Three days have passed since Blaze's victory against Rocky, the Pewter City Gym Leader. With the Boulder Badge apart of his collection, he was now one step closer for a chance to participate in the Tohjo Pokemon League Championships, the annual World Championship between the Johto and Kanto League.
Blaze placed his hands in his pocket as he leaned his head back, sizing up Mt. Moon as he stood at the base of the mountain, the opening to the cave in front of him. "Well, this is Mt. Moon," said Blaze as he scratched the back of his head. "There's a tunnel burrowed through the mountain that allows travelers to get to Cerulean City quicker. It will take about three hours to travel through the mountain, which is nothing compared to twenty two hours trying to get around the mountain." said Blaze with a sigh.
Setting down his duffel bag, Blaze rummaged through it to find a flashlight. He turned it on and walked to the cave. As he walked in the cave, a swarm of Zubat rushed at Blaze.
"Ah!" he shouted as he ducked, the swarm of Zubat flying over his head. "Damn Zubat!" said Blaze as he stood back up and ran through the tunnel. "I'm not spending any more time in here than I need to!"
Traveling through the Mt. Moon tunnel, Blaze found and defeated several rare Pokemon. Geodude, Paras, Sandshrew, Zubat, and even Clefairy twice. His Growlithe became stronger with training, even learning a new move: Flame Wheel.
"Alright!" said Blaze as Growlithe used Flame Wheel against a Paras, defeating it with ease. "At this rate, we'll be able to take on the Cerulean Gym Leader for sure!"
"Growl!" said the Growlithe as Blaze returned Growlithe to it's Pokeball.
As Blaze pocketed the Pokeball, a thought occurred to him. "Now that I think about it, I don't even know who the Gym Leader will be," he said as he paused for a moment. "I know Misty was stepping down as Gym Leader and she's holding try-outs for Water type Trainers. That makes the Gym battle unpredictable...Oh well, I'll be fine. With Growlithe's Wild Charge and Charmeleon's Dragon Rage, I'll be able to beat the Cerulean Gym, no problem." said Blaze confidently as he walked down the tunnel.
After a few minutes of walking, the end of the tunnel came into view. "Awesome! I see the end of the tunnel!" said Blaze as he ran to the tunnel exit. As Blaze ran through the exit, a trainer wearing black clothes with a large red letter R on his front. "What? Team Rocket?"
"You there, trainer! Surrender all of your Pokemon and your money!" said the man as he unclipped a Pokeball from his belt.
Blaze growled at the man as he dropped his duffel bag on the ground and took out his Pokeball. "You're not taking my Pokemon without a fight!" shouted Blaze.
"Have it your way!" yelled the Team Rocket Grunt as he tossed his Pokeball. A Raticate materialized in front of him.
"A Raticate, huh? Well, take this! Go, Growlithe!" said Blaze as he tossed his Pokeball.
As Growlithe appeared, the Raticate rushed the Growlithe. "Raticate, use Bite!" The Raticate tackled the Growlithe and bit it hard on the back. Growlithe howled in pain as it shook of it's attacker.
"Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!"
Surrounding itself in flames, the Growlithe tackled the Raticate. Bouncing backward, the Raticate skidded on the ground before it got back up. The Team Rocket Grunt pointed at Growlithe and gave the command, "Raticate, Hyper Fang!"
The Raticate rushed the Growlithe again, tackling it to the ground and bit the Growlithe again, much harder that the last attack. Unable to take the pain, the Growlithe fainted.
"No, Growlithe!" said Blaze as Raticate tossed the fainted Growlithe by Blaze.
"You may have a rare Pokemon, but it was no match for my Raticate!" said the Team Rocket Grunt confidently. "I will make a big bundle on the Growlithe!"
Blaze growled as he returned Growlithe and took out his last Pokeball. "You haven't won yet! Go, Charmeleon!"
Charmeleon materialized and shot an Ember blast into the air. "Charmeleon!" it growled as it readied itself for battle.
"Wow, a Charmeleon! That will bring me a small fortune!" said the Rocket Grunt. "Raticate, use Sucker Punch!"
The Raticate reared its arm back, but punched Charmeleon in the face with the other arm. Charmeleon stepped back a bit, rubbing it's chin. Angry, Charmeleon inhaled deeply and attacked the Raticate with blue flames. Engulfed in the flame, it's body couldn't handle the attack. The Raticate fainted as a the attack finished.
"No!" shouted the Rocket Grunt as he returned his Raticate. "Don't think this is the end! You will see again with stronger Pokemon!" he shouted as he took out a Smoke Ball and slammed it into the ground, the area immediately covered in a purple smoke. "This is not the last you will see of Robert!"
"Charmeleon!," coughed Blaze as he walked forward in attempt to find Charmeleon. As the smoke cleared, Robert was gone.
"Is Team Rocket back?" asked Blaze as he and Charmeleon looked around. "Team Rocket hasn't been spotted in about eight years. Are they coming back?" said Blaze as he looked at Charmeleon. "We need to be careful. If they are coming back, we can expect that they're up to something."
As Blaze walked down the Route to Cerulean City, Robert heaved behind the tree as he tried to catch his breath. "Damn it to hell, how did I lose that?" he asked himself as he heard footsteps behind him. "W-Who's there!" he shouted as he pushed himself off the tree.
A tall man in the black trench coat and hat walked into the clearing, the corners of his lips curved into a grin. "Robert, I have a special assignment for you," said the man as he approached Robert.
"Wh-what do you need?" asked Robert as he bowed.
"I need you to go to Bill's and steal the disk files pertaining to the Legendary Pokemon. He has critical information about their patterns and known sightings."
"T-The legendary Pokemon? Which ones?" asked Robert.
The man chuckled as he turned and walked away.
"All of them."
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