"C’mon!" shouted the receptionist. She darted out of the lobby door and out onto the path that led right the way around the Headquarters. Ash, Misty, Brock, Meowth, Jesse, James, Butch and Cassidy followed suit.
In the far distance, two figures were just visible leaping over the treetops, seeming as though they had some sort of device strapped to their stilettos.
"Quick! Into the helicopter!" screamed Jesse, who was closest to the receptionist. She nodded and ran over to the helicopter pad. She climbed into the first helicopter, and Jesse, James, Cassidy and Butch followed. Everyone else scrambled into the other helicopter. Brock and Meowth took the pilot seats and booted up the engine.
"Do either of you even know how to fly this thing?" yelled Ash as he strapped himself in.
"Of course we do!" said Brock, pressing various buttons and pulling levers.
"Honestly, what did they teach you in school?" asked Meowth. He began typing something into the mini-computer built into the system of the helicopter.
"What are you doing?" asked Misty.
"Searching up those two murderers," Meowth replied. "I want to see if they have been up to anything else. Killing Pokemon is one thing, but what if they kill humans, too?"
"Good point," said Brock. He grasped the steering wheel, and the helicopter rose slowly into the air. Meowth banged the dashboard.
"Can’t you go any faster, you useless lump of metal?!" he shouted. He noticed the others staring at him, and said quickly "When you travel around with Jess, you can’t help taking a leaf out her book- her temper can exceed normal rates."
Misty glanced out of the window. Holly and Lily were no where in sight.
"Hurry up, before we lose them!"
Brock revved up the helicopter and started accelerating to the north, the direction where Holly and Lily had vanished.
Fifteen meters in front of them, the other helicopter was also speeding off to the north. Jesse and James were at the rear window, banging on it with their fists and mouthing something.
"They’re saying that they’ve tried to escape in the woods," said Meowth. He pushed a large blue button and the helicopter shot forward at a breakneck pace. Brock and Meowth nearly slammed straight into the windscreen.
Misty kept watch out of the window, her eyes on the ground, looking for clues to where exactly they could have gone. The woods were extremely big and covered a large area of the landscape.
Suddenly, she spotted a trail of something. Petals. White petals.
"Guys! The petals from the lily!" gasped Misty. She pointed down to the trail.
"God, I thought they were intelligent?" said Ash. He picked up a small badge from the dashboard in front of them, opened the window and threw it. It ricocheted off the rear window, and James appeared.
"The flower petals!" yelled Ash. "They left a trail!"
James glanced down and gave them a thumbs-up signal. Then he disappeared from view, presumably telling the others, because a few seconds later the helicopter swooped down like a Staravia.
"Hold on!" shouted Brock. He slammed his fist down on the dashboard and gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles almost burst out of his skin.
The helicopter swerved sharply to the right and followed the other one, copying the dive (and nearly crashing it in the process).
The other helicopter landed neatly on a small patch of grass. The receptionist, Cassidy, Butch, James and Jesse came running out and over to join the others.
Meowth’s helicopter didn’t have such an elegant landing. The helicopter smacked straight into the ground, causing Brock to bang his head off the ceiling.
"I think I left my heart several miles up," said Misty weakly.
"Join the club," groaned Ash.
The receptionist came over and pulled Brock up, examining his head. There was a nasty bruise on his temple the size of an egg.
"Nasty. We’ll have to get you to a medical centre soon. But first, we need to see where Holly and Lily disappeared to."
Brock’s slit-type eyes turned into love-hearts, and he gazed at the receptionist.
"Thank you for the diagnosis, and may I say, you seem just the type of woman to nurse and care for me," said Brock, sounding like a drunken old man.
Misty came over to him and smacked him around the head.
"You have a bad case of love-sickness, Brock," sighed Misty, dragging Brock away from the receptionist by the ear.
The receptionist shook her head, smiling.
"My name is Harriet, before anyone asks. Come on, we need to follow these petals to try and find where they are."
The large white petals led off the path and into the forest. Everyone followed, keeping their eyes peeled in case they led off in a different direction.
