Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Fall of the PokeMen ❯ Katie's Recruits ( Chapter 2 )

Katie's Recruits

"So what do you think?" Richie asked.

TJ glanced around the crowded Recruiting Room. "I don't know. I just hope that this many people can't be wrong."

"TJ, do you really doubt your decision to join that much?" Sabrina asked, looking down at him.

"Well, no. It just seems like this deal is too good to be true."

Suddenly there was a rumbling sound, followed by a loud roar as a huge Onix burst through the floor. Amid the screams and shouts of the frightened recruits, a shrill whistle sounded. Everyone paused and instantly noticed a young man standing on the Onix's head.

"This," he announced in a loud voice, "was merely a test. A great trainer must always be prepared to handle any and every situation. Don't let yourself be caught unaware. That is often your opponent's greatest advantage. I am Robert, the Fighting PokeMan." He blew the whistle once more, and the Onix sank back into the floor.

Robert hopped off the creature's head stepped forward. "It is my pleasure to welcome you all to PokeMan HQ. Many of you will become better trainers, simply from what I have just told you. But only four of you will advance to the Pokémon League after your training. It won't be easy, but it will be worth the effort you put forth."

"So when do we start?" a voice called.

Robert smiled. "Now."

Instantly, panels opened up in the ceiling to reveal many Voltorbs. The trainers had mere seconds to react before the destructive Pokémon rained down from above, covering the entire room.

Robert merely watched in silence. Most trainers were trying to knock the Voltorbs away, since there wasn't enough time to call out their Pokémon. But that only caused the Voltorbs to rebound off each other and hit trainers in the process. However, a select few had the right idea.

One was a young boy, no more than twelve years old. He had been fortunate enough to have been carrying his Vulpix, which had stunned many of the Voltorbs with a Fire Spin.

Another was a slightly older boy, who was using soccer kicks to knock the Voltorbs back into the ceiling.

The last two were older girls that were obviously very experienced. One was a person that Robert knew very well. She was Katie, a fellow PokeMan. She was doing the same thing as Richie, but at a much faster rate.

The last girl moved with a grace and confidence that was truly unique. At her side, a Kadabra was disarming many Voltorbs at once with its powerful Disable attack. For some reason, Robert found it hard to move his eyes from her form as she defeated the explosive Pokémon. That is, until the others exploded.

The lucky trainers either managed to shield themselves from the blasts or were unhurt completely. The rest were covered from head to toe in black dust.

"These particular Voltorbs were trained to emit a fine powder when they attacked," Robert explained. "Those of you who escaped the powder may stay. As for the rest, I thank you all for coming, but this is clearly far too early in your careers as trainers for such harsh methods. You will be allowed to stay for a period no longer than a week, but after that, I'm afraid you must depart. PokeMan HQ is no place for the unprepared."

There were many angry groans and disappointed mumbles as most of the crowd quickly thinned out of the room. Soon, only TJ, Sabrina, Richie, and Katie were left.

"Sometimes I think we're too tough on them, Robbie," Katie said with a sigh.

"Lance would disagree," Robert replied with a shrug. "Who are our newest students?"

"This is Richie, the one I was telling you about," Katie explained. "He's the one that defeated Ash in the Pokémon League Games. This one's TJ, the wonder kid that no one seems to be able to beat."

Richie & TJ both shook hands with Robert, who then turned his eyes to the final guest. "And who might this beautiful creature be?"

If Sabrina was capable of blushing, she didn't show it just then.

"This is Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader." Katie rolled her eyes. "She's also available, if you're interested."

"I'm deeply interested," Robert responded, kissing Sabrina's offered hand.

Richie made a face and shook his head, while TJ's thoughts were suddenly with Jessie, who he sorely missed.

* * * * *

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest. Things were progressing swiftly, as he'd planned. Just not the way he'd planned.

TJ was showing signs of his new gift. The surgery had been a success after all. The microscopic cameras placed just behind his eyelids were working perfectly. However, it was the second set of cameras that were alarming Giovanni.

As a precaution, his scientists had developed a camera that would display TJ's thoughts, so they would know exactly what was going on in his mind. But, for some reason, that particular camera had been totally blank ever since the surgery. They had absolutely no idea what TJ was thinking. That was very dangerous, considering that they'd made him very dangerous.

"Sir?" one of the scientists asked. "Something just came up on the mental cameras!"

Giovanni spun around in his chair and nearly fell out of it when the saw the orange words on the screens.

"Team Rocket can not hope to contain us. No one can. Brace yourselves for the end of your era, and the start of ours. You think you know our power, humans. Think again, and tremble in fear. No one can hope to stop us."

"What have we done?" the scientist asked in terror.

Giovanni only turned away, wondering what was really going on inside his young nephew's head.

* * * * *

TJ felt sick, to say the least. His head was pounding, his heart was beating faster than usual, and he couldn't stop sweating. It was getting harder and harder to pay attention to anything. He barely remembered Robert introducing him to two trainers named Ash & Misty a few moments before, and even that was very vague. TJ had quickly excused himself, because he didn't think it was polite to vomit in front of people you'd just met.

Fortunately, he didn't really have to throw up. Not right away, anyway. In fact, after a few minutes, TJ felt fine. But it was then that he realized something very important. During his stumbling a few minutes before, he hadn't been looking where he was going, so now he was lost. Whatever the place was, it had to be far from where Robert had lead him to.

