Grunt Work-Cerulean City
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- Jun 10, 2018
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EVERYONE: (Grunt Work/The Battle of Champions)
-The normal level of cartoon violence seen in Pokémon
-A few, non-fatal, kicks to the face
MATURE: (The FireLord)
-A significant level of violence
This first work is a strange little experiment into my idea of writing from the antagonist's point-of-view. It follows the exploits of Toby, a semi-competent Team Rocket Grunt, as he tries to work his way up the ladder to Team Rocket Admin. Takes place, as the experienced reader will quickly see, during the events of RBY/FRLG/LGPE.
The second story is just a quick, little write about an unofficial battle between the top two trainers in my world (Patrick and Red). Theoretically, it is the battle at the end of GSC/HGSS, when Gold climbs Mt. Silver to battle Red. Gold, obviously, being Patrick in this case.
NOTE: The story makes a couple of references to my longer fic The Legend of Ampharos. You don't need to have read that work to understand/enjoy the story, the references just reiterate a little of the character building I did for Patrick in that story.
The third story follows Gerome, a power-hungry mage on his attempt to conquer than nation of Tera. Along with his faithful companion, Skrali, he seeks recognition and destruction with his formidable magic.
Clearly not Pokémon, although Skrali has some inspiration in his design from Tornadus/Landorus.
Grunt Work-Cerulean City
‘This is the life,’ thought Toby, yawning loudly as he walked toward the eastern outskirts of Cerulean City. A couple of kids in swimming trunks and tank tops, likely headed for the Pokémon Gym, skipped by. He scowled menacingly at them and they scampered away from the mean man in a hurry. Toby smiled wider, the criminal life was the best.
The up-and-coming Team Rocket Grunt had just arranged another shipment of stolen Pokémon from Cerulean down to Celadon City, thanks to a bunch of tough trainers who were, unknowingly, working for the criminal organization out on Nugget Bridge. After the ‘Nugget Brigade,’ or so they called themselves, softened up local or traveling trainers a bit, Toby or one of his lackeys would step in and swipe the weakened Pokémon. On the rare occasion that someone actually defeated everyone on the bridge, another lackey would bribe the challenging trainer with a Nugget and offer them a position with Team Rocket.
The technique was laughably simple and had been wildly successful. Every week for four months, Toby would send two of the other Grunts south with a dozen or so new Pokémon for drop off at the Game Corner in Celadon, where Team Rocket would sell them or pawn them off as prizes. Toby, during his first week on the job, had made the mistake of only sending one man south with the shipment and, somehow, he had been defeated and apprehended by the police. He hadn’t made the mistake of underestimating the stupidity and weakness of his fellow Grunts after that.
Four months of success, and his prowess on the battlefield, however, had completely erased that initial failing from the minds of his superiors and Toby was looking forward to the day, very soon, where he would no longer be another faceless Grunt, but an all-important Team Rocket Admin. In fact, a meeting of the Admin had been called for the following day in Lavender Town, something new and big was going down, and Toby had been invited. It was finally his time to shine.
Toby just needed one more exploit, something personal and impressive, to present to the meeting Admins tomorrow. Stealing Pokémon from little kids was, for lack of a better term, child’s play and he needed something that spoke more to his criminal mastery and instincts. He had contemplated robbing the Bike Shop a few times, but he didn’t know what Team Rocket would do with a couple dozen bikes. Other than that, all the town had were some middle-class citizens, the Pokémon Center, the PokéMart, and Misty’s Gym. The gym was too well-protected, Team Rocket had a source inside Silph Co. that could steal all the Pokémon Center supplies they needed, and he had shoplifted from the PokéMart so many times it was getting boring. He needed something bigger.
A loud huffing and the pounding of footsteps sounded behind Toby and he turned quickly, hand going to the three PokéBalls at his waist. He was easily the most talented trainer in Cerulean, other than Misty, who he passionately loathed, and was always looking for an excuse to call out his Pokémon. Sadly, there was no need. One of his least favorite lackeys, a fat, blonde teenager named Kody, was hurrying up behind him, gasping for air.
