Pokémon Ultra: Sparkling silver

I spent the night in New Bark Town, sleeping back at my mom’s house last night. When I woke up early this morning, my mom was in the kitchen with all my Pokémon. She had made pancakes for all of them, all of my teammates happily eating at the dinner table.

“Good morning, Ara! Hope you don’t mind that I made food for all your Pokémon too…” Mom greeted me. “Um… Is it safe for Pokémon to be eating pancakes…?”

“Thanks, mom! Yeah, don’t worry. It’s fine…”

It honestly did surprise me a bit to see my mom hanging out with all my Pokémon so casually, since I thought she was afraid of or disliked Pokémon… But hey, maybe she’s starting to like Pokémon now…? Either way, it makes me pretty happy to see. Everyone looks pretty happy eating these pancakes too… I think it’s about time I dig in as well!

I sat down at the dinner table between Ampharos and Eevee, Ampharos sliding a plate of pancakes over to me.

“Thanks, Ampharos! Oh man, these look good…”

“Ampha!” Ampharos nodded and smiled, as he grabbed the nearby bottle of syrup. I was expecting him to hand it over to me, but instead Ampharos started chugging the bottle down.

“Haha, you really like that syrup, don’t you? Just don’t give yourself a stomachache there, buddy!” I chuckled, looking over at the rest of my teammates. “Hey everyone, after we’re done eating, we’ll go and continue our journey… Then we can collect the last two badges together! You guys ready for our next two gym battles?”

All of my Pokémon all nodded, excitedly cheering… We’ll, everyone except for one of them. Slowking didn’t look that excited, only simply continuing to eat her breakfast.

“Uh, Slowking… Are you alright?” I asked. Slowking looked up at me, silently nodding with a blank expression.

“Slowking… Are you… Not interested in battles?” I asked. Slowking was still for a moment… Before nodding her head yes.

Wait a minute… So this whole time we’ve been traveling together… Slowking never cared about battling? Never been interested at all? Aw geez… Have I been making Slowking unhappy this entire time without realizing? If that’s really the case… Maybe I should leave Slowking with Professor Elm instead. But if I did that… Who would I replace her with?

…Hmmm…

…Urgh… What the…

Suddenly I could hear a loud static, crackling noise over the radio my mom was playing in the kitchen. I was covering my ears to try and block out the sound, until I heard the static finally clear out, hearing an unfamiliar man’s voice on the radio…

“Ahem… This is Team Rocket here, and we’re taking over the radio tower to give everyone in Johto a very special announcement!”

Team Rocket?! Oh no… Is this a part of their plans?!

“People of the Johto region, after we capture the legendary Pokémon of Johto… You’ll all be forced to surrender to us! You all might as well give up now, and don’t even bother trying to stop us unless you wanna get yourself seriously hurt in the process!! Hey Giovanni, if you can hear us… Come back to us! Please!!”

And with that, the message quickly ended. But then, I could hear some more static for a quick second, followed by the exact same message repeating itself again. 

“Oh no, this isn’t good… Guess we’ll have to save those gym battles for another day, everyone.”

I stood up out of my chair, returning everyone back to their Poke balls. I then ran upstairs and grabbed my bag, running back down and making my way towards the door.

“Ara, wait! You’re not… Thinking of going to fight those Team Rocket people… Are you?” Mom asked, a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah… I have to, mom. I can’t let Team Rocket take over this region.” I replied.

“But honey, I… I really don’t think this is a good idea.” Mom worriedly replied. “I mean, those Team Rocket, they’re dangerous crooks. Who knows what else they would try to get what they want… You should really let the adults handle this.”

“Mom, I’ve fought Team Rocket members before, so I know what I’m doing.” I replied. “And besides, even if they are dangerous, I’d rather help put a stop to them now, then wait for someone else to do it. I’ll be fine… Don’t worry.”

I gave mom a quick hug, walking out the door.

And before I head over to Goldenrod…

…I need to make one quick stop at the lab first.

