Private/Closed The Uprising 2.0

[ThatDamnEmu]

((Posts don't have to be nearly this long, I just enjoy having big set-ups to RPs ))

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Aaron blinked sleepily as he rolled over to smack his alarm clock. He sat up with a yawn, stretching his arms as he peered at the alarm clock. 4 AM. Aaron was amazed that the electricity was still on. It had been almost a month since he had payed the Rocket's for his water and electricity, and he had expected both to be gone by this morning. Not that it would have mattered.

Aaron slipped out of bed, humming happily. Today is the day! Aaron thought to himself. He checked the calendar as he slipped into one of the two pairs of jeans he had left. June 5th. Giggling gleefully, Aaron grabbed his favorite tee shirt and ran into the kitchen, struggling to get the shirt on as he went. Snagging his last piece of bread and the two notes he had made the night before, Aaron stepped out the front door.

There was a slight drizzle raining from the sky, and a cold breeze that could chill you to the bone. But Aaron simply smiled. He had been raised to appreciate what he had in life, and to take things in stride. Good thing it isn't raining any harder! The invitations would get soaked! Aaron glanced at the papers before stuffing them in his pocket, and heading out to deliver them.

Meet me in the forest behind the old lab for a surprise!
~Aaron

Aaron and Pearl had been working on this plan for a few weeks. He had met the younger girl a few years ago while he was playing with the Pokemon in the forest, and the two had become good friends. Together, they devised a plan. Weeks ago, the two of them had stolen 4 eggs from nests while the parents were out hunting. They had been raising the mystery eggs ever since, and today was the day they would hatch! Still humming a happy tune, Aaron arrived at Mika's house.

Quietly as he could, Aaron snuck over to Mika's window. Cupping his hands around his eyes, he peeked into her room to see if she was awake. Aaron chuckled. She looked so sweet and innocent while she slept, despite having such a cold personality. Not wanting to wake her, Aaron cracked open her window and slid the paper partway through the crack. Shutting the window tight, the paper was stuck in place on her windowsill. Hopefully she'll notice.. Satisfied, Aaron dashed away, heading towards his next location.

It didn't take Aaron long to reach Liam's house. The young man could find his way there blindfolded. He visited Aaron often. There was a certain joy to be found in teasing the boy for being so cautious and analytical. Of course, Aaron never meant what he said. He just assumed that Liam knew he was joking. Not bothering to check if Liam was awake or not, Aaron simply cracked the window and set up the slip of paper like he had at Mika's house. Once again, his job done, Aaron sprinted to his final destination behind the abandoned lab to wait for his friends to arrive....

 

[EspeonTheBest]

Thousands of needles stung violently at his left leg, completely numbing the limb and leaving an uncomfortable, searing heat in it's wake. Grunting, Liam, a young adult of hardly seventeen, sat up in his bed; on which many stained pieces of parchment paper laid scattered about, left abandoned after his late, sleepless night. He shot a glance at his alarm clock. Approximately 4am, 4:12am to be exact. The small noisemaker sat upon a nightstand across his room to prevent him from oversleeping on mornings he was required to get up. "Why in Arceus's name am I up so early?" Liam muttered morosely to himself before addressing the, now ebbing, pins and needles in his left leg. It was nothing new, waking up to such a sensation, but he had imagined that after five years of healing, the damn infection would have washed itself out of his system, especially because he saw to treatment at the fist signs of pain and discomfort.

There was hardly a ray of light that seeped into his room, but in the dim aura of the setting moon, Liam spotted a bright flash of white which certainly seemed much out of place. His eyesight failing him, he gently pushed the covers off of his bed and lumbered quietly to the edge of his room towards the window, acutely aware of the burning sensation replacing itself in his thigh. Nevertheless, his attention had been swallowed by the odd, white rectangle of paper that had mysteriously placed itself into his room. Liam crouched, picked up the paper, and turned it around, looking for a name or some form or writing. As he expected, there, indeed, was writing on the flip side of the paper. Squinting his eyes, Liam managed to work out the handwritten message even in the darkness with his decreasing eyesight.

