks like we're gonna have to just head straight and hope we find land..."
"Hold on a second," Ash suddenly realized. He thought for a moment, then looked back at the path they'd walked. "Drive us to the front of the mansion and then go south," Ash said. "That's the general direction we came in when we first got here. Hopefully it'll lead us to Kanto."
"Great idea," James said as he brought the five out to sea and then in the direction Ash described.
All was quiet as James drove, each one trying to take it easy after a difficult few days. James was finding it particularly difficult to focus on his driving and not Jessie. "Easy, James," he told himself. "Get everyone back home safe first. If you crash this boat, you can forget about avenging Jessie's death." He took a deep breath and let the cool ocean breeze relax him.
Ash made good on his unspoken promise to Tracey and removed his phone from his suitcase. After dialing the number of the police department in Pallet Town, he held a breath as he held the phone to his ear.
Static.
"Phones are still dead!" Ash announced over the roar of the engine. "So much for that plan..."
"Try my radio!" James said, pulling the device from his pocket. "Change the frequency to one-one-two-J. That's the KOSAR distress frequency! If Shelly can call Saffron City from here, there's no reason you won't be able to contact them!"
Tracey looked confused. "What's KOSAR?"
"Kanto Oceanic Search and Rescue," Ash explained as he changed the radio's frequency. "Great idea, James. This'll work for sure!"
"I sure hope so. I've called them more than a few times in the past after we landed in the ocean after being blasted off," James said with a chuckle.
Ash wasted no time in sending his message. "KOSAR, this is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Can you hear me?"
Nothing but static was heard on Ash's end following his message. Not one to give up, Ash tried again. "I repeat, KOSAR, this is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I am in dire need of rescue. Is anyone there?!"
More static.
"Why aren't they responding?!" Tracey began to panic.
"I don't know. I've used this same radio for years and it hasn't failed yet," James said, surveying his surroundings for any sign of land.
"No way. I'm not giving up," Ash said. "KOSAR! This is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Do you read me?"
This time, there was not static, but silence, following Ash's plead for help.
Ash gasped. "Guys! The signal's clean! James, kill the engine!" James, who understood the significance, did not dispute that order, doing so before Ash could finish his sentence.
More silence followed. "...What? What's going on?" Tracey inquired.
"Shh!" Ash quieted him. "Listen."
A few more moments of silence followed. Then, as clear as day, came a message back:
"This is Hugh Dillertz, KOSAR Alpha Team captain. We read you loud and clear, Mr. Ketchum."
"YES!" Ash shouted to the sky, almost tossing the radio overboard in his excitement. "Captain Dillertz, I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, we need to be rescued."
"Yes, sir," Captain Dillertz replied. "Do you know where you are? How many are with you?"
"Only that we're somewhere in Orre. We're in a motor boat out in the middle of the ocean." Ash stood up in the slowly bobbing boat and looked all around him. "The only land I can see is the island we came from, and that's just a speck on the horizon now. There are four people with me, three male and one female. Two of them are in need of medical attention. How fast can you get here?"
Captain Dillertz sighed. He'd been told numerous times about Ash's trip by his worrisome mother. She spared no details; from who and many were going with him to his expected return time, even his blossoming relationship with Misty, Delia Ketchum made sure nothing was left out. To hear that so few were returning, especially knowing that everyone involved were kids who had their whole lives ahead of them, saddened his heart. "My men are working on pinpointing your location, Mr. Ketchum. Once we do that, it won't be long. Just sit tight and we'll radio you back shortly."
"Great! Thanks, Captain." Ash set the radio down and turned to his friends. "Hear that, guys? Help is on the way!" Ash smiled, ecstatic that he'd be able to realize his plan sooner than expected. This one would not fail. It could not. Not only for the sake of all the lost lives, but to put an end to Giovanni's reign of terror once and for all.
No sooner did Ash set the radio down did it ring again with the loud voice of Captain Dillertz. "Mr. Ketchum, this is Captain Dillertz, are you there?"
"Yes, go ahead!" Ash spurted out, scrambling for the radio.
"We have a lock on your position. We're sending the Starmie Squad to you now. Stand by."
Ash went wide-eyed. "The whole thing?!"
"Yes, sir," Captain Dillertz affirmed. "It'll speed up transportation this way. Let us know when you see them."
"Got it," Ash said. "We'll wait for them, then."
"What's the Starmie Squad?" Tracey questioned.
"I'll take this one," James said. He turned to the Orange Islands native. "The Starmie Squad is a group of 20 Starmie trained by KOSAR for, well, search and rescue. In the area immediately surrounding KOSAR headquarters, agents will usually attach themselves to one of the Starmie and then head to the place where the person needing rescue is at. They can then teleport with the rescued person back to base, where the KOSAR medical team can treat any injuries. They also have a helicopter that they use for more serious injuries, and they'll be taken to Fuchsia City Hospital, since it's closest to KOSAR HQ. The chopper is also used for search and rescue, but in urgent situations, the Starmie Squad is utilized to speed up the search."
"And that guy said he was sending all of them? Is that really necessary?" Tracey asked.
"Normally, no. You know that all Psychic Pokemon can teleport themselves and surrounding objects to a certain degree, right? If you put two Psychic Pokemon together, they can link their powers. The teleport distance, as well as the size and amount of objects movable, increases accordingly."
"What? I didn't know that," Tracey admitted. "So, what, you could teleport all of Kanto somewhere?"
James laughed. "No. Only mobile objects can be teleported. Things that are rooted in the ground, like buildings, or even plants, aren't affected. What KOSAR is going to do with us is called a teleport chain."
Tracey nodded. "I think I can guess what that is, but go ahead and tell me."
"Think of it like a yo-yo," Ash chimed in. "One by one, each of the Starmie Squad teleports a little further from base in the general direction of the person needing rescue. Once all the Starmie are in position, they link their psychic signatures together. The last Starmie in the chain "grabs hold," so to speak, of the person needing rescue, and then starting with the last Starmie, they teleport back to each other, one by one until they're back at HQ. I guess they're using all of them because we're really far away. It sounds like they're planning on teleporting the entire boat back to base!"
"That's what I thought. That's pretty intense," Tracey said in awe. "We don't have anything like that back home..."
Just then, a group of three Starmie, dark blue with shining blue cores, surfaced from underneath the waves. No sooner did they appear did James's radio go off. "Mr. Ketchum, Captain Dillertz here. Our lead Starmie has sent us a signal that it has arrived at the location. Do you see it?"
"Yeah. There are two more with it," Ash confirmed.
"Really? I guess I misjudged the distance. Oh well, that only makes things easier. When you're ready, just give Starmie the signal. We'll be waiting for you."
Ash smiled. It was time to go home. "Roger that. See you soon, Captain." Clicking the radio off, he motioned to the Starmie in the water. "Whenever you're ready. We have injured people on board, so take it easy, okay?"
A shrill cry from one of the Starmie was the only reply they gave. The three of them surrounded the boat, each of their cores beginning to flash in a bright rainbow of colors. Slowly, all aboard could feel the psychic stars lifting them slightly into the air. Then, in what seemed to be an instant, they vanished in a flash, leaving no trace they had ever been there. One by one, another Starmie in the chain joined them, appearing to Ash as if they were coming to him, not the other way round.
Within seconds, Ash and his friends found themselves docked at KOSAR headquarters surrounded by Starmie, each one of them the same color as the three that came to their rescue. They relished at the sight of the tall buildings of Fuchsia City, the people and familiar streets, thankful to be back home.
On the dock, a hairy arm was extended to Ash. "Mr. Ketchum, I'm Captain Dillertz. Welcome home."
Virtually nothing is changed from this chapter; May gets... like... one line? lol. Reread it if you wish!
Word count is still a smidge past 4,000. I made it nice and short for you guys. Enjoy, and don't forget to tell all your friends.
Chapter Twelve: Rescue
Operation Ketchum, Day 14
Our mission has taken a turn for the worse... Jessie and Meowth were both killed by Shelly's Pokemon. It infuriates me knowing that Giovanni is sitting back in Saffron City just waiting for word that we've all been killed. He will die by my hands. For all those lost in this endeavor, I swear I will get justice by any means necessary.
I miss her. She was everything to me. I had no idea that Jessie was suicidal... I feel terrible that I couldn't see that, and even worse that she felt like she couldn't talk to me about it. Truth be told, I'm tempted to join her, but I don't think she'd want that. She'd want me to live on, although I can't fathom living my life without her.
Unfortunately, wishing she weren't dead won't change anything. She may be gone from this earthly plane, but she will always live on in my heart and in my memories...
I'm a little worried about Ash. Despite my efforts to convince him otherwise, he feels responsible for this whole ordeal. I apologized to him for keeping him in the dark, and thankfully he forgave me. He asked me if I planned on doing something about Giovanni, to which I gave him an emphatic affirmative. Not surprisingly, he asked to accompany me in whatever I choose to do.
Just what it is I will do, I'm not sure. Hopefully I can use Team Rocket's ignorance about this mission to my advantage - I should be able to sneak into HQ without any red flags being raised. I don't know how well it will go if Ash is with me, though.
This is the final entry I will be writing regarding this mission. As far as I'm concerned, this mission is over.
Until next time.
Returning the pencil to the inside of the book, James put his diary his suitcase. He felt a pang of sadness as he continued to put things into the suitcase, wishing that the extra space in Shelly's boat would be filled by people instead of things. Still, he realized, it was important to get as much of the dead's personal effects back home as possible.
He resumed looking around Jessie's room, wishing he could take everything of hers back with him. "At least there's nothing here that isn't replaceable," he thought as he rifled through her clothing. Finding nothing of importance, he left.
"James, you finished?" a voice was heard. It was Ash. "Tracey's trying to get in the safe in Giovanni's room. Me and him are looking for the key and we could use some help."
"Did you finish packing everyone's things?" James asked, in no mood to stay here any longer than necessary.
Ash nodded. "I took care of mine and Misty's things. Tracey volunteered to pack for him, May, and Max, and since you packed Brock's belongings when we came inside, that does it for everyone. Why, is something wrong?"
"Not in the immediate sense, no... I'm just a bit hesitant to stay here any more than I have to. I'll help you if you think that getting in the safe will help any."
"Yeah, about that... Tracey and I were talking about it, and we were thinking that maybe Shelly might have the key on her, since she was using that room. She's definitely the kind of person who would go snooping around for something like that, and if there's anything in that safe that will help us in our fight against Giovanni, I'm all for getting it. I know it's not something I can just ask you to do after all that's happened, but would you go out there and check her body for the key?"
James gulped. Of all the requests... Ash wasn't lying when he said it wasn't an easy thing to ask. James considered refusing him right there, but after realizing it wouldn't be any easier for Ash or Tracey to do it, James decided to suck it up and take one for the team. "Yeah. No problem," he said, hoping he could get himself to believe it. Deciding that the best way to get this done was to not waste time and be done as fast as possible. He put his suitcase next to Jessie's room and headed downstairs, passing by Brock as he did so.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" James asked him, thankful for a brief delay in his task, though still genuinely concerned for Brock's well-being.
"Doing okay," he answered slowly with a nod, careful to not strain himself.
"Good. Just sit tight. I'm sure we'll be heading out real soon," James tried to reassure him. He directed his attention to the young girl sitting next to Brock. “May, how are you holding up?”
“I’m okay, thanks. Just waiting for you guys to finish so we can get home.”
“We’re almost ready. Just sit tight,” James said as he resumed his task. Heading outside, he walked over to Shelly's corpse and, despite his promise to himself not to, hesitated before examining her. A flood of memories came rushing back to him. "Cool it, James. She's dead," he reassured himself. "You won't learn anything by beating it out of her. Just do what you came out here to do and be done with it."
He slipped a hand into one of her pockets, hoping he'd find something so he wouldn't have to examine her any further. His prayers were answered in the form of a small key that he nearly missed in his hurry. "This has got to be it," James said as he thankfully rushed back inside, item in hand. He dashed up the stairs two at a time and burst into Shelly's room, where Ash and Tracey were still searching, "Here," he said, catching his breath, presenting the small key to both of them. "You were right... she had it."
Ash took the key from the former Rocket agent. "Great. Thanks, James." He passed the key to Tracey, who was at Giovanni's desk. He'd been scrounging through the drawers when James walked in. "Let's open her up and see what we got in here!" Ash said, a bit too cheerily for James's liking.
The room fell silent as Tracey inserted the key into the safe and turned it, with all three men hearing the clicking sound of the lock opening as he did so. With a little effort, he turned the large handle and peered inside the dark safe.
"Wh...what the..." Tracey said.
Ash went wide-eyed. "Is that all money?"
Tracey scooped out several stacks of bills and set them on the desk for the others to inspect. Truly, it did seem that the safe was filled with nothing but money. James picked one of the stacks up and examined it. "This one's a 10k stack." He looked over the others Tracey had put out. "Looks like they're all 10k stacks. There must be a million Pokedollars here!"
"Let's steal it," Ash said without missing a beat. "Giovanni took so much away from us, I think it's only fair that he loses a little something in return."
Both James and Tracey were shocked at Ash's sudden outburst. Ash Ketchum, the wholesome kid from Pallet Town that both men had known for several years, not only condoning breaking into Giovanni's safe, but actually suggesting that they have at its contents? "Is that going to make you feel better, Ash?" James asked.
Ash contemplated James's question. Would robbing Giovanni for a cool million make him feel better? Well... yes, it would. Giovanni had indirectly been the cause of the deaths of his closest friends. While he would never see his fallen friends again (though he very briefly wondered if there existed an entity, Pokemon or otherwise, that could raise the dead), taking this huge sum would surely be a thorn in the Rocket leader's side.
Then again, this was the leader of Team Rocket he was talking about. Giovanni could probably fill a swimming pool with half of the cash he had. He might not even mind that the money was gone. Still, Ash pondered, stealing is wrong, and - wait, why was he even considering Giovanni's feelings?
"It's not about making me feel better," Ash finally replied. "This is about making that man suffer as much as possible. Besides, you really think I need this money? Please. I easily have twice this in the bank. We can take this money and donate it to a good cause. Who cares how that blowhard will feel? When we're through with him, some missing money will be the least of his problems."
Tracey was silent as Ash made his case. Tracey was thankful that he hadn't lost anyone especially close to him. He thought of his family back home and the Pokemon he'd left behind, thanking his lucky stars that on a personal level, Tracey hadn’t lost a thing. Still, he felt a little left out, unable to relate to his companions' troubles.
As far as he knew, Ash and Misty were never anything more than friends. He (and everyone else) always wondered why Ash never bothered to take things further, but the general consensus was that he would when he was ready. After all, they were just kids; they had all the time in the world.
”So much for that,” Tracey realized with a sigh.
James, too, had lost someone dear to him, Tracey remembered. He had no idea what James's relationship with Jessie entailed, but from James's account, the two of them were very much in love. That wasn't such a hard thing to believe, Tracey figured - after all, they were people first, and Rockets second. Both Jessie and James were seven years his senior, and Tracey imagined their relationship was more serious than James let on. Tracey had never been in a serious relationship in his life, and once again was reduced to speculation about what James was going through.
He was glad that Brock had at least forgiven him for beating him into submission, but it was little consolation compared to the rest of his troubles.
"I thought you might say that," James said, pocketing the stack he had in his hand. "I'm with you. We'll use Jessie's suitcase; it's huge. We should be able to fit all of it in there. I'll go get it."
Meanwhile, Brock sat downstairs in a chair, having overheard the conversation that took place upstairs. He couldn't blame Ash for feeling the way he did, but he was still disappointed he would choose to steal another person's money, even if that person was the leader of the world's most prominent crime organization. He hoped that Ash would keep his cool when he confronted Boss Rocket (though that hope was slowly dwindling after listening to Ash talk), and Brock hated that he would be unable to be there with Ash when he did.
"James will be with him, though," the dark-skinned man thought to himself. "He has a good head on his shoulders. Here's hoping he can convince Ash to keep his emotions in check when the time comes."
Wait a minute.
James lost someone, too.
...What if James was the one who freaked out?
"Nah, that won't happen," Brock answered his own question. "Out of the two of them, James has acted calmly and with a clear head… for the most part. But still..." He dreaded what would happen to the two of them if they rushed in without thinking. "I'll be sure to warn them before they go."
Brock sighed, wishing there was something more he could do to help his friends in their time of need.
Ash, James, and Tracey finished packing Giovanni's money into Jessie's suitcase, then the three of them brought it and the rest of their belongings downstairs.
"It pains me to see so few faces here," Ash began. "There has been so much death, so much pain, over the past few days. I'm tired of it all... and we're going to put an end to it once and for all. Here's the plan.
