Riding on Steelix's back, Nix was headed towards the location Decidueye had marked. The massive Steelix went through the forest, crushing any trees in its path. The noise it made was tremendous. Steel clanking with each movement.
"It's so fast-roto," RotomDex remarked. Steelix were very rare in Wrockled, with an estimated population of only about a hundred.
Nix nodded, equally surprised by how quick it was despite its size. It could destroy massive trees effortlessly.
For a long time, they traveled through the forest. Nix saw many Pokémon along the way. RotomDex couldn't keep up with identifying and explaining all of them.
The forest ended at a big river, where they stopped to let Steelix relax a bit. Nix touched its steel body. It was very hot due to all the friction. He climbed down and Steelix entered the water to cool itself. A lot of the river turned into vapor almost instantly and more water rushed in. The sound of sizzling echoed all around. Steelix looked relieved.
Nix opened his bag, pulling out the packed lunch Oranguru had given him. It was a big sandwich with lots of vegetables in it. Nix munched it down quickly, then let out a burp of satisfaction.
Next to the river lay a big flower meadow, hidden from the outside world by walls of trees. A lot of yellow-colored flying Pokémon came over to look at the newcomers. One of them remained floating in front of Nix's face. Nix led out his hand, and the Pokémon landed on it.
"Cutiefly! Bee Fly Pokémon! Bug/Fairy type! It feeds on the nectar and pollen of flowers. Because it's able to sense auras, it can identify which flowers are about to bloom," RotomDex dictated.
From the field, more Cutieflies emerged, swirling around Nix's bag.
"They are being attracted to the lunches-roto!" RotomDex said, dodging the Cutieflies.
Nix realized this and grabbed his bag tight, covering it. The Cutieflies buzzed around for some time, then started getting angry. Nix felt a hit on his back. It didn't hurt much at first, but soon all of them started hitting him. Nix was getting bombarded by their tiny tackles. He let out a small wail as it started hurting more and more.
"THIS IS BAD-ROTO! YOU SHOULD GIVE THEM THE LUNCH-
ROTO!" RotomDex screamed, trying to get the Cutieflies off Nix. Nix shook his head, grasping his bag tighter.
Steelix, who was watching all this, got bored of spectating and let out a growl. The Cutieflies froze, then quickly flew away, scared of the massive monster.
"Ragroo," it said, looking disappointed.
"You are so childish-roto," RotomDex added. "I-I am n-not!" Nix insisted. RotomDex sighed.
"Should we go-roto?" RotomDex asked. Nix nodded. He climbed back up on Steelix, pulling out the feather Decidueye had given him. Steelix started moving towards where it pointed.
The flower field was full of grass and bug-type Pokémon. This time, Nix didn't try to catch any. He was determined to save Starly.
They had been traveling for a while and now night was falling. They exited the meadow and ended up back in the forest. Nix was getting drowsy.
"What's that-roto?" RotomDex asked, pointing at a distant structure with glowing windows. The area around looked fenced with compound lights surrounding it that no longer worked. The feather was also pointing at it.
"So that's where they are-roto!" RotomDex said, looking all angry. Nix was ready to fight, his eyes burning with determination.
"We should investigate first-roto. There could be more people in there-roto," RotomDex warned.
"Q-Quieter," Nix said to Steelix, patting its head. Steelix started moving slower, making less noise. Nix stopped Steelix when they were close enough to the structure.
"S-Stay here," he whispered to Steelix. Steelix obeyed and laid down.
Nix moved towards the structure. It looked like the ruins of an old foundry. Rumbling still echoed from inside. Nix cautiously approached the fence.
The fence was very rusty but still intact. They couldn't see any way to enter on their side. The fence was also very tall and barbed; climbing it wasn't an option.
"At times like these, leave things to me-roto!" RotomDex said, pulling out a black shirt from Nix's bag and wrapping it around its tablet body. "SpyDex will locate Starly-roto! You should hide here- roto." It whispered. It took the feather from Nix and flew up, going behind the fence.
Nix stood there for a while, then went off to where he had left the Steelix.
Inside the compound, RotomDex moved forward, hiding in the dark. A lot of machinery was now covered in roots and vines, claimed by the trees. The grass was thick and hadn't been cut in years. RotomDex stayed close to the ground, trying not to attract any attention.
After some searching, it found the entrance to the foundry. RotomDex had expected guards. However, there were none. It moved quickly in the dark, entering the foundry from one of the broken vents.
