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The Rise of Team Neos: Chapter 39: Liberation

by Psycho Monkey

Psycho Monkey The Sevii Squad continues to seek out Team Triad's Sevii Island base. Will they be successful or will it turn into a wild goose chase?
Chapter 39: Liberation

Today Raiden and I were doing the grocery shopping for our squad. Since twenty-five people were a lot to feed, every squad was responsible for their own food shopping. We were in Five Island on Chrono Island, which being a small town, had an outdoor market where everything was fresh. The delicious scents of all the foods made me glad Raiden was with me, because I’d probably start buying everything. While we shopped, I got the ballsy idea to start asking people about Team Rocket. We weren’t going to get anywhere looking for leads from the shadows. The problem was that everyone I talked to got really uncomfortable about the subject and claimed they knew nothing. It was very suspicious.

“If you are done harassing the locals, we still have to pick up fish.” Raiden said as we approached the stand.

“I know, I know.” I sighed.

I’m sure we’ll have better luck later.” Axel assured.

“Excuse me. How much is your fish?” Raiden asked the fish vender.

“2000 credits a piece. Limit one per customer.” replied the vender.

“Why so expensive? And why the restriction?” I asked.

“If you don’t like it, shop somewhere else! But you won’t find any better deals because fish stocks ‘round these parts are all but depleted. We gotta make a living somehow.” the vender said.

“I understand. In that case I will buy one fish if you lower the price to 1500 credits.” my master haggled.

“1800, and not a credit less.” negotiated the vender. With that the deal was struck. As we were walking away from the stand, a young couple approached us. Not the vender, but us specifically. Both of them looked very nervous, like a guilty conscience about to confess their sins.

“Um sorry to bother you, but… are you the ones asking about Team Rocket?” asked the male. He was kind of short and skinny with messy dirty blonde hair.

Well would ya look at that! Your plan worked!” teased Axel. I gave him a playful nudge.

“We are! Do you have information for us?” I asked excitedly.

“But first, who are you two?” questioned Raiden distrustfully. The female, who had long red hair, glasses, and was rather well endowed, lowered her head and started shaking. The male put his arm around her for comfort.

“I am John Michaels and this is my fiancé Clara.” introduced John.

“Could we please go somewhere more private?” requested Clara. “The information we have is a bit sensitive and I don’t want the wrong people to overhear us.”

“In that case I hope you do not mind if I make a phone call first. For all we know, you could be leading us into a trap.” Raiden said matter-of-factly as he pulled out his cellphone.

“Skylar, this is Raiden. Brian and I have found a possible lead on Team Triad. …That is correct. In the event that I do not call back in one hour, call me. If I do not answer, then assume that the two of us were captured or killed and launch a full sweep of this island. …I am not asking you to turn the island into a wasteland! …Do not let Feng turn this island into a wasteland! …*sigh* Ok, bye.” Raiden closed his phone and turned his attention back to the couple.

“Going a bit overboard there Master Raiden?” I asked snarkily. He gave me a sideways glance but didn’t entertain my comment with a response.

“Alright, lead the way.” he offered.

The couple took us to a small house on the edge of town that I assume was theirs. After inviting us inside, Clara began giving us the details.

“Ok.” she started still acting nervous and fidgety. “I know where Team Rocket’s Sevii Island base is.” she spat out. Did she really just say that? I leaned forward in my seat with anticipation ready to hear more.

Sweet!” Axel cheered eagerly rubbing his hands together.

“Ou-- Their base is in the Five Isle Meadow, about a mile south from here.” continued Clara. Her correction did not go unnoticed by either me or Raiden.

“How do you know where their base is exactly?” Raiden questioned. Clara got anxious again.

“You don’t have to answer.” John assured.

“Actually she does. We are members of Team Neos and she started to say ‘Our base’ just now.” Raiden insisted.

“That she did.” I affirmed.

“It’s ok John.” she reassured her fiancé. “I am an ex-member of Team Rocket.”

“She said ex-member! That means you don’t have to kill her!” John said in a panic jumping between us and her with his arms spread out.

Hey Brian? Is an ex-member still a criminal?” asked Axel.

“It depends on her crimes.” I said staring at her with dragon eyes. Raiden put his hand on my shoulder.

“Tell us your story then. Was Team Neos the reason you abandon Team Rocket?” asked my master.

“Actually…” she paused and put her hand on her stomach. “…this is.” I reverted back to Human-Forme when I realized what she was implying. She was pregnant!

“I was born dirt poor so I joined Team Rocket to make money. All I ever did was steal material things. Never Pokémon, unless they were stray, and I’ve never killed anyone in my life!” she explained. John held her hand in his.

“I never cared that Clara was a Rocket because for her it was just a job and she never did anything bad.” he admitted.

“When John and I hit it off, I figured things could stay as they were. But then I got pregnant. I didn’t want our child involved in life of crime like its mother. And of course with Team Neos indiscriminately killing Rockets left and right, I didn’t want an innocent life taken for my mistakes.” Clara continued.

“I already told you that we are with Team Neos, why did you tell us all of this?” inquired Raiden. I was also curious as to why they didn’t stay quiet and just ignore us like everyone else in town.

“Ever since you guys beat Team Magma and forced the Rocket’s team up with Aqua and Galactic, things have gotten worse around here.” John informed. “Before, Team Rocket simply bullied the townspeople, but now they’re holding Five Island hostage with threat of annihilation! Everyone is too scared to even talk about them out of fear for what the Rockets will do! We agreed it was better if you were to chase them out rather than live in fear.”

“Alright then! We’ll just grab our teammates and destroy them all!” I guaranteed gleefully.

“No! Please don’t kill anyone there!” begged Clara. “Defeat them and capture them for the police to deal with, but don’t kill them. Some of them are still my friends.”

“You think you can have it both ways?” I questioned maliciously.

“Hang on. I think it is time we brought in the others.” Raiden said pulling out his phone again. He called Skylar, reassured her we were alive, gave her the address of the house, and filled her in on the main details.