Meet me in the forest behind the old lab for a surprise!
~Aaron

A laugh erupted from his throat. "Aaron?" He whispered to himself in a mixture of laughter and incredulously, "What the heck does he want from me at four in the morning?". Liam sighed and rose to his full height, placing the note gently onto his desk, which, too, had notes and dried berries scattered about on it's glossy surface. Aaron was, intruiging to say the least. Liam found himself not liking nor hating the teenager, a year younger than him, but concurrently finding him utterly obnoxious and annoying. However, it was an odd tendency that he had that always drew him towards the kid. Perhaps it was his charisma? Giving another chuckle as he tore his eyes away from the note, Liam wandered towards his tiny closet, which as he forgot, always squeaked upon opening.

Moments later, he was dressed in a long sleeved black shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes, and piling his post-it sized notes into a small, worn, yellowed book without a title. The book was a gift from his late grandmother, who had been an apprentice to Nurse Joy in the Kanto region. Names of countless berries, roots, herbs, concoctions, and leaves adorned each page, all with corresponding hand drawn pictures and little notes of information jotted down on the side. The tiny book was small enough to slip into his jean's oversized back pocket, yet it wasn't too thick at the same time. Liam wandered back over to his desk and folded the note into four, then placed it gently into his book along with the rest of the small other notations inside. Finally, with a satisfied nod, he opened his room door and proceeded to leave his house.

In the darkness of the morning, Liam began to shadily creep his way around the village. His house, coincidently, happened to be quite the distance to the old laboratory compared to other houses, and the young adult figured that it'd may be easier to try to dodge light all together rather than try to just run for it. 'I must look so sneaky.' Liam thought to himself triumphantly; he had never been one to push the boundaries of the village much. Thinking about it for a moment after slinking on the side of a neighbor's house, he came to a conclusion that he must be hard to spot in general between his skin tone, dark shirt and shoes. Obviously, he could have been seen simply by looking out a window, but an odd, childish rush shuttered through his veins as he continued to sneak towards the lab.

Soon after, the looming building of the old lab came into sight. With a grin, Liam shook off his 'ninja' persona and walked suavely towards the building, trying to look as purposeful as possible. He made it within seconds, just as he expected, and swiftly spotted Aaron right where he said he'd be, behind the old lab in the forest. "Aaron!" Liam whisper-shouted, jogging lightly to approach him. "What chimerical surprise is so important that I'm loosing sleep over it?" He inquired, trying desperately to keep the rushed excitement and curiosity out of his voice as he tried to sound stern.

 

[Ombree]

Pearl grinned as she saw Aaron sprint towards her. She crouched down and crawled into a small hole in the old lab. There lay the 4 eggs, unaware of anything that was happening. "I'm glad you guys are here" Pearl said to them, "by the looks of it they'll hatch any minute now"

The eggs were glowing and wobbling like crazy. It wouldn't be long before they would hatch. Pearl had spent the last two weeks caring for these eggs, they had stayed safe in this hollowed out cave in the wall of the old lab. None of the grunts from team rocket would ever dare go here. Pearl carefully lifted the eggs out of the cave and onto the soft, dead grass. The eggs were starting to crack.

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

Aaron waved Liam over to where he and Pearl were waiting. Pearl had been ready with the eggs when Aaron had arrived. All four were shaking and glowing like crazy. The little Pokemon were eager to be free from their shells.

"Pokemon, my friend, Pokemon!" Aaron gestured to the eggs excitedly. "Pick an egg and have a seat, we're waiting for another person to arrive!" The young man was very clearly quite excited, as he already was holding one of the eggs.

 

[DragonFlye]

"Mika! You want some breakfast before I leave?"

The teenager cracked her eyes open at her father's call before narrowing them somewhat irritably. It felt way too early to be awake. She looked at the alarm clock on the floor beside her small bed, and her head rose from the pillow rapidly, thinking that she must have misread it. Her father usually didn't leave for at least a few hours. "Sure," she called back, voice gravelly from sleep.

Standing from her bed, she noticed that she couldn't even see any light peeking through the space in her curtains. However, as she went to close the ivory fabric, she spotted a small piece of paper sitting innocently on her windowsill. Raising an eyebrow, she read the note and had to fight a small smile from creeping onto her face. Meet him in the forest? What was that boy up to? Aaron could be quite the troublemaker, but he had a good heart; there was no telling what he could have planned. Especially this early... unless he'd snuck the letter in last night. Either way, she'd go and see what was up. Of course, shed have to wait for her father to leave, first. With renewed nervous energy, she dressed quickly, throwing on her jacket as she padded down the hall.

"What time is it?" She yawned as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Her father looked up from his spot at the stove over a sizzling pan of eggs. He had a thick black jacket on, but Mika knew that underneath he was wearing his uniform.

