Chapter 22:X. Last Guardian: Second base
"How are you feeling Mewtwo?" asked Ash.
Feline Pokemon opened his eyes and let out few harsh breaths. If he wouldn't be sitting in the Haven, he would fall on his butt that's for sure. This whole operation took a great tole on his mind.
"Now? Good." replied Mewtwo.
"Good to know. Cancel connections between all of us then. We'll need you again soon." said Ash without a hint of happiness. One would think that after a successful destruction of one base, a celebration would be in full swing. It seems Ash has a different idea.
"Already did it when I teleported you here. I am going to rest for a while if you don't mind." said Mewtwo weakly through telepathy.
"Go. You earned it." said Ash. "All of you." he said as he looked around the cave on all of his Pokemon. "I'll search through the files and find the location of another base. Until then you are free to do whatever you want. We will attack next one as soon as possible."
Ash then went to his room and pulled the files out of his cloak. However, he couldn't focus on the files. His mind was bombarded by the vision of those poor people that he saw in the base. Yeah, Team Rocket was a world known criminal organization, but this?! What the was that?! How could ANYONE do that? He couldn't imagine that Jessie, James, and Meowth were part of the very same organization that does these monstrosities on innocent people. Before the attack, he was worried that he wasn't prepared for this. To face guns, fighters, and Pokemon. But right now? It seems like he was preparing himself far too long.
Ash was late. Far too late to save them. He just begin his task and he failed Arceus already. Failed himself. Till this moment he was doing this because of what Mewtwo told him. But right now, he himself has the desire to defeat Team Rocket. Even if Arceus would made up his mind now, he would still be going after them. How couldn't he? They are using those woman like some toys and then they use them in these experiments, that would twist stomach even to the toughest humans on Earth.
"It was a disgusting sight to be held." asked Pikachu who now stood in front of Ash, registering that even when he has the file open, he isn't focusing on that. Nobody was prepared for what they witnessed today. And as every Pokemon seek comfort in each other, there is one person who hasn't find someone to talk to about today.
"Disgusting... That word doesn't come remotely close to describe what we saw today." answered Ash and slowly shook his head.
"Yeah..." said Pikachu back. There really were no words to describe today. But he has to talk with Ash about the important stuff. He already talked with other Pokemon about what they saw and what is waiting for them in the future, when Ash was meditating, trying to find peace after events of today. The meditation clearly didn't work. "Ash. We... We will encounter this again." said Pikachu, trying to lay it to Ash gently.
"Ash... There are 3 other bases where we will undoubtedly encounter the same things as we did here." said Pikachu. Ash looked at him and sadness with desperation was clearly visible in his young blue eyes. What was Arceus thinking when he placed this burden on a 16 year old kid? Yeah, Ash is the most strong-willed person Pikachu knows, but this is to much even for Ash. The fate of this world rests on the shoulders of a teenager who saw what could only be described as the living nightmare. "Maybe even worse things." said Pikachu continuing with a conversation. Well. If they want to pull through one thing is clear. Ash must get back on the track and focus on what is important.
"Go and get rest Pikachu. I have to look through these files." said Ash sternly and looked back to the files. But he still couldn't concentrate on what was in them. The image he saw in those rooms will haunt him forever.
"Sorry, Ash. Not yet. I have to talk to you." said Pikachu back. Ash then locked his gaze with Pikachu ones more, and sighed.
"What do you want?" asked Ash.
"You can't mourn them forever. It was not your fault." said Pikachu.
"I am pretty sure it was." replied Ash sadly.
"You have to stop carry the world on your shoulders, Ash. Look around! Whole world did nothing against them, so if you want to place the blame on yourself, fine. But then you have to place the blame on everybody in this world too." said Pikachu.
"Well. Arceus placed this on my shoulders alone, not on the world. It was my responsibility to save them, Pikachu. And I failed!" said Ash with emphasis on the last 3 words.