Ten minuets later they stopped. The petals had stopped right in front of a lake, and didn’t lead off anywhere else.
"They might have spotted that Lily was dropping the petals," sighed Jesse.
"Or maybe a Pokemon came along and pushed them into the lake!" said Meowth hopefully.
"I doubt that," said Cassidy. She knelt down and examined the petals. "Hey, these aren’t real petals, they’re…."
James’ yelling cut her short. He pointed up into one of the trees. Two figures were standing side by side, silhouetted by the shadows of the trees.
"Prepare for trouble, you have come to where our trap is set."
"Make it double, now you are caught in our net!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, a large net dropped down out of the sky and covered all of them. Laughter came from the two figures still hidden in shadow.
"To fight for all the things evil on earth."
"To show the lowliest what we are worth."
"To engage battles upon those who are little and weak."
"To conquer the missions that we may seek."
"Holly!
"Lily!
"Team Magma’s fighting forever more."
"So don’t beg for mercy- prepare for war!"
Holly and Lily leapt down from the tree, grinning. Ash shook his fist at them.
"It’s bad enough having you two escaping, but could you at least let us go?"
"Do you seriously think we’re just going to let you go after the pleas of a ten-year-old boy?" smirked Holly. "No, I didn’t think so."
"The lot of you are a disgrace," said Lily. She looked at each of them in turn, and her eyes rested on James. "You’re as bad as these twerps. So is your wretched girlfriend and your little posse."
"Shut up," said James through gritted teeth. "You weren’t thinking that yesterday, were you?"
"Yeah, Lily," said Jesse, "feeling upset that you got rejected?"
Lily blushed, but tried hard to disguise it.
"I can’t believe you fell for that loser, Lil," said Holly. "Come on. Time to take out the trash."
Holly pulled a small black box off the back of her stiletto. There was a small joystick in the center, with various buttons around the edges.
"You do the honors, Lily. I’m sure you’d particularly like to see Jamie die," smiled Holly, handing Lily the box.
"It would be my pleasure," grinned Lily. She pressed three of the buttons and fiddled with the joystick.
The net lifted itself slowly upwards.
"What the hell is this thing connected to?!" shouted Butch.
"Be quiet, Buffy. It’s connected to one of the Team Magma helicopters," said Holly.
"Team Magma?!" gasped Jesse, James, Meowth, Butch and Cassidy in unison.
"Yep," said Lily, pulling the joystick harder. "Do you really think we’d actually want to join Team Rocket?"
Holly and Lily laughed.
"Oh, come on, Team Magma could beat Team Rocket any day," sneered Holly. They began to walk away, laughing.
"You wouldn’t mind proving it in a real battle, then!" shouted Ash.
Lily paused, and turned around.
"Is that a challenge?" she inquired. She glanced at Holly. "We can’t let a good battle like this go, can we?"
"I don’t like to be a killjoy," said Holly. She turned to Ash. "Fine. Let’s battle. But to be on the safe side…"
She grabbed the box from Lily and hoisted up the net. Misty was in two minds whether she should leg it or not, but decided against it.
Holly came over to them and produced a pair of handcuffs from her pocket. She put them on Ash’s wrists, scoring a deep red scratch on the part where you can hear the pulse.
"Lily, please take care of the others, I just need to go and see the Boss for a moment. We cannot keep the Groudon project waiting for very long."
Holly grabbed hold on a branch on a willow tree, and swung herself upwards until she was at the very top. Then she pushed a button on the heel of her stiletto, and as if by magic, she was propelled into the air, remarkably fast, so within moments she was nothing but a mere speck in the sky.
"Don’t even think of leaving," said Lily, pulling yet more handcuffs out of her pockets and putting them on all of her victims. "If you even attempt to escape, you will be sorry."
"What are the handcuffs going to do?" asked James. Lily smirked.
"Try it yourself. Go on, run for it."
