Success and Failure

Chapter 12: Unmasking Shadows

As Psy teleported Ramsey, Elaine, and a small group of police officers to the location, I stood there with mixed emotions. The aftermath of the confrontation with Team Rocket left the air heavy with tension, and my heart raced as I saw familiar faces alongside the league officers. My eyes met Elaine's, and I could see concern in her expression.

The telltale flash and sound of pokeballs opening filled the clearing as some pokemons were further released despite the sight of rockets knocked out on the ground. I was immediately set upon by Elaine alongside a few officers while others made sure that the rockets were still unconscious and the clearing was safe.

Elaine approached me, her Gardevoir by her side, and she didn't hesitate to wrap me in a warm, reassuring embrace. It was an unsurprising but emotional moment, given Elaine's usual demeanor. She pulled me back and started to inspect me

" Are you okay? "

" I'm okay Elaine, they didn't have the chance to hurt me "

" Are you sure? "

I cheekily responded to that with a " Positive " 

After another look at me, she pulled me in again. Her voice was soft as she whispered, " I'm so glad you're safe, You've no idea how scared I was."

"No way you're getting rid of me that effortlessly!"

Meanwhile, the others needed no further debriefing as each of the league officers made a perimeter check while the league officer who I suspect to be the leading officer today approached me, his stern expression shifting slightly as he gave me a nod. " You've managed to create quite a scene here," he commented, his gaze sweeping across the carefully orchestrated evidence " Impressive work. "

I nodded in acknowledgment, trying to balance my emotions while facing these individuals who had been trained to recognize lies and deceit, if not by their training as officers much less their career as a trainer. 

"Thank you for arriving so quickly."

I directly went to thank them because if the league hadn't come so fast or worse, the Rockets reinforcements came first, I would have been in real trouble

' I'm sure there has to be an executive-level rocket in Celadon, they do place some of their finance in the game corner '

The officer waved it off and introduced himself in a firm tone " I'm Lorenzo, and I'm the highest field agent the league has in Celadon. Do you need medical attention? "

" No "

" Then what I want you to do is to explain everything that has happened till now "

Elaine, with Ramsey by her side, stepped forward, their gaze still holding concern, I just nodded reassuringly to them. 

" Came across a rocket grunt trying to catch a Pokemon, got the drop on him, knocked him out. Discovered that there was a group here. "

" Why didn't you inform us after that? "

" Things escalated. Another rocket was not far behind the first and there was to be an eventual meeting up between the rockets who were out hunting Pokemon, We came across that one and knocked him out too. Discovered the Arcanine pack was out for blood and came to an accord with them "

I motioned toward the unconscious grunts and their Pokémon, doing my best to keep my tone neutral. " The rockets at this base had a psychic Pokemon with them and was watching over them, the fact that they would likely leave the grunts behind when they got a whiff of trouble meant that the pack only had a rough window to take them down "

" That explains what happened to the base and the two Arcanines currently watching us, still doesn't explain your presence here "

" The pack wanted their members back, the rocket Pokemon besides a few misguided Pokemon wanted to be free and I personally wanted the rockets behind bars. As we had a common goal and enough firepower, we decided to cooperate "

At this, the officers listening to me jeered at me while some scoffed

" Really? Cooperation is what came to your mind. "

I met their leers with what I'm hoping is an unimpressed gaze 

" Was I supposed to cry and hide? "

Ramsey answers that for me " You were supposed to come back and have Psy report to us "

I shrug at that

" The entire thing happened within minutes, and second-guessing would have made me worried and more liable to make even more wrong decisions. Besides we only had an opposing force of a few combatants and inside information. The Rockets were targeting rare Pokémon and valuable items, but I don't think it's of that much importance considering it was these idiots that were guarding it ."

