Ask to Join Welcome to the World of Pokémon!: Kanto

[Wapiti]

The man walked towards his prize and picked up the Poké Ball from the pavement.

"Good work, Noctowl," he said, commending his Pokémon for another successful capture.

Alex watched from a distance. The other people around him appeared too engrossed in the parade to even take notice of the strange Noctowl's battle tactics.

"What kind of move was that?" he said quietly to no one in particular, though Tux shrugged in response. "I've never seen anything like that before, especially from a Noctowl." The owl Pokémon was fairly commonplace in Johto.

Alex ducked away behind an unattended cart of a vendor to steer clear of the man and, thus, avoid confrontation. He sat on the ground with his knees huddled close to his body, Tux still resting on his head.

"We have to be careful, buddy," he said. "I wonder what that Haunter even did to make him so angry..."

At that moment, a distressful cry filled Alex's ears, resonating from somewhere on Route 1. He immediately sprung into action.

"What now?" he said, heading towards the sound's source with a skittish urgency. On a regular occasion he would never run so recklessly into the wilderness, but if there was a suffering Pokémon, he intended to help it.

He came unexpectedly upon the scene of an unconscious Bryan.

"Gah- Brian! Are you okay?" he cried, frozen in place.

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi made haste to exit Pallet Town to avoid conflict, the last thing he would ever want is to be involved with pokemon theft. It was a bit upsetting at first that his time at the festival was cut short, but looking on the bright side, Jakobi was overall more happy as he wouldn't have even gone to the festival if it weren't for the group he followed. Jakobi figured that walking back to Viridian while the skies remain lit with the light of fireworks was just as visually appealing as staying in Pallet itself. Upon arriving at route 1, Jakobi managed to hear a pokemon's cry from somewhere in the distance. Jakobi was unsure whether it was a cry of distress or just a normal sound that the pokemon make near the evening, so he ran towards it to find out for sure. Upon arriving at the scene, Jakobi was stunned to find Alex and Brian, who was unconscious on the floor. Jakobi didn't think that Alex would be the type of person to harm others, but at the same time he kept his distance and his guard up. "What happened here? Did..... You didn't do this, did you?"

 

[Wapiti]

"N-No, of course not!" Alex said, appalled at the accusation and shaking his hands in front of him in denial.

He noticed a man in a suit surveying the situation from nearby and the boy he recognized as the one who had introduced himself as Warren earlier that day.

"Hey, what happened here?" he called to them, not really caring which one answered. "We should get him to a Pokémon Center or a hospital o-or something."

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt gave a triumphant look to Drac and turned to the other trainers, putting on a confused face.
He said: "I'm so sorry. All of a sudden, we were battling, and then this weird gas thing attacked Brian, knocking him out. Alex is right. Let's get him to a Pokemon Center"
Walt carefully picked up Brian's unconscious body and trudged towards the red-roofed building in Viridian City, desperately hoping that the others had believed his story.

He thought to himself: "Agent Tracer....it must be him. I'd recognize that Gastly anywhere. A little bit of a showoff for my taste, but not going to lie....he's quite the efficient worker."
In training, Walt had been assigned to the same unit as Tracer. He remembered the man, all edgy and stealthy, just like a ghost. Tracer and his Gastly had ranked number 1 in the stealth and disguises training, whereas Walt and Drac had excelled in assault training.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Gastly was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Bryan was unconscious, he had faded back into the twilight, just barely in time to avoid the detection of the newcomers. Tracer's temple pulsed with irritation; witnesses would complicate matters, and any further interference from Gastly's part would require him to reveal his ghostly form. What was more, though Tracer himself was a man of many faces, Agent Ruscit had committed to the part of the innocent trainer. He couldn't blow his teammate's cover.

But Ralts is the objective. Where Bryan goes, Ralts will doubtlessly go, and the Pokemon Center will have far more than two witnesses. My window of opportunity is closing- I must make a decision now!

He recognized the two newcomers as other targets Gastly had named: Jakobi with the Chikorita, and Alex with the Piplup. Neither had fast or strong pokemon at this stage; indeed, the trainers were more of a threat than their pets. He could order Gastly to drop them both, but that left the Poison-type Gastly exposed to the Psychic-type Ralts. And what if it didn't work? These two were now aware of the immediate threat of gas, and they would continue to draw things out until more help arrived.

No. This was the best opening he would get. It was time to escape with his prize.

"Shadow Ball!" he commanded, even as he leaned forward and shot toward Ralts. Gastly materialized just over Ralt's head, and sent a ball of pulsing negative energy downward at point-blank range. At the same time, Tracer reached out with his right hand to grab the tiny creature by the neck, while his left hand drew a smoke pellet from his utility belt and dropped it. If all went well, he and Gastly would be gone with Ralts before the others could even look up from Bryan's body to wonder what happened.

 

[Vaporeonn]

With all the commotion going on, Winnie barely felt a boy bump into her. It was only after he had apologized that she processed what had happened. "Oh, it's no problem, really," she sweetly said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, but quickly realizing it was messier than she had thought. She huffed - her hair was all over the place! She tried to run her hands through it to make it look acceptable, but she couldn't manage with all the nudging. Not your top priority right now, she told herself.

In the distance, Winnie could recognize a friend. "Hey, Alex!" she tried calling out to him, but it got her no reply. Maybe he didn't hear me, she thought with a pout, but he was too far for her to shout again. And she couldn't run through the crowd, either. He seemed to be going back to Route 1, and Winnie thought it was time for her to do so as well.

Feeling a bit lonely, unable to send out her Pokemon in such a crowd, she turned her attention towards the boy who had bumped into her. He seemed to be partnered with a Mudkip. That seemed like a decent conversation starter. "Your Mudkip is adorable!" she said, slowly walking next to the boy. "I've never seen one in real life."

A bit of chatting later, Winnie learnt that the boy's name was Grant, and proposed for him to join her group. "We're nearing Route 1 anyway, so you can meet the rest and then make your decision!" she told him. But what a sight was waiting for them! Brian was laying unconscious on the ground, his Ralts nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no!" Winnie let out a shout of worry, separating from Grant and running towards Brian, Alex, and Walt. "What- What happened? Will he be okay?"

Walt explained the situation, and Winnie frowned. It was one bad situation after another. She wished for the day to be over, so nothing bad could happen anymore. Winnie thought that Walt's idea of taking Brian to the Viridian Pokemon Center was smart, but the boy was already on his way, carrying Brian, before she said anything. She turned to the others. "Shall we?"

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Grant nodded as she parted ways. “All this commotion is making me hungry. I’ll go watch an then meet up with Winnie and the others... if they’re back there.” He shook his head went to the market.

Grant sat at a table alone in the marketplace which was bustling by full of people. He chomped down on his cheeseburger and tore off chunks to feed to Aqua every few moments.

“Plus of getting a supersize. You can share with your Pokémon... heh.” He laughed and pet Aqua on the head. “Well, you can say you got a compliment. Winnie was awfully nice.” He laughed again and Aqua gave him a confused look.

 

[Wapiti]

Alex nodded. "Let's head to Viridian," he suggested. "We should be there when Brian regains consciousness."

Although he wanted to stay in Pallet Town to talk to the lab assistant from earlier, he figured it was better to keep moving, especially if there were criminals in the area. He had tried to enjoy the festival, but it had just turned out to be an unfortunate bout of strange experiences. The tops of the buildings of Viridian City were beginning to peak over the treetops, the bright lights twinkling in the settling dusk. A look of obvious worry was spread across Alex's face.

