Masaru and I arrive back at the house and let ourselves in. Muggy heat following us through the thick door.
Even with all the sweat Masaru's hair still managed to jab out in spikes around his head.
Silver looks up slowly as we enter.
"I see you're finally getting along," a hint of playfulness tickles at Silver's voice. I roll my eyes and grab a can of lemonade from the fridge.
Cracking the can open I take a deep pull, the tartness making my mouth water. Masaru sits at the table across from Silver. I lean against the counter and reach into the fridge, pulling out the bottle of clear alcohol from inside.
Messily I splash some into the can and put the bottle away. Sliding in next to Silver I take a drink and wince. He sighs and lights a cigarette, which he takes a hard drag from before handing to me.
"So what's the plan, Boss?" Masaru says, eyeing me as I lift the cigarette to my lips.
"I'm just waiting for responses to what Jun and I sent out. I've contacted everyone else virtually so things are being set into motion." Silver taps a finger on the table, gets up and pours himself a drink.
"If you're pouring one you should pour two!" Masaru chirps from where he's sitting.
Silver grunts in response, brings back two glasses and sits them on the table.
Masaru immediately gulps his, Silver sips his slowly. Lights himself a cigarette, inhales deeply and lets out a clouded breath.
"My plan is that in three weeks we can all meet and sting the fuck out of Team Rocket," Silver takes another drag from his cigarette.
I crush the butt of mine into a small ashtray that's shaped like a Qwilfish. Masaru finishes his drink and stands to pour another one.
"What do we do in the meantime?" Masaru drolls from the counter.
"Train, help me formulate a plan. I don't think going in guns blazing without an idea of what we're doing is a great way to do this." Silver takes a larger drink now.
Masaru seats himself at the table with us again.
"Do we have a map?" I ask.
"A map?" Masaru answers blankly.
"Yes, I have no idea what the layout is. I was pretty much trapped while I lived there," a take a bitter drink from my can.
Silver and Masaru exchange a long glance.
"To be honest I hadn't considered that," Silver clears his throat nervously. He pushes back his red hair and glares up at the ceiling.
A deep silence hangs over the room. I take a deep breath and will myself not to explode.
"Well we need one or we really can't do much." I answer hotly, disbelief flooding over me.
Embarrassed, Masaru and Silver exchange another long glance.
"Seems like this is a job for you," I move my attention to Masaru. "You're our inside guy, now go inside and get that map." I stand up, woozily and splash more alcohol into my can. I sit at the table and visibly wince when I take a drink.
Silver hands me another lit cigarette, which I snatch wordlessly.
"Okay, it's the least that I can do." Masaru says quietly. "Especially if we're doomed to fail without it."
"The map will literally make all the difference," I let out a breath of smoke.
"I'll head out tomorrow then, so I can get back quickly." Masaru decides and finishes his second drink. I see his hands shaking and avert my gaze, out of guilt.
Soon after we all readied ourselves for bed and the house fell quiet.
Hours later laying in my bed I stare at the ceiling and roll over to try and stifle the anxiety inside of me.
Nothing works, my heart slams inside of my throat and I try to swallow it down. My blood feels icy and I sit up, wiping cold sweat from my face.
"Fuck," I mutter. Why is this even happening? I haven't had a fit in a really long time.
Groaning I climb out of bed and stand up. I feel dizzy, my tongue is numb and small lights are popping in front of my eyes.
My breath feels ragged as I walk out into the silent house. I hear the loud ticking of Slowpoke clock and pause to lean against a wall. Focusing on the noise, trying to ground myself.
I hadn't drank all that much, I wasn't being afflicted by that. This was a full on panic attack and I wasn't sure where it was coming from.
I place a kettle on the stove and slump into one of the kitchen chairs. I wheeze and double over trying to pace each breath.
I stand and pull the kettle off, not caring how hot the water is. I splash it into a mug with chamomile and sit back down, shakily.
Tears fall from the corners of my eyes and I wipe them away angrily. I wait a few minutes, still panicking. Fuck.
I focus on my feet, how cold the floor is and the feeling of the chair underneath me. A ragged breath drags out of me and shatters the silence of the house.
Trying to be quiet is making it worse, I realize. I stand up and make my way through the living room, towards the door.
A hand reaches out to grab me and I stifle a shriek when I hear Masaru's voice. "What's wrong?" He whispers.
I can barely see his face but it's still creased with concern.