“What do you want,” Toby snapped, partly because he liked to be mean, mostly because he was actually annoyed to see the useless underling.
“Your…hat…, sir,” Kody managed between sucking large gulps of air.
Toby snatched the black hat from Kody’s meaty fist and tucked it into the waistband of his new blue jeans. A smile spread across his face at the fat kid’s words though. He had finally gotten the other Grunts to call him ‘sir.’ It had taken dozens of gut punches and a couple of broken noses, but he had earned the fear, if not the respect, of the men he considered his lessers. He turned on his heel to leave the pathetic boy sweating in the dust when the wheezy voice called out to him again.
“Wait.”
“What did you say to me?” Toby demanded, turning again and locking his malicious brown eyes on Kody’s now-terrified blue ones.
Knowing he had about ten seconds to impart his news before receiving a jarring punch to the face, Kody blurted out an almost intelligible sentence.
“Mattisawthatkidagain.”
It was a kick, instead of a punch, that Toby delivered, and it was to the groin, not the face. Not that one is preferable over the other. Either way, the fat Grunt collapsed to his knees and moaned pitifully.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Toby smirked, contemplating kicking out again, just for the fun of it.
“The kid who beat Matti yesterday,” Kody winced in pain before continuing, knowing another kick could be forthcoming, “we saw him come back into town this morning.”
“Bah,” Toby spat and kicked dirt at the fat, sweating face before turning and successfully leaving the other Grunt.
Matti had been punked the day before by some short little kid and his Pidgeotto, it wasn’t a big deal. ‘When all you carry around for protection are Zubat and Ekans,’ Toby thought to himself, ‘you should expect to get your ass kicked regularly.’ He patted the three PokéBalls at his waist and remembered all the times he had embarrassed his fellow Rocket Grunts. ‘No, it’s not a big deal,’ the soon-to-be Rocket Admin assured himself.
“What is it, daddy?” a high-pitched voice sang out clearly across the street, interrupting Toby’s musings.
“It’s TM28, darling,” a much deeper voice responded, “so I can teach my Diglett how to Dig.”
Toby’s head snapped up and he locked his eyes on a tiny girl holding hands with her father and walking in his direction. He smiled politely and waved as the two passed him and then ducked into an alleyway to spy on the two. A TM was a far greater prize than he could have ever hoped to imagine. They were a relatively new technology, Silph Co. having developed them about five years prior, and maybe 100 actually existed. Giovanni had succeeded in getting his hands on a TM Machine, but his leak inside Kanto’s largest corporation had still failed to obtain any of the actually TMs. Toby would be the first.
The two innocents about to be robbed knocked on someone’s front door in the distance and a plump woman in a sickeningly pink dress answered the door. Toby was too far away to hear the conversation, but the woman’s laugh echoed down the empty street and she stepped aside to let the little girl inside. Her father waved good-bye, blew her a kiss, and returned the way he came. Several houses down, not far from where Toby had initially seen him, the man pushed open a door and stepped inside.
From his place in the alleyway, Toby mulled over the coming robbery in his head. Judging by the slim frame and wicker hat of the TM’s owner, taking his prize was going to be a walk in the park. He would break down the door with his Raticate, terrifying the deplorable little man, and likely swipe the little CD before the man could even call out his Diglett. Chuckling at his own ingenuity, Toby pulled his hat from his waistband and situated it on his mop of tangled brown hair before unzipping his jacket to reveal a long sleeve black shirt with a big, red letter R emblazoned on the front. He contemplated changing into the rest of his uniform as well, but decided against taking off his pants in an alleyway that, he just realized, was directly behind the Pokémon Gym.
Toby unhooked Raticate’s PokéBall from his waist and strode proudly into the sunlight, red R on his chest blazing proudly. As he approached the man’s house, he noticed, with relish, that it was open. With the April sun beating down, his prey had left the door cracked to let in the spring breeze. And his worst nightmare. Toby kicked open the door and leapt into the single-room house with a horrible shout, not even bothering to let Raticate out of his PokéBall.
