(Reboot) Pokemon: Beyond the Tall Grass

Wes looked up at Catia and raised an eyebrow at her getup.

"You look... girly." he shrugged as he continued work on his machine. "We're putting together a rescue mission to save Loka and Decoda's girlfriend." He knew she wasn't his girlfriend, but he decided that a bit of humor was needed, no matter how bad it was. "Our plan is to have a stealth team go in first, and infiltrate the building. This team will include Yuno, Pawniard, Bansheeon, and if Cerise can at least earn it's trust; Honedge." He paused, letting this bit process first before adding onto it. "I've also decided that Rotom will be on this team. He will hack the base's security system by entering the front card swiper. From there, he will make his way to the security room and override the system and possibly cutting the power. Afterwards, We'll take the entrance by force. Cerise and Chespin in front; their our 'tanks'. Decoda and I in the middle, since we have a bit more range. You, Catia, will take up the rear as a guard since you're close combat."

Rotom looked up, a bit uneasy about being in on the mission like this.

"If I may, I do not like the idea of a system infiltration. Places like such normally have a defense where a virus gets downloaded into whatever is trying to hack in."

"You'll be fine, Rotom. Trust me."

"...Very well, Sir Wes. I shall go about your plan."

Catia blushes madly and pushed her skirt down a little when Wes commented about her outfit.

"I-It's not that girly....I borrowed it from Yuno because my other one got singed and shredded in the fire."

She mumbled, listening to the plan as Fox curled up into her lap with a soft mew of contentment. She nodded slowly to him upon hearing her part in this plan.

"Okay but I'm telling you now that I'll probably not be at a hundred percent when this plan goes into play. I'm not even really sure that my shoulder won't still be recovering when we go into it. I'd really feel better if I knew Decoda here would be able to have my back if something happened. If need be Yuno and I can teach him and Cerise some basic self-defense if they're willing to learn it. Yuno's probably going to have to do all of the actual demonstration's though."

She looks to Decoda and smiles.

"If you want, I can show you a better way of dealing with pain like with what I can tolerate. Mind you your pain tolerance won't be nearly as high as mine by the time we get there but I can at least raise your tolerance of it a little bit."

She hears Rotom's concerns and thinks for a moment.

"Rotom's right though Wes. I'm not entirely sure what a defense virus does but considering he's an avatar and not a computer program, it could possibly do any number of horrible things to him. I think we should think that tactic through more thoroughly so that something bad doesn't happen to him. If the buildings defenses go off at the wrong time because he couldn't disable them properly then we could get into a lot of trouble really quickly."

She explains somewhat intelligently for once. She slowly realizes what she'd just said and quickly rubs the back of her head with an embarrassed blush on her face.

"B-But it's not like I know all that much about these types of things. I-I'm just speaking hypothetically is all....ehehehe...."

By now, Cerise had returned his trio of Pokemon and was in the town square of Lavender Town, allowing Honedge to stay out of its Pokeball for the time being. From what he understood about Honedge, perhaps letting the Blade Pokemon see the outside world a bit more would be beneficial to fostering a sense of truth with it? In a few moments, Cerise would guide Honedge to the Center, where he would hopefully catch up with the others on whatever course of action they'd be taking to rescue Marley and Loka.

Cerise could feel his pulse quicken at the thought. The idea of actually getting involved in combat had seemed like an impossibility to him only a few weeks ago, but it wasn't that long ago in Vermilion that he'd gained a tool for combat. The trainer shifted his weight to one leg, the shield he had taken had a collapsible feature -- allowing him to carry it in his bag. But the weight of the shield was still very much real, both figurative and literal. Yuno had been coaching him through a few basic stances on how to properly manage his shield, but... when push came to shove and he actually had to fight someone... could he do it?

His brow furrowed slightly in worry for the future and what it may hold, he called over for Honedge to follow him as he walked into the Pokemon Center in search of the others.

Decoda sighed in relief to hear that Rotom successfully traced the call.  That was where they were originally headed, anyway.  He then looked up to see Yuno and Catia step in, both of them looking better than when they left the tower.  It seemed like they were also in a different mood - cheerful, yet collected.  Catia's new appearance stood out the most, though a glint of something shiny on their hands was seen at a glance.  Decoda didn't think twice about it, thinking it was something of a promise ring.