The air inside the vent was very damp. The sound of clanking and rumbling echoed inside it. There were occasional gusts of burning hot air that went through.
RotomDex approached the closest opening and went through. The metal cover on the vent broke off and fell, making a loud clanking noise. RotomDex quickly hid inside a locker that was in the room. It stayed hidden for a while. No one came to check the noise. RotomDex came out of hiding, turning on its night vision mode.
"Infiltration successful-roto!" it whispered to itself.
It could make out a small room with a lot of rusty lockers. One of the walls had given in and was infested with roots. There were multiple patches of grass growing out of the concrete floor.
RotomDex noticed what looked like a door and pushed its handle. The handle moved down, opening the door. It led to an old walkway. A lot of it had collapsed and was covered in dirt and trees. It hadn't been touched for a long time. RotomDex looked at the feather.
"That way-roto!" it whispered as it dashed through the walkway.
The walkway ended at an elevator. The elevator looked a lot newer. It didn't have any rust and still functioned. RotomDex pressed the button to call for the elevator and waited as it made its way up.
After a minute of waiting, the doors opened and RotomDex went inside. The elevator had only two buttons, one named "G" and the other named "R." RotomDex pressed "R" since the elevator dictated it was already on "G."
The door closed and the elevator headed down. RotomDex realized it was on a stealth mission and hid, sticking to the ceiling.
After a minute, the elevator door opened and hot air rushed into the elevator. RotomDex slowly moved down, peeping through the door. It completely froze.
This floor was entirely underground, lit by massive lamps all over. There stood a massive metal Meowth. It was at least twice the size of Steelix. Clanking of metal and rumbling could be heard all over. It was an imposing sight.
RotomDex's eyes widened as it took in the scene. "This is bad-roto," it muttered, trying to remain calm.
RotomDex noted that the feather was glowing brighter, indicating Starly was close. It hovered lower, staying close to the shadows, and made its way around the perimeter of the room. The massive robot seemed to be inactive, standing still like a giant statue, but the air was filled with tension.
RotomDex found another door labeled "Storage." It pushed the door open slightly and peered inside. The room was filled with cages, with multiple Pokémon inside. All of them looked tired and beat up.
RotomDex quietly entered the room and scanned the area for Starly. There were a lot of cages in there. "They have stolen so many Pokémon-roto," it whispered to itself.
Flying around, it finally found the cage that held Starly. It flew above the cage, looking inside. Starly was unharmed but looked very tired.
"Starly-roto!" RotomDex whispered, trying to wake up the Starly. It didn't respond. RotomDex shook the cage. Starly woke up and looked around.
"Up here-roto!" RotomDex said, turning its eyes to flashlight mode.
The Starly looked up and stared at RotomDex for a moment.
"URRR!" it yelled and started hitting the cage with its wings, making a lot of noise.
"Calm down-roto! We will get you out-roto!" RotomDex said, trying to stop Starly, but it didn't listen. The other Pokémon had woken up and were now also hitting their cages. A whole racket had started in the room, growing louder and louder. RotomDex tried to calm everyone down, but none were listening to it.
Footsteps rushed towards the room from outside. The door flung open, slamming into the wall.
"WHAT'S THE RUCKUS ABOUT?!" yelled the lady who entered the room. Three others followed right behind her.
"You again-roto," RotomDex growled, turning its flashlight to max power, illuminating the whole room.
"When you say: 'You again-roto,'" the woman echoed.
"Let us tell you our names!" exclaimed a man standing behind her.
"Flower's face, willow's waist, the moon and flowers hide in her wake! A single flower of evil in this fleeting world! Jessie!" yelled the woman.
"Nobility and elegance, like a dragon dancing in the clouds. The apostle of darkness fighting back against a tragic world! James!" yelled the man.
"It's all for one, and one for all! Even in close friendships, an evil star shines with a golden glow! It's Meowth-nyar!" said a Meowth.
"Team Rocket is here!" the two screamed in perfect sync. "Oh yeah!" yelled the Meowth.
"Wobbuffet!" yelled a blue-colored creature.
The four struck a dramatic pose together. All the Pokémon in the room went silent for a while, looking at the four, then continued screaming and hitting their cages.
"It's brat boy number two's RotomDex-nyar," said the Meowth, pointing its claws at RotomDex.
"Here to free your little friend?" Jessie said, trying to sound mysterious and evil.
"Well, too bad! Come out, Grotle!" she added as she threw a Pokéball in the air. The Pokéball flicked open, spewed out light, formed a Grotle on the ground, then shut close.
