After finally arriving in the Valley of the Ancients, I can't resist asking our most skeptical member what she thinks.
"So, has this detour been worth all the trouble it took to finally get here, or not?"
"Your version of trouble is too understated for what we have gone through. We have been rationing our food, eating mysterious fruits and berries, sleeping in trees, and trekking through the uncharted wilderness for three days now." Ursula shakes a giant nearby fern, encroaching on the old walking trail, for emphasis.
"However?" I prompt.
"This time, the reward has been worth the effort," Ursula finally admits.
"It's as you said; it feels like we've been transported in time. If I didn't know any better, I'd think we weren't even in Sinnoh anymore." Lucas does a three-sixty in amazement. "To think this place was a barren wasteland before all these plants were restored in anticipation of the project." He kneels down to inspect a brilliant purple and pink flower that would have been extinct other than the fact that it's been revived here.
"Do you know what this place was before it was turned into the habitat for fossil Pokémon?" I ask. I'm looking at a giant tree leaking sap, and I wonder if this is the tree sap that hardens into the amber that Aerodactyl was eventually revived from.
"It was a mining project," Lucas replies. "Remember that giant lake that we saw?"
"The one that was actually full of saltwater?"
"Yeah. That was the primary mine. I think they covered it with concrete like a swimming pool, then put in a layer of sand, and finished by planting aquatic flora, all to replicate an ocean habitat. We did see a few Kabuto and Anorith and Omanyte near the surface, so I assume it's going well under the water."
"This place is very well organized for what is supposed to be a totally isolated area. Are you certain that this place will not eventually become a tourist attraction?" Ursula comments. "I can already picture two exhibits. One of them being the aquatic one, and one being those ancient ruins where we spotted that colony of Baltoy."
"That's probably the direction it will eventually end up," Lucas agrees with her. "It makes sense to lay all the groundwork in the first place, in case it does turn into a tourist site, as opposed to doing all the construction while the Pokémon are already here. Including some of these Pokémon that still fit the history theme like Baltoy mean there will be rare Pokémon that people can eventually catch, as well as the usual ones that can be found throughout Sinnoh." He points out a couple of Starly on a tree that's grown outward with its giant branches rather than upward. "Right now, the amount of fossil Pokémon in this preserve is still limited."
"I'm pretty sure we've been tracking the same two herds the entire time we've been here. One of the Shieldon and Bastiodon, and one of that long-necked fossil. What was it called again?"
"Amaura. The evolved form is called Aurorus. It's nice that we have such docile Pokémon that don't mind us following them. I know for a fact that a pride of Pyroar wouldn't appreciate it."
It's funny that I know all the dinosaurs that these Pokémon are based off of. Shieldon is like Triceratops without the horns, Aurorus is obviously based on those giant sauropods, and while it isn't nearly as large as some of the skeletons that I've seen in museums, it's an impressive beast. Archen and Archeops probably mirror the earliest birds, and even Cranidos and Rampardos even have their own counterparts. There's just one thing that's missing from all these dinosaurs, though I'm not certain a Pokémon version exists. I hold the thought as we all hear the sound of crashing water, and we scramble to get out of the woods for a proper view.
It literally is something straight out of a postcard, or a movie set. We have a perfect view of a towering waterfall, cascading off a sheer cliff face, with a rainbow for the cherry on top, created by the light filtering through the tree line above it and the mist caused by its impact. Speaking of which, the waterfall ended in a large yet shallow pool, so crystal clear that you can see the colors of the rocks at the bottom, and Tirtouga swimming inside. A lazy river continues the water's path, and the calm, fresh water from the melting mountain snows makes a perfect drinking spot for even the slow moving herds of Shieldon and Amaura. In the middle of the river, a group of barnacle-like Pokémon, Lileep and a larger Cradily, have attached themselves to the rocks that are submerged in the river. The trees dotting the landscape are full of berries, and a wild Cranidos gives one a series of powerful headbutts to dislodge some food. While the berries do fall to the ground, an angry Archen does as well, but one Headbutt from Cranidos quickly changes the Flying-types' demeanor, and instead of contesting for the berries, it takes a short flight to a different tree. Finally, a group of Golett are constructing their version of a house, mixing the water with clay to form large bricks and holding them together with mud from the river bank.
"This is a Pokémon paradise," Lucas says in awe, a sentiment that I agree on almost wholeheartedly. We sit in silence for several minutes, taking in the beauty of the scene before I break it with a question.
