Marril
10/03/2004, 06:47 PM
There really are no witty (or lack thereof) opening comments for this chapter other than that we're at a fun little crossroads. Team Magma's about to find Groudon! They might succeed! Wait, no, Team Rocket's sending three normal agents, two Executives, an Elite, and a partridge in a pair tree to get Groudon running. Phooey.
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Juliet reminded everyone that she wasn’t to be trifled with very quickly. Wallace had turned up in the Cave of Origin, not liking the fact that Team Rocket had snuck in. He didn’t know who any of the Rockets were, though this didn’t stop him from trying to evict them.
“Sableye, Sneasel, Tribo, go!” Juliet shouted. “Everyone else, just get aside!”
“No,” Kenneth said lightly. “Go, Typhlosion!”
“Hitmonchan!” Ryan sent out the boxer.
“Rapidash!” Izumi threw the pokéball for her grey-flamed horse. It sparkled as it exited its ball.
Wallace frowned. Luvdisc, Milotic, and Kingdra weren’t going to stop six Pokémon on their own, one of which he’d never seen before.
”Everyone, Water Pulse!” Wallace ordered.
The six Rocket Pokémon easily dodged the pulses of water. The light refractions dazzled Rapidash and Hitmonchan. Rapidash neighed and kicked its hooves into the air.
“Tribo, Shadow Ball!” Juliet shouted. The frail-looking ghost swept its arm around and a ball of shadowy energy swept out, hitting Luvdisc on its side. Luvdisc squealed in pain and fell.
Without orders, Milotic slithered between Sneasel and Typhlosion, wrapping its tail around the former and shooting a Hydro Pump at the latter.
“Fire Blast and dodge!” Kenneth ordered. Typhlosion breathed a wave of flames at the incoming blast of water, and then leapt aside.
Ryan held back on orders for Hitmonchan. He dare not order anything, only to hit a Rocket Pokémon.
“Kingdra, Dragon Breath!” Wallace shouted. Hitmonchan was hit in the face and fell to the ground, holding its gloved hands to its face. Ryan recalled it, visibly disgusted.
“Milotic, Surf attack!” Wallace again called. A tidal wave of water swept through the cave and engulfed everyone. As the torrent stopped, the water level stabilized at knee height. Typhlosion was lying down, unable to move.
“Oi,” Kenneth noticed after recalling Typhlosion, “Why isn’t Tribo fighting?”
“Because it’s tired,” Juliet said matter-of-factly, holding the Pokémon. “We can win, though. Sableye, Night Shade!”
Izumi gibbered incoherently out of frustration. She slowly crept aside.
“Sneasel, Icy Wind!”
Izumi shouted something incoherent, as the wind froze the water around her knees. “Rapidash, over here!”
Rapidash was kicking and neighing, shaking off the confusion. The heat from the flames started melting the ice, though Rapidash’s movements were beginning to slow from water exposure.
“Double Surf attack!” Wallace called, bracing himself. Kenneth and Ryan swore. Juliet turned to shield Tribo.
Izumi took a deep breath and plunged below the knee-deep water. The torrent erupted overhead, sweeping away everything from her field of view. All of her willpower was dedicated to staying in the same place. The rushing water died down. As Izumi’s lungs were crying in pain for air, she broke the surface of the water and inhaled.
Wallace’s face looked desperate. Izumi reached behind her into hammerspace and pulled out a taser. She leapt at Wallace and struck him with it.
Wallace slumped facedown into the water. Izumi took the opportunity to survey the surroundings. The cave was a mess of muddy water. Kenneth was covered quite literally from head to toe in mud, while Juliet was nowhere to be seen. Mikhail and Yuusuke had pulled back before the battle started, so Izumi assumed they were all right. Ryan she couldn’t see, but didn’t much care for.
“This went well,” Kenneth muttered. He tried to wipe the mud off his face. “Forgot how fun the field was. Tell me, did we just tangle with a gym leader and win?”
“Elite Four candidate,” Mikhail corrected, looking quite above the situation as he waded through the water, hands in the pockets of his Team Rocket uniform.
“What are we going to do with him?” Izumi asked, positioning Wallace so that he wouldn’t drown. Kingdra and Milotic hovered around Izumi, paranoid.
“Leave him,” Mikhail suggested. “Yuusuke’s out getting attention to this place. With all the commotion, and with our knowledge of Groudon, the legendary will just sneak out.”
“Then let’s go,” Juliet said, taking care to brush the remaining mud off of Tribo.
“Are we there yet?” Marril wondered.
“Finally her questions are age-appropriate,” Tschel retorted, then realised how callous he was being. Marril glared but said nothing.
“It’s not that I don’t mind bussing and training around to get from city to city,” Alex said quietly to himself, “It’s just that those two can never get along.”