"You didn't fail. According to Mewtwo, Arceus said that you have to purge this world from evil. There was not a single mention of you saving already captured people." said Pikachu.
"But we should have been able to save them! Arceus should send us sooner!" yelled Ash emotionally.
"Without training, we would end up just like them. We can't save everybody Ash. That's how it is. But we must look forward and save the people that we still can save and not look back at the people we couldn't save. We can't let the past slow us down, when lives of others are in danger now. Grief is a luxury we don't have time for." said Pikachu. Pikachu doesn't want to witness dead people any more than Ash does. But If they want to save as many of them as they can, they have to move on from this. And fast. There will be time for grieving the dead when this all will be over. Not now.
"Ash. Every second you waste thinking about the dead, we risk the death of someone we could save." said Pikachu and went to his room for some rest after today, leaving Ash deep in thoughts.
"I should find an assistant. This is getting ridiculous." mumbled Charles Goodsnow under his full white beard as he was waiting in the Police HQ. People began to have an annoying habit of interrupting him when his hands are full in past months. Plan in the morning was simple. Meeting with Steven and Scott. After his phone call in the morning, it was clear that sending Steven to the Mount Coronet will have to wait. This will be postponed easily. Steven and the escort party they assembled is easy to reason with and they understand how much work Charles has. However, than there is Scott. And his fat friend insisted on today's meeting. Unfortunately, his friend isn't easily reason with as Steven is. Scott will probably strangle him when Scott finds out that the meeting was postponed to the next week. It just all happens so fast. Rangers and Police contacted him and they DEMANDED his presence at the Police HQ in Kanto immediately. They apparently have something big. So he hopped inside the helicopter and made his way there. This better be worth the lecture from Scott he is going to hear.
As he was waiting for someone to pick him up he examined the inside of the building. From the outside, it was a 4 floors tall wide white building with a bronze statue of officer Jenny saluting in front of the building. But from the inside it looked different. Dark wood was the main material that was used to build the base for the ones who protect the world of humans and Pokemon. Stairs to the second floor, counters, desks and even the floor are covered in the dark chestnut wood. It all was contrasted by a lot of glass. You can see how everyone worked on different subjects in here through the windows between every office. Privacy is nonexistent here as it seemed.
Charles was reading the marble wall on which were written the officer Jenny's that fell in action and from what city they were when someone spoke to him.
"Finally. You arrived. Follow me Mr. Goodsnow. Director Jenny is expecting you." said an officer Jenny which appeared in front of him, stopping Charles in his tracks.
Finally, someone noticed him. So many officer Jenny was running all around him and not a single one showed him the way. In fact, the whole HQ looked like they were buried with work. Jennys carrying a bunch of files were running left and right, and when he looked through the glass that separated the guest part and employes part, he saw that all computers were taken by Jennys and every single one of them were writing furiously on the computers. He saw several Rangers helping them in this matter too. They weren't joking when they said something big happened and they don't have time to explain. When he observed his surroundings, he finally replied to the officer Jenny in front of him.
"I arrived 15 minutes ago."
"I apologize for my late arrival to escort you to the director. I am very tired Mr. Goodsnow. In fact. We all are." said the officer weakly holding a pen and a tab in her hands.
Charles looked at the officer with an observant eye now. Even without his glasses, he saw bags under her eyes, messy hair and he even registered that she doesn't smell good. When he looked around, he saw this in practically every Jenny here. They were working the whole night.
"What happened?" asked Charles.
"A lot of work arrived last night. You'll see. Now follow me, please." said the Jenny. And they went through the halls of the Police HQ. When they were walking through the HQ, Charles registered that the cells holding prisoners were full to a brim. And officers were still going in with more prisoners trying to fit them inside the cells.
After a minute they spotted director Jenny and Solana from the Pokemon Rangers in front of the door to the interrogation room. The officer that escorted Charles then went to do her usual business and left Charles with the director.