"James mentioned a boat on one side of the island. It's probably the vehicle Shelly used to get here initially. The five of us will take all our stuff and head to that spot and hope that the boat is still there. If it's not, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Assuming the boat is there, we will drive to the mainland, whatever's closest. Thankfully, I'm fairly famous in three countries, so assuming we hit one, it should be pretty easy to get to Kanto if we don't already end up there.
"First, we'll fly to the hospital in Pewter City and get Brock checked in. May, you should get looked at, too. I don’t think they can do anything about your sight, but it couldn’t hurt.”
“Um… yeah. That’s a good idea,” May nodded, having her own reasons for wanting to see a doctor.
“I'll have Officer Jenny give us a lift back to my house, where we will leave our stuff. Tracey and I are going to get our strongest Pokemon and then I'm flying us to Saffron City. Once there, we'll head to Rocket HQ, where Tracey and I will pose as prisoners. James will get his own Pokemon, and then we force our way to the top, where we take care of Giovanni. Are there any questions?"
No response. All the others were as ready as Ash was to bring this dark chapter to a close.
"All right," Ash said with a nod. He picked up his suitcase and the suitcase with the money in it. With a deep breath, he headed for the door. "Let's get out of here."
The group exited the mansion, eager to get home. They all ignored the corpse lying at their feet as they ventured towards the far shoreline, where Shelly's boat lay.
"You know, now that Magnezone is gone, do you think our phones would work?" Tracey asked as they walked.
"Probably, but I don't want to stop and waste time, just in case they don't," Ash answered. "Once we get to the boat, we can worry about that."
After a long walk underneath the burning sun, James spotted the watercraft he'd come across days before. It appeared to be undisturbed from the time James had examined it. "Good thing this is still here," he said as he jumped into the driver's seat. He breathed an audible sigh of relief as he saw that the keys were still in the ignition. "Don't know what we'd have done if the keys were missing..." Fortune continued to smile on them as the engine turned over on the first try. "Hop in, guys," James said with a grin. "We're goin' home."
James looked around in front of him. Water as far as he could see. "Looks like we're gonna have to just head straight and hope we find land..."
"Hold on a second," Ash suddenly realized. He thought for a moment, then looked back at the path they'd walked. "Drive us to the front of the mansion and then go south," Ash said. "That's the general direction we came in when we first got here. Hopefully it'll lead us to Kanto."
"Great idea," James said as he brought the five out to sea and then in the direction Ash described.
All was quiet as James drove, each one trying to take it easy after a difficult few days. James was finding it particularly difficult to focus on his driving and not Jessie. "Easy, James," he told himself. "Get everyone back home safe first. If you crash this boat, you can forget about avenging Jessie's death." He took a deep breath and let the cool ocean breeze relax him.
Ash made good on his unspoken promise to Tracey and removed his phone from his suitcase. After dialing the number of the police department in Pallet Town, he held a breath as he held the phone to his ear.
Static.
"Phones are still dead!" Ash announced over the roar of the engine. "So much for that plan..."
"Try my radio!" James said, pulling the device from his pocket. "Change the frequency to one-one-two-J. That's the KOSAR distress frequency! If Shelly can call Saffron City from here, there's no reason you won't be able to contact them!"
Tracey looked confused. "What's KOSAR?"
"Kanto Oceanic Search and Rescue," Ash explained as he changed the radio's frequency. "Great idea, James. This'll work for sure!"
"I sure hope so. I've called them more than a few times in the past after we landed in the ocean after being blasted off," James said with a chuckle.
Ash wasted no time in sending his message. "KOSAR, this is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Can you hear me?"
Nothing but static was heard on Ash's end following his message. Not one to give up, Ash tried again. "I repeat, KOSAR, this is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I am in dire need of rescue. Is anyone there?!"
More static.
"Why aren't they responding?!" Tracey began to panic.
"I don't know. I've used this same radio for years and it hasn't failed yet," James said, surveying his surroundings for any sign of land.
"No way. I'm not giving up," Ash said. "KOSAR! This is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Do you read me?"
This time, there was not static, but silence, following Ash's plead for help.
Ash gasped. "Guys! The signal's clean! James, kill the engine!" James, who understood the significance, did not dispute that order, doing so before Ash could finish his sentence.
More silence followed. "...What? What's going on?" Tracey inquired.
"Shh!" Ash quieted him. "Listen."
A few more moments of silence followed. Then, as clear as day, came a message back:
"This is Hugh Dillertz, KOSAR Alpha Team captain. We read you loud and clear, Mr. Ketchum."
"YES!" Ash shouted to the sky, almost tossing the radio overboard in his excitement. "Captain Dillertz, I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, we need to be rescued."
"Yes, sir," Captain Dillertz replied. "Do you know where you are? How many are with you?"
"Only that we're somewhere in Orre. We're in a motor boat out in the middle of the ocean." Ash stood up in the slowly bobbing boat and looked all around him. "The only land I can see is the island we came from, and that's just a speck on the horizon now. There are four people with me, three male and one female. Two of them are in need of medical attention. How fast can you get here?"
Captain Dillertz sighed. He'd been told numerous times about Ash's trip by his worrisome mother. She spared no details; from who and many were going with him to his expected return time, even his blossoming relationship with Misty, Delia Ketchum made sure nothing was left out. To hear that so few were returning, especially knowing that everyone involved were kids who had their whole lives ahead of them, saddened his heart. "My men are working on pinpointing your location, Mr. Ketchum. Once we do that, it won't be long. Just sit tight and we'll radio you back shortly."
"Great! Thanks, Captain." Ash set the radio down and turned to his friends. "Hear that, guys? Help is on the way!" Ash smiled, ecstatic that he'd be able to realize his plan sooner than expected. This one would not fail. It could not. Not only for the sake of all the lost lives, but to put an end to Giovanni's reign of terror once and for all.
No sooner did Ash set the radio down did it ring again with the loud voice of Captain Dillertz. "Mr. Ketchum, this is Captain Dillertz, are you there?"
"Yes, go ahead!" Ash spurted out, scrambling for the radio.
"We have a lock on your position. We're sending the Starmie Squad to you now. Stand by."
Ash went wide-eyed. "The whole thing?!"
"Yes, sir," Captain Dillertz affirmed. "It'll speed up transportation this way. Let us know when you see them."
"Got it," Ash said. "We'll wait for them, then."
"What's the Starmie Squad?" Tracey questioned.
"I'll take this one," James said. He turned to the Orange Islands native. "The Starmie Squad is a group of 20 Starmie trained by KOSAR for, well, search and rescue. In the area immediately surrounding KOSAR headquarters, agents will usually attach themselves to one of the Starmie and then head to the place where the person needing rescue is at. They can then teleport with the rescued person back to base, where the KOSAR medical team can treat any injuries. They also have a helicopter that they use for more serious injuries, and they'll be taken to Fuchsia City Hospital, since it's closest to KOSAR HQ. The chopper is also used for search and rescue, but in urgent situations, the Starmie Squad is utilized to speed up the search."
"And that guy said he was sending all of them? Is that really necessary?" Tracey asked.
"Normally, no. You know that all Psychic Pokemon can teleport themselves and surrounding objects to a certain degree, right? If you put two Psychic Pokemon together, they can link their powers. The teleport distance, as well as the size and amount of objects movable, increases accordingly."
"What? I didn't know that," Tracey admitted. "So, what, you could teleport all of Kanto somewhere?"
James laughed. "No. Only mobile objects can be teleported. Things that are rooted in the ground, like buildings, or even plants, aren't affected. What KOSAR is going to do with us is called a teleport chain."
Tracey nodded. "I think I can guess what that is, but go ahead and tell me."
"Think of it like a yo-yo," Ash chimed in. "One by one, each of the Starmie Squad teleports a little further from base in the general direction of the person needing rescue. Once all the Starmie are in position, they link their psychic signatures together. The last Starmie in the chain "grabs hold," so to speak, of the person needing rescue, and then starting with the last Starmie, they teleport back to each other, one by one until they're back at HQ. I guess they're using all of them because we're really far away. It sounds like they're planning on teleporting the entire boat back to base!"
"That's what I thought. That's pretty intense," Tracey said in awe. "We don't have anything like that back home..."
Just then, a group of three Starmie, dark blue with shining blue cores, surfaced from underneath the waves. No sooner did they appear did James's radio go off. "Mr. Ketchum, Captain Dillertz here. Our lead Starmie has sent us a signal that it has arrived at the location. Do you see it?"
"Yeah. There are two more with it," Ash confirmed.
"Really? I guess I misjudged the distance. Oh well, that only makes things easier. When you're ready, just give Starmie the signal. We'll be waiting for you."
Ash smiled. It was time to go home. "Roger that. See you soon, Captain." Clicking the radio off, he motioned to the Starmie in the water. "Whenever you're ready. We have injured people on board, so take it easy, okay?"
A shrill cry from one of the Starmie was the only reply they gave. The three of them surrounded the boat, each of their cores beginning to flash in a bright rainbow of colors. Slowly, all aboard could feel the psychic stars lifting them slightly into the air. Then, in what seemed to be an instant, they vanished in a flash, leaving no trace they had ever been there. One by one, another Starmie in the chain joined them, appearing to Ash as if they were coming to him, not the other way round.
Within seconds, Ash and his friends found themselves docked at KOSAR headquarters surrounded by Starmie, each one of them the same color as the three that came to their rescue. They relished at the sight of the tall buildings of Fuchsia City, the people and familiar streets, thankful to be back home.
On the dock, a hairy arm was extended to Ash. "Mr. Ketchum, I'm Captain Dillertz. Welcome home."
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
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RE: Seven Days of Terror (NEW (old) CHAPTER)
“Save it,” Ash growled. He was not in the mood to make idle chat with his best friend’s killer. “You are going to pay for what you’ve done. For Misty, May, and all my friends hurt by you and Shelly, and for the countless others your disgusting organization has hurt since the day Team Rocket was born, I will punish you.”
“We will punish you,” James corrected, removing one of his Poke Balls. “Jessie was my life. My universe. My everything. And you stole her from me!” he screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. “You!! Empoleon, go!”
Ash turned back to his dragon. “Get him, Charizard!”
Giovanni smiled. Perhaps this might be some fun after all.
It's on. B]
disclaimer, on-getting subject to change without warning or explanation
“Save it,” Ash growled. He was not in the mood to make idle chat with his best friend’s killer. “You are going to pay for what you’ve done. For Misty, May, and all my friends hurt by you and Shelly, and for the countless others your disgusting organization has hurt since the day Team Rocket was born, I will punish you.”
“We will punish you,” James corrected, removing one of his Poke Balls. “Jessie was my life. My universe. My everything. And you stole her from me!” he screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. “You!! Empoleon, go!”
Ash turned back to his dragon. “Get him, Charizard!”
Giovanni smiled. Perhaps this might be some fun after all.
It's on. B]
disclaimer, on-getting subject to change without warning or explanation
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
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RE: Seven Days of Terror (Chapter 13: it's the freakin' end)
Here it is! After six years, the story ends with this final chapter! Ash and what's left of his friends are finally back in Kanto, and they're out for Giovanni's blood! Will everything go as planned? I'll tell you, things didn't go as well as _I_ planned, that's for sure!
Enjoy this, the (I can't believe I'm saying this) final chapter.
Word count: A little under 7700
"I never should have gone."
Ash repeated that mentally as Captain Dillertz helped him onto dry land. He could hardly believe that so much could happen in just under a week.
"I never should have gone. I should have known Giovanni would pull something like this. He wants to make the world a better place? I'll make the world a better place, starting with his body six feet under. I'll break him. I'll end him. I'll burn Rocket HQ to the ground if I have to. I'll -"
"...Mr. Ketchum?" a voice said, snapping the young man back to reality.
"Sorry, Captain," Ash apologized. "I've got a lot on my mind." What an understatement that was. He extended a hand to Tracey while Captain Dillertz did the same for Brock and May. "They’re the ones that need help, so could you please have someone take them to the hospital?"
"Of course, right away. This way." As Captain Dillertz escorted Brock and May to a waiting medical team, Ash resumed his inner monologue. Deep down, he was hoping that after all he'd been through over the past week, the inevitable confrontation with Giovanni would be rather uneventful.
The three males made their way to a nearby Officer Jenny. “Afternoon, guys,” she greeted them. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to get back to Pallet Town,” Ash responded. “How fast can you get us there?”
“Well, we’re pretty far away. It’ll be a while,” Jenny replied.
“We’re in a hurry,” James added.
Officer Jenny frowned. “Even if we hurried, it’d still be several hours before we could make it to Pallet Town from here. Going by boat won’t be much faster, either. Why not ask to use the Starmie Squad?”
“That’s a great idea!” Ash exclaimed. “Thanks, Jenny!” He ran over to where an ambulance had just taken Brock and May away. “Captain! Would you allow us to use the Starmie Squad to get back to Pallet Town? We really have to get there as fast as we can,” Ash said.
“Not a problem. We’re happy to help in any way we can,” the large man said, leading Ash and his friends towards the dock, where a single Starmie was being cared for by one of the crew. “Starmie, can you teleport these kids to Pallet Town? They’re in a hurry.”
The dual-type let out a cry, and within seconds, two more Starmie teleported to its position. The first one hovered a little closer to Ash. “All right, you’re all set. Take hold of each other’s hands and let Starmie do the rest,” the bearded gentleman said with a grin.
The three did as they were told, and within seconds they could feel Starmie working its magic. The two Starmie that had been previously summoned vanished for a few brief moments before Ash, James, and Tracey were whisked away in a flash of blue. In seconds, they were in Pallet Town, in front of Oak’s laboratory. Ash thanked the Pokemon for its work before it teleported back to Fuchsia City.
Professor Oak, having just returned from the Poke Mart, witnessed their arrival. “Ash!” he exclaimed, not sure if he was more surprised to see the blue Starmie, Ash’s sudden appearance, or the male half of Team Rocket that was with him. “And Team Rocket! What’s going on? How did you get here? Whose Pokemon was that? Does-”
“No time to talk now! Come to my house and I’ll explain everything there!” Ash yelled as he broke into a run, with James and Tracey at his heels. Truthfully, he could have spared a few minutes, but he really didn’t want to go through the details of the past half week, especially since his mother would have him talking about what happened until he was blue in the face. Better to only have to explain things once.
Luckily, Ash’s home was very close to the lab, so the three did not have very far to go. Ash threw open the front door and made a beeline for his trophy room, noticing with some relief that his mother was not at home. “What kind of Pokemon does Giovanni have?” he asked to no one in particular.
“I’m not too sure, to be honest,” James said, crossing his arms. “Giovanni does a lot of his training in secret. Other than Persian and his Weavile, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Weavile! Oh man, I totally forgot!” Ash exclaimed, removing Weavile’s Poke Ball from his pocket. “Will one of you take him to the Pokemon Center? It’s just down the street.”
“I’ll do it,” Tracey happily volunteered. “I’ll stay with him there. It should be easier to get into Rocket HQ with just the two of you, anyway.”
As Tracey left, Poke Ball in hand, a familiar yellow mouse entered the room and made its presence known. It leaped onto Ash’s shoulder and hugged his face, releasing some of his pent up electricity as he did so.
“Pikachu!” Ash cried out as the shocks shook his body. “I missed you too, buddy! Listen, I need your help. We’re gonna go take out Team Rocket once and for all. You in?” Pikachu crossed his arms and looked at Ash very strangely, as if to ask “Are you serious?” “Yeah, you’re right, I don’t know why I even asked,” Ash remarked, putting the mouse onto the floor. Upon seeing James, Pikachu leaped away and assumed a full-on battle position. He voiced his concern to Ash, who looked down to him to see what had him so agitated. “What’s the… oh, James? It’s a long story, but he’s on our side. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”
“That’s right,” James said with a smile, kneeling down so he was at Pikachu’s level. “I’m through with Team Rocket, and I'd like to apologize to you personally for all the trouble we caused you and your friends over the years.” He offered his hand in an attempt to prove his sincerity. Pikachu did nothing at first, but then slowly offered his paw, which James shook slowly, so as not to startle him. “I understand your hesitation,” the human added. “But as Ash said, I’m on your side now. My boss – well, former boss – has done both Ash and myself a great wrong, and I’d be happy to have your help in getting revenge.”
Pikachu thought about this for a moment. Was he really serious? He looked to Ash for support, but Ash was paying attention to the rows upon rows of Poke Balls, carefully considering which ones to take. Ash did say James was on his side, however, so Pikachu decided to put his trust in James. He voiced his approval and nodded.
