"I didn't realize there were still trainers left to clear out."

Ash was afraid he'd vomit out of stress as the man spoke.

The woman grumbled. "Tch, he'll have our heads if we leave any stragglers." her voice suddenly became booming. "Hey kids! You need to come with us! Now!"

Ash and Misty backed away with quivering eyes and lips as the two figures approached them, walking forcefully across the room.

Pikachu, Eevee, and Piplup weren't faring much better, but the young mouse's cheeks sparked madly as he dared to let out a fierce growl towards the approaching soldiers.

The duo stopped just a couple of meters from the groups as the electricity crackled across the mouse's cheeks.

The man's face twisted into something akin to a glare as he leered down at the yellow rodent. "Control your rat, kids. We're in the middle of an important mission." he gestured his hand out, his movements friendly, but his face not. "Hand over your Poke Balls and follow us to where we are keeping the other trainers. You won't get so much of a scrape as long as you cooperate. Otherwise…" two orbs suddenly appeared in his hands, the Poke Balls quickly enlarging. "You won't be the first ones to get hurt for your recklessness."

'There's more of them?!' Ash thought frantically as his breathing suddenly sped up. How many trainers have they imprisoned here? Where were they? What were he and Misty supposed to do?

The encounter with Cassidy and Butch hadn't been very long ago in the slightest. This was the third time that he'd run into Team Rocket on his journey, and it hadn't even been a month yet! What was going on right now?! Why did he keep having to run into this group?! What had he done to deserve it?!

Misty had backed away from him just a bit. It seemed as though she couldn't make up her mind as to whether she wanted to protect Ash or the other way around, her arms wrapped protectively around the boy while she simultaneously hid behind him. The color was completely gone from her face, giving her a sickly appearance as the stress of the situation overwhelmed her.

The man snarled. "Not going to comply, huh? Very well, just remember that you brought this upon yourself. Stupid brats."

Ash recognized the Pokemon that emerged from the Poke Balls. A Sandshrew and a Tangela. As he took them in, the woman took out a Poke Ball of her own and released a somewhat large, bulky Growlithe.

Pikachu backed away a little bit, but the electricity emitting from his cheeks increased in intensity. Eevee attempted to imitate him with a growl of her own, but wasn't quite as good at hiding her fear.

Misty released Ash and tried to stand upright. Ash felt her breath brush against his ear as she whispered to him, simultaneously trying to sound encouraging to him while also convincing herself to be brave.

"We have to fight, Ash." her voice was soft, but final. "Who knows what they'll do to us?"

She was right. And Ash hated knowing that.

Ash nodded reluctantly and released Valiant, while Misty released Staryu.

The woman sneered. "Five to three, eh? Nice try, but strength in numbers won't be enough for a couple of kids."

Ash and Misty ran backwards to clear some distance as Valiant and Staryu surveyed the situation, the young Ralts immediately tensing up upon noticing Team Rocket's presence. Eevee scooted over towards him, her growls now becoming a bit more genuine as a Shadow Ball appeared in her jaws.

"Attack!" yelled the man.

Sandshrew bolted forward and allowed its body to intercept the blast of electricity that Pikachu had aimed at Growlithe. However, fully blocking the blast caused it to stay in one place for too long, and although the electricity was harmless in the face of the Ground Type Pokemon, the same did not hold true for the blast of bubbles that collided with the Sandshrew as Piplup quickly launched a follow-up attack of his own.

Now Pikachu took aim at Sandshrew as he charged forward with a metallic tail, only for a Vine Whip from Tangela to suddenly wrap around said tail as Pikachu attempted to thrust it forward. However, as Tangela attempted to flip Pikachu over, the electric mouse letting out a shocked yelp as the attempt was made, the Grass Type was assaulted by a simultaneous Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam from Eevee and Valiant, sending the opposing Pokemon rolling backwards as Pikachu freed himself.

But just as the young mouse attempted to get back into the fray, he was blessed at point blank range from an Ember attack as the Growlithe rushed forward.

"Staryu, Rapid Spin!" at Misty's order, Staryu flung itself through the air, rotating with great velocity as it slammed painfully into the canine Pokemon's side.

As Growlithe wailed in pain from the sudden blow, Eevee was upon it, firing a point blank Shadow Ball right into its head at Ash's command. The concussive blast was too much for the Fire Type Pokemon, which was already reeling in pain from Staryu's attack.

