A/N: -whistles casually and drops in a random update after two years-

I'M SORRY I AM LITERAL TRASH BUT I REALLY STILL LOVE THIS FIC HONEST

enjoy? :'D

The sky was just starting to turn pink as we set out on the route. We had paid a quick visit to the Poke Mart on the way, picking up some extra supplies in case we ended up having to camp out. Since the stores catered exclusively to trainers and Pokemon, we were able to find most of what we needed.

It was hard to believe that I was finally setting out on the journey again. Elder Li had given us a handwritten note that would get us through the barricade in front of the cave, and we had skipped town with no time to spare. I was sure Damien must've gotten some information from the nurses at the Pokemon Center, but he was probably busy retracing my steps right now. By the time he connected the dots, we'd be long gone.

"Wow…" We had come to the top of a hill, and the forest gave way to reveal a large expanse of blue water. To our left was the ocean, and to the right, mountain and forest as far as the eye could see. An elevated railroad cut through the landscape, shining in the late afternoon sun.

"First time on the route?" Darren asked, glancing over at me.

"Other than the field closest to town, yeah," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

"C'mon. It's probably easier going if we take the docks," he said, leading me down towards the water.

There were indeed at least a dozen wooden docks reaching out across the expanse of water, all connected by a bridge that ran parallel to the route's land path. There were several fishermen still out, sitting calmly by their tackle boxes and waiting for a bite.

Darren had released Rouge, and the dog Pokemon was running to and fro, at times swiping a paw into the water when she saw a fish. Her fluffy tail wagged nonstop.

"Don't fire types hate water?" I asked. "Flammie doesn't like it, anyway." The Cyndaquil in question seemed perfectly content being carried in my arms.

"Rouge never minded it. We went swimming here all the time when she was a puppy." He smiled a bit, seeming to reminisce. Then the look faded. "Only time she hates it is in battle, but that goes without saying."

Some of the fishermen looked up at the sound of our footsteps as we made our way down the bridge, but for the most part they simply went right back to what they were doing. I saw some seagull-like birds soar overhead—Wingulls—and felt at peace. I wanted to forget about Union Cave and my worries for now and enjoy the warm weather and the peaceful route.

"How long have you had Rouge?" I asked out of curiosity. Honestly, I really didn't know that much about Darren; if I was going to be risking my life with him, it might help to bond a little.

He frowned for a moment. "Ah, let's see…I was thirteen, so…four years now. She's the pup of my dad's Arcanines. I didn't really start training her for battle until a few months ago."

Four years, huh…wow. Once again I got the sense that there really was a lot more to this world than I had seen so far. It wasn't just what was right in front of me—this place had a history. A history of people and Pokemon, going back long before Darren and his parents and his parent's parents. It was crazy to think about.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" I looked up, broken out of my ruminations.

Darren was offering me a sidelong glance. "New Bark Town, right? You grow up there?"

"…Sort of." I avoided his gaze, staring ahead and listening to the hollow sound of our feet hitting the wooden dock. "It's kind of a long story, but I was staying there with a friend."

He might've heard the evasive note in my voice or he might not have; either way, Darren shrugged and didn't press the issue. Instead he shoved his hands in his pockets and sidestepped one of the fishermen's tackle boxes, leading the way back towards land.

"So why'd you set out, anyway?"

"To be a trainer?" I asked.

He nodded. "I mean, you knew about Team Rocket. Why even leave home at all? Seems like a waste to head all the way to Violet City just to twiddle your thumbs."

That caused me to blush a little. Twiddle my thumbs, huh? Not that he was wrong, but that still didn't stop me from feeling a little ashamed at my own incompetence. Why couldn't I be like the trainer from the game?

"I'm looking for a legendary Pokemon," I blurted out without thinking, and immediately wanted to hit myself.

"A legendary?" Darren slowed in his pace, turning to raise his eyebrows at me. "Like Ho-Oh, or the legendary beasts?"

"Something like that," I mumbled.

He tilted his head. "What're you gonna do if you find one?"

"I don't even know which one I'm looking for…" I muttered. Then I shook my head, raising my voice a bit. "I…can't really go home until I find a certain one. Long story."

The teen watched me for a second, brow furrowed. Then he just shrugged. "Huh. Well, if you don't wanna say any more, then I guess that's up to you. But man, you do know some people spend their whole lives searching, don't you?"