One of the police officers stepped forward with a bemused expression

" I'm guessing everything went to plan? "

I shook my head, offering a small smile " Yep. 30 seconds top, they were knocked out. "

Lorenzo's strict gaze shifted to the bemused officer who immediately became serious and turned to me 

" And what exactly was your plan here? "

" Limp to the clearing with a rocket over my shoulder alongside his Pokemon, calling for help. Knock out the dumb ones coming for me via their reluctant captures while Psy informs the rest of the reluctant, all the while with the pack coming in behind the base. The situation shocks the smart ones with enough time for Psy and Hypno to freeze the trainers while the rest mob them. Voila, knocked out grunts "

He then proceeded to ask me to explain whether I had a contingencies plan in place

' Thankfully I had enough time to come up with them after Psy left, other than me and Psy teleport out '

Thankfully my new plans were enough to slightly reassure them, still got scolded, but I'm certain I won't be harshly punished

Lorenzo spoke then, his voice carrying a hint of respect. " You've handled this situation quite capably. We'll make sure these grunts are properly shackled and interrogated. " However his voice shifted again to an unrelenting one 

" While you have done a good thing, the fact remains that it was through luck, dumb luck at that, and I want you to recognize it and not do this again "

I arched a brow " You want me... to stand still or hide? "

" I want you to live till you get good enough that you don't need the luck to survive and then I want you to live and train some more "

" On one hand I appreciate your words and will try my best to follow them, but everything's off the table if I feel cornered "

Elaine's focus shifted between me and Lorenzo after which she slapped my head. ' That hurts, but I'm not arrogant enough to defend myself as I was being a young master right now '

" Maybe you should stop mouthing off to people who do these things for a living. Anyway, it's time you go home. "

I offered a grateful nod, feeling a mixture of gratitude and humility. " Thank you, Elaine. But I want to see it through, I promised the rocket Pokemon that and I will live up to it."

The police officers were busily examining the scene, collecting evidence and securing the Rockets. As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel the weight of the situation. Here I was, a kid too young to be even a youngster, who stumbled on these dumb ones and won due to dumb luck yet having the opportunity to watch how professionals deal with this situation

Elaine approached me with a reassuring smile. " That's almost done, What did you offer them anyway? "

After explaining what I offered, the league kept to my expectations and I was grateful for it

After that, since I didn't have anything else to do I left and Ramsey escorted me home himself. Ramsey's stern expression softened slightly as we reached home, as soon as I opened the room he hugged me and I'll admit that I wasn't prepared for it even though I should have been

His voice was firm but solemn when he spoke " I understand that you wish ill for the rockets, I agree with you and would love nothing more than every one of them failing to wake up tomorrow, but I see these criminals and couldn't care less for them but I care about you and I really want you to follow what Officer Lorenzo said. At least until you have an official Pokemon on your own instead of Psy."

I nodded to that because damn he got me in the feels. But I shake it off and give him a warning

" Ramsey, I don't think that they would have been so ready to abandon ship if it was the only base here, they were gathering Pokemon from the forest without any worry because they might have done it before. Even if minutely, that implies that there is another of their base in this city "

Ramsey laughed at that goodnaturedly " You're just thinking too much Eric and even if there were, we would have found out by now "

That laugh stuttered out once he found that neither Psy or I seemed to accept his words

Psy relayed his thoughts on it " We all know that there are spies in our ranks, Don't be that naive Ramsey, the department has seen so many fallbacks and last-minute retreats from the rocket for them to not have a man inside. Eric has been smart so far in sniffing them out, smart enough to gather intel on one more executive than we knew "

' Shit '

Ramsey is understandably shocked by that, If it was any other Pokemon then I could have written this off in some ways, but considering the Pokemon in question is Psy, I come to the conclusion that I need to think of some way to gather information off the net in a way they can be taught, cause I'm damn sure my information is going to be scrutinized to hell and back now. 

Ramsey snapped out of his shock and held my eye to see if I disagreed with Psy, but I couldn't disagree with Psy and thus I didn't

Understandably I was drilled by Ramsey and I gave him the cliff notes version of the info I knew upon which I was then dragged to a meeting with the head of the police department and Erika herself

' Thankfully I and Psy was able to stress the importance of ensuring that the meeting was off the records and untraceable '

I have to say meeting Erika in person was not that groundbreaking but fairly entertaining considering that she had her gloom out ' Sure it's not her Venasaur or Tangela but still very cool '

The head of the police, Jenny also lived upto their expectations. Both of them were disbelieving of the importance I could have gathered 

' Emphasis on their disbelief of said information ' Basically they came because of Ramsey's reputation and Psy's identity

But they became believers after seeing the data I had, especially after realizing that I did have info on an executive they didn't know about, which was Archer. I have nothing more to say about that, not one thing.

