CHAPTER 6

"Do you really think your Venonat can find Misty?" Ash inquired as he jogged behind the fuzzy purple bug.

Ash, Tracey, and Pikachu were following Tracey's Venonat as it searched throughout the city, rapidly scanning up and down alleys and streets one by one in an attempt to find their female companion. The sun had set nearly an hour ago by now, and only Venonat's sensitive radar-like eyes could penetrate the increasingly dark shadows creeping over the land.

"It's our best bet right now," Tracey replied. "We don't have any idea where she is otherwise."

Ash slowed down just long enough to nudge Togepi more comfortably in his backpack. Wherever Misty had gone, she had left the little egg Pokémon behind. Ash didn't feel right about leaving it alone, and so he had carefully placed the tiny creature in his backpack for safekeeping.

As they raced around a corner, Venonat peered into a darkened side alley and stopped suddenly. It turned around to face Tracey and jumped up and down excitedly. "Venonat! Venonat!" it called out.

"What is it, Venonat?" Tracey asked. "Is it Misty?"

Ash went into the alley to investigate. There was a motionless figure lying in the middle of the path, obscured in the shadows. Ash couldn't see who it was, but the person was too tall to be Misty. He poked the figure, who then stirred and groaned before painfully sitting up.

It was Officer Jenny.

"Officer Jenny, what happened?" Ash cried out.

Rubbing her head, Jenny groggily replied, "It was the three of them, Butch, Cassidy, and that thief clothed in black. They ambushed me on the way back from the mayor's office.

"I couldn't see much in the dark. All of the sudden, Cassidy was right in front of me and the thief was grabbing me from behind by the neck. Butch was off to the side, holding some object. I don't know what it was, it looked kind of like a large briefcase.

"I tried to resist, but I couldn't move. The thief had me held pretty tightly, and somehow my muscles were locked in place and just wouldn't respond. Cassidy demanded to know where the shiny Magikarp was hiding, and for some reason I couldn't prevent myself from telling her. It was as if my voice had a will of its own, and told them everything they wanted to know."

"It sounds like they were using the same kind of hypnosis on you that they used on the Blastoise," Tracey observed.

"I think so too," Jenny agreed, "but the effect only lasted during the time the thief had a hold of me. Once I was let go, I could move my body freely again, but Cassidy knocked me out and left me in this alley."

"Ash," Tracey said suddenly while turning to his companion. "Do you think Misty is doing what she's doing because she's under mind control, too?"

"That's got to be the reason," Ash replied. "Officer, where is this safe house?"

"It's at the other end of town, near the east wharf," Jenny told them. As Ash and Tracey jumped up to hurry off, she called out, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To the safe house," Ash yelled behind him as he, Tracey, and Pikachu ran off to the east. "We have to save the Magikarp, and Misty, too!"

"Misty? What does she have to do with this? Stop! It's too dangerous..." Jenny shouted, her voice training off at the end. It was no use. Ash was too stubborn to wait for the police. She tried to get up, but found she was still a little woozy from her encounter with the Team Rocket members. She would have to catch up with them when she could.

On a nearby rooftop, a woman with long, curling red hair watched Ash and the others through binoculars as they ran down the dark street. Grinning in anticipation, she turned to her blue-haired companion. "It's time to get to work," she said.

*

The safe house containing the shiny Magikarp was a small, inconspicuous building next to an abandoned bookstore looking over an old wharf on the east side of the island. The interior of the house was clean but very plain, with old, gray furniture arranged in a practical but uncreative fashion around the walls. An old broken refrigerator, open, empty and unplugged, squatted in one corner. The occupants of the house had apparently decided to make do without a refrigerator by storing drinks and snacks in a large opened ice chest, which sat near the door. Various bottles and cans poked halfway out of the mounds of glistening ice cubes within the chest.

