Awww yeah, one-week chapter wait! I probably could’ve held off on posting this one to allow myself to get further with 28, but I wanted to get these reveals out as soon as possible after where 26 left off.
Be sure to check the previous post for review responses!
I stared at the two of them, a feeling of unease growing inside me. Stalker appeared relatively unfazed by Starr’s revelation and was simply watching us with a calm, expectant look, like we’d go right back to our conversation as soon as this minor interruption was taken care of.
“What’s she talking about…?” I asked hesitantly.
He put a hand to his chest. “She’s not wrong. That is what I’m known as, and I am the Johto commander.”
Stalker was the Johto commander. Not the former Kanto commander like everyone had thought. That’s how he had access to so much of the team’s inner workings. That’s how he’d been able to bypass security checks for the rebels, give out admin rights left and right, and draw suspicion away from us by modifying things behind the scenes.
I took a wary step back from him. “What? How? You were… helping us defeat Team Rocket.”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” he said simply.
“But… why? If you’ve been a commander all this time?”
“Because the Kanto force can’t be allowed to capture the Legendaries.”
I paused, giving him a skeptical glare. “You say that like the Johto force is different. Like they’re not
also catching Legendaries. Well guess what, they caught Entei, and that’s what
started this whole mess. How do you explain that?”
Stalker appeared completely unconcerned with that accusation. “Every Legendary that my force catches is one that the Kanto force cannot.”
A wave of anger suddenly flared up inside me. “So, what, you were only having us prevent the Kanto force from catching the Legendaries so that you could get them all yourself?”
He chuckled under his breath. “Of course not. We’re only catching certain ones.”
“
Certain ones?” I said incredulously. “Why would it matter
which ones you catch? What difference does it make?”
“It makes all the difference in the world,” Stalker replied immediately. His expression had turned darkly serious.
“Well, it’s good to see that you’re just as full of sh
it as you’ve always been,” Starr cut in all of a sudden, stepping out of the bushes and folding her arms behind her head. “I don’t know what the Legendaries have to do with anything, but I do know that spouting hypocritical garbage to trick people into following your cause sounds exactly like you.”
Stalker closed his eyes. “Astrid, I don’t think any of this concerns you.”
“Like hell it doesn’t,” she spat. “Jade’s my friend, and if you think I’m gonna let you pull one over on her, you’ve got another thing coming.”
He paused, both eyebrows raised, looking impressed. “Ever the loyal one, I see.”
Starr glared at him. “Maybe I am. Not that
you’d know anything about loyalty with all your lying and double-crossing. By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice the way you up and left your little rebel team the moment things got too risky for you.”
“You’d do well not to talk about things you know nothing about,” Stalker shot back coldly. “The Rebellion accomplished what it needed to. My decision to end it was as much a tactical one as it was for their protection.”
“What, don’t tell me you actually
cared about your pawns this time?” Starr said with a laugh. “You never did before. Where were you when we caught your followers after the revolt, huh? You didn’t exactly step in to stop their executions. No, that would’ve required actually owning up to something for a change.”
“A better question perhaps is where were
you? Carrying out said executions, I presume?”
Starr clenched her teeth. “Yeah. I’m a screw-up. I know that. Least I don’t try to pretend I’m not.”
“I was under the impression that’s what you’re doing right now.”
“Oh,
screw you,” she spat. “You don’t get to act all self-righteous after what you did. Especially since the rebel team was you pulling the exact same sh
it you did last year, only with
kids this time.”
“And what of the fact that
your unit was responsible for those kids’ deaths?” Stalker asked calmly.
Starr’s face went red. “You want me to beat your ass right here and now?!”
Stalker closed his eyes. “I highly recommend that you don’t try that.”
Starr’s hand flew to her Pokéball belt, and that was enough.
“Okay, stop!” I yelled, holding out both arms and staring down the both of them. “I am
sick and tired of hearing about all this stupid Rocket drama through vague rumors and sideways accusations, and I want
answers. You two are finally going to tell me what this freaking revolt was about, and what the hell it has to do with anything, now.