“Thank you. I’m glad to hear it,” the human spoke. “Ash, have you decided on what Pokemon to bring?”
Ash reached for a pink Poke Ball. He blew some dust off of it and wiped it down with his shirt. “Just about. It’s been a while since I used some of these guys… Type-wise, I got a lot of stuff covered, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough.”
“Don’t forget, I’ll be with you, too. My Pokemon are pretty tough, I’ll have you know,” the elder trainer flashed a grin. “Your Pikachu is just absurdly powerful.”
Ash chuckled. Yeah, that was right. If fighting Giovanni was as easy as fighting Team Rocket, he’d be able to win effortlessly. Then again, Ash realized as his smile faded, Giovanni wasn’t head of Team Rocket for no reason. Ash had never actually battled Giovanni, just Team Rocket on his behalf, and that was years ago. Ash could barely remember what Pokemon they used. Maybe if they hadn’t played like a couple of chimps, he might have been able to recall a detail or two. “Let’s hope it’s enough. So, have you given any thought to how we’re going to get into your headquarters?”
The two left the colorful room of Poke Balls and took a short rest in the living room. They plopped down on the sofa, thankful for something soft to sit on. “You suggested posing as my prisoner, remember? I think that could still work.”
Ash considered this for a minute. “We could always try a more stealthy approach.” He grinned, holding up an old, worn Poke Ball. “You’re not the only one with a Pokemon that can use smokescreens. Besides, with the firepower I’m packing, I think we could just go in there guns blazing.” He chuckled to himself at his puns.
James shook his head. “Bad idea. There’s a panic button located underneath the receptionist’s desk. One press and the whole building goes into lockdown. All doors and windows below the seventh floor are locked.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. “Why only the first six floors?”
“Giovanni says that it doesn’t really matter. He said, ‘If anyone wants to jump out of a building to his death from seven stories up, that’s his business.’ He also said that it got him out of paying to cover the rest of the building,” James said wryly. “Anyway, once that button gets pressed, an alert goes straight to Giovanni. A live feed of the ground floor is also sent directly to his computer, so he’d see us coming right from the word go. There’s an elevator hidden behind a false wall in his office that leads to the roof. His private helicopter is there, which is fully fueled at all times, which he can use to get away.”
Ash grumbled. “Well, that is a problem… wait, hold on. How do you know there’s an elevator behind a wall in his office?”
James cursed to himself at his slip of the tongue. “Uh, well… one time, Jessie and – you know what, that’s not important,” he said, waving a hand in front of his face. “The point is, it’s there, and we’ll have to take things easy if we want to catch Giovanni off guard.”
Ash grinned. “Yeah, okay, I see how it is.” He decided not to press the issue further and went back to the topic at hand. “We could always put everyone downstairs to sleep. My Jumpluff would be perfect for it. He’s small, he can fly, and his Sleep Powder is pretty potent. It should give us enough time to get up there unseen. What do you think?”
Again, James shook his head. “No need. If I say I’m taking you to Giovanni, there shouldn’t be any cause for alarm. This mission is supposed to be secret, remember? No one except Giovanni should be surprised to see us. We’ll get in the elevator and head to the ninth floor first. That’s where the administrators’ quarters are. I’ll get my Pokemon, then we’ll take the elevator to the eleventh floor. That’s the top floor, and it’s where Giovanni’s office is. This is our best chance.”
“Mmm,” Ash nodded. “You know the place better than I do, so we’ll do it your way. I guess that means that Pikachu has to be in his Poke Ball, at least until we get out of sight.” Pikachu tilted his head at hearing that. Was Ash really going to make him go in the ball? He’d become accustomed to living outside of it; going in now after years of avoiding it made him feel a bit uneasy. Ash saw Pikachu’s expression and picked up the small creature. “Don’t worry, buddy. It’s just for a little while. I know you don’t like it, but it’s something that you gotta do. For me. All right?”
“Everything’ll be okay,” James added. “Once we get into the elevator, you’re free to come out.” Pikachu nodded, trying to be brave for his master. Ash went upstairs to his bedroom where his Poke Ball belt was and put it on. He replaced his current Pokemon with the five he’d chosen earlier, then brought them back downstairs to return them to the Pokemon room.
Ash removed Pikachu’s Poke Ball and looked at the lightning bolt design. It had been so long since he’d used it, he’d forgotten it was there. He looked down at Pikachu, enlarged the ball, and held it out. “In you go,” he commanded; the ball’s red light had enveloped Pikachu and sucked him in before Pikachu could say anything. Ash hooked the ball onto his belt and removed another of them. “We have no time to waste. I'm getting us to Saffron City the fastest way I know how. Come on out, Alakazam!"
The Psi Pokemon emerged on Ash's order, and gave a small bow to his master. He walked outside, having already progged Ash's mind for his next command. Ash and James followed him. "You know what to do - Silph Co. Land us right around the corner. Understand?" Alakazam nodded as he closed his eyes, focusing his power on his destination.
"What do you think?" Ash asked, grinning. "If Giovanni's Mr. Mime can do all sorts of havoc, I can't wait to see what Alakazam can do!"
"Do you know why Giovanni's Mr. Mime is so strong?" James asked the younger trainer. When Ash did not reply, James answered his own question. "It's because Giovanni trains his Pokemon to exceed their limits. He might be cruel, but he's no pushover. He forces his Pokemon to endure constant barrages of attacks they're weak to, just so they can build up a resistance to it. You might not agree with his methods, but there is no arguing that they're effective. Jessie and I fought him once--two against one--a few years ago. He won with two Pokemon left, two that we never even saw. Let that sink in, Ash. Four of his Pokemon took out all twelve of ours."
Ash stared, wide-eyed. That was certainly a reality check. "I see. Well, no offense, but I've beaten you guys pretty handily in the past, even two against one."
James sighed. "Just be careful, is all I'm saying. Don’t make any rash decisions. Giovanni isn’t going to hold back."
A flash of light. "And you think I'm going to?" Ash asked incredulously. "Oh no. He gets no mercy." He turned to Alakazam. "All right, teleport us to - oh. You did." He took a minute to admire Saffron City's tall buildings and citizens going about their business before noticing their target was across the street. "Well, it's not perfect, but good work. Now come on back," Ash ordered, returning his psychic steed to its Poke Ball.
"Give me your belt," James instructed. Ash looked puzzled at this, so James explained. "You're my prisoner, remember? You've been disarmed. It's just until we get out of sight." Ash nodded in understanding as he did as he was instructed. Ash chuckled, hardly believing that two weeks ago if James had asked him to hand over his Pokemon, Ash would have laughed him out of town. "Now then," the older man continued, forcing Ash's arms behind his back, "March, twerp!"
James led Ash across the busy street and led him directly into Silph Corporation, known to few as Team Rocket HQ. Ash struggled in James's grip, trying his best to sell the story. A few concerned citizens, recognizing both Ash and James, got on their phones and immediately phoned the Saffron City police...
The secretary at the front desk burst from her seat, eyes wide in disbelief. She let loose with a flurry of questions as James led his charge swiftly around her desk and to the elevator. "M-Mr. Whitmore! What is the meaning of this? Is that Ash Ketchum? Where is Miss Emerson?"
James pressed the 'up' button, and the elevator doors opened. "Gone, yes, and I am taking this filth to see the boss," James answered her as the two of them disappeared into the shaft. No sooner did the doors close on them was the bewildered redhead on the phone.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Eleven stories up, Giovanni sat behind his desk, entering some data in his computer. He didn't like doing actual work, but it was necessary to keep up the facade that was the Site for Illegal Pokemon Handling, commonly known throughout the world simply as Silph. "Three more days," he mused to himself. "Just three more days, and--"
The phone rang. A glance at the extension revealed it was the front desk. He wasn't sure why she was calling--he hadn't sent out for anything or anyone lately--but he was grateful for a break, and he reflected this in his voice as he answered. "Yes, Merla, what is it?"
"Sir, James is on his way to your office with Ash Ketchum."
Giovanni stopped mid-breath. Did she just say what he thought she said? "Mind repeating that?" he asked, his mood quickly souring. When she did, her words rang clear as a bell in his head. There was no mistaking it. "Sound the alarm at once!" he barked. "Where are they now?!"
"Th-The elevator, sir," Merla stammered, fearing she had done a terrible thing by letting James pass. "Is something wrong?"
Giovanni opened up the security camera feed from his computer; specifically, the elevator camera, and found that it was completely empty. "The elevator's empty!"
Merla begun to panic. "Sir, I swear, they got in the elevator and then I called you straight away!"
Giovanni grumbled. Merla had to have been telling the truth; if James really was back in Kanto, he would not waste time by taking the stairs. He listened carefully, trying to hear their footsteps coming toward him, but he could not hear nothing. "Of course..." He tapped a few keys into his computer, and a different feed came up. The view on his monitor changed from the elevator to a long hallway, and sure enough, there were Ash, James, and Pikachu, running towards a room. As the three disappeared inside, Giovanni screamed at his secretary again. "Why don't I hear that alarm yet?! I said sound it at once, not at your leisure!"
Merla literally jumped out of her seat at Giovanni's sudden outburst. "Y-yes, sir! Right away!" She hung up the phone--once the alarm had been triggered, all phone lines were temporarily cut until the alarm had been shut off—-and slipped a hand underneath her desk. She frantically searched for the button that would put Silph into lockdown. Finding it, she hit it several times.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
James walked into his room and smiled upon finding his Pokemon undisturbed. "Hey, guys," he greeted them. "I missed you all." Just as he clipped the belt on, a loud siren wailed, so loud that Ash clamped his hands over his ears to shield them from the noise. James cursed. "That's the lockdown alarm. Merla must have told Giovanni we were coming! Quickly, we'll have to take the stairs! Let's go!"
Giovanni watched on his monitor as Ash and James ran as fast as they could towards the stairwell. ”Thought so. Those little punks are coming here.” He opened a drawer, removed his own trainer’s belt, and moved to a wall near the corner of a room. He removed a picture from a wall and pressed a small button located behind it, and the wall opened up for him, revealing a small elevator.
Ash and James had reached Giovanni’s office by this time. James tried to force the door open, but as he had guessed, it had locked itself once the alarm had been sounded. James removed one of his Poke Balls, and without a moment’s hesitation, threw it down. “Toxicroak, help us out!”
Toxicroak emerged with a flash, and very quickly made his own door out of the door with a surprisingly strong Brick Break, which crushed the lock from the inside, enabling his trainer to simply swing the double doors open. Ash, despite not having seen the Pokemon before, correctly deduced that Toxicroak was a Poison-type based on its name and those 3-inch claws on its knuckles that glistened in the light with Ash assumed was poison. Based on the sheer power and ease of using Brick Break, Ash also surmised it was part Fighting in type as well.
The two burst into Giovanni’s office and found it completely empty. James rushed to the secret elevator and hit the button behind the picture, but nothing happened. “Agh, we’re too late! He’ll be gone by the time we get up there!”
“No we won’t,” Ash declared, staring into the sky above Saffron City. Now it was Ash’s turn to show off his Pokemon’s skills. “Charizard!” he began as he tossed his ball down, “Shatter this window with Fire Punch!”
Charizard grunted in reply and immediately threw a devastating flame-coated fist into the inch-thick glass. While it didn’t shatter the glass on impact, Ash didn’t expect it to. It would submit eventually – the first punch itself had made a large dent. When Charizard punched the glass again with his other fist, the glass began to crack more noticeably. With a mighty roar, Charizard threw a third punch into the glass, and this time, the entire window shattered, glass shards falling down to the street below. James looked on, quite impressed with the strength of Ash’s Charizard.
Ash mounted his dragon. “To the roof!” Ash ordered. “We have to stop Giovanni!” Charizard flapped his wings and leapt out of the window, easily rising the short distance to Silph’s roof. He spotted Giovanni quickly approaching his helicopter, and he pointed Charizard in that direction. “No you don’t, Giovanni! Charizard, get down there and use Flamethrower!”
Charizard made a beeline for the Rocket lead, who turned just in time to see a huge surge of flame directed at him. He quickly dove out of the way, barely avoiding being incinerated. Charizard dropped Ash onto the roof, and he wasted no time in ensuring that Giovanni wasn’t going anywhere. “Charizard! Use Fire Spin on the helicopter!”
James, who had just come from the elevator with Pikachu, heard the command. He rushed over to the young man from Pallet Town, hoping he wasn’t too late. “No! Charizard, stop it! You’ll kill us all!”
This was enough to give Charizard pause in executing Ash’s order. Giovanni used this opportunity to try to run for it, but Pikachu stopped him in his tracks with a shot of Thunderbolt; the attack had come so close to hitting Giovanni that it singed his suit and blackened his shoes. Ash pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you even think about moving. I got words for you.” He turned to James. “And what’s the big idea with telling me to stop? Giovanni almost got away thanks to you!”
James resisted the urge to smack this kid upside his head. “This is what I meant when I said to not make rash decisions! If Charizard would have set that helicopter on fire, it would have ignited the fuel in the helicopter, causing the whole thing to explode! Those fuel tankers over there would have exploded, too, which not only would kill you, me, Giovanni, and anyone on the top couple floors of Silph, but the flaming debris that would result would undoubtedly injure innocent people on the streets below. This is exactly the stuff that—-AHH!”
James’s chastising was cut short by a searing pain suddenly shooting through his left leg; the two looked down to find a Mightyena slinking her way back to her master. The newly made slash was bleeding quite badly. Quickly, James removed his jacket and tied it tightly around the wound. It would work for now, but he’d have to get to the hospital eventually. “That… was a cheap shot…” James seethed through clenched teeth.
At this, Giovanni laughed openly. “You burst in unannounced in what is obviously an attempt on my life and don’t even give me a chance to defend myself? If that is not the definition of a cheap shot, I don’t know what is!”
Ash fumed. There was no way he was going to let Giovanni enjoy even a second of this. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”
Seemingly out of nowhere, Mightyena leapt forward as Pikachu charged the attack. Fast as lightning, Mightyena sliced at Pikachu with its sharp claws, forcing Pikachu to abort the attack and evade.
“Good girl,” Giovanni grinned. “You’re very naughty, Ash, attacking me while I’m not ready,” he taunted. He saw the look of confusion on Ash’s face and decided to indulge him. “What you just saw was called Sucker Punch. If my opponent—-you—-decides to use an attack, my Pokemon can use that time to get in an attack before yours. And that’s all you need to know, really.”
“Quit being such a novice, Ash,” James scolded him. “You need to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head, or you are never going to win.”
“I understand you’re upset, Ash, and understandably so,” Giovanni began again, casually strolling away from the two men. Mightyena obediently stayed by his side, eyeing Pikachu and Charizard in case they decided to make a move on her trainer. It made Ash’s blood boil knowing that he couldn’t do anything. After all this, Giovanni still had the upper hand. “I’m quite upset that Shelly failed me, though I do note, with some delight, that Jessie is absent.” He smiled when he saw the expression in James’s face change. “Ah, so Shelly did do something right.
“Listen, Ash,” he continued. “My request to have your help in making this world a better place was not simply a ruse to get you to come to Orre. I want you to—“
“Save it,” Ash growled. He was not in the mood to make idle chat with his best friend’s killer. “You are going to pay for what you’ve done. For Misty, May, and all my friends hurt by you and Shelly, and for the countless others your disgusting organization has hurt since the day Team Rocket was born, I will punish you.”
“We will punish you,” James corrected, removing one of his Poke Balls. “Jessie was my life. My universe. My everything. And you stole her from me!” he screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. “You!! Empoleon, go!”
Ash turned back to his dragon. “Get him, Charizard!”
Giovanni smiled. Perhaps this might be some fun after all. Mightyena assumed a full-on battle pose, prepared for anything her opponents might throw at her. Charizard ignored her and soared high above the two, spewing a hot Flamethrower directed not at the canine, but at her trainer. Mightyena leapt to Giovanni’s side and threw up an enormous barrier that easily enveloped both Pokemon and human, causing the Flamethrower to bounce harmlessly off it.
“Careful with those flames, Charizard!” Ash reminded him.
Charizard nodded, having no issue with fighting at close range. Charizard made a dash for Mightyena as James directed his Empoleon. “Okay, use Yawn!”
And Empoleon did just that. He yawned, quite loudly, and try as she might, Mightyena could not ignore it. As Charizard closed in, Mightyena yawned. It wouldn’t be long before the sleep took effect. Giovanni issued his own command. “Uproar! Then Captivate!” Mightyena suddenly shrieked loudly. Charizard stopped immediately and fell to one knee and clutched his head tightly, stunned by the large shriek. The echo rang in his ears, so distracting he could barely hear Ash shouting his words of encouragement. Empoleon, who was not at close range, was not immobilized as Charizard was, but he still expressed discomfort at the sound left in his ears. Mightyena didn’t waste any time in executing Giovanni’s second command. She gazed affectionately at them, making both dragon and penguin feel uneasy.