Against the rear wall was the crystal tank containing the shiny Magikarp. The lovely Pokémon swam serenely in its clear enclosure, while its scales flashed in the light to reveal every color of the rainbow. The dazzling array of hues reflecting off the majestic fish contrasted sharply with its drab surroundings.

Four very edgy police guards were stationed inside the house. They had all heard about the destructive power of the thief and Psyduck from the night before, and so they all stayed alert, and spoke to each other in quiet, subdued voices.

A fifth guard was gazing out over the quiet, moonlit ocean when he first saw it. It was far away, and it looked like a tiny speck as it approached over the water. The guard brought out his binoculars to get a better look.

It was a speedboat, racing over the surface of the sea towards the island. In the front of the boat was a short, slim figure dressed entirely in a black ninja-style outfit, and behind the figure were two other people, a blonde woman in pigtails and a man with a greenish tint to his hair. The latter two wore black uniforms with a letter "R" insignia on them.

The guard sounded the alarm. This was the moment they had been waiting for. The other guards scrambled together just as the little speedboat pulled up to the old wharf.

The occupants of the boat seemed not at all concerned about the police. The green-haired man raised his hand, and, on this signal, a Blastoise leapt out of the water next to the boat and landed deftly on the top of the wharf.

It was Cympelton's Blastoise.

The giant turtle, its mind fully under the control of its captors, looked straight ahead with dulled eyes. The tiny silver transceiver, still attached to the Blastoise's shoulder, was functioning perfectly and continued to channel the powerful hypnotic influence that had taken over the Pokémon's brain.

The blonde woman in the speedboat stood up. Throwing her head back, she triumphantly proclaimed in a loud voice, "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" rejoined the green-haired man.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

"Rrrrrrraticate!" shouted Cassidy's Raticate, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

The guards had never heard anything quite like the Team Rocket motto before, and it left them too bewildered to do more than look at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces. A couple of the guards had the presence of mind to pull out their pokéballs, but before they could release them, Butch barked out in a raspy voice, "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

They never stood a chance. The barrage of water from the Blastoise came down on the guards like a flood, sweeping them off their feet and knocking their unopened pokéballs out of their grip. The flood of water carried the men away down the street to a nearby sewer hole, over which they piled up, unconscious. The remaining water swirled and spiraled around their motionless bodies as it drained away through the grate beneath them.

Now unopposed, the black-garbed thief and Cassidy climbed up onto the wharf to join the Blastoise. Butch picked up what appeared to be a round birdcage from the speedboat and carried it with him as he followed the others onto land. Inside the cage was a cluster of Exeggcute. The six units of this collective organism were hooked up to a series of wires that attached to a small control panel and transmitter dish on the top of the cage, and they jumped around inside their enclosure in a lively manner.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, for us to come here in person instead of just sending this one?" Cassidy asked, referring to the dark figure next to them.

"We have to," Butch replied. "If we still had the second transceiver, we could just have our ninja friend here attach it to the Magikarp. But now we have to steal it the old-fashioned way, and we have to be here to direct things closely if there are any surprises like at the convention center."

The three of them, with the Blastoise following closely behind, strode confidently into the safe house. No one was left to stop them.

The Magikarp immediately caught their attention, as it stood out brilliantly from its drab environment. The two Team Rocket members paused briefly to admire the dazzling appearance of the beautiful fish.

"'Karp...'karp ... Magikarp..." the Magikarp repeated, in the same vacuous, insipid voice common to all members of its species.

Cassidy shook her head at the fish Pokémon. "It may be beautiful, but it's just as stupid as the rest," she commented.

"Never mind how smart it is," replied her green-haired partner. "Let's just take it."

"Not so fast," said a voice behind them. They turned around to look.

It was Ash. He, Tracey, and Pikachu had run clear across town, and they stood at the doorway, puffing slightly but with determined looks on their faces.

Ash gave them a stern glance. "Let the Blastoise go," he ordered. "And let my friend Misty go too."