"Okay, ladies. Can someone finally explain to me what is happening? And why are your cells so full?" asked Charles the two ladies in front of him. They weren't looking much better than the Jenny that just left.
"We actually don't know what happened exactly." said director Jenny weakly.
"Director. Solana. I canceled all of my plans for today to just be here. I want answers!" replied Charles.
"Jenny. Tell Mr. Goodsnow the whole story of what happened today." said Solana. She wasn't in such a bad state as the director Jenny, but tiredness could still be seen in her face and on her body.
And so Jenny took a deep breath and told him the whole story. How they got a call from Jasmine. How, when she arrived she saw nearly 100 Team Rocket grunts all tied up and unconscious. How Pokemon, that belonged to the grunts, were beaten up and sent to the different Pokemon Centers all around Johto. How she saw numerous dead bodies wrapped up. How she saw Jasmine curled up against the tree wrapped in a towel scared for her life. How she had to call a dozen of transport cars to take the grunts and Jasmine to the Police HQ in Kanto. How she called for the ambulance transport the dead bodies to hospital for identification. How she sent a team of officers to examine the caverns, where the base of Team Rocket was, according to shaken Jasmine who pointed in the direction of caverns. And how they now have to identify every grunt and add them to the database and then interrogate them.
"Wow..." was the only thing Charles could say.
"Yeah." said Solana.
"So. Why are we here?" said Charles and he looked at the door to the interrogation room.
"Well. We already interrogated every grunt we have behind bars. But none of them has clear answers to what happened. S..." said director Jenny weakly. She wanted to continue but before she could regain her energy Charles spoke.
"Not a single one had answers?" asked Charles raising his eyebrow.
"It's... complicated. They have answers. But, their tales differ a lot. One grunt said justice has come for them for the sins they committed. Other say the Blue Demon has come to make them suffer and take them to hell. We heard many stories of what happened. And they are different every single time. Tales about, The Wanderer, The Sorcerer, The Sage, The Monk and more range from unbelievable to downright ridiculous." said Solana.
"Some say he can control and empower Pokemon. Some say he is immortal. Some say he can see into the future to see your moves before you even make them. Some say he can make things crumble and turn them into dust." said director Jenny.
"But the thing in which all grunts seem to agree, is whatever came for them has the ability to manipulate blue energy and fights with a staff the person uses as a walking stick." said Solana.
"Did the person in question killed the people you saw?" asked Charles after a pause. To say he was surprised by all of this would be an understatement. Really. What can you make of this? Grunts had to lose their minds to claim ANY of this is real. But. Then again, he knows real Psychics so there could be the truth, hidden deep inside the stories they told.
"We do not know. We hope that we will get answers behind these doors. Behind them is the only witness we have." said director Jenny.
"Jasmine... You didn't ask her anything during the ride back here?" asked Charles.
"No. She is still shaken by whatever happened so we let her be for the time being. She spent the night here at the HQ and we gave her everything she needed. Clothes, food, room and all that stuff. We hoped that after she'll be rested, we could finally talk to her about what she went through." explained Solana.
"Good. Let's not keep her waiting." said Charles. He was glad that they didn't push onto Jasmine as soon as they arrived. She is just 20 years old. Still a child in his eyes. That would definitely not do any good to Jasmine's mental health.
Jasmine sat in the interrogation room very nervous. She still doesn't feel good about being in the same building as the man that assaulted her. Not to mention that she is locked in the interrogation room right now. Her mind is in turmoil because of it. On one hand she is glad that she is staying in the same building as the majority of the police force. There is probably not a safest place on Earth that this place. But she still doesn't feel safe. This place could easily became target for Team Rocket since it holds every grunt the Aura Guardian captured. And the Guardian isn't here. Now that she thinks about it, there is a safer place. Right in his arms. As she started to think about her savior the door opened. She jumped a little but she calmed down when a familiar woman in police outfit appeared. And right behind her Charles Goodsnow and a woman in a Ranger outfit came inside the room too.
