Chapter 44 - Rockets

Lorelei laughed as she watched the familiar green, glowing liquid enveloping her body. It was Life Dew, the move the Lapras insisted was good for her health.

“You don’t need to do this every time,” she said with amusement. “I’m doing a lot better these days. I haven’t got sick once this past year.”

Another Lapras approached to check on her—the eldest of the group. He seemed sceptical, but his song was caring. He nuzzled the Lapras controlling the liquid, a common sign of affection between members of a herd, and then drew closer to examine the girl.

“You can ask Fractal. I’m even part of a swimming team now,” Lorelei insisted, her smile beaming. “I’m getting stronger every day!”

The elder Lapras shook his head, letting out a melodic chuckle. He then gently nuzzled Lorelei. After all, that was a sign of affection between members of the herd.

—*——*—

Laughs, this time twisted and deranged, filled her ears.

Ryder’s words became a distant hum as Lorelei focus fixated on the five lapras huddled under a net. Sluggish, barely moving, almost catatonic. Why weren’t they fighting back?

“I’m here,” she screamed silently in her mind. “I’m going to save you. Please don’t give up.”

But Ryder kept on talking, his focus solely on Articuno. The Lapras were nothing to him.

Captured. Now off to the next prize.

Lorelei’s gaze flickered briefly towards the cage holding the Frigibax, and guilt nagged at her. There were other Pokémon that mattered too, but now was not the time for indecision. She clenched her fists, inhaling the cold air, ready to take action. She could simply order her Pokémon to freeze the entire cave and everyone in it, ending this madness.

She puffed the air out and straightened herself. Acts of passion were for fire-specialists, and she couldn’t be further from that.

“Fractal, make me a platform. Extend it to the shore,” Lorelei commanded her Lapras instead, her voice steady and almost conversational.

Patience.

That was the hallmark of Ice-type trainers—or at least her brand of ice-types. Her Pokémon could be as destructive as a blizzard, but she preferred to creep in, silently taking over like frostbite.

Lorelei stepped onto the ice path, retrieving a pokéball from her pocket. Neither Ryder nor the other poachers made a move. They merely observed as her Dewgong materialised and plunged into the water with flair.

“Sorbet, break those nets,” she ordered, clicking her tongue for emphasis. “No playing around today.”

The Dewgong wasted no time and quickly reached the nets. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop him. Ryder just stood there, smirking, but not defending his catch. There had to be a trap somewhere.

“Lori, what’s the plan?” Celeste’s voice came from behind.

Lorelei glanced at her friend, who was glaring back with those pleading eyes of hers. Celeste’s body was slightly crooked over the bumps of the Lapras’ back and she was on the brink of jumping off. Yet she held back. Recent events had clearly made her overthink the situation.

“I’ll buy time and battle them when the moment is right,” Lorelei replied, her eyes scanning her companions and Pokémon, then moving back to the poachers. She had an inkling of a plan—an old favourite of hers. What she didn’t have was room for failure. “You three stay back and stay safe.”

Complaints erupted, with Celeste and Rey being the loudest, while Luan timidly said some words about waiting to see how things would play out. But Lorelei tuned them out, refocusing on the pressing situation.

She reached inside her pocket, her fingers resting on the coldest of the three remaining pokéballs.

“So, what now?” Lorelei locked eyes with Ryder, who let a smug grin dance on his lips, then continued. “Aren’t you going to stop me?”

The poacher snickered. “These nets are tough,” he replied, gesturing towards the Dewgong trying to break the Lapras free. “And I want to talk.”

“Are you letting the Lapras go?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then what’s the point of talking?”

Lorelei bobbed her head, a gesture worth more than words.

Fractal, even from behind her, reacted instantly. Her mouth filled with icy mist as energy gathered. In a split second, the Ice Beam shot past Lorelei like a bullet, aimed directly at Ryder’s arm.

Pity it never reached the target.

Something emerged from a pokéball and stood in the way of the attack.

Large, with menacing fangs and weak to ice. It was a Golbat, belonging to one of the other poachers.

And it fell in one hit.