"Not to spoil things, but isn't this a little too perfect of a scene? Look!" One of the Amaura breaks away from the herd to trot over to where we are looking down at the riverbed. It trumpets a greeting at us, and we smile and wave back. "Like, were there no large land predators at all in the ancient world? Is that why Carracosta and Kabutops and Armaldo all evolved to hunt on land, because it was easy for them to fill that niche? Aerodactyl obviously dominated the skies, but it doesn't count either." Even Rampardos, as headstrong as it is, seems to be herbivorous. It's hard to believe that Pokémon Jurassic Park doesn't have its version of a T-Rex.
"There is one, yeah. I'm pretty confident that they didn't put any in this park, though, to let the herds grow in relative peace for now. It was the unquestionable king of ancient lands, called-"
Something gets his attention, and causes him to interrupt his speech. Ursula and I turn and gasp when we see the Pokémon he's looking at, another rare species, though not revived from fossils. This one has a pure white coat of fur, scarlet eyes, and its claws, tail, and scythe-like horn are as dark and sharp and gleaming as obsidian.
It's barely a few meters away from us, eyes flickering from one of our faces to the next, searching for something. Ursula speaks up nervously.
"Not that Absol isn't striking to look at, but they are harbingers and causers of tragedy, correct?"
The wild Pokémon seems sad at her words, and tenses as if to flee, prompting an outburst from me, surprising everyone, including myself, with how heated and passionate my defense is. "That's not true at all! Absol only appears to warn people about impending disaster or tragedy. They're totally misunderstood!" The Dark-type's posture relaxes slightly, encouraging me to address it. "Tell us, Absol. What should we be worried about? An avalanche? A rockslide?" Unfortunately, those would be the best case scenarios. This is dinosaur land, so there's always the chance of a meteor hurtling towards us from space. Sadly, it's a little too late to turn into a Pokémon and ask Rayquaza to destroy it before it connects.
It shakes its head twice, and then gestures to our left towards the waterfall. Down below, the lead Aurorus bleats out a warning to the stray Amaura, which quickly runs back to safety. One moment later, I hear the threat's footsteps before its head is visible from the trees.
"That's the apex predator, the king of the ancient world," Lucas confirms my fears. "Tyrantrum."
This thing is a Tyrannosaurus. I don't know any other way to explain it, considering its powerful legs, tiny arms, giant head and enormous fangs. Its scales are mostly a burnt red, though there are flashes of orange, and they look like they were carved from stone. Tytantrum's appearance instantly sends the other fossils into defense mode. The three Bastiodon in the herd stand side by side, like a spartan phalanx, with their powerful shields facing the threat, while the Shieldon remain behind. Likewise, the Aurorus and largest Amaura form a circle, leaving the smallest at the center. All the Golett retreat into their half-finished house, looking over the walls. Meanwhile, Tyrantrum waits.
If this were Jurassic Park, it would have charged forward with whatever superior intelligence those idiot scientists gave it, and gone on a rampage by now. Is it waiting for a target to present itself? None of its potential prey are breaking rank.
The four of us including Absol continue to look down on the scene with bated breath. Still, it makes no move to attack. We hear rustling from the other side of the waterfall. "These things don't hunt in packs, do they?" I ask Lucas.
"No," he replies softly. "They wouldn't. Not in the wild. They're too territorial and proud to do so, especially once evolving.
"Over there!" Ursula shouts in her softest voice.
This Pokémon isn't a fossil either, though it is rare. It's a giant purple scorpion monster, with two extremely long arms and an equally long tail, with white claws at the end of each limb. It scuttles forward on four legs, unsettling the herds further, before it too stops and waits. Neither Tyrantrum or Drapion looks perturbed by the presence of the other.
I have a bad feeling about this. It's only amplified by a third figure emerging. At first, I think it's a man in samurai armor, but it looks like a Pokémon from my home region. It squats down, using its long hair as a stool. "That thing looks like Bisharp's father. It has the same armor but all of its blades are larger," I mutter, pulling out the Pokédex to confirm my suspicions. I put it away before it starts to talk, though I do get a chess-related name, confirming what I thought. "Kingambit?"
"Someone owns these Pokémon," Lucas tells me urgently. "They're not wild; they're awaiting a command!"
We all gaze over in Absol's direction when it makes a sound, because its focus is now on the opposite side of the clearing. I smack my friends shoulders when I see what Absol does.
"There are people in camouflage, look! They have matching trucks and equipment!" Whoever they are, they're scurrying around like a colony of Bug-types. "They don't look like researchers…" In fact, they're starting to send out an assortment of Pokémon.