Sometime later…

I had an idea that quickly popped up in my head after leaving mom’s place. Since Slowking isn’t interested in battles, I decided…

…I’m gonna switch her out for Gyarados. Slowking seems pretty happy to stay at the lab, but Gyarados? I was too worried that she’d fly back into a rampage again the second I left the lab. It seems like she’s only really comfortable in my presence, so it’d be better just to keep her with me. And besides, with all the pent up anger she still has… What better way to unleash that then in Pokémon battles? I’m sure it’ll help her out a lot! And besides, I’m switching out a water type Pokémon for another water type, so… It works out pretty well! I’m sure Gyarados will enjoy battling. Especially when she’ll soon be battling the people who are the reason she’s dealing with all this pain and anger in the first place…

And, speaking of Team Rocket… After traveling for many hours… I finally arrived back in Goldenrod City. And… Wow.

This place… It was crawling with Team Rocket members. Every corner, every building, had at least one grunt that was hanging around. In the streets, I could see some grunts that were even robbing some innocent people of their Pokémon and money as well. Geez… This is not good. How am I supposed to fight this many grunts?!

“Psst! Hey!”

I could suddenly hear a familiar voice whispering to me. I turned to the sound of the voice, only to see Kris waving to me from an alleyway.

“Kris! Hey…” I ran over to Kris, ducking down in the alleyway with her. “I’m so glad I ran into you here…”

“Heh, well, that’s a surprise.” Kris replied jokingly. “But hey, I’m glad to see you too. I’ve been hiding in this alleyway forever now. I can’t even leave because of these stupid Rocket grunts… These jerks are everywhere!”

“I know… What are we gonna do? I heard that radio message from earlier…” I sighed. “They said something about a legendary Pokémon, and I… I really need to stop these people, but I still have no idea what’s exactly going on here… I just wish I had some answers. Or at least, a way to drive them all out of here…”

“…Hmmm…” Kris was silent for a moment, until a smirk slowly formed on her face. “Actually, if you need an easy way to get into the radio tower… I think I have an idea.”

“Hm? What is it?” I asked.

“Follow me… I’ll show you.”

I followed Kris through the alleyway, until we arrived at one of the entrances to the city’s underground tunnel. Going into the tunnel, we ducked down behind this wall, Kris peeking out and pointing at something.

“Over there… Look.”

Kris was pointing to this one Team Rocket grunt, who had a table next to him. The table had stacks of Team Rocket uniforms folded and laid on top, with a sign next to it that read: ‘Looking for new Team Rocket recruits!’

“If we use those uniforms… We can get into the radio tower without any issue!“ Kris says.

“Oh, right… And they won’t suspect anything if they think we’re just new Team Rocket recruits! That’s a genius idea, Kris.” I replied.

“Heh, why thank you… I still can’t believe they’re even giving out uniforms so easily. A bunch of morons if you ask me, heheh…” Kris chuckled. “Alright, let’s do this. Just… Follow my lead.”

Kris then stepped out from behind the wall, a confident stride in her steps as I followed her up to the Rocket Grunt.

“Hey there! Mind if we join Team Rocket?” Kris asked. “The two of us, we’ve always, you know… Always looked up to you people! Always wanted a taste for chaos too, heheh…”

“Woah, really…? Yeah, of course! Uh, here…” The grunt excitedly picked out a couple of uniforms from the table, handing them to the two of us. “There’s a changing room right over there!” He states, pointing to a couple of doors behind him.

“Ok… Thanks!”

Me and Kris each walked into one of the changing rooms, changing into the uniforms pretty quickly. I’ll admit, it did feel weird to be wearing the outfits of my biggest enemies, but hey… Atleast the uniforms are pretty comfy!

After we finished changing, me and Kris both simultaneously walked out of each room, the grunt smiling at us and giving us a big thumbs up.

“Nice… You two both look like official Team Rocket members now!” The grunt says.

“Heck yeah we do! Alright Ara, let’s go commit some crimes!!” Kris says, with an overly exaggerated evil laugh, as we both walk away.

