Chapter 20: Trigger 

The first thing I did was check to see if my hands would reach into my bag to retrieve my Poke Balls. As much as I tried, the restraint just cut into my wrists, almost causing them to bleed. I couldn't reach my bag at my hip- my arms were too close to my body. The others had tried too, but hadn't had any more success, not that it would have helped at all anyway considering our Pokemon would feel sick outside of their Poke Balls because of Team Rocket's meddling experiment.  

A couple minutes of silent thinking ensued, broken by Daniel groaning. 

"Are you ok?" Amanda asked, sounding worried. 

Daniel just moaned again. 

"What's wrong? Are you bleeding?" Anthony asked. "Just apply pressure and-" He stopped as Daniel continued making noise. "What's wrong with you?" 

"I'm hungry," Daniel exclaimed. 

"I never thought I'd see the day where there was someone out there whose stomach had a bigger mouth than Ash's." Misty grimaced. 

"You really should quit your complaining, Daniel. Look at Pikachu and Togepi. They look horrible and you're whining about an empty stomach," Anthony said tersely. 

I looked at Pikachu and Togepi who were pale. Their eyes were closed as they breathed raggedly. 

"Sorry, guys. I was just trying to ease the mood," Daniel apologized. 

"Well, if you want to do something, why don't you get us out of here?" Misty retorted. 

That seemed to awaken Ash from his silence. He stood up and screamed, "Can anybody hear me? Hello? Let us OUT of here! Let us out!" 

He continued for a couple minutes, kicking the bars. I remained silent, not sure what to do. I couldn't even really hear myself think of my Ash's yelling, so I just sat and mulled over all my problems. Reliving fighting with my dad, Cloud being hurt, time traveling and dooming all my friends to life in prison. 

It's a hard knocked life. 

"Let! Us! Out!" My dad banged on the bars, his forehead starting to sweat. 

"Will you stop that incessant squawking!? It's giving me a headache," A female's voice called out at the doorway. I looked up. It was Jessie, her magenta hair held up with hairspray galore. James was behind her, Meowth nowhere in sight. I guessed Meowth was still feeling horrible from the evolution inducement wave's effects. 

"Besides." James smiled. "We figures of Team Rocket history are guarding your exit." 

We all stood up, ready for, well... trouble, not to quote their motto or anything. I'd just memorized it after so many storytellings from my parents that just looking at these guys was funny. 

"Hey, look! Togepi and Pikachu are waking up," Amanda announced. We all turned to see Pikachu and Togepi stir and open their eyes. 

"Oh, good!" Misty sighed in relief. 

"Hey, Pikachu, think you feel healthy enough to help us break out of here with a Thundershock?" Ash smiled hopefully.  

Pikachu stood up slowly, electricity coming off his red cheeks. "Pika...chuuuu!" The electricity grew, then stopped. "Pika?" 

"It looks like Pikachu can't use electric attacks yet. The inducement machine must have after effects." Brock frowned. 

Jessie and James laughed, then James said, "We're here to take Pikachu. And once our boss hears about this heist he'll gladly hoist us back up to the top of the heap!" 

"That's a mouthful," Daniel muttered. 

"And then he'll give us a tidy tip for our trouble!" Jessie said eagerly, holding up the key to our jail cell. 

"They sure do love alliteration," Daniel whispered to me, forcing me to crack a small smile. 

James took the key and inserted it into the cell and we tensed, ready to run for it. But, they'd already planned for us trying to escape. 

Jessie smirked and took out a Poke Ball. "Where do you think you're going? Arbok, use Poison Sting now!" 

Her large Arbok, purple and thick with muscle, popped out and shot dozens of shining needle-like projectiles at our feet, forcing us all back against the wall. 

Jessie and James walked into the cell smoothly, followed by Arbok who stood coiled, looking ready to strike as we cowered against the wall, all of us feeling as utterly helpless as a Caterpie in a Pidgeotto's nest. 

"This will go a lot easier if you don't move." James smirked. 

Jessie fished into her pocket for a small remote and held it up toward Pikachu, who stood still, the restraint around his middle locked tightly around his yellow body. 

"Just relax. I only need a second." Jessie's voice was full of triumph, as if Pikachu was already hers. She pointed the remote slowly at Pikachu's harness and pushed the center button. 