Lorelei allowed herself a small smile. Perhaps Celeste would finally see that she hadn’t attacked the Zubat earlier out of kindness. Or perhaps not. Either way, she had one less Pokémon to worry about.

“Is that the best you can do?” she taunted, her grip on the pokéball tightening. Her gaze shifted from the grunt, who was recalling the Golbat, back to Ryder. “No Scyther today?”

The fake-ranger shrugged and reached for something inside his coat, making Lorelei brace for the inevitable battle. However, he didn’t have a pokéball in his hands, but a device of some sort.

“My Pokémon are still recovering in the centre, thanks to you,” he said, while fiddling with some dial. “Stephanie, would you mind sending another one?” he added, directing his voice toward the Golbat’s trainer.

The grunt hesitated, but complied, releasing another Pokémon—this time, a Raticate. The poor thing was shaking, and Lorelei almost felt sorry for it when her Lapras fired another Ice Beam, taking it down in one hit.

“I can keep doing it all day,” Lorelei tried to provoke them. Whatever trap they had, it was best if she sprung it.

“Don’t worry,” Ryder replied with a large smirk, flipping the device in his hands to show Lorelei a bright screen with some numbers followed by a large V.

Her eyes widened as she realised what that meant, but she had no time to react.

Ryder pressed a button, and the nets containing the captured lapras sparked. Screeches and the smell of burnt fish filled the air. Lorelei’s Dewgong seemed almost stuck to the electrified net, and even her Lapras was in pain, despite the distance.

“Stop it!” Lorelei’s words came through clenched teeth. Her grip on the pokéball in her hands was so tight that she felt her nails scratching it.

The lead poacher tilted his head towards the struggling Dewgong still attempting to push through the electricity and break the nets. “Tell your Pokémon to stop first. Or shall I increase the voltage?”

Lorelei tried to make her muscles relax. With a whistle, she called the Dewgong back to her side and raised a hand to keep Fractal from firing another Ice Beam in anger.

“I might not break those nets now, but I can keep shooting out ice until you have no Pokémon left to protect you,” Lori said calmly and coldly.

Ryder laughed. “Intimidation? That seems unbecoming… and unnecessarily risky.”

She lowered her arms. “This isn’t intimidation,” she said, gesturing to her Lapras. “Ice Beam.”

The grunt on Ryder’s side wasted no time and released another Pokémon. This time the victim was a poor Oddish, who futilely attempted to counter with some Grass-type move. It didn’t even slow down her ice attack, however.

“If not intimidation, then what was that for?” Ryder asked, kicking the fallen frozen bulb away from his view.

“I’m tired and not in the mood for letting this drag,” Lorelei replied, her eyes resting on the Oddish for a moment. Her anger was building up, but she drowned it best as she could and raised her head back up to face her opponent. “Next time I’ll tell Fractal to widen her range, so make sure you get a bigger shield.”

“Can’t we just talk like civilised people?” Ryder waved his hand around. “We can trade. Information for information? No ice or electricity.”

Lorelei narrowed her eyes, looking back at her Lapras and her three companions. “I didn’t come here for information.”

The boy smiled and exchanged a significant look with one of the man by his side. The biggest of the poachers scoffed, but just crossed his arms and kept his eyes locked on Lorelei. Amused, Ryder giggled as he crouched down, placing his device on the ground.

“Don’t you want to know more about us?” he began, rising and raising his hands in a sign of peace. He slowly walked towards the ice Lorelei had created. “I can give you information that will make the cops real happy. Bet all your police troubles will go away once you tell them about me and my buddies. All I ask in return is for you to tell me about this Articuno you four kept babbling about.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Lorelei straightened herself, fixing her glasses. “What makes you think I know anything about Articuno?”

“This cave has ears,” Ryder laughed, delighted. “We placed cameras and microphones all around,” he explained. “Part of our master plan to find rare Pokémon and all that. The other part is the collars and the substances we use with them, but that much you must know already, right? Seeing you and your little friends are so, so very smart.”

Lorelei chewed on her cheek. “I’ll indulge you,” she answered slowly, taking a tentative step forward. She signalled her Dewgong to return underwater. Then she turned back to Ryder, who had just stepped on the ice.

