Chapter Forty-One: Teamwork



Meowth's POV



This can't end well at all.



Normally, the lab basements of Silph Co. are heavily guarded. Right now, all the guards are out tryin' to stop Lance from reachin' Rayquaza.



Fine time for treason, or so Ali thinks.



"Ya realize I can't jus' letcha walk outta here wi' all Team Rocket's prisonahs, roight?" I ask. "Dat'd be betrayin' da whole group!"



"Ali knows," Ali says. "What will Meowth-Kun do to stop Hoopa?"



I open my mouth, realize Ali has a point, and close it again. I turn around to leave. "Well, I sure ain't stickin' around wi' ya. If anyone sees me-owth around, I'm at da end o' my nine loive--"



Then I run smack into the leg of what's probably the only human guard in the room. Only it isn't a guard.



"Meowth?" he says.



"James?" I say.



"Hoopa?" he asks.



"Ali," she pouts.



"Whatcha doin' here?" I ask James. "Boss said for youse to stay in Mintale Town, an' hold down da fort.



"Nothing!" James says, quickly hiding something behind his back.



"Are does da key cards to da experiment floor?" I ask.



"Of course not!" he says, but not convincingly.



I give him a glare. "Is dis about da Jessiebelle thing?"



"Well, you're hanging out with the same twerp Pokemon that tied Rayquaza into knots. You're not one to talk!"



I look towards Ali, and she's no longer there. She's likely taken off towards the lower levels of the Silph Co. building.



"Meowth! Dat ain't roight!" I say. "We gotta catch 'er before she--"



"Don't act like you're innocent of all this," another voice says. "If we're in this, we're in this together."



My eyes widen. "Jessie?"



"Who'd you think gave James the idea, doofus? The guy's got less assertiveness than a timid Sunkern. No, if we're betraying Team Rocket, we're doing it together."



I can't believe it. Not only have I been coerced into aidin' a mass escape from Team Rocket, but my best buds have somehow gotten themselves mixed up in it! "What're ya doin', den?"



"If Team Rocket wants to make the rest of my life miserable," James says, "then I intend to return the favor."



---



Terra's POV



We make it out of Terra Caverns without much further incident. Sure, there's the Zubat that pooped on Wes's head, but for his sake we won't going into further details.



We've finally reached Celadon City.



And the place seems practically deserted.



I recognize some of the buildings. "There's the department store, the game corner, the condominiums... there's the Pokemon Center, and there's the hotel. But why isn't anyone outside?"



"Ya seem t' know a lot about this place for not bein' from here," Wes says.



"Like I said, my world knows a lot about your world. Just not, you know, that it actually exists."



Shu looks around. "I wonder where everyone is? I wouldn't have expected a big city to be so quiet."



"It is quiet," Cyan says suspiciously. "Too quiet. You don't think Team Rocket had a hand in this, do you?"



Team Rocket! Suddenly I remember. "Say... in my world, they said that Team Rocket's base was hidden behind a poster in the Game Corner. Maybe we can find something there."



Gladion looks at me as if I grew a second head. "Are you crazy? Enter Team Rocket's base without our Pokemon? We'd be sitting ducks. We're no good to anyone dead!"



Gary sighs. "That... is a point." He looks around. "Surely there's gotta be some sort of resistance around here to Team Rocket? I can't imagine these people would be happy to have an evil mafia around."



"If there is," Gladion says, "they'll keep hidden. They won't draw attention to themselves with the enemy inhabiting their city." He pauses. "We don't seem to have drawn anyone's attention out here. That's good."



"But where do we go from here?" Shu asks.



"No point just standing here dawdling," Gladion says. "We need to find cover. How about that perfume store?"



Gary makes a face. "Ugh... I always hated going into those places."



"Exactly. Anyone with a nose is going to avoid it, thus making it perfect cover."



---



Ali's POV



Once Ali is face enough away from Meowth-Kun, Ali reaches for Ali's rings and brings out Ali's friends from their Poke Balls.



"Hey! Ali is going to help find Gary-Kun's family!" Ali says.



So many different reactions! Twan, Gladion's Ultra Riolu, doesn't look too eager. Sasha, the Ultra Sneasel, looks more gung-ho. "All right! Point me at what to slash and what to dash!" she says.



Twan shakes his head. "How are we supposed to get them out of here safely? The entire city is at war!"



Ali feels insulted. "Ali is right here, you know!"



"Then how will YOU get out?" Twan asks. "You can't go through your own rings."