“Alright, so… What do we do now?” I asked. “Maybe we should sneak into the radio tower… I actually just remembered something from the Team rocket hideout I was in yesterday… I found some notes that stated that they have a kidnapped child… You think that child could be in the radio tower?” I asked.

“A child…? Uh, maybe… Actually, I had another idea in mind.” Kris says, looking behind herself. “I seen a bunch of Rocket grunts who are always coming in and out of this door in the tunnel. I feel like they have something important behind that door, and I wanna find out whatever it is…”

“Really? Should we look there instead then?“ I asked.

“Hmmm… I’m not sure, cause on the other hand, I’m sure there’s something important going on in the radio tower as well. There had to have been some reason they took that place over… Argh, I don’t know where to look first!”

“Maybe we should split up then?” I suggest. “You look in room past the door, and I’ll search the radio tower.”

“Actually… Yeah, that sounds good.” Kris says, nodding in agreement.

“Ok, good… If we find anything or need any backup, let’s call each other on our Pokegears…” I state. “Alright?”

“Alright, got it. I’ll make sure things go fast and smooth on my end… Good luck.” 

Kris quickly walked off in one direction. I walked off the other way, leaving the underground tunnel. And immediately upon leaving the tunnel, I could see this one Rocket Grunt, who was trying to steal a Rattata from this little girl. The Rattata was protectively standing in front of the little girl, growling at the grunt furiously.

“Stupid little brat… Give me your Pokémon already!! I’ve had enough of this…” The grunt angrily growled, looking around as he quickly noticed me. “Hey, you! Come help me out over here!!”

Aw geez… I really don’t wanna do this, but if I don’t… My cover will be blown right away.

So, I begrudgingly walked over to the two, the little girl looking even more terrified.

“Uh, hey, you… Just, you know…” I awkwardly stammered at the little girl, struggling to find the right words. “Give up your Rattata already… Unless you want things to get… Worse?”

…Ugh, I’m horrible at this. I don’t know how some people can act like this regularly…

“No, p-please! My Rattata is my best friend… I don’t want you to take him!” The little girl whimpered.

“Ok, well, um…” I sighed, pulling out one of my Poke balls. “If you don’t, then… I’ll have to resort to… This.”

I sent Gyarados out of her Poke ball, who glared menacingly down at both the grunt and the little girl. Both of them gasped in shock at Gyarados, the little girl squealing with absolute fear.

“Eeep! No please, don’t hurt me! Ok ok, you can have Rattata…”

The Rattata stared sadly at the little girl, who returned it back to its Poke ball, the girl tossing it’s Poke ball to me. 

“Whoa! Kid, where the heck did you find such a powerful looking Gyarados?!” The grunt asked.

“It’s a long story…” I grumbled, returning Gyarados back to her hall.

“Oh man… Your Gyarados is way cooler than any of my Pokémon! Good job, kid… You didn’t even have to beat up that brat to get her Pokémon! I wish I had your skills…”

I looked over at the little girl, who was now curled up in a ball on the ground, also crying.

“Hey, what time is it…?” The grunt asked, looking at his watch as he gasped. “Oh man… The meeting in the radio tower is in a few minutes! Come on kid, let’s hurry… Last one there will be the one getting in trouble!”

And with that, the Rocket Grunt quickly ran off. I looked over at the crying little girl, setting Rattata’s Poke ball on the ground in front of her.

“Here, you can have Rattata back. I’m just pretending to be a Rocket grunt…” I say, the little girl looking up at me with a surprised look. “But let’s keep that between us, ok?”

The little girl wiped some of her tears away, grabbing Rattata’s Poke ball.

“Oh… Ok! Thank you…” The little girl weakly smiled, standing up as she quickly ran off.

Alright, now… Let’s see what’s going on in that radio tower.

Meanwhile…

Kris’s POV…

It ended up being a lot easier than I expected to sneak into the door. Past the door, it looked like a storage place of some sorts, with a bunch of other Rocket Grunts that were loading these boxes into the room. At the end of the room though, I could see this one door that was locked, with a Rocket Grunt guarding it. There’s gotta be something good in there that they’re protecting… And I’m about to find out.