James gave her a puzzled glance, and started running in the opposite direction. He had only gone fifteen feet when Lily pushed another button on the black metal box. Sparks flew out of the handcuffs and James dropped to the floor. Two electrocutions within twenty-four hours weren’t good for him.
"James!" screamed Jesse, running over to him, but as soon as she tried to pick him up, the very same thing happened. Volts of electricity sparked around the handcuffs and she dropped to the floor, immobile.
"What did you do to them?!" yelled Cassidy.
Lily shook her head.
"Aren’t Team Rocket supposed to be intelligent? Oh, no, of course not, wrong manual."
Butch glared at Lily and aimed a punch for her face, but Lily easily blocked it. Everyone gasped (apart from Jesse and James, who were out cold on the ground).
"How did ya do that?!" shouted Meowth. "Butch is one of the best junior fighters in Team Rocket!"
Lily wagged her finger at him.
"He underestimated the power of Martial Arts, Meowth. And may I tell you, that just because I look weak doesn’t mean I actually am."
"Oh yeah?" screamed Cassidy. "Try this!"
She attempted to kick Lily, and if it had reached it’s destination it would have been agonizing, since she was wearing her heeled boots. But sadly, it never did. Lily grabbed hold of the shoe and twisted her leg, causing Cassidy to fall down. There was a nasty crunching sound as Cassidy’s leg broke. She yelped in pain.
"What did you do to her?!" said Butch furiously, kneeling down beside Cassidy. His eyes flashed as he saw how much damage Lily had caused Cassidy. "I’m going to murder you with my bare hands."
"Don’t, Butch!" shouted Brock. "You’ve seen what that girl can do, if you try anything else, you’ll be the one with a broken leg!"
Butch gritted his teeth, but nodded. He wasn’t used to giving in.
Lily smiled.
"Now you have all…calmed down, we shall wait for Holly to return, and then we can start our battle."
"Pika-pika! Pikachu pi! Chu!" squealed Pikachu, sparks glancing off his fur. Lily looked at it disdainfully.
"Um… what exactly is that yellow ball of fur meant to do?" she asked.
"That "yellow ball of fur" is my partner. And I wouldn’t get it insulted if I were you," said Ash. "Pikachu, Electric Shock!"
"Piiiiikaaa…chu!" screeched Pikachu, electricity building up on it’s fur and then heading straight for Lily. Lily didn’t react.
"Huh?" said Ash. "How come you weren’t effected by it?"
Lily held up her lily and pointed to the white petals.
"The material this is made out of conducts a force field around the person who is holding it. You may not of noticed, but can you see a very faint silvery haze around me?"
Ash looked properly. She was right, there was a sort of silvery misty around her, making her look slightly hazy.
"But that will be cheating when we do the battle!" said Brock. "Your Pokemon will be protected!"
"Oh dear, plan foiled," said Lily. "Fine, I’ll do a twerp and be good for once, and play the battle fair and square. Who will battle with you? You can’t take us both on."
"I will," said Cassidy. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Cass, you can’t, you’re hurt!" said Butch anxiously.
"It’s my leg that’s broken, not the Pokemon’s," said Cassidy grimly. She attempted to stand up, with Butch and Meowth supporting her.
"Thanks, Cassidy," said Ash awkwardly. This was certainly a day with a difference.
"Holly’s coming," said Meowth, pointing upwards.
Sure enough, the tiny speck of Holly was growing bigger and bigger all the time it approached the ground.
"She’s going to break her neck!" shouted Brock.
Ash, heroic by instinct, reached out and caught Holly before she hit the ground.
"What was that for?" asked Holly, dusting herself down.
"To stop ya becoming paralyzed permanently, that’s what!" said Meowth furiously.
Holly raised her eyebrows.
"You honestly think I would have hurt myself by that little drop?" she asked, tossing her hair. She gave a little laugh. "Doubt it."
"Come on, quit stalling and get battling!" said Ash.
Cassidy pulled a Pokeball out of her pocket.
"Since this is probably going to be a strong battle, I choose… Sableye!"