Lucas is the first to realize what's going on. "It's a perimeter. Those guys are setting up a perimeter, blocking off all the escape avenues. This is going to get ugly," he finishes grimly.
Ursula is still watching Absol warily. "It's looking up now," she tells Lucas and I. We all do the same, and despite all these rare Pokémon here, I'm still surprised by this one, a powerful, fully-evolved blue dragon with a gray underbelly and crimson wings.
"A Salamence?!"
"Someone's riding it!"
"Is that lady the leader?"
She has silver hair, but doesn't look old in the slightest. She slowly turns to circle the area, and we all slowly back away to hide and peek out behind some nearby trees. Whoever this lady is, she's dressed in all black, wearing sunglasses, and has some type of device on her arm. Something is off about this Salamance too, though I can't place my finger on it. I can hear my heart pounding like a drumbeat, crescendoing louder and louder until it threatens to burst out of my chest when her lips finally move.
I can't hear what she said. I can't even read her lips from here. I just know the command when I see a ball of yellow appear in Salamence's mouth.
"Hyper Beam."
The brutal attack carves a massive trench in the once pristine landscape through sheer explosive force. It finally ends its path of destruction at the Golett's brick house, annihilating it into a pile of rubble, and while the Ghost-types are unharmed from the Hyper Beam, they are still caught up in the resulting carnage. One brave Pokémon, the biggest of all the Golett, lifts rubble for its friends to escape, bringing up the rear away from the intimidating attackers. Right into the waiting arms of the unpassable perimeter. An Arbok lunges out at one, biting down with poisonous fangs until one Golett is barely moving. Another is lifted into the air with psychic power by a Solrock, and is mercilessly slammed into the ground until it's too weak to resist. The trunk of the truck opens up, revealing a metal cage. The Golett are thrown in one by one, and while the biggest manages to take out a Graveler and a Fearow with two surprise Ice Punches, it takes a Leaf Blade to the back from a Shiftry, and is tossed into the cage as well. The cage is locked, the trunk closes, and the truck drives off, with all the Pokémon still inside.
The Aurorus retaliates with a Blizzard towards Salamence, though the Dragon-type immediately soars higher to avoid the debilitating super-effective attack. Tyrantrum and Kingambit take their chance to each use a Stone Edge attack towards the herds, but the Bastiodon intercept all the projectiles unflinchingly, steeling their bodies so that they are impervious to such attacks. Drapion waits for Salamence to use Hyper Beam once more, this time aimed at the pond. It extends its limbs to snatch the Tirtouga sent flying and hurls them towards the perimeter of humans and Pokémon, where they too are quickly caged. The Tirtouga that were in Salamence's firing line rise to the surface, barely moving, and Drapion quickly grabs those as well, leaving the pond utterly empty. As soon as all the Tirtouga are captured, the truck once again starts up and leaves the area.
"This is a poaching operation," Lucas grits from between his teeth, anger seeping into every word. The encroachment of Tyrantrum, Drapion, and Kingambit upon the herds is enough to send the most skittish members fleeing, where they are picked off and captured by the now advancing perimeter. "We have to do something!"
Not that I don't agree, but… "Why are you looking at me?"
"If you can defeat the leader's Salamence, perhaps they would turn on each other. Glaceon is suited for that," Ursula explains to me.
Maybe she will be one day, but we don't exactly have a great track record so far of beating these powerful Dragons, Ice-type or not. Cynthia's Garchomp aside, we were struggling against Gardenia's Alolan Exeggutor for a while. "It probably knows a Fire-type move," I deflect, and as if on cue, Salamence torches the treetops with Flamethrower, sending the Archen hiding in the branches scattering. At first I think they might be able to fly away, but these poachers have bazookas filled with nets that catch any Archen that aren't cut down by the barrage of attacks sent skyward by their Pokémon.
The way this Salamence is acting has me shivering. I know there are records of it going on a rampage, but those are rare, considering the Pokémon is usually overjoyed with the fact it knows how to fly. I don't see any of that joy in its glowing red eyes. Its aura is only projecting rage and pain and anger. It has total apathy to the destruction it's causing. I'd describe it as being encased in a dark cloud of negative emotions, and when I squint hard enough, I can literally visualize a purple and black cloud surrounding Salamence.