“Bring everyone.” was the last thing he said before hanging up. “I will discuss your proposal with my cohorts, but know that I have already made my decision.” Raiden told the couple.

“Which is?” inquired John.

“It can wait.” he replied.
---------------

When the other 23 arrived, Raiden went outside to talk to Skylar and Feng while I was left inside to make sure the couple didn’t try anything sneaky. That is until Zack came in with my uniform. I then went to the bathroom to change while he watched them.

“We have made our decision.” Raiden said reentering the house in his uniform.

“So you’re going to let them live?” Clara asked hopefully.

“No.” said Raiden flatly. “Our orders from our Captains are to kill all members of Team Triad without mercy. They brought this upon themselves. While I understand your reasoning for coming to us, you betrayed your former teammates the moment you told us where to find them. I have no reason to honor the requests of traitors.” he said harshly. Clara threw her face into her palms and started sobbing.

“I knew we couldn’t trust you people!” John spat bitterly.

“Nor do we trust you.” retorted Raiden. “Only twelve of us will be going to the location you specified. The remaining thirteen will stay here to make sure you two do not try to escape or warn those you have betrayed. If you are telling the truth, then this is just an inconvenience. If you are sending us on a wild goose chase while Team Triad makes a bold move elsewhere or if this is an ambush, then you will be dealt with in a way that will not harm your child.”

“So which twelve get to raid the base?” I asked hopefully.

“The personal squads of the Seated Officers. I have five, Skylar has four, and Feng has three.” I couldn’t help but squee with delight. I get to be in the best group! Unless we get ambushed. But we’re badasses so fuck them.
------------

“Hey Raiden and Brian. Just curious, but where’s the food you guys bought?” asked Zack as we walked down a trail in Five Isle Meadow.

“We hijacked their fridge.” I said nonchalantly.

“Halt! Who goes there?” demanded a Rocket jumping out of a bush at us. After one look at us and realizing he was facing a dozen Neos officers, all the color drained from his face and all the piss drained from his bladder. “I’m sorry. I’m just going back in my bush now.” he said extremely apologetically.

“No you’re not.” Feng rejected bringing out Reaper and slashing the hapless grunt from his lower torso to just under his ribcage piercing his heart. The Rocket could barely scream as he collapsed because of the damage done to his diaphragm.

Well clearly we’re going in the right direction if we’re running into wannabe guards.” Axel said.

“What’s going on over here?” yelled one of two more Rockets running up the road.

“Shit! Team Neos!” screamed the other one.

“Don’t panic! We can’t let them get to the base!” declared the first one.

“You clowns know you’re out numbered right?” questioned one of Skylar’s subordinates sarcastically.

“Shut up!” the suicidal brave one snapped. Each Rocket threw down two Pokéballs releasing an Ekans, a Grimer, a Rattata, and a Gloom.

“These idiots are dead!” assured one of Feng’s minions throwing a Great Ball. In a flash of light three tall brown heads with round pink noses protruded from the ground. “Kill them with Fissure Dugtrio!” The Mole Pokémon dug its way underground, then in less than a second created a massive shockwave that split the ground apart in front of us.

“Run!” cried the Rockets in horror. Before they could even turn around, the ground beneath them collapsed sending them and their Pokémon falling into a bottomless abyss. The crevasse was then forcefully closed allowing us safe passage while crushing our enemies.

“Keep moving people! Their base can’t be too far away!” Feng ordered. Sure enough a few meters down the road and around the corner to our right was a building sitting on a hill. The building was colored a mix of dingy grey and rust making it look like an abandoned warehouse. I had to give the Rockets credit; they were smart in disguising their base. Too bad they weren’t as smart in other regards. Just as the Aquas from Icefall Cave said, there were only Rockets patrolling the perimeter.

“I count four of them.” said Skylar.

“In that case, any four of you go battle them while the rest of us break into the Warehouse.” Raiden instructed.

“On it Master!” I volunteered.

“Don’t let Arka’s boy take all the credit! Both of you go!” Feng ordered his henchmen.

“I’ll go too.” volunteered one of Skylar’s subordinates. The four of us ran up the hill catching the Rockets by surprise.

“What the fuck! Team Neos found our base? How?” shouted one Rocket.

“Does it matter? They’re already here, so let’s just hurry up and kill them already!” one of the others directed waving his arm at us to get the rest to follow.

“Come at me bro!” I challenged to the Rocket unfortunate enough to pick me as his opponent.

“I won’t be easy Neophyte! I am Executive Ariana Sham’s best agent!” my opponent boasted.

“Oh good! I was hoping for a challenging opponent.” I said sarcastically.

“You’ll pay for your arrogance with your life! Go Drowzee!” called the Rocket sending out a Pokémon with a brown fur covering its lower body and hooved feet. Above the waist it had yellow fur, three long fingers on each hand, and a small trunk for a nose.

“Then I’ll use Snorlax!” I called sending out the rotund bear. Even if Drowzee were to put him to sleep, Snorlax would still be able to fight.

“Oh yeah! Do you think I’m dumb enough to use Hypnosis on a Snorlax?”

“Yes.” I retorted honestly. The Rocket gave me an angry look.

“So smug! Let’s see how you like this! Use Poison Gas Drowzee!” he commanded. The Hypnosis Pokémon lifted its trunk and snorted a purple smoke at Snorlax. The only reaction my Pokémon had to the fumes was to sneeze. “What the hell?” the Rocket cried in shock.

“Immunity bitch!” I answered. “Now taste Drowzee with Lick!” I called. Snorlax lumbered over to his opponent then gave Drowzee a nice big slurp leaving the Pokémon looking violated and covered in slobber.

“Use Confusion!” barked my opponent. Drowzee wagged his fingers sending purple rings of psychic energy at the Sleeping Pokémon. Snorlax only grumbled at the weak attack showing no signs of being confused.