"Well, well, well," mused Cassidy, with an evil grin on her face, "if it isn't the kid with the Pikachu who messed up our plans on Mandarin Island." She turned to the dark figure next to her. "He knows who you are," she said. "You might as well remove that mask."

The figure peeled the mask off slowly to reveal a girl's face with aqua eyes and a head of orangey-red hair pulled to a ponytail on one side.

It was Misty.

As she pulled off the voice modulator she had been wearing under the mask to disguise her voice, Ash also noticed something else he had not seen before. On the back of Misty's neck, just under the base of the skull, was attached a small gold disc, about the size of a quarter. It had been concealed under her hair, but the modulator pulled her hair out of the way just enough for him to notice it.

Cassidy observed Ash staring at the disc, and grinned maliciously. "Wondering what that is, kid?" she asked. "It's a gold transceiver. It's just like the silver transceiver that went on the Blastoise, but this one can control the mind of a human, as well as the minds of the Pokémon in that person's possession."

"That's right," added Butch. "With those transceivers to channel the psychic energy, and the hypnotic amplifier attached to the top of the cage," he said, pointing to the birdcage hanging from his arm, "this cluster of Exeggcute here is enough to control the minds of the Blastoise, your friend, and all her Pokémon through her. We're even able to control any other human whom the girl is holding on to. That's how we were able to get the location of the safe house from Officer Jenny."

Tracey had been listening to this whole conversation carefully. He finally commented, "But the one thing I don't understand is why Psyduck's Confusion attack is so powerful."

Cassidy answered, "Well, since there's no way you can stop us, I might as well tell you. The transceivers produce a few side effects on the people who wear them as well as on the Pokémon they possess. The effects include headaches and fatigue. You probably saw those side effects on your friend here. It wouldn't surprise me if she has been too tired for the last few days even to stand up straight. I'm sure the extra headache has been enhancing the Psyduck's usually pathetic psychic powers.

"Now if you'll excuse us," she continued, "we have a fish to catch." She turned to Misty and commanded, "Misty, go get the Magikarp now."

Moving like a mindless automaton, Misty proceeded towards the Magikarp's tank. Butch and Cassidy kept a close eye on Ash, watching for any moves he might make.

"Don't do this, Misty," pleaded Ash. "Come on, fight the mind control. I know you can do it. It's me, Ash. I owe you a bike, don't you remember? And we've been together all through Kanto and the Orange Islands. Come on, fight it. I know you can do it."

Misty continued to the tank without even slowing down. Cassidy laughed scornfully. "What corny television shows have you been watching, kid?" she ridiculed. "Get real. This is state-of-the-art mind control equipment. Your pathetic pleading is going to get you nowhere."

Cassidy was right. Misty was deep under the Exeggcutes' influence, and nothing that Ash could say would affect that. And he couldn't risk getting too close to her, lest she grab him and control his mind also. She was almost to the tank now. Ash whipped out a pokéball and tossed it. This was his last resort, and he hoped that it would work the way he imagined.

Butch started towards him, but the pokéball was already in the air. As it came down, Ash shouted, "I choose you ... Snorlax!"

The ball cracked open, and the amorphous radiance within immediately started increasing in size as it spilled out. It kept growing and growing until it reached the ceiling. "Snorrrrrrr - lllllllllax," the materializing Pokémon grumbled, as it seemed to fill the whole room with its gargantuan mass. A few ceiling tiles fell down as the top of Snorlax's head nudged them.

Butch stopped dead in his tracks. This definitely was not what he had expected.

Ash commanded, "Snorlax, cover over the Magikarp tank with your body."

The slothful Pokémon complied. It carefully set its enormous body over the crystal-clear glass and rested its weight against the wall above. Its torso completely covered the front of the tank, while its heavy dangling arms draped over the tank sides. Snorlax carried out its operation so delicately that the tank itself was under no stress, yet it was covered completely. Now resting comfortably, the gargantuan creature settled down for a pleasant nap. Misty stopped right in front of the giant beast. There was no way she could get to the Magikarp now.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" snapped Cassidy impatiently. "Go and blast that overweight thing away with your Psyduck."

