Bending the Bars Part 2
"Hello." Humans
"Pika-chu." Pokémon addressing Human
"Hello." Pokémon addressing Pokémon
Nighttime: Dockside District of Viridian City
"Come on, Lillie!" Ash cried out.
"I'm coming! You're the one that left the house so quickly!!" Lillie snapped, hurriedly wrapping herself up in a coat.
Ash rolled his eyes at that as the two made their way through the empty streets. Around them were boarded up apartment blocks, flickering streetlamps, and grimy alleyways. Lillie instinctively grabbed Snowy and got closer to Ash.
"This place already gives me the creeps." Lillie nervously said.
"It's a lot nicer on the inside," a chipper voice said.
The two turned on their heels rapidly to find Jericho behind them. His face wrapped in a warm smile. On his dapper shoulder was Seed with a warm gold scarf around the Grass type's neck.
"How did you do that?" Ash asked.
"I have my ways…" he said cryptically.
Ash and Lillie raised their eyebrows at the assertion. "Okay. I've been following you for the past couple minutes."
"Do you do that a lot?" Ash asked.
"… I will not confirm or deny that." Jericho said, looking away.
"... Okay? Where's Isaac?" Lillie asked, raising her eyebrow.
"You three took too long. I've already scouted the joint out under cover and figured out where they're keeping the Pokémon." Isaac's voice called out from the shadows.
Walking out of the shadows a couple of feet ahead of them, Isaac was in a black tuxedo embroidered with flames and the image of a Charizard on it with bright yellow buttons and a white tie. Under that, he wore a black dress shirt and golden yellow dress pants. He also wore black loafers and completed his outfit with a black fedora casting shadows over his eyes with a yellow ribbon.
"Issac. Where are you going?" Ash asked.
"Wait, what?" Isaac asked in surprise, looking up and seeing where he was positioned. "Damn it, I ruined my own entrance! I was gonna do the 'cool investigator' thing!"
"Well, good job, Sinnoh Boy. You blew it." came the familiar voice of Gary in front of them.
The four looked to see Gary standing under a flickering streetlight with his Squirtle. Both wore a brown trench coat, brown fedora, and black sunglasses.
"Gary. Why are you wearing sunglasses? It's night! And we're going inside!" Ash asked.
"That's the point, Ashy-Boy. They'll never suspect that someone who looks this obvious is actually planning to bust 'em." Gary told his friend with a smirk.
"Don't let 'em get you down, Gary, I think you pull off the look well." Jericho said happily.
"Yeah. The point is to look so obvious that they'll never suspect a thing." Isaac replied with a smirk.
"You three are acting like idiots. At least Ash and Jericho are dressed norma…" Lillie said, only to stop when she looked at Jericho again.
Before her, Jericho and Seed had changed their attire to match that of Gary's and his Squirtle, complete with black sunglasses. Frustratedly, Lillie pinched the bridge of her nose.
"How did you change into that?!"
"Brought a bag." Jericho said with a shrug, kicking a discarded nap-sack next to his feet.
"Now that we're all in attendance, follow my lead inside and act real cool." Isaac told them, taking some sunglasses out of the pocket of his tuxedo and putting them on.
"No. No, we are not." Lillie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Jericho. Please lead the way."
"Follow me," he said, taking the lead of the group, Seed walking next to him with a self-important pep in their step.
The group followed close behind Jericho as he led them around the street corner. Soon they stood before a large, shabby-looking warehouse. The windows and doors were boarded up; the siding was old and rusted, and the roof had several holes in it. The only noticeable activity around it was a small group of people standing by one of the boarded-up doors.
"This is it?" Gary asked. "Place looks condemned."
"Don't be fooled, this is a hive of scum and villainy," Jericho said tersely, as he stepped and knocked on the door.
As soon as he finished knocking, a slit opened in the door, and a pair of brown eyes looked down at them.
"Ya' bums look too obvious to be wit' da' fuzz. What's da' password?" The source of the eyes said in a gruff, accented voice.
