Chapter Nineteen: Interrogation



Terra's POV



Once we make it back to yesterday, the plan goes off without a hitch. We wait in the bushes as the Team Rocket grunts run by, far enough from where our group from the past is waiting so as not to cause a paradox. One expertly timed Spore from Ilima's Smeargle successfully sends a Rocket grunt into dreamland, and the other grunts are running so fast that they don't even notice he's gone.



We then hop back to the present day, because there's no point loitering in the past when we all know there's gonna be a giant Gengar and Alakazam having a battle royale in the woods while we're trying to interrogate this guy.



We decide to hold the interrogation at the rocky cave we've sort of adopted as our current home base. Wes insists we tie the guy up. Hoopa alley-hooparings up some rope from who knows where, and Wes takes a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket. (I'm not sure I want to know where he got them.)



But I don't see the point in it. The guy we wound up with is just a kid, no older than Shu himself. He's not that scary, really.



Ilima doesn't agree. "Pokemon are the ultimate equalizer," he says. "It doesn't matter much if you're a kid or an adult when you have Pokemon. Granted, the longer you've been with your Pokemon, the stronger you are, but this kid could still surprise us."



I nod, but I still feel kind of like a bully.



Ilima's Smeargle uses Wake-Up Slap to wake the guy up. The kid looks pretty shaken when he sees himself surrounded by big kids like us and their Pokemon. His first instinct is to try to grab his Poke Ball, which he can't really do with his hands bound and cuffed.



"What's the big idea?" he yowls. "You goons think you can mess with the great Hitoshi?"



"Hitoshi, huh?" Wes asks, acting all tough. "Give us any more lip, and we'll hit your toshi all right. What do you know about what happened in Pallet Town?"



The grunt grins. "Miss your family, huh? You don't have a chance of saving them. The whole of Saffron City is under an impenetrable dome, and only members of Team Rocket can go in and out. Nothing personal, it's just business."



"Where in Saffron are they being held?" Shu asks.



"Darned if I know. Prolly at Sabrina's psychic school; everyone with powers is focused on using them to control the people of Pallet Town with their oh-so-special connection to Pokemon. Boss thinks they'll be perfect test subjects for Project Burst."



"Excuse me," Ilima asks, motioning for the others to be quiet. "What's Project Burst?"



Hitoshi grins. "That's for me to know and for you to... not know. But it's big. Bigger than you can possibly imagine."



"Tell us," Ilima says evenly.



"I told you once, I'll only tell you one more time: my lips are sealed."



"Tell us!" Ilima hisses, staring straight into Hitoshi's eyes.



Hitoshi's eyes grow wide, and his voice sort of goes blank. "I... don't know what Project Burst is. It's something important, a vast scientific undertaking involving both humans and Pokemon. That's all I know."



Ilima nods, then turns away from Hitoshi. Whatever the heck was going on, Hitoshi snaps out of it, and he starts to sweat. "How... what the heck did you just do?"



"That's for me to know," Ilima says, "and for you to spend the rest of your waking moments trying to figure out. Can you get us into Saffron City?"



"Why the heck would I want to do that?" Hitoshi asks. "You practically smell like good guys. You may have a creepy stare, but I'm sure not going to be the guy who betrayed his entire organization to the Scooby Doom gang."



"Hoopa can get you all past the dome," Hoopa points out. "Easy peasy Sitrus-queezy!"



Ilima shrugs. "Fair enough. But you realize, we can't just let this guy go and tell his superiors that there's a group of kids heading for them. So what are we going to do with him?"



"I vote we leave him tied up in the woods," Wes offers. "Let th' local Pokemon decide what to do with him."



Hitoshi turns pale. "You can't just leave me here!" he says. "I'll be eaten alive!"



"Or pranked by Mew," Shu offers.



"Well, we also can't have you blabbing to your superiors about a group of kids entering Saffron," Ilima says evenly. "So what are we going to do to you?"



An idea pops into my mind. An excellent idea. "Send him to the future."



"What?"



"If we take him a week into the future, then we'll have a week's head start and he won't be able to rat us out. He doesn't have to get hurt, we don't have to worry about him, it's a win-win."



Ilima looks unconvinced. "Wouldn't it be easier to hand him over to the police?"



"And get detained for questioning about what we got against 'im?" Wes shrugs. "We've got a whole town to save. Ain't no time for th' police."



Ilima doesn't look convinced.



Fortunately, now is when Gary and Gladion return. "You started the party without us?" Gary asks.



Ilima notices Gladion is limping a bit and clutching his chest. "You're hurt!" he says, rushing to his friend's side. "What happened?"



Gladion winces. "Giratina happened. Terra's right; it's under some red-haired asshole's control. I would've been dragon chow if Gary hadn't come through at the last minute."



"Yeah, I know, I'm awesome," Gary says. "Who's the kid?"



Hitoshi looks up at Gary defiantly. "You're with these goons? Tell them it's impossible. They'll never defeat Team Rocket!"



"Sorry I asked," Gary says. "Look, kid, we don't have time for the small fry. We've got a city to save. What's the closest route to Saffron City you know of?"



Hitoshi pauses. "I'd say through Holiwood City, up through Mintale Town, then due east to Celadon and Saffron after that. But you'll never make it. Team Rocket will catch up with you, make no mistake of that."



"Sweet," Wes says. "So, can I kick 'im into th' middle of next week now?"



"I'll handle this," Ilima says, activating his Chronometer. "You've got the keys to the handcuffs, right?"



"Keys?" Wes asks innocently "What keys?"



It takes three whole minutes before Ilima realizes Wes isn't joking.



---



After Silvally bites through Hitoshi's handcuffs, we decide to leave him tied up at the edge of the forest and call the police with an anonymous tip. Then skedaddle.



"Shouldn't we help the police handle this case?" I ask Gary. "Surely they'd be more effective at rescuing prisoners than a bunch of kids."



Gary scoffs. "The police are a joke. Team Rocket's been running around doing wicked things for years now, and the police haven't done anything about it back when it was petty crimes and Pokemon theft. It's because of them that Team Rocket's been able to get as big as it is. Why should they get competent now, when Team Rocket gets serious?"



I think back to the kind of problems in my world with crime and with the police. It's not a pleasant thought.



"So that's just it?" I ask. "Six kids and a Hoopa, up against Team Rocket? How on earth -- I mean, how on Pokearth are we going to rescue an entire town?"



"We have Hoopa, right?" Gary asks. "We can go anywhere with Hoopa. Once we get past the shield, we'll find the prisoners, use Hoopa's rings to get them out, and then go kick Team Rocket's teeth in. Easy as pie."



"One tiny problem," Hoopa says nervously. "Hoopa can't go through Hoopa's rings. Hoopa can't go with you into Saffron City."



Gary blinks. "Seriously? Seriously?"



Hoopa nods, embarrassed.



"Great. You could've told us that before we left the Rocket kid behind." Gary paces in agitation. "Now what are we gonna do?"



"We press forward," Ilima says, "and we'll figure out the rest along the way. It's a good distance to Saffron City -- I'm sure we'll think of something."



He doesn't mention Project Burst to Gary. Perhaps it's better he doesn't know just yet.