"I really hope he's okay," he said quietly to Tux, heading down the route. "And who was that guy in the suit? I don't think I've met him before. Did you see him at the lab?" Tux seemed to consider the possibility, but shrugged his small blue shoulders in response.

 

[Red Gallade]

Ralts looked up to see the attacking Gastly, but was too late to attack, the only thing he managed to let out was a loud yet abruptly stopped scream as he went to hold his hand out to his unconscious trainer. He tries to use another attack and break free, but it seemed to be of no use, all he could do was struggle and hold his hand out to the others in the hope they would save both him and Brian.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

I am a black mamba.

Once again, Tracer's mental state changed. His thoughts still brimmed with poison, but now he was sleek and slippery, and lightning-fast. He bolted through the tall grass, leaving the cloud of smoke far behind him as the wind screamed in his ears. He was bound for Viridian City, like the other trainers had been: but to a different location within.

"Got you at lassssst," he hissed through his clenched teeth, sparing a look for the now-limp Ralts in his arms. "Got you at lasssst!"

The mighty shadow of the Viridian Gym loomed ahead, just as proud and imposing as it had been in previous years, when Boss Giovanni had run the place. The Usurper had since taken command of its main battle stadium, but the Rocket hideout beneath remained safe from his knowledge. As Tracer finally paused outside a nearby house to catch his wind again, he allowed himself the barest grimace of a smile. These Kantonian fools thought Team Rocket to be scattered and beaten, just because they had won a temporary victory on the surface. Yet always after a defeat and a respite, those with true strength of will take another shape and grow again.

Tracer went through the secretive process that agents of his rank must undertake when returning to a Rocket operations stronghold. By the time it was done, he was standing in a room with another team agent, in front of a metal behemoth that had once been an official Trade Machine. In its original state, this contraption had permitted an exchange of ownership between consenting trainers trading their pokemon. Doc, the agent now standing with Tracer, had tampered with its functionality for more nefarious purposes. Any pokeballs that passed through it now would turn their inhabitants into slaves of Team Rocket.

In the corner of the room, leaning motionlessly against one of the steel-lined walls, was a Claydol. Imported all the way from Hoenn, it served as an extra layer of containment. As soon as Tracer had placed Bryan's Ralts on a nearby table, Claydol locked it down with the move Imprison. This creature had been given a long list of fast-getaway moves like Teleport, Dig, and Double-Team, specifically as another precaution when steel walls weren't enough. Two grunts stood sentinel at the door.

"So," said Agent Doc easily, looking over Tracer's haul. "Four pokeballs and a Ralts. Haunter's certainly been busy."

"Too busy," Tracer muttered. "He nearly got me caught back in Pallet. We had to separate, and he's not returned to me yet. Did he come back here?"

Doc shook his head distractedly, obviously not interested. He had another tool in his hand: something that looked like a doctor's stethoscope on one end, but with a camera screen where the ear buds would have been. Blurry pictures of the pokemon within each ball flitted across the screen as he made his way from one to the other: first a Charmander, then a Bulbasaur, then a second Charmander. Finally, Doc turned to the final ball, the one that Haunter had passed into Tracer's hand just before the surprise Noctowl attack.

"And what have we here, I wonder?" mused Doc, as he waited for an image to form on the screen.

 

[Wapiti]

An image of a Teddiursa formed on the screen, taking shape from a collection of blurry pixels.

- - -

The man in the pea coat leaned against a tree on the outskirts of Pallet Town and caught his breath. He was well hidden in the shade of the forest canopy and finally had a chance to get his bearings. Opening the flap to his messenger bag, he fingered through the Poké Balls still in his position. Almost every one was accounted for, minus the one that the Haunter had stolen, but, on the bright side, he did have a new catch.

Out of his deep front pocket, he pulled out an outdated model of a Poké Gear. Initiating a command on its rudimentary touchscreen, he held the phone device up to his face.

"Kennedy, anything to report?" crackled a voice.

"Confronted some new Trainers at the Pallet Town harbor. Bringing a haul back to base now." Without the commotion from the festival, the Unovan twinge in his dialect was clearly evident.

Asher Kennedy removed his pea coat, revealing a white and blue gingham button-down that was matted to his torso with sweat. He was well-muscled, despite being slightly overweight, but he swore he would lose the extra pounds when it became warmer. He scratched at the wispy beard covering his chin. Asher was not conventionally handsome by any means, but he did have a sort of rugged spunk.

Carrying the jacket over his shoulder, he crept stealthily further into the forest.

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt dropped off Brian at the Pokemon Center and said to Nurse Joy: "If any people show up looking for Warren, tell them that I have business to attend to." Without waiting for a reply, he solemnly walked out of the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy stood there stunned. "What in the world was that all about?"

Walt briskly walked towards the Viridian Gym. There, with the assistance of a Team Rocket recruit, he was admitted into the hidden base. Walt walked down a long, dark corridor, and made his way to the Pokemon Transfer Machine. Spotting Agent Tracer and Agent Doc, Walt nodded in greeting. On the screen, displayed a set of Pokemon: Charmander. Charmander. Bulbasaur. Ralts. Teddiursa. Walt placed his own Pokeball on the machine. The screen processed the image for a few seconds, and revealed a picture of a Squirtle.

Suddenly, Walt's Rocket Transmitter beeped and fell to the ground. A beam of light shone, revealing a hologram. Commander Archer's sneering face lit up the screen. "Agent Ruscit....Oh? Agent Tracer and Agent Doc as well. How fitting. I was originally going to tell all of you this separately, but seeing as you're all here, that just makes my job easier. Now all of you listen up. Your task is to take back what is rightfully ours, the Viridian Gym. We must restore glory in the name of Team Rocket, and we shall accomplish this by evicting that....Blue, was it? This is a golden opportunity, as that incompetent joke of a leader is currently away for a festival back in Pallet Town. I await news of your success."

 

[Vaporeonn]

Winnie nervously sat at a table near the entrance of the Pokemon Center. Her hands were pressed between her thighs as her leg skipped up an down. What a terrible day, she thought. She had been sitting there for quite some time, or so it seemed to her. She wasn't the most patient person in the world, so any time spent waiting for any thing felt too long. Walt wasn't there when Winnie had arrived, but Brian was being taken care of - she hoped both boys were alright.

To try and calm her nerves, Winnie sent her Pokemon out - she had completely forgotten to do so during the mess before. Toadie swiftly jumped into Winnie's lap, while Beetle sat on a free chair - ever the well behaved Pokemon. Knowing her Pokemon well, Winnie ordered a few Pokepuffs for the Heracross to eat, but intended to discover Toadie's favourite flavour as well. (It was sweet.)

She heard Kanto had issues in the past, but for so much trouble to happen in one day! Winnie didn't expect it at all, as she assumed all of the issues were left in the past, too. As her Pokemon munched on their food, she wondered if the robbery from earlier that day, in the Lab, was connected to the two that happened later. If so, more people were involved - unless it was one extremly competent person. In favour of that theory, she concluded that it would've been a pretty unrealistic coincidence for three unrelated Pokemon thefts to happen at the same place, the same day. But, who could be so cruel to rob three people of their loving partners in one day? Winnie couldn't grasp the idea behind it. Crime organizations, Pokemon theft, and illegal Pokemon trafficking were concepts she was familiar with, but would completely disregard as something anyone would do. Now, however, those concepts were closer to her than ever before, and the realisation that bad people existed outside of stories threatened to ruin Winnie's view of the world as a happy place.