"Man, I need a Pokémon too…" James said, sounding depressed.
"Shut up and go fetch a net!" Jessie commanded. "Grotle, use Bite!" she ordered.
The Grotle started running towards RotomDex, its jaw wide open.
It jumped at RotomDex; however, RotomDex's flight was faster. It moved away from Grotle's bite and rushed for the door.
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"I NEED TO INFORM NIX-ROTO!" it flew out, screaming as it threw away its "spy costume" on the Grotle.
"Don't let it escape! Meowth, use Fakeout!" Jessie shouted.
"Coming right up-nyar," Meowth said, running towards RotomDex. But no matter how fast it ran, RotomDex was always ahead of it.
RotomDex spotted the elevator. Its door was almost closed. RotomDex sped up and slid inside the elevator. The door closed behind it.
Inside the elevator, RotomDex caught its breath. "I need to inform Nix-roto!" it repeated, concerned.
"So… uh… beautiful day, isn't it?" asked James, who was also inside the elevator, heading up. RotomDex didn't know this and flew up, going into a corner of the elevator.
"You don't have a Pokémon-roto!" RotomDex said as it scanned James for any Pokéballs using its scanner.
"Well… I was headed up to fetch a net for you…" James said, feeling embarrassed.
"Why didn't you catch one from the cages then?" RotomDex asked, lowering down. It knew James didn't pose a threat to it.
"You know, the soul level thing. Sir Giovanni gave us the Grotle and Jessie kept it. There wasn't one for me," James said, sounding sad.
"Don't worry-roto. You will eventually be able to catch one-roto," RotomDex said, patting James's head.
James nodded, holding back tears. A beep was heard as the door opened, and they were both back to enemies. James rushed out, grabbing the net.
"Stop running!" he yelled as he threw the net at RotomDex. RotomDex dodged the net and flew as fast as it could, looking for Nix.
"I need to inform Nix-roto!" it repeated for the third time.
It flew straight, heading for where Steelix was. Just as RotomDex crossed above the fence, a very loud rumbling echoed throughout the forest. RotomDex turned around to look at the source of the sound.
The ground of the entire compound opened slowly. The whole foundry shook. A giant iron hand emerged from the opening, grabbing onto the floor. The iron giant pulled itself up. It looked like Meowth.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY!" a mechanical Jessie's voice echoed as the iron giant got on the floor and stood up. It was definitely more than double the size of Steelix.
"Isn't taking it out a bit much?" James mumbled.
"HUHHHHH? WHAT WAS THAT?" mechanical Jessie boomed, the robot looking at James.
"Nothing," James muttered as he ran towards the robot. The robot lowered itself down, letting James into the room in its head.
"Pedal fast!" Jessie yelled at James. The room in its head was big, with three cycles that generated energy. Two of them were occupied by Jessie and Wobbuffet, who were pedaling the cycles furiously. Behind the cycles was a blue structure made of glass.
Inside was Meowth, with wires connecting it to the robot. The robot moved when Meowth moved. James climbed onto the last cycle and also started pedaling.
RotomDex had already reached Steelix and Nix by then.
"They are keeping Starly in the basement-roto!" it said hurriedly. "And they have this giant Meowth robot too-roto!" it added.
"WHERE DID YOU GO-NYAR?!" echoed the mechanical Meowth's voice.
From where Nix stood, the robot towered above them. Nix's hand was shaking. Seeing this, Steelix lowered itself.
"Ragroo!" it scolded. Nix looked at Steelix for a few seconds, his fear dissipating.
"L-Let's go!" Nix said, climbing onto Steelix. "RUGGA!" roared Steelix.
"THERE YOU ARE-NYAR!" boomed the mechanical Meowth, moving towards Steelix, its footsteps growing heavier with each step.
Steelix charged towards the robot, undeterred by its size and confident in its ability.
"Hey, isn't that a Steelix?" Jessie said, pointing at Steelix. "You are right!" James said.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet agreed.
"Sir Giovanni will be so happy if we get it!" Jessie exclaimed happily.
"Okay Meowth! Go for the Steelix!" she commanded, pedaling even faster.
"On it-nyar!" Meowth said.
The massive robot walked towards Steelix, raising one of its arms for a punch.
"Dig," Nix said. Steelix obeyed and its body starting to glow. It opened its jaw and dove into the ground, digging into the soil and disappearing underneath.
The robot's punch missed, slamming into the ground and sending a shockwave through the forest.
