Viridian Center-Part Three

Misty knew this was not her day.

The entirety of the Pokémon Center Lounge was, to put it simply, a mess. Craters, cracks, and fissures filled the tile floors as the ceiling, various benches, glass shards, and machinery laid broken and scattered all around the place, and much worst to wear are their Pokémon.

Misty was on her knees holding a very wounded Staryu. Its left leg was torn off like leather and a cracked gem weakly blinking as it tries and fails to remain conscious. To her right, she turned to see Nurse Joy trying to help Chansey stand up. The assistant Pokémon wasn't fairing well either, bruises and scratches can be noticed on their body with a left black eye and a swollen right cheek.

"Is that really all you girlies got?" spoke the gruff voice of their assailant with an uproarious laughter.

Misty turned to glare at the hulking mass looking down on them and their companions. She and Nurse Joy's Chansey managed to beat-up the intruders that came to the Center. In all honesty, the Cerulean Gym girl was both disappointed and embarrassed with the trio's performance. Not only were their Pokémon low leveled, but they also act like a bunch of kids throwing tantrums of things being unfair. Especially that woman with red hair.

At first, she and Joy thought it was done.

Then another one came and things went downhill.

What came through the entrance was a colossal man looming over the smoke. The sheer size made them all stare in shock, as the newcomer's light skin had bulking muscles and biceps, a sharp chin beard and moustache, and black hair braided from the scalp down the back of his hair with a hanging ponytail. As for his attire, he wore a black muscle shirt with tears on where they assumed the sleeves were, brown cargo pants with a pair of suspenders on, and heavy boots that resembles military footwear. Among others were accessories such as a black buckle belt, a heavy silver chain necklace, two thick metal arm cuffs, and thin-visor black shades that are covering his eyes.

It wasn't hard to figure out identifying him as a member of the Team Rocket as both the belt and necklace held a gold rimmed but still all familiar big red R.

"I will give it to ya, you fought better than these numbskulls," the man pointed a thumb behind him, where the two humans and three Pokémon lay on a pile twitching and mouth foaming, "Not many could last as much as forty-five seconds against Elite Rocket Riot,"

Misty growled at the man in disdain despite the fear in the back of her mind.

Riot shook his head as he smiled nonchalantly, "But like everyone and everything else, you, that nurse, and your Pokémon are far too weak to be part of this world," He turns around with his back on them and arms spread out to his sides, "We, Team Rocket, will shape this entire planet in our grasp. No pathetic police force or these so called League Champions will get in our way, as our name will dominate all life under our rule!"

He then glanced behind him, light glimmering off of his shades, "However, I could spare you from your fate..." he grinned wide, showing his teeth, "If you agree to be my servants,"

The way the man said it makes Misty want to puke badly out of disgust as her glare steeled more, "As if we would take your offer, you steroid psycho!"

Riot's smile disappeared into a scowl of disappointment and turned his head forward, not bothering to look back as his massive Pokémon stomped pass him and towards the girls. It was mostly grayish black all over it's except for its head, elbow, knees, and spine which had silver-white armor on them. The Pokémon's head is a shining elongated metal skull like structure that resembled a shark's with rows of sharp edged fangs on its upper jaw while two sets of big wide, yet still sharp looking ones found at its lower jaw; On its head is almost a helmet-like forehead with an tip overstretching the snout, two horns protruding from two frontal holes of four holes on the side of it's head, and two layering plates at the back of its head down to the neck. As for its back and limbs, silver-white ring bands are found around its elbows and kneecaps while white tiles covered form the neck base down to the tail base.

"Aggron, squash these pests as quickly as possible," Riot ordered casually as he starts to walk away.

The Pokémon smiled with gleeful malice, one arm raising up above its head with a simmering glow. It relished the looks of dread in the two she-humans' eyes and was about to thrust the Metal Claw-

When some annoying pricking sensation came somewhere from its shoulder.

"What the?!" it changed its gaze as far as its view could allow him to see a glimpse of round purple ears and auburn-red eyes.