"The two of you look refreshed, which is good beca--" he'd cut himself off just realized what Wes said and shot a glare at him.  The blush radiating off of his face was impossible to hide, though.  "There'd have better been a longer pause between 'girl' and 'friend' than I imagined, pally.  I ain't getting serious with anyone when I don't even know where I'm going next!"

He then smashed a smashed a palm to his face; what did he just get done thinking about, about not getting worked up with emotion?!  Sliding his gloved hand down his sweaty face, he wiped off the heat from his cheeks and focused on Catia's ideas, especially when she referred directly to him.

Other than punching a few rocks and preforming a few stunts outside of battle, he hadn't really seen her do much combat; however, maybe she wouldn't be a bad coach.  Decoda knew little about actual martial arts and more so on exercise routines and working out.  Since he already knew the basics, picking up pointers from a teammate would probably be a good thing.  He also still had that mace from Lt. Surge, while Cerise had his shield.

"Catia, I've decided to take you up on your offer.  I've been doing work outs with Brock and my fellow Gym Trainers for 6 years, so taking my skills to the next level with you and Yuno's help would be best.  I'm positive Cerise is thinking of using that shield too," he told her, then stopped to listen to her opinion on Rotom's involvement.

Actually, both she and the Avatar were right.  It was incredibly dangerous in terms of viruses and potentially random electrical discharges in the mainframe of whatever secret location these crooks were at; it might not kill him, but it would certainly not have a positive effect on his bottomline stability.

"To add, I know for certain that if anything electric gets really hot, it could spark and leave a burn on anything it touches.  Maybe we can stock up on berries that can cure burns and paralysis, too... Otherwise, Rotom, I know you're strong enough to do this.  I want to see your real power as an Avatar Pokemon," Decoda confided in the orange-coated Pokemon.

Rotom cracked a grin at Decoda, hiding his face in his hands. Wes nearly fell off the bed in a fit of laughter as Rotom spoke.

"Sir Decoda, you are making me blush." He looked at the Trainer. "Thank you for your trust, Sir Decoda. I will do my best to not fail you. I will ensure that all my defenses are up." Rotom then turned to Catia. "You are half right. I am an Avatar, but as I am one who can infiltrate electronic equipment, It does make me a pseudo-computer program."

Yuno listened to the exchanges, then grinned a bit as she faced Catia.

"Actually, I've been helping Cerise with his Shield expertise..."



The Honedge was wandering around the square, simply examining everything it could. So this was the outside world... It was quite vivid, and was definitely worth the hassle to come here. It heard Cerise's voice and turned to look at him, watching the trainer motion for the sword to follow. It waved to him with it's scarf, then hovered over to Cerise, ready to follow him.

Catia smiled and nodded to what Decoda told her, happy that she could be of use.

"That's good to hear Decoda! I can start with training tomorrow morning if you like. We really should rest tonight, much as I would rather we do training at night."

She hears Yuno telling her about her training with Cerise and smiles at her, bringing the grinning girl into a one-armed hug.

"That's great Yuno! I'm so proud of you~"

She praised the girl, nuzzling her cheek as Fox gave her her own mew of approval. To think that not too long ago Yuno had been just a shy girl that couldn't make the stealth corps. Now she was coming out of her shell so much more easily than ever before. She looks up and smiles at Rotom, something occurring to her when she does so.

"That reminds me....I don't think you ever figured out what Pokemon I was descended from like you had with Cerise and Decoda did you?"

She asked the kiddish avatar, now wondering what kind of Pokemon she might've been a direct descendant of.

As Cerise entered the Center, he glanced about the immediate interior in search of the others. Not seeing anyone he knew in the Center's lobby, he began to head over to the rooms that the group had checked out during the ambulance ride to Lavender Town. Every few minutes, he looked back to make sure Honedge was still following him and not getting into any kind of trouble, but the Blade Pokemon seemed much more content to observe its surroundings than actually interacting with it.