“Did Drowzee taste good? If yes, use Crunch! If not, Crunch anyway!” I commanded. The large bear picked up Drowzee in his left paw, brought it to his face and chomped down on it causing the Hypnosis Pokémon to cry out in pain. “Now Fling!”

He means throw Drowzee!” Axel translated in response to Snorlax’s brief confusion as to not knowing the move of the same name. Snorlax chucked Drowzee to the ground knocking it unconscious. The Rocket returned Drowzee and readied another Pokéball.

“You bastard! Make him pay Grimer!” commanded the Rocket sending out a pile of purple sludge. “Use Minimize and Acid Armor!” Grimer contracted its body and melted down until it was half its previous size and twice as dense. “Let’s see you beat Grimer as easily!”

“Challenge accepted! Snorlax! Use Belly Drum and Defense Curl!” I called. The Sleeping Pokémon beat on his large belly to work himself up and then curled up into a large ball.

“Like playing defense will help you! Blast the Trainer with Gunk Shot Grimer!” my foe ordered.

“Rollout!” I countered. While the Sludge Pokémon chucked parts of its filthy body at me, Snorlax pushed himself forward getting between me and the attack. He took the Gunk Shot, then continued to power forward running over Grimer.

“Shit! Grimer! Change target! Hit Snorlax with Sludge!” the Rocket commanded. Grimer threw a larger piece of its body at Snorlax but it didn’t even slow him down. Grimer got run over again and this time didn’t get back up.

“Too weak.” I mocked. “Rollout the Rocket.” I commanded boredly.

“You son of a bi—AAAHHHH!!” screamed the Grunt as he got flattened. If he was the ‘best agent’ like he claimed, then this was going to be way too easy! Or this was a decoy base that was meant to be easy. Either way, we now had seven dead Rockets which was more than we started the day with so that was at least somewhat productive.

“Hey slowpokes! We’re in!” Eve called to us. I returned Snorlax and ran to the door with the other Officers. Correction: we went into the large gaping hole where the door used to be. The inside looked about as shoddy as the outside as far as appearances went. There were a few crates here and there containing who knows what. What gave this place away as Rocket territory rather than an ordinary warehouse was the red ‘R’ plastered on one of the walls. Thanks to our dramatic entrance, there was also an alarm going off letting everyone in the facility know they had visitors.

Will someone turn that thing off?” Axel yelled holding his ears.

“I find it unsettling that the alarm is going off but we haven’t been attacked yet.” Skylar pointed out.

“They are probably trying to lure us into a trap. We should proceed with caution.” advised Raiden.

“Cowards! Both of you! Isn’t it obvious that they have learned to fear Team Neos? We’re supposed to be bringing the fight to them, not waiting around for when it’s convenient for them!” Feng yelled. “Now! Everyone! Stay together and overwhelm them with our numbers!” he commanded leading the assault on the Warehouse.

“This is a bad idea.” I heard Raiden say in a hushed voice as he reluctantly followed his superior deeper in the base with the rest of us. As soon as we turned the next corner, I felt something click underneath my feet. If this is a bomb, so help me I’m haunting these bastards for the rest of eternity! Luckily, instead of an explosion, a blue light appeared that zigzagged all across the floor as far as I could see. I looked down to see that the light under my feet took the form of a flashing arrow pointing forward. I heard another clicking sound and felt myself being uncontrollably jerked in the direction of the arrow. I was thrown into another arrow pointing to my left and dragged in that direction next.

“What the hell is this!?” someone screamed.

“Dammit Kenny! We tried to warn you!” reprimanded Skylar angrily. All of us were being forced in different directions depending on where the arrows on the floor were pointing. So much for sticking together! I tried resisting the pull of the arrows by going back the way I came or moving in a different direction, but the arrows were moving faster than I could run.

“Axel! Grab hold!” I called holding out my arm.

Gotcha!” he said as we grabbed each other’s forearms. At this point I was getting so dizzy I thought I was going to be sick! This was the most diabolical booby-trap in existence! Curse you Team Rocket! Axel and I were finally thrown back on solid ground in some random corridor now completely separated from everyone else.

“Ow…” I moaned rubbing my head waiting for the world to stop spinning.

That sucked.” groaned Axel laying on the ground.

“Catch me!” someone yelled only to stagger into the room like Axel and I did and fall flat on her face. I could tell right away by the fanservicy modifications to the Neos uniform that was Eve.

“Of all the people to get stuck with.” I lamented regretfully. Eve looked up at us and feigned a hurtful expression.

“Why didn’t you catch me?” she asked dejectedly.

“Because it’s funny watching you get hurt.” I said with a mischievous grin.

“You’re such a terrible monkey.” ridiculed Eve trying to standup but still being so dizzy that she was wobbling instead. She tried using her arms for balance but that barely made a difference. Axel and I started snickering at her ordeal.

“Be quiet you two! At least I’m making the effort to stand!” she shot back at us for still sitting around.

“We know our weaknesses.” I admit shamelessly.

True dat!” agreed Axel giving a thumbs-up.

“That’s good to know Neophyte. Then perhaps you’ll be wise enough to surrender right now.” said a smug female voice. I jumped up and snarled turning left to see a woman with bright red hair done up in a ridiculous style wearing a white dress with black trim. On the left side of her chest was a black badge that had the red ‘R’ on it. There was something about this woman greatly bothered me. I knew right away that she was higher ranked than any grunt, but that wasn’t it. There was something… familiar about her.

“As if we would surrender to you Old Lady!” Eve mocked.

“Watch your tongue girl!” the woman snapped. “I will have you know that I am Executive Ariana Sham of Team Rocket.” Heh. An Executive huh? This should be fun!

“Hang on. There is something oddly familiar about you. Have we met before?” Eve mused. So I’m not the only one who thought so.

“Hmph. How dare you look down on me! I’ve had to waste time on Team Neos before but I never let them escape alive!” Ariana said condescendingly. Then her eyes narrowed with an expression of anger. “You! Did you two interfere with Team Rocket’s objective at the Johto Day Care Center on Route 34 several months ago?” she demanded.