"Viridian Sunrise," Jericho answered smoothly, pulling his sunglasses down so they rested on his nose. He and the door guard meeting eye-to-eye.
With that, the slit in the door closed sharply. Soon they heard several sharp sounds of chains and bolts being slid back and forth. Within moments, the door was thrown open to reveal a man not too much taller than them on the other side on a step ladder. He waved his arm to usher them in.
"Enjoy da' show." The Guard said gruffly before closing the door behind them.
Isaac tipped his hat as Jericho motioned for them to follow him. As they began to follow, two black clad men were dragging someone out, with only a dark tuft of hair being visible. The interior of the building was more well-managed than the outside. Proper tile flooring and linoleum walls greeted them under harsh, flickering light from large ceiling lights. But as they walked further down the drab hallway, they began to hear the sound of people. Lots of people were making a lot of noise.
"What's all the noise for?" Ash asked.
"The main event," Jericho said with a disgusted snarl.
Meanwhile: On the Other Side of the Building
"Hurry up, James. We're already late." Jessie lamented, leaning out the window of their car.
"I'm working on it. Sheesh, you're worse than my mother." James groaned as he sat behind the wheel.
"Why are you two so worried? This is a shift we picked up. No one expects ya' to be there on time on a pickup." Meowth replied from the back.
James rolled his eyes as he turned towards a large parking lot in a large, expensive, burgundy vintage Cadillac. A chain link fence and a guard post was the only thing keeping any form of security around a series of parked cars. With a feathered throttle, the trio gently rolled up to the guard post, where a black clad man was waiting for them.
"Hurry this up, James, so we can park your brown car." Jessie grumbled.
"It's not brown, it's burgundy!" James snapped, focusing on parking.
"So reddish brown." Meowth quipped.
"You two just don't appreciate the finer things in life." James grumbled, verbally waving Meowth off.
"Evening, Sir, Madam. Meowth. What's the password?" The man asked dryly.
Reaching into his coat pocket, James pulled out a black membership card with the red Team Rocket R on it. Holding it out, he handed it to the man. As soon as the man saw it, his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
"Take your pick of parking, sir. And, might I say, that is a lovely burgundy Cadillac you have there." The man said in a more deferential tone.
"At least someone here has good taste." James replied with a smile as he drove into their assigned parking spot.
Back Inside the "Warehouse"
As the five walked out of the hallway to find themselves on the edge of a shockingly large arena. Row upon row of baseball seating was filled with roaring spectators. The stairs were filled with refreshment ladies making the rounds with snacks and drinks, with wallets overflowing from purchases. Large flood lights above them illuminated a large, sand-covered fighting ring with a thick cage cell around it, while live commentary blared from large loudspeakers. As the five walked down the stairs to get closer to the action, they saw what got everyone so excited. Two Pokémon, a small, fiery little Magby and a large, pink, spiked rodent, a Male Nidoran. But unlike the fights most of them were used to, they saw pools of blood in the sand.
Lillie covered her mouth in horror as she covered Snowy's eyes. "W-what are they doing?" She asked in horror.
"Fight club," Jericho said, shaking his head in disgust. "They capture Pokémon and make them fight to first blood."
"How can anyone be so cruel?" She asked, turning to look at Jericho.
"I don't know, we have to free as many of these poor souls as we can." The shades-wearing boy said with a grimace.
Isaac glared down at the pit. "I'm starting with those two. That Nidoran is an Alpha. With how rare Alpha's are, they have to have poached the big guy from somewhere important." He said before pulling out a Pokéball.
"That's all well and good, Isaac. But what the heck are the rest of us supposed to do?" Gary asked.
"That's a good idea, Isaac. You may want to send another one of your Pokémon to show them where all the 'prizes' are kept." Jericho said with a look of determination, taking off his shades and putting them in the jacket of his coat.
Nodding, Isaac pulled out a second Pokéball and sent out Ruffian in a flash of light, a tiny fedora on his head. "Ruffian, lead them to where we saw the other Pokémon. Blaze and I can handle this." He told his Spearow.