“Hand over that TM and no-one gets hurt,” he shouted to the man he had seen before, who was now cowering beside the kitchen sink, “Team Rocket will…”
Toby didn’t finish his sentence as pain shot through his back and he found himself lying on the floor, a Nidorina standing over him. ‘Should have stuck to the original plan,’ Toby berated himself, calling out Raticate to deal with Nidorina. The Mouse Pokémon tackled her and sank his teeth into her neck. Another scream rose from the other side of the room.
“Do something Ernie,” a middle-aged woman called, “he is hurting my Nidorina.”
“Uh, right,” Ernie responded shakily, “Go, Diglett.”
The Mole Pokémon popped out and Toby had to hold back a laugh as he released Machop to handle the tiny creature. It only took a single Karate Chop to finish it. Ernie collapsed in a corner behind his fallen Pokémon and Toby turned all his attention to Nidorina. She and Raticate were in a tough scrap, but it was Ernie’s wife he was more concerned about. She was making a dash for the door.
“Raticate, Quick Attack,” Toby shouted, pointing toward the fleeing woman.
Raticate made to obey, but Nidorina latched on to his back leg with Bite and wouldn’t let go. The woman was gone.
“Raticate, Hyper Fang.”
Hyper Fang sunk into Nidorina’s neck and she fell sideways into a chair. Toby rounded on Ernie. The Grunt didn’t even have to say anything. He gave the terrified man his most malicious look and held out his hand. Ernie gave up the TM. Toby wanted to pump his fists in the air, cackle a bit, and gloat in the man’s face, but he knew his time was limited. His wife, no doubt, had gone for the police and he had a limited time to escape. Luckily, there was a back door. Recalling Raticate and Machop, he sprinted out the back door and into the spring sunshine.
Toby was barely out the back door before he heard two female voices through the open back door of the house. Ernie’s wife had returned with an officer. A weak male voice was heard responding to the voices and the Grunt knew he only had moments before he was arrested. He couldn’t run. None of his Pokémon were big enough to carry him and, strong though he was, he was not a runner. Fight or hide? Toby suddenly remembered where he was and dove into some thorny hedges just as two women appeared.
The thorns cut into Toby’s flesh and tore at his new jeans and team uniform. It had been the right decision. Stepping into the sunlight with Ernie’s wife, wearing her trademark jean shorts and ridiculous overalls, was Misty. Toby sighed in relief. He could defeat the officers in town, but he stood no chance against Misty. As much as he hated her, he also respected her abilities as a trainer and avoided her as much as possible. A lot of his underlings, most notably Matti and Kody, fawned over the gym leader like she was the mythical mermaid she portrayed in her water shows, but Toby had no interest in the 19-year-old. Instead, he sat silently in his bush, bleeding slightly, as Misty hurried off down the path out of town.
Ernie’s wife stayed posted by the back door, awaiting her return, and Toby didn’t dare move, lest he disturb the dense bushes and give away his position. About ten minutes later, Misty returned with a forlorn look upon her face. She informed the older woman that she would have someone come to the house to investigate further and not to worry, Team Rocket’s boldness would not go unpunished. Toby chuckled internally at the comment, but sighed deeply when the women walked back inside and waited another five minutes before finally stepping out of the bushes.
The cuts on his arms and legs stung terribly as sweat poured into them and his knees popped as he stretched his stiff muscles. He was about to throw his jacket back on and discard the black hat when another high voice rang out behind him. He turned, expecting to see a little girl. Instead, he saw a little runt in overly large clothes glaring at him seriously from beneath far too much brown hair. The anger and frustration that had risen in his stomach quickly became a laugh as he starred down at the munchkin.
“What do you want, brat?”
“Return the TM you stole,” the kid responded boldly.
“Or what? You will go home and tell your mommy?”