My shoulders slumped. Unsurprising, but that was not the kind of thing I needed to hear right now. "…Yeah. But it's better than giving up from the get-go."

"You're right about that," he agreed. "Well, heading to Ecruteak might be a good idea, then. There's a big roadblock on Route 36 so it's inaccessible from Violet City, but you could always take the long route through Azalea and Goldenrod."

"I was thinking about doing that," I replied with a nod.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll tag along," he added with a shrug. "I plan on traveling anyway, and I've never been that far north before." A sidelong glance. "Um, if that's all right."

"Huh? Oh—no, I don't mind." I blinked, taken aback. "You'd really want to come?"

"Sure, why not? Seems like it'd be kind of lonely traveling alone, anyway."

"It kind of is," I admitted. It didn't help that I was so completely clueless about everything. It might be good for me to have someone around to talk to and learn from. Someone that wasn't Damien, at least.

"Cool. We'll plan on it, then." He smiled for a moment, but it fell soon enough when we stepped off the docks and back on to land. "But we'll have to deal with this first, I guess. There's the Pokemon Center…we're pretty close."

Ah, crap. The Pokemon Center, I remembered that. There was one right before the entrance to the cave. My peaceful mood from earlier dissipated and I felt my heart rate pick up again. Back to reality.

We didn't drop by the Center—no sense in doing so when we had already made all of the necessary preparations. Darren explained that the Center here was just volunteer run now; there were only two nurses and two police officers assigned there. I had a feeling if we visited, someone would just try to stop us—plus there would be more witnesses to tell Damien where I went. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

There was a police barricade set up at the entrance to the cave, which made going in that much scarier. Four officers were stationed there; I saw radios on their belts and a tent set up nearby. Interesting…four seemed like a pretty meager amount, but counting the two extra officers in the Center and the radios they carried, it made sense. Keeping a large group here would just alarm the populace, and it'd be a waste considering they could call for help if needed.

Darren checked to make sure none of the policemen were friends with his father, and then we showed ourselves. They looked over the Elder's note for a very long time before finally giving us a resigned look and stepping aside. Before we went in, though, one of them placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I turned to see him holding out a radio.

"I can't guarantee we'll be able to help," he said, "but give this a try if you're in trouble."

I clipped the radio to my belt with a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was better than nothing, anyway.

Now we were finally walking in Union Cave, our starters following alongside us. The effects of Flash caused the flames on Flammie's back to glow much brighter than usual, while Rouge seemed to be emitting her own light. The combined effect meant we could see clearly for about a twenty-foot radius. It was much better than any lantern or torch could do.

The cave itself was very quiet; the only sounds I could hear were the echoes of our footsteps and dripping water coming from somewhere nearby. I hadn't expected to get jumped by Team Rocket right away or anything, but this emptiness was…creepy.

"Hey, Darren?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

"What if, uh…what if we get lost?"

"Nah, don't worry," he murmured. "There's just the one route. I went through here with my dad once when I was a kid. Besides, once we get closer to the other side, I bet there'll be Rockets everywhere."

"Comforting," I muttered. "What do you think—"

"Whoa!"

A weird fluttering sound came from somewhere, and then suddenly Darren grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground. I looked up to see a colony of Zubats flying overhead, their screeching echoing through the cave and hurting my ears. Beside me, Flammie bristled as some of the bats started swooping down and attempting to bite us.

Crap—there were so many of them! There was no way we could take them all on!

"Rouge," I heard Darren say next to me, "Roar!"

The Growlithe leapt in front of us, throwing her head up defiantly and letting out a loud cry. I looked up, shocked at the force of her roar, which made her seem a lot bigger than she really was. It had the intended effect; the Zubats screeched and began to fly off. In the blink of an eye, we were alone once more.

"Jeez…" I breathed a shaky sigh, letting Darren help me back to my feet.

"Good job, Rouge," Darren said, and then shook his head. "I've never run into that many Zubats at once before. I wonder if Team Rocket drove them all to this part of the cave?"

"Maybe that means we won't have to worry about wild Pokemon further in," I said. After that spectacle, we had given up on whispering and trying to be quiet.

"I guess that's good," the teen replied. "Team Rocket is bad enough, but I don't know if Rouge's Roar could drive off an Onix."

We went on walking, and I shuddered. "Can we not talk about that? I really don't want to get squished by one of those."