“Yup!” I said proudly. Realization then dawned on me. Ariana looked very similar to the wench in charge of the Rockets during that operation. The woman Diva killed! Oh shit. This is not good.

“Then which one of you killed Charmaine? Which one of you killed my cousin!?” roared Ariana venomously.

“You mean that old hag was your cousin? I see the resemblance.” Eve mocked snidely.

“Yup. This one is all yours Eve. I’ll just sit back and clean up the mess.” I said nonchalantly. It wasn’t my place to get involved with revenge plots besides my own.

“Don’t think you’re out of the woods yet boy! I’ll kill you next after I finish your little whore!” Ariana promised darkly.

“Bitch please. Eve isn’t mine.” I rejected.

Nor do we have any interest in her.” Axel added.

“You are such a child. What ever happened to chivalry?” Eve questioned mockingly.

“You should be pleased. Chane and I both defeated a Rocket Executive so this is your chance to prove you’re better than us.” I pointed out.

“I promise you this won’t be easy! I am the second strongest of the Four Rocket Executives and third strongest in the entire organization! You two could take me on at once and I would still win!” boasted Ariana. “Let’s go Vileplume!” she called throwing a Pokéball. A Pokémon with a blue body and a large red flower on its head with purple spots on the pedals appeared.

“I like it when my opponents are arrogant. It makes it that much more fun when they lose! Time to play Roserade!” Eve called sending out her Bouquet Pokémon. “You just stay out of this Little Boy.” she added as an aside to me.

“Plan to.” I said putting my hands behind my head. I had no idea what she was thinking using Roserade when Walrein or Diva would have been better choices, but with this being Eve this should be a pretty good fight regardless.

“Charmaine was full of promise. She was on her way to become the fifth Rocket Executive. We may not have always seen eye to eye or gotten along, but she was still family! You will pay for the disgrace you brought upon Team Rocket! Use Poison Powder on the girl Vileplume!” the Executive ordered. The Flower Pokémon shook its head sending a cloud of purple spores at my coworker.

“Are you dumb? Or maybe you’re just senile.” taunted Eve. Roserade jumped between her Trainer and the Poison Powder letting every particle touch her instead to no effect. “Did you forget that my Pokémon was also a Poison-type? There is no way anything is going to happen to me as long as I’ve got my children with me. Isn’t that right?” Roserade nodded in response to her mistress.

“Then let’s see how your Pokémon reacts to this! Stun Spore!” commanded Ariana. This time a yellow cloud shook out of Vileplume’s flower. Roserade’s eyes narrowed. If she dodged, Eve would get afflicted with paralysis instead.

“Get ready.” Eve prompted. The Bouquet Pokémon nodded and put her face in her blue flower. When the Stun Spore cloud struck, Roserade’s body stiffened with Paralysis.

“How pathetic! You’re not off to a very good start Neophyte.” Ariana ridiculed.

“Better than you think. I’m in complete control of this battle! Aromatherapy Roserade!” Eve called. The Grass-type took a deep inhale of her flower then lowered her arm and moved her body to show that she was no longer paralyzed. The Executive growled at how easily she was thwarted again.

“Well if status ailments won’t work then how about this! Use Sweet Scent followed by Acid Vileplume!” she commanded. A pleasant relaxing aroma filled the room. As soon as Roserade appeared off guard, Vileplume lowered its head again and sprayed a corrosive green liquid all over the Bouquet Pokémon.

“Is that the best you’ve got? I expected more from a Rocket Executive.” taunted Eve. “Oh well. Show them a real attack Roserade! Poison Jab!” The Bouquet Pokémon’s red flower took on a purple glow as she ran at her opponent and punched it. “And now… Shadow Ball!” my coworker followed up. A spiraling sphere of darkness formed between Roserade’s flowers which she then launched at Vileplume sending the oversized flower flying into a wall.

“You bitch!” yelled the Rocket Executive. “Blast Roserade with Sludge Bomb and then use Giga Drain to heal yourself!” Vileplume lowered its head and shot a large purple glob of yuck from its flower at Roserade. Eve’s Pokémon jumped out of the way of the sludge, but found herself ensnared by three green tendrils of energy that Vileplume was using to suck her vitality. Roserade shrugged off the attack and easily broke free of the tendrils. Eve began laughing mockingly at the Executive.

“You are so stupid! As if that weak attack would work.” she chided. “Now see, if you want to heal yourself, you should try Synthesis or Moonlight. In fact, let me help you with that! Cast Sunny Day Roserade!” she offered kindly. Roserade raised her red flower and shot a white orb at the ceiling. The ball exploded filling the room with artificial sunlight. I reflexively held my arm over my eyes and squinted as I was temporarily blinded. As my eyes adjusted, I notice Axel and Ariana had done the same.

“Oh I’ll show you just how helpful this is! Use Solar Beam Vileplume!” Ariana commanded. Vileplume lowered its head and shot a golden ray of energy at Roserade. The Bouquet Pokémon crossed her arms to block the brunt of the attack but was still pushed back. “Again!” the Executive ordered. The Flower Pokémon shot off another rapid fire Solar Beam.

“Do the same Darling!” Eve called. Roserade held out both flowers and launched her own Solar Beam countering Vileplume’s. After a short beam struggle, the two rays exploded midfield with no clear winner. “Aw. That simply won’t do.” Eve said with sarcastic disappointment. “Power up with Growth Roserade!” The Grass-type held out her arms and basked in the artificial sunlight. I couldn’t tell because of the glare, but it looked like Roserade was actually growing taller.

“Vileplume! Use Pedal Dance!” ordered Ariana. Vileplume started spinning in circles causing red pedals to fly at Roserade.