“…Hey!” I greeted the grunt that was watching the door, keeping a confident stance. “I need to, you know… Inspect this room for a quick moment! The, uh… Commander told me to do so.”

“The… Commander?” The grunt cocked his head at me with a confused look, looking back towards the door for a moment. “We already moved the kid out of here a few minutes ago…”

…The kid?! Oh crap… Is he talking about the kid that Ara mentioned? Now I’m too late… Ugh, dangit!

“The kid’s Poke ball’s are still in the room, though… Is that what you needed to inspect?” The grunt asked.

“Huh…? Oh, um… Yes! The Poke balls… I need to, um… Inspect them! I was asked to transport them out of the room as well.” I replied.

“We’ll… Alright then.” The Rocket Grunt shrugged, pulling some keys out of his pocket…

“Hey!!” And suddenly, I could hear a familiar voice shouting behind me, causing the Rocket grunt to drop his keys on the floor from shock. I turned around, seeing Ara’s friend Lyra running up to us with an annoyed look. Oh, great… Why is she here? And how’d she even get in here in the first place?!

“Kris, what the heck are you doing? You’re a part of Team Rocket now?!” Lyra snapped at me.

“I’m in the middle of something important, Lyra. Buzz off!” I quickly hissed at her in response.

“Who is this young girl?” The grunt asked, pointing to Lyra.

“Oh, nobody important… Just unlock the door already!” I snapped, about to walk to the door…

“Hey! Stop!” But I could feel Lyra suddenly grab onto the back of my shirt, roughly pulling me closer to her.

“Urgh… Let… Go!” I grumbled, trying my best to pull away from her. But she kept yanking harder and harder… Until…

RRRRIP!!

The shirt suddenly ripped off, revealing my normal clothes that I was wearing underneath.

“Ugh, are you KIDDING ME?! Thanks a lot Lyra, you ruined my plans!!” I angrily snapped at her.

“Wait… You’re NOT a member of Team Rocket?!” The grunt gasped, the commotion now gaining the attention of a few other grunts as well.

“Urgh… No, I’m not! And I’ve had enough of pretending to be on the same team as you losers!” I angrily snapped at him. “So unlock that door already!!”

“Pfft! Or what…? You’re outnumbered here, kids…” The grunt replied, a smirk on his face as a bunch of other grunts circled around me and Lyra.

“Ugh… We’ve got no choice here, Kris. We’re gonna have to fight our way out of this…” Lyra says.

“No duh… It’s the least you owe me now.” I huffed in response.

Ugh… I just hope Ara is having better luck than I am right now.

Meanwhile…

Ara’s POV…

I was waiting in this big room with a ton of other Team Rocket grunts, everyone waiting around for the meeting to start. All of the grunts were talking to each other, everyone suddenly going silent when someone walked into the room… It was that girl Ashley that I remember fighting back in the hideout, who was also with another man that I didn’t recognize. Hopefully she doesn’t see me in this crowd…

“Attention, everyone!” Ashley announces. “We’ve finally got the next steps of our plan complete… First thing next week, we’ll be finally marching over to Ecruteak City… And summoning the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh!! Soon, Johto will finally be ours… And Giovanni will finally come home to us!!”

The crowd then erupted into an explosion of cheers. Wait a minute… Did she say Ho-Oh?! I’ve heard about Ho-Oh before, but… I thought that Ho-Oh could only be summoned by a specific hero? That’s what I heard, at least…

“With this child under our control… Ho-Oh will have no choice but to come to us!” Ashley says. Peeking over the crowd, I could then see that the man had an older kid next to him, and…

…My heart stopped when I saw who it was.

…Ethan… My brother. My long lost brother that I’ve been waiting for, for years now to find again. My brother… That I’ve missed so much. His arms, they were bound together with rope, also having duct tape put over his mouth as well, and I could see the pure sadness in his eyes as well, being held captive by these evil crooks.