"Um. A bit before four, I think. Sorry to wake you," he replied sheepishly, scooping the eggs onto two plates and carrying them to the table. Mika grabbed two forks and placed them beside the plates in silence, sitting down across from her father to eat. It was only a little awkward; after all, it wasn't every day that he cooked (for good reason, as these eggs were tragically overcooked, but she didn't say anything).

"It's alright. They're calling you in this early?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's probably a few extra patrols in the woods, nothing big," Eric replied after he'd swallowed a mouthful of food. "What about you? Anything planned for today?"

He looked uncommonly interested in her answer, Mika noticed with skepticism. "I was just going to... see if Liam and Aaron wanted to hang out." It wasn't a lie.

Her father smiled genuinely, and it warmed Mika's heart. "Good. That's good," he said. "I'm glad you have those two. They're good kids."

Mika looked up from her plate with furrowed brows. "Yeah, I guess they are. Is everything okay, dad?"

Eric picked up his dish without meeting his daughter's eyes again and carried them to the sink. "Of course. Tell them I said 'hi,' alright?"

"Yeah, sure..." She said, but her father was already out the door.

She shook off the uneasy feeling in her gut and finished her meal before putting her dish in the sink as well. She gave it five minutes, and then ducked out the door. It was still relatively dark outside, and there were no lights on in any of the houses yet, their inhabitants still sleeping soundly. However, if her father was called for an early shift, there was a chance that other Rocket members were milling about as well. She hated sneaking, she really did, but curiosity propelled her feet over the packed earth and before she knew it, she was ducking around the lab and soon surrounded by leaves and branches on all sides.

To her surprise, Mika saw both Aaron and Liam there, as well as a younger girl that she didn't quite recognize. "What's going on?" She asked, squinting in the semi-darkness to get a better look at what they were staring at.

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

((From this point on, posts may be a bit shorter, to help move the story along. Just remember the minimum of two solid paragraphs ^3^))

Aaron clapped excitedly upon Mika's arrival.

"This is a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expecting you for at least another hour or so! All the better, the eggs are about to hatch!" Aaron pointed excitedly to the other eggs, his own shaking quite rapidly. "They should start hatching any minute now!" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Aaron's egg began to crack. With a squeal of joy, he quickly motioned to the other eggs. "Hurry hurry hurry, everyone grab one! Don't ask how or why yet, just pick an egg!" All of the eggs had begun to crack and shake wildly, and a soft glow lit up the woods around the group.

Aaron set his egg on the ground, out of fear that it may wobble its way out of his lap. The shell continued to crack, and the glow grew brighter still, illuminating the teen's excited face. With a final crack, there was a burst of light. The egg was gone, and in it's place was a Weedle. While other trainers may have been disappointed with such a common bug, Aaron was beaming.

"A Weedle huh? Don't worry little buddy, that just means you'll be a big strong Beedrill in no time!" Aaron picked up the little bug, setting it gently in his lap. Careful not to prick his finger on the poisonous barb, Aaron scratched his new partner's head. "Well, what do you think Buddy?" Buddy, glad to be free of the egg, chittered happily as his trainer scratched him. The other eggs continued to wobble and crack, glowing brighter by the second.

"Well, don't wait around!" Aaron giggled, "Grab one!"

 

[EspeonTheBest]

Liam's body froze up instinctively as he set his eyes on the glowing eggs.

"You have Pokémon eggs?"

A sharp breath pierced his lungs and nose. The four, glowing eggs were rapidly shaking and cracking, and no doubt they were practically ready to enter the world. "Do you know how illegal this is? Have you no sense?" Liam nearly shouted in his confusion, a sudden fear washing up against his insides as he studied the to-be newest members of the world. Aaron's egg seemed to have already hatched into a Weedle, and his friend was already cooing softly to the little bug type.

Realizing that the Pokémon needed a mother, and how detrimental the impact of not having parents is on any living creature, Liam fell to his knees, not minding the hard earth rising up to meet his descent. His hands lunged, greedily, for the egg closest to him, and the warm, soft material of the black shirt embraced the egg in its last moment of the first stage of life. A sigh escaped his mouth as the shell disappeared from his arms, and instead, a much smaller, living creature replaced it.