As Growlithe collapsed, Pikachu took aim at Sandshrew, who had been blasted by yet another barrage of bubbles by Piplup as it had attempted to join the fray. Raising a metallic tail, the young mouse slammed it down on top of the Ground Type's head, leaving Sandshrew to unceremoniously faceplant into the cold, hard stone.

Now the only one left, Tangela raised its vines again, preparing to attack.

Suddenly, Valiant rose from the ground behind it, exiting Shadow Sneak as he froze the unprepared Grass Type Pokemon in place with Confusion. With a loud battle cry, Piplup flung himself forward with a glowing beak, driving it head first into Tangela, who was sent flying away and landed in a heap.

The man's face was twisted in rage as the five Pokemon advanced on him and his comrade.

"Dammit all!" he stuttered lividly as he backed a few steps away from the advancing Pokemon who were glaring daggers at him. "We exhausted our stronger Pokemon against the other trainers! We gotta move!"

"Yeah, let's split!" shouted the woman frantically.

Not even bothering to recall their Pokemon, the two turned tail and fled, only for Pikachu to dash ahead of them and blast them with a quick jolt of electricity, forcing their bodies to collapse painfully onto the stone hard floors.

"This was supposed to be the easy part of the mission..." The man stammered his words out pathetically as he and the woman were left delirious from the shock, their bodies spasming on the rocky floors.

As Ash and Misty regrouped with their team, Ash allowed a deep sigh of relief to escape from his lungs, and he could hear Misty sighing as well.

"Great work, you guys." he said as he allowed a nervous smile to make its way onto his face. "Now let's hurry up and get out of here so that we can contact the authorities at the next Pokemon Center and-"

"HEY! What's going on here?!"

The entire group paled as they turned around and saw four more soldiers running into the room from another tunnel.

It was too soon to be feeling relieved or safe.

/

"Agent Cyan! A report!"

Cyan perked up as a somewhat short woman approached him, her uniform a bit dirtied from a previous battle.

"What is it, this time?" he grumbled irritably, his eyes constantly wandering to the tunnel where the Marauder and his squadron had headed off to.

"We've received word that two more trainers have been spotted roaming the caverns! Rookies, from the looks of it. They took out two soldiers and are now fleeing from more!"

Cyan groaned in dissatisfaction. "Is this the most interesting this mission is going to get for us?" he looked around the room. Most of the soldiers that hadn't been assigned to accompany the Marauder on his mission to secure the Moon Stone were now out on patrol. "We can't spare any more troops. Simply send word to those who are already out on patrol. I doubt they're a threat, but… our leader wouldn't appreciate it if we were to take any risks…"

He and the woman both shivered at that, and she nodded.

"Understood, sir. All patrolling units will be mobilized immediately."

/

Ash Ketchum had the worst luck.

At least, that's what it was starting to seem like, at any rate.

Quickly recalling everybody except for Pikachu and Eevee, he and Misty had bolted the moment the other four soldiers had arrived on the scene, Pikachu and Eevee quickly launching attacks to keep the soldiers at bay and give the group a head start. They hadn't even paid attention to which tunnel of the caverns that they had bolted into, nor did they even remotely care.

Ash was afraid that they would send some sort of speedy Pokemon to intercept them, but no such Pokemon came. Had he been in a better state of mind, he would have recalled what the previous Team Rocket soldier had said earlier, about exhausting all of their stronger Pokemon.

Right now, all he was focused on was remaining alive and well. The adrenaline pumping through his body carried him across the tunnels as he and Misty ran side by side, the normally temperamental girl in a similar mood of panic as her feet pounded against the rocky floors.

As they approached a branching path, Ash and Misty gaped in horror as they saw two more soldiers running out of one of the tunnels. The group made a quick beeline for the second tunnel, now sure where it would take them.

One soldier successfully managed to seize Ash's collar from behind, prompting a shriek of terror from Misty. A painful Iron Tail from Pikachu had sent the man flying backwards (probably with shattered ribs), as Misty latched onto Ash as quickly as she could, the boy falling backwards for a brief moment before his new friend grabbed him and pulled him back up, sparing him a hard collision with the rocky floors of the caverns.

More running. More panicking. More shouting from the soldiers in hot pursuit.

There was no end goal in sight. Just a desperate attempt to stay out of the reach of their assailants as long as they possibly could. How long would that last?

"COCKSUCKERS!" Misty's voice assaulted Ash's ears with its sheer volume, and, had it not been for his completely panicked state of mind, the young boy probably would have been totally floored to hear such language from somebody of his age group.

He kept his gaze up ahead in the seemingly endless labyrinth of tunnels. No reprieve in sight. Just more running and panicking. The group was doomed. What else?