All of those thoughts made her even more upset. What a terrible day indeed.

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi, as always, followed where the herd took him. Although he was heading as far away from Pallet town regardless if they were going as well. These constant thefts piqued suspicion in Jakobi, he was walking towards Viridian in a group for safety, but he felt as if he could no longer trust them. It has not come to the point where he dislikes anyone particularly, but he has made a note to not be alone with just one of them.
Jakobi was concerned for Brian, and felt something compelling him to stay and be supportive, but he was more determined on creating his distance from Pallet. He saw Winnie right outside the Pokemon-Center, obviously looking troubled. Besides Brian, he trusted her the most out of the group, as he also respected her skills. He, once again felt the urge to console, but reminded himself of protecting his Pokemon and his eggs. He walked over to Winnie, "I'll be heading to Viridian Forest, right now. You're free to join me if you want, I know it's late, but... I just don't want to be near any more cases of stolen Pokemon. I have camping supplies as well, but like I said it's your choice." Before sticking around to hear a response he just continued on his way towards Viridian Forest.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Cold sweat erupted from Tracer's brow as Commander Archer disconnected the line. He glanced back and forth between Doc and Walt, then slammed his fist down upon the table in frustration.

"What the HELL!" he exploded, raising his arms in the air. "Did we do something to get on his bad side? Just how are we supposed to hold Viridian Gym when Blue returns? What are we supposed to do- lock the door, and hope he doesn't have the key?"

Tracer pointed his finger at both his fellow agents. "You guys know this is tantamount to suicide, right? Blue's the eighth gym leader! Just one of his pokemon would wreck anything we had, except maybe the Gengar that Upper Management is still keeping back from me. Even then, it would hardly be a match."

He marched to a telephone on the wall and snapped it briskly off the hook, punching in a number. "I'm calling Executive Ariana," he growled. "Ever since the Boss went missing, his lieutenants have been vying for power like it's a damn game of thrones. I'll use Gengar as a pretense, and we'll see if she knew about this."

***

At Viridian City's pokemon center, a rather tired-looking Carter shuffled through the door and lurched to the reception desk. The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile, that was half-mocking.

"A little too much partying in Pallet?" she teased gently. "You kids have a long road ahead of you. Be careful that you don't burn out too quickly."

"Yes, ma'am," Carter replied wearily. "Could I please get a bunk until morning? It's been a doozy of a day, and I'd rather be asleep before the rest of the stampede comes in."

She nodded, still smiling. "It's one large guest room, I'm afraid, but there are privacy curtains around each bed for your convenience. If you need toothpaste or other toiletries, there's a vending machine for it by the door."

Carter looked in the direction she indicated. "Ah. You guys thought of everything. Well, thank you, and good night."

"Pleasant dreams. You'll be safe here until morning!"

 

[Lillipup07]

Pablo waddled into Veridian City gym, looking for Olliver. He stayed far away from others, knowing he still was a wild Pokemon. He sat down, looking around happily at all the other Pokemon that were there.

 

[Wapiti]

Nurse Joy and her assistant Chansey placed Brian's unconscious body on a hospital cot. She fastened an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.

"He'll be okay, right?" Alex said, watching as Nurse Joy began to cart Brian to a secure room in that back of the Pokémon Center.

Nurse Joy smiled reassuringly. "Your friend will be just fine. He just inhaled a lot of Poison Gas. Once he gets enough oxygen and some medicine, he will be ready to go."

Alex felt relieved, but the concerned look never left his face. He exited the center, passing Winnie on his way out.

"Hey, Tux and I are gonna head outside for some fresh air," he said to her.

Alex stepped outside and stretched. The night in Viridian was uncannily quiet in contrast to the excitement in Pallet Town. In the distance, he could still see shimmering lights over the trees and hear the soft thunder of fireworks. The image of the man's Noctowl was ingrained in his mind. He had never before seen a Pokémon with a strange black shroud around it.

Alex thought back to the Pokémon theft at the lab and now Brian and his Ralts. He had heard tidbits about criminal activity in Kanto throughout the years, though Johto remained relatively peaceful, so it didn't concern him at the time. He couldn't help but to feel worried for his safety.

He decided he would definitely feel more secure with other Pokémon by his side. Tux had very little training and would probably not be able to hold his own in the event he was confronted by a thief.

"Hey, Tux," Alex said. "What do you say we go explore Viridian Forest a little bit?"

"Pip!" Tux agreed.

Alex began to make his way from the city center towards the gate to Viridian Forest.

 

[Jakoboi]

Once he passed the gate, Jakobi laid his sleeping bag near the base of a tree near the entrance, as he didn't want to sleep further into the thicket where wild pokemon could attack him. He took out his pokemon to cuddle with him while he slept, he figured this would be better than keeping them in their pokeballs because even if they were stolen, they'd at least be able to make sound and alert Jakobi. Chia joined him under the covers and Skipper laid on Jakobi's head treating it as some sort of nest, for the first time, Jakobi saw him with his eyes closed. "Good night, guys." He said before falling into slumber. He was able to fall asleep quite easily as he was exhausted from how incredibly long his day was.

He was woken up relatively early into the morning at around 6 by the sounds of bugs resonating throughout the forest. He took a moment to admire the chips and buzzes of all the different types of bug pokemon as he began his walk into the heart of the forest. He kept turning his head to admire the scenery while remaining in awe from how pleasantly noisy it was. Suddenly, he heard something that made him freeze in his tracks. A certain pokemon's cry, hidden within all the others'. He followed the noise of the specific pokemon eagerly, pushing through some bushes and brambles until he came across a lot full of bare dead trees. "Jackpot!" Jakobi thought. He had come across a nest of Larvesta. He recognized the pokemon's cry from when he was on his family's farm. Larvesta had a unique ability to speed the process of the hatching of eggs. His family raised a ton of Larvesta and some Volcarona back at the farm to help with pokemon breeding. Jakobi was proud of himself for being able to have such sharp hearing and find what would probably become his most useful pokemon. He saw a bare tree with dead branches, which had some slight ash falling off from it, containing multiple Larvesta on hard to reach branches. Jakobi once again came up with a clever idea to start the wild battle, he instructed Chia to use razor leaf to chop down the brittle branches. She threw an array of sharp leaves towards the tree, they mostly missed their targets, but one leaf managed to cut off a branch that had a Larvesta. This one was particularly aggressive, unlike the calm, properly raised bugs back at the farm, it responded immediately with an ember which hit and significantly damaged Chia, who had a hurt look on her face. "Shoot!" Jakobi thought, "I forgot that fire beats grass. In that case.." He withdrew Chia and sent out Skipper to finish the job. He dealt a quick peck to Larvesta in exchange for taking an ember at point blank range, while Skipper did his best to take the attack, he couldn't help that he got burned from it. Jakobi immediately dove into his bag to get the proper cure for burn while Larvesta took the opportunity to hit Skipper with a string shot. After curing Skipper, he began to see how the caterpillar was now trying to flee. The string meant that Skipper wouldn't be able to catch up to it in time, but Jakobi quickly instructed it to use Night Shade. Skipper focused and sent out an eerie looking wave that landed on Larvesta and launched it even closer to Jakobi. "I've been saving this one for the perfect catch! C'mon let's go!" He cheered as he threw a NetBall towards the bug, he was inspired by Winnie to try and use different pokeballs to assist in captures. The ball began to shake, *1, *2, then it stopped for a brief moment, *3, *click*. Once again, Jakobi was ecstatic to have caught another pokemon. After healing all of his Pokémon Jakobi's joy soon morphed into worry as he realized he was lost, since he only followed sound to get here. "Great, now how do I find my way back?" Upon hearing this, Skipper hopped onto Jakobi's head and used its newly learned move, teleport.
Before he even knew it, Jakobi was back near the entrance of the forest. He saw Alex, who he still held into some good regards considering he was willing to stick around with Brian. "Hey, Alex, how's it going!" He asked happily.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Tracer's request for repossession of his Gengar was denied, even after he explained his situation. To his relief, however, Executive Ariana also gave the response he had been hoping for.

