The Lost Master

Chapter-25

Agent sat quietly in his cell underneath the Rocket base. He had been left in there by Mewtwo, but as the Pokémon had released him, Agent had given a simple warning; he would get revenge. Mewtwo had just looked at him and shook his head before turning and leaving. Agent had simply smirked at the Pokémon's back.

Now he just sat facing the door. Patience was what he needed. Despite his outward disposition being utterly calm, Agent was inwardly seething. He guessed that Mewtwo had told Giovanni that he had captured Cynthia, and gone looking. His plans had been close to fruition; Giovanni was correct, he had planned to take over Team Rocket. Had he gained control of the Sinnoh Region he would have had a huge bargaining chip. The Pokémon League would have had no choice but to negotiate. Except that required him to be in Sinnoh, not underneath a Rocket headquarters in the middle of nowhere. And when the Pokémon League came, Giovanni would hand him over, no questions asked. He remembered the fight against 'Champion'; he did not think he could rely on the man's mercy.

There was a distant crash which caused Agent to look up from his thoughts. He stood up and approached the grill in the door at the top to look out. The guard outside just glanced at him before smiling grimly but made no move. Clearly he was ordered to keep Agent where he was regardless of any other events. If the Pokémon League found him in a cell, Giovanni's position would be strengthened. Agent moved away and started to pace. He hoped he would get his chance to escape, but until then he had to be patient. One of his worst skills.

Charizard swooped down low before blasting another group of Pokémon out of the path of Sceptile who took the opportunity to move forwards. While it was difficult to see from the ground, Charizard could see that the number of Rockets was reducing and the flow out of the headquarters had effectively dried up. He banked sharply to avoid another wave of strikes before he took a group of aerial opponents out and then drifted back to where 'Champion' was battling. As he came down to land next to his master, Espeon appeared at their side.

"Yes Charizard?" 'Champion' asked as the Pokémon settled.

"We have nearly broken through. No more Rockets are coming from the building." Charizard said through Espeon. "Giovanni appears to be watching from above the entrance."

"So he is still here?"

"Yes."

'Champion' didn't answer, but there was an expression on his face that scared Espeon. It was almost... feral. Espeon look at Charizard to see that the Flame Pokémon taking to the sky once again. She sighed. Her master was completely focused on victory, and had been for some time. She just hoped that he would go back to how he was after this was over. After they no longer had to fight.

Giovanni emerged from the lift and strode out. Two men stood waiting for him. One held out a Pokéball and recalled the Jolteon that had followed Giovanni. Another held out a hand and passed six Pokéballs to his boss. Giovanni nodded to them and strode forwards as they fell into step behind him. He reached the door to the Rocket base and took a sharp turn to the left, before climbing a series of stairs. At the top was another door that led to a balcony that overlooked the gate. The guards that were usually there were gone, having been forced to run by 'Champions' Charizard. Giovanni stopped and looked out across the battlefield that had sprung up in front of his base.

In the distance he could see where his Rockets had first met the attackers. There was a line of defeated Pokémon trying to recover from what looked like being steamrolled. The distance between groups of fallen Pokémon showed the speed that 'Champion' had moved. But then they had started to slow. More Rockets had poured out of the headquarters, and the attackers were having to fight their way through them which took time. Even so, it was quickly clear how badly Team Rocket was faring. Giovanni could see the number of Rockets that had fallen along the side of the battlefield. Giovanni turned to the man at his side.