The two trainers could hear the shouts of the soldiers as their longer, adult legs carried them across the tunnel, rapidly closing the distance between themselves and the children that they were pursuing. A Machop had been sent out by one of the new soldiers, and had taken the bullet when Pikachu fired a quick Thunder Shock towards the approaching soldiers in an effort to stall them.

The electricity from the attack had provoked a wail of pain from the Fighting Type Pokemon. Now with the knowledge of Thunderbolt, Pikachu was able to put extra strength into his Thunder Shock attack much more easily, without needing to charge it up for as long as he used to.

Machop was resilient, however, and although it sank to its knees initially after being struck with the electrical blast, it was soon back on its feet, attempting to catch up with the Team Rocket soldiers, who quickly found themselves scattering frantically in response to a second Thunder Shock from Pikachu, and a Bubble Beam from Piplup, who Misty had sent back out in an effort to drive off the tenacious attackers.

A bird Pokemon that Misty had apparently recognized as a Murkrow emerged from a Poke Ball that another soldier had removed from their belt, and the new Pokemon shrieked horrifically as it made a mad rush for the duo of trainers, a Shadow Ball appearing in its open beak as it closed in.

As Piplup fired a trail of Bubble Beam at the approaching soldiers in an effort to keep them at bay, Pikachu intercepted the Murkrow and slammed it in the face with Zap Tail just before the bird Pokemon could fire. While the Murkrow was still reeling from the blow, Eevee pelted it with Swift.

This suddenly gave Ash an idea. Swift was a move that could lock onto opponents and make it easier for the user to hit their target. Although Eevee wasn't perfect with the move, it could certainly prove useful in this situation.

"Eevee, use Swift on them!" he pointed forward. In response, Eevee turned her attention to the approaching Team Rocket soldiers as Pikachu rushed the falling Murkrow, body coated in spark.

Two of the six soldiers were in the process of removing a Poke Ball from their respective belts as the golden stars erupted from Eevee's mouth and sailed through the air towards them. The grunts yelped in shock as the stars were suddenly upon them. Although most attempts to avoid the onslaught were successful, the stars exploded on the ground near their feet, the shockwaves doing the rest of the work and knocking four of the soldiers off balance, two of which were the ones who had attempted to take out Poke Balls, which slipped out of their hands and rolled across the rocky floor of the tunnels. One soldier hit their head on a nearby rock as they fell, leaving him dazed and with a serious throbbing pain in his head as his vision instantaneously blurred. The other three were left with painfully twisted ankles. A fifth soldier actually was struck by one of the stars, but was righted by the sixth soldier, who grabbed onto his comrade to prevent him from falling as the attack left him wheezing in pain.

This action left both of the two remaining soldiers wide open, however, and a sudden Bubble Beam from Piplup was frantically avoided by both of them, trying to dodge in separate directions. The soldier who had gotten hit by the Swift, however, was still reeling from the blow, not used to taking hits from Pokemon moves (but still not seriously injured due to it only being just one star), and lost his balance immediately. Although he caught himself with his hands, feeling a sharp pain as the force of his fall pressed his palms against the hard surface of the floor, a Shadow Ball from Eevee exploded nearby, the impact flinging him away from the shockwaves and leaving his back to collide with the ground with a painful THUD.

The other soldier also caught himself with his hands, but a Thunder Wave from Pikachu left him spasming on the ground.

With all six soldiers now on the ground, Ash felt Misty's hand roughly clasp onto his shoulder as she bluntly pulled him forward.

"They're down! Come on everyone!"

Not one to argue with that, Ash took off into a sprint as the orange haired girl led the way, Pikachu and Eevee both hot on their tails, and Piplup only sparing a single moment to glance back and ensure that the Team Rocket soldiers were all still down.

As the group bailed as quickly as their bodies allowed them too, Machop finally caught up and stopped amidst the fallen Team Rocket soldiers, looking around in concern.

One Team Rocket soldier, struggling to his feet as he reeled from the pain of his twisted ankle, pointed off in the direction that the group had ran off too.

"Machop, Murkrow… go after them, hurry!"

A quick nod was offered by the fighting type Pokemon in response, before it ran forward. Coming across Murkrow, it stopped briefly to survey the condition of the fallen bird Pokemon.

Murkrow's body was badly beaten, the injured bird Pokemon struggling to rise up as it pointed its wing forward, signaling for Machop to go on ahead.