Gladion's Zubat, Bartok, raises a wing. "My sonar detects a long tunnel reaching west. This could be how Team Rocket gets past the dome. Ali could travel that way."



"But first, Ali has to find the prisoners," Ali says. "Ali's friends must form teams and look for the prisoners."



Silvally speaks up. "Pokemon that are used to working together should join forces. My team is me, Sasha, Twan, and Bartok. Benga, Yoshi, Kappa, and Ali are another. Kachu, Clarence, and that weird Squirtle..."



"My name is Diamond Jim!" yells the Mirror Squirtle. "And you're going to respect that, freak beak!"



"Diamond Jim," Silvally corrects. "Although if he ever calls me 'Freak Beak' again, that team will be short one member."



"What about Gary's Charmander?" Yoshi asks. "He doesn't have any teammates."



"He can stick with Taco and Nacho, the Umbreon and Espeon. Oh, and Smeargle. You three are okay with that, right?"



Taco sniffs Charmander all over. "You don't smell like much. Hope you're as tough as that spiny hide of yours."



Charmander nods. "I'll be brave! What do we need to do?"



"Split up. Find where Team Rocket's kept their prisoners, and report back here. Nacho, Sasha, and Kappa, you're your respective groups' Psychic-types, so I'll need you three to keep telepathic contact with the other teams. Are you telepathic like most Doduo, Clarence?"



"A little," Clarence admits. "I'm not that good with it."



"Then you'll be our contact on Shu's team. We'll keep in touch."



Silvally makes such a great leader! "Where do we search?"



"My team will search westward, through the tunnel. Your team, Ali, will search the lower lab levels. Kachu's team will look to the rooms on this floor, and Nacho's team will stay at this point to watch for any hostiles and warn us. Smeargle can put any hostiles to sleep with Spore."



"Yes, sir!" fourteen voices say.



"Then let's get moving. There's no time to waste."



---



Terra's POV



Before we enter the perfume store, Ilima transforms into a Skitty again. He seems to like staying pink.



The place seems deserted. There's a woman at the counter, of course, but not much in the way of people coming and going. No secret passageways or anything that I can see, although if I could see them, they probably wouldn't be a secret.



I expect the perfumes would all smell lovely, if I didn't have to smell them all at once.



The woman looks surprised to see four guys and two girls walking into a perfume shop. "Is there anything I can help you with?" she asks.



"Unless you can bring us back our stolen Pokemon," Gary scoffs, "don't waste your time."



"Ah. So you're THAT kind of customer," the woman says. "Not many people head into a perfume store looking for Team Rocket's victims."



"Wait," Gary says. "You know Team Rocket took our Pokemon?"



"It's a safe guess, considering that Team Rocket has taken over the town," the woman says. "People stay hidden in their houses for fear that their Pokemon partners will be taken from them. Not me. Even Team Rocket avoids the scent of the perfume store."



"Can you take us to Erika?" Cyan asks.



"The gym leader? She's been... away for a while," the woman says. "Training out in the woods to become strong enough to take on Team Rocket. But for every hour she trains, Team Rocket grows ever stronger. Some say she's in search of Celebi to help her against the Rockets."



Our group shares a look.



"Well," Wes says, "you ain't gonna believe this, but Celebi sent us to fight Team Rocket. 'Course, that was before they stole all our Pokemon."



Ilima sneezes.



"Most of our Pokemon," Wes corrects. "And that guy's not so much 'ours' as he's along wi' us for th' ride."



"Oh. Oh... my," the woman says. "Celebi itself? What did it say to you?"



"Somethin' 'bout Dark Matter puttin' th' world in jeopardy, an' us not findin' what we expect when we go after Team Rocket," Wes says.



Cyan turns to Wes in surprise. "You actually met Celebi? What's it like?"



"Small, green, an' hungry," Wes says flippantly. "Pretty inscrutable if ya ask me. She coulda warned us we'd run inta that Rocket kid that stole our Pokemon. Woulda saved us a lotta trouble."



The woman at the counter considers this. "If... if you really have been sent by Celebi, then... perhaps you should meet with Erika after all."



She steps away from the counter, pressing down on a loose tile on the shop floor. There's a groaning sound, and a few loose floorboards pull away, revealing an empty stairwell leading down into the ground.



"Whoa," Wes says appreciatively. "I have got to get me one of those."



"You don't even have a house," Gladion says.



"I have one in Mintale!" Wes says. "Jus' haven't been there in a while. And it needs somethin' like this."



"When was the last time you were actually in the house you grew up in?" Shu asks as we step down into the stairwell.



"Well, I think I was six..."