Chapter 36: Little girl
"Is this the way out?" Leaf asked Brock.
"Why are you asking me? Didn't that guy already tell us?"
"I know, but... something feels off," Leaf scratched her head.
The group started descending the wooden stairs, but something was wrong.
Why were there so many people wearing outfits with a big R on them? They looked strange...
Wait a minute...
"HOW DID YOU KIDS GET HERE? WE FAKED THE MAP!"
"WHO CARES? CATCH THEM ALL! WE CAN'T LET ANYONE KNOW OUR PLAN!"
A bunch of Team Rocket members threw Poké Balls, summoning Ekans, Koffing, and Zubat.
"DAMN IT! That guy tricked us!"
"Next time, don't trust strangers!!"
Brock immediately ordered Crobat to attack.
"CROBAT, USE AIR CUTTER!"
Crobat flapped its four wings powerfully, generating such a strong gust of wind that it turned into a sharp blade slicing through the enemies.
Many of Team Rocket's Pokémon were hit, and because Crobat's level was so high, many of them fainted from the immense damage.
"Damn it! That kid is too strong!"
"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Suddenly, a fat man walked up with a smug look on his face.
"C-CAPTAIN!"
This was the captain, the one who temporarily leads when there's no Admin around.
Because he's second only to the Admin, he's considered quite strong.
"You're all pathetic. You can't even beat some kids?"
"B-But that's a Crobat, the final evolution of Zubat, so we can't underestimate that kid!"
"So what? Remember, every Pokémon has a weakness," the fat man explained while summoning Graveler.
"And you should know that we have a super powerful weapon here!" The fat man smiled, pulling out a syringe.
He injected it into Graveler (I'm skeptical about whether that needle could even pierce its rocky skin).
Graveler's body began to change; instead of the usual evolution light, it started to transform right there.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Misty exclaimed in shock as she saw Graveler turning into Golem.
"Congratulations! You've just witnessed the great advancement of science!" The fat man laughed triumphantly.
Brock wasn't happy at all witnessing this, especially as a Rock-type Gym Leader.
"CROBAT! CROSS POISON ON HIM!"
Crobat flew towards the large man, its four wings glowing purple.
However, before it could strike, Golem intercepted.
"Golem! Rock Blast!"
Golem fired a barrage of rocks at Crobat, but it managed to dodge them.
"Crobat, Absorb!"
Crobat shot out a small energy beam at Golem, followed by many small energy particles flying back to Crobat for it to absorb.
Because Golem is both Rock and Ground type, the damage was significant.
"Tch, this battle is dragging on unnecessarily! You lot, do something!" The fat man yelled at the other members, who quickly obeyed.
They pulled out syringes identical to the one the fat man used and injected them into Koffing.
Those Pokémon began to evolve into Weezing.
The situation was dire, and Leaf, Misty, and Red had to bring out their own Pokémon to fight.
But then, something they didn't expect happened.
"Weezing! Self-destruct!!!"
The strongest Normal-type move, and also a devastating self-sacrificial move.
Three Weezing floated up, glowing brightly before exploding with such force that everything around them shook violently.
Leaf, Misty, and Red's Pokémon were all hit and immediately fainted!
Crobat, being a bit farther from the explosion, only took minor damage, but it was enough to make Crobat dizzy.
"NOW, ROCK BLAST!!"
Golem fired rocks at Crobat, causing continuous damage.
Crobat fainted!
Brock was about to recall his Pokémon and send out another one, but suddenly, Team Rocket members rushed forward and held the group down.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Catching you was too easy. Just a small sacrifice, and it's all done!"
"You're all cowards!" Misty said as she was forced to the ground.
"In our organization, cowardice and intelligence aren't that far apart!" The fat man approached, grinning victoriously.
"Besides... you two are quite beautiful, perfect for me." (Eww)
The fat man's face started to take on a perverted expression as he looked at Leaf and Misty.
Both girls felt a chill run down their spines, utterly disgusted by this creep.