"What does that mean? You're not going to engage with her? You'd sit by and watch as this occurs? Without doing anything?" Lucas asks me incredulously, pitch getting higher with each question. I do my best not to look at him, and instead watch as some of the poachers throw out Pokéballs in the river. Four fish Pokémon appear: two Sharpedo, and two gray fish shaped like torpedoes with glowing pink fins. They rapidly swim up the river and lunge, fangs bared, at the Cradily and Lileep in the rocks, who have not been attacked as of yet. The Grass-types don't react at first, but as soon as the poacher Pokémon get in range, their tentacles strike, ensnaring the enemy. The fish thrash uselessly as the Cradily and Lileep soundlessly start to drain them of their energy with what's most likely a Giga Drain attack.
Salamence's next Flamethrower is targeted at them, despite having allies in their grasp. The stream of fire burns the Cradily and Lileep, but they start to grow and rapidly regenerate, healing off the injuries that they suffered. Seems like at least some of these fossils are able to hold their own.
"Are you even listening? We need to stop this!" Lucas waves a hand in front of my face.
"I need Monferno and Masquerain out here, now." I order, surprising them with the impromptu command. They comply, and I address my friends' Pokémon. "Follow those trucks to their destination. Make sure you're not spotted. Once you do, find us and lead us there."
I ignore the questions Lucas and Ursula have for and speak to the Disaster Pokémon, who has been viewing the carnage with us this whole time. "Absol, I hate to ask this of you, but can you please run interference, to stall these poachers while we follow the trucks? Don't get caught on our behalf, please." Absol blinks at me before dipping its head in assent. It slinks away to try a sneak attack on one of the larger Pokémon.
"Luna, you need to tell us your plan," Ursula says to me urgently, a sentiment which Lucas agrees with.
"What are we going to do once we find out where these Pokémon are being taken?"
"Listen," I tell my friends. "We can't stop them from taking the Pokémon, but we might be able to free them instead."
----------------------------------------
They say great minds think alike. Masquerain and Monferno tracked these trucks to a giant machine, which has the color scheme of the Salamence lady. It's far bigger than a plane, and while the proper term is probably airship, this thing looks more like a flying fortress. There's two poachers guarding the front ramp, while all the trucks are going in the backside. All that is good, but as we are spying on the operation, we become aware of three individuals also hiding behind some large bushes, spying on the poachers in the same manner we are. I'm certain they have different intentions, and it's not a good thing that I had the same idea as them.
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"Hey! We were here first! Don't interfere with our plans!"
We all stare at them in confusion. "Who are you, exactly?" Ursula asks, which brings a grin to their faces. They happily start to introduce themselves.
"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"
"It speaks to me, loud and clear."
There is no way that these goofballs actually say this. Also, since when did they change their motto?
"On the wind!"
"Past the stars!"
"In your ear!"
Actually, it might be for the better, considering I might have joined in if it were the old one.
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!"
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Meowth, now that's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place!"
"We're Team Rocket!"
"AND WE'RE IN YOUR FACE!"
Right when I think it's over, we hear two Pokéballs being opened.
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime-mime, Mime-mime!"
Now I know why no one interrupts their motto when they say it. It's so utterly ridiculous that I find myself stunned stupid. Even while hiding, Jessie somehow manages to do a bunch of model-like poses on every one of her lines. James pulled out a rose from nowhere and threw it at us at some point. And of course they have a talking Pokémon. We finally find our voices and each of us spits out a different question.
"Team Rocket?"
"That Meowth can talk?"
Mine is less relevant. I pick up the rose and twirl it between my fingers. "Why do you have the rose if she's the one who says the rose line?"
Team Rocket looks at each other. "Because," Jessie starts.
"Because!" they all finish. I should have expected that answer. Nothing these three stooges do makes any sense, after all.
"Is this a Team Rocket operation? Are you three in cahoots with the poachers catching Pokémon out there?" Lucas gestures vaguely to the direction behind us, and Meowth is the one who answers.
His accent is unique, which gives even more credence to the notion that he taught himself how to speak like a human. Regardless, his grasp over the language is very good. "Don't you compare us to them! This Meowth has a poirsonal grudge against Hunter J. That witch captured me and tried to sell me off like some pet!"
"That's right," Jessie adds on, though her next words don't exactly help their case. "We're here to prove that Team Rocket's as mean, strong, good-looking, nasty, pretty and evil as they get!"
Talk about having your priorities messed up. James nods furiously at his partner's statement. "We've been given an exclusive mission from the boss himself, as the pioneers of Team Rocket's Sinnoh branch. We would never dare associating with those who would infringe on our plans to plant our flag on Mt. Coronet!"
Somehow, these three are even more cartoonish in real life than they are on television. I get rhyming the motto, but their sentences too? I'm a hundred-percent sure if Giovanni actually wanted a Sinnoh branch of Team Rocket, he wouldn't have sent these jokers.