' Okay, I do have some things to say about it but it won't be anything but curses '

" How did you even get this info? " Jenny, while appreciating my info has turned into an interrogator, she's not even trying to hide it. She has been grilling me like a chicken leg in a KFC kitchen

' Which means she's going to be even worse when I slip her the rocket base, but I have to say it due to moral reasons '

" Look for the last time, leaks happen. I didn't get these things on one site on one page, they screen for things even better than you guys. But some things take time to be noticed and then some more to be deleted. What I gave you guys on one page was taken from many sites, chatrooms, forums, and blogs. "

At the last one, they all looked at me like I was joking. I naturally let them know I wasn't 

" They're cruel executives and grunts but luckily there are still dumb grunts who think their raging reviews of their superiors can't be separated from ordinary people, like police officers. "

Jenny twitches at that while Ramsey shivers minutely, which I took advantage of to ensure this ruse's success

" You wouldn't know anything about that would you Ramsey? "

As he stammers his way through apologies, Erica is still looking at me

and after a second she speaks 

" I do not believe you "

At her proclamation, all argument stops as every eye turns to me again

Even though I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest, despite knowing how this was going to come across, I still spoke what was to be my first honest opinion in this entire ruse

" That's okay because I don't believe in you either "

If the atmosphere was stifled before then now it's a graveyard. After snapping out of his shock at what I said Ramsey quickly tried to make me apologize, I did see a slight smirk on Jenny's face while Erika's face was closed off

When she spoke next there was no listlessness to her voice, only cold words

" You do know that I have every right to do what I need to get the information you have. "

" I do "

" Then am I to presume you are accepting of it? "

" No "

" Explain yourself "

" I'm not the only one who finds these things, you won't believe the things there are on the net. Most of the info I got was deleted soon after, but I've heard some whispers of an entire chatroom dedicated to Team Rocket's destruction. "

Jenny cut in at that point

" Can you lead us to that? "

" I can't "

" Why? "

" I would mention the fact they have one of the most rigorous screening

sections I've heard of, I would say most of them there are those who couldn't be helped by the league. "

I place my hands on the table and confidently state a lie

" Because you want to put them behind bars, drown them in legal consequences. Those guys, they want the Rockets dead. "

Erika interrupts me while I was going to further exaggerate it

" You dislike me because I will take them alive "

' That is a perfectly logical deduction and somewhat correct '

" No, because even people like me who aren't even members of that chatroom have heard that Celadon is rocket base "

All three bristle at that but I keep speaking to make my point clear

" I don't about any more forest bases, but I don't need to be a grown-up to recognize that the game corner is connected to Team Rocket "

Jenny audibly scoffs at that while Erika rolls her eyes at that. Ramsey explains after seeing my confusion

" You don't know how many of us still doubt that place's legality but they always pass the checks and before you say about inside corruption, know that even I did the checks on their building and their warehouses "

I smirk at that 

" Warehouses? The game corner has three floors down below what we see "

That put a stop to their acts, Ramsey speaks up first

" Are you sure about that Eric? "

" Archer, Pretel, Arianna, Proton, and a possible suspicion of the chatroom that the team rocket leader is in Viridian City"

Jenny speaks seriously as she says " If that's what they believe, then we shouldn't even try " 

A statement that is agreed upon by the other two and Psy

" And that's why they're running circles around you. "

" Look here Er- "

" Ramsey, this goes so much up the chain of command that this is literally out of your paycheck. If you don't believe in me, make the Diglett invisible to psychic checks and let them see whether I'm right are not "

My confidence in my opinions stops Ramsey and Psy, their reputation and determination stop their superiors. After a tense second Erika looks at Jenny and commands

" Check it out "

And with a look by Jenny, Ramsey is off to find a Diglett and as soon as he's out of the room there is another command at me

" You said you found them out of luck, let's see if you are lucky today "

' I may have failed my objective '