TJ was just considering calling for help when something furry flew past his head. He suppressed a scream as it flew by a second time, brushing against his cheek. "Who's there?" he called hoarsely.

"Are you lost?" a voice asked.

TJ turned around to see a girl his age. "Um...yes. Who are you?"

Her green eyes seemed to sparkle. "I'm Jewel, one of the PokeMen. Most people don't know about me."

TJ noticed a pink pokeball in her right hand. "Who's that?"

"Oh, this is Moonbeam's pokeball. She's my Clefable. What's your favorite Pokémon?"

"I don't really have one. I guess Vulpix or Growlithe."

Jewel nodded. "They're okay, but I got the best one of all. You wanna see it?"

"Sure."

She led TJ through the long, dark corridor they'd been standing in. It seemed to extend for miles underground and further away from the rest of the compound.

"Sorry for the long walk," Jewel apologized. "There aren't any PokePorters near my room."

"How come your room's so far away from everything else?" TJ asked.

Jewel smiled, brushing a strand of violet hair from her face. "Well, I like my privacy. Like I said, most people don't know about me. You're the first one I've met in a long time, so you were either very lucky or very lost. No one comes this far down."

"But if you're a PokeMan, don't you train any of the students?"

Jewel blushed a bit. "Okay, I'm not an official PokeMan. My big brother is their leader, though. You'll meet him tonight. Anyway, here's my room. If you're scared of the dark, better tell me now."

TJ was very confused as they came to a large door at the end of the corridor. "I'm not, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Jewel simply pressed a few keys on the door's keypad. "Open," she said.

"VoiceScan: Approved. Vacuum activated. Welcome home, Jewel."

The door cycled open, and without warning, Jewel & TJ were sucked into the empty hatch. There seemed to be nothing but darkness all around them.

"Deactivating vacuum," announced the computerized voice. "Loading holo-program 1734."

The darkness seemed to shimmer, and then a bedroom appeared. Jewel and TJ fell onto the bed.

"Sorry," Jewel said. "I forgot to warn you about that. I'm not used to having visitors."

"This is your room?" TJ asked, looking around.

"Yup. This is my place. Prepare to see the greatest Pokémon ever!"

Something flew past TJ's face again, and this time he did scream.

The Pokémon landed in Jewel's lap and stared at TJ with large, curious eyes. Its long tail waved, as if greeting him.

"You have a Mew?!" TJ nearly shouted.

"Yeah, but her name's Pixie. Isn't she great?"

TJ slowly reached out and petted Pixie's fur. "How'd you catch her?"

"I didn't, silly! She came to me. Right, Pixie?"

Pixie nodded and licked her paws clean.

* * * * *

"You may think you're the best trainers around, and you may be. But understand this right now. None of you mean anything to me. Until you prove yourselves to be worthy of my time, none of you even exist in my sight."

Ash frowned at the older boy as he went on with his speech. "Who does that guy think he is, anyway?"

"Quiet, Ash!" Misty hissed. "He's probably one of the PokéMen!"

"He's our leader," Robert whispered. "Pay attention!"

The boy paused for a moment and gazed over the room. "My name is Simon. I'm the head PokeMan."

"That guy looks really familiar," TJ muttered. "I know I've met him somewhere before."

Simon went on. "The other PokéMen specialize in certain Pokémon types, such as Fire or Ghost, though all are trained to be the best with whatever type they're given. I, on the other hand, am the best in all types, and can't be limited to just one. I like to think of myself as the Lance of the PokéMen."

Richie snorted. "That's a pretty big boast."

Simon's gaze landed on Richie. "I'm sure Lance would agree, since he himself is a PokeMan graduate."

"No way!" Misty gasped.

"Did you really think it was sheer coincidence that PokeMan graduates get certain benefits from the Pokémon League? Lance simply remembers where he came from, and where he gained his mastery of Pokémon. With that said, I think it's time for you all to get a good night's rest. You're going to need it tomorrow."

* * * * *

Richie glanced at his friend as they got ready for bed. "Ash, do you ever wonder if there's a perfect Pokémon?"

Ash looked at him. "You mean like invincible and really powerful? I'd always thought Mew was the best, but then I met Mewtwo. I guess it'd be one of them, or maybe both."

"Yeah, but what about the perfect Pokémon Master?" Misty asked.

"What about Lance?" Richie suggested.

"Not really. If he was perfect, he wouldn't need those other three, and he's not undefeated."

"What do you think, TJ?" Ash asked.

TJ stopped brushing Vulpix's fur and looked up. "I don't think Pokémon or humans alone can be perfect. They both have to learn from their mistakes. That's why trainers and Pokémon depend on each other to learn all they can and battle better."

"Good point," Misty agreed. "So neither is perfect?"

"Well...if one was ever perfect, it'd have to be a unique creature. Something with an even balance of man and Pokémon."

"You mean something that was both human and Pokémon?" Richie asked.

TJ got a distant look in his eyes. "Yes, but more than that. Its mind and power would be so far beyond ours, we'd be inferior to it. Almost like it was a god."

"Whoa," Ash said quietly. "You've given this a lot of thought, huh?"

TJ blushed and shrugged. "It's just that I think of all my Pokémon as my best friends, and I want to learn how to give them the best care." In his lap, Vulpix purred and licked his face. "I guess she agrees," TJ said with a laugh.