The Mission
IGN: Doughbutts Favorite: Vigoroth
“Counter!” A single crippling word that ruined his day. Red then black then green. A misplaced fire punch was redirected at his Magmar. His pokemon had been beaten into the grass, sharp as if it was an attack itself. The Magmar winced then lay still. Disappointment wasn’t the right word at this point, it was almost indifference. This was a recon mission after all and not only did he fail to stay hidden he failed to win. He was too tired to care and the forest was too hot, besides it wasn’t even his pokemon.
“I was sent here for a special purpose”, he thought, “my purpose”. Ray was right, this was a mission passed down by Archer himself. After Giovanni’s disappearance, Team Rocket had been looking to expand their operation into Hoenn and his words were absolute. They were not just orders, they were inevitable. If an agent could not complete their mission someone else would. This was Ray’s mission, he was defeated and there was no back up. He was a Magikarp out of water.
In unison he bursted into a sprint while pressing the button on his pokeball. As the Magmar phased into its ball the attackers didn’t know whether to chase or to laugh so they did both. “Despite the hoodies looking stupid those grunts are strong” He was forcing bravery through his waning confidence. The Team Magma grunts gained chase and started firing off attacks in his direction. “Drop the Magmar! What can a pathetic trainer like you use it for anyways?” one grunt mocked. A pyro ball just misses Ray’s head striking the tree next to him causing him to stumble down a slide of mud. “The rental didn’t do its job” he thought. As a now full fledged agent this was his chance to leave his mark on the organization. No more grunt work, his plan wasn’t to follow in Mondo’s footsteps and become a pack mule for the three stooges of Team Rocket. Pokemon were a means to an end after all, a tool for his mission. He simply just needed another one.
Ray counted 3 more pokeballs on his belt. He was dodging and weaving through the trees feeling eyes on him from the treeline. Feeling like he lost the grunts Ray clicked a button on his watch, a screen projected, he sighed. “I thought I was going towards Mauville but I’m closer to Foretree”. He thought for a moment while catching his breath. “I’ll need to stay in the forest tonight”.
Just then a nearby tree starts to splinter then starts tumbling, revealing the grinning Magma grunts. Ray gulped and realized the eyes he felt weren't from them. Just then the falling tree smacks into another, wrestling the branches. Small circular eyes start forming from the leaves above them and they’re getting closer. A gang of small brown Slakoths start falling from the sky led by a particularly small one with a mean glare and scar on its forehead in the shape of an x. Confidently the small Slakoth made a dive bomb for Ray. As he attempts to dive away Ray slips on the wet forest mud forcing him to brace himself. The Slakoth slammed against Ray’s ankle. He howled in pain while other Slakoth started falling onto the Team Magma grunts.
Attacks started firing away. As beams of light and fire were erupting into the skyline more pokemon were disturbed, the angriest among them. The grunts threw the Slakoth off them while the smallest Slakoth had slowly peeled off Ray looking proudly at its accomplishment. Just then they felt a rumbling at their feet. Louder and louder footsteps. They expected a patriarch, a Slaking perhaps, to come to protect its young. They did not expect a monster.
A large red claw comes out of the darkness of the forest and snaps at what was left of a dilapidated tree, crunching it in half. Another swings into a grunt crushing him against a large boulder, knocking him out. They all look in dismay as a massive Crawdaunt emerges firing sharp streams of water. The grunts duck and run for cover. Ray, still on the ground, rotates himself to better see the creature. He notices the small Slakoth no longer looks confident but angry. If it wasn’t for its slow appendages it would have looked like it was trying to run towards the Crawdaunt.
This was not the plan. He was responsible for bringing back strong examples of Hoenn pokemon back to Kanto. All he’d manage to do was lose a battle, break his ankle, and witness a brawl between an alpha crustacean and these slow furballs. Just then he found his answer, the alpha.
Ray decided to take advantage of the confusion. He hobbled onto one leg and grabbed the Slakoth by the feet and swung him around with all of his might. “You want to be a tough guy? Go be a tough guy!” Ray let’s go in full swing, hurling the small scarred Slakoth in the direction of the Crawdaunt.
The large Crawdaunt notices the furry projectile and smacks it down in mid air causing the small Slakoth to crash against the ground. It winces and starts crawling away in defeat. Ray is frustrated, he thought it would do more. In his frustration he throws one of his few pokeballs thinking the attacks between the Magma grunts and other Skaloth had done enough damage to weaken it. He was wrong.