Hearing muffled voices coming from the room that the others were in, Cerise paused to listen, trying to confirm if he was standing outside the right room or not. After taking a moment to finally confirm that the voices were his friends, he knocked rhythmically on the wooden door. "Hey, it's Cerise. Is it alright if I come in? Or I could come by later, if that's more convenient? Geez, I really hope this is the right room..."

The door Cerise was standing at didn't even get a chance to open, as he was greeted by Bansheeon sticking it's head through the wall and raspily yipping at him. The door was then opened by Espeon, who was simply shaking her head at the Ghost Type's antics.

Rotom waved to Cerise before grabbing Catia's arm and pricking it with his finger.

"Processing... Processing... Processing complete. Catia. Female. Hoenn origins. Bloodline; Machamp." 

Wes shook his head then continued on his works until everyone was comfortable.

"Okay, so our goal is to Rescue Loka and Marley." He goes over the initial plan. "Is there anything anyone would want to add to this? All suggestions, comments, and or concerns are welcome."

Decoda was glad he could encourage Rotom to help, and it felt good to know that he was willing to share his power with them for the safety of the captured humans.  In the back of his mind, he wanted to ask why this Avatar was so kind and helpful to them, albeit mischievous, but that was a question for another time.

"Whoa, Machamp?  That's a pretty powerful Pokemon!  I've heard from Brock loads of times that the Elite Bruno has trained Machamp before, so it's gotta be great!" Decoda commented on Catia's heritage.  He wondered about Wes and Yuno's now, too, but it was unlikely that they would care to try it.  He then looked up to see Cerise come in with his Honedge.

"Hey, man," he greeted with a light smile and a fleeting wave.  "How's things holding up?  We're just about to finalize some plans... By the way, when should we leave for this?"

If he sounded anxious about this, he sincerely was, but he understood if the others wanted to take one more night to cool down before the big rescue.  He just wasn't sure what kind of pain Loka and Marley were in... and how long they could stand it...

"By all calculations, this would best be pulled off at night." Rotom interjected. "It is your choice if it should be tonight or tomorrow, however by the circumstances, the sooner the better."

"Rotom is correct," Espeon spoke. "Wesley, If this really is team Plasma, we shou-"

Wes held up a hand and Espeon fell silent. He looked at Bansheeon who simply tilted his head to the right. He sighed, somewhat sadly the spoke out.

"Yes, Espeon. I know... They're right. If we wait, there's no telling what they'll do to them. I don't want to rush into this, but it's beginning to look like we don't have much time." He looks at his teammates. "What do you guys think?"

Catia winces when Rotom pricks her arm, taking it away a moment later before her heart skips a beat from hearing what pokemon she was descended from. A Machamp? Why did that pokemon sound so familiar to her....? Ignoring Decoda's comment about how cool it was that she was descended from a pokemon with such a powerful lineage, she picks up Fox and sets her into Yuno's lap before wordlessly pulling out her pokedex from her bag. She immediately sets it onto her lap and searches for this Machamp that sounded so familiar to her. She quickly finds the entry in her pokedex and lets it speak, listening to the computer intently for what it had to say about this particular pokemon;

Machamp, the Superpower Pokemon. Machamp is known as the Pokemon that has mastered every kind of martial arts. If it grabs hold of the foe with its four arms, the battle is all but over. The hapless foe is thrown far over the horizon. It can knock a train flying with a punch. However, it is terrible at delicate work using its fingers.

As the pokedex finished up with its verbal enunciation of the creatures entry, she quickly searched the thing for a picture. However, when she finally finds the picture, she immediately drops the pokedex and covers her mouth, her eyes wide with fear and shock. Her unending nightmares from before flashed before her eyes, making her stare blankly into space as she relived her past nightmares all over again. Only this time, the shadowy figure of the muscular pokemon at the top of the volcano became completely clear to her. The pokemon that had seemingly caused the rockslide that claimed her father's life was the very same pokemon that she was descended from.

The very thought of being descended from the pokemon that had ruined her life for the past few years made her breathless with shock. She stood up and spoke without looking at anyone, her face still panicked from her nightmarish recollection.

"I-I....J-Just meet me out by the front entrance at ten tonight! I-I gotta go!"