In detail. I’m sick of always being in the dark about
everything.” I was seething, fists clenched, breathing hard. No more. I was not just going to accept any of this crap anymore.
Stalker raised both eyebrows, looking impressed. “Fair enough. I’d say it’s time you knew the truth as well,” he said, grinning slyly. Starr rolled her eyes, but then swept her hand in a “go ahead” gesture. He paused for a moment, and then began.
“It all started spring of last year. I’d just turned seventeen, was promoted to executive, and finally in a position to start making changes in the team. You see… I’ve had plans for the Johto force for a very long time. Right after I reached officer rank and learned about the Legendary Project, in fact. So I’d been making it my goal to forge as many connections as I possibly could—I wanted to know
everything that happened on the team.”
He closed his eyes, carefully considering his next words. “So imagine my surprise when I heard that a teenage girl was causing discreet mischief amongst the lower ranks.”
I took a step backward. No way. He couldn’t be talking about Ajia, could he?
“It was nothing too serious—ambushing grunts, stealing assets, that sort of thing. At least, that’s all it was at first. She has a real knack for reading people. She found anyone on the team who felt scared or trapped—namely younger Rockets who had nowhere else to go—and started convincing them to turn traitor. Of course, most of them had already come to me with the same concerns at one point or another—it wasn’t hard for me to hear about what she was doing.
“One day I finally confronted her. She wasn’t afraid—she could immediately tell that I was no ordinary Rocket, and that I had my own agenda. I decided I could use her, so I told her the identity of several high-ranking Kanto agents who were conflicted about the things they’d done.”
He paused again, carefully taking in my reactions to what he’d said. It felt like his eyes were boring straight through me.
“You might be wondering how the former Kanto commander factors into all this. I trained under him for a year when I was stationed in Kanto, shortly after being promoted to officer. He wasn’t the commander yet, but he was the most powerful trainer I’ve ever known. Unfortunately… when he did get promoted to commander, he was forced into running the Legendary Project. I’ve never seen a Rocket break so quickly. He
hated the idea.
“I talked to the commander and proposed the idea that we use our position to capture the Legendaries ourselves, so they would be safe from Rockets who would abuse their power. He utterly refused. I think he was already planning to quit Team Rocket, but just needed the final push.”
Stalker paused again, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. “I’m sure you can see where this is going. I told Ajia to go meet the Kanto commander.”
Starr let out an exaggerated sound of disgust. “Okay, I like how he’s conveniently leaving out all the bullsh
it. First of all, Ajia was pulling a lot more crap than just spreading treasonous ideas and screwing up grunt jobs. Oh sure, it started as that, but then even the combat unit started reporting subtle things going wrong here and there. Second, he’s the one who
gave her the ability to do half that stuff. I started looking into it ‘cause it always looks impressive if you catch a traitor. I was officer-rank and a candidate for becoming executive so I was under a lot of pressure, okay?” That last part was forcefully directed at me.
I raised an eyebrow. “I… wasn’t going to say anything.”
“You were giving me that look,” she said with a huff. “I was a loyal Rocket, and I did what had to be done. Until I found out that
Ajia was the traitor. I tried the same thing I did with you—making sure they never caught her while trying to keep suspicion off myself. Of course, she eventually figured out that I was the one shadowing her. I tried to get her to leave Team Rocket alone, but she wouldn’t listen to me. We argued a lot, she tried to convince me to quit, I was pissed that she’d even dare to try that. Well… you know how that ended up.”
Stalker chuckled. “So you wouldn’t have even had anything to lose from the revolt if you hadn’t pursued her.”
“Don’t think I don’t know that,” she said, glaring fiercely. “I’ve lost a lot of things from trying to protect my friends. But you wouldn’t know anything about that.”
Stalker ignored her. “So Ajia met up with the commander, he found others like him who didn’t want to catch Legendaries, and he started training everyone who was part of their growing rebel band.”
“Oh, and by the way,” Starr cut in, “the only reason Sebastian told Ajia to go to Kanto was to get her out of the way while he built more of an influence in Johto. That and the fact that he wanted to get rid of the Kanto commander to weaken the Kanto force.”