Pikachu's restraint released, falling to the floor. Then Ash's, Misty's, Brock's, Daniel's, Anthony's, Amanda's, mine, and Togepi's. 

We all looked down at the floor as the rings clattered loudly, then up at Team Rocket. 

"This opens ALL of them!?" Jessie stared at the trembling remote in her hand as James turned a nice shade of green. 

"Wow, you messed up." Daniel openly laughed at them and I couldn't help but grin. They really were stupid. 

Jessie ignored him and began shouting at James, "This is all YOUR FAULT! You didn't tell me this would happen!" 

James put his hands up to protect himself. "I didn't read the manual!" 

Ash took out a Poke Ball. "Cyndaquil, use Smoke Screen!" 

Cyndaquil appeared and opened his mouth large, smoke billowing around the small room.  

"I can't see!'" Jessie screamed in rage. 

"I'll find our way out of here," James said optimistically. 

We heard the smack of a punch as Jessie roared, "Get off my foot!" as we tiptoed by, then ran out of the room and down the hall, passing Meowth who was knocked out on a couch in some sort of break room. 

We ran out of the building- no plan in mind but to escape and save the Gyarados. 

"Freedom!" Daniel exclaimed as we came into the sunlight. "It's been so long!" 

"More like an hour and a half," Anthony gasped, looking like he'd gotten a side stitch. 

Team Rocket caught up to us a few seconds later. "Use Poison Sting!" 

Jessie's Arbok sent more needles flying our way and we stumbled to a halt where they were inches from our feet. 

"Now use Wrap and tie them up!" Jessie smiled. 

We gasped and all fumbled with our Poke Balls, knowing that it was too late. Arbok was feet away and flying at us, fangs bared. 

All of a sudden, a blue Electric attack zapped Arbok, sending him flying over Jessie and James, landing in a heap.  

We looked to see a Dragonite flying above us, then a giant jeep squealing to a halt. Another Team Rocket grunt got out, dressed fully in black and looking at us, black sunglasses masking his eyes. 

"Who are you?" Jessie seemed annoyed. 

"You have some nerve crashing our capture!" James raised a fist and shook it in the air angrily. 

The other grunt took off his shades. "My name is Lance of the Pokemon G Men!" 

"Pokemon G What?" Jessie and James both repeated dully. 

"That's never going to catch on." Brock frowned. 

"You have no idea," Daniel said loudly. I stepped on his foot and he winced. 

"He said G Men," Meowth answered. 

"Oh, Meowth! You're here! I thought you were still asleep," James said gleefully. 

Meowth sneered and jumped up and down in anger. "I'm fine now, tanks for your concern!" 

As they conversed, or should I say argued, we ran over to Lance. 

"Thank Arceus you're here." Anthony sounded close to a nervous breakdown. 

"Yeah, you really helped us," Misty thanked. 

"We were done for," Brock said. 

Lance smiled. 

Jessie growled. "I don't care if you're a G Man, a he man, or a tree man, you're soon to be an ex-man! Arbok, use Acid, let's go!" 

Arbok, who had recovered from the Thunder Wave, slithered quickly towards us. 

"Dragonite, use Twister!" Lance commanded. His Dragonite flew, beating its wings fully and surely, filling the area with a huge tornado which slammed into Arbok and sped towards Team Rocket, who ran screaming in the other direction. It captured them and we all gasped as it threw them thousands of feet into the air and we made out the words, "Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaain!" 

"Well, that was dramatic," Daniel commented lightly. 

Lance, after Team Rocket was nothing but a pinprick in the sky, turned back to Ash. "I warned you about coming back." 

Ash hung his head. "Sorry, Lance. We didn't mean to cause you trouble." 

"Yeah, we're sorry," we all confirmed. I still felt more like we did the right thing of coming back, but we'd still done nothing but gotten captured. 

"It's ok, I understand. You're just as worried about the Pokemon as I am." Lance smiled. 

Our tension melted away at his forgiveness and understanding. 

"Now, down to business. The evolution inducement machine must be destroyed. I know where it is." Lance ran towards the largest building at the HQ. We sprinted after him, running into the building and down hallways to a large workroom. 

"We need to destroy this." Lance gestured to a huge metal machine that hummed which sat in the middle of the room. 

"Zuko, come on out!" I threw his Poke Ball and he appeared, the fur on his back standing up in anger at everything that had happened since I'd been captured. 