'I was holding my breath?' Liam asked himself, his eyes growing wider as he had a moment of introspection upon the past thirty seconds. Time slowed to allow the young medical assistant to look down and gaze lovingly at the Pokémon that squirmed comfortably in his lap. A Sewaddle nibbled gently on the left sleeve of the black shirt, making a soft, adorable cooing noise of content. Liam surprised himself. He really was a mother now.

"So, little, pesky bug." He said sternly, looking at the child that could cause him worlds of trouble. Two hands gently grasped the cooing mass and brought it up closer to Liam's face. The Sewaddle ceased its nibbling as she looked straight into Liam's hazel eyes, her own brown ones warm in recognition as she labeled him as her mother. "Se! Sew!" The little bug cried, rubbing its face on Liam's nose. With a tiny sneeze, he drew back suddenly, but he was unable to contain his excitement and adoration for his Pokémon. "Hey little Junpier. Your big eyes remind me of so many kinds of berries." He told her, replacing his nose to its origional position, and as he expected, the cooing continued as she continued to explore his nose.

 

[Ombree]

Pearl gasped as the warm egg in her arms cracked open. With a beautiful chirping noise, a tiny red Fletchling stood on her arm, full of life. Pearls eyes filled with tears of joy, a long time ago she and her brother would of played with wild Pokemon, now she was one of the few people to have one. The Fletchling chirped with delight as it nuzzled its head into it's new trainer. "I- I'll call you Rose" Pearl whispered.

Suddenly remembering the limited time they had, Pearl pulled out 4 pokeballs from her bag. She handed one to each trainer. "To capture your Pokemon" She said. The night before she had crept through a window into the team rocket headquarters and stolen some empty pokeballs.

 

[DragonFlye]

At her companions' words, her eyes finally adjusted and she let out a soft groan. "No. No, no. Liam was right; this is completely bad and dangerous," she said, hand over her eyes. As she watched, the eggs began to hatch, one by one. "Where did these even come from?"

Liam had been speaking reason, but that seemed to fly out the window when he saw the tiny, newborn bug Pokémon. Aaron, to absolutely no surprise of Mika's, was fawning over the Weedle like a new parent, and the strange girl's Fletchling was cozying up to her happily. Which, in a sense, the three kind of were parents. She'd heard somewhere that newborn Pokémon 'imprinted' on the first creature they saw after hatching, meaning that that creature was essentially it's mother.

However, there was only one egg left, quivering and cracking in its makeshift nest. Overcome by sudden panic, she keeled down and scooped the egg into her arms. Despite being in a grassy nest, the shell was hot to the touch. Pieces of it came loose and crumbled onto her clothes, leaving a white light emanating from it.

She had to shield her unadjusted eyes from the light for a moment, but when she looked back, a tiny, sleepy-looking bird Pokémon was curled into her arms. The Taillow blinked at her curiously, before stretching out his wings experimentally. Stunned into silence, Mika reached down to stroke the glossy blue feathers. The Taillow cooed as his wing was petted, earning a small smile from three girl. After a moment, however, the other girl handed her a Pokeball and, though she accepted it, Mika shook her head again. "Wait, what are we doing? We could get arrested for this!"" She tried to reason, holding the Taillow-Vale, she decided to call him for now- closer to her chest unconsciously.

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

Aaron couldn't help but giggle at Mika's reaction. He had figured both she and Liam would react this way, but for the time being Liam seemed quite alright with the idea.

"Mika, it's a bit too late to be worried about rules!" The excited young man pointed at the Taillow, who had snuggled in closer to Mika's body. "Just look. They've already imprinted on us. Abandoning them now would mean death for the poor little things." Buddy was now curled up quite comfortably in Aaron's lap, snoozing peacefully. Aaron took a moment to pet the little bug, before returning to the conversation with a glint in his eye.

"Besides, Team Rocket has gotten complacent. They aren't enforcing the rules as strictly. They are no longer keeping a close eye on the town. Don't you think it's time someone stood up to them?" Aaron grinned wildly as he looked at the others. "I'm sure each of us has their own reasons, but I think we can all agree that the Rockets need to go. And now we have to chance to fight back! We can sabotage their operations, free prisoners, clear names, exact revenge, anything!" Aaron gently picked up Buddy, holding him out for emphasis. "And these little guys, hold the key to freedom! All we have to do is train them, in secret! Build our strength! What do you say!"

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Oh, hey Mika." Liam's eyes tore away from Juniper as he lowered her back into his lap, where she ventured from his lap to explore the brittle, dead leaves laying motionlessly by his shoes. He hadn't noticed her arrival originally, but he certainly noticed her when she grabbed an egg in apparent panic and it hatched into a Taillow. She mentioned something about getting arrested, and Liam couldn't help but furrow his brow.