"So," Meowth finishes, truly an extension of his partners. "We ain't no friends of dese goons. They's our mortal enemies! Almost as much as that stinking Pikachu!"
It appears my companions are as confused by Team Rocket as I am. "Your mortal enemy is a Pikachu?" Lucas repeats in disbelief. "If you're part of Team Rocket, shouldn't you be against the police?"
"Hah! Don't make me laugh. Ain't no Officer Jenny been born that could outwit us!" Meowth boasts. "We're the masters of avoiding being caught!"
"We're also masters of not catching anything. We've been in Sinnoh for months and haven't caught a single new Pokémon," James grumbles, which prompts Jessie to swat him over the head, and Meowth to threaten him with his claws.
"I don't remember telling you to provide any negative commentary," she grits between her teeth before she turns to us with a jab of her finger. "Finders keepers losers weepers. Don't you three butt in on our plans to capture Pikachu. We saw it first, so we're the only ones who get to catch it. I don't care that we've tried every single plan in the world, because the one thing Team Rocket doesn't do is quit."
Team Rocket's ridiculous claims and mannerisms seem to be convincing my friends that they aren't much of a threat, which I already know. Funnily enough, there is one strategy that they haven't despite it being far simpler than an elaborate series of traps or a giant mecha.
"Maybe you should catch a Ground-type, then. That would probably help you catch a Pikachu," I say, making it sound like an afterthought and not something that I've always wondered about. The anime writers never have any issues letting Ash break the rules of the game when it suits him, so there's really no reason for Team Rocket not to have ever had a Ground-type. Hell, their boss specializes in them.
The three of them are looking at me like I've grown a second head. "A… Ground-type?" Jessie repeats, as if in a dream.
"Of course," Ursula explains, talking like she's explaining to children. "Electric-type moves have no effect on Ground-type Pokémon. Anyone with common sense would understand that using one to battle an Electric-type would greatly increase the probability that they would win that battle."
"We're getting sidetracked," Lucas cuts in, trying his best to steer this conversation back to normality, though I have given up any chance of that once we had run into these three. "What we should be talking about is how to defeat this Hunter J lady and the rest of her poaching gang."
"Hold that thought, because Meowth might be able to help you with that. Foist, though…" The talking Pokémon tugs on James's pant leg and the top of Jessie's boot, and pulls Team Rocket into an impromptu secret huddle, if you ignore the fact that we can tell that they're trying to hide what they're saying from us.
"Whisper, whisper, whisper."
"Mutter, mutter, mutter."
"Wobba, Wobba, Wobba."
Lucas and Ursula pull me aside for our own team huddle as Team Rocket is no doubt making their plans to eventually double-cross us. "Do you still want to sneak aboard and try and free the Pokémon from the inside? Even with those three in the mix?" Lucas jerks his head to Team Rocket.
"Actually, I was going to invite them to come along, since they seem to have a vendetta against Hunter J."
Ursula gives me a quizzical look. "Is that wise?"
I shrug nonchalantly. "Sure. My mind hasn't changed about our chances against battling Salamence, Kingambit, Tyrantrum and Drapion. Not to mention all the goons with their Pokémon, even if they are much weaker than those four."
"Listen, Luna," Lucas says. "I can tell you find those three amusing, and you're already dismissing them. But they did tell us that they were criminals, and a part of Team Rocket, no less, albeit in a ridiculous fashion. Are you really going to trust them to help us with freeing these Pokémon?"
I suppose that is the million dollar question. Is Team Rocket trustworthy? No. Is the primary reason they want to cooperate with us to try and steal all the Pokémon for themselves? Yes. Is it really scummy to come up with all these plots and schemes to take Pokémon away from their trainers, regardless of the fact that they always fail in hilarious fashion? Yeah. It is.
Is Team Rocket evil though? I can't go that far. For all of their faults, and there are many, Team Rocket treats their Pokémon well. Their Pokémon demonstrate an unbelievable amount of loyalty, on par with the best trainers in the world, despite all the misery and heartbreak that Team Rocket endures on a daily basis. Arbok and Weezing followed Jessie and James to the bitter end, only leaving reluctantly with tears in their eyes.
Is treating Pokémon well a low bar? Maybe so. But no one who treats their Pokémon so well can be truly evil, in my opinion. As for the inevitable part where Team Rocket double-crosses us, I couldn't be less worried. If I lose a Pokémon battle to Team Rocket, I really need to consider rethinking my career as a Pokémon trainer. Besides, if Ash Ketchum, who can't even recognize them no matter how terrible the disguise, can manage to outsmart these three nitwits, I sure as hell can.