As well as two shining buck teeth sunk through its thick hide.

A damn Rattata was daringly biting them!?! And managed to get pass its radar?!

Aggron tried to reach the pesky critter, but could not do so due to the rodent being on the Steel-Type's blind spot where the larger Pokémon's claws could not reach. They roared and stomped wildly as the tried to get rid of the rodent.

This action caused Riot to turned back to see his Aggron stomping around while a measly Rattata clung behind it with the rodent's teeth sunk in the bigger Pokémon skin. To say, he was a bit surprised as he didn't even saw where the meek pest came from but decided to scoff it off.

"What the heck are you doing?!" the bulk man yelled at his Pokémon, "It's just a weak pip-squeak! Just shake the rodent off and- gah!"

He was cut off when a bunch of Pikachu latched on to him, one covering his face. Then all at once, they Discharged.

Misty and Nurse Joy watched the spectacle with baffled confusion. For the nurse, she recognizes the group of Pikachu as the ones acting as back-up power if ever the generators failed. But it brings the question as to why-

"You two okay?"

Joy turned to see that boy the Cerulean Gym Leader brought to the Center running to them with a sack bag in hand and the Pikachu, the one with a lightbulb on its head, following behind. She watched as the boy knelt down in front of the older girl's Staryu and saw his internal grimace in his eyes when he saw possibly the cracked gem of the Water-Type.

"Staryu gems self-repairs, right Misty?" the boy asked, looking away and rummaging through the bag's interior trying to look for something.

"Well, yeah. But it still won't make a full recovery until a week," Misty said, looking at her Staryu with worry before her expression changed and looked at the kid in bewilderment then accusation, "Hang on a minute! I never told you my name,"

Caden reeled back a bit before quickly giving an explanation, "Well, you are Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean Gym Leader and youngest of the Sensational Sisters," he then continued searching around the bag before pulling out a stout and medially short container of some kind of cream and bandage rolls, "To be honest, I heard what kind of, quote, 'gym leaders' they were and to be honest I'm a little disappointed. From the gossips and rumors, all they do is perform, make themselves glamorous, and has no sense of responsibility,

"Look, I am not trying to make your Gym sound bad, nor talk bad of your family but..." he took a breathe in, exhaled, and looked at the orange haired girl with a gaze that flickered with strong but not forceful expectations, "I am a trainer, whether I like it or not. I want to be tested, needed to be tested, along with my Pokémon. Either by fighting against trainers and Pokémon alike, going against League challenges, or just going around the world. All of this...just to find my place in this planet, find who I am and where I fit in,"

Misty...didn't know what to say. Her gym had met its fair share of different trainers. Heck, she herself came across some. But the kid in front of her...she knew what this boy was talking about.

"Here,"

Misty snapped out of her daze as the boy gave her the rolls and container right beside her.

"Bandages and what I could assume is a special cream for Water-Types like Staryu," the boy said before standing up to presumably walk to Nurse Joy.

"Raaaaugh!"

All eyes soon turned to the defying cry that came from the bulking man. They watched as he roared out while standing tall, the electric attacks seemingly ignored. The Pikachu group that ambushed him were scared out of their fur and scampered away from him and went behind the boy's Pikachu, cowering while the one they were hiding behind of was looking baffled.

"Hey, what's the big deal?!" the electric rodent said to his fellow Pikachu.

"We're all good with fighting for the Pokémon Center and all that," one of them spoke nervously, "But did you see how that human took all our attacks like a rock?!"

All the others nodded in agreement, which made the front Pikachu sweat-drop. Though he do think they had a point. Discharge, something he was surprised to see that most of the Pika-Power Pikachus here has, deals good damage. Not to mention the paralysis effect. But the fact this bulking Rocket member manages to withstand such power, especially from a number of Pikachu...

"Umm....Pikachu?"

The Trainer Pokémon blinked out of his musing and looked over to the hiding group, which all were looking up front with fear. He slowly turned his attention....

And looked up... and up... Until he was looking at the shaded eyes of the Riot guy. And he looked mad.