No emotion crossed the short boy’s face at the comment and Toby was a little disappointed that he didn’t seem to scare the kid at all. He was about to turn and walk away when a flapping of wings sounded from above and a Pidgeotto landed beside the boy. The Bird Pokémon was nearly as tall as the munchkin, yet the two made an oddly intimidating couple nonetheless. Something that both Matti and Kody had said came back to him…this was the boy with the Pidgeotto from Nugget Bridge.
“How about we make this interesting,” Toby said, sizing the boy up a second time, “we battle. If you win, I will give you the TM. If I win, I get your Pidgeotto.”
If the boy was surprised by the demand, he didn’t show it, but he contemplated for a long moment anyway. His brilliant blue eyes sparkled behind overly long bangs and his response to the man, twice his size and three times his age, was mind-boggling.
“Pidgeotto are super common, I am sure you can steal one of them from anyone. If you win, I will give you this.”
The boy held up a disc similar to the one Toby had stolen, but it had a blue tint to it instead of brown. Another TM. The boy was right, he could snag a Pidgeotto anywhere. Team Rocket Admin was going to be just a fleeting memory as he hurtled up the ladder to Giovanni’s personal muscle.
“Deal.”
Toby opened with Raticate. The Mouse Pokémon was still a little hobbled from his battle with Nidorina, but the Grunt didn’t care. Pidgeotto was just another speed bump on his way to a big bonus and a promotion. The Bird Pokémon, however, wasn’t chosen to battle. The munchkin called out a Charmeleon. Toby wasn’t overly concerned, after all, he had three Pokémon himself, but there was something strange about the Flame Pokémon. He had never met one himself, but he had seen them on television and he thought they were supposed to be red. This one was orange.
“Raticate, Hyper Fang.”
“Charmeleon, Dragon Rage.”
Raticate was fast. Charmeleon was faster. Dragon Rage washed over the Mouse Pokémon and, weakened as he was, knocked him out in a single blow. Toby was shocked. Raticate was his oldest and strongest Pokémon; even weakened, he should have been a match for this punk. The Grunt stared down the pint-sized kid, rage rising again, and sent out his second Pokémon.
“Machop, Karate Chop.”
“Charmeleon, Ember.”
Ember hit hard as well, but Machop shook it off and landed a strong Karate Chop. Toby made ready to finish off his opponent with Low Kick, but Charmeleon, without receiving orders, latched on to Machop’s arm with Fire Fang. That was all it took for the Superpower Pokémon to go down too. Toby quickly saw his bonus and his promotion slipping away. All he had left was a wildcard and Charmeleon was tearing through him like wet paper. He had to try anyway.
“Drowzee, Hypnosis.
“Charmeleon, Smokescreen.”
Toby raged internally. Hypnosis was inaccurate on the best of days and there was no way it would succeed through a Smokescreen. Confusion and Pound were unlikely to hit either, but he had to choose one. Until he didn’t. The Team Rocket Grunt waited too long to decide and Charmeleon erupted from the Smokescreen and Scratch tore ugly lines across Drowzee’s long nose. With no time to react, Toby panicked and Dragon Rage finished the Hypnosis Pokémon as well. It was over. He had lost to a runt.
Toby’s mind reeled. He had to escape before anyone else showed up and there was no way he was keeping his end of the bargain. Despite his aversion to running, he turned to sprint for Route 9. He didn’t get far. In less than three steps, Charmeleon cut him off and flashed his dangerous fangs up at the dishonest Grunt. Toby attempted to step around the Flame Pokémon, but Pidgeotto swooped in and cut him off. The munchkin, who had followed his Pokémon, used the distraction to swipe the TM from Toby’s hand.
Shocked and off-balance, Toby fell and hit the ground hard. He remained there only a moment before scrambling back to his feet and continuing his flight toward Route 9. Neither the Pokémon nor their brat gave chase. Toby had lost the TM, but no-one had witnessed it or his defeat at the hands of a child, so his reputation should still be intact. All he needed to do was swipe a couple Pokémon at Rock Tunnel before the meeting the following day and his promotion, if not his bonus, would still be forthcoming. ‘That kid was just a minor set-back,’ thought Toby, ‘no real problem.’