Charizard wildly swung at Mightyena with claw and wing, but the agile canine easily dodged each blow. The uproar’s effects were preventing him from concentrating. James decided to provide some help. “Empoleon, Rock Tomb!”
Giovanni smiled. “Me First!”
Mightyena summoned the large boulders and circled them around her fast, very fast, and directed them not at Empoleon, but Charizard. One by one, Mightyena launched them. Charizard raised his arms to block, but the first one stung a lot more than he thought it would. The second one shattered his left arm. He tumbled backwards, wincing and roaring in pain. Empoleon finally launched his Rock Tomb, using the boulders to stop Mightyena's attack from hurting Charizard any more.
"What was that?!" Ash screamed, dashing over to his injured Pokemon.
"There's no time to explain!" James yelled. "Get away from there or you're going to get hurt! Empoleon, Steel Wing!"
Ash ignored him and tried to soothe his Pokemon's pain with words. Meanwhile, Empoleon made a dash for Mightyena, wings spread wide. Giovanni calmly gave his next command. "Attract."
Empoleon brought his wing down as Mightyena scampered out of the way, barely avoiding the attack. Empoleon swung his other wing in a sweep motion and tripped Mightyena. She fell on her back and cast another tender look at James's Pokemon as he brought his wing up again. "Empoleon, don't fall for it!" James warned. Too late. Empoleon had fallen under Mightyena's love spell. He turned toward Ash and his wounded Charizard. "No! Empoleon, snap out of it!"
Ash stood protectively in front of his Charizard, despite the obvious danger. Giovanni, still cool as a cucumber, stayed on the defensive. "Howl."
James's Empoleon screeched and charged a move that was sure to be devastating, all while Mightyena howled deeply. James continued to try to reach his Pokemon. "Empoleon, come on! Pull yourself together!" Nothing was working. James held out his Poke Ball. "Empoleon, return." That Hydro Cannon probably would have hit Ash and Charizard so powerfully that it would have sent the two of them over the edge of the building. Better safe than sorry. Another Poke Ball was enlarged. "Growlie, help me!" James's Arcanine was summoned in Empoleon's place. "Ash, pull Charizard back! I need your help! Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
Ash realized, with some dismay, that James was right. He recalled his dragon and quickly considered his options. Giovanni's Mightyena was growing stronger by the second. He needed a Pokemon who could take any attack, and he thought of just the one. This is exactly what he brought him for. "Muk, I choose you!"
Ash's sludgy, affectionate pal burst forth as Giovanni issued his command. "Sucker Punch." Mightyena dashed forward just as Arcanine finished the attack. She leapt into the flames head-on and viciously slashed at Arcanine's body. Her claws sliced through Arcanine's leg like a hot knife through butter, causing his blood to spill on the rooftop. Arcanine ignored the pain, knowing what was at stake. He continued his assault; Mightyena was barely able to avoid the streams of fire. Mightyena decided to lure Arcanine's attacks towards Muk, hoping to deal some friendly fire damage. Muk saw Mightyena running straight toward him and raised his arms high before Ash could even order it. He'd done this once before, many years ago. His opponent was much smaller then, of course, but Muk was much stronger now. Mightyena leapt at Muk and he brought his entire body down on the canine, completely enveloping her.
Mightyena panicked and thrashed about under Muk's weight, desperately trying to escape. For the first time since the match began, Giovanni's demeanor showed a slight hint of concern. He would probably lose Mightyena, he reasoned. There was no way she was getting out of that one. Giovanni began to formulate his next course of action.
James looked on at Muk, who still held strong despite Mightyena's vicious struggling. They had become less frequent now, and soon had stopped altogether. "Ash." He said nothing. He held a finger to James meant to silence him as the three trainers looked in silence. "Ash." James said again, and again, Ash said nothing.
Giovanni sighed, taking out another Poke Ball. "He wants to kill her," he said plainly. "Make me suffer as I've made you suffer, is that it? Expecting me to lose control, swear vengeance, and all that?" He shook his head. "You'll see no tears shed by me." He drew another Poke Ball. "Gallade.." He tossed the ball down. "Fix this mess."
The Blade Pokemon came out; lean, limber, with fur of shining blue. Immediately, he pointed a finger at Muk, eyes glowing blue. Muk glowed the same blue color. He tried, tried hard, to hold his ground, and he did succeed for a time. Gallade simply focused harder, and Muk's body jerked upwards, letting Mightyena's lifeless body to fall on the ground. James commanded his Pokemon. "Help him, Arcanine! ExtremeSpeed, hit Gallade with everything you got!"
The attack best could have been described as Awkward Gait; with only three fully functioning legs, any attack involving swift movement just wasn't happening. James recalled his Pokemon. "Clefable!" he called. "Use Psychic!"
When Ash saw the direction Gallade was carrying his Pokemon, he whipped out his Poke Ball, fast as lightning. "Muk, return!" But Gallade simply moved Muk out of the beam's way. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled Muk effortlessly over the side of the building. Ash (and James's Clefable, which Ash noted was mysteriously on fire) rushed after him. Ash screamed Muk's name as he made a second attempt at recalling his Pokemon. Thanks to Clefable's psychic control, the beam connected and Muk returned safely. Ash gritted his teeth. No more messing around. This Pokemon of Giovanni's most certainly possessed formidable psychic power. It was probable that it was Psychic in type. It did bear a striking resemblance to Gardevoir, Ash noted; both had the same red chest plate. "And against Psychic-types, I have just the thing." "Crawdaunt! I choose you!"
Meanwhile, James's Clefable was given another order. "Trick, quickly!" Clefable used more of his psychic powers to hurl the shining red ball it was carrying at Gallade; it latched onto him upon contact. The Flame Orb activated instantly upon impact, setting Gallade aflame the same as Clefable. "Ash, be careful, Gallade's a Fighting-type too!"
"He's what?!" Ash realized his potential error.
"Clefable's got him burned, so his attacks will sting less. That doesn't mean to let your guard down, though!"
"I got it. Let's take him down in one shot! Crawdaunt, Guillotine!"
"Clefable, hold him in place with Psychic!"
Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "Very clever," he mused. While it was true that Gallade was mostly useless--his physical attacks were far weaker than normal, and his psychic attacks would literally do nothing to Crawdaunt and almost nothing to Clefable--Giovanni did not feel like sacrificing another Pokemon so easily. He had a couple tricks up his sleeve. "Protect!"
Not having to move proved to be useful, as the barrier was up before Crawdaunt had even reached it. Giovanni gave another command. "Now, Fling that ridiculous orb at Crawdaunt."
James went wide-eyed. "No you don't! Clefable, Follow Me!" Clefable waggled his finger, and succeeded in getting Gallade's attention. Gallade threw the ball of flame at Clefable; it bounced off harmlessly, cracked open on the ground, and dissolved. "Nice try."
"Looks like you're not a total idiot after all."
Ash waved at his partner. "Thanks, man."
James dismissed it. "Later, Ash. Focus on this right now. Do something!"
"Right. Crabhammer, one more time!"
"Clefable, use Encore!"
Gallade was forced to attempt to throw away an item he didn't have anymore as Crawdaunt repeatedly assaulted him with water-cloaked claws. Giovanni shook his head. It still wasn't over, not by a long shot, but he didn't exactly feel comfortable anymore. He'd lost two Pokemon far too quickly for his liking. He'd physically wounded one of each of theirs, so there was no way they would force them to fight, effectively bringing their combined total to ten. That Clefable certainly could prove harmful if left alone, he decided. He recalled Gallade and thought of the best--and his only--Pokemon who'd be able to do the job. "Roserade!" The thorny Pokemon landed quite elegantly, her cute-looking eyes betraying her deadly skills. Ash noticed that both of Roserade's hands were beginning to glow white. "Vine Whip, on Clefable."
Using both of its arms, the vines shot out tremendously quickly and surrounded Clefable before James could react, but this time, Ash was on top of things. "Guillotine!"
Roserade, without even having been told to, quickly jumped behind Clefable, attempting to use him as a shield. Crawdaunt quickly stopped the attack and Roserade grinned. This was too easy. Roserade released her grip on Clefable with one of her hands and simply tightened it with another; with one of her hands free, and Clefable totally immobilized, she was free to do what she liked without worrying about Clefable getting in the way.
James realized this as well, and it troubled him. What could he do? James decided to spin the wheel of fate. "Clefable, Metronome!"
Clefable was very tightly bound by Roserade's vines, and only barely managed to waggle his finger again. And Clefable started to rumble.
All the trainers knew what that meant. Giovanni was the first to act. "Roserade, return!" No way he was going to lose a third Pokemon so easily. Ash sent Crawdaunt back into his ball as well, mimicking Giovanni's sentiments. Ash, however, felt sorry that James had lost a Pokemon due to luck. With that, Clefable exploded, sending an enormous energy wave out that blew away all three trainers. Mightyena's corpse was instantly vaporized; Giovanni's helicopter was blown clear off the roof. Ash and James could only watch in horror as it fell to the ground and exploded in a giant fireball. They cringed as the sounds of crashing cars and the screaming populace were heard below.
Clefable collapsed limply to the ground, unable to even stand anymore. James cursed to himself as he put his Pokemon back into his Poke Ball. Things really could not be going any worse. All three trainers released their Pokemon: Crawdaunt, Roserade, Empoleon. James cursed again, thinking that even Arcanine could do better than Empoleon against Roserade, even with a busted leg. Roserade instantly went to work. She blew a cloud of Sleep Powder in Empoleon's direction. It would miss, but that was okay. Crawdaunt, seeing the opening, rushed forward for another Guillotine attack. Roserade quite simply put her hands together and showed Crawdaunt up close and personal the reason why her hands were glowing. Suddenly, an enormous column of white-hot energy shot from Roserade at an upward angle, melting Crawdaunt's head clean off. The attack dissipated harmlessly in the sky, but the damage was already done... and Roserade's hands began to glow white again.
Giovanni laughed. "Excellent! Simply outstanding! Well done, Roserade! Do you see that?! What strength!"
Ash could only stare in disbelief. Was that... SolarBeam? It had to have been, but that power... that must have been why Roserade's hands were glowing. She was charging power for the SolarBeam all that time. Time to utilize the all-purpose wall. "Muk, I choose you..."
Giovanni could tell the young boy's morale was plummeting. Good, he decided.
James was appalled at what he'd just seen. Never in a thousand years would he have ever thought that a Pokemon would be capable of storing energy for one attack while utilizing others. There was no way James was going to let that continue. "Empoleon, Rain Dance!"
Empoleon cried to the sky, and the dark clouds began to form. Roserade, favoring his more powerful attack option, charged at him, but Muk slipped in between them, creating a poison wall. He inhaled deeply, then shot out a tremendously large stream of fire, engulfing Roserade completely. She rolled on the ground, shrieking in pain, attempting to put the flames out. Fortunately for her, the rainstorm started, and the natural water did the job. She stood up slowly, looked down in disgust at her charred body, and glared death at the surprisingly versatile Poison-type. Muk grinned a gooey grin, and Roserade became absolutely livid. Much to Ash's delight, Roserade's glow faded. No sun, no sun-based attack. Roserade--and Giovanni--thought that was just fine.
"Sleep Powder!" Giovanni commanded.
It was a command that would be ignored. Roserade focused her energy and lifted Muk up using some sort of strange power. "Empoleon, Drill Peck!" Empoleon made a leaping dash into the sky and spun downards at his target. Roserade ignored him and focused all her energy on Muk. She twisted and contorted his body, fully intent on causing him harm, but the attack only caused him mild discomfort. Empoleon crashed directly onto Roserade's body, forcing her to drop the pile of sludge. Perhaps taking a direct hit was not the best idea, she realized. And since it was raining, her self-healing was essentially worthless.
Giovanni started to become visibly upset, having realized much too late that Muk had taunted Roserade into attacking him directly. Her attacks were far less useful now that the sun was no longer shining. "Roserade, return." He switched to a different Pokemon. "Let's see how you punks handle Ursaring!"
Ursaring stood proudly at his master's side, awaiting command. James saw that purple ball hanging around Ursaring's neck and immediately went on the offensive. "Hydro Cannon, Empoleon, and step on it! Ash, do something, quick, just don't--"
"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"
"--try to poison it..."
None of that even mattered. Giovanni's Ursaring instinctively used Protect--he'd done this before. He cringed in pain briefly as the Toxic Orb released its poisonous gas, forcing itself into Ursaring's body. "What's going on?!" Ash yelled. He knew something had to be up. Giovanni might be a sinister, evil dude, but there was no way he was going to poison his own Pokemon without having a really good reason why.
"Would you like a demonstration?" Giovanni asked rhetorically. "Ursaring, Facade!"
Ursaring charged forward at a wicked speed, throwing a monstrous punch at Muk. Muk braced himself for the blow, but it wasn't enough. He submitted, groaning in pain. Empoleon made to run straight for him, but James held him back. "No, Empoleon. Keep your distance! No doubt he'll have some Fighting techniques as well..." Empoleon nodded and opted for a Hydro Pump instead. Ursaring effortlessly avoided the large, unwieldy beam, and focused his energy on Empoleon instead. He raised a glowing white fist and charged.
"Muk, use Thunder!"
And so it was. Muk called forth a wickedly large bolt that looked a lot more damaging than it actually was. It served its purpose, however; Ursaring was hit.
"Saw that Focus Punch coming," Ash said. "No matter how fast the opponent is, Thunder won't miss in the rain."
The sound of helicopters was heard fast approaching. A voice was heard over an intercom. "This is Lance Dalton, Pokemon League Champion and leader of the Kanto Elite Four. Cease fighting at once and put your hands in the air! Giovanni Romano, you are under arrest for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, theft, destruction of property, and that is just on the first page of the warrant. Give up now or we will open fire!"
"Listen, kid," Giovanni began, keeping his eyes on the approaching helicopters. "Get those choppers outta here and I'll give you anything you want."
Ash laughed. "You don't have the power to give me what I want."
"Not even the gift of knowledge?"
"What could you possibly know that I would even care to know?"
"Your father. I know you've been searching for him. I can tell you all about him, Ash," Giovanni pleaded as the helicopters closed in. "Just tell those cops to take a hike!"
James was shocked that Ash still hadn't told Giovanni to leap off the building yet. "Ash, you're not seriously considering it, are you?"
The roar of a Dragonite was heard as the rain clouds began to subside. "Well..."
James walked over and actually shoved Ash so he was facing him. "Hey! No! Think of why we're here! For Misty, for Jessie, remember? Don't lose sight of what's important!"
Just then, Lance's enormous Dragonite came down and crashed itself into Ursaring, sending the two of them to the ground. Giovanni made a run for the elevator, but James's Empoleon put a stop to that with a fierce roar. Dragonite and Ursaring continued to brawl on the sidelines, but Dragonite was clearly going to win; the poison was taking its toll. Lance's helicopter landed on the spot where Giovanni's used to be. He leapt out and tended to his Pokemon while three armed escorts took care of Giovanni personally.
"No! Wait!" Ash pleaded, rushing towards them. "Giovanni, tell me! Where is my father? Who is he?!"
Giovanni said nothing as he was escorted to a waiting helicopter.
Ash fell to his knees. There went the one possible link to knowing the identity of his father.
Ash ran over to Lance, who was seeing to both his own Dragonite and Giovanni's Ursaring. "Lance! Stop, hold on!" Ash pleaded. "Giovanni is claiming to know about my dad. What do you know about that?!"
Lance paused. "Oh. Ash... well, hello! Can't say I was expecting to see you here. Just why are you here, anyway?"
Ash was not in the mood for this. "No stalling, Lance! Does he or does he not know who my father is?!"
Lance sighed. "It's possible, but I don't have time to explain things to you here. You look an absolute mess." He looked over at James. "I bet your story is just as interesting."
James chuckled. "You don't know the half of it, sir."
Lance nodded. "I bet." He grabbed James by the arm. "Come on, let's go."
"Whoa, whoa, just a minute here," Ash stopped him. "What do you think you're doing? He's with me."
"Yes. I see that, but I still have to bring him in. As far as the Elite Four is concerned, he's still a member of Team Rocket. You're welcome to hitch a ride with us back to Indigo Plateau and explain everything there."
Ash nodded. That was fair enough. "We have to head to the Pokemon Center first. Both of our Pokemon need some serious medical attention, and James also has his own injuries."
"We'll treat them all once we get to Indigo Plateau."