I'm audibly gasping now, unable to formulate words I stagger towards the door and outside. I fall to my knees and the sting of the hard earth makes me shudder. I curl onto the ground, pressing my head against the lawn.
I stay this way for what feels like hours. Eventually my breathing levels out and I sit up, blinking back tears.
Masaru is crouched in front of me; he says nothing and extends a hand to help me up and back into the house.
Once we're inside he leads me to my room and silently deposits me into the bed. Silence as he leaves and then a slight breeze as he reenters the room.
"Mind if I sit?" He asks quietly.
I resign myself and nod halfheartedly.
He sits on the bed and I hear the click of a lighter and smell a light tinge of smoke.
I quietly reach out my hand and he places a lit cigarette between my outstretched fingers. I take a drag and he motions for me to hand it to him.
Wordlessly we pass it back and forth.
My head hurts and I'm biting back tears of embarrassment.
"It happens to everyone sometimes," his voice cuts through the heavy air.
"You think?" I mutter bitterly.
"I do… well, at least to some of us." He seems lost in thought, I notice that his hand is resting close to my leg. I take the cigarette from him again and drag for it's final puff.
"I guess that makes me feel less like shit," I grit my teeth and crush the butt into a small ashtray in my room.
He lets out a quiet laugh, his eyes still far away.
"Are you afraid?" I ask him, unable to bite back the question.
"About obtaining the map?" He slides an eye towards me and I offer a faint nod. "I am, but I'm not too worried about it."
"I would come with you," I pull the cover up to my chin. "But they'd notice me instantly and everything would be fucking ruined."
"I know, or Silver would have offered to do it. I understand the importance of my roll in this." Masaru pushes his blue hair back and looks up at the ceiling.
"I'm keeping you awake, I'm sorry." I say.
"It's fine, tomorrow I'm just traveling for most of the day. Then I'll stay at a hotel and pop into "work" at the old Team Rocket Headquarters." Masaru rubs between his eyes briefly.
"How do you just pop in?" I'm incredulous.
"That's how a lot of the lesser grunts work. We do a bunch of field work and then report back. I catch wild Pokémon instead of stealing them, then bring a couple back whenever I show up randomly." I see guilt pass over his face when he admits this.
"Well you aren't stealing. Plus the Pokémon there aren't coddled but they aren't mistreated either. They need to be healthy to fight," I bring out my hand to pat his shoulder.
He relaxes somewhat and then lets out a heavy breath.
I feel strange in this moment and shake it away. He stands up and walks to the door, turning to face me before leaving.
"I promise I'll be fine, I should be back in a week. Now go to sleep." He shuts my door and I'm left in the deafening solitude. Exhaustion takes me and I fall into a fitful sleep, filled with vivid dreams that give way to nightmares.
Morning snakes into my room, the thick fog inside my brain from broken slumber pounds against my skull.
I climb into the shower almost instantly upon rising and stay in there until the heat is unbearable. I let myself out and change quickly.
Silver nods at me as I walk into the kitchen and I seat myself, gulping water that I pour from a pitcher.
His red hair looks messier than usual, his eyes seem tired.
I glance over and notice that Masaru is gone, he must have already left.
"While he's away," Silver says as if reading my thoughts. "You can focus on leveling up and I can focus on continuing contacts."
Three days of training pass and I make myself into the kitchen, stretching.
I'm growing restless as I wait for everything to come together but I've made a lot of progress over the last three days.
"Looks like rain today," Silver looks over at me and grins. "Perfect weather for you to train in."
Four hours later and I'm standing outside in the pouring rain. Wet locks of hair plaster themselves to the sides of my face while I squint against the torrent.
"Sliggoo Dragon Pulse, let's go!" I command. "Vikavolt, dodge!"
My Pokémon clash through the storm and my eyes follow each spectacular movement.
At last what I've been working for starts to unfurl in front of my eyes. Sliggoo is glowing, it's form shifting in and out. Flickering now, as it's body stretches up into a much larger form.
The air around us hisses with energy and I hold my breath, blinking away spattered rain drops from my eyes.
His transformation is complete, hulking in front of me is a jiggling Goodra.
"Gooodraaa!" He roars, his mighty voice echoing off the craggy walls surrounding Lavender Town.
"Awesome!" I open my arms and throw them around Goodra's neck, burying my face in sticky slime.