Toby didn’t know how wrong he was.
-The normal level of cartoon violence seen in Pokémon
-A few, non-fatal, kicks to the face
MATURE: (The FireLord)
-A significant level of violence
This first work is a strange little experiment into my idea of writing from the antagonist's point-of-view. It follows the exploits of Toby, a semi-competent Team Rocket Grunt, as he tries to work his way up the ladder to Team Rocket Admin. Takes place, as the experienced reader will quickly see, during the events of RBY/FRLG/LGPE.
The second story is just a quick, little write about an unofficial battle between the top two trainers in my world (Patrick and Red). Theoretically, it is the battle at the end of GSC/HGSS, when Gold climbs Mt. Silver to battle Red. Gold, obviously, being Patrick in this case.
NOTE: The story makes a couple of references to my longer fic The Legend of Ampharos. You don't need to have read that work to understand/enjoy the story, the references just reiterate a little of the character building I did for Patrick in that story.
The third story follows Gerome, a power-hungry mage on his attempt to conquer than nation of Tera. Along with his faithful companion, Skrali, he seeks recognition and destruction with his formidable magic.
Clearly not Pokémon, although Skrali has some inspiration in his design from Tornadus/Landorus.
Grunt Work-Cerulean City
‘This is the life,’ thought Toby, yawning loudly as he walked toward the eastern outskirts of Cerulean City. A couple of kids in swimming trunks and tank tops, likely headed for the Pokémon Gym, skipped by. He scowled menacingly at them and they scampered away from the mean man in a hurry. Toby smiled wider, the criminal life was the best.
The up-and-coming Team Rocket Grunt had just arranged another shipment of stolen Pokémon from Cerulean down to Celadon City, thanks to a bunch of tough trainers who were, unknowingly, working for the criminal organization out on Nugget Bridge. After the ‘Nugget Brigade,’ or so they called themselves, softened up local or traveling trainers a bit, Toby or one of his lackeys would step in and swipe the weakened Pokémon. On the rare occasion that someone actually defeated everyone on the bridge, another lackey would bribe the challenging trainer with a Nugget and offer them a position with Team Rocket.
The technique was laughably simple and had been wildly successful. Every week for four months, Toby would send two of the other Grunts south with a dozen or so new Pokémon for drop off at the Game Corner in Celadon, where Team Rocket would sell them or pawn them off as prizes. Toby, during his first week on the job, had made the mistake of only sending one man south with the shipment and, somehow, he had been defeated and apprehended by the police. He hadn’t made the mistake of underestimating the stupidity and weakness of his fellow Grunts after that.
Four months of success, and his prowess on the battlefield, however, had completely erased that initial failing from the minds of his superiors and Toby was looking forward to the day, very soon, where he would no longer be another faceless Grunt, but an all-important Team Rocket Admin. In fact, a meeting of the Admin had been called for the following day in Lavender Town, something new and big was going down, and Toby had been invited. It was finally his time to shine.
Toby just needed one more exploit, something personal and impressive, to present to the meeting Admins tomorrow. Stealing Pokémon from little kids was, for lack of a better term, child’s play and he needed something that spoke more to his criminal mastery and instincts. He had contemplated robbing the Bike Shop a few times, but he didn’t know what Team Rocket would do with a couple dozen bikes. Other than that, all the town had were some middle-class citizens, the Pokémon Center, the PokéMart, and Misty’s Gym. The gym was too well-protected, Team Rocket had a source inside Silph Co. that could steal all the Pokémon Center supplies they needed, and he had shoplifted from the PokéMart so many times it was getting boring. He needed something bigger.
A loud huffing and the pounding of footsteps sounded behind Toby and he turned quickly, hand going to the three PokéBalls at his waist. He was easily the most talented trainer in Cerulean, other than Misty, who he passionately loathed, and was always looking for an excuse to call out his Pokémon. Sadly, there was no need. One of his least favorite lackeys, a fat, blonde teenager named Kody, was hurrying up behind him, gasping for air.