"Hello." said Jasmine in a quite, unsure tone. Two women and the old man greeted her back as they sat down on the chairs across her.
"Jasmine. You know why you are here. And I want you to know that we won't force you to answer everything we'll ask." said tired director Jenny.
"Thank you..." said Jasmine.
"However. We still need some answers. So please tell us. What happened there?" asked Solana.
"W..Well. When I left the theater and was headed home someone ambushed me and knocked me unconscious. I woke up hours later in some kind of laboratory. But... When I woke up, I wasn't the only person in the room. There was a man... He... he tried to..." she began choking up and her eyes became glassy in the light of the room. She then felt a hand on hers at the table but she quickly pulled out her hand from the person and placed it on her thigh. She then looked up and saw that it was Charles's hand who tried to comfort her.
"Sorry, child. Should have known not to do that." Charles apologized as he withdraws his hand from the table.
"But he didn't do THAT to you." said Solana. They knew Jasmine was alright because of the medical checkup she went through when she arrived here.
"N...No. H... He said that after..." she tried to speak but she just couldn't.
"We know what you mean. Just... tell us the important part." said tired Jenny. It was clear that Jasmine was trying to give them some valuable information, but what that man tried to do to her was stopping her.
"T... They wanted to put a ...helmet on me. The... man said that... nobody survived the experiment yet." Jasmine continued still shaking from telling the tale.
"Do you know what kind of experiments they are doing?" asked Jenny.
"N..No. He came and saved me before they could do anything to me." said Jasmine.
"He?" asked Solana.
"An Aura Guardian." replied Jasmine.
"What?! An Aura Guardian?" asked Charles. When he thought that nothing can surprise him more Jasmine throws another bomb at him. It became a joke. Every time he thinks Aura Guardians are gone another pops out of nowhere.
"Yes." replied Jasmine more confidently than before.
"... Of course! Now it makes sense!" shouted Charles when something in his brain clicked.
"Charles?" asked Jenny who was awakened from her half-sleep by the loud shout of the dwarf.
"Oh yeah right. Explanation. It was an Aura Guardian who took that base down! Think about it ladies. Blue Demon. Sorcerer. Sage. Blue energy. It had to be an Aura Guardian." said Charles.
"OK, but that still doesn't explain why he attacked the base. And more importantly how he knew about the location of the base." said Solana.
"Unless..." said Jenny. Even when she was tired beyond words, her brain began piecing the pieces together.
"Unless those files about Team Rocket that were stolen from us were given to the Aura Guardian!" shouted Charles again.
"That seems... plausible enough. But still. Why? Why would he do that?" asked Solana.
"He is an Aura Guardian. Honor. Saving lives. It's their thing." said Charles.
"Jasmine. Child. What else do you know about the Aura Guardian?" asked Charles before Solana could have had another question.
"He... doesn't talk to much. He is... tall. Very tall. Two heads higher than me." was the first thing that came to her mind. Jasmine is shorter than the other people but still. Two head height difference is a lot.
"He wears a simple dark green cloak and has a staff which he is using in combat." continued Jasmine.
"Did you see his face?" asked Charles who basically took over the interrogation. Solana was now just listening, and Jenny was practically sleeping.
"Yes. He was...hairy." said Jasmine. To which Charles chuckled and ran his hand through his full-beard.
"Like me?" asked Charles. And now Jasmine chuckled. Atmosphere was getting lighter thanks to Charles here. Thank god.
"Kinda. He has a similar beard like you. Just in black." said smiling Jasmine.
"Believe it or not, mine was once black too." said Charles.
Jasmine then imagined Charles with a black beard. It would look hilarious in her opinion. He would then truly look like a dwarf. In the end, she couldn't hold it and began laughing.
"What about his other notable features?" asked Solana interrupting the happy moment between Charles and Jasmine.
"Eyes. His eyes. He has most beautiful pair of blue eyes I have ever seen." she said and drifted into the moment she saw them for the first time and then when he took of his hood. She thought about them way too much for her liking, but she finally knew how she can describe them.