“No arguments here.”
I stared at them. This wasn’t getting anywhere. “Okay, I still don’t get what specifically happened between
you two, and I kind of think it needs to get mentioned.”
Starr snorted. “Well for starters, he’s a traitor and he didn’t get
caught. And second, I found out that he was getting everyone else to do his dirty work, setting the Kanto force up for failure without actually
doing anything himself, so he’d never get connected to any of it. I threatened to turn him in, but… he was one step ahead of me,” she said through gritted teeth. “He knew I’d done far more traitorous things trying to keep Ajia from being caught, and he made it
very obvious that I’d be screwing myself over if I did anything against him.”
Stalker held up his arms defensively. “Just covering my tracks. So long as neither of us reported the other to the admins, we’d be alright. And we were.”
“Easy for you to say,” Starr growled, still giving him the death glare.
I glanced between the two, feeling more awkward by the second. “Alright, enough of that. What happened next?”
Stalker folded his arms. “Well, as the number of rebels grew, so did the tensions on the Kanto force. Rumors of treachery started flying around and a lot of members were taken in for questioning. Quite a few important rebels found themselves on the chopping block,” he said with a wry grin. “But then one day Ajia got a little too cocky with her sabotaging and was captured. I suspect it might have been intentional, but I never did find out for sure.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why on earth would it have been intentional?”
“Because that was the tipping point that got the commander to turn traitor,” Stalker said darkly. “He gathered all the rebels, declared their betrayal, and broke her out of captivity, causing massive damage to the base before they all escaped together with her.” He paused to let the moment sink in. “
That was the revolt.”
The infamous day that no one on the Kanto force wanted to talk about. They’d lost their commander, a chunk of their forces,
and had failed to hold onto their most wanted criminal.
Starr clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, like the memory was painful. “It… took us a long time to recover. Losing dozens of agents, just like that. It was impossible to track down all of them. We had our hands tied just trying to get things back on track. And my loyalty was… called into question. I’d previously been under orders to hunt down and eliminate Ajia. I got closer than I’d like to admit, but… obviously I didn’t succeed. The boss always suspected that I had some connection to her, but he never had any definite proof—that’s the only reason my punishment wasn’t as severe as it could have been,” she said, wincing.
“I did become executive the following spring, but the boss always kept me under a close watch after that. And of course, Sebastian and his Johto pawns got off scot-free,” she added, shooting a nasty glare at him. “So, in case you don’t get it, Jade, this is what he
does. Draw people in, get them to do his dirty work, and let them take the heat when things go south.” She paused, then added, “Just like what happened to the rebel team.”
I stared at her, unwilling to believe it. But at the same time, there was a part of me, deep down, that knew it wasn’t a lie. Which meant that the Rebellion had only ever been an extension of the revolt—a way to weaken the Kanto force to put him in a better position to take control of the team. He wasn’t trying to put an end to Team Rocket. He wasn’t even trying to prevent the Legendaries from being captured.
I swallowed hard as a sudden feeling of numbness overtook me. “So then… all along… we really were just pawns in something that’s been going on much longer?”
Stalker stared at me with a frustratingly blank expression that was impossible to read. I at least wanted him to get defensive, or gloat, or
something.
“Go on. Tell her that you were just using them. Just like you used me.” Wait, what? Why was I hearing
that voice?
Everyone spun around suddenly. Sure enough, there at the edge of the trees stood Ajia with her Pichu perched on her shoulder. Relief welled up inside me. And then it immediately transformed into confusion.
“Ajia? How…?” I barely managed.
“Well, this is a new one, Astrid,” Stalker cut in. “When you figured out that Jade was a few steps away from joining my side of the resistance, you had to make sure you’d have backup before coming here. What, afraid to face me alone?”
Starr’s smirk immediately changed into a scowl. Ajia walked forward to stand alongside us, her expression strangely cold. Everything about her looked tense. On-guard. Like she was expecting a fight to break out any second and had to be ready for it.
“It’s been a while, Ajia.”