Pikachu leapt on Ash's shoulder as Kanto's Champion led him and James to a separate helicopter. Once they secured themselves in, they took off.
When they were airborne, Ash leaned back, look out the window, and sighed. What a week. He'd gone through the unnecessary death of multiple friends, had even more traumatized, and nearly lost a few Pokemon. He was, at least, thankful for that. He still didn't know what he was going to tell Caroline... the truth, he supposed. He'd made a gross error in judgment and gotten her son killed. Her daughter - oh hey, her daughter. He'd have to ask Lance to take him to Fuchsia City when this was all over.
He glanced at James, who was looking out the other window, most likely reflecting on the past week. Ash thought to say something, but decided against it. There wasn't really a need for words right now. They were home, at last. Giovanni was in custody - not exactly the ending Ash would have preferred, but it would do. With all the evidence against him, there wouldn't be any chance Giovanni would walk free ever again. Thinking of this, Ash genuinely smiled for the first time all day.
Finally, at long last, he could say with absolute certainty that his ordeal was over.
END (ish)
That's it! It's finally done! (kind of). I still have to write an epilogue, which shouldn't take nearly as long as this did. CREDITS TIME
Me - I don't care what anyone says, I SAID I WAS GOING TO FINISH IT AND BY GEORGE I FINISHED IT. Mighta took me six years to do but darn it, I FINISHED IT!!!!!!
Hm, wow, uh... Oh yes. I would also like to thank my dear friend Talon (not on pb) for the idea that started it all. <3
Anyone who stuck with this story from start to finish despite its immenseness, you few are all cool in my book, and especially Crystal Hikara who read the entire thing in like, one go. Wow.
Uh.... god, I dunno. Uh, oh yeah, I decided everyone should have a last name. choke and die if you don't like it >O
So yeah that is all the credits I care to name, I am a habitual forgetter so whatever.
The story is officially over, but please do come back for the epilogue.
NO WAIT I FORGOT ONE OH MAN. That mystery dude who gave me the final push to breathe life back into May and finish this story. How could I forget you, mystery dude? :x
I gotta say a couple things about this chapter.
I originally had planned for a much longer battle between Ash, James, and Giovanni. Ash still had Alakazam and Pikachu, as well as Sceptile; James' unseen Pokemon consisted of Chimecho (don't laugh, I had huge plans for that little guy) and, of course, Weezing; Toxicroak was shown briefly earlier. Giovanni had a Rhyperior and, of course, his wickedly powerful Persian, not to mention Ursaring and Roserade who would have tore them up if Lance hadn't intervened.
I got literally to the point where Lance shows up when I realized that they could not just battle endlessly on the rooftop, especially after the helicopter was blown off the roof. If you recall, people called the cops as early as when Ash and James arrived in Saffron City. I figured the war had waged on long enough, and so, for Ash's sake, here comes Lance and his awesomely cool new last name to save the day.
If the battle had been allowed to continue to its end, it would have been very close. I don't know who is stronger: Ash's Pikachu or Giovanni's Persian. I imagine them much on the same level in terms of power, but while Ash's Pikachu is very powerful, Giovanni's entire team is roughly equal in strength. If James hadn't been there to back him up, Ash would not have stood a chance.
Pikachu was never used in the fight because, as I often do, I forgot all about him, which is why he is never mentioned until the very end. HA
How about those last names? Am I slick or what? Brock and May get them, too, and you will find out what they are... in the epilogue.
Okay. Now I am done. Comments, I demand them, from all of you! The story is done, you have no excuse not to post! >O
Here it is! After six years, the story ends with this final chapter! Ash and what's left of his friends are finally back in Kanto, and they're out for Giovanni's blood! Will everything go as planned? I'll tell you, things didn't go as well as _I_ planned, that's for sure!
Enjoy this, the (I can't believe I'm saying this) final chapter.
Word count: A little under 7700
Chapter Thirteen: Revenge
Warning: Character death
Warning: Character death
"I never should have gone."
Ash repeated that mentally as Captain Dillertz helped him onto dry land. He could hardly believe that so much could happen in just under a week.
"I never should have gone. I should have known Giovanni would pull something like this. He wants to make the world a better place? I'll make the world a better place, starting with his body six feet under. I'll break him. I'll end him. I'll burn Rocket HQ to the ground if I have to. I'll -"
"...Mr. Ketchum?" a voice said, snapping the young man back to reality.
"Sorry, Captain," Ash apologized. "I've got a lot on my mind." What an understatement that was. He extended a hand to Tracey while Captain Dillertz did the same for Brock and May. "They’re the ones that need help, so could you please have someone take them to the hospital?"
"Of course, right away. This way." As Captain Dillertz escorted Brock and May to a waiting medical team, Ash resumed his inner monologue. Deep down, he was hoping that after all he'd been through over the past week, the inevitable confrontation with Giovanni would be rather uneventful.
The three males made their way to a nearby Officer Jenny. “Afternoon, guys,” she greeted them. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to get back to Pallet Town,” Ash responded. “How fast can you get us there?”
“Well, we’re pretty far away. It’ll be a while,” Jenny replied.
“We’re in a hurry,” James added.
Officer Jenny frowned. “Even if we hurried, it’d still be several hours before we could make it to Pallet Town from here. Going by boat won’t be much faster, either. Why not ask to use the Starmie Squad?”
“That’s a great idea!” Ash exclaimed. “Thanks, Jenny!” He ran over to where an ambulance had just taken Brock and May away. “Captain! Would you allow us to use the Starmie Squad to get back to Pallet Town? We really have to get there as fast as we can,” Ash said.
“Not a problem. We’re happy to help in any way we can,” the large man said, leading Ash and his friends towards the dock, where a single Starmie was being cared for by one of the crew. “Starmie, can you teleport these kids to Pallet Town? They’re in a hurry.”
The dual-type let out a cry, and within seconds, two more Starmie teleported to its position. The first one hovered a little closer to Ash. “All right, you’re all set. Take hold of each other’s hands and let Starmie do the rest,” the bearded gentleman said with a grin.
The three did as they were told, and within seconds they could feel Starmie working its magic. The two Starmie that had been previously summoned vanished for a few brief moments before Ash, James, and Tracey were whisked away in a flash of blue. In seconds, they were in Pallet Town, in front of Oak’s laboratory. Ash thanked the Pokemon for its work before it teleported back to Fuchsia City.
Professor Oak, having just returned from the Poke Mart, witnessed their arrival. “Ash!” he exclaimed, not sure if he was more surprised to see the blue Starmie, Ash’s sudden appearance, or the male half of Team Rocket that was with him. “And Team Rocket! What’s going on? How did you get here? Whose Pokemon was that? Does-”
“No time to talk now! Come to my house and I’ll explain everything there!” Ash yelled as he broke into a run, with James and Tracey at his heels. Truthfully, he could have spared a few minutes, but he really didn’t want to go through the details of the past half week, especially since his mother would have him talking about what happened until he was blue in the face. Better to only have to explain things once.
Luckily, Ash’s home was very close to the lab, so the three did not have very far to go. Ash threw open the front door and made a beeline for his trophy room, noticing with some relief that his mother was not at home. “What kind of Pokemon does Giovanni have?” he asked to no one in particular.
“I’m not too sure, to be honest,” James said, crossing his arms. “Giovanni does a lot of his training in secret. Other than Persian and his Weavile, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Weavile! Oh man, I totally forgot!” Ash exclaimed, removing Weavile’s Poke Ball from his pocket. “Will one of you take him to the Pokemon Center? It’s just down the street.”
“I’ll do it,” Tracey happily volunteered. “I’ll stay with him there. It should be easier to get into Rocket HQ with just the two of you, anyway.”
As Tracey left, Poke Ball in hand, a familiar yellow mouse entered the room and made its presence known. It leaped onto Ash’s shoulder and hugged his face, releasing some of his pent up electricity as he did so.
“Pikachu!” Ash cried out as the shocks shook his body. “I missed you too, buddy! Listen, I need your help. We’re gonna go take out Team Rocket once and for all. You in?” Pikachu crossed his arms and looked at Ash very strangely, as if to ask “Are you serious?” “Yeah, you’re right, I don’t know why I even asked,” Ash remarked, putting the mouse onto the floor. Upon seeing James, Pikachu leaped away and assumed a full-on battle position. He voiced his concern to Ash, who looked down to him to see what had him so agitated. “What’s the… oh, James? It’s a long story, but he’s on our side. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”
“That’s right,” James said with a smile, kneeling down so he was at Pikachu’s level. “I’m through with Team Rocket, and I'd like to apologize to you personally for all the trouble we caused you and your friends over the years.” He offered his hand in an attempt to prove his sincerity. Pikachu did nothing at first, but then slowly offered his paw, which James shook slowly, so as not to startle him. “I understand your hesitation,” the human added. “But as Ash said, I’m on your side now. My boss – well, former boss – has done both Ash and myself a great wrong, and I’d be happy to have your help in getting revenge.”
Pikachu thought about this for a moment. Was he really serious? He looked to Ash for support, but Ash was paying attention to the rows upon rows of Poke Balls, carefully considering which ones to take. Ash did say James was on his side, however, so Pikachu decided to put his trust in James. He voiced his approval and nodded.
“Thank you. I’m glad to hear it,” the human spoke. “Ash, have you decided on what Pokemon to bring?”
Ash reached for a pink Poke Ball. He blew some dust off of it and wiped it down with his shirt. “Just about. It’s been a while since I used some of these guys… Type-wise, I got a lot of stuff covered, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough.”
“Don’t forget, I’ll be with you, too. My Pokemon are pretty tough, I’ll have you know,” the elder trainer flashed a grin. “Your Pikachu is just absurdly powerful.”
Ash chuckled. Yeah, that was right. If fighting Giovanni was as easy as fighting Team Rocket, he’d be able to win effortlessly. Then again, Ash realized as his smile faded, Giovanni wasn’t head of Team Rocket for no reason. Ash had never actually battled Giovanni, just Team Rocket on his behalf, and that was years ago. Ash could barely remember what Pokemon they used. Maybe if they hadn’t played like a couple of chimps, he might have been able to recall a detail or two. “Let’s hope it’s enough. So, have you given any thought to how we’re going to get into your headquarters?”
The two left the colorful room of Poke Balls and took a short rest in the living room. They plopped down on the sofa, thankful for something soft to sit on. “You suggested posing as my prisoner, remember? I think that could still work.”
Ash considered this for a minute. “We could always try a more stealthy approach.” He grinned, holding up an old, worn Poke Ball. “You’re not the only one with a Pokemon that can use smokescreens. Besides, with the firepower I’m packing, I think we could just go in there guns blazing.” He chuckled to himself at his puns.
James shook his head. “Bad idea. There’s a panic button located underneath the receptionist’s desk. One press and the whole building goes into lockdown. All doors and windows below the seventh floor are locked.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. “Why only the first six floors?”
“Giovanni says that it doesn’t really matter. He said, ‘If anyone wants to jump out of a building to his death from seven stories up, that’s his business.’ He also said that it got him out of paying to cover the rest of the building,” James said wryly. “Anyway, once that button gets pressed, an alert goes straight to Giovanni. A live feed of the ground floor is also sent directly to his computer, so he’d see us coming right from the word go. There’s an elevator hidden behind a false wall in his office that leads to the roof. His private helicopter is there, which is fully fueled at all times, which he can use to get away.”
Ash grumbled. “Well, that is a problem… wait, hold on. How do you know there’s an elevator behind a wall in his office?”
James cursed to himself at his slip of the tongue. “Uh, well… one time, Jessie and – you know what, that’s not important,” he said, waving a hand in front of his face. “The point is, it’s there, and we’ll have to take things easy if we want to catch Giovanni off guard.”
Ash grinned. “Yeah, okay, I see how it is.” He decided not to press the issue further and went back to the topic at hand. “We could always put everyone downstairs to sleep. My Jumpluff would be perfect for it. He’s small, he can fly, and his Sleep Powder is pretty potent. It should give us enough time to get up there unseen. What do you think?”
Again, James shook his head. “No need. If I say I’m taking you to Giovanni, there shouldn’t be any cause for alarm. This mission is supposed to be secret, remember? No one except Giovanni should be surprised to see us. We’ll get in the elevator and head to the ninth floor first. That’s where the administrators’ quarters are. I’ll get my Pokemon, then we’ll take the elevator to the eleventh floor. That’s the top floor, and it’s where Giovanni’s office is. This is our best chance.”
“Mmm,” Ash nodded. “You know the place better than I do, so we’ll do it your way. I guess that means that Pikachu has to be in his Poke Ball, at least until we get out of sight.” Pikachu tilted his head at hearing that. Was Ash really going to make him go in the ball? He’d become accustomed to living outside of it; going in now after years of avoiding it made him feel a bit uneasy. Ash saw Pikachu’s expression and picked up the small creature. “Don’t worry, buddy. It’s just for a little while. I know you don’t like it, but it’s something that you gotta do. For me. All right?”
“Everything’ll be okay,” James added. “Once we get into the elevator, you’re free to come out.” Pikachu nodded, trying to be brave for his master. Ash went upstairs to his bedroom where his Poke Ball belt was and put it on. He replaced his current Pokemon with the five he’d chosen earlier, then brought them back downstairs to return them to the Pokemon room.
Ash removed Pikachu’s Poke Ball and looked at the lightning bolt design. It had been so long since he’d used it, he’d forgotten it was there. He looked down at Pikachu, enlarged the ball, and held it out. “In you go,” he commanded; the ball’s red light had enveloped Pikachu and sucked him in before Pikachu could say anything. Ash hooked the ball onto his belt and removed another of them. “We have no time to waste. I'm getting us to Saffron City the fastest way I know how. Come on out, Alakazam!"
The Psi Pokemon emerged on Ash's order, and gave a small bow to his master. He walked outside, having already progged Ash's mind for his next command. Ash and James followed him. "You know what to do - Silph Co. Land us right around the corner. Understand?" Alakazam nodded as he closed his eyes, focusing his power on his destination.
"What do you think?" Ash asked, grinning. "If Giovanni's Mr. Mime can do all sorts of havoc, I can't wait to see what Alakazam can do!"
"Do you know why Giovanni's Mr. Mime is so strong?" James asked the younger trainer. When Ash did not reply, James answered his own question. "It's because Giovanni trains his Pokemon to exceed their limits. He might be cruel, but he's no pushover. He forces his Pokemon to endure constant barrages of attacks they're weak to, just so they can build up a resistance to it. You might not agree with his methods, but there is no arguing that they're effective. Jessie and I fought him once--two against one--a few years ago. He won with two Pokemon left, two that we never even saw. Let that sink in, Ash. Four of his Pokemon took out all twelve of ours."
Ash stared, wide-eyed. That was certainly a reality check. "I see. Well, no offense, but I've beaten you guys pretty handily in the past, even two against one."
James sighed. "Just be careful, is all I'm saying. Don’t make any rash decisions. Giovanni isn’t going to hold back."
A flash of light. "And you think I'm going to?" Ash asked incredulously. "Oh no. He gets no mercy." He turned to Alakazam. "All right, teleport us to - oh. You did." He took a minute to admire Saffron City's tall buildings and citizens going about their business before noticing their target was across the street. "Well, it's not perfect, but good work. Now come on back," Ash ordered, returning his psychic steed to its Poke Ball.
"Give me your belt," James instructed. Ash looked puzzled at this, so James explained. "You're my prisoner, remember? You've been disarmed. It's just until we get out of sight." Ash nodded in understanding as he did as he was instructed. Ash chuckled, hardly believing that two weeks ago if James had asked him to hand over his Pokemon, Ash would have laughed him out of town. "Now then," the older man continued, forcing Ash's arms behind his back, "March, twerp!"
James led Ash across the busy street and led him directly into Silph Corporation, known to few as Team Rocket HQ. Ash struggled in James's grip, trying his best to sell the story. A few concerned citizens, recognizing both Ash and James, got on their phones and immediately phoned the Saffron City police...
The secretary at the front desk burst from her seat, eyes wide in disbelief. She let loose with a flurry of questions as James led his charge swiftly around her desk and to the elevator. "M-Mr. Whitmore! What is the meaning of this? Is that Ash Ketchum? Where is Miss Emerson?"
James pressed the 'up' button, and the elevator doors opened. "Gone, yes, and I am taking this filth to see the boss," James answered her as the two of them disappeared into the shaft. No sooner did the doors close on them was the bewildered redhead on the phone.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Eleven stories up, Giovanni sat behind his desk, entering some data in his computer. He didn't like doing actual work, but it was necessary to keep up the facade that was the Site for Illegal Pokemon Handling, commonly known throughout the world simply as Silph. "Three more days," he mused to himself. "Just three more days, and--"
The phone rang. A glance at the extension revealed it was the front desk. He wasn't sure why she was calling--he hadn't sent out for anything or anyone lately--but he was grateful for a break, and he reflected this in his voice as he answered. "Yes, Merla, what is it?"
