Chapter 41: Fossil
Somewhere...
"Damn those kids! They stole whatever was left!"
"Calm down, Jessie..."
This is Team Rocket—or more specifically, the Meowth of Team Rocket.
After all, Meowth is practically the mascot for James and Jessie...
They're hiding out in a room, maybe to avoid other Team Rocket members, considering they were planning to steal the credit for any success.
Or perhaps they were hiding from the players...
"Strange, the radar shows a lot of people gathering in one spot. Are they planning something?" Meowth, who was checking the radar, asked James.
They're not exactly the smartest, but when it comes to building gadgets, they're masters—if they have the money and the tools.
"How would I know, but it doesn't look good. Let's grab whatever's left and get out of here."
The three nodded in agreement and began searching the room.
They went from one room to another, only to find them all empty.
"What the heck?! There's really nothing left?!"
"How will we ever get praise from the Boss now..."
They all sighed, until Meowth accidentally bumped into something.
"Huh?"
There were two stones by his feet... and they looked a bit strange.
Could it be... NO WAY?!
"JAMES, JESSIE! LOOK AT THIS!!!"
The two turned to see Meowth holding two fossils.
"FOSSILS?!"
"WE'RE SO LUCKY!!"
The three of them jumped up in joy, with James and Jessie cradling the fossils like they were precious babies.
"Alright! No matter what happens, as long as we have something to give the Boss, we're good to go!"
"Let's get out of here!"
The three of them quickly exited the room, looking for a way to escape.
Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed, startling all three, causing them to cover their ears.
Everything around them shook, filling them with fear.
"RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!"
Running as fast as they could, the more they hurried, the more they lost their sense of direction.
"ARE WE EVEN GOING THE RIGHT WAY?!"
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!"
Suddenly, the ground beneath them cracked and started to collapse.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!"
They tried running in a different direction, but the ground there also started to give way.
"We're trapped!!"
"Do something, Meowth!"
"Why are you asking me??"
The ground continued to crumble, causing Jessie to lose her balance.
"Agh!!"
Seeing Jessie about to fall, James's brain kicked into overdrive.
He threw his fossil aside and grabbed Jessie's hand, causing his fossil to drop.
Meowth quickly rushed over to help, and the two of them strained to pull Jessie back up.
"UGHHHHH!!!"
Using all their strength, James and Meowth managed to pull Jessie to safety.
"Your fossil! You didn't have to throw it away!" Jessie exclaimed.
James scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
"But... your life is more important than a fossil, right? Besides, I didn't want to lose you..."
...
Did you just flirt with me?
Seeing Jessie's face and Meowth's mischievous grin, James realized he'd said too much.
"AGHH NO! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!"
"No need to explain, I get it," Meowth said, jumping up to pat James on the shoulder.
James and Jessie exchanged glances and then quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.
"...well, at least we still have one fossil left. That's more than enough."
"Yeah..."
Just as they were trying to find a way out, a net suddenly shot out and trapped them.
"WHAT?!"
"WHO DID THIS?!"
The three of them were caught in the net as a man approached them, laughing.
"Thought I wouldn't find anything, but the treasure just came right to me."
"Who are you?!"
"Doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that I appreciate your help."
He snatched the fossil from Jessie's hand.
"DAMN IT, GIVE THAT BACK!"
The man walked away, leaving the trio furious.
"We'll definitely get our revenge!!!"
Suddenly, a nearby machine that had been damaged earlier began to malfunction and exploded.
BOOM!
The three of them were sent flying into the sky, each with their own thoughts.
"Why does our luck suck so much..." James sighed, already resigned to his fate.
"I WILL DEFINITELY GET REVENGE!!!" Jessie screamed, enraged that their last fossil had been stolen.
"Next time we'll prepare a machine for self-defense," Meowth muttered, scratching his head.
"THIS IS SUCH A FRUSTRATING FEELING!!"