"WHERE DID YOU GO, STEELIX?!" mechanical Jessie voice yelled angrily.
Steelix had tunneled underground and emerged inside the storage room. The other Pokémon were even louder now, desperate to escape their cages.
"S-So many!" Nix said, shocked by the sight of so many captured Pokémon. RotomDex quickly scanned the room.
"We need to free them-roto!" RotomDex urged. Nix nodded.
"G-Gentle slam," Nix muttered. Steelix obeyed, slamming its body into the cages. The cages flew off and smashed into the walls, breaking apart and freeing the Pokémon inside. They managed to free quite a lot in one go.
"A-Another," Nix said. As Steelix prepared for another slam, a metallic hand crashed into the basement through the hole outside. The head of the Meowth robot peeked in and spotted Nix by the door.
"THERE YOU ARE-NYAR!" the mechanical Meowth boomed, smashing the walls with its other hand. The walls crumbled effortlessly.
The robot's hand reached for Nix.
"Tail!" Nix shouted. It wasn't very loud, but Steelix understood the urgency. Its tail began to glow as it charged into the robot, delivering a crushing Iron Tail. One of the robot's fingers flew off. "RUGHAA!" it roared.
Nix rushed to Starly, who was on the ground. It looked very tired, yet happy to see Nix.
"Urrr!" it chirped. Nix hugged it, then retracted it back into its pokéball.
The robot was already winding up another punch, now fully dropped into the basement with them. Steelix braced for the impact.
"H-Harden!" Nix ordered, coughing as dust filled the air. Steelix used Harden, raising its defense significantly. The punch landed, sending Steelix crashing into the wall.
Steelix broke through the wall but emerged unscathed, showcasing its remarkable sturdiness. The robot, however, showed no signs of stopping.
"GO! GO! GO!" Mechanical Jessie and Mechanical James yelled in unison. The robot crouched and then leaped, aiming to crush Steelix with its immense weight.
Nix hesitated. He could counter with Iron Tail and hope it was faster, or he could use Harden again and hope Steelix could withstand the impact.
"Use Dig-roto!" RotomDex suggested. With data from past battles, it quickly calculated the best solution.
"Dig!" Nix yelled urgently. Steelix obeyed, burrowing into the ground just in time to avoid the robot's crushing blow.
The robot stood back up slowly, shaking its head.
"CAN WE STOP PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK?!" Mechanical
Jessie echoed.
Steelix burst out from beneath the robot, breaking off one of its legs at the knee. The robot stumbled and fell.
"T-Tail!" Nix yelled. Steelix charged up Iron Tail and aimed for the robot's torso. But the robot was faster, swatting Steelix mid-air and sending it crashing into the walls.
"That was a critical hit-roto!" RotomDex narrated. Steelix looked like it was in pain.
Steelix got up and let out a roar, sending debris flying in a shockwave.
"They can only attack in close range-roto! You should attack from afar-roto!" RotomDex suggested as it flew behind Nix, who was headed towards Steelix. Nix nodded.
"R-Rock Thr-row!" Nix commanded. Steelix obeyed, hurling debris towards the Metal Meowth, which was struggling to stand. The impact knocked it back down with great force.
"MEOWTH! DO SOMETHING!" Mechanical James yelled.
The metal Meowth grabbed its broken leg and threw it at Steelix. The leg flew straight towards Nix. He froze, terrified by the potential impact.
Before the leg could hit Nix, Steelix used Iron Tail to send the leg back at the robot, crushing its torso. Steelix looked exhausted.
"We should run-roto! They won't be moving anytime soon-roto!" RotomDex urged. Still frozen in terror, Nix was lifted by Steelix onto itself. Steelix slithered off, heading back to ground level.
"NO, YOU DON'T-NYAR!" Mechanical Meowth screeched, reaching for Steelix's tail but missing. Steelix made it back to the ground and began to slither away.
"DO SOMETHING!" Jessie screamed.
The robot crouched, preparing for a second jump. It leaped high into the air, aiming to crush Steelix completely. With no time to dig again, escape seemed impossible.
"Infernogenate," said a man's voice somewhere in the forest. He didn't scream or shout, but his voice was heard loud and clear by everyone. The black night sky suddenly glowed in a shade of crimson. In front of Steelix appeared a Charizard, its eyes blazing red. It let out a roar, resonating with the air. Its size increased, its skin hardened and cracked, flames emanating from within.
"Ember," the man said. The Charizard opened its mouth and launched a massive ball of fire, which grew larger and larger, becoming bigger than the robot itself. The fiery attack sent the robot flying.