"I... I know this will sound silly. But. They looked like summer skies and exotic seas merged together and were poured into the clearest sapphire you could imagine. That's how they looked like. And... I don't know if I imagined it or not, but I think that they were even glowing when he carried me out of the caverns." said Jasmine.
"...So they were blue." asked Solana.
"I...No and yes. You would have to see them to understand what I am talking about. Those eyes were no ordinary eyes." said Jasmine.
"Okayyyy. Any other information that you can give us about the Aura Guardian?" replied Solana doubtfully.
"The only other thing I can recall is that he was pale. Like... he hasn't seen a sun in years." said Jasmine.
"Hmm... interesting." said Solana thinking if the man was really hiding somewhere where the sun does not shine.
"Solana. I think it would be better if Jasmine would describe the appearance of The Aura Guardian to a police sketcher." said Charles. He then looked to his left and saw Jenny sleeping with her head on the table. Poor tired woman. She can't catch a break either.
"Yeah. I just wanted to have a rough image of this man. If there were some interesting features that could identify him sooner." said Solana.
"You have never seen a man like this. I guarantee it." said Jasmine getting back the attention of the people in the room.
"I know. It's not every day you see an Aura Guardian." said Charles.
"Yeah. But we still need to find him. Jasmine. Do you know where this man is now?" asked Solana.
"Charizard. How's the skies?" asked Ash.
"Fine. Bulbasaur, how's the ground? Everything OK?" asked Charizard who was in the skies watching a smaller mountain that was basically sieged by Ash's Pokemon.
"We have everyone under control here. There aren't that many of them anyway. Ash is really good at keeping the grunts inside this time." replied Bulbasaur
"Yeah, it's pretty boring outside. How are you feeling, Mewtwo?" asked Swellow in the skies.
"I feel like an overloaded transceiver of your thoughts. So, not so good to be honest." said Mewtwo to all of the Pokemon outside.
"So... A headache coming?" asked Swellow.
"Already here. Ash, how are you doing inside? I don't know how long I can maintain the connections between all of you." asked Mewtwo who was still inside the Haven, sitting crossed-legged levitating slightly with closed eyes. The fact that everyone is communicating with him is far more difficult than he initially thought. Only one stayed in the Haven. And the Pokemon is Gardevoir, who was ready to tend anyone who would get seriously injured.
They attacked like they attacked the first base. Basically, the same plan as the one they had before. Charizard overlooking everything from the skies and Bulbasaur staying at the ground. So far it worked. Not a single grunt escaped. But now it was all about on what is going on inside the small mountain where the Kanto base is located.
And the inside of this base was far busier than the last one. Ash took the words that Pikachu said to him to heart. Like Pikachu said, no time to waste. If they want to save more people, they have to move quickly. And after what Ash saw inside the first base, he was merciless when he was going through the Team Rocket grunts inside this base. Cries and cracks of bones could be heard throughout the halls of this base.
"We are trying to end this as fast as we can, Mewtwo. But there are far more Team Rocket grunts than the last time. Just hold on." said Ash.
"More of them are coming." said Lucario.
"Metagross, take care of the guns." said Ash when he finished fighting another Team Rocket grunt.
And as another 10 grunts came into the view, Metagross used his Psychic and destroyed every gun that Team Rocket hold.
"Who in the name of Arceus ARE YOU!?" asked one of the grunts Ash. Not the first time he heard this question. Ash answered with an Aura Sphere into the stomach, and twisting the arm of the second grunt, and eventually breaking the arm. Then to put him out of the pain he swung his staff and again knocked the grunt unconscious by a hard hit on the head. Ash then said Metagross to went to the place where the remaining grunts with guns were. He then took care of the other 8 grunts that came here before they could let their Pokemon out.
The attack on this base continued like this for some time. Ash and his Pokemon going through the grunts like butter and more and more grunts coming to them. Until.