"Archer's ambition is going to get him in trouble one of these days," she said with cold disdain. "He forgets that Petrel has ongoing and final authority over all specialist agents of disguise and subterfuge. I'll note this incident in the system, and have the Four Rocket Brothers gather their men. You, Agent, are to continue your mission."

"What of the Commander's orders?" Tracer asked, keeping inflection out of his tone.

"What of them?" she replied flippantly. "Belay them. You happened to be in the area, so he chose to use you. It was a hasty and sloppy decision- one not befitting an administrator. Ariana out."

Doc was standing with his arms crossed, smiling humorlessly when Tracer turned around to look at him. "Archer's not going to be happy when he finds out you went to another executive about this," he said pointedly.

"Archer's obviously mixed the files on us," Tracer replied wearily, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily with two fingers. "If he seriously thought that my ghost pokemon, Ruscit's Deino, and whatever these nameless grunts held, were enough to keep Blue at bay, he's losing his touch. We couldn't even hope to beat one of Blue's subordinates."

He left the room, raising one hand. "I'm calling it a night. Let me know when Haunter gets back. He eats people's dreams if he's left unattended."

***

Haunter didn't return. By the time Tracer was fully geared and prepped, the only news that Doc had for him was regarding the pokemon in the last ball.

"It's strange," Doc murmured, as they watched Ralts getting fitted with a shock collar, "all official pokeballs include the name of the original owner. In the case of the starter pokemon, they were still registered to 'Oak Laboratories,' having never been given to starter trainers at that point in time. But the last one, the Teddiursa, had no original trainer name at all. There wasn't even an alias OT. Somehow, whoever previously owned that pokemon managed to wipe his or her identification entirely."

"So . . . could it be an electronic error, or a system hiccup?" Tracer asked.

Doc shook his head. "It's highly unlikely this is some accident. I don't know who your Haunter robbed last, but I'm betting it was someone who didn't want to be discovered."

"Speaking of Haunter," Tracer said nonchalantly, "he should have been back by now. Not 'ought' to have been, should have been. He knows what third-party locations to show in when it's time to continue operations, and he's well-aware that I can't operate as efficiently without him."

Doc looked at Tracer skeptically. "Are you for real?" he asked, half-chuckling. "You've got the assignment equivalent of taking candy from babies, and you're worried it will be too hard without your Haunter? I'm the one stuck here, trying to determine whether or not you accidentally robbed one of our own deep-cover operatives. Have a little perspective!"

"I know, I know, I'm just . . ." Tracer slapped his sides helplessly. "I'd really like to know where he went."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, they're easily replaceable. Why do you think the grunts have so many Rattatas and Zubats?" Doc made a shooing motion to Tracer, while he looked closely at the Teddiursa's pokeball through a microscope-looking instrument. "Just put in an order for a new one, and they'll have a Haunter fresh from Lavender Town within the hour. Now get going, and bring us more baby candy."


*Objective updated: identify next target*

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Grant got up, picked up Aqua, gritted his teeth, and went on the road to route 1 and Viridian. After stopping at the route opening. “Hm. Winnie said some people should be here... but what the heck is with all the crime.” He shook his head. “Must be a field day for criminals or some jazz.”

“Kip?” Mudkip was wondering what he was talking about. “Y’see even I don’t know what’s going on. It’s confusing.” He sighed.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

As the nurse had promised, night in Viridian Pokemon Center passed uneventfully for Carter. In the morning, he woke to find a great deal more occupied cots around him than when he had first rested himself for the night. About a third of the trainers were up and moving about, rubbing their eyes tiredly and packing or repacking their bags. He recognized none of their faces, until he noticed Bryan asleep in one of the beds with a heart monitor attached to him. A thought crossed his mind, and he hastened to the front desk.

"Uh, excuse me."

"Bathroom's around the corner to the left," the nurse replied wearily, not looking up from the computer she was typing on.

"No, not that." Carter scratched his cheek nervously. "I, ah, heard the commotion last night. There was a guy who choked on poison gas or something."

She looked up, assessing him evenly. "Yes. He's more or less made a full recovery."

"Oh, good. It's just-" Carter leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I own a Gastly. I'm a Ghost-type specialist. Do you think that people are going to start looking at me funny when they find out?"

The nurse looked back at him. "You're afraid that people will think you ordered the attack?"

He nodded. She shrugged her shoulders.

"The sudden crime outbreak has trainers a little paranoid. That's just how it goes, though it will blow over with time. If you've got nothing to hide, you might as well find some people who you can warm up to. It never hurts to have someone who can vouch for your character."

Carter nodded again. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

Some time later, Carter stood at the border of Viridian Forest, watching trainers go through the gate and into the foliage. Out of nowhere, a shape suddenly burst into existence, just a few feet from him.

"Hey, Alex, how's it going!" Jakobi sang out, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Carter jolted back, and grabbed his heart frantically.

"Mother of God- you scared the bejeebus out of me!" he blurted shakily. His wits returned enough to look, and see that Alex was indeed across from him and Jakobi. "Oh, hey, it's you guys." He jerked his thumb towards the forest gate. "I take it we're all going the same way. Would you mind catching me up on all the stuff that happened recently? I went to bed early and missed it all."

 

[Wapiti]

"Hey there, Jakobi," Alex greeted with a smile. "Are you here looking for Pokémon too?"

"Mother of God- you scared the bejeebus out of me!"

Alex turned. He hadn't noticed the boy behind him until he was startled by Jakobi's sudden entrance. He recognized him from the day before but couldn't remember what his name was. He nodded in agreement to the request.

"Most of us just hung out around the festival yesterday," Alex explained. "We found Brian unconscious over on Route 1. We aren't exactly sure what happened to him, but apparently he was robbed." His voice wavered slightly with anxious uncertainty. "It seems like he'll be okay though."

Alex neglected to include to detail about the man and his Noctowl, as he wasn't sure if anyone would find it notable. Still, it was so strange...

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt cursed at his misfortune. How did I end up in this wild mess? Archer's going to be pretty pissed if we disobey his orders, but Tracer is right. There's no way we can stand up to that Blue kid. He saw Tracer heading out and remembered how Haunter was a key part of his team. "Here, take this. This should compensate for the loss of Haunter." Walt tossed Fletchinder's Pokeball into Tracer's gloved hand.