“What do you want,” Toby snapped, partly because he liked to be mean, mostly because he was actually annoyed to see the useless underling.
“Your…hat…, sir,” Kody managed between sucking large gulps of air.
Toby snatched the black hat from Kody’s meaty fist and tucked it into the waistband of his new blue jeans. A smile spread across his face at the fat kid’s words though. He had finally gotten the other Grunts to call him ‘sir.’ It had taken dozens of gut punches and a couple of broken noses, but he had earned the fear, if not the respect, of the men he considered his lessers. He turned on his heel to leave the pathetic boy sweating in the dust when the wheezy voice called out to him again.
“Wait.”
“What did you say to me?” Toby demanded, turning again and locking his malicious brown eyes on Kody’s now-terrified blue ones.
Knowing he had about ten seconds to impart his news before receiving a jarring punch to the face, Kody blurted out an almost intelligible sentence.
“Mattisawthatkidagain.”
It was a kick, instead of a punch, that Toby delivered, and it was to the groin, not the face. Not that one is preferable over the other. Either way, the fat Grunt collapsed to his knees and moaned pitifully.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Toby smirked, contemplating kicking out again, just for the fun of it.
“The kid who beat Matti yesterday,” Kody winced in pain before continuing, knowing another kick could be forthcoming, “we saw him come back into town this morning.”
“Bah,” Toby spat and kicked dirt at the fat, sweating face before turning and successfully leaving the other Grunt.
Matti had been punked the day before by some short little kid and his Pidgeotto, it wasn’t a big deal. ‘When all you carry around for protection are Zubat and Ekans,’ Toby thought to himself, ‘you should expect to get your ass kicked regularly.’ He patted the three PokéBalls at his waist and remembered all the times he had embarrassed his fellow Rocket Grunts. ‘No, it’s not a big deal,’ the soon-to-be Rocket Admin assured himself.
“What is it, daddy?” a high-pitched voice sang out clearly across the street, interrupting Toby’s musings.
“It’s TM28, darling,” a much deeper voice responded, “so I can teach my Diglett how to Dig.”
Toby’s head snapped up and he locked his eyes on a tiny girl holding hands with her father and walking in his direction. He smiled politely and waved as the two passed him and then ducked into an alleyway to spy on the two. A TM was a far greater prize than he could have ever hoped to imagine. They were a relatively new technology, Silph Co. having developed them about five years prior, and maybe 100 actually existed. Giovanni had succeeded in getting his hands on a TM Machine, but his leak inside Kanto’s largest corporation had still failed to obtain any of the actually TMs. Toby would be the first.
The two innocents about to be robbed knocked on someone’s front door in the distance and a plump woman in a sickeningly pink dress answered the door. Toby was too far away to hear the conversation, but the woman’s laugh echoed down the empty street and she stepped aside to let the little girl inside. Her father waved good-bye, blew her a kiss, and returned the way he came. Several houses down, not far from where Toby had initially seen him, the man pushed open a door and stepped inside.
From his place in the alleyway, Toby mulled over the coming robbery in his head. Judging by the slim frame and wicker hat of the TM’s owner, taking his prize was going to be a walk in the park. He would break down the door with his Raticate, terrifying the deplorable little man, and likely swipe the little CD before the man could even call out his Diglett. Chuckling at his own ingenuity, Toby pulled his hat from his waistband and situated it on his mop of tangled brown hair before unzipping his jacket to reveal a long sleeve black shirt with a big, red letter R emblazoned on the front. He contemplated changing into the rest of his uniform as well, but decided against taking off his pants in an alleyway that, he just realized, was directly behind the Pokémon Gym.
Toby unhooked Raticate’s PokéBall from his waist and strode proudly into the sunlight, red R on his chest blazing proudly. As he approached the man’s house, he noticed, with relish, that it was open. With the April sun beating down, his prey had left the door cracked to let in the spring breeze. And his worst nightmare. Toby kicked open the door and leapt into the single-room house with a horrible shout, not even bothering to let Raticate out of his PokéBall.