The Crawdaunt sliced the pokeball in half with a hydro pump so powerful it cut down the tree line behind him. “This power is unreal” he thought. Once again the feeling of indifference was crashing over him. This alpha pokemon is exactly what he’s here for, but he needs a strong pokemon to even weaken it first. As he tried to rationalize he started realizing the inevitable failure of his mission. These grunts that beat me aren’t enough, the Slakoth that injured me isn’t enough…I’m not enough. Ray understood. His tools hadn’t just failed, he had failed.
Maybe there was nothing to return to at Team Rocket. The path of his comrades was paved with similar conflictions. A path to power where enough is never enough. The organization always felt more important than any one single agent yet now Ray is sitting in the mud, broken, wondering if any agent really matters at all. He began feeling sad then angry.
As he sat there he noticed the Slakoths moving faster among the treelines and among them he saw the scar. The small Slakoth had made its way back up and was being helped around by the others, being put into position to be launched down to the forest floor again. Amid the chaos the Crawdaunt locks eyes with Ray. It was angrier after the ball he threw. The Crawdaunt started stomping forward spraying water at other Slakoth and Magma grunts along the way. Ray looked around the forest floor. He saw shredded groups of leaves that once belonged to the trees. ‘’This must be the Slakoth’s home, the Crawdaunt is an invader”. He looked back up at the small scarred Slakoth in the sky. He understood the anger in the Slakoth now.
Ray could feel the adrenaline take over, he knew what he needed to do, this was his mission. In an instant he screamed for the small creature. “Heeeeeey Slakoth! Over here! I’m still standing did you miss me?”. Remembering the throw the Slakoth focused his aim on Ray. The Crawdaunt was still charging forward. Ray threw his second pokeball towards the alpha as a distraction. Thwap, it gets split in two.
The Slakoth starts groaning. Its arms move faster than before and fires itself with more force from the skyline, its eyes start lighting up. The Crawdaunt finally makes it to Ray and lunges a claw over him to crush him into the ground. Just then they’re both distracted by a white light crashing down overhead. It crunches the Crawdaunt’s claw into the ground just as Ray dashes out of the way. A red plum of hair emerges from the light and two big claws are grasping the Crawdaunt. Vigoroth climbs up the Crawdaunt’s arm and slashes at its eyes.
Ray sits back in amazement at the fury and energy of the new white creature. The Vigoroth looks back at Ray with a little more understanding and flips off the Crawdaunt. The alpha retaliates by snatching the Vigoroth in its large claw before it can touch the ground. It squeezes, crunch, and the Vigoroth howls.
Without thinking Ray puts full force on both feet and grabs for his belt. He snags his last pokeball and gets Vigoroth’s attention. He chucks the ball at Vigoroth’s feet, sucking him out from the claw and falling back into Ray’s hands below the creature. Beep, beep, boop. Before the stars even fly Ray throws the pokeball back up, high above the Crawdaunt. The Vigoroth shoots out of the ball like a red bullet directly towards Crawdaunt. Ray screams “Vigorotthhh, Counter!!!!!” Vigoroth makes contact with the Crawdaunt’s forehead. Red lightning flys from the contact with enough pressure to knock Slakoth and grunts into the air. Silence followed as the Vigoroth flipped back down to the ground. The Crawdaunt’s eyes go white as the giant topples backwards. Vigoroth screams in victory “Viggorrotth!” while other Slakoth’s join. The remaining Team Magma Grunts run in fear.
Ray looks on in amazement. “I’ll admit it, you’re a tough guy” he tells the Vigoroth. Vigoroth swipes his nose with his hand in flattery. Ray starts to tremble from exhaustion and drops the pokeball. Vigoroth notices and slides under his arm before he collapses. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the closest pokemon center is?” Ray asks laughing, not expecting an answer. Vigoroth looks like he’s wondering for a moment. He looks over at the other Slakoth and exchanges some grunts. The Slakoth look sad, but the Vigoroth happy.
Vigoroth swoops Ray around onto his back and kneels down to grab the pokeball. As Vigoroth starts walking, Ray pauses for a moment and removes his watch, throwing it to the ground. Vigaroth grunts in approval while carrying Ray through the forest, pokeball in hand. This was his mission after all.