Walt decided he wanted to stay behind for awhile to find out who this elusive Teddiursa trainer was. He picked up his transmitter and stared at it for some time, feeling conflicted. I really don't want to get more executives involved in this fiasco, but if we can track down that trainer, it would potentially eliminate a huge threat." He slowly raised the device and muttered: "Call Executive Proton"
Instantly, a green-haired trainer in a sleek white uniform appeared on the screen.
"Proton speaking. What is it Agent?"
Walt began cautiously:
"Sir, there has been a strange occurrence happening with a Teddiursa we have retrieved. There is no specified OT or anything like that. It's quite peculiar. We believe it may be from one of our own men. Do you think you could help investigate?
Proton thought about it for what seemed like eternity, and finally said:
"Very well, it seems my curiosity has taken the best of me. Send over the Pokemon, Agent."
Walt placed Teddiursa's Pokeball on a different slot in the transporter machine and typed in: HQ Kanto Cerulean
The transporter released white beams of light, processing the data. Then, in an instant, the Pokeball vanished.

Cerulean City: Underground HQ

Proton picked up the mysterious Pokeball, handling it carefully. He drew one of his own Pokeballs and tossed it in the air. Out came a green alien-like Pokemon, Reuniclus. He put a strange metal device on its arm. This device would transmit Reuniclus's thoughts to a screen. "Now Reuniclus, gather Teddiursa's memories with Psychic!" Reuniclus's eyes glowed blue as it searched through the small Pokemon's mind.

Slowly but surely, fuzzy collections of images began to form on the screen.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Winnie thought it was time for her to move on as well, and catch up with the rest of the group. As much as she wanted to wait for Brian to wake up, a day had passed and she didn't want to stay too much behind. She walked up to Nurse Joy, just as a man was finishing up his own conversation with her. "Excuse me," she gripped the edges of the counter. "Could you let Brian, the boy who was knocked out by the Ghastly yesterday, know that the group has moved on to Viridian forest?"

If Winnie remembered correctly, Jakobi and Alex went there the day before. If she was quick, maybe she'd be able to catch up to them.

Viridian forest felt like a blessing to Winnie. Green and damp, full of Bug-types crawling in the grass, or hanging in the trees. "Isn't this great?" she asked aloud, Beetle and Toadie nodding along. "There must be so many Pokemon here!" But, she knew she wouldn't catch any, as her Pokeball count was low. Sadly, she'd just have to look at the Pokemon. But it should've been enough to her, she thought, as she continued down the beaten path, kicking a lonely rock or two along the way.

"I wonder where they are," she told her Pokemon, who followed closely behind her. Beetle almost strayed off the road a few times, something sweet catching his eye, but Winnie was quick to stop him every time. "We'll eat when we're in less of a hurry," she told him.

Just as Winnie was beginning to think she wouldn't find the boys, to her delightful surprise, she saw them chatting with someone. "Hey, guys!" she shouted, running towards them. "I thought I'd never find you!" she turned to Alex, while her Pokemon caught up to her.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

"So, uh, all cards on the table, fellas," Carter murmured in a nervous manner. "I'm Carter, the only Ghost-type specialist of this journey that I know about. I own a Gastly- and I know that looks bad, considering last night. Please, just trust me when I say that my type aren't all bad. I'll prove it with time, if you let me."

"Hey, guys!" called a feminine voice from behind. Carter turned to look at the girl whom, until yesterday, he had only briefly regarded out of the corner of his eye.

"I thought I'd never find you!" she said to Alex, once she was close enough. Carter eyed Alex appraisingly, crossing his arms with a bemused look.

"Well, well," he said with good-humored mocking, "aren't you popular. At this rate, you'll be leading more than just your pokemon, budd."

A sudden crashing noise, like the sound of many leaves and twigs caused his head to turn. "What was that?"

Without thinking, he sprinted in the direction of the noise, which had been close to begin with. In less than fifteen seconds, he was staring into a pit in the ground, no less than ten feet in diameter and twenty-some feet deep. Two dazed-looking trainers were just picking themselves up, while a Squirtle between them gushed mud off itself, chattering angrily.

"A tiger pit?" murmured Carter in mingled wonder and disbelief. "Geez, and it's impressive work at that. Who would've had time to dig something like this?"

"Hey!" called one of the trapped trainers: a young woman by the look of it. "You! Please, help us. It just came out of nowhere- solid ground, then this!"

Carter raised his arms in a show of helpless despair. "I don't have the necessary pokemon to get you out of there," he called down apologetically. "Does anyone have a rope or something?"

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Grant, after having run all the way to the woods, appeared behind Winnie. "Sup' ya'll." He said with a grin. "I am Grant, and it is a pleasure to meet you!" he said, andAqua jumped out of his arms and began running around, stopping at everyone. "Kip! Mudkip!" Aqua trying to greet everyone with a smile, hopping around like crazy.

"He does that sometimes. He's been asleep for a while, crazy thing. I'm sure you all know this, but Mudkips aren't native to Kanto, so this is like an all new experience for ol' Aqua here. Same here for me." He smiled embarrassedly and scratched the back of his head with a bit of a short laugh.

 

[Wapiti]

An indistinguishable blue blur blinked onto the screen, slowly materializing to form an image of Pallet Town harbor. Although the picture was fuzzy, not unlike the Teddiursa's memories, the ocean liners that had arrived carrying new Trainers the previous morning could be made out. A throng of people passed by on the dock, but their faces were just blank slates, clearly indicating that the Pokémon could not remember what they looked like.

The image on the screen suddenly skipped ahead to a forest clearing. A Caterpie sat in the grass at the forefront and released a Stringshot. The sticky thread seemed to hit an object behind the screen's view. A Teddiursa's paw appeared and landed a Scratch, fainting the Bug type.

The image grew fuzzy again as another scene began to take shape. The Teddiursa was dashing through a Berry field on the outskirts of Pallet Town, dodging underneath the thorny branches and broad leaves. A black leather boot, caked in mud presumably from giving chase, came down hard in front of the bear Pokémon in the middle of the screen's view. The image panned up and the man in the pea coat could be seen, blocking out the sun with his stature that would seem rather threatening to a Teddiursa. He pulled a Poké Ball out from his front coat pocket and threw it. The screen immediately went to black.

- - -

"Hey!" Alex said. "Sorry I ran off, I just needed some fresh air." He laughed and scratched at the back of his head, a little embarrassed that he had left his friends at the Pokémon Center without telling them where he was going.

Alex's cheeks became bright red at Carter's comment. He shuffled his feet, trying to seem annoyed but only appearing more flustered. "I, uh, I..."

A boy with a Mudkip approached the group. Alex heaved a sigh of relief at an apparent exit from his awkward situation.

"Nice to meet you, uh... I'm Alex."

There was a sudden crashing noise.

Reflexively, (and still wanting to draw attention away from himself) Alex followed Carter to its source and found himself staring into a deep pit with two Trainers and a Squirtle trapped inside.

"Jakobi, could you use Chikorita's vines to help them get out?" Alex suggested.

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

"Holy Jirachi up above, what happened here?" he looked down into the hole. "Anyone every heard if Jirachi? I'm not sure wether Kantonians know about Hoenn legends." he started rambling on about Hoenn and the story of Jirachi and whatnot like a loon.

"-and Jirachi was able to grant wishes and-" he stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt.

"Gosh darn it, where was i at?" he slammed his fist into the dirt and Aqua just gave a stare. "Kip..?"

 

[SombreSkies]

While the group all huddled around the hole, they'd see another Pokémon appear from a bush off in the distance and wander up to the pit too. A Sandshrew, although it was white and icy - completely not what someone would expect to find in viridian forest! For a few moments, the creature looked around, but seemed to grow more and more distressed by the second. Something was clearly wrong with it, but at the moment it was unclear what. The creature curled in on itself and tucked it's head, arms and legs underneath it before spinning in place for a few seconds and then…rushing right towards the group of new trainers!