“Hand over that TM and no-one gets hurt,” he shouted to the man he had seen before, who was now cowering beside the kitchen sink, “Team Rocket will…”
Toby didn’t finish his sentence as pain shot through his back and he found himself lying on the floor, a Nidorina standing over him. ‘Should have stuck to the original plan,’ Toby berated himself, calling out Raticate to deal with Nidorina. The Mouse Pokémon tackled her and sank his teeth into her neck. Another scream rose from the other side of the room.
“Do something Ernie,” a middle-aged woman called, “he is hurting my Nidorina.”
“Uh, right,” Ernie responded shakily, “Go, Diglett.”
The Mole Pokémon popped out and Toby had to hold back a laugh as he released Machop to handle the tiny creature. It only took a single Karate Chop to finish it. Ernie collapsed in a corner behind his fallen Pokémon and Toby turned all his attention to Nidorina. She and Raticate were in a tough scrap, but it was Ernie’s wife he was more concerned about. She was making a dash for the door.
“Raticate, Quick Attack,” Toby shouted, pointing toward the fleeing woman.
Raticate made to obey, but Nidorina latched on to his back leg with Bite and wouldn’t let go. The woman was gone.
“Raticate, Hyper Fang.”
Hyper Fang sunk into Nidorina’s neck and she fell sideways into a chair. Toby rounded on Ernie. The Grunt didn’t even have to say anything. He gave the terrified man his most malicious look and held out his hand. Ernie gave up the TM. Toby wanted to pump his fists in the air, cackle a bit, and gloat in the man’s face, but he knew his time was limited. His wife, no doubt, had gone for the police and he had a limited time to escape. Luckily, there was a back door. Recalling Raticate and Machop, he sprinted out the back door and into the spring sunshine.
Toby was barely out the back door before he heard two female voices through the open back door of the house. Ernie’s wife had returned with an officer. A weak male voice was heard responding to the voices and the Grunt knew he only had moments before he was arrested. He couldn’t run. None of his Pokémon were big enough to carry him and, strong though he was, he was not a runner. Fight or hide? Toby suddenly remembered where he was and dove into some thorny hedges just as two women appeared.
The thorns cut into Toby’s flesh and tore at his new jeans and team uniform. It had been the right decision. Stepping into the sunlight with Ernie’s wife, wearing her trademark jean shorts and ridiculous overalls, was Misty. Toby sighed in relief. He could defeat the officers in town, but he stood no chance against Misty. As much as he hated her, he also respected her abilities as a trainer and avoided her as much as possible. A lot of his underlings, most notably Matti and Kody, fawned over the gym leader like she was the mythical mermaid she portrayed in her water shows, but Toby had no interest in the 19-year-old. Instead, he sat silently in his bush, bleeding slightly, as Misty hurried off down the path out of town.
Ernie’s wife stayed posted by the back door, awaiting her return, and Toby didn’t dare move, lest he disturb the dense bushes and give away his position. About ten minutes later, Misty returned with a forlorn look upon her face. She informed the older woman that she would have someone come to the house to investigate further and not to worry, Team Rocket’s boldness would not go unpunished. Toby chuckled internally at the comment, but sighed deeply when the women walked back inside and waited another five minutes before finally stepping out of the bushes.
The cuts on his arms and legs stung terribly as sweat poured into them and his knees popped as he stretched his stiff muscles. He was about to throw his jacket back on and discard the black hat when another high voice rang out behind him. He turned, expecting to see a little girl. Instead, he saw a little runt in overly large clothes glaring at him seriously from beneath far too much brown hair. The anger and frustration that had risen in his stomach quickly became a laugh as he starred down at the munchkin.
“What do you want, brat?”
“Return the TM you stole,” the kid responded boldly.
“Or what? You will go home and tell your mommy?”
No emotion crossed the short boy’s face at the comment and Toby was a little disappointed that he didn’t seem to scare the kid at all. He was about to turn and walk away when a flapping of wings sounded from above and a Pidgeotto landed beside the boy. The Bird Pokémon was nearly as tall as the munchkin, yet the two made an oddly intimidating couple nonetheless. Something that both Matti and Kody had said came back to him…this was the boy with the Pidgeotto from Nugget Bridge.
