Ursula was finding it hard to get to sleep as thoughts of Bjorn and what he might be going through at the hands of the OCIB echoed in her mind. She sat with her knees drawn up, staring at the full moon shining in the sky and wondering why fate had singled her out to be born as a result of an illegal experiment. Through no fault of their own, she and Bjorn had come under attack, targets for state-sponsored murder - in short, they were outlaws.
"Bjorn," she sighed under her breath as if saying his name out loud would somehow bring him back safe and well. She glanced at the sleeping Natasha, then at Phanpy as he paced up and down watching for intruders, before patting the Poke Balls in her pocket. Then, feeling an aching need for companionship, Ursula released Espeon and sat stroking the Psychic Pokemon as she rested her head in her trainers lap.
"Espeon," Ursula said, "I don't know what we're gonna do - the OCIB have . . . EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"
Her shriek - which caused two Pidgey who had been roosting nearby to take flight - had been caused by someone (or something) sneaking up on her and pulling her hair. Espeon looked up quizzically and Natasha, woken from her sleep, soon saw the source of the commotion - a Misdreavus floating in mid-air.
"Misdreavus are good for nothing!" she cursed.
"I think you'll find all Pokemon are good for something."
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Both girls tensed at the sound of the voice - all they could tell regarding the speaker was that it was a young male, a little older than they were. Right now, neither of them could take any chances, but they were nonetheless determined to put up a fight if they were going to be captured. As Ursula took charge of Phanpy and Espeon, Natasha kept a tight hold of her Persian's Poke Ball as the Misdreavus hovered around smirking to herself.
Next moment, the speaker emerged from the trees and Ursula and Natasha sighed as one when they realised it was Matthew Bates. The youth who had helped the Chimera Children at the start of their struggle to outwit their enemies had been training his Misdreavus when she decided to go off on her own and torment other trainers. Seeing Ursula, she had found the girl's long hair too tempting to resist . . .
"That's another thing Misdreavus and I need to work on," Matthew explained as he recalled his errant Pokemon. "By the way, how are you doing? It's been ages since I last saw you . . ."
Ursula was too numbed by recent events to speak and it was left to Natasha to do the talking.
"It's - it's a long story," she said, trying to stall for time while she considered how to break the news of Bjorn's capture and the uncertainty of whether or not her was still alive.
Matthew looked at the two girls closely as if trying to decide what to do next. "Maybe you'd better tell me," he said at last. "It was the OCIB, wasn't it?"
Ursula nodded mutely. "H - how did you know?" she gasped, reaching down to stroke Espeon. The girl longed for reassurance - too much had happened to her lately and she desperately needed some stability in her life.
"I was there - at their Headquarters," Matthew explained, ignoring shocked gasps from Ursula and Natasha. "You see, the OCIB are based in my hometown and I was visiting my family since I'd completed my Pokemon journey and needed a break . . . Anyway, I saw them bring in your brother and a man. Ursula, Natasha, we've got to get them out of there!"
"But . . ." Ursula began to object, sure any rescue attempt would be futile and they would never see Bjorn alive again. But Matthew held up his hand for silence.
"Ursula, I overheard two agents talking - they said they would use your brother to trap you," he explained. "So that means - that means he's still alive!"
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For the first time, hope flickered in Ursula's eyes, although one question still remained - what had Matthew been doing at the OCIB's Headquarters? It seemed to be too much of a coincidence that he was there at the precise moment Bjorn was brought in along with Richard Gregg, both taken because of their involvement in an illegal project.
"Oh, that," Matthew said when Ursula voiced her concerns. "I was working as a delivery boy in Redwood Town - my hometown - and I had to make a delivery to the OCIB's Headquarters. I just happened to be there when they brought them in. Bjorn was unconscious, but the man, your . . . father?" The last word was addressed directly to Natasha.
"Uncle," Natasha corrected.
"Anyway, the man managed to slip me this." Matthew handed Natasha something she instantly recognised as Gregg's current lab ID, a small piece of card with the same basic design as Suzanne's. There was a message scrawled in the unlaminated area on the back - "Find Ursula ASAP".
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"This is serious," Natasha said after a while. "But Redwood Town's miles away - how'd you find us so soon?"
Matthew grinned at her. "Have you forgotten there are such things as Flying Pokemon?" he asked as he produced a Poke Ball from his pocket. "Charizard - go!"
In a flash of light, a Charizard burst out of the Poke Ball and stretched his powerful wings. Ursula was a little tentative at first; she had never seen such a large Pokemon up close before and she had heard that some Charizard weren't averse to using their flames as a gesture of contempt. To reassure her, Matthew reached up and gently scratched the Charizard's neck, a move which the Charizard responded to by lowering his head and nudging his trainer.