“Sebastian,” she said, nodding. “I should have realized you were the rebel team leader. Nice touch having them call you Stalker, by the way.”
“Judging by the fact that Jade knew nothing at all about the revolt, I’m guessing you kept all of your encounters with Team Rocket a secret from her,” Stalker said.
Ajia sighed. “That’s true. But did you seriously tell your newest set of pawns that you were trying to
stop Team Rocket?”
“I never said anything of the sort. I said I wanted to stop the Legendary Project.”
Ajia turned to me. “Do you believe him, Jade?”
I bristled. It definitely made sense for Starr to hate him after what she’d gone through on Team Rocket, but it still seemed like Stalker and Ajia held a common goal, even if they were going about things completely different.
Everyone was still looking at me, waiting for my answer. Unsure of what else to do, I nodded.
Starr chuckled. “Yeah, he’s really done a number on her.” I shot her a glare—she really didn’t have to talk about me like I wasn’t there. If they wanted to talk about how this affected me, the least they could do was get my opinion on it.
Ajia gave Stalker a sideways glance. “Yeah, well, he can be pretty convincing. After the revolt, I met up with him again, ready to work together from then on. That’s when he told me that he had no intention of giving up his position on Team Rocket, and that everything we’d done would make it easier for him to take control of the team. And of course, he became the Johto commander not long afterward.”
Stalker didn’t say anything. He just continued to regard her with the same neutral expression.
“I’ve gotten over the fact that I was just a pawn,” Ajia went on, staring downward with a pained face. “I was naïve, and I wasn’t prepared for it. I just don’t want to see anyone else used for his goals like I was.”
Stalker exhaled slowly through his nose. “If that’s the way you want to see it, then fine. But don’t try to pretend that you know how things were between me and the rebels. I’ve hid things from Jade, but so have you, and I don’t think that—”
Ajia cut him off. “Jade, did Sebastian even tell you what the Johto resistance is actually working towards?”
“I was ready and willing to tell her before you two showed up,” Stalker snapped, looking cross for the first time in the conversation. But then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and his calm, collected air was back. “Our goal is to prevent Giovanni and the Kanto Rockets from abusing the power of the Legendaries by capturing them ourselves.”
Ajia snorted. “And somehow it’s alright if you’re the one doing it.”
Stalker raised an eyebrow. “You know, Ajia, you’re not exactly one to talk about not using Legendaries.”
I stared. What on earth was he talking about? I shot a glance at Ajia, but she looked just as confused as I felt.
Stalker put a hand to his forehead. “Right, I don’t suppose you told them
that, either. Jade, Astrid… do either of you know exactly how you three escaped from the Viridian base?”
“Are you saying that you
do know?” Starr asked, fixing him with an incredulous glare. “You weren’t exactly there.”
It would have been easy for anyone else to miss it, but I’d known him long enough to catch the tiny glint in his eye. Like he’d been waiting for someone to ask him that, and was already relishing the chance to explain.
“I admit that it took me a long time to figure it out. I watched the security footage and reviewed the reports all night. You two somehow managed to disappear within a crowd that was actively looking for you, then make it all the way to the transport wing without any Rockets
or cameras spotting you. And you did it all with an Umbreon at your side for seemingly no reason.”
That’s right—Umbreon had been with us the entire time. And he hadn’t done anything until the fight with Mewtwo. Of course that was strange, but when I asked Ajia why, she’d just said he was there for luck.
Of course there was more to it than that.
Stalker fixed his gaze on Ajia, lips curled into a smirk. “You were very thorough, I’ll give you that. But there was the slightest weirdness about the flash of light when you sent out your Espeon. And why did your Umbreon look like it was concentrating at that exact moment? A moment which took place immediately after the anti-teleport field went down. That wasn’t your Espeon at all, was it? It was something teleporting to you from outside the base. But I don’t think I would have suspected that of being an illusion if not for the fact that
no one saw what happened to Mewtwo’s Master Ball. Your entire mission was hidden within an illusion, wasn’t it? And that would explain your Umbreon—or should I say… your Zoroark?”