Ursula and Lucas are still waiting for my answer. "We don't have to trust them. In fact, we shouldn't. I'm still going to invite them, because it sounds like they've boarded and escaped from that airship once before. And to be honest, I think we could use all the help we can get."
Lucas's gaze is behind me. "It seems they're ready now." He then looks me in the eye. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Final answer."
He lets out a breath. "Well, I guess I have to trust your judgment. Let's do this."
Jessie, the bossiest of the three, is quick to lay out Team Rocket's demands. "Listen up, twerps. No one gets the best of Team Rocket twice," she blatantly lies. "We're going to make Hunter J rue this day!"
I'm not sure if I should be honored or offended that she called me a twerp. I cross my arms. "What's the catch?"
Team Rocket has three matching grins that I don't trust one bit. "That's just it. In return for our incredibly necessary help, you have to help us catch a Ground-type."
I raise one eyebrow. "That's it?"
"That's it," she affirms.
I wait for several seconds, to give the impression that I believe her, before I stick my hand out. Jessie takes it, sealing what is no doubt going to be a very brief partnership. "Alright, how are we supposed to get aboard that plane?"
"Hah!" Meowth chuckles. "That's too easy. All these underlings care about is impressing the head honcho. Even the slightest distraction will have those fools chasing it like a Skitty chases its tail! Which is why I built this!"
Meowth dives into the bush, seemingly not realizing the irony of his words; that all he, Jessie and James do is to try and impress Giovanni. Meowth emerges with a remote control and the ugliest looking robot I've ever seen. "All I gotta do is talk into dis thingy," he holds a microphone up, "and those bozos won't know what hit 'em!" He points the antenna of the controller at his contraption, but the robot takes two steps before short-circuiting and slumping into the ground. I might need to reevaluate my opinion of Meowth as a master inventor.
"Meowth!" Jessie complains, berating the talking Pokémon. "You told me that this thing would work!"
"I'd like to see what you'd be able to come up with with two bucks and a pile of junk," Meowth snarks back, earning James's ire.
"Why you little ingrate! Is that the thanks I get for letting you dip into my collection?!" Upon a closer look, the robot does look like it was made out of soda tabs, bottle caps, and other odds and ends. Time to rescind that previous thought.
"If they are poachers," I hastily interrupt their arguing, "they would go after a rare Pokémon, right? We could take advantage of that as bait!"
"That should work," James muses, rubbing his chin. "Who's a unique Pokémon that a poacher would be attracted to?"
We all look down at the answer, who doesn't seem to understand. "Um, why are you all looking at me?"
Jessie sighs, as if she's done this before. She pulls a makeup mirror from her pocket and squats down in front of Meowth. She flicks it open so he can see his reflection.
His mouth opens and closes before Meowth starts to protest. "I don't want to be turned into a frozen Meowth statue again!" Meowth tries to run, but his comrades each grab one of his arms, pulling the struggling Pokémon up to their eye level.
"You two halfwits better let me go! I swear, when I get my paws on you two-watt lightbulbs-"
"This shouldn't be hard for you, Meowth," James tells him. "Just do whatever you did to get caught last time!"
Meowth has one last protest. "But what if I don't remember how to be a juicy piece of bait? I ain't an actor, you know."
"Then fake it!" Jessie advises him. She and James hurl Meowth out of the underbrush and into the line of sight of Hunter J's minions. They immediately take one step forward.
"Huh? What's a puny little Meowth doing here?" I couldn't tell from here, because the person had a similar stature and build to their partner, but this poacher is definitely a woman.
"I'll show you what a puny little Meowth can do!" The talking Pokémon unsheathes his claws pausing when the both poachers start smiling slowly.
"A talking Pokémon," the woman says. "The boss says don't do anything to Pokémon to decrease their value, but all we need from you is your voice."
"Even minus all your teeth and claws you'll still be worth some big bucks on the black market," the male poacher adds. Both of them start to move, each taking a side to try and cut off Meowth's escape routes. The only one he has is the one towards us, actually. They really took the bait instantly, huh.
Jessie and James spring into action as soon as the poachers do. Jessie releases her Pokémon with a few muttered words, and Seviper flattens to the ground and starts coiling itself as soon as it's released. I must say, Seviper is far more intimidating up close. Its fangs look like they should be on a saber-tooth tiger, and its tail is comparable to a sword. I don't think a human could survive a slash from it, not even taking into account the fact that it's also poisonous. James chooses Carnivine, and he manages to hold his affectionate Pokémon at a distance, well aware that it would try to chomp on him as soon as it came out of its ball. I would not want my head in between those jaws, even if Carnivine was being playful.