"Sir, James is on his way to your office with Ash Ketchum."
Giovanni stopped mid-breath. Did she just say what he thought she said? "Mind repeating that?" he asked, his mood quickly souring. When she did, her words rang clear as a bell in his head. There was no mistaking it. "Sound the alarm at once!" he barked. "Where are they now?!"
"Th-The elevator, sir," Merla stammered, fearing she had done a terrible thing by letting James pass. "Is something wrong?"
Giovanni opened up the security camera feed from his computer; specifically, the elevator camera, and found that it was completely empty. "The elevator's empty!"
Merla begun to panic. "Sir, I swear, they got in the elevator and then I called you straight away!"
Giovanni grumbled. Merla had to have been telling the truth; if James really was back in Kanto, he would not waste time by taking the stairs. He listened carefully, trying to hear their footsteps coming toward him, but he could not hear nothing. "Of course..." He tapped a few keys into his computer, and a different feed came up. The view on his monitor changed from the elevator to a long hallway, and sure enough, there were Ash, James, and Pikachu, running towards a room. As the three disappeared inside, Giovanni screamed at his secretary again. "Why don't I hear that alarm yet?! I said sound it at once, not at your leisure!"
Merla literally jumped out of her seat at Giovanni's sudden outburst. "Y-yes, sir! Right away!" She hung up the phone--once the alarm had been triggered, all phone lines were temporarily cut until the alarm had been shut off—-and slipped a hand underneath her desk. She frantically searched for the button that would put Silph into lockdown. Finding it, she hit it several times.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
James walked into his room and smiled upon finding his Pokemon undisturbed. "Hey, guys," he greeted them. "I missed you all." Just as he clipped the belt on, a loud siren wailed, so loud that Ash clamped his hands over his ears to shield them from the noise. James cursed. "That's the lockdown alarm. Merla must have told Giovanni we were coming! Quickly, we'll have to take the stairs! Let's go!"
Giovanni watched on his monitor as Ash and James ran as fast as they could towards the stairwell. ”Thought so. Those little punks are coming here.” He opened a drawer, removed his own trainer’s belt, and moved to a wall near the corner of a room. He removed a picture from a wall and pressed a small button located behind it, and the wall opened up for him, revealing a small elevator.
Ash and James had reached Giovanni’s office by this time. James tried to force the door open, but as he had guessed, it had locked itself once the alarm had been sounded. James removed one of his Poke Balls, and without a moment’s hesitation, threw it down. “Toxicroak, help us out!”
Toxicroak emerged with a flash, and very quickly made his own door out of the door with a surprisingly strong Brick Break, which crushed the lock from the inside, enabling his trainer to simply swing the double doors open. Ash, despite not having seen the Pokemon before, correctly deduced that Toxicroak was a Poison-type based on its name and those 3-inch claws on its knuckles that glistened in the light with Ash assumed was poison. Based on the sheer power and ease of using Brick Break, Ash also surmised it was part Fighting in type as well.
The two burst into Giovanni’s office and found it completely empty. James rushed to the secret elevator and hit the button behind the picture, but nothing happened. “Agh, we’re too late! He’ll be gone by the time we get up there!”
“No we won’t,” Ash declared, staring into the sky above Saffron City. Now it was Ash’s turn to show off his Pokemon’s skills. “Charizard!” he began as he tossed his ball down, “Shatter this window with Fire Punch!”
Charizard grunted in reply and immediately threw a devastating flame-coated fist into the inch-thick glass. While it didn’t shatter the glass on impact, Ash didn’t expect it to. It would submit eventually – the first punch itself had made a large dent. When Charizard punched the glass again with his other fist, the glass began to crack more noticeably. With a mighty roar, Charizard threw a third punch into the glass, and this time, the entire window shattered, glass shards falling down to the street below. James looked on, quite impressed with the strength of Ash’s Charizard.
Ash mounted his dragon. “To the roof!” Ash ordered. “We have to stop Giovanni!” Charizard flapped his wings and leapt out of the window, easily rising the short distance to Silph’s roof. He spotted Giovanni quickly approaching his helicopter, and he pointed Charizard in that direction. “No you don’t, Giovanni! Charizard, get down there and use Flamethrower!”
Charizard made a beeline for the Rocket lead, who turned just in time to see a huge surge of flame directed at him. He quickly dove out of the way, barely avoiding being incinerated. Charizard dropped Ash onto the roof, and he wasted no time in ensuring that Giovanni wasn’t going anywhere. “Charizard! Use Fire Spin on the helicopter!”
James, who had just come from the elevator with Pikachu, heard the command. He rushed over to the young man from Pallet Town, hoping he wasn’t too late. “No! Charizard, stop it! You’ll kill us all!”
This was enough to give Charizard pause in executing Ash’s order. Giovanni used this opportunity to try to run for it, but Pikachu stopped him in his tracks with a shot of Thunderbolt; the attack had come so close to hitting Giovanni that it singed his suit and blackened his shoes. Ash pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you even think about moving. I got words for you.” He turned to James. “And what’s the big idea with telling me to stop? Giovanni almost got away thanks to you!”
James resisted the urge to smack this kid upside his head. “This is what I meant when I said to not make rash decisions! If Charizard would have set that helicopter on fire, it would have ignited the fuel in the helicopter, causing the whole thing to explode! Those fuel tankers over there would have exploded, too, which not only would kill you, me, Giovanni, and anyone on the top couple floors of Silph, but the flaming debris that would result would undoubtedly injure innocent people on the streets below. This is exactly the stuff that—-AHH!”
James’s chastising was cut short by a searing pain suddenly shooting through his left leg; the two looked down to find a Mightyena slinking her way back to her master. The newly made slash was bleeding quite badly. Quickly, James removed his jacket and tied it tightly around the wound. It would work for now, but he’d have to get to the hospital eventually. “That… was a cheap shot…” James seethed through clenched teeth.
At this, Giovanni laughed openly. “You burst in unannounced in what is obviously an attempt on my life and don’t even give me a chance to defend myself? If that is not the definition of a cheap shot, I don’t know what is!”
Ash fumed. There was no way he was going to let Giovanni enjoy even a second of this. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”
Seemingly out of nowhere, Mightyena leapt forward as Pikachu charged the attack. Fast as lightning, Mightyena sliced at Pikachu with its sharp claws, forcing Pikachu to abort the attack and evade.
“Good girl,” Giovanni grinned. “You’re very naughty, Ash, attacking me while I’m not ready,” he taunted. He saw the look of confusion on Ash’s face and decided to indulge him. “What you just saw was called Sucker Punch. If my opponent—-you—-decides to use an attack, my Pokemon can use that time to get in an attack before yours. And that’s all you need to know, really.”
“Quit being such a novice, Ash,” James scolded him. “You need to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking with your head, or you are never going to win.”
“I understand you’re upset, Ash, and understandably so,” Giovanni began again, casually strolling away from the two men. Mightyena obediently stayed by his side, eyeing Pikachu and Charizard in case they decided to make a move on her trainer. It made Ash’s blood boil knowing that he couldn’t do anything. After all this, Giovanni still had the upper hand. “I’m quite upset that Shelly failed me, though I do note, with some delight, that Jessie is absent.” He smiled when he saw the expression in James’s face change. “Ah, so Shelly did do something right.
“Listen, Ash,” he continued. “My request to have your help in making this world a better place was not simply a ruse to get you to come to Orre. I want you to—“
“Save it,” Ash growled. He was not in the mood to make idle chat with his best friend’s killer. “You are going to pay for what you’ve done. For Misty, May, and all my friends hurt by you and Shelly, and for the countless others your disgusting organization has hurt since the day Team Rocket was born, I will punish you.”
“We will punish you,” James corrected, removing one of his Poke Balls. “Jessie was my life. My universe. My everything. And you stole her from me!” he screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. “You!! Empoleon, go!”
Ash turned back to his dragon. “Get him, Charizard!”
Giovanni smiled. Perhaps this might be some fun after all. Mightyena assumed a full-on battle pose, prepared for anything her opponents might throw at her. Charizard ignored her and soared high above the two, spewing a hot Flamethrower directed not at the canine, but at her trainer. Mightyena leapt to Giovanni’s side and threw up an enormous barrier that easily enveloped both Pokemon and human, causing the Flamethrower to bounce harmlessly off it.
“Careful with those flames, Charizard!” Ash reminded him.
Charizard nodded, having no issue with fighting at close range. Charizard made a dash for Mightyena as James directed his Empoleon. “Okay, use Yawn!”
And Empoleon did just that. He yawned, quite loudly, and try as she might, Mightyena could not ignore it. As Charizard closed in, Mightyena yawned. It wouldn’t be long before the sleep took effect. Giovanni issued his own command. “Uproar! Then Captivate!” Mightyena suddenly shrieked loudly. Charizard stopped immediately and fell to one knee and clutched his head tightly, stunned by the large shriek. The echo rang in his ears, so distracting he could barely hear Ash shouting his words of encouragement. Empoleon, who was not at close range, was not immobilized as Charizard was, but he still expressed discomfort at the sound left in his ears. Mightyena didn’t waste any time in executing Giovanni’s second command. She gazed affectionately at them, making both dragon and penguin feel uneasy.
Charizard wildly swung at Mightyena with claw and wing, but the agile canine easily dodged each blow. The uproar’s effects were preventing him from concentrating. James decided to provide some help. “Empoleon, Rock Tomb!”
Giovanni smiled. “Me First!”
Mightyena summoned the large boulders and circled them around her fast, very fast, and directed them not at Empoleon, but Charizard. One by one, Mightyena launched them. Charizard raised his arms to block, but the first one stung a lot more than he thought it would. The second one shattered his left arm. He tumbled backwards, wincing and roaring in pain. Empoleon finally launched his Rock Tomb, using the boulders to stop Mightyena's attack from hurting Charizard any more.
"What was that?!" Ash screamed, dashing over to his injured Pokemon.
"There's no time to explain!" James yelled. "Get away from there or you're going to get hurt! Empoleon, Steel Wing!"
Ash ignored him and tried to soothe his Pokemon's pain with words. Meanwhile, Empoleon made a dash for Mightyena, wings spread wide. Giovanni calmly gave his next command. "Attract."
Empoleon brought his wing down as Mightyena scampered out of the way, barely avoiding the attack. Empoleon swung his other wing in a sweep motion and tripped Mightyena. She fell on her back and cast another tender look at James's Pokemon as he brought his wing up again. "Empoleon, don't fall for it!" James warned. Too late. Empoleon had fallen under Mightyena's love spell. He turned toward Ash and his wounded Charizard. "No! Empoleon, snap out of it!"
Ash stood protectively in front of his Charizard, despite the obvious danger. Giovanni, still cool as a cucumber, stayed on the defensive. "Howl."
James's Empoleon screeched and charged a move that was sure to be devastating, all while Mightyena howled deeply. James continued to try to reach his Pokemon. "Empoleon, come on! Pull yourself together!" Nothing was working. James held out his Poke Ball. "Empoleon, return." That Hydro Cannon probably would have hit Ash and Charizard so powerfully that it would have sent the two of them over the edge of the building. Better safe than sorry. Another Poke Ball was enlarged. "Growlie, help me!" James's Arcanine was summoned in Empoleon's place. "Ash, pull Charizard back! I need your help! Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
Ash realized, with some dismay, that James was right. He recalled his dragon and quickly considered his options. Giovanni's Mightyena was growing stronger by the second. He needed a Pokemon who could take any attack, and he thought of just the one. This is exactly what he brought him for. "Muk, I choose you!"
Ash's sludgy, affectionate pal burst forth as Giovanni issued his command. "Sucker Punch." Mightyena dashed forward just as Arcanine finished the attack. She leapt into the flames head-on and viciously slashed at Arcanine's body. Her claws sliced through Arcanine's leg like a hot knife through butter, causing his blood to spill on the rooftop. Arcanine ignored the pain, knowing what was at stake. He continued his assault; Mightyena was barely able to avoid the streams of fire. Mightyena decided to lure Arcanine's attacks towards Muk, hoping to deal some friendly fire damage. Muk saw Mightyena running straight toward him and raised his arms high before Ash could even order it. He'd done this once before, many years ago. His opponent was much smaller then, of course, but Muk was much stronger now. Mightyena leapt at Muk and he brought his entire body down on the canine, completely enveloping her.
Mightyena panicked and thrashed about under Muk's weight, desperately trying to escape. For the first time since the match began, Giovanni's demeanor showed a slight hint of concern. He would probably lose Mightyena, he reasoned. There was no way she was getting out of that one. Giovanni began to formulate his next course of action.
James looked on at Muk, who still held strong despite Mightyena's vicious struggling. They had become less frequent now, and soon had stopped altogether. "Ash." He said nothing. He held a finger to James meant to silence him as the three trainers looked in silence. "Ash." James said again, and again, Ash said nothing.
Giovanni sighed, taking out another Poke Ball. "He wants to kill her," he said plainly. "Make me suffer as I've made you suffer, is that it? Expecting me to lose control, swear vengeance, and all that?" He shook his head. "You'll see no tears shed by me." He drew another Poke Ball. "Gallade.." He tossed the ball down. "Fix this mess."
The Blade Pokemon came out; lean, limber, with fur of shining blue. Immediately, he pointed a finger at Muk, eyes glowing blue. Muk glowed the same blue color. He tried, tried hard, to hold his ground, and he did succeed for a time. Gallade simply focused harder, and Muk's body jerked upwards, letting Mightyena's lifeless body to fall on the ground. James commanded his Pokemon. "Help him, Arcanine! ExtremeSpeed, hit Gallade with everything you got!"
The attack best could have been described as Awkward Gait; with only three fully functioning legs, any attack involving swift movement just wasn't happening. James recalled his Pokemon. "Clefable!" he called. "Use Psychic!"
When Ash saw the direction Gallade was carrying his Pokemon, he whipped out his Poke Ball, fast as lightning. "Muk, return!" But Gallade simply moved Muk out of the beam's way. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled Muk effortlessly over the side of the building. Ash (and James's Clefable, which Ash noted was mysteriously on fire) rushed after him. Ash screamed Muk's name as he made a second attempt at recalling his Pokemon. Thanks to Clefable's psychic control, the beam connected and Muk returned safely. Ash gritted his teeth. No more messing around. This Pokemon of Giovanni's most certainly possessed formidable psychic power. It was probable that it was Psychic in type. It did bear a striking resemblance to Gardevoir, Ash noted; both had the same red chest plate. "And against Psychic-types, I have just the thing." "Crawdaunt! I choose you!"
Meanwhile, James's Clefable was given another order. "Trick, quickly!" Clefable used more of his psychic powers to hurl the shining red ball it was carrying at Gallade; it latched onto him upon contact. The Flame Orb activated instantly upon impact, setting Gallade aflame the same as Clefable. "Ash, be careful, Gallade's a Fighting-type too!"
"He's what?!" Ash realized his potential error.
"Clefable's got him burned, so his attacks will sting less. That doesn't mean to let your guard down, though!"
"I got it. Let's take him down in one shot! Crawdaunt, Guillotine!"
"Clefable, hold him in place with Psychic!"
Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "Very clever," he mused. While it was true that Gallade was mostly useless--his physical attacks were far weaker than normal, and his psychic attacks would literally do nothing to Crawdaunt and almost nothing to Clefable--Giovanni did not feel like sacrificing another Pokemon so easily. He had a couple tricks up his sleeve. "Protect!"
Not having to move proved to be useful, as the barrier was up before Crawdaunt had even reached it. Giovanni gave another command. "Now, Fling that ridiculous orb at Crawdaunt."
James went wide-eyed. "No you don't! Clefable, Follow Me!" Clefable waggled his finger, and succeeded in getting Gallade's attention. Gallade threw the ball of flame at Clefable; it bounced off harmlessly, cracked open on the ground, and dissolved. "Nice try."
"Looks like you're not a total idiot after all."
Ash waved at his partner. "Thanks, man."
James dismissed it. "Later, Ash. Focus on this right now. Do something!"
"Right. Crabhammer, one more time!"
"Clefable, use Encore!"