"Spearow!" Ruffian replied snootily.
"Fine. Please lead them to where the other Pokémon are while Blaze and I cause a distraction." Isaac said with a sigh.
"Spearow." Ruffian said with a nod, before flying off.
"He's going to be a problem child…" Isaac grumbled before heading down to the pit.
"This way." Jericho said before motioning the group to follow him.
The four then followed Ruffian, as swiftly and inconspicuously as they could. As they walked past, they nearly knocked over a line of five Squirtle's with sunglasses carrying refreshments.
"Oh. Sorry about that." Lillie said sheepishly.
"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirt!!" The lead Squirtle with pointed sunglasses snapped at her.
"Lillie. We don't have time for this!" Ash said, before grabbing her arm and pulling her away.
Down in the Fight Pit
Isaac cracked his neck as he and Blaze walked, Blaze wearing a pair of zori sandals specially fitted for a Charmander as she cracked her knuckles. They were soon stopped by a black clad woman with a clipboard right before they reached the sands of the arena. She pressed a button on a nearby console and a metal gate slammed shut in front of them.
"Excuse me, sir. You're not on the list." The woman plainly said.
"... I thought this was first-come, first-served." Isaac replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Normally it is, kid. But tonight is a championship gauntlet." She explained.
"Well, then I guess my female Charmander and I will look elsewhere for some action. Come along, Blaze." Isaac told his partner as they turned to leave.
At the mention of a female Charmander, the woman raised a finger to her ear, speaking quietly into the white earpiece she was wearing.
"Yes, yes, of course. Yes sir." the woman said deferentially, letting her finger drop from the earpiece. With a sigh, she fixed him with a tired sigh, a thin line forming on her lips. The paperwork was going to be a nightmare.
Isaac turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" He asked.
"…No. A spot just opened. Names?" She said with a groan, taking the pen from the top of the clipboard and finding an empty space to fill in.
Isaac smirked as he turned to look at her. "Zeke and Blaze." He replied as his Charmander looked into the pit and glared in disgust at what was happening in it.
"I hope you're ready kid, you're up next." She said, ushering them forward to the cage door.
Nodding, Isaac tipped his hat as the gate opened up, and he and Blaze walked into the blood-soaked pit. They had to cover their eyes from the harsh lights above. The thick bars of the cage doing little to help them against the oppressive light and the roaring crowd. Blaze shivered as the gate slammed shut behind them. Across from them was a tall, rough looking man with a ripped red shirt and dirty jeans. Next to his large steel-toed boot was the very same Alpha Nidoran they saw earlier, panting heavily from exhaustion.
"All right, folks. Next, we…" A voice boomed from the loudspeakers before stopping. "What do you mean there was a last-minute add-on? What do you mean the boss approved it? What do you mean the mic's still live?!"
An uncomfortable silence descended upon the arena after an audible click was heard from the loudspeakers. Half a minute later, they roared to life with a proclamation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special pair of new challengers joining the gauntlet tonight! Give a warm club welcome to Zeke and his female Charmander, Blaze!" The voice over the loudspeakers roared.
The crowd roared in excitement as the red shirted man spat on the ground. "So? You're my next opponent? Bit late for kids to be out." The man gruffly said.
Isaac smirked. "I'm no ordinary kid, big man. That Alpha Nidoran's coming home with me tonight." He said confidently.
The man rolled his eyes and snapped his finger, causing his Nidoran to sit up at attention. "You got spunk, kid. I hate spunk." He growled.
"Now let's get this party started! In the Red Corner, we have the night's champion: Caesar the Alpha Nidoran! And, in the Green Corner, we have the challenger: Blaze the Female Charmander! Ready?! FIGHT!!!" The ring announcer called over the loudspeakers as the crowd roared in approval.