"Yeah, that'd be a drag," he agreed, snorting when he saw my expression. "Oh, come on. It's not like Onix are common. We'll just run if we see one. Maybe we can use it as a distraction and get it to attack some Rockets."

"I think not encountering one sounds better," I muttered.

We continued deeper into the cave. Though I had played the games, nothing here seemed overly familiar; there were winding passages and large, open chambers with underground lakes, but that was where the similarities ended. For all I knew it was exactly the same—it just looked a lot different from this point of view.

We walked through one of the chambers and I looked out over the water, where I could faintly see a separate shore on the other side. It was probably possible to swim across, but then again…there might be some dangerous Pokemon in the water. So was that a path accessible via Surf, then? It'd be nice if I had a water Pokemon right about now…stupid Silver could probably swim across with his Totodile to protect him.

Flammie walked close to my feet, careful not to stray too close to the water. Hmm…I couldn't remember what sort of Pokemon might be swimming in its depths. Maybe it was nothing but Magikarp. Hopefully there wouldn't be any Gyarados ready to jump out of the water and eat us.

No, I really needed to stop thinking about it. Big Pokemon were scary…at least when all I had to protect me were my wits and a couple of unevolved starters.

"What was that?"

I jumped a little at Darren's voice, and looked over to see a shadow move just beyond our illuminated circle. We hadn't encountered anything so far other than those Zubats and the occasional Geodude, and all of them had fled almost immediately. It couldn't be a member of—?!

When we moved forward and a Sandshrew was cast into the light, I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't something that could actually kill us. The stupid darkness of the cave was really making me paranoid.

Strangely enough, Darren's eyes widened and he grinned. "This is it."

"Darren?" I glanced over at him.

"Rouge, use Leer!"

The Growlithe jumped forward and pinned the other Pokemon with a glare. It froze for a moment, before turning and using its hind legs to kick up a cloud of sand. Rouge shook her head, momentarily blinded.

"That's fine," the teen said. "Use your nose to find it, Rouge! Bite!"

Rouge barked and dove right through the cloud while I coughed helplessly. There was a squeal, and when the dust cleared I saw that the Growlithe had latched on to the Sandshrew's tail. She growled and held on stubbornly, despite the other Pokemon's attempts to scratch her.

"Throw it down, and then Ember!" Darren called. Rouge swung around and used her momentum to toss the Sandshrew away; it landed in a heap, and then was immediately hit with Ember.

The Sandshrew curled into a ball to fend off the worst of the attack; the fire didn't seem to have much of an effect on it. But it was then that the Growlithe launched in one final time, tackling the other Pokemon to the wall.

"All right, Rouge, that's enough," Darren said. His starter backed off, and he threw a Poke Ball; it hit the Sandshrew, pulling the Pokemon in.

A few seconds passed in which the Poke Ball shook, the Pokemon within putting up quite a fight. But then, finally, it fell still.

"Yes!" Darren pumped a fist in the air victoriously.

I rubbed the back of my neck, taken aback. That had happened so quickly. "Well, that went better than my first catch…"

Rouge ran to her owner and Darren scooped her up, giving her a happy hug and kiss on the snout. She licked his face eagerly, dancing from foot to foot the second he put her back down.

He walked over and picked up the Poke Ball, turning back to me with a smile.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't planning on catching any Pokemon today, but I really thought all we'd see were Geodudes and Zubats." His smile grew. "And hey…you've got a flying type, so I might as well get a ground type so we're a well-rounded team, right?"

"Makes sense." I couldn't help but return the smile. A new Pokemon in the group was kind of exciting. What kind of personality would this Sandshrew have? Maybe it wouldn't be a jerk like Apollo. Not to mention I had a sort of soft spot for Sandshrews, since when I was a kid I always made sure to have one on my team. Sandslash was awesome even if it did always end up being outshined by my other team members.

"Are you going to name it?"

Darren nodded, seeming to think for a moment. He glanced at the Poke Gear strapped to his wrist, punching in a few commands with his free hand before pressing the front of the Poke Ball to the gear. The screen blinked for a moment and he pulled it away.

"What're you doing?" I asked, walking up and looking curiously over his shoulder. The images on his Poke Gear screen looked pretty familiar.

"Just checking its gender," he replied. "You're pretty spoiled with your Pokedex, but most gear is upgraded to have a scan function too."

Oh. Huh, that made sense. Sometimes I forgot that the Pokedex was a research tool and not exactly standard issue. If the information was out there for other trainers, they'd need some way to access it.