The Pokemon’s hazy shape began to grow in focus. The Sableye growled, it’s diamond-type eyes flashing.
"Pikachu, come on!" said Ash. Pikachu leapt in front of him, electricity flashing around its body.
"Interesting. Come on, Riolu!" shouted Lily, throwing her Pokeball. The fighting type Pokemon materialized, snarling.
"And I choose… Leafeon!"
Holly hurled her Pokeball into the air, and the Leafeon stepped in front of her, staring at Pikachu.
"I’ll be the judge," said Butch and Brock at the same time. They grinned at each other.
"This battle shall now commence between Ash and Cassidy, verses Holly and Lily!" called Brock.
"Ash is using Pikachu, Cassidy is using Sableye, Holly is using Leafeon and Lily is using Riolu!" shouted Butch.
"Let the battle… commence!" they shouted in unison.
"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" said Holly.
"Lea!"
The Leafeon tossed its head and shot a large leaf at Pikachu. It glanced off his coat, and Pikachu was barely effected.
"How did that happen?!" gasped Holly.
"Let’s just say, Pikachu trains. Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pi…." Pikachu’s tail lit up, "ka!"
Pikachu’s tail slammed into Leafeon, knocking it off its feet. It stood up slowly, making meowing-type noises.
"Riolu, Force Palm!" said Lily.
"Ri!"
Riolu began running at Sableye, fist held up. Sableye didn’t react.
"USE A MOVE!" yelled Butch.
"Sableye, block the punch!" said Cassidy
Sableye blocked the punch with his hand, and Riolu stood there, motionless, trying to register what had happened.
"Now, get its leg and twist just like Lily did!"
Sableye’s other hand grabbed Riolu’s leg and twisted it to a nearly 360 degree angle. There was a loud crunch as the bone snapped.
Lily looked furious.
"Why did you do that?!" she screeched.
"He underestimated the power of Martial Arts, Lily. You got a taste of your own medicine, which is only fair," grinned Cassidy, "Although being fair isn’t my strong point."
"Leafeon, use Solarbeam- on Cassidy!" shouted Holly.
"And Riolu, use Drain Punch, on Cassidy for what she did to you!" screamed Lily.
Riolu hopped up and balanced on one leg. Leafeon leapt beside it, snarling.
"NOW!" Holly and Lily shrieked in unison.
Riolu’s fist lit up. He drew it back and began hopping towards Cassidy. Leafeon built up it’s energy, and was just about to let it go-
"NO!" yelled Butch. He leapt in front of Cassidy, his arms spread wide. The punch hit him square in the chest, and the Solarbeam in his face. Butch fell to his knees, the energy completely drained out of him.
"Biff!" screamed Cassidy. She dropped to the ground and held his head.
"Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead," she whimpered.
Butch opened his eyes.
"It’s…Butch," he said weakly. Then he passed out.
Cassidy tried to stand up, but it was almost impossible for her to regain her strength, and even if her leg wasn’t broken her knees were so weak she wouldn’t have been to do it anyway.
"Cass, your too weak. We’ll have to forfeit," said Misty glumly.
"No!" said Cassidy, turning and staring at Misty, her bright purple eyes flashing. "They almost killed my Team Rocket partner and my best friend. I am not going to let them get away with that."
"Oh, how sweet!" said Lily mockingly. "Butch Cassidy, eh? Bet you have a lot of "cowboy" cunning, then? Oh no, of course not. If "Jesse James" haven’t, then you haven’t either."
"Shut up," said Cassidy dangerously, "You better keep that mouth of yours closed if you don’t want to be sent to an early grave."
"And what are you going to do?" asked Holly, hands on hips.
"This. Now, guys!" yelled Cassidy.
Jesse and James appeared from behind the trees, gagged Holly and Lily and put their handcuffs on them.
"Quick!" shouted Ash.
Misty grabbed the net that they had been captured in not so long ago, and threw it over the struggling girls.
"Prepare for trouble, this is Team Magma’s defeat."
"Make it double, for once Team Rocket isn’t beat."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."