Gallade was forced to attempt to throw away an item he didn't have anymore as Crawdaunt repeatedly assaulted him with water-cloaked claws. Giovanni shook his head. It still wasn't over, not by a long shot, but he didn't exactly feel comfortable anymore. He'd lost two Pokemon far too quickly for his liking. He'd physically wounded one of each of theirs, so there was no way they would force them to fight, effectively bringing their combined total to ten. That Clefable certainly could prove harmful if left alone, he decided. He recalled Gallade and thought of the best--and his only--Pokemon who'd be able to do the job. "Roserade!" The thorny Pokemon landed quite elegantly, her cute-looking eyes betraying her deadly skills. Ash noticed that both of Roserade's hands were beginning to glow white. "Vine Whip, on Clefable."
Using both of its arms, the vines shot out tremendously quickly and surrounded Clefable before James could react, but this time, Ash was on top of things. "Guillotine!"
Roserade, without even having been told to, quickly jumped behind Clefable, attempting to use him as a shield. Crawdaunt quickly stopped the attack and Roserade grinned. This was too easy. Roserade released her grip on Clefable with one of her hands and simply tightened it with another; with one of her hands free, and Clefable totally immobilized, she was free to do what she liked without worrying about Clefable getting in the way.
James realized this as well, and it troubled him. What could he do? James decided to spin the wheel of fate. "Clefable, Metronome!"
Clefable was very tightly bound by Roserade's vines, and only barely managed to waggle his finger again. And Clefable started to rumble.
All the trainers knew what that meant. Giovanni was the first to act. "Roserade, return!" No way he was going to lose a third Pokemon so easily. Ash sent Crawdaunt back into his ball as well, mimicking Giovanni's sentiments. Ash, however, felt sorry that James had lost a Pokemon due to luck. With that, Clefable exploded, sending an enormous energy wave out that blew away all three trainers. Mightyena's corpse was instantly vaporized; Giovanni's helicopter was blown clear off the roof. Ash and James could only watch in horror as it fell to the ground and exploded in a giant fireball. They cringed as the sounds of crashing cars and the screaming populace were heard below.
Clefable collapsed limply to the ground, unable to even stand anymore. James cursed to himself as he put his Pokemon back into his Poke Ball. Things really could not be going any worse. All three trainers released their Pokemon: Crawdaunt, Roserade, Empoleon. James cursed again, thinking that even Arcanine could do better than Empoleon against Roserade, even with a busted leg. Roserade instantly went to work. She blew a cloud of Sleep Powder in Empoleon's direction. It would miss, but that was okay. Crawdaunt, seeing the opening, rushed forward for another Guillotine attack. Roserade quite simply put her hands together and showed Crawdaunt up close and personal the reason why her hands were glowing. Suddenly, an enormous column of white-hot energy shot from Roserade at an upward angle, melting Crawdaunt's head clean off. The attack dissipated harmlessly in the sky, but the damage was already done... and Roserade's hands began to glow white again.
Giovanni laughed. "Excellent! Simply outstanding! Well done, Roserade! Do you see that?! What strength!"
Ash could only stare in disbelief. Was that... SolarBeam? It had to have been, but that power... that must have been why Roserade's hands were glowing. She was charging power for the SolarBeam all that time. Time to utilize the all-purpose wall. "Muk, I choose you..."
Giovanni could tell the young boy's morale was plummeting. Good, he decided.
James was appalled at what he'd just seen. Never in a thousand years would he have ever thought that a Pokemon would be capable of storing energy for one attack while utilizing others. There was no way James was going to let that continue. "Empoleon, Rain Dance!"
Empoleon cried to the sky, and the dark clouds began to form. Roserade, favoring his more powerful attack option, charged at him, but Muk slipped in between them, creating a poison wall. He inhaled deeply, then shot out a tremendously large stream of fire, engulfing Roserade completely. She rolled on the ground, shrieking in pain, attempting to put the flames out. Fortunately for her, the rainstorm started, and the natural water did the job. She stood up slowly, looked down in disgust at her charred body, and glared death at the surprisingly versatile Poison-type. Muk grinned a gooey grin, and Roserade became absolutely livid. Much to Ash's delight, Roserade's glow faded. No sun, no sun-based attack. Roserade--and Giovanni--thought that was just fine.
"Sleep Powder!" Giovanni commanded.
It was a command that would be ignored. Roserade focused her energy and lifted Muk up using some sort of strange power. "Empoleon, Drill Peck!" Empoleon made a leaping dash into the sky and spun downards at his target. Roserade ignored him and focused all her energy on Muk. She twisted and contorted his body, fully intent on causing him harm, but the attack only caused him mild discomfort. Empoleon crashed directly onto Roserade's body, forcing her to drop the pile of sludge. Perhaps taking a direct hit was not the best idea, she realized. And since it was raining, her self-healing was essentially worthless.
Giovanni started to become visibly upset, having realized much too late that Muk had taunted Roserade into attacking him directly. Her attacks were far less useful now that the sun was no longer shining. "Roserade, return." He switched to a different Pokemon. "Let's see how you punks handle Ursaring!"
Ursaring stood proudly at his master's side, awaiting command. James saw that purple ball hanging around Ursaring's neck and immediately went on the offensive. "Hydro Cannon, Empoleon, and step on it! Ash, do something, quick, just don't--"
"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"
"--try to poison it..."
None of that even mattered. Giovanni's Ursaring instinctively used Protect--he'd done this before. He cringed in pain briefly as the Toxic Orb released its poisonous gas, forcing itself into Ursaring's body. "What's going on?!" Ash yelled. He knew something had to be up. Giovanni might be a sinister, evil dude, but there was no way he was going to poison his own Pokemon without having a really good reason why.
"Would you like a demonstration?" Giovanni asked rhetorically. "Ursaring, Facade!"
Ursaring charged forward at a wicked speed, throwing a monstrous punch at Muk. Muk braced himself for the blow, but it wasn't enough. He submitted, groaning in pain. Empoleon made to run straight for him, but James held him back. "No, Empoleon. Keep your distance! No doubt he'll have some Fighting techniques as well..." Empoleon nodded and opted for a Hydro Pump instead. Ursaring effortlessly avoided the large, unwieldy beam, and focused his energy on Empoleon instead. He raised a glowing white fist and charged.
"Muk, use Thunder!"
And so it was. Muk called forth a wickedly large bolt that looked a lot more damaging than it actually was. It served its purpose, however; Ursaring was hit.
"Saw that Focus Punch coming," Ash said. "No matter how fast the opponent is, Thunder won't miss in the rain."
The sound of helicopters was heard fast approaching. A voice was heard over an intercom. "This is Lance Dalton, Pokemon League Champion and leader of the Kanto Elite Four. Cease fighting at once and put your hands in the air! Giovanni Romano, you are under arrest for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, theft, destruction of property, and that is just on the first page of the warrant. Give up now or we will open fire!"
"Listen, kid," Giovanni began, keeping his eyes on the approaching helicopters. "Get those choppers outta here and I'll give you anything you want."
Ash laughed. "You don't have the power to give me what I want."
"Not even the gift of knowledge?"
"What could you possibly know that I would even care to know?"
"Your father. I know you've been searching for him. I can tell you all about him, Ash," Giovanni pleaded as the helicopters closed in. "Just tell those cops to take a hike!"
James was shocked that Ash still hadn't told Giovanni to leap off the building yet. "Ash, you're not seriously considering it, are you?"
The roar of a Dragonite was heard as the rain clouds began to subside. "Well..."
James walked over and actually shoved Ash so he was facing him. "Hey! No! Think of why we're here! For Misty, for Jessie, remember? Don't lose sight of what's important!"
Just then, Lance's enormous Dragonite came down and crashed itself into Ursaring, sending the two of them to the ground. Giovanni made a run for the elevator, but James's Empoleon put a stop to that with a fierce roar. Dragonite and Ursaring continued to brawl on the sidelines, but Dragonite was clearly going to win; the poison was taking its toll. Lance's helicopter landed on the spot where Giovanni's used to be. He leapt out and tended to his Pokemon while three armed escorts took care of Giovanni personally.
"No! Wait!" Ash pleaded, rushing towards them. "Giovanni, tell me! Where is my father? Who is he?!"
Giovanni said nothing as he was escorted to a waiting helicopter.
Ash fell to his knees. There went the one possible link to knowing the identity of his father.
Ash ran over to Lance, who was seeing to both his own Dragonite and Giovanni's Ursaring. "Lance! Stop, hold on!" Ash pleaded. "Giovanni is claiming to know about my dad. What do you know about that?!"
Lance paused. "Oh. Ash... well, hello! Can't say I was expecting to see you here. Just why are you here, anyway?"
Ash was not in the mood for this. "No stalling, Lance! Does he or does he not know who my father is?!"
Lance sighed. "It's possible, but I don't have time to explain things to you here. You look an absolute mess." He looked over at James. "I bet your story is just as interesting."
James chuckled. "You don't know the half of it, sir."
Lance nodded. "I bet." He grabbed James by the arm. "Come on, let's go."
"Whoa, whoa, just a minute here," Ash stopped him. "What do you think you're doing? He's with me."
"Yes. I see that, but I still have to bring him in. As far as the Elite Four is concerned, he's still a member of Team Rocket. You're welcome to hitch a ride with us back to Indigo Plateau and explain everything there."
Ash nodded. That was fair enough. "We have to head to the Pokemon Center first. Both of our Pokemon need some serious medical attention, and James also has his own injuries."
"We'll treat them all once we get to Indigo Plateau."
Pikachu leapt on Ash's shoulder as Kanto's Champion led him and James to a separate helicopter. Once they secured themselves in, they took off.
When they were airborne, Ash leaned back, look out the window, and sighed. What a week. He'd gone through the unnecessary death of multiple friends, had even more traumatized, and nearly lost a few Pokemon. He was, at least, thankful for that. He still didn't know what he was going to tell Caroline... the truth, he supposed. He'd made a gross error in judgment and gotten her son killed. Her daughter - oh hey, her daughter. He'd have to ask Lance to take him to Fuchsia City when this was all over.
He glanced at James, who was looking out the other window, most likely reflecting on the past week. Ash thought to say something, but decided against it. There wasn't really a need for words right now. They were home, at last. Giovanni was in custody - not exactly the ending Ash would have preferred, but it would do. With all the evidence against him, there wouldn't be any chance Giovanni would walk free ever again. Thinking of this, Ash genuinely smiled for the first time all day.
Finally, at long last, he could say with absolute certainty that his ordeal was over.
END (ish)
That's it! It's finally done! (kind of). I still have to write an epilogue, which shouldn't take nearly as long as this did. CREDITS TIME
Me - I don't care what anyone says, I SAID I WAS GOING TO FINISH IT AND BY GEORGE I FINISHED IT. Mighta took me six years to do but darn it, I FINISHED IT!!!!!!
Hm, wow, uh... Oh yes. I would also like to thank my dear friend Talon (not on pb) for the idea that started it all. <3
Anyone who stuck with this story from start to finish despite its immenseness, you few are all cool in my book, and especially Crystal Hikara who read the entire thing in like, one go. Wow.
Uh.... god, I dunno. Uh, oh yeah, I decided everyone should have a last name. choke and die if you don't like it >O
So yeah that is all the credits I care to name, I am a habitual forgetter so whatever.
The story is officially over, but please do come back for the epilogue.
NO WAIT I FORGOT ONE OH MAN. That mystery dude who gave me the final push to breathe life back into May and finish this story. How could I forget you, mystery dude? :x
I gotta say a couple things about this chapter.
I originally had planned for a much longer battle between Ash, James, and Giovanni. Ash still had Alakazam and Pikachu, as well as Sceptile; James' unseen Pokemon consisted of Chimecho (don't laugh, I had huge plans for that little guy) and, of course, Weezing; Toxicroak was shown briefly earlier. Giovanni had a Rhyperior and, of course, his wickedly powerful Persian, not to mention Ursaring and Roserade who would have tore them up if Lance hadn't intervened.
I got literally to the point where Lance shows up when I realized that they could not just battle endlessly on the rooftop, especially after the helicopter was blown off the roof. If you recall, people called the cops as early as when Ash and James arrived in Saffron City. I figured the war had waged on long enough, and so, for Ash's sake, here comes Lance and his awesomely cool new last name to save the day.
If the battle had been allowed to continue to its end, it would have been very close. I don't know who is stronger: Ash's Pikachu or Giovanni's Persian. I imagine them much on the same level in terms of power, but while Ash's Pikachu is very powerful, Giovanni's entire team is roughly equal in strength. If James hadn't been there to back him up, Ash would not have stood a chance.
Pikachu was never used in the fight because, as I often do, I forgot all about him, which is why he is never mentioned until the very end. HA
How about those last names? Am I slick or what? Brock and May get them, too, and you will find out what they are... in the epilogue.
Okay. Now I am done. Comments, I demand them, from all of you! The story is done, you have no excuse not to post! >O
PMJ
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Okay. I told you guys this wasn't gonna take long. It's the epilogue.
Thanks to Crystal Hikara for proofreading and making sure I didn't totally make a fool outta myself~
No idea what the word count is. Not like it matters anyway.
18 April
Happy birthday to us!
Today marks the three-year anniversary of the birth of Sketchmore Industries.
It didn't help that I had to spend the first year of those three in jail, but Tracey has proved to be an excellent interim leader. I'm quite impressed with his work. Getting out of the criminal racket was the best thing this company (it feels so good to be able to call it that rather than just a 'criminal organization') has ever done. Some people still do not trust us as a company, seeing as how I am the company president, we are still housed in the same building where Silph used to be, and a good chunk of our staff consists of former Rocket agents who were tired of Giovanni but did not have the willpower or strength to challenge his authority.
I can't blame them. It's going to take a long time to remove the stain on Saffron City that Giovanni left. Speaking of, the jury surprised me when they sentenced him to life in prison rather than death. They'd said that death would have been too lenient a punishment, and I could find myself agreeing with that.
Enough about that, though. This is a happy day!
Tracey and I just finished the design for another house. We're hoping to break ground early next month.
James paused, taking a moment to sip his coffee. Black, the way he preferred it. He stared intently into the cup, looking through his reflection into the murky dark liquid. It reminded him of his dark past, and he took a larger drink before setting the cup down and resumed writing.
And speaking of happy days, Ash has informed me that he and the young Miss Langford are scheduled to be wed sometime next year. We're building May her dream house as a surprise wedding present. It's unfortunate she will never be able to actually see it, but I just know she'll love it. From what Ash told me, he moved to Hoenn to be with May almost immediately after we got back from Orre. He said he told her parents, "I got your son killed. The least I can do is make sure your daughter is taken care of for the rest of her life." I'm not sure I would have phrased the first part quite like that, but that's Ash for you. Right to the point. But he's definitely making good on that promise. It might sound like he's doing it out of an obligation to her, but just from looking at them, you'd be crazy to think they were anything but very much in love. It makes me smile to see them together... I'm glad he's found someone.
As for myself... I don't think I'm ready to get back on that horse just yet. I know Jessie would want me to move on and find someone else, but I can't do it. Not yet. I need to focus my attention on keeping this business alive, but it warms my heart knowing that at the very least, Ash and May can start their life together with one less criminal organization in the world.
James stopped again, and thought. What else was there? And the light came on. "Oh!"
Brock challenged the Elite Four for a spot in their ranks, and his match against them was aired last night. He lost, which is quite a shame, considering he had Lance down to his last Pokemon. I didn't even know Brock even wanted to join the Elite Four. The proceeds for the whole event were donated to various organizations. Some of it went here, as did the cool million we lifted from Giovanni's mansion. Without Giovanni funding us, we've had to rely on a lot of donations to stay strong. Ash has helped out in this area tremendously - I guess he wasn't lying when he said he didn't need Giovanni's money.
A young lady with long brown hair knocked on the open door to James's office. "Sir, there's a..." She glanced at her clipboard. "Jasmine De...Dell.."
"Deloreaux," James finished. She was here a day early!
"Jasmine Deloreaux," the girl parroted, relieved she'd avoided embarrassing herself further. "She is here to discuss plans for renovating a Gym in Johto."
"Send her in. Thanks, Daisy."
"Yes, sir."
James closed his notebook, put the pencil in its binding, and shoved it away into a drawer. James straightened his tie and grinned as the plain young woman and her Empoleon entered the room. "Jasmine, welcome. Please, have a seat."
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Somewhere off the coast of Cinnabar Island, three friends were on a boat to Pokeprison, Kanto's somewhat ridiculously named maximum security prison, to see a man none of them wanted to see.
The shortest of the three spoke first, his voice sounding slightly hoarse. "Are you sure about this?"
Ash crossed his arms in thought. He really wanted to tell Officer Jenny to turn around, turn around now and forget Giovanni. He looked up at the building that housed the former leader of a former organization of Pokemon thieves. Curse Giovanni for planting the seeds of inquiry. He was probably leading him on, in any case, but he had to be certain. "Yeah," he finally answered.