“Eh?” Tschel asked, not having heard clearly.
“Sure we can,” Marril said, her large ears enabling her to hear clearly. “We just choose not to.”
“At the very least,” Alex muttered thoughtfully, “it keeps our end of the vehicles clear.”
Whether there was any response for that or not, neither of them said anything for a while thereafter. The weather went from sunny to rainy to sunny again in a seemingly short time.
“Oran City, right?” Marril asked.
“That’s what you said,” Tschel confirmed.
Marril leaned so that she could whisper to Alex and Tschel without anybody else hearing.
“You see that guy sitting over there? … Ack, no, don’t look. He’s been amateurishly following us the past while.”
“Any clue why?” Tschel wondered.
“Nope, none at all,” Marril enunciated each word for fun. “Want me to go freeze him in a block of ice when nobody’s looking?”
“Nah,” Alex said, sitting back. “If he’s still there when we get to Oran, you can do something.”
Tschel kept looking at the man, wondering where they’d seen him before.
“You’re starting to creep me out,” Marril said, sitting back.
“I’ve seen him before,” Tschel muttered, looking at the ceiling.
Alex turned to get a better look. “Yeah, he’s the Stardust City gym leader.”
“You knew?”
Alex chuckled. “Yeah. Why else am I not worried?”
“Because you’re the type that’s not shaken by anything? That’s all calm through everything?”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “You really see me like that?”
Marril quickly lost interest and fell asleep.
“Sure I do,” Tschel said. “You’re always staying calm.”
“Sure I don’t,” Alex replied. “I only do that when things stay away from me. When Marril was taken, for example. When Feebas evolved into Milotic and started hating me. When—”
“Those all turned out okay,” Tschel pointed out.
Alex smiled and laughed. “And here I am able to say that I look up to you for being strong.”
Tschel smiled back. “Oh the irony, eh?”
“Stop that,” Marril muttered in her sleep. Tschel leaned over to poke her, but Alex slapped his hand away. Then, Alex poked Marril.
“Hey,” Marril complained. “People are staring.”
It was indeed true. The various passengers who cared to watch were watching.
“You sure it’s not because your tail twitches like that in your sleep?” Tschel asked.
Marril stuck her tongue out at Tschel. She turned to the people who were staring. “Oh stop staring, you’ve never seen people arguing in public before?”
Tschel whispered to Alex, being careful so that Marril couldn’t hear. “You think I should just tell her?”
Alex shook his head. “Buncha conservatives the lot of them.”
What Alex was referring to wasn’t so much that he and Tschel were a pair so much as that Marril was an Orthan Pokémon. Orthan Pokémon were a rarity even in their most common areas, due to the fact that Team Rocket had succeeded in modifying less than one thousand total Pokémon. In an area such as Naryt or Oran, an Orthan was unheard-of.
Marril crossed her arms indignantly. “Indeed,” she huffed. “Had to threaten an Ice Beam between them.”
Tschel blinked, and then shrugged it off. “It’s only going to be about an hour or so more before our next stop. Then it’s about two more and we’ll be in Oran.”
“City of the berries,” Alex said lightly.
“Stole my joke,” Marril pouted.
“I don’t know how you two get along,” Tschel commented, looking out the window.
Alex smiled and slipped an arm around Tschel. “Oh, give her a break.”
The travel bus shook suddenly. It didn’t even change direction or lose a tire, but everybody inside was shaken up. A pokéball rolled out onto the floor and opened; a Pidgeotto came out flapping frenetically. The people around ducked in fear, covering their heads. The driver looked behind him in disgust but didn’t appear surprised.
“Why are they so scared?” Alex wondered aloud. “Look at that, even its trainer’s having a hard time recalling it.”
“Should I?” Marril asked, wondering if she should simply Ice Beam the thing.
“Nah,” Alex said.
Pidgeotto was eventually recaptured, after several minutes’ worth of frantic attempts. Its trainer had taken that long to bring the pokéball up and recall it.
“Honestly,” Tschel said, oblivious to the fact that Marril was sniggering.
“What?” Alex asked.
“You two,” Marril said. “You’re all like ‘wow they can’t even control their Pokémon’ and all, but you’re Master-level trainers. You’ve each been in several League tournaments each and placed in top eight each time.”
“Your point?” Tschel asked.
“I think she’s calling us elitists,” Alex shrugged.
“My point is,” Marril continued, “Not everyone’s all great like you two.”
“Hey,” Tschel retorted, “That’s no excuse for not being able to simply—”
“Hush, you,” Alex stopped Tschel. “She actually complimented us. Don’t anger her and this trip’ll go faster.”