“I trust my squad to act if you do something stupid,” he said, getting closer. He appeared unthreatening, but Lorelei’s eyes focused on the mountain of a man in the back. “Trust me, you don’t want to face Gozu.”

There were whispers from her friends behind, but they all died out as Lorelei took another step forward, not even looking back.

“You said you had information?”

“Team Rocket,” the poacher flashed the bright red R plastered on the black shirt he was wearing beneath his coat. “We aren’t just poachers like you keep saying; we are Team Rocket.”

“Good for you.” Lorelei stepped sideways, and Ryder mirrored her movements, always facing her. “But that means absolutely nothing to me.”

“We hope it will. Someday,” Ryder smirked.

A moment of silence. The cold air swirling above them and the stray snowflakes falling down almost gave Lorelei more confidence. She was the one in her element, after all.

“Okay…” Lori finally said, slowly walking towards the shore. She and Ryder were circling each other like predators about to strike. No one was fooling anyone, yet their dance continued. “What about a person? If you are a team, you must have a leader.”

Ryder shrugged as he took another step. “A boss, actually. We call her Madame Boss… or mostly just Madame.”

“You are giving me nothing,” Lorelei blinked, trying to keep herself steady. “But I’ll bite. Does Madame have a name?”

“I heard most people get one when they are born,” the rocket smirked, quickly raising his hands in a sign of peace. “Look, most of us don’t know her real name. Only higher ranked operatives get direct contact. All I can tell you is she really likes red blazers and has long brown hair.”

“Thanks,” Lorelei scoffed. “Now you’ve narrowed it down to about a third of the entire world.” She shook her head, pinched the bridge of her nose, and took another step. “So you work for a shadow. Why? What do you get from being in thisTeam Rocket?”

“I think our goal is to unite all peoples within our nation or some crap like that,” Ryder snorted, as if he found his words genuinely funny. “You’ll have to interrogate someone else if you want more about that. I’m in it for the money.”

“So you’re a thug?”

“One with cool gadgets and resources.” He smiled coyly.

Lorelei halted and crossed her arms. She and Ryder had completely switched places, with solid ground standing behind her and Fractal swimming on his back.

“Your turn now,” Ryder grinned. “Where is Articuno?”

“You tell me your boss can pull off a red blazer and expect me to tell you where Articuno is in return?” Lorelei raised her eyebrows.

“It was a long shot,” the boy smiled, turning to face the Lapras and the other teens. “But hey, I did promise Gozu I’d get him an ice Vulpix out of this.”

Lorelei choked. Her eyes darted from Celeste, who was trying to scamper away, back to Ryder, who had just pulled another device from his coat.

A gun?

The trainers were stunned for a moment, watching him point the weapon at her Lapras. Why would a trainer have a gun? Bullets weren’t effective against most Pokémon.

Lorelei clicked her heels, refocusing and not giving the poacher a chance to use his weapon.

“Now!” she yelled, but Ryder was faster. When he pulled the trigger, it wasn’t a bullet that came out, but a blue dart of some sort.

Still, her plan was in motion.

Lorelei leaped onto the shore as her Lapras quickly and forcefully hammered her fins on the ice, cracking it open. Following his trainer’s cue, Sorbet sprang from the water just beside the captured Lapras, his tail shimmering with a bright metallic light. He somersaulted to gain momentum and sliced through the net, finally releasing the Pokémon.

To finish things off, Celeste’s Eevee lunged forward and unleashed a Swift attack on Ryder, who was already fighting for balance. The poacher boy fell into the freezing water at once.

“That’s for threatening Powder,” Celeste yelled, clicking her fingers. A grin tentatively crept up her lips.

Lorelei almost laughed at her friend’s sudden enthusiasm, but when she looked back at the Lapras and saw that, even without the net, they had barely moved, her chest tightened. In the distance, her own Lapras seemed somewhat off, her head swaying from side to side like a Bellsprout.

There was something wrong.

Her eyes focused on the blue dart stuck to her Pokémon’s neck.

Of course.

If they had a way of making Pokémon aggressive, they also needed something to counter that. Something like tranquillisers.

—*——*—

Lorelei sprung up quickly and assessed the situation.