“How about we make this interesting,” Toby said, sizing the boy up a second time, “we battle. If you win, I will give you the TM. If I win, I get your Pidgeotto.”
If the boy was surprised by the demand, he didn’t show it, but he contemplated for a long moment anyway. His brilliant blue eyes sparkled behind overly long bangs and his response to the man, twice his size and three times his age, was mind-boggling.
“Pidgeotto are super common, I am sure you can steal one of them from anyone. If you win, I will give you this.”
The boy held up a disc similar to the one Toby had stolen, but it had a blue tint to it instead of brown. Another TM. The boy was right, he could snag a Pidgeotto anywhere. Team Rocket Admin was going to be just a fleeting memory as he hurtled up the ladder to Giovanni’s personal muscle.
“Deal.”
Toby opened with Raticate. The Mouse Pokémon was still a little hobbled from his battle with Nidorina, but the Grunt didn’t care. Pidgeotto was just another speed bump on his way to a big bonus and a promotion. The Bird Pokémon, however, wasn’t chosen to battle. The munchkin called out a Charmeleon. Toby wasn’t overly concerned, after all, he had three Pokémon himself, but there was something strange about the Flame Pokémon. He had never met one himself, but he had seen them on television and he thought they were supposed to be red. This one was orange.
“Raticate, Hyper Fang.”
“Charmeleon, Dragon Rage.”
Raticate was fast. Charmeleon was faster. Dragon Rage washed over the Mouse Pokémon and, weakened as he was, knocked him out in a single blow. Toby was shocked. Raticate was his oldest and strongest Pokémon; even weakened, he should have been a match for this punk. The Grunt stared down the pint-sized kid, rage rising again, and sent out his second Pokémon.
“Machop, Karate Chop.”
“Charmeleon, Ember.”
Ember hit hard as well, but Machop shook it off and landed a strong Karate Chop. Toby made ready to finish off his opponent with Low Kick, but Charmeleon, without receiving orders, latched on to Machop’s arm with Fire Fang. That was all it took for the Superpower Pokémon to go down too. Toby quickly saw his bonus and his promotion slipping away. All he had left was a wildcard and Charmeleon was tearing through him like wet paper. He had to try anyway.
“Drowzee, Hypnosis.
“Charmeleon, Smokescreen.”
Toby raged internally. Hypnosis was inaccurate on the best of days and there was no way it would succeed through a Smokescreen. Confusion and Pound were unlikely to hit either, but he had to choose one. Until he didn’t. The Team Rocket Grunt waited too long to decide and Charmeleon erupted from the Smokescreen and Scratch tore ugly lines across Drowzee’s long nose. With no time to react, Toby panicked and Dragon Rage finished the Hypnosis Pokémon as well. It was over. He had lost to a runt.
Toby’s mind reeled. He had to escape before anyone else showed up and there was no way he was keeping his end of the bargain. Despite his aversion to running, he turned to sprint for Route 9. He didn’t get far. In less than three steps, Charmeleon cut him off and flashed his dangerous fangs up at the dishonest Grunt. Toby attempted to step around the Flame Pokémon, but Pidgeotto swooped in and cut him off. The munchkin, who had followed his Pokémon, used the distraction to swipe the TM from Toby’s hand.
Shocked and off-balance, Toby fell and hit the ground hard. He remained there only a moment before scrambling back to his feet and continuing his flight toward Route 9. Neither the Pokémon nor their brat gave chase. Toby had lost the TM, but no-one had witnessed it or his defeat at the hands of a child, so his reputation should still be intact. All he needed to do was swipe a couple Pokémon at Rock Tunnel before the meeting the following day and his promotion, if not his bonus, would still be forthcoming. ‘That kid was just a minor set-back,’ thought Toby, ‘no real problem.’
Toby didn’t know how wrong he was.
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