The Sandslash moved incredibly quickly, but just as it was about to reach the pit that almost everyone was peering into a voice would be heard shouting from inside it. “Subzero, it's ok! I'm down here!” The creature quickly snapped out of its spin and stood up again, then waddled up to the pit. It didn't appear to be afraid of the other trainers, although it did give them a sharp glace while walking. Slowly, the Sandslash peered over the top and looked inside, then began making happy noises when it saw what it did. “Shrew! San San Shrew!” It cheered, no longer looking distressed and now appearing to be more excited than anything.


A face looked up from the depths of the pit and smiled first at the Sandshrew, then at his rescuers. “Hey! I'm Devon. Myself and this other trainer have gotten ourselves into some trouble” he said, referencing the literal hole he found himself in. “We were walking together and fell into what I can only assume is a trap. My Pokemon - that Sandshrew - is up there, so I can't really do anything to get myself out at the minute since I'm new and haven't caught anything else yet. Is there anything you can do from up there? Maybe a branch or some vines could be sturdy enough for us to hold onto so that you can all pull us out.” Devon asked, hoping that the people above him would be able to find some way of getting himself and the other trainer free.


“Really, it's my Pokémon's fault I'm here. He ran off to chase after a bird and while running after him we both fell down. Any other time I totally would have spotted it.” he boasted, trying to make it look like he was better suited to survival than it may have seemed to the other trainers. Things had already gotten off to a pretty bad start for his Pokémon journey, but Devon didn't like to think about it; he felt like, if he just kept going, surely something good would happen to him soon. He did like to wonder though, why was the trap there in the first place? He'd heard about how some Pokémon had been stolen recently - and how a kid around the same age as him had been knocked unconscious by some poison - and was worried that he might have to fight his way out. The boy wasn't ready to lose his first Pokémon, and he'd be damned if he ever let that happen.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Tracer blinked his tired eyes and lowered his binoculars. With Gastly still out gathering information, he had been left to his own devices, sitting in a tree and watching trainers go past. Well- if he'd wanted to attack, he did have Agent Ruscit's Fletchinder on standby. It wouldn't be much help, though; he was used to operating with only Ghost-types, and Fletchinder's flamboyant coloration went flatly against his operational style of stealth. At best, it would serve as a temporary distraction.

"Stealing candy from babies" indeed . . . Doc clearly doesn't appreciate how hard this can be.

He had originally planned on catching a trainer alone, battle-worn and helpless. The guy with the Chikorita, what-was-his-name . . . Jakob. He'd been the perfect candidate after capturing a rare Larvesta. But then, before Tracer could order an attack, the young man had commanded his Natu to teleport away. Just like that, they were gone, leaving Tracer in outraged astonishment.

He was back now, but he'd brought several companions. Tracer recognized Alex and Winnie quickly, but the tag-along with the Mudkip was news to him. This last boy seemed rather oblivious and prone to rambling, which caused Tracer to smile in spite of himself. If he could get that guy alone, he'd have his Mudkip before its trainer even finished his monologue.

Well . . . perhaps not. Fletchinder was fast, but fragile, and had type disadvantage against Mudkip despite being in its second form.

Winnie, on the other hand, had a Heracross: a rarity from across the sea with a x4 weakness to flying-types like Fletchinder. Tracer had been meaning to get his hands on that, and it was sure to stay unconscious if hit by a flying pokemon. However, as before, Winnie had an annoying tendency to stay close to other trainers. There was no way he could take her out without the others overwhelming him.

These had been his thoughts up until a minute ago. The sudden crash of the tiger pit giving way, and the distracted commotion of the other trainers that followed, claimed his attention. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the work.

Agent Astral. Of course- leave it to Mr. Showoff to pull a stunt like that. How many pokemon did it bring the Team, though? Now you've got them all congregating at the pit. Was that your brilliant plan? What was your next step, smart guy?

Then, it occurred to him then that he might just sent out Fletchinder and order a well-placed blast of air, in order to send them all into the pit at once. All, perhaps, save one. If he timed it right, and his luck held, he might take down one of his targets before the others could climb back out and assist. It was worth a shot at least- but he would stay well-hidden in his tree until he could verify the results of his action.

"(Fletchinder. Razor Wind those trainers into the tiger pit.)"

Fletchinder emerged in a flash of light that might have been mistaken as its natural fiery wing-flap. It circled with agile ease, eyeing up its potential targets: Alex, Winnie, Jakobi, and the Mudkip-guy. Then, it charged up a Razor Wind attack, pumping its wings noisily as air gathered about its body. A couple seconds later, the bird pokemon released the pent-up gust upon the trainers.

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Grant saw this a mile away, and ducked out of the way. "What the hell!?" he glared at the man. "Mud kip!!" Aqua also stood at high alert.

"I may be prone to rambling, but Arceus dang it I have reflexes! I suppose I'll have to take you down... my god, I'm already getting all caught up in this stuff just a week after leaving Hoenn! And guess who thought Team Magma was the last of it... I'm such an idiot." he sighed and continued to glare at Tracer.

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Proton looked over the man on the screen again and again, wondering what was it about him that gave him an odd sense of déjà vu. The Team Rocket Executive thought to himself: That man....he looks strikingly familiar...but I can’t recall where I’ve seen him before
He turned back to face Walt’s hologram and said: “This is certainly curious. I feel like I know the man, but I can’t remember from where... Agent, I’ll get back to you when I figure out.”
The transmitter died down again, and Proton’s hologram faded out. Doc, who had been watching the entire time, looked at Walt and said: “Well, now you boneheads have gotten yourselves mixed up with three Team Rocket officials now; Do you know how bad that is? Why don’t you go off and catch up with that other kid and help him bring me some baby candy? Heh....”
“Might as well...it might cease the Commander’s rage when he finds about our situation.”

Walt put on his black mask and cap, matching his uniform, and walked out, Drac by his side. Suddenly, Walt heard the sound of a large gust of wind followed by a large crash coming from the Viridian Forest. He sneakily progressed towards the noise, avoiding the risk of being seen by others. When he arrived, he saw a boy with a Mudkip, staring angrily at a Fletchinder. Walt’s Fletchinder.
Agent Tracer! I should have known. Fire versus Water...a bad matchup. I should act now before things get bad.

Walt motioned silently at Drac, making a pushing motion with one hand. Without warning, Drac opened its mouth and shot a Dragon Rage attack straight at the Mudkip.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Winnie was caught completely by surprise when the Fletchinder stirred up the wind and attacked the entire group. She was knocked off her feet, landing face down in the dirt. A few seconds had passed before she realised what was going on, and she hurriedly tried getting back up, still a bit clumsy from the shock. Only managing to get on her knees, she looked around, and could see that she was all alone - not even her Pokemon were near. Winnie gripped the dirt beneath her as her heart beat quickened. What is going on? She finally stood up.

She could tell that her glasses were missing from her face - some things in the distance were quite blurry. But, with a quick look Winnie gave to the ground, she could tell the glasses were no where near. Fear started to get to her, and she stumbled towards the nearest tree. Winnie wanted to call out to someone, Alex, Jakobi, anyone. But, it was as if she had lost her voice. She was next, she knew. The people who stole the Squirtle from the Lab, Brian's Ralts, they were there. And her Pokemon were next.