Zoroark? What? I’d never heard of that Pokémon. And how could it disguise itself as an Umbreon
and somehow hide a bunch of other stuff going on around it? I glanced at Ajia, hoping for answers, but she was staring at the ground, brows furrowed in concentration.
Stalker went on, “But what could have been so important to hide? Something strong enough to land a hit on Mewtwo
and drop its defenses long enough to break the Master Ball. Something that not only had the ability to teleport, but also to disguise itself—because everyone saw it as an Espeon, even when it was nowhere near Zoroark. And you would never put such a high-stakes plan into motion without some kind of trump card.
“There aren’t many options. I know who the seven are. The only one that fits is Mew. You’re Mew’s chosen.”
What. Ajia was Mew’s… chosen?
What? He didn’t honestly believe that
Mew had shown up to help us free Mewtwo… did he? Why would
the Legendary Mew get involved in our personal drama?
Starr burst out laughing, completely unimpressed. “Are you insane? You don’t seriously think Ajia’s got a friggin’ Legendary, do you?”
I shot another glance at Ajia, desperate for some indicator of what the hell Stalker was talking about, but… she was just staring at him, impressed. She wasn’t denying it. And from the slow grin spreading across Stalker’s face, he knew he was right.
Starr glanced between the two of them, her amused smirk slowly fading into a suspicious glare. “Hang on. He…
is just making sh
it up… right, Ajia?”
He had mentioned “the seven.” The seven Legendaries who would form an alliance with humanity? Mew was one. And it had chosen Ajia? Chosen her for what? I clenched my teeth, desperately forcing every ounce of thought into piecing together the scraps of information.
Stalker knew about the legends. And the Johto force owned Legendaries, but only certain ones. Did that mean there were certain Legendaries he
didn’t want to catch?
“You’re only trying to protect the seven special ones from the legend, aren’t you?” I said slowly, my eyes widening as the realization hit me. “The seven that will pick a chosen?”
“What the
hell is up with this ‘chosen’ thing that you and Sebastian keep going on about?!” Starr demanded all of a sudden. She then turned toward Ajia and added, “Don’t tell me he’s actually right about this. Was that seriously
Mew that broke Mewtwo’s Master Ball? Why didn’t you tell us?!”
And with that, Ajia’s silence finally broke. “I already told you guys that I
couldn’t tell you, remember?” she said desperately. “The chosen aren’t supposed reveal their position to anyone; it’s too dangerous at this point.”
“That still doesn’t explain what it is,” Starr said flatly, fixing her with an unimpressed stare.
I turned toward her expectantly, waiting for an answer. Ajia hesitated, her eyes flickering between me and Starr. Both of us staring her down, no longer willing to accept a lack of answers.
“It means I was picked to fight alongside Mew and protect her as the conflict gets worse,” Ajia said slowly. “And… if necessary, she can lend me her power.”
That legend… it was more than just a myth? If the Legendaries were actually making deals with humans, then it had to be real. But why were they doing it? What possible reason could there be for Legendaries to get help from humans?
“I thought you were against humans using the power of the legends, but I suppose not,” Stalker said, folding his arms with a smug grin.
Ajia scoffed. “It’s not the same.”
“Explain to me, then.
Why isn’t it the same?”
Ajia raised both eyebrows incredulously. “
Mew chose me and I accepted. Your force’s Legendaries didn’t have a choice.”
“Neither did any of the Pokémon you’ve captured, but they accept that and fight for you just the same,” he said, gesturing to her with one palm up.
Ajia threw her arms in the air. “Oh, come on! I’m not having this conversation with you again.
No one who fights for you ever really has a choice in it. You just make it look like there is.”
“If you’re going to keep saying things like that, then you’d better be willing to back it up with force,” Stalker muttered, his eyes cold. He had grabbed a Pokéball from his belt, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Ajia smirked. “I’ve beaten you before. If it’ll make you leave Jade alone, I’ll do it again.”
Wait, what? Hang on… didn’t
I get a choice in any of this?
“You honestly think you can beat me now that I’ve got a Legendary?”
“You just told everyone I’m partnered with Mew, so yes.”