The Mission IGN: Doughbutts Favorite: Vigoroth “Counter!” A single crippling word that ruined his day. Red then black then green. A misplaced fire punch was redirected at his Magmar. His pokemon had been beaten into the grass, sharp as if it was an attack itself. The Magmar winced then lay still. Disappointment wasn’t the right word at this point, it was almost indifference. This was a recon mission after all and not only did he fail to stay hidden he failed to win. He was too tired to care and the forest was too hot, besides it wasn’t even his pokemon. “I was sent here for a special purpose”, he thought, “my purpose”. Ray was right, this was a mission passed down by Archer himself. After Giovanni’s disappearance, Team Rocket had been looking to expand their operation into Hoenn and his words were absolute. They were not just orders, they were inevitable. If an agent could not complete their mission someone else would. This was Ray’s mission, he was defeated and there was no back up. He was a Magikarp out of water. In unison he bursted into a sprint while pressing the button on his pokeball. As the Magmar phased into its ball the attackers didn’t know whether to chase or to laugh so they did both. “Despite the hoodies looking stupid those grunts are strong” He was forcing bravery through his waning confidence. The Team Magma grunts gained chase and started firing off attacks in his direction. “Drop the Magmar! What can a pathetic trainer like you use it for anyways?” one grunt mocked. A pyro ball just misses Ray’s head striking the tree next to him causing him to stumble down a slide of mud. “The rental didn’t do its job” he thought. As a now full fledged agent this was his chance to leave his mark on the organization. No more grunt work, his plan wasn’t to follow in Mondo’s footsteps and become a pack mule for the three stooges of Team Rocket. Pokemon were a means to an end after all, a tool for his mission. He simply just needed another one. Ray counted 3 more pokeballs on his belt. He was dodging and weaving through the trees feeling eyes on him from the treeline. Feeling like he lost the grunts Ray clicked a button on his watch, a screen projected, he sighed. “I thought I was going towards Mauville but I’m closer to Foretree”. He thought for a moment while catching his breath. “I’ll need to stay in the forest tonight”. Just then a nearby tree starts to splinter then starts tumbling, revealing the grinning Magma grunts. Ray gulped and realized the eyes he felt weren't from them. Just then the falling tree smacks into another, wrestling the branches. Small circular eyes start forming from the leaves above them and they’re getting closer. A gang of small brown Slakoths start falling from the sky led by a particularly small one with a mean glare and scar on its forehead in the shape of an x. Confidently the small Slakoth made a dive bomb for Ray. As he attempts to dive away Ray slips on the wet forest mud forcing him to brace himself. The Slakoth slammed against Ray’s ankle. He howled in pain while other Slakoth started falling onto the Team Magma grunts. Attacks started firing away. As beams of light and fire were erupting into the skyline more pokemon were disturbed, the angriest among them. The grunts threw the Slakoth off them while the smallest Slakoth had slowly peeled off Ray looking proudly at its accomplishment. Just then they felt a rumbling at their feet. Louder and louder footsteps. They expected a patriarch, a Slaking perhaps, to come to protect its young. They did not expect a monster. A large red claw comes out of the darkness of the forest and snaps at what was left of a dilapidated tree, crunching it in half. Another swings into a grunt crushing him against a large boulder, knocking him out. They all look in dismay as a massive Crawdaunt emerges firing sharp streams of water. The grunts duck and run for cover. Ray, still on the ground, rotates himself to better see the creature. He notices the small Slakoth no longer looks confident but angry. If it wasn’t for its slow appendages it would have looked like it was trying to run towards the Crawdaunt. This was not the plan. He was responsible for bringing back strong examples of Hoenn pokemon back to Kanto. All he’d manage to do was lose a battle, break his ankle, and witness a brawl between an alpha crustacean and these slow furballs. Just then he found his answer, the alpha. Ray decided to take advantage of the confusion. He hobbled onto one leg and grabbed the Slakoth by the feet and swung him around with all of his might. “You want to be a tough guy? Go be a tough guy!” Ray let’s go in full swing, hurling the small scarred Slakoth in the direction of the Crawdaunt. The large Crawdaunt notices the furry projectile and smacks it down in mid air causing the small Slakoth to crash against the ground. It winces and