“This next attack is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you. Mainly because I’ll be laughing.” Eve said with an evil smirk. “Use Weather Ball Roserade!” Roserade spun her red flower around until she had gathered a few rays from her artificial sun into a flaming ball that she then threw at Vileplume. The Flower Pokémon screamed in agony as it temporarily caught on fire. Its pain combined with its fatigue induced confusion caused it to run into a wall knocking itself out. As promised, Eve was in tears from laughing so hard.

“I will not let you tarnish the pride of Team Rocket!” Ariana yelled as she called back her Pokémon. “Make her pay Murkrow!” A bird covered in black feathers and a large yellow beak emerged from its Dusk Ball. The feathers on its head had the appearance of a witch’s hat while its tail feathers looked like bottom part of a broom. Murkrow cawed at us loudly. If it was trying to be intimidating, it utterly failed.

“Awww, it’s so cute!” Eve said sweetly. “You are just the most adowable widdile biwdy I ever did see!” There is clearly something wrong with me because I find her teasing and mocking others hilarious even though I’ve been the victim of it in the past.

“You little brat! How dare you mock me! Smack her with Wing Attack Murkrow!” the Executive commanded.

“You never learn.” Eve teased. “Roserade! Use Poison Jab!” Before Murkrow could land its attack on Eve, Roserade punched it with her blue flower causing the crow to caw in pain. The Darkness Pokémon spun around and retaliated against Roserade with another Wing Attack causing her to fall to her knees and then fall flat on the floor.

“Oh poopy. Your turn Nidoqueen!” Eve called throwing a Moon Ball before recalling Roserade. The monster rabbit appeared with a mighty roar.

“Murkrow! That thing looks pretty slow so keep your distance with Tailwind and use Night Shade!” commanded Ariana. The Darkness Pokémon squawked as it flapped its wings creating a strong updraft. Using its new found speed, Murkrow flew circles around Nidoqueen before shooting waves of black energy at her. During the assault the light in the room got dimmer as Sunny Day faded away.

“Well if you insist on your Pokémon showing off, I’ll just have to do the same. Nidoqueen! Show these old timers your Swagger!” Eve called.

“Who the hell do you think you’re calling old!?” yelled the Executive indignantly. Meanwhile, Nidoqueen was putting her hands on her hips and shaking her upper body to taunt Murkrow. The bird cried loudly indicating the attack had worked.

“Shake it off Murkrow! Hit Nidoqueen with Faint Attack!” Ariana ordered. Murkrow corkscrewed through the air slamming the Drill Pokémon in the chest causing her to roar in pain.

“Quit playing around Nidoqueen. You know these weaklings can’t hurt you.” Eve taunted.

“What did you say?” demanded the Rocket Executive angrily. I saw my teammate smirking under her hood.

“You heard me. You’re weak! Watch this. Bite Murkrow with Poison Fang!” she commanded. The Queen of the Nidoran took advantage of her opponent’s disorientation from confusion and sunk her teeth into the crow causing it to squawk loudly in pain. When Nidoqueen pulled her mouth off, purple ooze poured out of the wound indicating Murkrow had been poisoned.

“How dare you mock me! I already told you, I’m one of Team Rocket’s best! There is no way I’ll lose to the likes of you!” Ariana promised.

“And? Petrel Lambda and Lance Proton are also Executives of Team Rocket right? The best your organization has to offer?” Eve questioned.

“Those two are Executives, yes, but they are also a lot weaker than me. More importantly, how do you know about them?” the Executive asked suspiciously.

“My toy over there defeated Lambda and his girlfriend wiped the floor with Proton. And I’m stronger than both of them.” Eve said proudly pointing at me.

“Well fuck you too.” I said spitefully.

“Well that doesn’t make you better than me! Blast them with Dark Pulse!” commanded the Rocket Executive. Murkrow opened its beak and started gathering darkness in its mouth. It then fired its attack but instead of at Nidoqueen or even Eve, it attacked its own Trainer in confusion. Ariana jumped back and lifted her arms as a shield but was still thrown to the ground by the shockwave. Axel and I joined Eve in laughing at the Rocket.

“Shut up! All of you, shut the hell up!” she roared furiously. “Murkrow! I am your master! How dare you attack me like that!”

“I guess I should probably finish it off now. It’s no fun for me if you call it back or if it accidentally kills you.” said Eve in disappointment. “Alright Nidoqueen, finish it with Ice Beam!” The monster rabbit opened her mouth and launched a frozen ray at the Darkness Pokémon knocking it out of the air. Any fight it may have had left was quickly drained away by Poison.

“You bitch!” Ariana spat.

“Keep ‘em coming! This battle is just getting good!” said Eve cheerfully.

“Strangle her Arbok!” called the Rocket Executive sending out a long purple serpent with a wide hood. Its chest was marked with a pattern resembling a demonic face. Arbok hissed and gave Nidoqueen a fierce glare dropping her vitality with Intimidate. “Use Glare to slow her down!” Arbok stared right into the Drill Pokémon’s eyes causing her whole body to shake. “Let’s see you heal that one!” taunted Ariana.

“Damn. This could be a problem.” Eve said with concern. “For you.” she added sweetly with a hint of evil. “Use Earth Power Nidoqueen!” Nidoqueen slowly lifted her leg then stomped the ground as hard as she could. Unfortunately, the slow start up allowed Arbok to slither out of the way before the ground exploded where the snake used to be.

“Now Wrap that thing up and squeeze the life out of it!” Ariana ordered with sadistic glee. The Cobra Pokémon coiled around Nidoqueen’s body completely trapping her. “Now use Ice Fang!” Cold air sunk from Arbok’s frost covered mouth as the snake reared its head back and struck its prey with lightning fast speed on the shoulder.

“Nidoqueen! Free yourself with Body Slam!” Eve commanded. With paralysis and Arbok restricting her movements, the Drill Pokémon had no choice but to allow herself to fall forward to smash her opponent to the ground but doing damage to herself as well. The Cobra Pokémon hissed angrily as it unwrapped itself and pulled out from under Nidoqueen. Out of spite it bit the Drill Pokémon again leaving her fainted.