Team Rocket isn't going to kill these two, are they? That would be a stark departure from everything I think about them. Before I can ask to spare the poachers' lives, Meowth bursts through the bushes, with both poachers hot in pursuit. Their eyes widen when they see all of us waiting in ambush, hands immediately going toward their pockets, but Team Rocket already has their Pokémon out.
"Seviper, Body Slam!"
"Carnivine, Vine Whip!"
Thankfully, they don't go for Crunch, or Poison Tail, or anything else that might have been fatal. Seviper springs to action, and the massive snake slams its full weight into the male poacher, sending him straight back into a nearby tree. Carnivine picks up the lady poacher, and lifts her into the air. Her scream is quickly turned into a gurgle as Carnivine slams her into the ground, and she too is flung into the same tree. They both try to move sluggishly, but Jessie walks over and claps their two heads together, causing them to slump to the ground like a sack of bricks, unconscious. Meowth laughs gleefully at the poachers as James searches through their pockets, making a sound of happiness as he finds what he's looking for. He holds up a key card in one hand triumphantly, and throws the other at me. "This should open all the doors in Hunter J's airship."
I notice something that each poacher is carrying, and unclip them from their belts. After a brief hesitation, I hand both walkie-talkies to Meowth. "Can you get these to work so we can hear what the poachers are saying, and so we can communicate in case we get separated?"
"Leave it to Meowth!" After five tense minutes of fiddling, he passes one back to me "Hold this button to talk from one to da other," he instructs, demonstrating by doing just that. "And this one at the top lets us listen in to what dese morons are saying."
Lucas taps me on the shoulder and holds his hand out for the walkie-talkie. He instantly presses the topmost button, and after a few seconds of static, we can hear a couple of poachers discussing their plans.
"Lieutenant! As per your orders, we are sweeping the valley for any stragglers! Um, it's taking a bit more time than expected…"
"Why is that?"
"Well, we were trying to track down that Absol that attacked us, though we haven't had much success. But don't worry sir! We'll find it and capture it as well."
The lieutenant scoffs. "You fucking idiot. Who'd buy an Absol? All of our potential buyers are scared shitless of that thing. No, when you find it, ensure that it suffers. Break every one of its limbs, cut off its horn as a trophy, and leave it to a slow, painful death. That'll teach it a lesson for interfering with our mission."
Lucas is squeezing the walkie-talkie so hard I'm afraid he'll snap it in half. "Copy that, sir. We will meet at the rendezvous point as soon as our search is complete."
"Good. We are still wrapping things up at site B. Capturing some of these fossils is proving more difficult than anticipated. We are literally having to pull these Lileep of their rocks suction cup by suction cup. Send the captured Pokémon back to the airship with the rest of the trucks, and then we will all board the plane. We'll meet up at the secret base to sort the Pokémon for the sale. It should be easy this time, with such a wealthy buyer planning to purchase most of them."
There's a pause before the poacher grunt speaks. "Sir, I had a question. Why are we not capturing the largest Pokémon? Surely they would sell for more than the unevolved forms."
"Because," the lieutenant rebukes his underling sharply, "bigger Pokémon need a way more intense dose of our paralyzing poison. It's much more profitable to mass capture all the smaller fossils and sell them off, when we don't have an exact directive other than catch as many fossils as we can. Besides, if we leave these bigger ones behind for a few years, we might be able to return and catch another herd. It's better for our bottom line in the short-term and in the long-term, hahaha!"
"Wow," the grunt says, sounding impressed. "I hadn't thought of that!"
"That's why I'm second-in-command, and you're a replaceable grunt. Now, get back to work and show your worth!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"This is actually turning out better than I expected," I think aloud after their conversation turns into static. "All the strongest Pokémon should be with the leadership in another plane. Even if we get caught whilst we're sneaking around, low-level grunts are beatable enough."
"Just who are you calling a low-tier- I mean that's exactly what we were thinking!" Jessie hastily amends her sentence in the middle, and James and Meowth furiously nod to try and make it believable. I let it slide for now, but before I can take one step forward, Ursula brings up a point that I forgot to consider.
"What are we going to do with these two? We cannot allow them to wake up and raise the alarm."