"We are totally going to get screwed over for this." He commented, keeping his gaze intently on Mika, Aaron, and the mysterious girl, and reaching over slightly to grasp Juniper before she inched farther away from him. "Where are we going to keep them? Not in our houses, certainly, and I can tell you that I'm certainly not going to be able to live in her forest to care for baby Pokémon.

The mysterious girl handed each of them a pokeball- to which he widened his eyes. "Umm, you're trying to get us killed too, aren't you?" He commented sarcastically, rolling his eyes but refusing to touch the Pokeball. "We cannot, under any circumstance, have a pokeball on us. That literally spells disaster here. I don't even know your name!" Liam exasperated.

He listened to Aaron for a moment, feeling his heart only sink further with doubt and impending trepidation. "Okay, so all of us agree that we can't abandon the baby Pokémon, right? Good." Liam answered his own question without waiting for a response. "So Aaron, what you're suggesting is that we rise up against Team Rocket? With a pair of bugs and birds to fight for us? That's four against, almost literally, hundreds! I'm not disagreeing with you, I want them out as much as the next person. But what harm will a Leavanny do against Houndoom and Koffing?" He asked, irritated ever so slightly.

 

[DragonFlye]

"Hey, Liam. Fancy seeing you here," Mika replied with a dry smile. Oh good, the Voice of Reason was back. However, she paled at the realization that while yes, Liam was right and they would be breaking so many laws, Aaron also had a point, damn him. She wanted nothing more than to get rid of Team Rocket and all of their laws; she wanted to set her father free, as well as help her friends create a better future, but they were pathetically outnumbered.

Not to mention, her dad would actually have a heart attack. Oh Arceus, her dad. The risk was huge if his chatty mood from this morning continued, especially considering his... career, no matter how unwanted. She was fairly confident that he wouldn't turn her or the others in, but he'd at least make her get rid of Vale for their own safety. She looked down at the baby Taillow, who had a clawed foot around her hand and was gripping her palm, even as she tried to wiggle the appendage free. Vale chittered happily, and a small, fond smile found its way to her face. They were definitely in deep.

"You're right, we can't abandon them, but... we could at least train them up a bit, maybe? Just-" she glared at Aaron, already anticipating some kind of remark. "Enough to help them live on their own, maybe. I don't know."

 

[Ombree]

"Okay, let's get one thi g out of the way" Pearl said. "I'm Pearl Quartz, I ran away from the village after my brother died a few years ago" She said quietly.

Rose chirped at her and flapped his wings, he rose up and then plummeted the short distance into her lap. Pearl giggled a bit. "Just look at them, they're desperate!" Pearl said. "We can rise up again, think about it, a Fletchling, Sewaddle, Taillow and Weedle can't do much, but a Talonflame, Leavanny, Swellow and Beedrill can!"

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

Aaron's grin only widened at Liam's question, and a certain aura of feistiness could be seen in his eyes.

"That's a very good question Liam. Good thing I have an answer, eh?" Aaron stood up, cradling Buddy in his arms. The young man began to pace in front of the others. "Before the Rockets came to town, there were a fair amount of trainers here. After their initial rebellion was crushed, a few joined the Rockets to save their families." Aaron paused, turning to face the trio. "But what of the others? The aren't with the Rockets, and we haven't seen them in years. Some may say they were executed. However, I believe they are prisoners. After all, why throw out raw talent when you can try to get it to fight for you?" Aaron sat back down, and his smile suddenly disappeared. The young man wanted to get across that his next words were completely serious.

"The Rockets have gotten lazy. Their security isn't as tight as it could be. My plan is to train for a month or so, then bust into the Rocket HQ, find and free the trainers that are being held there, and gather as many supplies as we can. Then we retreat far into the woods. With Veteran trainers and more pokeballs, we can increase our numbers and power until we can put down the Rockets once and for all." Aaron reached for a pokeball, touching it to Buddy's head. The little Weedle glowed a red light, then slipped into the ball. Dropping the ball in his pocket, Aaron sighed.

"Look, I'm not going to force you to do this. You do what you wish to do with your Pokemon. But this needs to be done, and we finally have a chance. Whether you guys join me or not is your call. Just know that, alone or not, I'm going to put this plan into action..." A sly grin appeared on Aaron's face. "So, are you guys in, or not?"