"CALL THE SPECIAL BACKUP!" yelled the last conscious grunt before he was silenced by Ash's staff.
To this Lucario's and Ash's sensing ability kicked in. But nothing was coming. No one was. They waited for a few moments, but still nothing. Suddenly gunshot was heard.
Immediately after the gunshot was heard, Pikachu reacted and he looked in the direction of the gunshot and used Quick Attack as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the Psychic attack by the Pokemon that was in front of the grunt that appeared behind them out of nowhere.
Ash thought that the bullet missed him. He felt no pain anywhere, but then his right leg gave out. He looked at his leg and saw the blood leaking out of his thigh. Ash turned around on one knee and saw that the grunt has an Alakazam by his side, that was holding Pikachu in Psychic, and the grunt himself was holding out the gun against Ash. Then he felt a slight headache. He thought that it could be because of the wound he received. But it wasn't that.
Alakazam was trying to get inside his head. And the Alakazam was really strong with his Psychic abilities. And when someone, who was trained by Mewtwo himself, thinks that Alakazam is strong, then he is god damn strong. However, Ash was trained by Mewtwo. So he blocked Alakazam's tries to get inside his head. But the pain in his leg and Alakazam's tries made it much more difficult.
"Infernape, I need a hand. Take care of Alakazam, please." said Ash. When he was concentrating on the Alakazam's Psychic, he couldn't protect himself with the shield. But what was more surprising, he was expecting the grunt to shoot him immediately to get rid of him. But he didn't.
"DON'T. MOVE." said the grunt to Ash and Lucario. And they listened. Ash was just kneeling on the cold tiled floor, with his left thigh painfully bleeding. Blocking Alakazam's Psychic as much as he could. With Pikachu trapped in Psychic and Lucario by his side. Waiting for Infernape.
"You have no idea how much I wanted to shoot you in the head when Alakazam teleported me here." said the grunt. The grunt and Alakazam than walked towards Ash.
"You are lucky that our boss wants you alive. Now... " said the grunt when he was near Ash. But before he could finish the ground begin to rumble and the fire monkey punched Alakazam in the chin from below. Immediately after Pikachu was freed from Psychic, he used another Quick Attack, and this time it hit Alakazam who was too distracted by the Dig attack that Infernape performed on him. Alakazam was out. Ash, who was still in kneeling position, formed another sphere in hands and threw it at the grunt. And before the grunt could comprehend what happened to Alakazam, he was hit by the sphere of a blue energy right in the stomach.
"You alright Ash?" asked concerned Pikachu who went to Ash.
"Yeah... Nothing a few days of rest and Gardevoir wouldn't fix." Ash responded as he tried to get up back on his feet.
"Hang in there Ash. I'm on my way." said concerned Gardevoir who was being constantly informed by Mewtwo too.
"Stay in the cave Gardevoir. We'll be there soon. Luxray. Come here, please. I need a ride." said Ash as he knelt down again. The bullet in his leg caused a lot of pain that was searing through his body. Lucario, on the other hand, gave him look of appreciation. His Aura Pokemon wants Gardevoir to stay out of the fights even more than Ash does for obvious reasons.
It took few seconds for Luxray to gracefully leap into the hallway and stop in front of Ash.
"Hey, girl. How are things outside." asked Ash Luxray still through Mewtwo.
"Hey, Ash. It's good. Bulbasaur is taking care of everything. He is really good at directing other Pokemon." said Luxray.
"Good." said Ash. Ash then with the help of Lucario got on top of Luxray and was sitting on her back, with his leg still bleeding slightly. The bullet blocked the blood from spilling out fortunately so Ash hasn't made that much of a mess. But that doesn't change the fact that it hurts like hell. Thankfully he was used to the pain by now.
"Guns are destroyed. Only 6 grunts remain. I already took care of their Pokemon and I am holding the grunts in Psychic now. What now?" said Metagross in their heads out of nowhere, thanks to Mewtwo.