We all turn to look at the two poachers that we ambushed. The easiest and quickest solution would be to kill them and hide their corpses, but no one, including myself and Team Rocket, wants to bring up that idea. The fact that they're poachers and the ability to command your Pokémon to do the deed doesn't make you any less of a murderer. It might be even worse. I'm sure Pokémon were used for war at some point, but telling one of my Pokémon partners, my friends, to kill someone for me makes me want to throw up. That's one line that should never be crossed.
"Maybe we should tie them up so they can't escape," I offer, and everyone breathes a collective sigh of belief.
Jessie turns to James expectantly. He pulls out a somewhat used roll of duct tape and winces, knowing that the tirade is coming. "I was using it to patch up our balloon!"
"Well, why didn't you bring any of the rope then!"
"It didn't occur to me that we would need it!"
At least we have one more option. I bring out my Safari Ball and catch Lucas's eye. "What, will it not be strong enough?"
"No, String Shot has great tensile strength." He doesn't elaborate any more, looking uncomfortable.
"Ok then?" I summon my Bug-type. "Spewpa, I need you to use String Shot on those two people by that tree."
I've kinda gotten used to Spewpa getting scared of new people and Pokémon and asking to go back to the safety of his Pokéball, but his reaction is unexpected, even for me. He looks on the verge of tears, begging and wailing for me to drop his Pokéball to the ground. I do the opposite, dropping the empty Safari Ball back into my pocket and scoping him up. I try to soothe him with my words.
"Hey, what's wrong? You've been doing much better. You watched a whole training session, and a part of a gym battle, and you met so many new people and Pokémon when we were in Eterna City. I haven't seen you like this since the day I caught you, in the forest, where, where…" I trail off as the realization hits me.
Where I learned that Spewpa was a victim of poaching, and that he was abducted from his home and sent to Sinnoh for that stupid Bug-catching Contest. "Spewpa," I ask, with a grave seriousness in my tone that I don't normally have. "Are these the people who took you from your home?"
He burrows further into my stomach, which muffles his response. Thankfully, I have a translator this time, although his story makes me feel even more awful.
"Spewpa says, yeah, these are the scary guys that kidnapped him. He was living one day peacefully, and then his whole home was on fire! He tried to run, but a big purple monster grabbed him and threw him into a cage with a bunch of other Pokémon, including all his friends and family. When dey were finally all released, another purple monster Pokémon started grabbing them and ea-"
"Don't finish that sentence!" I tell Meowth, having heard enough. I've seen it firsthand, after all. Salamence to destroy habitats and scare Pokémon into fleeing, and Drapion to snatch them up. "Listen, Spewpa," I say softly, bringing him to eye level so he can see how strongly I feel about what I'm about to tell him. "I'm so, so sorry that happened to you. You're so strong and brave for going through that, you know." That gets his attention, like he's never heard those words before, and his sniffling subsides. "There are Pokémon being captured as we speak, just like you were. I promise that we'll do whatever it takes to save them, but right now we need your help. I know it's scary. To be honest, I'm scared too. But all those Pokémon in there are counting on us. And I'm counting on you."
He finally gives me a slow nod, and I couldn't be more proud of him. A few seconds later, the poachers' entire bodies are wrapped in cocoons of silk. Jessie and James tape their mouths closed, and after a few seconds of scouting, we start heading toward the airship. Lucas and I bring up the rear, and he makes a comment as soon as our feet hit the ramp.
"Whatever it takes, huh?"
"Almost whatever," I amend. "I know we're facing poachers, but I still didn't feel comfortable when they attacked with their Pokémon like that. I know it's probably the best way…" I trail off awkwardly.
He glances at me, then looks away. "Sorry for misjudging you," Lucas admits. "You seemed so fine with using Spewpa to tie them up initially that for a second I thought you were okay with the fact that our Pokémon will follow our orders without question. Oh, and I'm sorry for insinuating that you were okay with the Pokémon being captured, because you clearly are."
"I'm just better at hiding things, I guess." That gets a dry chuckle out of him. "Anyways, apology accepted. Now, let's go save these Pokémon."
James slides the stolen keycard down the door lock, and it slowly starts to open. We slowly peek around the corner, and all dart inside once we realize the coast is clear. It closes behind us, and now there's no going back. Not that Team Rocket are worried.
"Alright!" Meowth announces, putting his paw out. "Plan pilfer the Pokémon away from the Pokémon poachers has now officially begun. We're not leaving until we take them for- I mean free them all."
I roll my eyes as Jessie puts her hand on top of Meowth's. "Because Team Rocket rules!"
James makes it three hands in the circle. "And Hunter J drools!"
"Wobbuffet!"
If only I had such overwhelming optimism.