“And
how are we different, exactly?” Stalker asked, throwing his arms to the side.
“Stop it!” I yelled, stepping in between them. If I wasn’t careful, we all risked a
Legendary fight breaking out right here and now, and that was
definitely something I wanted to avoid.
“I get that this conflict between all of you goes way back. But this is about me, and what
I’m planning to do from now on,” I said shooting a glare at each one of them in turn. “If you’re gonna talk about what
I should do, you should at least talk to
me about it.”
Ajia paused, looking taken aback. She threw a confused glance at me, like she honestly hadn’t realized she’d been talking about me like I wasn’t there.
Stalker nodded slowly. “That’s a fair request. You should know that my side is the one that’s going to make a difference in this fight. What can the outer resistance do without access to the inner workings of the team? I accomplished more with
twelve-year-olds in four months than the resistance has in the past year.” He turned to Ajia. “You don’t even have the commander on your side anymore, do you?”
Ajia bristled, and for the first time in the conversation, she didn’t have a comeback ready for him. She just glanced away, avoiding his gaze.
“Why does there have to be a ‘side’?” I asked quietly.
“An
excellent question,” Stalker said, throwing a significant look towards Ajia.
She screwed her eyes shut. “I tried that. He was the one who used me. He’s the one who thinks
imprisoning the Legendaries counts as
saving them.”
And then, just as Stalker was about to respond, the muffled sound of something buzzing caught everyone’s attention. It was coming from Stalker’s direction. He sighed, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his R-com. He took a look at the caller, raised an eyebrow, then answered it.
“I said no calls.” Several seconds passed, and then, “How urgent?” His eyes flickered back and forth as he listened to what the caller was saying, then at once, he raised both eyebrows in surprise.
“…that
is urgent,” he said slowly.
And then out of nowhere, Ajia stiffened, mouth hanging open like she’d just made a horrible realization. She blinked a few times, eyes darting around until they fell on Stalker.
“This is bad,” she announced.
“I expect you just got the same message I did,” Stalker replied, pocketing his R-com. What? She hadn’t gotten any messages at all. How did he—
“What’s going on?!” Starr demanded.
“Legendaries are attacking the Viridian Rocket HQ,” Ajia said.
A moment of heavy silence followed as Starr and I gaped at each other incredulously. Legendaries were attacking the Viridian base? What? Where the hell had that come from?
“What?” we both said in unison.
Ajia was now pacing back and forth, rubbing her temples. “This is bad, this is really bad,” she said repeatedly.
“Why? So let the stupid Legendaries clobber the Kanto force. I really couldn’t care less anymore,” Starr grumbled.
“It’s not that. The battle’s happening over the city. Just think of how many innocent people are gonna get caught up in that.”
Starr clenched her teeth. “So…?” she asked in her best attempt at nonchalance, despite the obvious concern crossing her face.
“Don’t forget—the Kanto Force isn’t exactly a pushover, even without Mewtwo,” Stalker interjected. “They might be scrambling now, but they
will organize. We don’t want them
adding to their selection of captured Legendaries, do we?”
That crushing sensation I’d felt after Articuno and Moltres had been captured… I didn’t think I could handle that for a second time. Not if there was something I could do about it.
“I’d go, but after the Entei fiasco, I don’t think I’d be welcome there,” Stalker continued. “And if I caught one of them while disguised, my forces could never use it.” The slightest trace of a grin crossed his face. “But it doesn’t matter, because you three will make sure none of them get caught, won’t you?”
“Like hell we will,” Starr spat.
But Ajia didn’t respond for some time. She was still staring at him, both eyebrows raised incredulously. “Of course. Just like old times. Why take action yourself when you can get everyone else to do your dirty work?” With a half-hearted chuckle, she added, “The funny part is even
knowing that, I have to do it.”
Stalker turned away. “There’s no need to be so dramatic. We both want the same thing here. I’m unable to take action right now. You’re able. It’s as simple as that.” And with that, he started walking away.
“Wait, you’re leaving just like that?” I asked.