"Thistle, I need your help!" Daniel called his Jolteon out. 

"You too, Snout!" Anthony's Krookodile appeared. 

"Shell!" Amanda's Blastoise thudded to the floor. 

We all yelled our attacks at the same time, "Hydro Pump, Thunderbolt, Outrage, Hyper Beam, Flamethrower!" 

The explosion was massive as the powerful attacks hit the machine, sending smoke and fire everywhere as we ran out of the building, We all recalled our Pokemon and attempted to pile into Lance's jeep, which wasn't fit to hold this many people. Maybe five, but eight? It seemed like a long shot to get us all in there without injuring ourselves. Still, we had to try. Either that or have pieces of burning hot metal raining down and hitting us on the head. 

Lance hopped in the driver's seat, of course, and Daniel screamed, "Shotgun!" and jumped into the front seat before anyone could say otherwise. 

Ash threw Pikachu to Brock, who caught him, and Misty handed Togepi over as well. Brock scooted in, followed by Ash who said, "Misty, you're going to have to be squished on top of me." 

She frowned, but said, "Ok." and hurried to sit on Ash's lap, trying not to look anyone in the eye. 

Anthony murmured to Amanda, "I think you'll have to do the same thing." 

She nodded, understanding the she'd be sitting on his lap. I couldn't tell if her cheeks were red from all the running and blowing things up or from the prospect of being so near Anthony. Anthony got in, elbowing Ash in the face on accident, and Amanda sat on his legs, trying to duck her head so it wouldn't bump against the ceiling. 

As Anthony slammed the backdoor shut (it seriously looked like the back seat of a clown car), Daniel sighed happily. "Well, that means you have to sit on my lap." 

"What?" I gaped at him. 

"Sit on my lap," Daniel repeated. It sounded more like a demand this time. 

"No, I-" 

The building exploded again and I looked up in time to see the satellite-like tower that the inducement wave's signal begin to creak and move.... towards the car. It was falling. 

"Sit on my lap!" Daniel ordered. 

"Alright, fine!" I screamed back, jumping onto his lap and squeezing his legs roughly with my hands, holding on like he was a life preserver because, in a way, he was. "Step on it!" 

Lance took off before Daniel even had the chance to slam his door shut. The tires screeched in protest and dust spewed everywhere as they tried to gain traction. The shadow of the tower now loomed over us as it fell faster. It was if we weren't only fighting Team Rocket, but their own building now. 

"Go, go, go, go!" Ash willed the car, squirming around as if it would make us speed up. 

"Come on!" Brock gritted his teeth. 

The jeep lurched forward right in time- the tower landed, shaking the jeep, almost clipping the bumper. 

We all cheered, glad to have survived. I leaned back and sighed, relaxing now that we weren't all as flat as Stunfisk. I suddenly realized my back was resting against a breathing chest and stiffened. 

"So, you picked my lap over death?" Daniel whispered into my ear smugly. 

"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head." I closed my eyes tiredly, not wanting to deal with him so close after the experience of being forced to be near him. Of course, that was impossible since he was literally touching me. 

I was saved from his reply as Lance spoke, "We have to get to Mahogany Town, that's where they are taking the Red Gyarados."  

He stepped on the gas, sending us flying even faster as we left Team Rocket Headquarters and down a mountain path. 

"I've always wondered what a quiet life would be like," Anthony pondered, his face pressed against the glass as if trying to get the surface to absorb his sorrow. Or he was just that squished back there that he had no choice but to make a Gulpin face against the window. 

"No time for that, Ant, we've got a town to save!" Daniel said excitedly. "Hey, Lance, can this jeep go over a hundred?" 

"Only if you want to fly off into that valley." Lance swung the jeep quickly around the bend of a cliff, the tire screeching to the last few inches of rock left. Anthony's face got pressed up against the window with more force, his nose skewed to the side, and he let loose some kind of half-scream as he stared hundreds of feet down into a valley below. 

"Sweet!" Daniel exclaimed. "Can I drive?" 

"NO!" We all yelled in unison.

Hey Pokemon Trainers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know I hardly update any of my stories anymore and this one isn't my most popular, but hey, at least it's an update. 

Pokemon Question of the Day: Which Pokemon's secondary stage is your favorite when it comes to starter Pokemon? 

Enjoy your day :) God bless!

-Flips