Then something else hit me.

"You can check a Pokemon's gender that way?"

Darren's eyebrows flew up. Then he tilted his head, giving me an exasperated look. "You didn't know? The technology in a Poke Ball registers a Pokemon's basic information as soon as it's captured. If it's a known species, then a basic scan should be enough to tell you the gender. That's Trainer Equipment 101."

"Huh." I felt a little embarrassed; even without anyone telling me, I should've figured it out by now. Come to think of it, Flammie's info screen on the Pokedex had displayed a 'male' symbol, but I had already known his gender at the time, so it hadn't really registered. And Damien hadn't been interested in teaching me anything but how to battle.

Finally he just laughed a little and shook his head. "It's okay, no big deal. Not your fault that Damien guy was a colossal waste of time, right? Who was he, anyway? Your boyfriend or something?"

"N-no," I said, my cheeks flushing. "Just…a mentor, kind of? It's complicated. He meant well, I think. But I really did need to get out of there."

"Gotcha," Darren said. "Sorry, didn't mean to pry. Anyway…" He held up his Poke Ball, staring at it for a moment before hooking it on his belt. "Zeke."

For a moment I was confused. "…Zeke?"

"You asked about the name," he replied with a grin. "I think Zeke sounds good."

"Oh!" I smiled as well. "Zeke the Sandshrew. Yeah, I like it."

"All right. It's a little late to be turning back, so I guess I'll just have to take him to Azalea Town's Pokemon center," Darren remarked.

My cheer faded a bit as I remembered just where we were. "Yeah…on the other side."

"We'd better get moving," he said, sobering as well. "Rouge, you still doing okay?"

The Growlithe let out a short bark in reply, wagging her tail eagerly. I glanced down at Flammie and was glad to see that he was on the alert as well.

It was time to get going. There was no telling what waited for us at the exit to the cave, if we managed to make it that far…

My heart was racing. We had definitely gotten beyond the point of no return now.

Our real troubles started when we heard voices coming from up ahead. Darren and I hid behind a set of boulders, listening carefully. We had been walking for a while; we had to be so close, but that also meant we were close to the source of all the danger.

"…as if it even matters," a masculine voice came. "We're still making a killing on the black market, you know. The idiots eat this shit up – everyone loves it, no one wants to get their hands dirty."

"It's just so boring," another voice complained, this one female. "Stationed in this stupid little nothing town, guarding a well of all things. Goldenrod, now that's where it's at."

A snort. "With the execs breathing down your neck? No thanks. These are the front lines, rookie. Won't be long before Team Rocket expands past Union Cave—that's when things will get interesting."

The two of us exchanged a glance. They were going to expand? That meant Violet City was in trouble, too…

We listened for a few more minutes until the voices faded; the Rockets were moving on. They might be on patrol, which meant we had to get moving before they came back.

"I think we're close to the exit," Darren finally whispered.

"And then what? How are we gonna beat these guys?" I hissed back.

He didn't reply, but offered a shaky smile that surprised me.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"It's just—you wouldn't be asking that if you didn't think there was a chance we could really beat them."

That was… true, actually. But I had to cling to that idea; running wasn't an option anymore. I couldn't find the legendary Pokemon and go home if Team Rocket forced me to hole up in one city. And even if it was useless, even if I could never go home… what was the point of living in the Pokemon world if I could never go on a journey?

"Well, it's a slim chance, but we might as well try now that we're here," I huffed.

"We'll be okay," he assured me, though he was starting to look nervous too, now that we had actually come this far. He turned his gaze forward, further down the path. "Let's see what's going on in Azalea Town."

"…Right."

We left our hiding place and began to make our way toward the exit of the cave, my apprehension building with every step I took.

Azalea Town seemed… normal.

It was jarring, to be honest, and I could feel Darren's growing confusion. I wasn't sure what I had expected, but it looked like a cute village nestled in the woods. There were squat wooden houses with thatched roofs; some of them had flower gardens next to them, while others had stacks of unburned firewood left over from the winter. The shutters were open and there were people out and about.

We passed an open Poke Mart (the customers inside stared at us as we walked past) and then eventually spotted the red roof of the Pokemon center. Darren nodded to me, and I followed him inside.