A flash of light lit up the sky as they soared away.
***
"Hmmm, oh here it is."
the man with purple hair muttered as he sifted through the rubble, smiling as he spotted a peculiar stone.
He picked it up, examining it closely to confirm what was inside.
"Mega Stone," he whispered to himself, grinning as he pocketed the find.
He then pulled out a modern-looking watch, pressing a button to initiate a call.
A holographic screen projected from the watch, revealing a shadowy figure sitting in a chair, gently stroking the head of a Persian.
"Boss, I've found it," the man, known as Petrel, reported.
"Good job, Petrel. What about the other tasks?" the figure asked, his voice cool and composed.
"All failed, sir," Petrel admitted.
"Hmm. While those tasks were mere distractions to conceal our true objective, it's disappointing they were defeated so easily. I wonder who could have been responsible?"
"I'm not certain, but there was one boy I distinctly remember. His appearance was more memorable than the others."
"Go on."
"The boy wore an outfit with red accents and had a Pikachu," Petrel described.
"Hmm... very well. You've done well, Petrel. You may disconnect."
"Understood, sir," Petrel replied before ending the call with a sigh of relief.
The reason why the Boss had assigned those operatives to steal fossils, capture Clefable, and obtain the Moon Stone was to create a smokescreen for their true mission.
After all, for the Boss, sacrificing a group of grunts for a Mega Stone was well worth it.
And if those grunts had somehow succeeded in their tasks, it wouldn't have mattered much—those items weren't of significant value to him anyway.
After all, a leader of Team Rocket who wasn't ruthless wouldn't have earned the title of the most dangerous criminal in both the Kanto and Johto regions.
Chapter 42: Officer Jenny
"Red, wake up!"
A voice echoed near his ear, prompting him to open his eyes. Before him stood Brock, Misty, Leaf, and Pikachu, all looking at him with concern.
"He's awake!"
"Thank goodness..."
Pika pika!
Pikachu immediately leaped onto Red's face, hugging him tightly, which startled him into standing up.
"Are you okay?"
As Red pulled Pikachu away from his face, Officer Jenny approached to inquire.
It seemed the explosion had caught the attention of the nearby officer.
"..."
"That's good. Also, thanks to you, we've managed to apprehend a large number of Team Rocket members here," Jenny smiled, expressing her gratitude.
Meanwhile, the other players were...
"Hey, wake up, wake up, wake up," Rey repeatedly slapped Lukas, who was unconscious.
"You fuck, if you don't wake up, I'm never buying you that Spiderman outfit you like!"
Hearing the word Spiderman, Lukas' eyes shot open, and he suddenly stood up, knocking heads with Rey.
"AGHH, YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU GET UP SO SUDDENLY?!"
"Ich habe gerade geträumt, dass meine Schwester mich in den Keller gebracht hat!"
"Speak English, man."
Lukas looked around and saw many police officers, most of them Jenny, along with other players.
Some had already stood up, holding their heads, while a few others were still out cold.
"What just happened?"
"Idiot, did you lose your memory or something?"
"No way, I remember fighting the fat guy, right?"
"And then?"
"Uhm... I watched a movie with him, a porn movie."
"You've got to be kidding me."
Rey sighed as Bob and Lily approached.
Lily looked overjoyed, seemingly having caught a Pokémon, while Bob was worse for wear, probably from swallowing too much water in the pond.
"Hey, look, the mission was a success, and we've got our rewards!"
"Too bad only the top three get anything."
"Are you kidding me? I got my arm broken by that rock Pokémon, and I get no reward?!"
"You're in the top three."
"Never mind, forget I said anything."
Lily was top 1 for rescuing the Clefable and Cleffa, and her reward was a bell.
Rey was top 2 for leading the players and received a map of the Kanto region.
Lukas was top 3, having punched a lot of people, and got three Poké Balls as his reward.
"Wait, why are my rewards so normal?" Lukas confused over the three red Poké Balls.