"Beetle," Winnie whispered, looking around. Her Heracross was nowhere to be found. "Beetle! Toadie!" she shouted, stepping away from the tree. "Wh-" she stuttered, losing her posture. No! She couldn't just let them go without a fight! She had to find them, get them to safety. She stumbled from one tree to another, although it was difficult - her balance was off, her vision blurry, her mind hazy.

"Poli-"

Everything seemed to stop when Winnie heard her Poliwag's cry. She froze, not sure if she had misheard, waiting for another sound...

"Poli!"

It came just when Winnie was beginning to lose hope. "Toadie!" she desperately called out. She followed the Pokemon's cries, running and stumbling over roots until she finally found her, hidden in a nearby bush. A few scratches, but the Poliwag didn't seem to be too hurt. "Oh, you're alright!" Winnie grabbed Toadie, cradling her in her arms. "Let's find Beetle. And stop whoever's been doing this."

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Aqua was struck but got back up hastily. “Grrrgh- What Power... you dirty theives will have to answer to me! I’ll help everyone out, even if I have to do it alone.” He smiled, and raised his arm. Aqua jumped up onto it and springboarded himself up to the Flechinder am day unleashed an up-close water gun.

“Yeah, that’s how it’s done!!!”

 

[SombreSkies]

Scared. That was how Devon felt from his position at the bottom of the pit; his fears had come true, it seemed, as the commotion from above made it clear that a scuffle was happening. He heard shouting alongside the cries of various Pokemon, only making the situation seem more dire. The boy could do little to help from down here with no other Pokemon, but he was determined to protect himself at the very least. He'd just begun his journey - there was absolutely no way he was going to let his Pokemon partner get taken so soon. Speaking of, Subzero continued to look into the pit at it's trainer for guidance, almost not caring about what was going on around him. Devon kept focused on the Sandshrew too, and reached down into his pocket so as to grab his Pokemon's ball and recall it, but as he dug around inside it, he realized something.


“Well, that's just great.” he called out, rolling his eyes in a clear act of annoyance. He'd left his bag near the base of a tree when Subzero had ran off into the forest, meaning that he didn't have his pokeball on him. “Bud, you're going to have to stay out of the ball for this fight. I, uh, don't have it on me.” He said to his Pokemon while. scratching at the nape of his neck. A wave of emotion washed over Devon, and his cheeks flushed red. Fear, Anger, embarrassment. He was confused; just how could he get himself, his Pokemon, and the other trainers out of such a predicament without anyone getting injured - or worse, losing their Pokemon. His finger strayed to his chin as the blonde boy thought hard about what he could do to get free. He couldn't bank on the others having a utility Pokemon to find some way out, and so decided to take things into his own hands.


While he thought, the Razor Wind from the fletchinder kicked up dirt and leaves above the pit, causing Subzero to wince a little. The sounds of a fight continued, but it wasn't like Devon could help out with the battle because he couldn't see his opponent. Suddenly though, his face lit up.


“That's it!” He shouted, grinning.


“Subzero, jump into my arms! I've got a plan.” He said, smiling confidently at his Pokemon with wide arms. With no hesitation, the Sandshrew lept down from atop the pit and landed in Devon's arms, where the two hugged for a second before the young trainer put his Pokemon on the floor. There were likely other trainers down in the tiger pit too who had been knocked in by the Razor Wind or who had come down to hide from the above conflict, but the young lad cared little for them. He shoved them out of the way, not too hard, but with enough force that they'd have to move backwards a little at least. “Everyone stand back, yeah? I'm going to try and get us out of here, hopefully this will work.” he said, addressing the others in the hole.


Assuming they followed his instructions and moved to a side wall, Devon would smiled then make a fist before crouching down to talk to his Pokemon. “Ok Subzero, I need you to get into your defense form and use defense curl to make your body as hard as you can. I think we should show off our skills once you've done that, yeah! Stay in your defense mode, but I need you to spin close to the rock wall with your hard body. Remember how we've been working on learning rapid spin? Well, it'll be like that, except I want you to try and chip away at the rock. Make some steps, or make a slight collapse in the wall, that way we should be able to climb out and help the people up top! Think you can do that for me?” He asked, smiling. It was a bit of a mouthful, but Devon knew that he Pokemon would be able to do it. Normal Sandshrew were known for their digging, and the Alolan form was no different. However, while the Kanto form dug through rock and burrowed through dirt, the Alolan variant dug through snow and ice. Subzero looked at Devon for a few moments, his eyes glistening in the morning sun, and the creature nodded his head.


“Alright then. Defense curl!” The Pokemon got down into its protective form, keeping its body low to the ground and its limbs tucked into its body. Subzero began to shine, a sure sign that it's icy body had grown thick and hard. “Alright, now spin and dash into the rocky wall!” He said, forcing his hand forward at a wall ahead of him. For a moment, Devon glanced at the other trainers, and smirked. Deep down, he hoped his plan would work, because if it didn't he'd look like a real idiot to everyone watching. As instructed, the Pokémon began to spin around faster and faster against the face of the rock, natural behaviour for an alliance Sandshrew. Hopefully, with the extra strength added because of the defense curl, Devon's plan would work, and the wall of the pit would crack and fall in, creating a slope that everyone could climb up...

 

[Jakoboi]

Before Jakobi could respond and agree to pull the trainers out of the pit, a sudden burst of wind blew him right into it. The gust was so powerful that it blew Skipper, who was comfortably resting on his head, to be blown away as its size stood no chance against it. Jakobi at first remained calm when talking to those he joined in the pit, "It's ok! My Natu can get us out of here!" He then patted his head, only to his horror did he realize that his bird got blown away and separated from him. "Damnit!" He yelled in frustration and worry, "The thieves are gonna steal my pokemon!" He then witnessed Devon's plan to chip the wall into an incline, and decided that he had to help, not just for him and his own pokemon but for all the trainers. He had no strong physical moves that could really put a dent on the wall of stiff dirt, but he still had to try. He instructed Chia to use Razor leaf to cut small pieces of the dirt wall off, meanwhile he ordered his Larvesta to try and make a rope out of string shot, and to his surprise the rope worked! It tethered and stuck right near the edge of the hole so it wouldn't get blown by the wind. "OK, people one at a time! Otherwise the string will tear! Someone hurry up and go first." He still remained intent on Devon's plan too, however. As he knew that the string shot solution is slow as it truly only can support one person's weight.

Skipper was blown right off of Jakobi's head and was hurdled toward a patch of shrubbery. It got stuck in a bramble of thorny vines which harmed the small bird and forced him to peck his way free. All the bird could recognize was Winnie's Herracross appearing to be lost in the distance. Skipper, wanting to have safety in numbers, made haste in hopping over and perching on Beetle's head. It closed its eyes and used some sort of telepathy to communicate. Skipper explained that he's only trying to help and that the two could protect eachother, Skipper then went on to say that he could try and use psychic powers to find a trustworthy trainer. Xatus have the power of prediction, but being pre-evolved, Skipper struggled trying to use it properly. Fortunately, he was able to concentrate and miraculously locate Winnie, who appeared to be looking for Beetle! "Follow my lead! I've found your trainer!" Skipper telepathically explained.

 

[Wapiti]

As the Razor Wind collided with the ground, an explosion of dirt tossed Alex and Tux clumsily into the pit. The boy attempted to break his fall with his shoulder, but ended up landing hard on his cheek, sliding forward and scraping off a layer of skin. Alex heaved his injured body off the ground with a grunt and immediately began to examine himself for broken bones. He was rather graceless in his everyday life, so falls were not uncommon.