Reluctantly, the fighting type complied, rushing off to catch up with the retreating group. Behind it, Murkrow finally managed to rise into the air, flapping its wings weakly as it attempted to fly off in pursuit of the travelers.

The bird would never quite catch up, however, collapsing from exhaustion and pain just a minute or two later.

/

"WHAT?!" Cyan's voice was livid and horrified.

"I'm sorry, sir!" came the soldier's voice from the other end of the receiver. "They just caught us off guard and got away! We sent a couple of our Pokemon after them, but-"

"How the hell is this so difficult for you?!" Cyan demanded as he tried to ignore his increasingly rapid heartbeat. "We're trying to tear down the Indigo League for crying out loud! Aren't you well equipped enough to handle a couple of damn rookie children?!"

"We've been here for a while, sir!" came the reply. "And most of our stronger Pokemon have already exhausted themselves fighting some of the more powerful trainers that we took hostage after coming here! And the strongest within our group have all been taken by the Marauder's squadron to secure the Moon Stone. We're all running on low juice right now."

Cyan snarled, yet sighed in acceptance. "You're right. Keep me posted." hanging up, he placed the device next to him as he sank into his chair before sighing deeply, pressing his palm firmly against his face as he did so.

It was supposed to be a simple procedure. Raid Mt. Moon. Gather up all of the trainers traveling through the area before any of them could alert the authorities, confiscating all of their Pokemon in the process. Send an elite squadron of soldiers led by the Iron-Masked Marauder in order to secure the Moon Stone. Maybe "simple" was the wrong word for it, but "efficient" would probably be a good way to describe it. It certainly wasn't supposed to be difficult.

And in the beginning, things had gone quite easily for them. Obviously they were met with resistance, but any and all trainers that they had encountered were captured before the League could be contacted. They had several soldiers on patrol throughout the mountain in order to round up any stragglers.

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Mt. Moon was under their control. At least, it was supposed to be. Cyan highly doubted that these two children could do much of anything to jeopardize the mission currently at hand, but that was not the Iron-Masked Marauder's way of thinking.

Their squad leader's orders were absolute, and Cyan wasn't going to risk provocation of whatever… punishment awaited them on the off chance that these two children actually did manage to interfere.

"Sir…" a soldier approached him cautiously, earning a neutral gaze from Cyan. "Are we really sure that a couple of children pose that much of a threat to us? It's not like they're going to be going down into the depths of the mountain, and even if they do, there's no way they'd be strong enough to stop-"

"That's not the point." the soldier flinched as Cyan caught him off with a raised hand. "We're supposed to have this place under total lockdown, and if those two kids manage to escape and get a hold of the League…" he grumbled. "Our squad leader is not to be trifled with. You can't go anywhere in the criminal underworld without hearing tall tales about how monstrous he is. Thing is, in this line of work, a lot of those tall tales are probably true. If we perform anywhere under his satisfaction, it's bad news for all of us. I think I'd rather be imprisoned by the League."

The soldier grimaced, his face contorting in anxiety. "What exactly would he do?"

"Who knows? He's one of those people who is willing to do pretty much anything. Moral code usually isn't a factor in his way of thinking. That's why we have to play by his rules." Cyan looked off to the side, not making eye contact with his subordinate.

'Otherwise I'll probably be the one who ends up paying the price.' he thought bitterly to himself.

/

The group stopped to catch a quick breather after several more minutes of nonstop running in the tunnels. Their lungs all appreciated the quick break, but their brains wouldn't stop shouting at them to continue to flee.

Gasping a bit as he tried to take in as much air as possible, Ash pressed his back to a wall and glanced at Misty, who had Piplup by her side. Pikachu and Eevee were by his.

"You think they're still after us?" he bit his lips nervously.

Misty's face was sullen. "Who knows how many of them are here? And now we've lost the main path while running from them. I don't even know where we are in these damn tunnels."

She was gritting her teeth, snarling ferociously in frustration, but her eyes were filled with terror. They were trapped in the labyrinth caverns of Mt. Moon with a group of terrorists pursuing them.

Do they keep moving and risk running into more soldiers? Or do they stay put and risk the soldiers coming to them? It was dumb luck that let them survive the previous chase, and nothing more.

Ash wanted to keep running. To at least have a chance at escaping the mountain. Waiting around carried the same amount of risk as moving away, and at least moving away carried the slim possibility of them stumbling upon an exit by some pure miracle.

But his chest hurt. His legs were sore. His feet were sore. He wanted to sit down. To never run again. To just lean against this wall and put his head up, close his eyes, and think relaxing thoughts. Or maybe even not think at all. Either way, he just wanted to rest his muscles.