"Caught over in Charicific Valley," Matthew explained. "This one was a Charmeleon then - only evolved last month, and good job as it turns out . . ."
"I see," Natasha cut in. "You used your Charizard to find us since you'd be able to see better in the air than on the ground. But how did Uncle Richard know he could trust you?"
"I don't think he did really, but he didn't have much choice . . ."
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There was little time to lose, so Matthew decided that he and the two girls ought to set off for Redwood town at once. He mounted Charizard's back close to the Pokemon's long neck where it would be easier to stay into control but allowed Ursula to sit in front of him since she was the smallest of the trio and needed to be able to see where they were going. Finally, Natasha climbed up behind Matthew and held onto his waist as Charizard prepared for take off.
"Charizard - Fly!" Matthew ordered. In response, Charizard flapped his wings, took a running jump and lifted off into the night sky.
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It was easily the most thrilling experience Ursula had ever had. Held in position by Matthew and clinging onto Charizard's neck, she marvelled at the sheer exileration of soaring through the air, flying over streets and houses. Having never ridden a Flying Pokemon before, she found the feeling of freedom it gave her too exciting to describe. Her only regret was that Bjorn couldn't be there to share the experience.
She felt the five Poke Balls she carried in her pockets. Two contained her own Vulpix and Espeon and the other three contained the Pokemon Bjorn had entrusted her with - Dewgong, Phanpy and Yanma. She thought about letting Yanma out so she could stretch her wings but decided against it; the Bug Pokemon was smaller than Charizard and might have difficulties keeping up.
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"There it is! There's the OCIB's Headquarters!" Matthew called as they flew over a large building surrounded by a barbed wire fence with checkpoints positioned at intervals. All in all, it looked as though the OCIB took security very seriously and all they could do was hope this didn't extend to the roof.
"Take us down, Charizard," Matthew ordered when he saw a part of the roof that looked like a good landing strip. But Charizard had barely touched down before a searchlight caught everyone in its powerful beam and an ear-splitting wailing sound tore through the air. Ursula winced and covered her ears to try and shut out the sound and Matthew and Natasha looked at each other aghast.
"Security," Matthew groaned. "We'd better move . . ."
But a quick glance at a nearby door told him it was already too late; several agents were pouring up onto the roof to deal with the security violation. Ursula summed the situation up in three words.
"We're in trouble."
Matthew grabbed hold of Ursula with one hand and drew Charizard back into his Poke Ball with the other. "Quickly!" he urged. "Run for it!"
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A deadly game of cat and mouse ensued, with OCIB agents chasing Matthew, Ursula and Natasha all over the rooftop. There was no way down - the only escape route led directly into the main building - and the three youngsters knew capture was only moments way. Even so, they were determined not to be taken without a fight.
Backed to the very edge of the roof and trapped between five armed agents and a sixty-foot drop, they decided their only hope was to use their Pokemon to fight their enemies. Moving as one, they unleashed Espeon, Vulpix, Persian and Matthew's Hitmonchan, producing a collective flash of light as the four Pokemon burst out of their balls simultaneously.
"Espeon - Psychic!" Ursula directed the purple catlike Pokemon. "Vulpix - power up with Sunny Day and use Flamethrower!" She watched as one agent fell, stunned by Espeon's Psychic Attack, followed moments later by the one Vulpix had targetted with her extra-strong Flamethrower.
"Hitmonchan - Mega Punch!" ordered Matthew, watching as Hitmonchan floored a third agent with a powerful punch.
"Persian - Double Team!" Natasha called, hoping desperately that this move would distract the agents long enough for them to plan an escape route. But, no matter how hard, the Pokemon fought, the odds were stacked against them. Faced with an organisation the size of the OCIB, there was only so much punishment they could take . . .
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Seeing Espeon on the verge of collapse, Ursula rushed to shield her Pokemon, oblivious to the two agents who had already singled her out and had their guns trained on her . . .
"Oh no you don't!" Matthew said the second he realised Ursula and Espeon were in trouble. "Misdreavus - Psywave!" he added as he released his Ghost Pokemon.
Misdreavus focussed all her power on sending a blast of Psychic energy towards the agents. It caught them completely off guard and they fell, senseless, to the ground. Dazed, Ursula watched dumbstruck as Matthew and Natasha quickly stripped them of their uniforms and donned them themselves.
"Quick!" Natasha urged as she helped Ursula to her feet. "If this is going to work, we need you to pretend to be captured."