She blurted out, not bothering to compensate for the panic in her voice. She went straight to the door and opened it, leaving and closing it behind her without another word. She runs down to the bottom of the steps of the pokemon center and rushes out the door, not slowing her pace until she manages to make it to the park near the town. Once she'd finally made it there, she used her good hand to support herself as she leaned up against the trunk of a tree, out of breath and her face still panicked. How could she be related to the very pokemon that had ruined her life for so many years?! It just wasn't right!

Back in the room, Poochy had tried to run after Catia but gave a small bark as the door shut in his face, making him growl at it and bark more. Fox on the other hand, hopped down out of Yuno's lap and looked down at her trainer's pokedex, the screen still showing the picture of the Machamp. She tilts her head at it in confusion before looking up at Espeon and giving her a worried look.

Aunt Espy? I-Is my human....Is she going to be okay? She looked really scared!

She asked her, helplessly confused by what she'd just witnessed.

"So that's the plan... I see..." Cerise mutters softly as he leans against a wall by the door, hand clasped over his mouth in thought. With Rotom and Wes both advocating to go as soon as possible -- and Decoda would most likely share that opinion -- Cerise tilted his head to the side for a moment. Taking some time to think as Catia was scanned for her heritage by Rotom. Cerise continues talking, moreso to himself than to the others. "It'd still take us some time to get to... Fuschia City, was it? And we'd have to be on the lookout for these Team Plasma guys -- Why are they even in Kanto anyway? And what do they need the Avatars for...?"

"If we leave right now, it'll take us some time to get back there -- I'm thinking it might take a bit longer due to us not being back at our optimal health. But... it should be dark enough for us to pull this off... if everyone can keep it together, that is." Cerise adds the last part in response to Catia rushing out of the room after dropping her Pokedex. Assuming Yuno would be absconding soon to support Catia -- being that she was a much closer emotional support to Catia than probably anyone else in the room -- Cerise unfolded his crossed arms, somewhat uncomfortable.

"That can't be good."

Rotom frowned at the reaction then looked to Decoda as if he did something wrong. Wes shook his head, sighing , as Catia ran out the door.

"Yuno, can you go see if she's alright?"

Yuno nodded and ran out after Catia.

"Alright, if we're going to strike tonight, we'll have to leave for Fuchsia very soon. When we get there, we can scope out the area, visit the music hall, and weigh our options even further. Cerice is correct; not all of us are going to be 100% here, so we'll just have to try and make sure everyone is in the best shape possible. If theres a time and place that we need to work together, it's now."



Yuno caught up with Catia and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, a worried look in her eyes.

"Are you alright? What happened in there?"

Poochy and Fox ran after Yuno when she opened the door, Poochy dashing ahead of the both of them before barking and sniffing out his runaway trainer. It didn't take him very long to reach her and when he found her he padded up to her and gave her ankle a soft headbutt to get her attention. This made her blink for a second and look down at her worried little puppy pokemon and slowly start to relax as she turned around and let her back slide down the trunk of the tree. Poochy nosed her hand when she'd sat down which made her pat his head without smiling. When Yuno and Fox ran up, she looked up at Yuno with frightened and panicked eyes as she went to explian what she'd seen and why she'd run out in such a panic.

"I-I don't know....When Rotom told me what pokemon I was descended from I-I thought the name of it sounded familiar to me so....I looked it up on my pokedex. As soon as I saw it's picture I knew why it was so familiar to me."

She tears up a bit as the painful memories come rushing back to her again.

"That rockslide that killed my father a few years ago was caused by a pokemon on top of the volcano. He pushed me out of the way and saved my life but it took his instead. That rockslide....it was caused by a Machamp at the top of the Volcano."

She went to wrap herself up with her arm as she stared into space again, the memory flashing in front of her eyes again alongside the nightmarish vision of herself that she'd seen in her dreams.

"The nightmares that I've been having since that day....I saw myself at the top of the mountain alongside a shadowy figure of a pokemon. When I saw Machamp's picture in the pokedex....it wasn't a shadow or a figure anymore. It came out clearly that it was a Machamp that I was standing next to at the top of the volcano. Yuno...."