That was what his body wanted. But his brain wanted the opposite. To run. To find a way out of this damn mountain and never return. To never see Team Rocket ever again.

Fatigue clashing with self preservation. Exhaustion growing in the face of waning adrenaline.

Eying Misty, he wondered if she was in similar turmoil. The normally hot headed girl had her usual aggression in her mannerisms, but her breathing was just as hard as his, and there was a hint of paleness in her face.

Pikachu looked like he could still run. He was used to this. Piplup and Eevee both seemed to be on their last reserves, however.

He couldn't hear any soldiers or Pokemon at the moment, so they should be safe. But for how long? They could come bursting in at any minute. Right now, they were near the entry point to one of the many branching tunnels in the caverns.

Forcing himself to start moving again, Ash pushed himself off of the wall and eyed the group frantically.

"We should really go. If we don't we could-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Misty cut him off. "Once we get out of here and contact the authorities, I'm taking a shower."

Talking about what she was going to do after escaping from the mountain was Misty's way of trying to reassure herself that she would ever be escaping the mountain period. But Ash didn't pick up on that.

Suddenly, Pikachu's ears erected upwards, and he let out a cry as something burst through the entrance to the tunnel.

"GAH! What's that?!" cried Ash.

Stepping out of the shadows was the same Machop that had chased them before. It crossed its arms in an attempt to appear authoritative as it sized the group up, a neutral expression on its face that conveyed no happiness or anger. As though it didn't care which side it was on.

Pikachu growled as he rushed forward and placed himself in between Machop and the group, cheeks sparking madly as the young mouse grinded his teeth.

Sinking into a fighting stance, Machop prepared itself.

Ash grimaced. They would have to fight after all. Oh well. "Pikachu, let's end this quickly!"

Nodding at his trainer, Pikachu shot forward towards his opponent. Machop responded in kind.

The electric mouse was clearly faster, striking at their fighting type adversary with a metallic tail just before Machop could react.

Machop reeled from the blow as it skidded backwards, glaring at Pikachu as it managed to stay upright before charging forward again.

Pikachu leapt over a kick from the fighting type before delivering a well-placed Brick Break to his opponent's cheek, prompting Machop to stumble forward. A second Iron Tail was met with a mighty punch that pushed Pikachu back towards the group, the mouse sinking down onto all fours as he snarled at his adversary, cheeks sparking in an effort to look as intimidating as possible.

Ash and Misty immediately distanced themselves from the fighting as Eevee and Piplup both took their places besides Pikachu, although the young mouse remained slightly in front.

"Misty," Ash said quickly, slightly turning his head in her direction, while still attempting to keep his eyes on the Pokemon. Misty responded in kind. "Pikachu should be fast enough to engage Machop directly. Eevee can give him cover from a distance. You think Piplup can do the same?"

A quick nod from Misty. "We'll try to keep it on the defensive." she replied.

Both trainers turned their attention completely back to the battle, where Machop was already getting ready for its next move.

Ash and Misty both blinked rapidly as Machop's body suddenly glowed a deep orange. Letting out a low, ominous rumble from its throat, the Fighting Type raised its arms outwards as its muscles suddenly bulged, pulsating with power across its entire body.

Bulk Up. A move that bolstered the power of a Pokemon's muscles, the boost to the Pokemon's brute strength being a massive boon for their offense and durability. Which meant that Machop had just become a hell of a lot more difficult to put down.

But that just raised the question of whether or not Machop could maintain the technique for long before needing to drop it. There was a reason why moves that powered up the user weren't universally used in battles, despite the obvious boons that they granted for the user. Almost all of them had some sort of drawback or strain to them, powering up the user to levels that their body was not actually at yet.

Making good use of its new leg strength, Machop rushed forward, raising a glowing, purple fist as it barreled over towards Pikachu.

Locking onto the young mouse with Poison Jab, the fighting type Pokemon was most certainly putting its newfound strength to good use. But Pikachu quickly leapt away as his adversary attempted to sock him, leaving the Machop wide open to a Bubble Beam from Piplup, which sent the bulky opponent staggering backwards as the watery barrage hit it the face, grunting irritably as the attack painfully pelted it.

"Piplup!" Misty called out. "Support Pikachu from behind! Keep attacking from a distance!"

"You too, Eevee!" Ash declared. "Use Swift!"

Just as Machop was upright again, Eevee's golden stars pelted against its chest. As the fighting type staggered backwards, Pikachu was upon it again, Zap Tail at the ready as he struck Machop clean on the head.