Meanwhile: In the Basement
The quartet followed Ruffian through the stands to a large, wide, and dark hallway at the bottom level of the warehouse. Waiting for some of the guards to move past, Jericho led them inside. Under flickering lights and walking on moist concrete, they crept down the disgusting hallway. As they entered, they saw across each wall, from floor to ceiling, lined with pitiful, barred cages with rusted locks, full of Pokémon. Big, small, fast, slow, young, old, it didn't matter. The variety and number of them were dizzying to look at.
"I… I think I'm going to be sick…" Lillie muttered as she held Snowy close.
"This is horrible! Pokémon shouldn't have to live like this!" Ash growled furiously.
"All right, Jericho. What's the plan to get them out?" Gary asked.
"Uhhhh…. I'm going to be honest, never thought I'd get this far," Jericho admitted, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.
"What?!" Lillie snapped quietly.
"Shhhhh!" Jericho hissed. "It's not that bad, let's just free one of the big ones to start."
Jericho eyed the cages, letting out a quiet "ahah!" as he stopped in front of a cage, crouching in front of it.
"Hey there, mama," he said softly to the Pokémon inside the cage. Jericho stood up, looking for something to pry the gate open.
As Jericho began looking for something to pry the gate open, Ash noticed something from another cage across the hallway. Inside a much smaller cage was the soft glow of a flame. Kneeling down, he saw a small Charmander huddled in the corner.
"Hey there, little guy." Ash said with a smile.
The soft words caused the Charmander to jump in fright and cower away from him. "It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you." He told it gently.
"Char-mander?" It whimpered.
"Yeah. We're gonna do everything we can to get you guys out of here. I promise." Ash told him, reaching his hand through the bars out to the little Flame Pokémon, who sniffed his hand before letting Ash pet him.
"Okay, I found this," Jericho announced. Walking up carrying a pipe, squatting down, he slid the pipe in a gap in the metal of the cage and leant back as he tried to pry it open.
"Need some help?" Ash asked.
"Why not just have Snowy freeze the rusted locks to make it easier? While you guys do that, I'll look around for the keys or something." Gary told them before heading deeper into the room to search.
Ash crouched down next to Jericho and grabbed hold of the pipe. However, right when they were about to lean against the pipe, Gary quietly called out to them.
"Hey, guys! I found a button!"
Everyone looked down the hallway. At the farthest end, Gary was standing next to a large, closed bay door, with a metal box next to it. Inside the box was a large red button. Without another word, Gary punched the button. Soon the hall was filled with grinding and whirring metal that horribly screeched. Ash, Lillie, and Jericho covered their ears as half of the cages, including the one they were just about to break into, opened their doors. As soon as that happened, Ash looked over to see that the Charmander's had not opened.
Before they could try anything else, various Pokémon began to hesitantly leave their cages. The one they were about to break into had a short horned Rhyhorn slowly trundled out of; its grey armor sporting deep scars in it. It sniffed the air before nuzzling up to Jericho.
"Sorry to ask this, ma'am, but can you help us out?" He asked, gently stroking the short horn, a lock of deep regret and sadness on his face.
"Rhyhorn?" The spiked Pokémon replied, turning its head in confusion.
"We need a distraction, ma'am, any will do," he clarified, sighing softly.
The Rhyhorn stood there, blinking once, then twice, then thrice. After an uncomfortably long time, she nodded and turned towards the bay door. Stamping her foot down, she lowered her head and charged. With each footfall, the hallway and cages rattled like an earthquake hit them. Gary, seeing the oncoming tank, dove out of the way as the Rhyhorn rammed through the bay door like it was made of cardboard. Leaving a large hole in it.
"You could have given me a bit of warning!" Gary hissed.
"... Well… that's… definitely distracting…" Lillie muttered in disbelief before picking up Snowy and holding her up to one of the rusted over locks.
"What the heck is going on in there!?" Someone yelled from outside the hallway.
"Uh oh…" Ash muttered.
Soon several black clad men and women rushed in and were shocked by what had happened.
"We need reinforcements! We got escapees!" One of them yelled as they all started pulling out Pokéballs.
"'Uh oh' indeed…" Jericho muttered under his breath.