 

[EspeonTheBest]

Liam looked to the mysterious girl, Pearl as she had introduced herself, and frowned slightly. "So sorry for your loss, but how are we..." He realized he was talking too softly and Aaron had began to say something. The now-mother closed his mouth and listened to the insane kid in front of him.

The plan was hatched- they would train the little baby Pokémon that waddled in their laps and free veteran trainers to then help them overthrow team Rocket. It was plausible, but insane.

"Aaron..." Liam took a breath, "okay. Let me get this out. So, if we are to train our Pokémon, where are we to train? Certainly we can use tree trunks and piles of rubble, but Pokémon do not gain experience unless sparring with another Pokémon. Now that may be a simple fix- battle against one another. However, this would not take a month under those circumstances, it would be much longer. Pokémon need to heal and rest after battle, and I haven't met a Pokémon nurse in a long time." He ranted, pausing for a moment a sigh he started to think of ways to heal injured Pokémon. His hand wandered to the tiny book in his pocket sunconciously.

Liam continued. "And with the trainers... that's actually brilliant." With a tiny sigh, he conceded. "But most likely they will have been stripped of their Pokémon, so we'll need to find them too." Switching his gaze from Aaron to Juniper, he noticed that the tiny baby Pokémon had fallen asleep, curled up in the warm embrace of the crook of his long sleeved shirt. A slightly tinge of worry struck his heart as he thought about the danger he could potentially put his little child in. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'I'm already acting like a mother.'

Hazel eyes drew away from the Sewaddle as Liam braced himself to answer the last part of Aaron's statement. "Well," he began, "I'm glad you're not forcing us, but I'm in. ONLY," he made sure to enunciate, "because you three will end up getting yourself arrested if you don't have a voice of reason. Well, I'm sure Mika would be fine, but still." He poked teasingly at Aaron.

 

[DragonFlye]

Mika recoiled in surprise for a moment, but straightened her face quickly with narrowed eyes. She knew that Aaron was likely thinking of his mother, whom no one had seen in the years since the Rocket takeover. Was that just a child's dream, finding his mother against all hope? After all, she had been one of those to think that Team Rocket executed its non-conformers, which was why she was glad that her father had put on that damn uniform in the first place. It had made her angry, in a sense; after all, if her father could do it, why couldn't so many others? Were they that concerned about their pride that they would rather leave their families alone and mourning? Or was that anger really her own guilt for having a parent when so many others in her village didn't? She couldn't imagine what she would do if Rocket had taken her father from her...

Mika realized that her breathing had quickened and she straightened her expression as quickly as she could. When she calmed herself, she looked down at Vale, who was blinking up at her curiously. She didn't know if he could sense the conflict within her or anything, but he nuzzled deeper into her arms. She then looked at the Pokéball in her other palm. Making a decision, she tapped the button of the Pokéball against Vale's wing, and the Taillow was drawn into the ball with a red flash. There was no struggle within the device as it ceased its glow.

She listened to Liam speak for a bit, mouth turned up into a small smile. Yeah, it's brilliant, she wanted to say, if it's true. It is, after all, a theory. Instead, however, she nodded her head. She would never forgive herself if she let these three go it alone, regardless of whether Aaron's theory were true or not; it looked like she was just going to have to take it on faith.

She put a hand over her face before speaking up. "Yeah. I guess I'm in, too." After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Hey Liam, we might not have Pokémon Centers or nurses... but don't you know a bit about medicine?"

 

[Ombree]

Pearl smiled as Rose fluttered his wings. His eyes were full of hope. "Well, the forest supplies a lot of berries... We could try making our own" Pearl said. "And if we were really desperate... well, team rocket must keep their medicine somewhere in their base..."

Rose looked around curiously at everyone, they seemed to look distressed and worried. Rose chirped in dismay, sensing the nervousness in the small group. He turned his head to look at the shiny poke ball in Pearl's hand. He gently tapped his beak against it. Pearl looked down and smiled, she lightly tapped the little bird on the head with the poke ball. The poke ball whooshed him inside and wobbled a bit, before clicking. Pearl's face broke into a grin, she knew this was a worrisome time but she couldn't help it. She threw the poke ball into the air, releasing rose. The small pokemon fell down onto her shoulder, where he sat, burying himself in her hair.