Marril laughed.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that you do not, under any circumstances, mess around with Team Rocket. And Marril's pretty scary too when she's not being less serious than Kenneth is normally.
--------------------------------------------
Juliet reminded everyone that she wasn’t to be trifled with very quickly. Wallace had turned up in the Cave of Origin, not liking the fact that Team Rocket had snuck in. He didn’t know who any of the Rockets were, though this didn’t stop him from trying to evict them.
“Sableye, Sneasel, Tribo, go!” Juliet shouted. “Everyone else, just get aside!”
“No,” Kenneth said lightly. “Go, Typhlosion!”
“Hitmonchan!” Ryan sent out the boxer.
“Rapidash!” Izumi threw the pokéball for her grey-flamed horse. It sparkled as it exited its ball.
Wallace frowned. Luvdisc, Milotic, and Kingdra weren’t going to stop six Pokémon on their own, one of which he’d never seen before.
”Everyone, Water Pulse!” Wallace ordered.
The six Rocket Pokémon easily dodged the pulses of water. The light refractions dazzled Rapidash and Hitmonchan. Rapidash neighed and kicked its hooves into the air.
“Tribo, Shadow Ball!” Juliet shouted. The frail-looking ghost swept its arm around and a ball of shadowy energy swept out, hitting Luvdisc on its side. Luvdisc squealed in pain and fell.
Without orders, Milotic slithered between Sneasel and Typhlosion, wrapping its tail around the former and shooting a Hydro Pump at the latter.
“Fire Blast and dodge!” Kenneth ordered. Typhlosion breathed a wave of flames at the incoming blast of water, and then leapt aside.
Ryan held back on orders for Hitmonchan. He dare not order anything, only to hit a Rocket Pokémon.
“Kingdra, Dragon Breath!” Wallace shouted. Hitmonchan was hit in the face and fell to the ground, holding its gloved hands to its face. Ryan recalled it, visibly disgusted.
“Milotic, Surf attack!” Wallace again called. A tidal wave of water swept through the cave and engulfed everyone. As the torrent stopped, the water level stabilized at knee height. Typhlosion was lying down, unable to move.
“Oi,” Kenneth noticed after recalling Typhlosion, “Why isn’t Tribo fighting?”
“Because it’s tired,” Juliet said matter-of-factly, holding the Pokémon. “We can win, though. Sableye, Night Shade!”
Izumi gibbered incoherently out of frustration. She slowly crept aside.
“Sneasel, Icy Wind!”
Izumi shouted something incoherent, as the wind froze the water around her knees. “Rapidash, over here!”
Rapidash was kicking and neighing, shaking off the confusion. The heat from the flames started melting the ice, though Rapidash’s movements were beginning to slow from water exposure.
“Double Surf attack!” Wallace called, bracing himself. Kenneth and Ryan swore. Juliet turned to shield Tribo.
Izumi took a deep breath and plunged below the knee-deep water. The torrent erupted overhead, sweeping away everything from her field of view. All of her willpower was dedicated to staying in the same place. The rushing water died down. As Izumi’s lungs were crying in pain for air, she broke the surface of the water and inhaled.
Wallace’s face looked desperate. Izumi reached behind her into hammerspace and pulled out a taser. She leapt at Wallace and struck him with it.
Wallace slumped facedown into the water. Izumi took the opportunity to survey the surroundings. The cave was a mess of muddy water. Kenneth was covered quite literally from head to toe in mud, while Juliet was nowhere to be seen. Mikhail and Yuusuke had pulled back before the battle started, so Izumi assumed they were all right. Ryan she couldn’t see, but didn’t much care for.
“This went well,” Kenneth muttered. He tried to wipe the mud off his face. “Forgot how fun the field was. Tell me, did we just tangle with a gym leader and win?”
“Elite Four candidate,” Mikhail corrected, looking quite above the situation as he waded through the water, hands in the pockets of his Team Rocket uniform.
“What are we going to do with him?” Izumi asked, positioning Wallace so that he wouldn’t drown. Kingdra and Milotic hovered around Izumi, paranoid.
“Leave him,” Mikhail suggested. “Yuusuke’s out getting attention to this place. With all the commotion, and with our knowledge of Groudon, the legendary will just sneak out.”
“Then let’s go,” Juliet said, taking care to brush the remaining mud off of Tribo.
“Are we there yet?” Marril wondered.
“Finally her questions are age-appropriate,” Tschel retorted, then realised how callous he was being. Marril glared but said nothing.
“It’s not that I don’t mind bussing and training around to get from city to city,” Alex said quietly to himself, “It’s just that those two can never get along.”
“Eh?” Tschel asked, not having heard clearly.
“Sure we can,” Marril said, her large ears enabling her to hear clearly. “We just choose not to.”