With zombie-like obedience, Misty produced a pokéball and threw it out. Psyduck appeared in a blaze of light, eyes flashing with intense psychic power. "Psyduck, Confusion!" Misty called, this time in her real voice.

Psyduck released its whirlwind of psychic power towards Snorlax. All of Snorlax's fur stood straight out, each hair separately pulled by the intense energies. Several floor tiles were uprooted and hurled themselves up, dashing themselves to fragments on the ceiling. Snorlax lifted off the ground just slightly, and then settled back gently down to the earth. Psyduck tried again and again to raise Snorlax from the floor, but the power of the Confusion attack was simply not enough to budge the ponderous weight of the giant beast's enormous frame. The gargantuan creature stirred only briefly before falling into slumber once more.

"Fine," declared Butch angrily. "This doesn't stop us at all. It may be too heavy to lift, but we can use the Blastoise to knock it out of commission." He turned to the Blastoise, but before he could issue a command, the room suddenly filled with choking clouds of black, noxious smoke.

Everyone began coughing. Ash had to wipe away the tears from his eyes before he could see that the smoke was pouring into the safe house from the outside through the open front door. The source of the smoke was a Weezing, and just behind it, Ash could just barely make out the silhouettes of two laughing humans and one Meowth.

Jessie strode in the room with an air of brash confidence. Resolve and determination, she thought, that's all she needed to show, and they would be all right. Her expression changed abruptly from one of self-assurance to one of horror as the swirling clouds of the Weezing's smoke began to dissipate and she could see who was in the room with her. "It's you!" she hissed as she saw Cassidy.

"And you!" hollered James, looking at Butch. "Botch!"

"That's Butch!" retorted the green-haired man indignantly. "Butch! Can't you get that straight, you moron?"

Jessie quickly regained her composure. "I'll deal with you later," she spat at Cassidy. "Right now, I have a Pikachu to catch." She threw out a pokéball and shouted, "Go, Lickitung!" As the odd pink Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, Jessie commanded, "Go capture that Pikachu!" The Lickitung had apparently caught on to Jessie's newfound confidence, for it faced its electric opponent with a determined fierceness that James had never seen before.

Pikachu charged up his body, but the Lickitung's tongue shot out like lightning. The long, sticky appendage struck the electric mouse right on his head, leaving its paralytic saliva all over his fur. "Pi - ka ..." Pikachu groaned weakly, as he fell over stiffly, his body rigid as a board. The electric charge stored in Pikachu's body drained away uselessly into the linoleum-tiled floor beneath him.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in horror.

Meowth shook his head in amazement at what Jessie had done. "I never t'ought I'd see da day when Jessie beat da twerp in a Pokémon battle." James nodded in agreement.

Jessie was elated. She had beaten the Pikachu! Her newfound determination truly was their key to victory. She didn't know why they hadn't thought of this sooner. She was reaching over to grab Pikachu's stiffened body and to stuff him inside a small burlap sack when she was startled by a new voice behind them.

"Just what do you think you are doing with my Blastoise!" the voice boomed.

Ash turned. "It's Mr. Simpleton!" he exclaimed.

"Cym-PEL-ton," everyone else chorused in unison.

Butch muttered in disgust, "What kind of a safe house is this, anyway? Isn't there anyone on this island who doesn't know where it is?"

"Well, of course I was told where my own Magikarp was being kept," Cympelton retorted disdainfully. With stern eyes, he looked straight at his Blastoise and commanded, "Blastoise, come here this instant."

The giant turtle didn't move. Cassidy laughed in derision.

"You're almost as pathetic as the kid here," she declared. "It's too bad we got the girl instead of you at the reception the other day. You seem like you would have been amusing to have under our control."