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

"Oh I'm sure Liam can figure out how to heal our Pokemon." Aaron waved his hand dismissively, a gleeful fire burning in his eyes. "What's important is that you all agreed to join me!" The young man was practically bouncing up and down in joy. "Alright, we'll meet here every other day after 'school' to train by battling amongst each other and battling the wild Pokemon. If any of your parents ask, you're participating in after school activities. I don't care what kind, make something up, just make sure it's believable. We only need a month or two to make this work. We can do this." Clapping his hands together, Aaron stood up, hiding Buddy's pokeball in his pocket. "On that note, I'll see you all tomorrow!" Aaron dashed away towards his house, ecstatic that the plan was final being put to action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

"That one, Buddy!" Aaron pointed at a berry high up in a tree. A yellow blur zoomed past the tree and the berry was suddenly gone. Buzzing happily, Buddy the Beedrill handed the berry he had plucked from the tree to Aaron. "Atta boy!" Aaron split the berry in two, giving one half to Buddy, while keeping the other for himself. Two months.... Aaron thought to himself. The group had come far in just two months. The beginning had been rough. Their Pokemon got injured frequently and easily, and Liam was kept busy healing the little creatures for a while. Eventually, their Pokemon grew stronger, battling longer and harder before they needed healing. The monsters only continued to grow in strength. "And now, we're here..." Aaron grinned. Today was the day they finally struck a blow against the Rockets. All he had to do was wait for the others to arrive....

 

[EspeonTheBest]

"Yes... I guess I can." Liam responded to both Mika and Aaron's comment about his healing skills. A twinge of doubt seared his mind as he slowly felt a load of responsibility settle itself on his shoulders. Looking down at Juniper, who was still sound asleep, he drew confidence in from some outward source, most likely Aaron, and sighed quietly. The teenager watched as Aaron, quite elated, explained their plan and dashed off to his house, presumably.

"Yeah, right." Liam muttered humorously and sarcastically, "A huge nerd like myself participating in a school activity. 'Hey dad, I'm joining the fitness club at school!'" He imitated his own voice, slightly higher, in attempt to prompt some humor. Clearing his throat, Liam scooped the little Sewaddle into his hands and pushed himself to his feet, still looking at the Pokeball he hadn't touched. His hand swept down the the ground and grasped it reluctantly as he touched the little capsule to the bug's head. In a flash of red, Juniper disappeared, and the Pokeball fell silent moments later. "Why do I feel like I'm screwing myself over?" He asked himself as he turned to look at Mika and Pearl. "Well," Liam continued, now addressing the ladies, "I suppose I shall be taking my leave as well, see ya."
_____________________

"Juniper, Juniper, no. Honestly, Pecha and Persim are not the same berry. Try again."
"Vany!"
In the shadows stood two figures- Liam and Juniper. At there feet, scattered about, was a sundry of different berries, at which two glowing red eyes stared frustratedly, yet determined. The Leavanny stretched out a battered leaf, her arm, as she started sorting the berries again. Liam observed as the tall grass type sucsessfully sorted the berries into their correct groups.

Liam nodded with satisfaction, a wave of pride coursing through his body. "Well done! It only took you two months." He teased, busying himself with ripping leaves off of the thin tendrils that they clung to so dearly. The young adult offered them to Juniper, who cooed happily in response and spat out a smooth, silk like substance, and began to attach the leaves to the battered, cut, and injured portions of her arms. In minutes, the leaves and silk had melted into one, and two entirely new appendages were attached to the Leavanny's arms.

"Might we want to go see Aaron?" He suggested, a twinkle in his eye. Liam's hand fell to his pocket, where the lump of a pokeball laid. His mind screamed against it, so he ushered her along into the forest, trampling leaves until he saw the Beedrill- Buddy. "Aaron? Buddy? Good to see you." Liam greeted.

 

[DragonFlye]

Mika nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She wasn't sure how she felt about lying to her father, but she was somewhat stuck, now. Or was she? It wasn't like she didn't have a choice, after all.

Besides, she could always just raise the Taillow until he was old enough to not need her anymore. Then she could release him, none the wiser. Yeah, definitely.

"Of course, see you guys." Turning to Pearl, she said, "it was nice meeting you. I look forward to, er, training with you and the others."

▪▪▪

Hey, dad. By the time you get home, I'll probably be gone. The study group's getting together, so I'll probably be home late tonight.