Machop wailed in agony As Pikachu relentlessly pushed the electric tail firmly against its head, the electricity from the tail being driven into Machop's head further and further as the young mouse kept up his assault.

Not wanting to give Machop a chance at recovery, Misty quickly followed up. "Water Pulse!"

As Pikachu gave Machop one final, rough push that sent his opponent staggering away, Piplup took aim at the opponent as it struggled to maintain its footing. The deep, blue orb of glowing water that formed in between the penguin's wings was flung towards Machop at full force, splashing against the bulky adversary and knocking it clean off of its feet.

Machop regained its bearings just in time, catching itself on its hands before it could hit the ground, but Eevee was already charging up a Shadow Ball. To Ash's chagrin, however, Machop quickly lurched itself upwards in time to avoid the attack, which exploded against the stone wall. The wind force from the shockwaves of the blast blasted a series of dust that collided with the fighting type's back, Machop standing tall as it bared its fists at the group, the dust almost acting as a backdrop.

Pikachu launched a Thunder Shock at the bulky fighting type, but Machop raised a fist, now glowing with electricity, and intercepted the attack.

Thunder Punch. Machop hadn't used it to block Pikachu's electricity during the frantic chase, but with things more focused now, perhaps it was easier for the Fighting Type to come up with the idea.

Pikachu gritted his teeth irritably as the electricity from his own attack strengthened that of the Machop's, the lightning radiating off of the fighting type Pokemon's fist now much more intense than before. As Machop charged forward, Pikachu responded in kind, rushing the bulky Pokemon at full speed and driving a powerful Zap Tail into Machop's gut.

Making good use of its durability from Bulk Up, Machop, despite wheezing in pain, attempted to push forward against the force of the attack, increasing its pain further as he leaned into the electrical tail in an attempt to sock Pikachu with its fist of lightning. The water that Machop's body was soaked in from Piplup's attacks was no doubt making this even worse, but the Fighting Type was ludicrously resilient as it adamantly braved its way through the excruciating pain.

A grimacing Ash was quickly reminded of the ending of Pikachu's fight with Paul's Elekid back in Pewter City. Elekid had also powered through Pikachu's attack in order to deal a devastating blow.

Thankfully, a Swift from Eevee forced Machop backwards as the golden stars pelted against its face. The electricity in Machop's fist dissipated as it held an open palm against its gut in pain, growling angrily in Pikachu's direction as its hand clutched the sore wound.

If Machop kept taking more damage like this, it would likely get worn out from having to maintain Bulk Up while simultaneously dealing with the pain. As its body sustained damage, it would become harder and harder to handle the move without wearing itself out, becoming completely exhausted as all of its energy dried out. At that point in time, it would be forced to either drop Bulk Up entirely, or go for broke and attempt to finish the fight quickly before completely exhausting itself entirely.

When Ash voiced this to Misty, she simply nodded. "Right, we need to keep hammering away at it until it drops." the look in her eyes was still scared, much like Ash's, but there was a noticeable fire in them that Ash's lacked. "It doesn't seem to have any ranged moves, so maybe Pikachu should widen the gap between them too?"

Ash nodded at that, watching Pikachu dodge a flaming fist from their opponent before driving an Iron Tail into Machop's stomach, right where the wound was. The young boy winced a bit as the muscular Rocket Pokemon cried out in agony, its wailing suddenly cut off as it was blasted with Eevee's Shadow Ball. Just before Piplup's Bubble Beam could strike it, however, it moved to the side and narrowly avoided the onslaught.

"Good idea." he raised his voice. "Pikachu! Back up buddy, real quick!"

Pikachu's ears perked up at the change in strategy, and quickly leapt away as Machop attempted to strike the young mouse with a now icy fist. The frozen punch struck nothing but air as Pikachu scampered away, stopping in between Eevee and Piplup and glaring at Machop on all fours, cheeks sparking dangerously.

Machop was certainly stronger than any of the other three Pokemon currently fighting it, but that meant very little if it couldn't land a hit. Just one blow from the Fighting Type would probably be devastating, causing serious injury that would cripple the combatant that was on the receiving end for the remainder of the battle.

Thankfully, Pikachu's evasiveness and the long distance assaults from Eevee and Piplup to further keep the fighting type at bay had made this a non-issue.

Now, it was just time to finish it up.

"Icy WInd!" Misty called out.

Piplup's open beak unleashed a gust of frozen air as Machop raised its arms defensively. The fighting type Pokemon was forced to look away, wincing loudly as the sharp, unforgivingly cold air assaulted its skin. The water soaking its skin from previous attacks was beginning to freeze over.