starts crawling away in defeat. Ray is frustrated, he thought it would do more. In his frustration he throws one of his few pokeballs thinking the attacks between the Magma grunts and other Skaloth had done enough damage to weaken it. He was wrong. The Crawdaunt sliced the pokeball in half with a hydro pump so powerful it cut down the tree line behind him. “This power is unreal” he thought. Once again the feeling of indifference was crashing over him. This alpha pokemon is exactly what he’s here for, but he needs a strong pokemon to even weaken it first. As he tried to rationalize he started realizing the inevitable failure of his mission. These grunts that beat me aren’t enough, the Slakoth that injured me isn’t enough…I’m not enough. Ray understood. His tools hadn’t just failed, he had failed. Maybe there was nothing to return to at Team Rocket. The path of his comrades was paved with similar conflictions. A path to power where enough is never enough. The organization always felt more important than any one single agent yet now Ray is sitting in the mud, broken, wondering if any agent really matters at all. He began feeling sad then angry. As he sat there he noticed the Slakoths moving faster among the treelines and among them he saw the scar. The small Slakoth had made its way back up and was being helped around by the others, being put into position to be launched down to the forest floor again. Amid the chaos the Crawdaunt locks eyes with Ray. It was angrier after the ball he threw. The Crawdaunt started stomping forward spraying water at other Slakoth and Magma grunts along the way. Ray looked around the forest floor. He saw shredded groups of leaves that once belonged to the trees. ‘’This must be the Slakoth’s home, the Crawdaunt is an invader”. He looked back up at the small scarred Slakoth in the sky. He understood the anger in the Slakoth now. Ray could feel the adrenaline take over, he knew what he needed to do, this was his mission. In an instant he screamed for the small creature. “Heeeeeey Slakoth! Over here! I’m still standing did you miss me?”. Remembering the throw the Slakoth focused his aim on Ray. The Crawdaunt was still charging forward. Ray threw his second pokeball towards the alpha as a distraction. Thwap, it gets split in two. The Slakoth starts groaning. Its arms move faster than before and fires itself with more force from the skyline, its eyes start lighting up. The Crawdaunt finally makes it to Ray and lunges a claw over him to crush him into the ground. Just then they’re both distracted by a white light crashing down overhead. It crunches the Crawdaunt’s claw into the ground just as Ray dashes out of the way. A red plum of hair emerges from the light and two big claws are grasping the Crawdaunt. Vigoroth climbs up the Crawdaunt’s arm and slashes at its eyes. Ray sits back in amazement at the fury and energy of the new white creature. The Vigoroth looks back at Ray with a little more understanding and flips off the Crawdaunt. The alpha retaliates by snatching the Vigoroth in its large claw before it can touch the ground. It squeezes, crunch, and the Vigoroth howls. Without thinking Ray puts full force on both feet and grabs for his belt. He snags his last pokeball and gets Vigoroth’s attention. He chucks the ball at Vigoroth’s feet, sucking him out from the claw and falling back into Ray’s hands below the creature. Beep, beep, boop. Before the stars even fly Ray throws the pokeball back up, high above the Crawdaunt. The Vigoroth shoots out of the ball like a red bullet directly towards Crawdaunt. Ray screams “Vigorotthhh, Counter!!!!!” Vigoroth makes contact with the Crawdaunt’s forehead. Red lightning flys from the contact with enough pressure to knock Slakoth and grunts into the air. Silence followed as the Vigoroth flipped back down to the ground. The Crawdaunt’s eyes go white as the giant topples backwards. Vigoroth screams in victory “Viggorrotth!” while other Slakoth’s join. The remaining Team Magma Grunts run in fear. Ray looks on in amazement. “I’ll admit it, you’re a tough guy” he tells the Vigoroth. Vigoroth swipes his nose with his hand in flattery. Ray starts to tremble from exhaustion and drops the pokeball. Vigoroth notices and slides under his arm before he collapses. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the closest pokemon center is?” Ray asks laughing, not expecting an answer. Vigoroth looks like he’s wondering for a moment. He looks over at the other Slakoth and exchanges some grunts. The Slakoth look sad, but the Vigoroth happy. Vigoroth swoops Ray around onto his back and kneels down to grab the pokeball. As Vigoroth starts walking, Ray pauses for a moment and removes his watch, throwing it to the ground. Vigaroth grunts in approval while carrying Ray through the forest, pokeball in hand. This was his mission after all.