“And you thought I would have a problem? Kill her Arbok before she can send out another Pokémon!” commanded the Executive. The serpent slithered across the floor faster than Eve could grab a Pokéball and loomed up in front of her to intimidate its prey before striking. The only reason I chose not to step in was because I saw Eve pull something out of the pocket on her skirt before Arbok reached her.

“Please.” my teammate said disdainfully. She raised the bottle she was holding and sprayed it in Arbok’s eyes causing the snake to hiss in pain and anger. Eve used that time to run away from the Pokémon.

“And here I thought pepper spray was only good for would-be rapists.” she said innocently as she put away her weapon and readied another Pokéball. “By the way Ariana, my snake is bigger than yours!” she said mischievously sending out Steelix. The Iron Snake Pokémon gave a low pitched roar upon emerging. Steelix towered over everyone on the field with his head nearly scrapping against the ceiling.

“Size doesn’t matter!” Ariana rejected.

“It does during sex.” Eve said shamelessly. I face-palmed.

“Only you and Zack would go there.” I said shaking my head.

“You called?” I turned around to see Zack and Lloyd skating into the room to join us.

“What took you so long?” I teased.

“A couple of lowly grunts. The usual.” he answered cheerfully. “So what’s going on here?”

“Eve is kicking an Executive’s ass.” I said grinning. Zack got an excited look and turned to the battle.

“I hope they rip each other’s clothes off!” he said with anticipation.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Take that thing down with Earthquake Arbok!” ordered the Executive. The Cobra Pokémon’s eyes were red from irritation and it had a murderous look in them. It slammed its body to the floor creating powerful tremors that shook the whole room. Steelix roared in pain from the attack.

“You call that an Earthquake?” mocked Eve. “Show them a real Earthquake Steelix!”

Oh shit.” Axel said in a deadpan tone as he jumped on my back to escape the stronger tremors that were about to come. The Iron Snake Pokémon slammed his head to the floor so hard it left cracks at the epicenter and sent powerful shockwaves that probably vibrated the whole facility. Zack and I were both knocked to the floor from the attack.

Will you get off of me?” yelled my Infernape as he punched me in the chest and kicked me from behind. When I fell, it was on top of him.

“But you’re a comfy pillow.” I teased before standing up. I then helped him back to his feet.

“I told you, didn’t I? Size. Matters.” said Eve superiorly. Ariana clenched her fists in anger.

“Size means nothing when your opponent is stronger! Smack that overgrown snake with Iron Tail!” the Rocket Executive commanded. Arbok’s tail turned silver before it swatted Steelix’s body creating a high pitched metallic clang.

“Steelix Sweetie, use Crunch on that tiny worm!” called Eve. “And you can swallow it if you want to.” she allowed. The steel serpent swung his head down snatching Arbok up in his jaws. I remembered when Eve used this strategy with my Pokémon only it wasn’t as imposing now as it was then because Arbok was a third of Steelix’s size as opposed to my Pokémon which were much smaller. The Cobra Pokémon hissed in pain as Steelix crushed it between his massive jaws.

“Arbok! Bite it with Fire Fang!” commanded Ariana. The serpent swung its body like a pendulum and bit Steelix on the lower jaw with flames coming from its mouth. The Iron Snake Pokémon roared and threw Arbok to the floor in anger. The Rocket’s snake had several bleeding teeth marks in its body from the pressure of Steelix’s bite.

“Steelix didn’t seem to like your Earthquake earlier Arbok. Do it again!” Ariana ordered. Arbok slammed its body to the floor creating more tremors. The attack obviously infuriated the already irritable metal serpent for he now had his head cocked back charging a silver blast.

“Fine, use Flash Cannon if you really want to.” Eve allowed boredly. Even without her permission, Steelix threw his large head forward launching a giant silver ball at the Cobra Pokémon. One violent explosion later, and the Rocket Executive was down another Pokémon.

“Unreal! I can’t be losing right now! There is no way some low ranking grunt in Team Neos is this strong!” shouted Ariana in denial.

“That’s because I’m not a low ranking grunt. I’m an Officer thank you very much.” Eve corrected as if she had been offended.

“And just so you know, we aren’t even the best.” Zack added. “Somewhere in this building are three Seated Officers which thoroughly out rank us by a wide margin. And there are still two whole ranks above them.”

“In short, you and the rest of Team Rocket are nothing but pathetic trash.” I ridiculed.

“How dare you make a mockery of me and Team Rocket! I haven’t lost yet!” yelled Ariana throwing down another ball releasing a large pile of purple sludge. I could tell right away from its size and nauseating smell that this wasn’t another Grimer like I fought earlier, it was the evolved form, Muk.

“Just give up, it’ll be easier. I mean, the results will be the same either way.” Eve offered sweetly.

“Never! I will make you suffer for daring to challenge Team Rocket! Take out that meddlesome snake with Fire Blast Muk!” the Executive ordered. Muk combusted the noxious fumes emanating from its body creating a searing flame that formed the shape of a star when it exploded on Steelix’s body. The Iron Snake Pokémon roared as he collapsed to the ground.

“Time to play Walrein!” Eve called wasting no time is summoning her walrus, even before she recalled Steelix. My guess is to avoid getting attacked again mid-switch. “I don’t want you touching that disgusting thing, so use Aurora Beam!” she commanded. Walrein opened his mouth wide and shot a rainbow colored beam at Muk. “Aww. Muk wasn’t the disgusting thing I was talking about.” Eve added with disappointment.

“Your childish games are becoming tiresome!” growled the Rocket Executive. “Trap Walrein with Rock Tomb and then drown it with Toxic!” Muk seeped its hands into the cracks in the floor left by the Earthquakes and then hurled up chunks of the floor the size of boulders. The Ice Breaker Pokémon bellowed in pain as the floor pieces struck him while creating a barricade to slow him down. Muk followed-up with flinging purple sludge at the walrus badly poisoning him.