Ryder had vanished beneath the water’s surface, and dread gripped her as her Dewgong struggled to get any reaction from the unresponsive Lapras. Closer to the shoreline, her own Lapras was scrambling to swim forward, while Celeste’s recently released Slowpoke lumbered into action. Finally, Luan had called for his psychics for some extra help.

That was all worrisome, but manageable. The main problem would be the four poachers that remained.

One of them had a harpoon of sorts and was already making his way towards the group of groggy Lapras and her Dewgong. The other three were coming her way.

She studied her opponents. One was the woman with the small, weak Pokémon. She’d used three and had three more pokéballs visible on her belt. That wouldn’t be a problem. The second one was another woman with the same lackey energy emanating from her. She also didn’t look like a threat and had only two pokéballs visible. But then, there was the third…

Ryder had called him Gozu, and he was a colossal man who emanated authority and brute strength. He would be a problem.

Case in point.

Gozu’s gaze shifted to the woman on his right, his voice sounding gruff and irritated. “You, take the Frigibax back to camp.” He then turned to the other poacher. “Help with the Lapras.” Finally, he locked eyes with Lorelei. “Ryder always overcomplicates things,” he said, picking up two pokéballs and releasing a Fearow and an Aggron that towered above all of them.

Lorelei instinctively took a step back and plucked her lower lip. She was never happy to fight against Steel, and yet…

Steel, dark, fighting and ghost. With a dragon master at the top, she reminded herself. One day, she would beat the Elite Four, but today her goal was another. Today, her goal was within reach.

A smile tugged at her lips as she took a few more steps back to open some space between her and the two hulking Pokémon standing before her. Gozu narrowed his eyes but waited, almost amused.

Once she was satisfied with the battlefield, Lorelei picked up two pokéballs of her own. The first revealed a creature even more massive than the Aggron. Aurora, a Mamoswine whose roar made the ice crack, settled in her battle stance. Her tusks were sharp and fur soft. Her heart was soft too, but Lorelei didn’t advertise that often. By her side, the second Pokémon emerged into existence. Diamond, Lorelei’s coldest team member, her trusty Cryogonal, floated quietly, only announcing its presence by the rattling of its chains and by the oozing mist it emanated.

“Is that it?” Gozu scorned, turning to his Aggron. “Let’s do this quickly. Ron, use Iron Head on the Mammoth.” Not wasting a beat, his eyes moved to the Fearow, and he commanded, “You keep that snow-thingy busy with Fury Attack.”

Snow-thingy?

Lorelei almost laughed, but she knew she needed to remain focused. If her Mamoswine kept the Aggron busy while dishing out some hits, her Cryogonal could deal with the bird.

“Counter it with High Horsepower,” the Ice specialist commanded, just as the Aggron pointed its glowing horns towards them and began its charge. Aurora, the Mamoswine, wasted no time. Despite her size, she was faster than her opponent and managed to gather some speed, rushing towards the Steel-type while an orange aura formed around her body.

In a matter of seconds, they clashed. Aurora’s large tusks hindered the Aggron’s movements, and he barely managed to sink the tip of its horns into the opponent’s head. An impatient growl escaped the steel giant’s jaws as it seized the opponent’s tusks in an attempt to stifle the onslaught. If he was trying to push the Mamoswine back or outright break the tusks, Lorelei wasn’t sure, but she knew she could count on her Pokémon to keep on charging for a while longer.

With the Aggron busy, Lorelei’s focus zeroed in on the Fearow. She steadied herself, adjusting her ponytail with a quick flick. Her strategy was simple: immobilise, then overwhelm. The tactic she was most comfortable with.

“Circle around and freeze the wings,” she commanded, as the Cryogonal begun spinning.

Momentum built, and within moments, the Ice-type became a circular blur, slashing through the air like a frosty saw. The Fearow tried flying away to avoid the bursts of ice. However, Diamond was faster. It kept alternating between blades of ice and beautiful spirals that were shot from its core.

And yet the Fearow somehow managed to avoid the worst of all attacks with only a frozen leg and a few ruffled feathers.

“Keep the pressure,” Lorelei said, never losing her calm. “It can’t run forever.”