Ash saw his chance. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Normally, Thunderbolt would take longer to charge. Pikachu had not yet gotten a full grip on the powerful electric type move. But with Machop occupied with Icy Wind, Pikachu was left with as much time as it needed to gather the electricity in his cheeks.

With a loud cry, Pikachu's body erupted in lightning as the golden bolt sailed towards Machop, rocketing into the Fighting type's body and bathing it in merciless static.

Machop screamed in pain, not just from the strength of the bolt, but from the sudden contrast from the freezing cold Icy Wind that left its skin unbearably cold, to the sudden, extreme heat of the Thunderbolt, mercilessly burning against the Fighting Type's now excruciatingly cold skin. The water on its body only added to the pain, making an already unbearable attack even worse, as though rubbing salt on a wound.

As the attack subsided, Pikachu exhaled deeply, and Ash could see his starter Pokemon breathing a bit hard. They would have to work on Thunderbolt later, but at the very least, the young mouse was clearly capable of using the technique without completely exhausting himself, even if it was very clearly a taxing move for the small rodent to pull off. At the current moment, anyway.

Turning his gaze towards Machop, Ash grimaced as the fighting type steadfastly remained standing. Although it panted in exhaustion with its hands on its knees, its muscles mostly returned to normal, and its body bruised, burnt, and beaten with sparks of static rolling across it, it still refused to sink to the floor. A tenacious opponent for sure.

But Misty wasn't having any of it. "Still standing up, huh? Well I've reached my limit with you!" pointing at the penguin , she glowered at the wounded Rocket Pokemon. "Put it down with Aerial Beak!"

Piplup nodded, before raising his head highly. His beak glowed a bright white as it seemingly grew in both length and sharpness. Kicking off of the ground, Piplup's body became enveloped in that same bright, white light as he sailed through the air and towards Machop.

Charging forward with Aerial Ace, Piplup drove his Peck right into Machop's forehead, the fighting type Pokemon not even having time to cry out in pain as it was blasted off of its feet, blood spraying from the spot where Piplup had struck, and landed on its back with an unceremonious thud. As Piplup landed gracefully on the stony ground, he looked over to his opponent, who was not getting up.

A wide grin developed on Misty's face momentarily before she suddenly returned to her nervous, uneasy expression.

"Ash, we need to get out of here. We don't know if this battle attracted any of their attention or not."

Ash quickly nodded in understanding.

/

Pikachu had been fed a quick oran berry before the group took off again, the young mouse's stamina rejuvenated. Machop's unconscious body was left at the sight of the battle, and thankfully, no other soldiers or Pokemon had arrived to attack them before they could make their escape.

Ash and Misty were both still fighting against exhaustion, but had mercifully decided to stick to jogging. It was still taxing in their fatigue states, but wasn't nearly as immediately excruciating as a full blown sprint would have been.

The group had no idea where they were going. No idea where the main path was, how deep they were in the caverns, or even what level that they were currently at in general. All of that had been completely lost in the sheer panic of the initial chase, and Ash cursed himself for not paying attention.

He didn't know it, but Misty was currently feeling the same exact way as well.

Although he tried to convince himself that it couldn't be helped, and that they were both bound to lose their focus in the chase, the repercussions of such still certainly didn't bode well for any of them.

The group of five were lost in the tunnels, and who knew when they'd run into somebody next? And whether or not it would be even stronger than that Machop?

Although he kept an eye out for soldiers and Pokemon, Ash wasn't too sure how vigilant he could be while simultaneously trying to move.

What's more, the boy found his growing exhaustion clashing with said efforts to be vigilant, his mind constantly shifting focus to how much his body wanted to stop moving.

The boy told himself to keep running, but how long could he keep that mindset up? It all felt so hopeless.

Even so, an optimistic voice in his brain wanted to tell him that it was over. And that they had gotten away. A much louder boice told him that it was too good to be true.

The tunnels in this mountain were seemingly endless. Ash didn't know if it was the paranoia of Team Rocket lurking within the caverns and probably searching for them, or just the simple fact that there was still no end in sight, but he felt as though he was completely closed off from the world. As though Mt. Moon was an entirely different place from the world that he lived in.

And that might have added to the hopelessness that he was feeling. Not even in Viridian Forest had he ever felt this separated from civilization. From the world itself. It added to the fear he had developed for these seemingly endless caverns. And it ultimately added to his desperation to escape.