I pull out my Pokédex and do a scan. Dexter comes to lives and chirps, "Goodra, the Dragon Pokémon and the evolved form of Sliggoo. Goodra is very friendly, and one of its hugs can cover its Trainer with a sticky slime. Level 50. Gender male. Ability Sap Sipper."
I snap the Dex shut and beam up at my giant friend. It's purple body ripples with power and I'm awestruck by it's majesty.
Silver watches from the window, and I meet his gaze. I'm finally really getting somewhere.
After a scalding shower I swaddle myself in fuzzy green pajamas and put a kettle on the stove.
Silver is chopping fruit at the counter, he's wearing loose sweat pants and a black sweater.
Four more days pass.
I'm training again in the lawn, I had taken two days off after Goodra evolved. Loafing around the house, drinking wine and helping Silver figure out a plan.
A lot of the contacts we reached out to had responded. Most of those responses were what we wanted to hear as well.
Things seemed to be falling into place.
All six of my Pokémon were out in the lawn, grunting against one another. I had been working really hard to harden my team for the battles to come.
Two more weeks and we would launch our attack. Fear clawed inside my chest like an animal snarling to be set free. Fear and something else that I couldn't place.
I hear the crunch of gravel beneath shoes and idly look towards the path leading up to Silver's house.
Masaru crests the hill, a shoddy backpack strapped to him. He's wearing a black jumper stuffed into brown boots. He looks filthy and his gait is slow and strained.
I watch him for another moment before turning back to my Pokémon and letting them finish up. Masaru goes inside and I continue training for another half an hour.
Eventually I retract them all and wind my way up to the door, letting myself in.
Silver and Masaru are seated at the table, a giant map sprawling over it's top. Silver is shaking with excitement and Masaru looks exhausted.
I walk up and admire the final piece to the plan. With this we should be able to conquer Team Rocket and put an end to their tyranny. Specifically Giovanni.
"Nice work," I praise Masaru, surprising even myself.
He holds back a smile and glances away. "It was fairly easy to obtain once I was in there. Not that big of a deal. I got three of them." Masaru pulls two more from the inside of his jacket and plops them onto the table.
Silver grabs a black marker and immediately begins marking up the map with it. Five massive rooms and an additional "office" area. Underneath the headquarters is a basement.
The basement is laid out much like a dungeon, hundreds of small cells like the walls. These cells contain both people and Pokémon alike, with a Pokémon stadium in the midst of it all.
Once the map has been thoroughly marked up and Silver seems satisfied he sits back in his chair.
I open my Pokédex and scroll down to view the Pokémon that I have and see their levels.
Arrow is level 91, Ninetails is level 87, Nidoking is level 90 and Kangaskhan is level 89. Goodra and Vikavolt are considerably behind. Goodra being level 55 and Vikavolt level 56.
I still have two weeks to train. I clench my teeth to quell my nerves as each moment passes and we drew closer to the launch day.
I stand up and pour myself a drink, something I've been doing far too often lately.
Silver silently admonishes me from the table, folds up the map and places all three in the table drawer.
Masaru joins me at the counter and pours himself a drink as well.
"I need this, my week sucked." He pounds down a shots worth of brown liquor and shudders at the taste.
"I bet it has." I pour Pinap juice over the liquor in my glass and meander back to the table. Seating myself I continue to scroll through my Pokédex.
This small device is a wealth of knowledge and a big reason that I know as much as I do. My hand idly wanders to the my necklace and my fingers trace its ragged edges.
Over the course of the next week I continue to train with my Pokémon in order to maximize their potential. I collapse nightly into my bed and immediately fade into a heavy sleep.
Almost every night before sleeping I sit in the kitchen with Masaru and Silver. We drink, plan and talk.
During this Silver and I grow closer and I start to resent Masaru less. His life has also been hard, some people deal with that harshness in a different way.
I still don't think I like him though. He has to apply himself extremely hard in order to not be lazy, when he drinks he overindulges by an incredible amount. Lastly, he could shower more often.
I still feel protective over him in a way. I consider him a friend, which I haven't had very many of. I guess you don't have to adore all of your friends.
In the last week each of my original four Pokémon have only leveled up by two. Leveling gets harder the higher the Pokémon's level.
Goodra and Vikavolt on the other hand had both raised four levels respectively.
Arrow and Nidoking are so close to being level 100. Their strength is obvious when I release them from their Pokéballs. A booming ripple of energy crashes out when they emerge.
Giovanni would bend beneath us soon.