Gozu grunted, frustrated by the lack of progress on both fronts. “Agility, followed by Steel Wing!”

“Steel Wing? You should have led with that,” Lorelei scoffed. “Diamond, don’t let them.”

The Fearow shot upward in an erratic path, its feathers quivering and rattling with the snowy air. Diamond followed, dishing out its Ice Beams whenever it got close enough. It hit the tail, the crest, and then the leg again, ever so close to the wings but never really quite there. That, unfortunately, gave the opposing Pokémon enough time to pull off the Agility, allowing it to outspeed the Cryogonal. It then got higher and mockingly spread its wings against the faint sunlight coming from outside.

Cryogonal couldn’t resist the tantalising opportunity. It halted its spin, aligning for a precise shot against the airborne target.

Lorelei saw the trap coming a mile away.

Her voice, however, couldn’t reach her Pokémon anymore. They got too high. She tensed, breaths getting shallower as she witnessed the Fearow’s dive, metallic wings slashing against her Pokémon.

The Cryogonal fell just by her feet. Hurt, but still conscious. Although just barely.

Lorelei had got too comfortable, and it cost her dearly. Still, Diamond, though weakened, wasn’t out of the fight yet. With a click of her tongue, she commanded it to use Reflect, not for his own protection, but to safeguard her Mamoswine instead.

Cold, but the best course of action.

Right on cue, the Fearow struck again, just as the reflective barrier rose. “It’s two on one now, Aurora,” she told the Mamoswine while recalling her fallen Pokémon.

Gozu sneered. “Not so high and mighty now, eh?”

Lorelei felt like groaning in frustration, but she held back.

One earthquake.

That was all she needed to get rid of the Aggron—and probably collapse the cave in the process. She pushed the idea to the back of her head and glanced at her Lapras, clearly fighting to stay alert. She’d only be able to call for her Dewgong or Smoochum for backup.

Or more likely, only her dewgong. Crystal was still too young.

“Keep on charging in with High Horsepower!” she commanded her Mamoswine. Once more, the Aggron held her by the tusks, and to make matters worse, the Fearow swooped in with a few more Steel Wings.

“Enough playing games, Ron. Use Low Kick, then Iron Tail once it’s off balance.”

“Don’t—”

Before Lorelei could finish her sentence, the Aggron surprised them by lunging itself forward. It let go of the tusks it’d been holding and pushed the Mamoswine up until it was on its hind legs. Then, with an impressive burst of speed, the Steel-type went for the Low Kick, making Aurora fall on her back.

The blow was so massive that rocks from the walls began tumbling down, hitting the water and shore alike.

And then there was a scream.

Celeste.

Lorelei’s eyes darted around in a panic, only to see Celeste and Rey were trying to rescue the Frigibax, and had nearly avoided a few falling rocks. She wanted to complain they didn’t stay back like they were told to, but at this point, she couldn’t even feign indignation.

“You’re in the perfect spot to smack that Fearow,” Lorelei said, her focus snapping back. Thank goodness Aurora got the memo. The Mamoswine halted her flailing and quickly conjured ice shards to aim at the airborne target.

Maybe they lucked out, or perhaps the Fearow was running on fumes after all those Steel Wings and previous hits. Either way, the first shard hit its mark dead-on. The bird took a nosedive, and Gozu scrambled to recall it after Aurora began rolling over it on an impromptu Body Press.

The Aggron wasn’t having it, however. It swung its Iron Tail with vengeance, causing even more debris to rain down as it zeroed in on Aurora again.

Was there even a point in trying to preserve the cave anymore?

Lorelei bit her lip. She would have liked to immobilise and overwhelm, but only overwhelm would have to do. “Charge up,” she said, bracing herself for their opponents’s incoming Iron Tail. Aurora groaned in pain, but hid her face.

Cheeky girl.

Another hit landed. This time, Aurora stood tall without so much as a groan, defying the injuries.

Good thing Aggron was so slow.

Aurora huffed, pivoting to face her foe just as it wound up for a third Iron Tail.

She was all charged up now.

Lorelei didn’t need to give the command, but it felt too good to pass up.

“Hyper Beam,” she said, letting emotion seep in her voice as the light consumed them.