…And Pikachu will be honest, the spiky rock hair looked good on him

How did he managed to gain that thought in a danger like this, he has no idea.

"Never did I expected myself to be this pissed by a bunch of weak rats," the man snarled, taking off his shades and glaring down at the Pikachus with hatred-filled yellow irises, "You all think you are all high and mighty to stand against me? Team Rocket's most powerful man in the entire-"

Pikachu watched as something went flying to the man's face and red powder burst. The next thing they all see was the man screaming in pain and speaking very...colorful words while rolling on the floor and covering his eyes.

A whiff in the air and a sneeze from the mouse's irritated and stinging nose was enough for Pikachu to recognize the smell of spice powder. Apparently, they were used for medical purposes for Fire-Types.

The more you know.

"You guys okay?"

The Pikachus looked up to where both the voice and the projectile came from as Caden ran up and crouched down next to them. All the Pikachus squeaked in confirmation which brought a smile on his face.

Behind the scenes, however, a certain Snake Pokémon started getting its bearings as it lifted itself up. It shook off its dizzy daze and started getting aware of its environment. To Ekans' displeasure, its trainer and comrades are still knocked out.

"Pesty little rat!"

Ekans whipped its head towards the roar and caught sight of an Aggron stomping around wildly. Of course, it recognizes the metal-armored bulk as a being greater than Ekans. Aggron's master is its master's master. Ekans wouldn't deny its orders, provoke them, or do anything to displease them.

At least that was until it saw the Rattata on the Steel-Type's back.

Any common sense went from Ekans' mind to its stomach.

Rattata, on her part, was starting to get dizzy. The only reason why she was biting on a dangerously large and strong titan was to distract it.

It was a plan made by the boy who goes by the name Caden, which was an odd name to her.

Long story short, she had been staying around in the boy's backpack. Not sure why, but Rattata expected to be shooed away because of her kind. She had stayed in the boy's bag for only two times: one was when she was looking for food to nab, and the second was...she was attracted to the human.

NOT the kind of attracted that happens when a Pokémon finds a forever pair, oh Giratina no! It's more like there was something about the boy that pulls her towards-

"Fooood!"

Predatory warnings wailed in her instincts and she let go and let gravity pull her down in time to see a purple snake lunged to where she was and latched its fangs to the Aggron's back.

Then those fangs shattered like cheap glass.

...Wow, that was embarrassing.

Aggron turned around with heavy stomps, one uncaringly stomping down on the poor Ekans, and looked down to glare at the purple rodent.

'Well, time to skedaddle,' she said to herself before tailing it just the colossal monster's foot crushed the tile floor where Rattata was standing.

To say, this was not Caden expected things to go like this in the Viridian Pokémon Center. There was the Pika-Power crew out and about earlier than expected, the well-known trio unconscious over a corner, and him trying not to get killed by this on-steroid Rocket guy as he clumsily tries to evade the man.

Piloting a ten-year-old body with a muscle memory of a fourteen-year-old is not as easy as it looks, especially when said body barely had any muscles to begin with.

'Seriously Ash,' Cade thought to himself, 'You eat so much, and yet your body is as limp as a noodle!'

"Hold still, you brat!" Riot yelled as he threw punch after punch, eyes hot-sore red in rage and from the spice powder.

The boy wasn't doing that anytime soon. He valued his life as well as Ash's future journey for the missing ten-year old's sake. And Pikachu, better not forget about Pikachu.

Getting to the man's nerves was just a distraction. Moments ago, he had spoken to the local Nurse Joy to transfer the Pokémon in the center to ensure their safety while he made sure to keep the big Rocket mercenary's eyes on him. Same goes for Pikachu, Ash's (...and his?) Pikachu, to have the Pika-Power crew help the nurse on her mission.

So far things were looking-

"That does it!" Riot shouted as he pulled something out of his belt and-

'Oh shrimps, that's an actual gun!'

The elite grinned maniacally at the horrified eyes of the boy with said weapon pointing at him, then pulled the trigger.

*BANG!!*