She looks back up at Yuno with tears in her eyes.

"I-I'm related to the very pokemon that claimed my father's life and nearly killed me. How am I supposed to live with that? It's not right and it's not fair!"

She told her, finally letting herself start crying as Fox mewed and pawed at her trainer's leg, Poochy simply pawing up into her lap and sitting there, looking up before giving her face a gentle lick to get some of the tears away. Neither of them liked seeing her upset like this and they couldn't quite understand what was causing it.

*Luna told me that it's around 4 in the afternoon.

Decoda's eyebrows furrowed at Espeon's mention of the cut off words 'Team Plasma.'  So it was confirmed that at least one other team, other than Rocket (who was said to be currently dormant by Loka), were regrouping and the one that Espeon, Umbreon and Wes were investigating had captured their friends.  At least this explained somewhat why Wes and his team were even here in the first place - he must have been doing recon missions for whichever organization (or perhaps his own vigilante agenda) he worked for.

Decoda was surprised by Catia's sudden reaction to the Pokemon, but he didn't understand why.  She seemed afraid, but what was there to be fearful or upset about?  Perhaps she knew of a traumatizing event pertaining to a Machamp or it's evolution line?  Even Rotom seemed confused.  Once Yuno left to go support the distraught girl, he threw up his hands and slapped them down on his thighs.

"It's probably a bad experience...  Cerise is right though, in the state that all of us are in, going in a few hours* once it gets dark enough, won't give us that much time to recover..." he said aloud to his companions.  "But Wes it right too; let's take this time to try and relax and make all the preparations necessary."

He began to do some deep breathing, pumping his arms and his chest in sync with one another as he moved over to one of the beds.  He then went to his guitar case, lifted out his instrument and spoke to the guys.  "How about a song to help chill out, yeah?  Got any requests?"

"Indeed, some music would be nice." Espeon agreed.

"Something pretty! Something pretty!" Bansheeon hopped up onto the bad and sat next to Decoda. Bansheeon then looked around the room. "I remember you all."



Yuno rubbed Catia's back and sighed, eventually pulling the trainer into a hug.

"I... I wish there was something I could do for you! You've been put through hell and I feel useless to help..." She kissed Catia's forehead and smiled gently. "You're strong, in more then one way. We need you. Please don't break like me..."

Catia sat there motionless in Yuno's arms, not speaking as she simply closed her eyes and let herself fall away from everything. Her tears continued, although they started to slow down and stop soon after Yuno kissed her forehead and smiled at her. Upon hearing her last words though, she blinks slowly and looks up at Yuno with confused and somewhat curious eyes.

"Break....? You only cracked a little bit before....right?"

She touches noses with the pale-skinned girl and gives her a slight frown, a little skeptical of what she was trying to ask her to do.

"I said that there shouldn't be anymore secrets between us....is there....something that you haven't told me? I'm not mad if there is. Just....curious."

She told her, settling down a little as Poochy went to lie down in her lap between the two girls. Fang on the other hand, let himself out of his pokeball and sat down to chitter with Fox about something or another.

Decoda sat down with a pleasant smile on his face, tuned his guitar and prepared as stance as Espeon and Bansheeon spoke.  Once he dropped his next statement, he paused and looked at him.  It was surprising to hear this so suddenly, but he was glad to be here to know it.

"Well then, welcome back, buddy," Decoda said with a nod, beginning to strum his guitar to a nice and cheerful tune.  "This one is for you."

He tried to keep the music low so as not to disturb anyone else, but it could still be heard - at least faintly - throughout the Pokemon Center.  Decoda kept time by tapping his foot on the floor, trying to put all of himself into this song.  This was the best way to relax, at least for him, and he wanted everyone else to feel at ease too.  Even Mudkip and Chimecho popped out of their Pokeballs to enjoy the music.

Cerise nodded his head along to the rhythm of the music that Decoda played, closing his eyes as the song played. For a moment, his mind drifted to Catia and her abrupt exit only moments before. Hopefully, she'd be able to pull through whatever it was that now troubled her. As Decoda came to a finish with the song, Cerise clapped enthusiastically. "That was great, man!"