"You think he's gonna tell you anything?"
"I was just thinking about that. I bet he'll probably send me on my way the second we get there, but I want to know if he knows anything."
May hugged her troubled soon-to-be husband. "You might not like what he has to say." She gave him a comforting squeeze. "If he says anything at all. You said he only claimed to know anything when he was backed into a corner, right? So it's possible he lied about the whole thing."
Ash considered that, too. "Well, he was right when he said I'd want to know," he began, taking his fiancee's hands in his own. "He knew, once Lance showed up, that he was finished. I think he'd planned on me not knowing who my father was, and hearing anything related to him would get me to say hold on, wait a sec." He shook his head sorrowfully. "To hesitate. And that's exactly what I did. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You still came out on top, didn't you? That's all that matters."
"Weavile's right," May reminded him. "No matter what he says to you, you've got plenty of things to look forward to." She leaned in to kiss his lightly furred cheek.
"You bet I do," Ash happily stated.
Idle chatter filled the remainder of the boat ride. Upon arriving at the isolated rock, another Officer Jenny stood waiting to receive the young man. As he was led up the stone steps to the main gate, he passed two more Jenny clones, each with a ferocious-looking Houndoom sitting obediently at their sides. Even though he knew their sharp fangs and wicked moves would never be trained on him, he felt incredibly nervous walking past them nonetheless.
Inside, his identification was scanned, then his person was scanned to ensure no Poke Balls were present. The device they used, he noticed, was the same one Jackson used on him and his friends three years ago. Ash was then led into a large room separated in two by thick glass. Ash saw other people sitting down here, speaking to prisoners on the other side; loved ones talking to incarcerated spouses, lawyers contacting their shady clients. Ash was brought to the end of the room, where there was no one on the other side.
A guard spoke into his radio. "Okay, bring him in."
Ash did his best to steel his nerve as Giovanni Romano, orchestrator of death, walked into the room led arm in arm by two guards with huge guns. Both his hands and feet were shackled, Ash saw, and he orange jumpsuit he wore looked strikingly similar to the orange suit he wore in his days of being feared. The two officers placed the convicted man into the seat, and took their hands off him. Not once removing their eyes from him, they stepped back just enough so the man would have room to breathe.
"So," Giovanni began with a smile, that smile that Ash hated. "You came."
"Skip the formalities, Giovanni," Ash spat. "You know why I'm here."
Giovanni's smile faded ever so slightly before returning full force. "Your father."
"Yes. Tell me who he is."
"Why should I? Have you forgotten? My offer ended the second I got on that helicopter."
"I can make your life in here a lot easier," Ash coolly offered.
Giovanni couldn't deny that. He'd been in solitary confinement since he arrived, and anything was better than that. Then again, Ash Ketchum was the one who put him here in the first place. Even if he'd spilled his guts, that wouldn't get him out of here. He'd still be trapped in this desolate hole, and he would be safe. On the outside.
He weighed his options, and decided with a single word. "Choke."
"You sure about that?" Ash countered. "Once I walk out of here, deal's off. For good. You won't see me again." He stood up as if to drive his point home and, for a brief moment, hoped that Giovanni would change his mind.
Giovanni almost laughed. "Well, I can only hope. I may be cursed to live out the rest of my days in this stinking pit, but you know what? I'm glad. You little wretch. You can take not knowing who your father is to your grave. I will die with a smile on my face knowing that I'm the only one who can tell you."
Ash was becoming upset, but wouldn't give Giovanni the satisfaction of seeing it on his face. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving Giovanni content with the knowledge that his son had left without ever knowing the truth.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Brock stood over the stove, staring out the window and sighing as he put the finishing touches on another group of pancakes for his veritable posse of siblings. It's not that he hated cooking; he cooked almost daily, both for human and Pokemon, and loved doing it. He'd just like someone else to handle the cooking duties once in a while.
"Heyyyy, Brockmeister," one of them called to him as he entered the room.
Brock did not even look away from the stove. He hated when they called him that. "What is it?"
He tossed the letter on the table. "You got some mail. From the Pokemon League. Looks important."
This caught his attention. He took the finished pancakes from the pan, turned the stove off, and looked at the envelope. On the back, Brock saw it was sealed with the offical Pokemon League seal. What could they want with him? "Well, only one way to find out..." He tore the seal and opened the plain white envelope, unfolded the piece of paper, and began to read.
"So? What's it say?"
A smile slowly crept across Brock's face as he mouthed the words of the letter. "I... they... I'm in! I'm in! Can you believe it??"
Brock's kid brother crossed his arms. "What are you in?"
Brock read his message aloud. "Dear Mr. Slate: Thank you for applying to become one of Kanto's Elite Four. As you are aware, those who cannot defeat the current Champion are ineligible for consideration for a 6-month period. However, given the results of your match and your longtime standing as a Gym Leader, we have decided to make an exception in your case.
"As a Gym Leader, you received an e-mail from Indigo Plateau stating that Agatha Tomash would be retiring from service at the end of the year. After careful consideration, we have unanimously voted to induct you into the Elite Four immediately following Ms. Tomash's departure.
"Per League regulations, we are obligated to inform you that should you accept, you must resign your status as Gym Leader. Choose a replacement via regulation guidelines and send their information to Indigo Plateau by mail or e-mail. We are looking forward to working with you in the near future. Respectfully yours," Brock folded the note, "and then it has all their signatures. But I can't believe it! I'm part of the Elite Four, bro! I'm so excited! Oh man, I gotta call Ash and May and tell 'em the good news! We'll throw a party! And there'll be cake, and, and and and music, and women!" He clapped his hands together. "Oh ho ho, yes!"
As Brock gleefully rushed off to use the video phone, his little brother helped himself to a large stack of the now unattended breakfast. He planned on getting his fill before his other siblings arrived like the pack of dogs they were and demolished the fluffy cakes themselves.
THE END
***
Well, guys. That's all. The story is over. It's hard to believe, but... man it has been a ride. There are like a small handful of you who are still here, reading, and if there are more of you, shame on you for not posting comments. :[
As always, no griping on the last names. :>
See you guys at 50000!
Thanks to Crystal Hikara for proofreading and making sure I didn't totally make a fool outta myself~
No idea what the word count is. Not like it matters anyway.
Epilogue
18 April
Happy birthday to us!
Today marks the three-year anniversary of the birth of Sketchmore Industries.
It didn't help that I had to spend the first year of those three in jail, but Tracey has proved to be an excellent interim leader. I'm quite impressed with his work. Getting out of the criminal racket was the best thing this company (it feels so good to be able to call it that rather than just a 'criminal organization') has ever done. Some people still do not trust us as a company, seeing as how I am the company president, we are still housed in the same building where Silph used to be, and a good chunk of our staff consists of former Rocket agents who were tired of Giovanni but did not have the willpower or strength to challenge his authority.
I can't blame them. It's going to take a long time to remove the stain on Saffron City that Giovanni left. Speaking of, the jury surprised me when they sentenced him to life in prison rather than death. They'd said that death would have been too lenient a punishment, and I could find myself agreeing with that.
Enough about that, though. This is a happy day!
Tracey and I just finished the design for another house. We're hoping to break ground early next month.
James paused, taking a moment to sip his coffee. Black, the way he preferred it. He stared intently into the cup, looking through his reflection into the murky dark liquid. It reminded him of his dark past, and he took a larger drink before setting the cup down and resumed writing.
And speaking of happy days, Ash has informed me that he and the young Miss Langford are scheduled to be wed sometime next year. We're building May her dream house as a surprise wedding present. It's unfortunate she will never be able to actually see it, but I just know she'll love it. From what Ash told me, he moved to Hoenn to be with May almost immediately after we got back from Orre. He said he told her parents, "I got your son killed. The least I can do is make sure your daughter is taken care of for the rest of her life." I'm not sure I would have phrased the first part quite like that, but that's Ash for you. Right to the point. But he's definitely making good on that promise. It might sound like he's doing it out of an obligation to her, but just from looking at them, you'd be crazy to think they were anything but very much in love. It makes me smile to see them together... I'm glad he's found someone.
As for myself... I don't think I'm ready to get back on that horse just yet. I know Jessie would want me to move on and find someone else, but I can't do it. Not yet. I need to focus my attention on keeping this business alive, but it warms my heart knowing that at the very least, Ash and May can start their life together with one less criminal organization in the world.
James stopped again, and thought. What else was there? And the light came on. "Oh!"
Brock challenged the Elite Four for a spot in their ranks, and his match against them was aired last night. He lost, which is quite a shame, considering he had Lance down to his last Pokemon. I didn't even know Brock even wanted to join the Elite Four. The proceeds for the whole event were donated to various organizations. Some of it went here, as did the cool million we lifted from Giovanni's mansion. Without Giovanni funding us, we've had to rely on a lot of donations to stay strong. Ash has helped out in this area tremendously - I guess he wasn't lying when he said he didn't need Giovanni's money.
A young lady with long brown hair knocked on the open door to James's office. "Sir, there's a..." She glanced at her clipboard. "Jasmine De...Dell.."
"Deloreaux," James finished. She was here a day early!
"Jasmine Deloreaux," the girl parroted, relieved she'd avoided embarrassing herself further. "She is here to discuss plans for renovating a Gym in Johto."
"Send her in. Thanks, Daisy."
"Yes, sir."
James closed his notebook, put the pencil in its binding, and shoved it away into a drawer. James straightened his tie and grinned as the plain young woman and her Empoleon entered the room. "Jasmine, welcome. Please, have a seat."
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Somewhere off the coast of Cinnabar Island, three friends were on a boat to Pokeprison, Kanto's somewhat ridiculously named maximum security prison, to see a man none of them wanted to see.
The shortest of the three spoke first, his voice sounding slightly hoarse. "Are you sure about this?"
Ash crossed his arms in thought. He really wanted to tell Officer Jenny to turn around, turn around now and forget Giovanni. He looked up at the building that housed the former leader of a former organization of Pokemon thieves. Curse Giovanni for planting the seeds of inquiry. He was probably leading him on, in any case, but he had to be certain. "Yeah," he finally answered.
"You think he's gonna tell you anything?"
"I was just thinking about that. I bet he'll probably send me on my way the second we get there, but I want to know if he knows anything."
May hugged her troubled soon-to-be husband. "You might not like what he has to say." She gave him a comforting squeeze. "If he says anything at all. You said he only claimed to know anything when he was backed into a corner, right? So it's possible he lied about the whole thing."
Ash considered that, too. "Well, he was right when he said I'd want to know," he began, taking his fiancee's hands in his own. "He knew, once Lance showed up, that he was finished. I think he'd planned on me not knowing who my father was, and hearing anything related to him would get me to say hold on, wait a sec." He shook his head sorrowfully. "To hesitate. And that's exactly what I did. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You still came out on top, didn't you? That's all that matters."
"Weavile's right," May reminded him. "No matter what he says to you, you've got plenty of things to look forward to." She leaned in to kiss his lightly furred cheek.
"You bet I do," Ash happily stated.
Idle chatter filled the remainder of the boat ride. Upon arriving at the isolated rock, another Officer Jenny stood waiting to receive the young man. As he was led up the stone steps to the main gate, he passed two more Jenny clones, each with a ferocious-looking Houndoom sitting obediently at their sides. Even though he knew their sharp fangs and wicked moves would never be trained on him, he felt incredibly nervous walking past them nonetheless.
Inside, his identification was scanned, then his person was scanned to ensure no Poke Balls were present. The device they used, he noticed, was the same one Jackson used on him and his friends three years ago. Ash was then led into a large room separated in two by thick glass. Ash saw other people sitting down here, speaking to prisoners on the other side; loved ones talking to incarcerated spouses, lawyers contacting their shady clients. Ash was brought to the end of the room, where there was no one on the other side.
A guard spoke into his radio. "Okay, bring him in."
Ash did his best to steel his nerve as Giovanni Romano, orchestrator of death, walked into the room led arm in arm by two guards with huge guns. Both his hands and feet were shackled, Ash saw, and he orange jumpsuit he wore looked strikingly similar to the orange suit he wore in his days of being feared. The two officers placed the convicted man into the seat, and took their hands off him. Not once removing their eyes from him, they stepped back just enough so the man would have room to breathe.
"So," Giovanni began with a smile, that smile that Ash hated. "You came."
"Skip the formalities, Giovanni," Ash spat. "You know why I'm here."
Giovanni's smile faded ever so slightly before returning full force. "Your father."
"Yes. Tell me who he is."
"Why should I? Have you forgotten? My offer ended the second I got on that helicopter."
"I can make your life in here a lot easier," Ash coolly offered.
Giovanni couldn't deny that. He'd been in solitary confinement since he arrived, and anything was better than that. Then again, Ash Ketchum was the one who put him here in the first place. Even if he'd spilled his guts, that wouldn't get him out of here. He'd still be trapped in this desolate hole, and he would be safe. On the outside.
He weighed his options, and decided with a single word. "Choke."
"You sure about that?" Ash countered. "Once I walk out of here, deal's off. For good. You won't see me again." He stood up as if to drive his point home and, for a brief moment, hoped that Giovanni would change his mind.
Giovanni almost laughed. "Well, I can only hope. I may be cursed to live out the rest of my days in this stinking pit, but you know what? I'm glad. You little wretch. You can take not knowing who your father is to your grave. I will die with a smile on my face knowing that I'm the only one who can tell you."
Ash was becoming upset, but wouldn't give Giovanni the satisfaction of seeing it on his face. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving Giovanni content with the knowledge that his son had left without ever knowing the truth.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Brock stood over the stove, staring out the window and sighing as he put the finishing touches on another group of pancakes for his veritable posse of siblings. It's not that he hated cooking; he cooked almost daily, both for human and Pokemon, and loved doing it. He'd just like someone else to handle the cooking duties once in a while.
"Heyyyy, Brockmeister," one of them called to him as he entered the room.
Brock did not even look away from the stove. He hated when they called him that. "What is it?"
He tossed the letter on the table. "You got some mail. From the Pokemon League. Looks important."
This caught his attention. He took the finished pancakes from the pan, turned the stove off, and looked at the envelope. On the back, Brock saw it was sealed with the offical Pokemon League seal. What could they want with him? "Well, only one way to find out..." He tore the seal and opened the plain white envelope, unfolded the piece of paper, and began to read.
"So? What's it say?"
A smile slowly crept across Brock's face as he mouthed the words of the letter. "I... they... I'm in! I'm in! Can you believe it??"
Brock's kid brother crossed his arms. "What are you in?"
Brock read his message aloud. "Dear Mr. Slate: Thank you for applying to become one of Kanto's Elite Four. As you are aware, those who cannot defeat the current Champion are ineligible for consideration for a 6-month period. However, given the results of your match and your longtime standing as a Gym Leader, we have decided to make an exception in your case.
"As a Gym Leader, you received an e-mail from Indigo Plateau stating that Agatha Tomash would be retiring from service at the end of the year. After careful consideration, we have unanimously voted to induct you into the Elite Four immediately following Ms. Tomash's departure.
"Per League regulations, we are obligated to inform you that should you accept, you must resign your status as Gym Leader. Choose a replacement via regulation guidelines and send their information to Indigo Plateau by mail or e-mail. We are looking forward to working with you in the near future. Respectfully yours," Brock folded the note, "and then it has all their signatures. But I can't believe it! I'm part of the Elite Four, bro! I'm so excited! Oh man, I gotta call Ash and May and tell 'em the good news! We'll throw a party! And there'll be cake, and, and and and music, and women!" He clapped his hands together. "Oh ho ho, yes!"
As Brock gleefully rushed off to use the video phone, his little brother helped himself to a large stack of the now unattended breakfast. He planned on getting his fill before his other siblings arrived like the pack of dogs they were and demolished the fluffy cakes themselves.
THE END
***
Well, guys. That's all. The story is over. It's hard to believe, but... man it has been a ride. There are like a small handful of you who are still here, reading, and if there are more of you, shame on you for not posting comments. :[
As always, no griping on the last names. :>
See you guys at 50000!
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
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1. Weavile. Context clues, man. Context clues.
2. After consultation with my expert consultant, I decided to go a different route. If you look towards the end of chapter 13, you will notice his last name is changed there, too.
I (we) think it is better this way. Just pretend that what you saw in the old chapter 13 didn't happen. :>
2. After consultation with my expert consultant, I decided to go a different route. If you look towards the end of chapter 13, you will notice his last name is changed there, too.
I (we) think it is better this way. Just pretend that what you saw in the old chapter 13 didn't happen. :>
- Status