The feeling of normality broke the minute we set foot in the building—it was empty. Not completely empty, per se, but there wasn't a single trainer in sight. There was just one nurse on duty, and she looked up from a magazine with surprise the minute we walked in.

"Ah… hello," she breathed, wide-eyed. "New in town?"

"Um, yeah," Darren replied, looking a bit taken aback. Next to him, Rouge was looking around, her tail bristling.

Flammie had tensed in my arms as well, but he wasn't curling up into a ball; that told me that something was off, but there wasn't immediate danger. I frowned, getting nervous.

Darren held up his Poke Ball. "My Sandshrew's hurt… could you help him?"

The nurse looked around for a moment, and then nodded to us with a quick smile. "Just the one? Of course."

As she took the Poke Ball, Darren and I exchanged a glance. She seemed pretty on edge… I had the distinct impression that we didn't belong here right now. It was the first time I had felt unwelcome at a Pokemon center. The fact that it was empty… that was just weird.

Hearing the sound of the center's doors opening, I stiffened a bit.

"Felicity!" A masculine voice barked.

The nurse paled, looking up from the machine she had placed the Poke Ball in. "Ah—P-Proton, sir…?"

It took a lot of effort to stifle the small involuntary gasp I made. Darren glanced at me and then we both turned, seeing three men striding into the Pokemon center. The man in the center wore a slightly altered uniform that had bright red trim; his hair was sea foam green, and he had a wicked smirk on his lips.

Proton. That name—he was a Rocket Executive. These men were all wearing black uniforms. This was Team Rocket in the flesh, and we were standing right out in the open.

"I hope you're not busy. We've got a few new ones," Proton said, holding up several Poke Balls. Then his eyes wandered over to us, and he raised his eyebrows. "Hm? Where did you two come from?"

"My cousins," the nurse, Felicity, blurted out as she took his Poke Balls. "Th-they're visiting. From Goldenrod."

"Thought you said you were from Kanto." He watched her with a calculating look.

She jerked a little, but kept a smile plastered on her face. "Well, yes, Dad's side of the family. But my mother's brother works at the radio station."

"Really." Proton looked over at me, his smirk growing. "I've got a lot of friends over there. What's his name? I probably know him."

An awful feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach, a feeling that very bad things happened to outsiders who came snooping around in this town. The nurse was trying to cover for us—but with the Rocket looking at me like that, what could I say? Darren was staring at me, helpless, his eyes full of barely concealed alarm.

Grasping at straws, I decided to throw out the name Annette had given me.

"Russell."

Proton's eyes lit up. "Russell! Oh, we go way back. Didn't know he had another daughter—or a son, for that matter. Interesting… I'll have to have a chat with him." He reached down, snatching the radio from my belt. "Mind if I borrow this? Sure you don't. By the way, what's your name, kid?"

"Brittany," I said, and quickly regretted giving my real name.

"And I'm Darren," my companion said, and clearly didn't seem to have the same reservations.

"Brittany and Darren," Proton said. His smile had a cruel edge now. "Well, if you two brats are anything like your old man, you're going to be an irritating thorn in my side. I'm in a generous mood today, so let me give you a bit of advice—I'm going to leave now, so you go ahead and make yourselves scarce. If I see you again, I'll feed you to my Houndoom."

Now he looked over at the nurse. "And Felicity, I'll be back with a fresh batch in an hour. Don't go anywhere."

"R-right…" she murmured, staring down at the counter.

Proton walked out the door, flanked by his two taciturn grunts. We watched as the doors swung shut behind them, and a heavy silence settled over us.

At length, the nurse sighed. "I'm sorry about that…"

"Who was that?" Darren asked, his hands clenched into fists.

Felicity shook her head. "We can't speak for long; they'll be watching you now. That was Proton, one of Team Rocket's executive members. He's as ruthless as they come… if you two don't get out of here, there's no telling what he'll do to you. I don't know where you came from, but you should go back while you still have the chance."

"We can't just go back after seeing that," Darren said. "What was he talking about, a fresh batch? Is that what Pokemon are to him? What is Team Rocket doing in this town?"

The nurse stared at him for a long moment. Then she finally pulled out a scrap of paper, jotting down a short note before folding it up and sliding it across the counter to us.

"There's a house at the top of a hill on the north end of town," she explained. "A Poke Ball maker named Kurt lives there. If you're that determined to stay, then give this to him."

I took the note and slipped it into my pocket.

"Hang on, what…" Darren trailed off when she retrieved his Poke Ball and held it out to him.