“At the very least,” Alex muttered thoughtfully, “it keeps our end of the vehicles clear.”
Whether there was any response for that or not, neither of them said anything for a while thereafter. The weather went from sunny to rainy to sunny again in a seemingly short time.
“Oran City, right?” Marril asked.
“That’s what you said,” Tschel confirmed.
Marril leaned so that she could whisper to Alex and Tschel without anybody else hearing.
“You see that guy sitting over there? … Ack, no, don’t look. He’s been amateurishly following us the past while.”
“Any clue why?” Tschel wondered.
“Nope, none at all,” Marril enunciated each word for fun. “Want me to go freeze him in a block of ice when nobody’s looking?”
“Nah,” Alex said, sitting back. “If he’s still there when we get to Oran, you can do something.”
Tschel kept looking at the man, wondering where they’d seen him before.
“You’re starting to creep me out,” Marril said, sitting back.
“I’ve seen him before,” Tschel muttered, looking at the ceiling.
Alex turned to get a better look. “Yeah, he’s the Stardust City gym leader.”
“You knew?”
Alex chuckled. “Yeah. Why else am I not worried?”
“Because you’re the type that’s not shaken by anything? That’s all calm through everything?”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “You really see me like that?”
Marril quickly lost interest and fell asleep.
“Sure I do,” Tschel said. “You’re always staying calm.”
“Sure I don’t,” Alex replied. “I only do that when things stay away from me. When Marril was taken, for example. When Feebas evolved into Milotic and started hating me. When—”
“Those all turned out okay,” Tschel pointed out.
Alex smiled and laughed. “And here I am able to say that I look up to you for being strong.”
Tschel smiled back. “Oh the irony, eh?”
“Stop that,” Marril muttered in her sleep. Tschel leaned over to poke her, but Alex slapped his hand away. Then, Alex poked Marril.
“Hey,” Marril complained. “People are staring.”
It was indeed true. The various passengers who cared to watch were watching.
“You sure it’s not because your tail twitches like that in your sleep?” Tschel asked.
Marril stuck her tongue out at Tschel. She turned to the people who were staring. “Oh stop staring, you’ve never seen people arguing in public before?”
Tschel whispered to Alex, being careful so that Marril couldn’t hear. “You think I should just tell her?”
Alex shook his head. “Buncha conservatives the lot of them.”
What Alex was referring to wasn’t so much that he and Tschel were a pair so much as that Marril was an Orthan Pokémon. Orthan Pokémon were a rarity even in their most common areas, due to the fact that Team Rocket had succeeded in modifying less than one thousand total Pokémon. In an area such as Naryt or Oran, an Orthan was unheard-of.
Marril crossed her arms indignantly. “Indeed,” she huffed. “Had to threaten an Ice Beam between them.”
Tschel blinked, and then shrugged it off. “It’s only going to be about an hour or so more before our next stop. Then it’s about two more and we’ll be in Oran.”
“City of the berries,” Alex said lightly.
“Stole my joke,” Marril pouted.
“I don’t know how you two get along,” Tschel commented, looking out the window.
Alex smiled and slipped an arm around Tschel. “Oh, give her a break.”
The travel bus shook suddenly. It didn’t even change direction or lose a tire, but everybody inside was shaken up. A pokéball rolled out onto the floor and opened; a Pidgeotto came out flapping frenetically. The people around ducked in fear, covering their heads. The driver looked behind him in disgust but didn’t appear surprised.
“Why are they so scared?” Alex wondered aloud. “Look at that, even its trainer’s having a hard time recalling it.”
“Should I?” Marril asked, wondering if she should simply Ice Beam the thing.
“Nah,” Alex said.
Pidgeotto was eventually recaptured, after several minutes’ worth of frantic attempts. Its trainer had taken that long to bring the pokéball up and recall it.
“Honestly,” Tschel said, oblivious to the fact that Marril was sniggering.
“What?” Alex asked.
“You two,” Marril said. “You’re all like ‘wow they can’t even control their Pokémon’ and all, but you’re Master-level trainers. You’ve each been in several League tournaments each and placed in top eight each time.”
“Your point?” Tschel asked.
“I think she’s calling us elitists,” Alex shrugged.
“My point is,” Marril continued, “Not everyone’s all great like you two.”
“Hey,” Tschel retorted, “That’s no excuse for not being able to simply—”
“Hush, you,” Alex stopped Tschel. “She actually complimented us. Don’t anger her and this trip’ll go faster.”
Marril laughed.
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That's it for this week, folks. Next chapter goes up when it goes up. Until then, remember that you do not, under any circumstances, mess around with Team Rocket. And Marril's pretty scary too when she's not being less serious than Kenneth is normally.