“If you think you can win with a weak attack like that, you’re dead wrong! Give Muk its rocks back with your own Rock Tomb!” called Eve. Walrein roared as he slapped the boulders back at Muk with his flippers.

“Avoid the attack with Minimize!” Ariana ordered. The Sludge Pokémon’s body condensed making it smaller and causing Walrein’s attack to miss. “Now use Screech followed by Gunk Shot!” demanded the Executive. Muk made an ear bleeding shriek that caused everyone in the room to hold their ears. It took advantage of the walrus’s temporary vulnerability by shooting him with thick sludge. Walrein winced from pain as he received further damage by the poison slowly taking its course.

“Pay them back with Avalanche and then take a well-deserved Rest Walrein!” my coworker commanded. Walrein bellowed as he created a brief snowstorm that caused huge chunks of ice to fall on the Sludge Pokémon. He then closed his eyes and went to sleep restoring both his stamina and curing the poison.

“You fool! With your Pokémon asleep there is no one left to protect you!” boasted Ariana.

“Us.” Zack pointed out. Ariana shot him a sideways glance and growled with irritation.

“Fine! I will remain civil and only attack the Pokémon then!” she reluctantly agreed. “But I won’t go easy! Use Thunder Bolt Muk!” The Poison-type’s body sparked and crackled with electricity which it then sent at the Ice Breaker Pokémon. Walrein roared in pain but remained asleep.

“Is that it? Come on! You said you were Team Rocket’s top brass! You are such a disappointment.” Eve taunted. “Walrein! Show everyone the kinds of battle dreams you have with Sleep Talk!” The walrus opened his mouth as if yawning only to shoot an Ice Beam out at Muk. “Good boy!” complemented Eve encouragingly.

“Taste Sludge Bomb!” commanded Ariana beginning to sound desperate. Muk threw a large piece of its body at Walrein which exploded on contact. Even then the walrus remained asleep.

“I want to hear more of your dreams Walrein. Could you use another Sleep Talk for us?” requested my teammate. The Ice Breaker Pokémon roared as he charged into Muk with Body Slam. He then opened his golden eyes and stared at his foe waiting for Muk to make its move.

“It’s awake again so poison it again with Poison Gas!” the Rocket Executive ordered. The Sludge Pokémon breathed noxious fumes directly into Walrein’s face from being at such close range causing the walrus to recoil with a painful bellow.

“Get it back with Brine!” commanded Eve. Walrein spewed saltwater all over Muk making it cry out in pain from the salt getting in its wounds. After all this time, I never knew sentient sludge had nerves. Muk then melted into a pile unable to hold itself up anymore. Ariana looked petrified.

“This can’t be happening! I am a Rocket Executive! There is no way I could lose to you!” she panicked.

“That’s what they all say.” I said boredly. “Eve, finish her off now! Prove you’re better than me by being the first to kill a Rocket Executive!” I told her.

“As if! I’m not done playing with her yet.” responded the sociopath sweetly as she recalled Walrein so he wouldn’t suffer from poison. At least she’s compassionate towards her Pokémon.

“Do whatever you want then. Just make it entertaining for your audience too.” I requested.

“Be quiet Boy!” the Executive yelled at me. “This bitch may have bested me in a Pokémon match, but I am still an Executive of Team Rocket and I will not let you tarnish our reputation!”

“I didn’t tarnish anything. You did that to yourself.” said Eve innocently. She followed it up with a sarcastic “Hohoho” sounding like a haughty noble woman’s laugh.

“You be quiet too Tramp!” snapped Ariana.

“And now we’re reduced to name calling? I expected better from a grown woman. I guess maturity is too much to ask from a useless cunt like you.” Eve ridiculed.

“Oooohhhaaaahhh! She used the ‘c’ wooooord!” I said to Axel like an immature 3rd grader.

Please. You and I say worse four letter words all the fucking time.” he responded. “… What she just said is four letters right?

“Indeed it is.” I verified.

“You arrogant, uncouth, pretentious, floozy!” shouted the Rocket in frustration.

“Floozy? Really? You’re really showing your age with that one.” mocked my coworker snidely.

“That’s it!” Ariana roared tackling Eve to the ground.

“And Ariana used Tackle! Didn’t see that one coming Axel!” I commentated.

No we did not Brian! It seems the verbal sparring is over!” the monkey responded.

“Oh hell yeah! Catfight!” Zack cheered with excitement.

“And Eve responds with a mighty bitch slap followed by a tackle of her own! Will we see some real fighting, or will this be some silly wrestling match on the ground?” I announced.

I don’t know Brian. I hope we get a punch or a kick thrown in this battle. Wrestling is fake and boring!

“Ouch! Now there’s hair pulling! Oh! And Eve gives the Rocket a knee to the abs!”

Ariana retaliates with a mighty uppercut knocking Team Neos’s succubus to the ground! That had to hurt!

“Indeed! My jaw hurts just seeing that!”

“Black panties! And they’re lacey too!” Zack called out getting a good look up Eve’s skirt.

The audience really seems to be getting into this!

“That he is Axel!”

“You’re mine now bitch!” shouted Ariana getting on top off Eve and going straight for the jugular.

We should probably step in now.” Axel advised dropping his co-anchor voice.

“Hold on!” I said noticing Eve get her pepper spray out again. She held it in her left hand.

“That won’t work on me!” the Executive said proudly as she slapped the bottle out of Eve’s hand. In her distraction, the Rocket failed to notice Eve throw her right fist up in a punch to the nose. Ariana jumped up screaming while holding her nose.

“I never intended to actually use the pepper spray on you.” revealed my coworker as she got up rubbing her neck with her left hand while shaking her right. “I had a feeling you would stop me, so I only needed it to be a distraction. I told you, I am in complete control of this battle!” she said conceitedly.

Ariana was shaking with rage. As she pulled her hand away, I saw that her nose was badly bruised and swollen meaning it was probably broken. Blood ran from the nostrils down to her upper lip. The Rocket Executive looked absolutely livid when she saw the blood in her palm.