"You have to leave," she said firmly. Her hand was shaking. "Please."

"…Sure," he said quietly, taking back his Pokemon and hooking the ball on his belt. He looked over at me. "Let's go, then."

"Right," I replied, sending the nurse one last glance before turning towards the doors.

We left her. As we walked down the street, leaving the Pokemon center behind, all I could think about was how alone she was in that building. My stomach churned.

Things were not as they seemed here.

"Go away! You aren't welcome here!"

As it turned out, our efforts to speak to the Poke Ball maker were proving useless. Every time we knocked, we were met with the same irritable yell.

Darren gritted his teeth, knocking again. "Please, just—"

"I'm too busy to speak to the likes of you!"

He let his hand fall. After a second he looked over at me, letting out a breath. "What now?"

I frowned, trying to think. Then I pulled the nurse's note out of my pocket, bending down and sliding it under the door. There was the sound of footsteps from the other side, and then a long pause.

The door opened. Success!

A stout old man with thick eyebrows and short grey hair stood in the doorway, giving us a stern gaze. He stepped aside.

"Come in."

Surprised, we took the offer and stepped inside. He quickly shut the door behind us. I felt my heartbeat increase a bit; what the hell was going on with this town? Still, Flammie seemed relaxed now, so it was probably okay.

"Grandpa?" A little girl, no older than five, walked into the room. "Are they more friends?"

His features softened immediately. "Yes, sweetie. Go back and play."

She eyed us dubiously for a moment, and then nodded. "'Kay." The girl ran off into the other room again.

The old man finally heaved a sigh, looking the note over again. "Felicity sent you, hmm… I hope you didn't give that poor girl too much trouble." He looked us over. "Made it through Union Cave, eh? You must have, because nobody comes from Goldenrod City anymore."

"Yeah," Darren replied, frowning. "Weren't…weren't there others who made it through?"

"Sure," a new voice piped up. A boy about our age, with lavender colored hair and eyes, walked into the room. "Some of them are still here. Others… well, we're not sure what happened to them, but Team Rocket made them disappear."

I shuddered, thinking of Proton's cruel smile. Then I had another thought, examining the newcomer more closely. He was wearing green shorts and a t-shirt with long socks and sturdy looking brown boots; something about him seemed extremely familiar. He was just missing something… he wasn't holding a net.

A net? Oh!

"Aren't you a gym leader?" I blurted out.

He offered me a sunny grin. "Yup! Well, I was, till those sleazeballs kicked me out of my own gym. Now I'm just Bugsy, ordinary bug enthusiast. And you are?"

Darren and I introduced ourselves in turn. I was still reeling a bit from the reality that this kid was actually a gym leader—he was nothing like Falkner.

"Violet City, huh…" Bugsy seemed to think this over.

"You should just go back," Kurt said with a sigh. "It's too dangerous here."

"Whoa, Kurt! Look, they're lucky enough they got through Union Cave," the ex-gym leader said. "It's not like sending them back into that deathtrap will be any safer."

Kurt waved the note in Bugsy's face. "This says that Proton's got a special interest in them. They're going to get themselves killed."

"Hmm…" The boy stared at the note for a second, and then shrugged. "Still doesn't make a difference. You guys knew what you were getting into, right?"

"Right," Darren replied. At his feet, Rouge let out a short bark.

"We did," I agreed with a sigh. Somehow, hearing that every path was dangerous now made choosing to stick around easier.

"Well, there you go," Bugsy said. He smiled again, though some of his cheer had faded. "You're in luck, actually. I'm here because we were planning on making a move tonight. We've been building up to this for months—are you two in?"

"Overeager kids these days…" Kurt was sighing, resigned.

"If you're going to stop Team Rocket, I'm in," Darren said. He was pale, and I could tell he was putting on a brave face. But he was listening to his heart… and I knew that was what I had to do, too.

"Me, too…" I added. "But… is it just you two?"

"Of course not," Bugsy laughed. "Guess I haven't done a good job of explaining. All right, well, we've got time. Let me start at the beginning, when Team Rocket showed up and started this whole mess…"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite the insanely long wait. But, y'know... life. Life happens. Also other fics, and I have a habit of biting off way more than I can chew. Alas. THE CHEWING CONTINUES. I'm not making sense anymore.

Next time: Slowpoke Well. We meet again, Proton (please don't kill me).