Stalker paused. “I know better than trying to turn friends against each other. I’m not making the same mistake Giovanni made.” He made eye contact with me. “You would have made a good ally. You had one of the most drastic transformations out of anyone on the Rebellion. But you still lack resolve. What are you really fighting for? I’ll be interested to find out.”
A Pokéball opened, and a flash of light took the familiar form of an orange dragon. He mounted his Charizard and whispered something in her ear. With a nod, she flapped her huge wings and took off to the north.
Starr glared at the space where he’d left. “Of all the arrogant, lying, hypocritical, traitorous shitheads, it
had to be Sebastian.”
Even knowing the reason why she despised him so much, her words still stung. That was my leader she was talking about. The leader who’d taught the rebels how to fight people like her—of course she’d hate him. But then… if it was only ever to serve his own agenda… Damn it, what was I supposed to think anymore?
Ajia sighed. “Never mind him. We can’t afford to let him get our spirits down, right?”
Easier said than done. My mind was still reeling from everything I’d just learned. Most of all, the revelation that after all our hard work to protect the Legendaries, he’d been catching them himself anyway.
“I have to know which Legendaries he’s caught,” I said slowly, fighting back the feeling of numbness that was spreading inside me.
Starr gave me a sideways glance. “The Johto force has both Raikou and Entei. And Sebastian has personal ownership of Latios,” she said, her voice dripping with contempt.
My heart sank through the floor. Raikou? After all that effort we went through to save Raikou last August, he just went ahead and caught it? Not to mention… Latios?
Starr turned to face Ajia, arms crossed and looking reluctantly impressed. “So you’ve got a friggin’ Zoroark, huh?
No wonder you escaped from Team Rocket as many times as you did. I swore I was going crazy a few of those times you gave me the slip.”
I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around that fact. “So… you don’t even have an Espeon and an Umbreon? It was Mew and Zoroark?”
Ajia shook her head. “No, I do have them. You saw them both for real after that plane crash.”
“But then in the server room… when you let out Espeon, it was actually Mew?”
“I never let Mew
or Espeon out of a ball in that room. Sebastian was right; it was all one of Zoroark’s illusions, to hide the fact that Mew teleported to me. I would never ask Mew to go into a Pokéball, even for the sake of a mission like that. And against Mewtwo, Umbreon was the perfect cover—you might not know this, but Zoroark can’t maintain illusions when they’re hit by attacks.”
Ajia had ‘Umbreon’ out with her the entire time we were in the Viridian base. That’s why we had such an easy time getting around the base without incident. It wasn’t that she had better luck than me. She’d
made her own luck. She’d
always made her own luck.
Ajia was pacing again, muttering to herself. She did this for several seconds while Starr and I watched, then abruptly turned to face us. “I’ve got to help out in Viridian,” she said firmly. “You’ll help too, right Jade?”
I bristled. The idea was honestly terrifying, but… I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t just let that kind of disaster strike my hometown. Not if there was something I could do about it. Slowly, I nodded.
“I’ll come too,” Starr said.
I gaped at her. “Wait, seriously? You got pissed off at Stalker for even suggesting it.”
“
This whole situation is pissing me off, so I might as well go with you and beat the crap out of my dumbass subordinates,” she muttered, folding her arms. But then her eyes widened with realization, and she suddenly added, “But if you think for even a second that I give a crap about your rebel cause, you’re dead wrong, you hear me?”
“Alright, alright,” Ajia said, holding both palms out defensively. “Anyway, you’ll both want to brace yourselves. We’re gonna teleport to Viridian now.”
It took several seconds for the weirdness of that statement to sink in. But when it did: “How? You don’t have Espeon out.”
Ajia made eye contact with me, grinning sheepishly. “Espeon doesn’t know how to teleport.”
And then, while I was still processing what that meant, a small, pale-rose cat appeared before us in a flash of shimmering light. I blinked stupidly at the sight, barely able to get out the word, “Mew?” before its psychic aura took hold of us, and we all vanished.
~End Chapter 27~
Lmao yeah, the Viridian attack comes out of nowhere, I know. But hey, next chapter is the climax of Book 1. Get hype.
~Chibi~