At Cympelton's puzzled look, Butch added, "Don't you remember? I was at the reception posing as a talent agent. I was about to put the gold transceiver on you when we shook hands, but the redhead here got in the way and I ended up putting it on her by accident."

"Fortunately, she turned out to be a good Pokémon trainer, so we've been able to make decent use of her," Cassidy said. "But now that you're here, I think we'd rather have you." She turned to the Blastoise and ordered fiercely, "Blastoise, go and bring Cympelton to Misty."

The Blastoise leapt into the air, bearing its massive frame aloft as if it were as light as a Hoppip. It swooped down on the now speechless Cympelton, grabbing the water Pokémon trainer and carrying him back to where Misty stood.

"Now grab him," Cassidy ordered Misty. The redhead caught Cympelton by the back of the neck and held tightly. Ash could see the distinguished trainer's jaw go slack and his eyes stare straight ahead as the hypnotic effect from Misty's transceiver began to take effect. It was only seconds before Cympelton was completely under the Exeggcutes' mind control.

Cassidy grinned in satisfaction. This was going even better than they had planned. "Cympelton," she ordered, "have your Blastoise get rid of the other Team Rocket."

In a dazed voice, Cympelton called out, "Blastoise, use Water Gun."

Jessie had just finished cramming Pikachu into the sack when the gigantic tortoise turned on her and her two companions. The Blastoise planted its left foot firmly on the floor as high-pressure water burst forward at the Team Rocket members from its twin mounted cannons. James and Meowth screamed in panic, but Jessie's determination held strong. "I SAID NO MORE BLASTINGS AND I MEANT IT!" she hollered in defiance. Dropping the sack, she grabbed her two teammates each by the collar and deftly ducked under the liquid blast aimed at them. Jessie gritted her teeth as torrents of water passed just over their heads, while James and Meowth hid their faces and whimpered pitifully.

The blast of water was finally expended, and Jessie looked up to see a gaping hole in the wall behind them where the Blastoise's attack had blown right through the side of the safe house. She picked James and Meowth up, one in each arm, and dragged her whole team out of the house through the newly formed escape route. She regretted having to leave Pikachu behind, but she knew there would be other chances. Lickitung and Weezing lost no time in following close behind.

"Why did you bother with them for?" asked Butch.

Cassidy smiled. "I wanted to see if our control of Cympelton would be good enough to control the Blastoise through him. Since he's the Blastoise's real trainer, he should be able to command it even better than we can." She turned to Cympelton once more. "Have your Blastoise get rid of that Snorlax," she commanded.

Ash's mind was racing. Snorlax couldn't very well take on the Blastoise and protect the tank from Misty and Psyduck at the same time. And Pikachu was still unable to fight. He needed another Pokémon to battle the Blastoise.

Suddenly it came to him. Of course! He had one clear option. He pulled out a pokéball and threw it, calling, "I choose you ... Charizard!"

The ball burst open, and the air grew noticeably warmer as the fire-breathing dragon filled its entire end of the room. Charizard roared fiercely, shooting flames in all directions in a showy display of fiery might. A few more ceiling tiles, charred and smoking, fell around them.

Charizard's menacing demeanor left even the self-assured Cassidy a little intimidated. "What do you think?" she asked Cympelton.

The water Pokémon trainer, deep under hypnosis, was unable to resist answering Cassidy's question truthfully. "My Blastoise has never been defeated in battle, and a fire-type Pokémon such as Charizard doesn't stand a chance," he said in a monotone.

"Excellent," the blonde Team Rocket member replied. "Have your Blastoise get rid of that Charizard. You are under our control, and I command you to conduct this battle to the best of your ability. We'll deal with the Snorlax after that." Turning to Ash, she sneered, "It's payback time for Mandarin Island."

Tracey, a serious expression on his face, remarked, "Remember how you wanted to have a Pokémon battle with Cympelton, Ash?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, it looks like you'll get your chance after all," Tracey said grimly.