Come to me, plotbunnies! *Running after them with a giant fishnet* I’ll catch one of you eventually!
Lance: *sweatdrops*

Ash: Does that honestly prove to work?

Pika-chan: I’m not sure, but if she catches fish, can I eat them?

Kairo: *laughs* Lollipops are better.

Pika-chan: *takes a lollipop* Point taken.

 

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, Satoshi Tajiri, and Shogakukan Comics. You should be glad that all I own is this non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction that I write myself. I own my work under international copyright laws, reproducing them without proper channels of communication is plagiarism.

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 15

 

            How hard was it to find a Shiny Squirtle in a dark, gloomy tower?

            Answer: Quite difficult…

            Even if it did stand out, being swamped by Gastly every six or seven inches was getting annoying. On the plus side, Kadabra was getting quite a lot of experience. Still, it took valuable time.

            “Hyper Beam won’t work, pity.” Lance remarked, sotto voce. “Well then…”

            Two angry dragonairs calling up a storm indoors would work, for example? It turned out to be very effective!

            They walked on.

            The first floor was passed, the second as well…

            Ash wondered why there was so many Channellers passed out all over the floor. It did not bode well…

            Did the vengeful ghosts really exist?

 

            “Hey! What are you two punks doing here? Beat it!”

            Ash jumped, seeing a scruffy man in a black Team Rocket uniform accompanied by two Cubones.

            “This is off-limits!”

            “You are still as dense as ever, Bertram.” Lance smirked as he flipped his hair.

            “What? That’s it! Cubones, attack!”

            Lance calmly disabled them both in mere seconds with some help from Gyarados. “Baka~!”

            “We are part of team rocket.” Ash explained.

            “What?”

            “And he isn’t.” Lance said. “Father laid him off two months ago. Now, he’s going around giving us a bad name. The ‘R’ is the wrong color.”

            “Oh!”

            “Yes.” Lance smiled. “So, Bertram, it’s fancy meeting you here.”

            “Who are you?”

            “You don’t remember? I’m wounded.” Lance said mock-dramatically. “Why, I defeated your partner Tamara twice.”

            “You!”

 

            “Yes.” Lance smirked. “And since you defected, I have no qualms. Father won’t mind. Ash, don’t look.”

            Ash obediently closed his eyes and covered his ears.

            There was no noise, except a muffled thump. No death-shriek, nothing.

            “Done.”

            “Wow…”

            “Shh.” Lance said, as a noise was heard upstairs. < There may be others. >

            They ducked behind a large tombstone.

 

            Two girls in shiny white jumpsuits came down.

            “Bertram? Where are you?”

            “Yeah! It’s scary in here! You said you’d protect us!”

            “…”

            Lance shook his head. < Not yet. >

            “Come on, Bertram, we promised to help you lure Team Rocket here if you would protect us!”

            So that’s it, Lance thought. In that case…

            < Attack. >

            Ash grinned. Plusle zapped both the annoying scantily clad girls, and they were tied up and carted back to HQ before an hour was up.

            “It was just a trick?”

            ‘Hai, father.”

            “Pity…” Giovanni sighed. “Oh well…”

            “Yes, father. I doubt there really was a Shiny Squirtle.”

            “I checked, but there weren’t anything but ghost-type pokemon in the tower, Sir.” Ash said respectfully.

            Giovanni handed them another folder. “Well, hopefully this one will be more successful…”

            “Hai.”

            They left the office quickly and on silent walkways.

 

            “Is he angry with us?”

            “No, I don’t think so, just disappointed. Shiny pokemon are rare and hard to find…”

            Ash nodded.

            “It must have been a blow to realize they had been chasing a lie. Team rocket doesn’t like wasting time…”

            “I see.”

            Lance nodded. “That’s just the way things are.”

            “It seems so complicated.”

            “Well, in a way Team Rocket is just like a business, right? So…”

            “I see.”

            No, he didn’t see everything, but he could see the dedication. He wanted to be that way too…

            Follow me to hell then.

            But I’ll never look back…

 

            “So, what’s our new mission?”

            “I vote we eat lunch here first. At least it’s free, right?”

            “Good idea!” Ash cheered. “Maybe they’ll have BLTs today!”

            “Maybe.”

            The two slowly walked down to the dining hall quietly together. As it were, they had fresh pizzas coming out of the oven, so Ash opted for those instead. Stuffed and ready for their new task, they left HQ around 1:30 in the afternoon.

            “And?”

            “Hold on.” Lance said, “I’m still trying to pick out the true meaning in all these unnecessary words.”

            Ash tried to wait patiently.

            “Well… it looks like we’re going to Diglett’s tunnel, along with a team of scientists…”

            “Hm?”

            “They’re digging for fossils and need protection.”

            “Not another Cave!”

            “I’m afraid so…”

            Ash sighed. * Then I hope it’s quickly over… *

 

End Chapter

Completed 6/25/04