"WHAT AN AWFUL FEELING!" Team Rocket screamed as they blasted off into the sky.
"Wobbuffet!" added the Wobbuffet.
The sky returned to its normal nightly hue. The Charizard shrunk and its skin healed. From behind the trees emerged a man wearing an orange tracksuit.
"Someone reached this place before me, huh?" the man said. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. The text on his tracksuit read "Because Why Not" with an image of a Charmander. He scratched his head. Steelix stopped and lay down, exhausted but relieved.
"Who are you-roto?" RotomDex asked the man.
"Woah! An Alolan Pokédex!" he exclaimed, surprised at seeing RotomDex. "Well, I was supposed to locate the Pokémon that were stolen when they were being transported to the new nursery," he explained. "I come here and I see you guys fighting for your lives."
"So, you are the police-roto?" RotomDex asked. Nix got down from Steelix, feeling much better.
"Eh, you could say that, yeah," the man said, patting Charizard's back. "Name's Zrong. I'm part of a special task force that deals with Pokémon-related crimes."
"T-Thank you," Nix said, his voice shaky. "T-They had my S-Starly."
Zrong smiled. "No problem, kid. Let's make sure all these Pokémon are safe and get them back to where they belong."
"Thank you for saving us-roto!" said RotomDex, buzzing closer.
Zrong nodded, surveying the scene. "Looks like we've got a lot of work to do. Let's get these Pokémon free and safe."
With Zrong's help, Nix and RotomDex worked to release the remaining Pokémon from their cages. Zrong's Charizard provided light and warmth, calming the frightened Pokémon. Slowly but surely, they freed every captured Pokémon, ensuring they were all safe and unharmed.
"Oh right! Gotta get you guys back to your home, right? Where are you from?" Zrong asked, dialing a number on his phone.
"W-Windmill Town. I-I just became a t-trainer," Nix said.
"Oh! And you've got a Steelix with you? You're gonna grow up a bigshot, I'm telling you." Zrong said as he put the phone to his ear. "Heyyyy guys, send a ride to my location please. Found the lost ones, and also found a kid out here." He said into the phone, then shortly after put his phone back in his pocket.
"I-It isn't m-mine," Nix started. "O-Old man Dean g-gave it t-to me." He said.
"Oh. Well, good job anyways!" Zrong said, patting Nix's head. "IT ISN'T HERE-ROTO!" RotomDex screamed, buzzing around where Steelix had been. There were marks of digging around the area.
"Maybe it went back home? They can sense where their Pokéball is, you know," Zrong said, sitting down on the floor and lifting a small Pokémon in his arms.
"You may be right-roto," RotomDex nodded in agreement.
"Hey! This little dude wants to say something, I think," Zrong said, pointing at a Pansage, which was looking at Nix.
"It's the same one from back then-roto!" RotomDex said, recognizing the Pansage.
The Pansage jumped around Nix. Nix lowered himself to the Pansage's level, curious.
"Go on, new trainer. You don't get these ones telling you to catch them often," Zrong said, smiling encouragingly.
Nix looked at the Pansage and asked, "W-Will you be m-my friend too?"
"Pasee!" the Pansage exclaimed, looking at Nix with hopeful eyes. Nix pulled out a Pokéball from his bag and tapped it gently on the Pansage's head.
The Pansage was absorbed into the ball, which fell from Nix's hand. The ball swirled on the ground, and with a ping, it stopped moving.
"You have caught a Pansage-roto!" RotomDex announced proudly.
"Good for you, kid," Zrong said, giving Nix an encouraging nod. They suddenly heard a lot of tiny footsteps approaching them. From behind the trees, a swarm of tiny, golden creatures emerged.
"Falinks! Formation Pokémon! Fighting type!" RotomDex narrated as they approached. "The six of them work together as one Pokémon. Teamwork is their battle strategy, and they constantly change their formation as they fight."
The Falinks were carrying large disks with seats on them.
"Let's get them on. Our ride is here," Zrong said, gesturing toward the Falinks. Nix nodded in agreement. One by one, they helped all the Pokémon onto the disks. Finally, Zrong and Nix also climbed onto one of the disks.
Once everyone was seated, the Pokémon in the front moved to the back, and the others rotated to take their place at the front. The Falinks then began to march into the forest, moving at an incredible speed.
Not having slept for a while, Nix fell asleep on one of the troopers.
With starly and pansage now with Nix, how would his journey unfold?
Arc 1: End