"Hold them. We are coming. Others, find some towels and ropes in their stock room and scout the rooms for survivors. If we are lucky there will be more then one this time..." said Ash.
"He appeared again!" yelled director Jenny in a car.
"What are you talking about, director Jenny?" asked surprised Solana through the phone.
"Evolution Mountain in Kanto. Some man was mushrooming and he heard something and went to investigate it. He saw a man in a dark green cloak with a black beard carrying dead bodies out of the mountain. Not only that, but he was tying some people who have a red R on their chest. If that's not our Aura Guardian and Team Rocket then I don't know what is!" said Jenny driving her police car through the forest like crazy with more cars behind her.
"I'm taking a helicopter. Be there as soon as I can!" said Solana quickly.
"Make it quick. I don't want to miss him!" said Jenny and she canceled the call.
Meanwhile outside the Evolution Mountain
"Thank god for you, mister. You are a gift from Arceus himself. You saved us, and I am eternally grateful to you." said a woman with fair hair and green eyes. She is wrapped in a towel and is leaning against the rocks near the entrance into the mountain with her savior right before her. He himself was sitting on top of the Luxray and was looking at her with those beautiful blue eyes.
"You don't have to thank me, m'lady." said Ash to her.
The woman wanted to say something again, but was interrupted when two Tauroses came out of the cave, with two women sitting on top of them. Since Mewtwo canceled the connections that connected all their minds, he had to communicate with his Pokemon in classic speech. Or through the Aura link. But he is too weak to attempt to do that.
"Are those two the last?" asked Ash. To this, both Tauroses just nodded. This attack was much more successful than the last. They managed to save 5 women. 7 with those two on top of Tauroses. Unfortunately, other 26 weren't so lucky. With one man in the mix. Ash was finding this intersting. Why experiment only on women? Yeah, the grunts want to have... fun with them. But still. Why? Why only woman?
Then, police sirens were heard. And since Mewtwo is regaining some of his energy now, he can't teleport them right away now. Seems like he will have to stall the police for some time. Tauroses let the two woman join the rest and all of Ash's Pokemon with Ash on top of Luxray were lined up in front of the entrance, preparing themselves for the teleportation.
"All of you hang on a minute. Mewtwo has to regain the energy to bring us back. Just... act tough and let me do the talking in the meantime." said Ash to the group. He was surprising himself with how he can keep his head calm and collected when unwanted surprises show. Those 3 years did miracles in his head. He should have known that the man that was watching them a few minutes ago was going to call the police. Well, too late for that now.
The police car stopped in front of Ash and out of it immediately jumped an officer Jenny and pointed a gun at him without hesitation. Well, that escalated quickly.
"DON'T. MOVE." said Jenny with the gun pointing at him. Ash sighed and began talking to her.
"Lady Jenny. The last person who said those words to me ended up unconscious and with a broken rib. You don't want to end up like him do you?" asked Ash he then began reaching to his back where his staff was. Unfortunately, his staff was long and Jenny saw what was attached to the back of the cloak.
"I said. DON'T. MOVE. BOTH OF YOU." said Jenny again this time addressing the Luxray that was carrying the Aura Guardian too.
"Lady Jenny. Please. I don't want to hurt pretty lady like you. Drop the gun. I pose no danger to you. You should go and check the survivors instead." said Ash when he stopped his hand from reaching his Bo staff. He even pointed at the 7 women leaning against the rock, where they were resting.
"You wish." said Jenny back. The situation between them was getting much more intense.
"Should I destroy the gun?" asked Metagross in his pokelanguage from the crowd of Pokemon behind Ash.
"That won't be necessary, Metagross." replied Ash and get his hands back on Luxray's back. The fear and anxiety could be sensed miles away from officer Jenny. Ash can't really blame her. She just wants to try to find out what is going on. And he is a complete mystery to everyone, so no hard feelings against her. Scared people make unpredictable decisions. "Just don't scare her and it'll be okay." thought Ash.