He stood up and raised a hand to his cheek where his open wound stung like needles. He winced at the sight of the blood dripping from his face, but immediately began to focus on the task at hand.

"Tux, are you okay?" he rushed over to his significantly more coordinated partner who seemed to be remarkably unscathed.

Tux nodded in response, shocked by the sudden attack. He brushed his blue feathers free of dust with his flippers.

The blast seemed to have blown a few others over the edge of the pit too. Alex instantly recognized Jakobi and saw the boy who was trapped from before attempting to make leeway with the rocky wall of the pit, intent on making a staircase for them to escape.

"Tux, use Bubble on the wall to make the dirt softer! It will be easier to break apart," Alex said, approaching the new Trainer with a friendly, determined grin. He covered his injury with an open palm.

Tux inflated his small chest with a deep breath and released several clear bubbles from his open beak. With a surprising amount of force behind him, they collided with the wall of the hole, causing the earth to soften as it became wet.

The ground gave way as the Pokémon attacked it. Alex gripped Larvesta's sticky thread and began to pull himself free of the pit as the Sandshrew dug further into the wall.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Things were rapidly slipping out of control, as they usually did when it came down to the wire. At first, the reappearance of Agent Ruscit was a welcome sight, though Tracer worried that the use of Deino would expose the guy's cover in spite of his black mask. Regardless, Deino's Dragon Rage was about the only thing keeping the Mudkip-guy from taking Fletchinder out. Tracer's mind raced as he reassessed the situation. It was a fool's errand to continue using Fletchinder against Mudkip, when Deino could simply reverse the type advantage. Better to shift targets, before the Fire/Flying type fell to another Water Gun. Agent Ruscit would keep the Mudkip off them. But who to target?

Alex had been one of those blown into the pit, but from his angle, Tracer simply could not see the guy.

Jakob had also momentarily joined the pit crew (OOC: *Crowd boos*), and seemed to be halfway out already, despite being separated from his teleporting Natu.

Another pit trainer had an unusually-colored Sandshrew landscaping a slope out of their trap. Tracer made a note-to-self to further investigate that particular pokemon later, for its novelty was sure to draw the fancy of rich collectors in these parts.

Winnie appeared badly disoriented, and had also been parted from one of her pokemon: the Heracross.

The Heracross!

Tracer's adrenaline spiked. Here was a chance he might not ever get again, for he temporarily held a pokemon with speed and severe type advantage against this particular creature. One well-aimed Peck would theoretically knock it out cold, then Tracer would be there to snatch it up in the time it took to draw a breath. In their current state, which of these trainers could possibly catch him? The Mudkip guy? Not if Ruscit covered his exit. The only major threat Tracer noted was Natu, who seemed to stand in solidarity with Heracross. If he timed it wrong, that thing would teleport Heracross to safety as easily as it had ported Jakob earlier that morning.

Not if I can help it, he thought darkly, his mind shifting back into the animal state of a coiling black mamba. I won't let you foil my plans again, you little winged pest! I'll outspeed you this time!

"Fletchinder!" Tracer barked, as he plunged out of his tree and bulleted headlong for Beetle. "Disengage the Mudkip! Peck this Heracross right between the eyes!"

As if in slow-motion, the fiery bird and the Rocket Agent twisted into flanking positions on either side of Winnie's Heracross. Fletchinder bore down with its razor-sharp beak glinting like a polished blade, while Tracer opened his arms wide, as if to embrace the bug/fighting type. Its fate would be decided in the next moment.


*Objective updated: steal Winnie's Heracross*

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Aqua disengaged his attack and instead launched himself off a tree, spiraling toward Deino with a fast tackle. “Aqua! You keep Deion busy, and try not to get hit!” Grant yelled, and ran to the other side of the pit.

“Good idea mate!” He yelled down to the trainer who was trying to create a slope. He looked around the pit to see if everyone was okay. It seemed most were, just a little hurt from the fall...

“Guys, I think Winnie lost her glasses. If we can get all of us up here we can all beat these chumps!” He scanned the pit.

 

[SombreSkies]

With everyone working in tandem, it wasn't a matter of time before Devon's plan came to fruition - the wall gave way thanks to Tux's bubbles, Chia's razor sharp leaves and Subzero's spinning. Rocks and dust were flung around, bouncing back from the wall and the Pokémon's moves; at one point, Devon had to shield his eyes to protect them from the debris. Still, once the dust had cleared up, the trainers all saw that the rocks and mud had come away into an incline. The Pokémon all panted after their hard work, but it wasn't over just yet; each of them had to scrabble up the gradient without it falling away, but Devon had planned something to help deal with that, too. “Alright, take a few steps back everyone! Subzero, use powder snow on the slope - freeze it!” Devon called out, looking at his Pokemon with a determined glint in his eyes.


The Sandshrew followed it's trainer's instruction and let loose a gust of snow and ice on the slope, coating it in a thin layer of snow and hardening it to a degree. In doing this, he knew it would make getting up just a little bit easier as the ground was less likely to give way underneath everyone's feet. “Aw bud that's great! C'mon, we're going.” He said, holding out his arms again. The Pokemon lept up into them, and the two nuzzled for a few. Being the one who had come up with the plan, the boy tested out to slope first; he trudged up it, his Pokemon in his arms, and while he felt his legs burn with how much effort was needed, it wasn't long before he made it up the incline and back to the normal ground level. He looked around for a few moments, but what the kid saw just disappointed him. As much as he hates to admit it, he was right. The Pokémon thieves were around.


Confused about what he should do, Devon considered running away to some kind of safe space, but shook his head - an act that would likely make him seem strange to the other trainers. He had to fight; if he could prove that he was strong enough to hold his own, then surely the thieves would leave him and his Pokémon alone. From what he saw, there was only one thief, meaning that the group of trainers had an advantage so long as they were together. The thief only appeared to be using two Pokémon too, one of which Subzero had an advantage against since ice types beat dragons usually. The other, though, he would need help with. Being an Ice/Steel type, Subzero was at a 4x weakness to fletchinder's fire type moves, so would have to watch out for them. Devon clenched his fist, then turned around to face the other thief; he wanted to fight. He had to fight. He could only hope the others would back him up in his effort, because with no pokeball he couldn't exactly withdraw Subzero if he fainted.


“Hey! You're not taking anything today!”


He called out to Walt and Drac, his brow furrowed as he spoke to indicate that he wasn't happy. “You've taken too many already, but no more! I can't speak for these guys, but I know that I'm going to try and stop you.” Devon would then run around to the edge of the pit until he got to a place where it would be easier for his Pokémon to fight, then placed subzero down on the ground. The Pokémon also seemed determined to fight, and had almost the same expression as his trainer. “Shrew! Shrew San-Shrew!” (Hey! Stop it!) It shouted as a warning to the other Pokémon. Regardless of whether or not Walt wanted to be diplomatic in the fight, Devon chose to act first, unaware that agent Tracer was probably watching everything from the treetops.


“Alright! Use powder snow on the Deino! Looks like it won't be able to hand out much longer anyways.”


Subzero nodded, the sucked in air and puffed out his chest and cheeks. The Pokémon released a gust of icy wind at the Deino, hitting it with fine snowflakes that moved incredibly quickly. A battle had begun, but depending on what Walt decided to do next it could be over very soon. “I hope the others join in.” Devon thought to himself. “Without them backing me up and protecting me from the fletchinder, who knows how long I'll last…”