Slightly ahead of him was Misty, as he had begun to slow down a tiny bit in an attempt to hopefully conserve energy.

"Ash, I think the tunnel is opening up into a room up ahead-"

The group skidded to a halt at the entrance to the room, a group of Team Rocket soldiers standing in front of them.

The soldier in front of the rest seemed quite irritated, and stressed.

"Damnit…" said Cyan. "So they stumbled they're way here, now."

Misty's face was pale as she stepped backwards, at Ash's side now, while Pikachu uneasily glared at the soldiers in front of them, cheeks sparking mad with lightning.

"So… we walked right into their camp…" she whimpered out.

Ash felt like he might vomit. This whole time, he had been desperate to escape from the caverns of Mt. Moon, and now, they had just done the opposite.

They had effectively just delivered themselves right to Team Rocket. He felt truly sick.

Standing in front of the soldiers, Cyan glowered uneasily at the duo of trainers.

"Well, you two made it easy for us, and you're clearly tired of running. Are you ready to cooperate yet?"

Misty did her best to snarl. "No way!" as she stammered with a combination of fear and rage, her hand shot to her belt. "You bastards are just going to strip away our Pokemon and use us as hostages when the authorities get here! I'm not some bargaining tool!"

"You really don't know what you two are getting yourselves into, kids." Cyan's hand reached for his own belt as he allowed his gaze at them to even. If only you knew what our squad leader was like, you'd be jumping to become a prisoner in place of the alternative." The Poke Ball that he removed from his belt enlarged as he gripped it firmly in his palm. "Quite frankly, I don't care if you get hurt or not. My condition is what's going to be critical if he ends up being dissatisfied. I'm not letting my own well being go to risk just because a couple of brats decided to do things the hard way."

Ash's eyes narrowed at that. Squad leader? This guy sounded scared of whoever was leading the operation. Speaking of which…

"What are you even doing here?" Ash blurted out, trying to sound demanding. Given the man's sneer, he had failed in that department.

"Quite trying to sound tough, half-pint. Didn't I just tell you I can't take any risks? You won't get any meaningful information from me." he reared his hand back, preparing to throw. "Now then, hold still. This is your last chance."

A Golbat appeared in the air before them. Zubat's evolved form.

Looking around the room, Ash realized that there was a lot more space here than most of the tunnels. There should be enough for Nebula to comfortably fly around…

The Staravia appeared in front of him, along with Valiant. The two Pokemon nodded uneasily upon seeing their company.

Beside him, Misty released the rest of her team.

Ash felt his heart racing as the rest of the soldiers sprang into action, filling the room with Zubat.

/

Outside of Mt. Moon, the sky was becoming engulfed in gray clouds, a light drizzle beginning to descend from the sky as a large group made their way out of the Pokemon Center on the other side.

Cerulean City was just a distance away from that Center.

About twenty adults in Indigo League uniforms formed the group as they gathered near the entrance to the mountain. Their facial expressions were hardened, but clear. An air of professionalism to them as they prepared to enter it.

At the front of the group was a tall, young woman with long silverish hair. The Weavile at her side was running its claws together in an absentminded manner, as though they weren't even on a mission.

The woman gazed into the entrance to the caverns for a brief moment before turning to her group.

"We are lucky that one of Team Rocket's grunts leaked this operation to us during interrogation." she sighed. "They will be heading deep into the caverns. We'll move quickly, but with the number of trainers likely in the mountain we'll probably be dealing with a hostage situation."

Her face was a bit grim. She certainly wasn't the most serious person compared to her peers, but knowing the potential stakes of the mission was fairly easy for her.

She was so strong as a trainer, that it was sometimes easy to forget that she was younger than everyone in the squad that she was leading today. They certainly didn't look at her in such a way. To them, she was a powerful trainer beyond description, an absolute terror to go up against or even witness. And for those reasons, her age was barely even considered by those who answered to her and her orders. An irrelevant factor compared to everything else about her.

No different from any other member of the Elite Four.

"Do we know exactly where we are going, Karen?" spoke one of the soldiers. His voice conveyed nothing but obedience. Absolute recognition of the young woman's much earned ranking.

Karen nodded. "We have our instructions for how to get to the Moon Stone. With any luck, we can take the quickest path to the Moon Stone and intercept Team Rocket before they can reach it. Either way, we'll need to move swiftly." With that, she turned around, focusing all of her attention on the entrance to the cavern in front of her as her silverish hair swayed with her motions. Weavile did the same. The soldiers all prepared themselves without any comments. "It's time."