“My face! What did you do to my beautiful face!?” she roared furiously. Her voice was a bit on the nasally side thanks to the damage done.

“I improved it.” Eve said snarkily. “Honestly, if that is your definition of beauty, you need higher standards. I’ve seen prettier Miltanks.”

“I’LL MURDER YOU!!” screamed the Executive.

“Not if I do my job. Let’s end this Diva!” Eve said with deadly seriousness that sent chills down my spine. She threw down the Dusk Ball that contained 100% concentrated evil. The Banette materialized with a malevolent hiss. From the wide eyed and fearful look on her face, I think even Ariana sensed the danger she was in.

“Executive Sham!” yelled a male voice. A man with slick black hair wearing glasses, a pair of navy blue slacks, a navy blue shirt and a white lab coat ran into the room from the same entrance Ariana came through. The name on his badge read Gideon Graves. “Team Neos has completely wiped out all of the Grunts in the facility! There’s no one left!”

“What!?” she replied in disbelief.

“One of them also single handedly released all of the captured Pokémon we had in the back! They’re all heading here now! You have to leave here at once Ma’am!” Gideon reported.

“As if we’d ever let that happen!” I rejected. “Let’s get this idiot Axel!”

You got it!” My Infernape and I charged at the foolish scientist with fists ready for pummeling.

“Porygon! Psybeam!” called Gideon. A pink and blue pixilated creature jumped from behind Gideon’s back and shot Axel and me with a rainbow colored beam that knocked both of us on our asses.

“I’ve got this guy! Hydro Pump!” Zack called. Lloyd spewed a powerful blast of water at Porygon.

“Thunder Bolt!” countered the scientist. The Virtual Pokémon discharged a powerful stream of lightning through Lloyd’s attack and back to him.

“Screw the scientist! Get Ariana Diva!” commanded Eve.

“Lock-on to the Banette and use Shadow Ball!” Gideon followed up not missing a beat. Diva turned invisible to make herself harder to track. Porygon launched a sphere of darkness at what seemed like thin air, but a shrill cry echoed through the room as Diva reappeared. The specter looked pretty pissed about it too.

Just then four more Neos entered the room via the same arrows the rest of us used to get in, each one looking as dizzy as I was. Come to think of it, why wasn’t Zack dizzy getting off that thing? I recognized one of the new arrivals as Raiden.

“Yo Master!” I greeted. Looking around, I didn’t see Chane or the other Seateds.

“Ma’am, you really need to get out of here now! I could’ve held off those three, but I can’t hold back seven! Please! Team Rocket needs its four Executives!” begged Gideon.

“Fine!” Ariana conceded unwillingly. “You win this time Neophytes! It doesn't matter what happens to this hideout now. We have much bigger plans. You'll come to appreciate Team Rocket's true power soon enough. Enjoy yourselves while you can…” The Executive finished with a spiteful laugh as she ran down the corridor.

“Stop her!” Raiden ordered. Gideon threw down four more Pokéballs releasing a Voltorb, Electrode, Magnemite, and Magneton.

“Porygon! Protect!” he commanded. A barrier of 0s and 1s formed between us and the Rockets but strangely not his other Pokémon who were in front. “The rest of you! Destroy them with Explosion! Long live Team Rocket!” The four Electric-types glowed white before violently exploding shaking the whole building. Axel tackled me to shield me from the blast while other Trainers called for their Pokémon to use Protect.

Even after the quadruple Explosion, the Pokémon kept their barriers up in case of falling debris or surprise attacks. The entire room was filled with black smoke so no one could see anything. It took a few moments until we could actually see again. The room was completely dark from all the lights being destroyed, wires and broken tiles hung from the ceiling, there was a small crater in the floor, there was some damage to the walls, and the exit Ariana escaped from was completely sealed by debris. Gideon was nowhere to be seen either.

“You three.” Raiden said addressing me, Eve, and Zack. “Did I hear correctly? Was that woman a Team Rocket Executive?”

“She was. I was the one who battled her, but I failed to finish her.” Eve said bitterly.

“Why did you two not help her?” he asked me and Zack next.

“They weren’t in the room.” Eve interjected before we could say anything. “I was the only one to encounter her so I took her on by myself. These two came in near the end of the fight shortly before you arrived.”

“Eve was about to have Diva land the finishing blow but then the scientist showed up. He caught the three of us off guard with his Porygon.” I added. I don’t know why Eve was covering for us, but I was at least going to take some of the responsibility for letting Ariana get away.

“Well we have let Executives slip away in the past due to the intensity of the situation we were in. The fact that you defeated her this time means that we have the chance to defeat her again.” Raiden said in understanding. “What matters most right now is that we have successfully captured their base. Team Rocket has nowhere left in the Sevii Islands to run. Our next major objective is to salvage one of the computers in this warehouse in order to find out where the Aqua and Galactic Grunts are hiding so that we can purge these islands once and for all. With any luck we will also gain insight into any objectives Team Triad had here in the Sevii Islands or on the Kanto or Johto mainlands. It would also be helpful if we could gain insight as to where more of Team Rocket’s headquarters are located.” He paused for a moment to think. “For now I would like to get those booby-traps shut down so that I can confer with the other Seated Officers on what our next move should be.”
------

The other thirteen members that were watching John and Clara were called to help the rest of us clean up the new Team Neos Warehouse. Those two were left alone to do whatever they wanted as long as they did not interfere with us. As I found out during the cleanup, the “lone Neos” who freed all of the captured Pokémon was none other than Chane. She told me how heartbroken seeing all of those imprisoned Pokémon made her so she busted them out of their cages and led them out of the warehouse like the badass she is.

The best part about the cleanup was we found a working computer! Soon we would know all of Team Rocket’s secrets! Once we know where the base used by Team Aqua and Team Galactic is we can get rid of them too. It shouldn’t take much longer to completely liberate the Sevii Islands!
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