Also, I saved you some dinner, so you don't give yourself food poisoning : P

Tapping her pen against the countertop, Mika wondered if the note sounded... out of character or not. Oh, well. Her 'study sessions' had become routine anyway.

She locked the door behind her and headed for the treeline at the edge of the village. Once she was completely surrounded by foliage and she was satisfied that she was alone, she pulled a Pokéball from her pocket, pressed the button and, with a practiced flick of her wrist, tossed the ball up into the air. A semi-transparent glow erupted from the device, before solidifying in the form of a large blue bird. Vale stretched out his large wings and squawked, glad to finally be free from his confinement.

Once he spotted his trainer, he flapped his wings and launched towards her out of habit. Instinctively, Mika stuck her arm forward and the Swellow perched on it happily. The Pokémon had gotten significantly heavier, and Mika had to make an effort not to wince. Instead, she smiled and scratched the feathers on Vale's crest, much to the bird's pleasure. "Sorry you had to stay in there for so long," she told him. "We're going to see the others again today. What do you think?"

Vale let out a cheery "Swell!" and the two picked their way through the woods toward the usual meeting place. Once they'd arrived, Mika saw that Aaron, Buddy, Liam and Juniper were already there. She smiled and gave a wave with her free hand, and Vale gave a call of his own.

 

[Ombree]

"See you guys!" Pearl said, and with that, she ran off into the depths of the woods. Rose sat on her shoulder, looking curiously at the trees and sky.

----------------------------------------

Pearl leapt from a branch to the ground, with her Fletchinder, Rose, flying down with her. She ran through the forest until she came to a tree that she could climb. She climbed to the top with Fletchinder sitting on her shoulder. She stood on a branch and carefully lifted her arms off of the trunk. "Alright Rose, You can do it. Flame Charge!" Pearl exclaimed, holding out one arm. Rose jumped off of her arm as high as he could and spread his wings, a fiery blaze surrounding him. He then dove down, skimming the tips of the trees before landing in a clearing. Pearl swiftly climbed down the tree and ran off to get him.

Pearl grinned as she saw where he had landed, Aaron, Liam and Mika and their Pokemon were all standing with Rose. Rose flew to Pearl's shoulder and chirped, glad to see everyone again. "Nice to see you guys again!" Pearl exclaimed. She looked around at everyone's Pokemon, seeing how big and strong they were. But Rose still looked a bit smaller than the others, he still wasn't fully evolved. But hopefully that would change soon.

 

[ThatDamnEmu]

Aaron clapped his hands, giggling excitedly. "Today is the day guys. All our training has led to this!" Aaron's giggling petered out as he became more serious. "Alright. We're going over the plan one last time." Aaron paused to make sure each of the others was paying attention. "We will bust through the chain fence on the east most side of the complex. Our first priority is to locate and rescue any possible trainers inside. Secondary objective is securing supplies. Worst comes to worst, we can grab supplies and hide out in the woods, training more Pokemon. Hopefully, however, my hunch was correct about the prisoners, and they weren't executed." Aaron looked at Mika and Pearl. "Vale and Rose are our only options for taking down fire types. Hit any you see hard and fast. We can't afford to sustain any burns."

Aaron turned again, this time to face Liam. "Liam, you and I will take on any electric types that can threaten the girls. See any rock or ground types, and you know what to do." Turning for the final time to face the group as a whole, Aaron's face grew grave. "Remember, we have no antidotes. Do not engage any poison types without Buddy and I. If any of you get poisoned, we will have to pull out and abandon the mission. We have one shot at this."

With a sigh, Aaron relaxed again. Scratching Buddy's head, the young man smiled. "Any questions?"

 

[DragonFlye]

Mika nodded as she listened to Aaron speak. She had known that the day was coming soon, but she still wasn't sure if she was prepared. If she ever would be. Change was hard, she knew, even if it was for the better. She stroked Vale's feathers thoughtfully. They'd been talking about this plan for months now, but they couldn't stress the details enough, because if this plan went to hell, it was over. "Are we splitting up to cover more ground?" She asked finally. "There's no telling where they could be held, but if I'd captured that many powerful trainers, I'd keep them in the most protected section of the complex, right?"

 

[Ombree]

Pearl took a deep breath, this was nerveracking. Although they'd been preparing for this for months, it still didn't feel real. This could change everything... And put this group's lives and families in dangers. Pearl wasn't too worried about her own family, she didn't really have any, but she was worried for the others. She listened to Mika's question and nodded, hoping Aaron would have an answer.