After a moment, he pulled out his PokeGear and opened the Note app on it, recalling what Bansheeon had said moments before: that it retained its memories from when it was an Umbreon. Leaning against the wall, he typed out a brief summary of not only Bansheeon's recollection, but the event in which it had previously died and other related notes. The more information he could compile about Bansheeon, the better.

Yuno shakes her head slightly as she rubs Catia's back. It was difficult to explain, but in order for anyone to even try to understand, she had to try herself. The porcelain girl smiled ever so slightly, then sighed.

"I mean mentally. A bit physically, but mostly mentally. We need everyone in their best state of mind for this. If we break now, we're going to fail."



Bansheeon swayed to Decoda's music, a silly little grin on his face. Espeon and Wes were now finishing up the machine, but seemed to be keeping an ear on the music as well. It seemed to be doing a good job keeping everyone in a positive mood.

"I see your music still sounds good, Sir Decoda." Rotom commented as he nodded along with the music.

"Thanks, guys!" Decoda said, finishing his song and happily closing his eyes.  He hung his wrists over the side of the instrument as he embraced the praise he was given.  He was so glad he was able to help them for the most part, anyway.  In a way, he felt better, himself; he only hoped that this kind of therapy would be beneficial to them.

"Do you think we should get something to eat now, so we have something in our stomachs?  We can always order take out from any nearby restaurants...?" he suggested to the group, trying to think of something usefully distracting.  "I'm partial to ice cream and donuts myself, but we could order a pizza or some sandwiches for something more filling."

Catia nods slowly as she feels Yuno embrace her, the gesture calming her down significantly as she takes a couple of deep breaths and lets her mind slowly begin to slow down. Slowly she begins to process her situation and after a few moments she moves away from Yuno's grasp and gives her a brave smile.

"Thank you Yuno. I-I think I'm alright now."

She smiles and whispers into her ear as she pulls the young girl into a hug.

"You say that you feel useless to help but really....you're the reason I'm still going."

She smiles at Yuno as she carefully stands up and brushes herself off, smiling at Poochy and Fox as she returns them to their pokeball's and looks back to her, another brave smile crossing her lips.

"We should go back. The others might be worried."

As she goes up to take Yuno's hand, suddenly a thought occurs to her. She slowly turns to her and gives her a curious look.

"Yuno....do you think Reshiram and Entei would be willing to lend us a hand in getting to our friends faster? If we were to walk we may be a few more days before we can even reach them."

She asks the pale-skinned girl, her mind whirring with endless thoughts of how they could go about reaching their beloved two friends as quickly as possible to prevent them from getting into anymore trouble. Or worse....

"I'm glad you're alright..." Yuno looks to Catia and smiles. "I'll talk to Reshiram, since She's faster. Okay?"


Bansheeon hops up and down at the mention of Pizza, and Wes looks up, giving a nod of agreement.

"I shall do the ordering!" Rotom grins, his eyes lighting up. "We cannot plan on empty stomachs!"

"He's right." Wes nods again. "Hopefully the girls are alright."

Decoda strummed a chord in approval of their plan, grinning.

"Sounds good to me!  Rotom, I wonder what you prefer more?  I know you're a Pokemon more so than a person, but I am curious what Avatars like to eat!" he asked, getting up from his seat and putting his guitar down.  He dug into his pocket and pulled out his Pokemiles card, whipping it in Rotom's direction expecting him to catch it.

"I can go down and ask them how they're doing.  I'll be right back up," he told them as he headed towards the door, outstretching his arm to open it.  "You guys can decide on the toppings and stuff!  I don't mind whatever you choose... As long as it isn't too greasy!"

Almost finished with his notes on Bansheeon, Cerise nodded absentmindedly as Decoda made his way to the exit of the room -- the young trainer's mind was still tracing the lingering memories of the song that had just finished only moments before. Replaying the song in his head, Cerise let out a low whistle -- Decoda sure knew his craft well.

"So, uh, as far as pizza goes, we could get a few pies -- some with pepperoni, and some with just plain cheese. That usually seems like a good split for people, unless we wanted to get something else." He adds the last part on with an unsure shrug.