"W... What are you talking about?" asked Jenny nervously.
"Lady Jenny. Metagross can destroy your gun in milliseconds. If I would have wanted, you would be defenseless already." said Ash. And to this, he heard other sirens in the distance. Of course, she wouldn't come here alone.
"Please. Lady Jenny. Drop the gun. I am not your enemy. I just want to help people. Just like you want to help the innocent." said Ash. It was hard to sound like he doesn't want to hurt anyone with the deep voice he has. But what can you do? You have to work with what you have.
Jenny's hand began shaking. It was all too much for her to withstand. And who could blame her? She is in front of The Last Aura Guardian and an army of Pokemon behind his back. And what does she have? A gun. Yeah, reinforcements are coming, but after what they saw outside of the caverns in Johto, what chance few officers have against him? She eventually decided on what to do and with a sigh, she dropped the gun.
"Ash I am ready for teleportation." said Mewtwo in Ash's head.
"Wait a minute." said Ash.
"Thank you. And lady Jenny. I want to politely ask you to not intervene with my plans in a future. I don't want you or your women on duty to be hurt in a cross-fire." said Ash to Jenny.
"W... What?!" said Jenny surprised.
"Don't come after Team Rocket. I would be very upset if I would see you or your co-workers in the state of the woman I am finding inside their laboratories. Leave Team Rocket to me." said Ash.
"You want the police just watch this?! I can't let that happen!" said Jenny angrily.
"Why not? You have watched and didn't do anything so far... Just like I did before I intervened." said Ash.
This silenced Jenny. She was looking at the Guardian on top of the Luxray with watchful eyes. She was finally able to examine him carefully. His eyes were truly magnificent.
"Do this for me and I promise that I will put the head of this organization in chains." said Ash.
"... Why? Why don't you want us to intervene? We would help you. It's our job!" asked Jenny.
Ash smiled a little under his beard. It seems like Jenny was getting finally to his side. However, the sirens grow louder with every second. He better make it quick.
"That may be true. But on the other hand, I would have to look after you. Me and my Pokemon work together and thanks to our teamwork we are able to bring those bases down. Our communication is a big factor here too. If an unknown force got into our established system, it would throw the system of the track. We trained specifically for this lady Jenny. Please. Trust me on this one." said Ash.
"So you are trying to say we would be a burden?" asked Jenny.
"No. Not at all. You would be a great help and it would make the process of catching them actually faster. However. Do you really want to sacrifice more people to this cause when I and my Pokemon can do it alone without casualties?" asked Ash.
"...No." said Jenny as the image of the marble wall with dozens of names appeared in front of her.
"Me neither. Just prepare more cells for these guys and leave everything to me." said Ash as he pointed at the grunts that were tied together.
Slowly but surely police cars appeared on the horizon. This was Ash's cue to go.
"Hoenn or Sinnoh base is next. I have to go through the files first to find them, so it will take some time. But still. Be ready for the arrival of new prisoners." said Ash and after a slight pause, he continued.
"It was a pleasure to meet you lady Jenny, unfortunately, I have to go. Publicity isn't really my thing. I bid you farewell and safe ride home. Take care, lady Jenny." said Ash before disappearing from Jenny's sight right there with all of his Pokemon before the other police cars reached them.
In the familiar office, one man was watching his computer screen carefully. The Aura Guardian strikes again. And again, he is making his way through his grunts without that much of an effort. So far he didn't spot any mistakes or flaws in his attacks that he could exploit. That was until he was shot in the leg. His backup didn't work, but it gave him an idea. A brilliant idea. It is easier to catch the Aura Guardian off guard then he initially thought. And the best part is, he'll get him basically unscratched for the experiments. Finally, he'll erase this unexpected problem. He picked a phone and dialed the number of his right hand.
"Hi, Domino. I know how to catch the Aura Guardian that causes so much trouble to me. Listen closely..."