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DISGUSTING PEDOPHILE! STAY AWAY!!"
"Keep talking all you want. You, take those two boys to the cells, and these two girls to my room!"
The Team Rocket members obeyed, confiscating all their Pokémon and belongings before leading them away.
Of course, some of the members clearly disliked this fat man.
Even though they had no morals themselves, the idea of messing with a children was beyond repulsive.
When they returned to base, they would definitely report this incident to their Boss.
***
Red and Brock were thrown into a cell, with Brock fuming with anger. It was bad enough that the two girls had been captured and taken to that creep's room.
Disgusting!
Yet, despite the situation, Red's face remained calm. Too calm. It was as if he was waiting for something...
After some time, more precisely a few minutes, two members of Team Rocket arrived, leading a little girl whose eyes were swollen from crying.
They opened the cell door and threw the girl inside with Red and Brock.
"YOU EVEN CAPTURE CHILDREN?!" Brock exclaimed, shocked, yelling at the two grunts.
"We have to follow orders, no matter how disgusting that fat pig is."
"And this little girl should consider herself lucky. Even though she was caught by that fat pig, only she was spared. Unfortunately, her mother wasn't."
"Well, enjoy your time together."
The two members left, leaving Brock, Red, and the crying girl alone.
Seeing the girl sobbing uncontrollably triggered Brock's protective instincts (his "big brother" instinct, or perhaps his "motherly" instinct).
"Hey, little one, calm down, everything will be okay."
The girl continued crying.
"Hey, please don't cry."
She cried even louder.
"Little girl—"
Her cries echoed throughout the entire cave.
"…"
Brock was at a loss, unsure how to get the girl to stop crying...
Red observed her, thinking for a moment before focusing on one of his skills: Bond.
Although this skill allowed a trainer to form a strong bond with Pokémon, could it work on people too? He wasn't sure, but he had to try.
Because the girl's crying was distracting him!
Red closed his eyes, and a glowing thread began to extend from his mind.
The thread reached the girl, connecting with her own small thread.
Their consciousnesses linked!
Alright, let's do this!
'Are you okay?'
The girl, who was crying, suddenly heard a warm voice inside her mind, making her stop immediately.
She looked around, then at Red.
She felt that the voice had come from this cold-looking boy. His voice was so different from how he appeared.
'Would you mind telling me why you're here?'
That voice... it was so comforting.
'I-I don't know. My mom and I were in a taxi when these bad men with the letter R on their clothes appeared, and that fat man over there ordered them to capture us.'
So different from my own voice...
'Then they separated me from my mom. The fat man's smile was so scary, I—'
'Calm down.'
This time, the voice cut through her thoughts, making her focus on the boy in front of her.
'Everything will be okay, I promise.'
It was hard to understand why, but she found herself easily trusting him, even though her mother had always told her not to trust strangers.
'Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Red. What's yours?'
Red… What a strange name...
'Hilda.'
***
"Hey, are you ready?" Rey asked Lukas, who was holding a bunch of wooden crates.
"Completely ready!"
"Why don't we call Officer Jenny? They're much stronger than we are, after all," Lily asked, watching the other players prepare, turning to Rey.
"Dummy, if we let the NPCs handle it, we won't get the rewards," Lukas said to Lily.
"I'm gonna kick your nut if you say something rude again."
"Sorry."
"If they handle it, they'll definitely succeed, but then they'll also protect the Clefairy," Rey explained, raising his hand.
"So?"
"So, it means you'll never get the chance to catch that Pokémon because it'll be protected by the League."
"…That makes sense."
"When will we do this?" Oceanlover asked, approaching with an excited look on his face.
"Soon, just waiting for Bob to arrive."
"After all, he's bringing something really cool to help with this mission…"
Soon after, Bob arrived, carrying a huge bag on his back.
"What's in the bag?" Zero2hero asked Bob.
Bob, Rey, and Lukas smiled.
"Guns."
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