I… I can’t believe this is happening… My own brother… Captured by Team Rocket. How… How could this happen? How long have they had him for?! And what does he have to do with Ho-Oh?!

“This child here, with the connection to Ho-Oh… As long as we have this child, we’ll be unstoppable!”

“WOO!! YEAH!!”

“NOW BACK TO WORK EVERYONE!!” Ashley shouted. All of the grunts dispersed, walking off into different directions. I was looking through the crowd, trying to hide amongst everyone as I watched Ashley and the man take Ethan into another room. I waited, hiding behind the other grunts until Ashley and the man left the room. I then took the chance, sneaking past them and walking into the room. I could see Ethan’s eyes immediately widen as he saw me.

“Ethan! It’s so good to see you again… Uh, here…” I gently took the tape of his mouth, kneeling down and trying to untie the ropes.

“Ara, what are you doing here?!” Ethan asked.

“I came here to help you out! I just… Urgh, stupid ropes…”

“Ara look, I’m glad you wanna help me out here, but these people… They’re seriously dangerous!” Ethan says. “Trust me, you don’t wanna get involved in all this…”

“It doesn’t matter how dangerous they are! I can’t… I can’t just leave you here!” I replied. “Not… After everything…”

“Ara…”

“No! It doesn’t matter, just let me help you out… Please!“ I pleaded.

“No, Ara… Behind you!”

“…I knew it.” I could suddenly hear Ashley’s voice behind me. I quickly stood up and turned around, seeing Ashley holding up a Poke ball, the man from earlier also standing next to her as well.

“You think I didn’t see you in that crowd, kid? I’m not gonna let you ruin any more of our plans.” Ashley hissed, looking back and forth between me and Ethan as she raised an eyebrow. “Heh, it’s funny. I remember when I first saw you, I thought that you and Ethan here looked similar. A bit… Too similar. I had a feeling you’d show up here, and… Turns out I was right.”

“I…” I gulped nervously. “Just… Just let my brother go! Please!!”

“Pfft… You think your silly little pleas will help you out? I’m not playing around anymore, kid…”

“What, are you gonna battle me again? Cause me and Lance beat you last time.” I said.

“Heh… Not this time.”

Ashley motioned to the man behind her. The man then pulled out a gun, handing it to Ashley, who promptly pointed it at my head.

“If you don’t leave right this second… You won’t be around to mess up any of our plans anymore… Permanently.” Ashley hissed. “Got it?”

“I…”

I could feel my heart stop for a moment from the fear… And I nodded, finally giving in to her threats.

“Ok… I… I’ll leave.” I mumbled.

“…You’re all truly evil people.” Ethan hissed angrily. “You know that?”

“Yeah yeah, tell me something I don’t know.” Ashley replied, rolling her eyes in response as she motioned towards the door. “Now hurry up and leave.”

“Ok… I’m sorry, Ethan.”

I begrudgingly left the building, being escorted out of there by Ashley.

This… This is the worst. I was so close to finally saving my brother, and… And now he’s gone. Only left to be a pawn in the game that Team Rocket was now playing. And I… I couldn’t do a thing about it.

I wasn’t strong enough to save him.

“Ara! Hey!!” I could hear Lyra’s voice calling to me. I turned around, seeing her and Kris running up to me.

“Kris…? What happened to your uniform?” I asked.

“A certain somebody over here had to rip it off and ruin my plans…” Kris huffed, giving a side eyed glare to Lyra.

“We ended up losing to all these Team Rocket grunts. They were too much for us…” Lyra sighed. “Ara… Are you alright?”

“No, I… I saw Ethan in there. In the radio tower.” I replied, earning a gasp from the two girls.

“Wha… You mean your brother?” Kris asked.

“Yes… I… I couldn’t save him. And now he’s gone.” I whimpered, feeling tears start to well up in my eyes.

“Hey…”

I could then hear another familiar voice behind me. I turned around, seeing one if those kimono girls approaching us.

“Hey… What is it?” I asked.

“I… I think I know a way we can save your brother.”