"You should feel lucky; at least you got something for free," Rey chuckled while examining the Kanto map.
The Kanto region wasn't too large, so the map was relatively small. Lily looked at the bell, not knowing its use, but it looked nice, perfect for decorating her Pokémon.
Cleffa would be the best fit for this bell!
Both Rey and Lily were pleased, though they were unaware that their rewards had been taken from Red.
But it couldn't be helped; rewards were necessary, or the players would certainly cause a riot...
"The Pokémon captured by Team Rocket were mostly wild, so we'll be releasing them back into the wild," Jenny announced to everyone.
"We value the freedom of Pokémon, so please do not catch them."
The players were disappointed, they wanted to capture those Pokémon, as some looked quite appealing.
"Cerulean City is nearby. Would you all like us to take you there?" Jenny offered.
After all, they had captured Team Rocket thanks to these kids, and besides, they were all young (only ten years old), so it was good to lend them a hand.
Oh, and there would be money, too—trainers without money will have a tough time on their journey.
No one objected, as everyone was exhausted.
"RED!"
A girl's voice called out, making Red turn his head. Hilda was hugging her mother, looking at Red.
"Thank you... will we meet again?"
Hearing this, Red smiled and waved at Hilda. Hilda, in turn, smiled back.
In three years, she would be eligible to become a trainer, and by then, Red would be 13 years old...
Not too late! I must be patient!
From that moment, young Hilda was determined to become a trainer as soon as possible.
"Red, why is it that every time I look away, there's a new girl liking you?" Leaf smiled at Red.
"...?"
After escorting all the Team Rocket members, Jenny called for a bus to take everyone away.
A few minutes later, the bus arrived.
"Wow, this bus looks even fancier than the ones in real life."
"I wonder what it's like inside?"
The players chatted among themselves, but Jenny's clapping quickly quieted them down.
"To thank you all, I'd like you to come to the nearest officer station, where I'll be giving you a monetary reward as a token of my appreciation!"
The players cheered at this, thinking this might be the reward for an emergency quest!
Initially, only a few players received rewards, causing envy and a sense of injustice among the others.
But not anymore! Money is the best thing!
Red silently thanked Officer Jenny, as he currently had nothing to offer the players himself.
Everyone grabbed their bags, suitcases, and backpacks, placing them under the bus.
"...?"
Red felt his backpack getting warm, which was odd since he had just fallen into a lake—it should have been cold!
He opened the backpack, only to find Charmander sleeping peacefully inside.
...
Huh? When did you get in here?
Others noticed as well, surprised at the sight.
Jenny approached and realized that this Pokémon was one of the wild ones from the cages they had unlocked.
When they had unlocked the cages, Charmander had run off.
Who would've thought it would end up in this boy's backpack?
"It seems that Pokémon likes you. You really haven't changed at all, Red," Leaf continued to smile at Red.
Why do you keep smiling at me?... It's just a Pokémon.
Pikachu glanced at Red with a very "friendly" look.
You too, Pikachu...
Red felt misunderstood.
Charmander opened its eyes, yawned, rubbed its eyes, and looked around.
When it saw Red, it joyfully roared and jumped up to hug his face.
???
First Pikachu, and now you're hugging my face too??
Everyone was happy to see how fond Charmander was of Red, except for Leaf and Pikachu.
"This Charmander really likes you. Why not catch it?" Brock suggested.
"…"
Red wanted to catch Charmander, not because it was rare or strong, but because it felt like fate...
Red threw a Poké Ball at Charmander, and it was more than willing to be caught.
As soon as the ball captured Charmander, it didn't even need to wiggle—the ball stayed still from the moment Charmander was caught.
Seeing this, Red was overjoyed and picked up the ball, striking a pose!
Alright, that was a bit embarrassing...
Lukas watched Red, then glanced at his Croconaw.
Gah?
"Wanna kiss?"
Gah??
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