Pokemon: Trail of Poison

Part Five: Enemy of my Enemy

Gou had always wanted to skydive, but when the Gardevoir teleported him to the sky, that was no longer the case.

Gou screamed as he fell from what looked like thousands of feet with, unluckily, Team Rocket. He was scared. It felt like all of his organs were being pushed away from his stomach and out his back. When he tried to scream, he couldn't due to the constant tightening in his stomach. His limbs were pushed up by the air currents and, no matter what he did, Gou could only place them by his sides again with extreme difficulty. He had to, though. He had to for Rapidash. Straining, he brought his hand down and fumbled in his pocket for her Pokéball. Luckily for Gou, Rapidash was falling limp right beside him. He was able to put her in the ball and it in his pocket one again. Hopefully, she would survive the fall that Gou wouldn't. The ground was approaching quickly. It was a beautiful forest he was plummeting to. Gou would have loved to explore it with Ash, find its cool places, catch some cool Pokémon. He'd never get the chance.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Perplexed, Gou slowly spun around. What had he just heard?

When he fully came around to look at Team Rocket, he found their evil eyes gazing at him in fear. He did notice that their Wobbuffet wasn't Mega Evolved any longer. That was a bit strange.

The member with the pink hair called Jessie cupped her hands to her mouth. "You need to say, 'Team Rocket's blasting off again!' with us!" she yelled.

That was a stupid request. Gou strained to make the same position with his hands. "Absolutely not!" he shouted back. "You people tried to have me imprisoned forever! You took Scorbunny away from me! Why should I listen to you now?"

Jessie was quick with a retort. "Do you want to die!?" Gou shook his head.

"Then just do it, okay!?"

Gou rolled his eyes but nodded. Jessie held up her fingers and counted down from them. Gou watched. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Gou said it with them. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" "Wobbuffet!"

The ground was really close now. Gou sighed. That little call had done nothing! Now he had spent his last few moments doing something that he hadn't enjoyed in the slightest. So close. Gou was going to land in a tree. That would make it much harder for people to find his body. He wondered if Scorbunny would be okay without him. Gou closed his eyes and held his breath, rotating so he would land on his back. At least death in this case would be painless.

WHUMP! Gou kept his eyes squinted shut. A bright light shone above him. Was this what heaven was like? He peeked. It was very bright, and the light appeared to be coming from a blue sky. Gou opened his eyes in full and sat up. His seat felt like wood. When Gou looked, he discovered that he was sitting on a very large branch of a moderately sized tree. Gou gasped. He slapped himself in the face with as much force as he could muster and ended up recoiling from the hit. There was no doubt about it; he was still alive.

But how?

Gou nimbly scrambled down from the tree and felt at his legs, butt, and back. His legs and back felt perfect while his butt seemed to be only mildly sore. He would be completely healed naturally in just a day or two. Gou was beyond confused. What did Team Rocket do to me? Searching the area around him and not finding anything, Gou moved along the dirty and green ground in search of Team Rocket. They had told him what to say when he was falling. They would know what had happened.

Gou trudged through the woods. Pokémon all around him chirped and whistled and made their mating calls and did what Pokémon did at this time of year. His feet were uneven on the ground that was littered with plants and roots and dirt. Every so often, Gou would step on a leaf that made a satisfying crunch. The air was cool and shadowed. Gou wished sincerely that he could enjoy it, but couldn't due to his mission. He needed to find a clearer place to collect his bearings. Fortunately, he soon saw extra light coming from some trees in front of him and, when he approached, found a large dirt path.