The truck lurched a stop.  This was not its intended destination.  A Team Rocket checkpoint.  The driver gripped the steering wheel as men in black caps and jackets approached the cab, flanked by a Machamp and a Rhyperior.  Everything was going to plan so far.  Just act cool.<br/><br/>"What's in the back?" the grunt with the Rhyperior demanded, a toothpick clenched tightly between his teeth.<br/><br/>"Just a shipment of food headed for Cerulean City," the driver explained.<br/><br/>“That’s north of here, and you’re heading south,” the grunt remarked.  The toothpick migrated from one side of the grunt's mouth to the other. "You won't mind if we take a look."<br/><br/>"No-not at all," the driver stammered.<br/><br/>The grunt with the Machamp sauntered to the back of the truck and threw open the door.  Inside were what appeared to be pallets of canned goods.  The grunt squinted at it with a grimace, glaring at every surface.  He stared for what seemed like an eternity before turning around and climbing out. Just then, a shrill yet melodic tone echoed from the back of the truck.<br/><br/>"Foresight," the grunt commanded.<br/><br/>The Machamp flexed its muscles and its eyes glowed.  Within seconds, the facade fell away and the truck’s true cargo was revealed.  The people and Pokémon crowded inside, realising they had been revealed, retreated as far back as they could go as the grunt and Machamp climbed in after them.  All but one lone figure, sitting slumped against the side, their features hidden by a ragged cloak.<br/><br/>“Well, well, well,” the grunt said over the increasingly incessant ringtone.  “What do we have here?  A bunch of refugees?”  He turned to the cloaked figure after determining they were the source of the noise.  “Hey!  Are you going to answer that or what!?”<br/><br/>A slender arm unfolded from the depth of the cloak and slid a smartphone under the hood. “Yuh-llo?”<br/><br/>“Alright, you, out” the grunt at the front of the truck said.  His Rhyperior promptly reached in through the window, dragged the driver out, and hauled him to the back of the vehicle.<br/><br/>“Vulpix, Quick Attack!”<br/><br/>A little fox Pokémon darted out from the back of the crowd and threw itself at the Machamp, who simply caught it by the skull in mid-air.<br/><br/>“Slam,” the grunt said in a disinterested tone.  The Machamp thrust the squirming Vulpix into the wall and it went limp.  A boy charged the grunt with an enraged roar, only to be caught by the scruff of his neck by the Machamp and hauled off the ground.  “Anyone else wanna be a hero? My buddy here’s got two more arms.”<br/><br/>“Huh? No, I’m listening,” the lone figure said as she rose to her feet.  “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it, it’s not a distraction.”<br/><br/>“Hey!” the grunt said as grabbed the lone figure’s arm as she strode past.  “Where do you think you’re going?”<br/><br/>The lone figure extended that arm to the grunt’s chest.  A brilliant flash later, and the grunt toppled out of the truck wrapped in electric threads, right at the other grunt’s feet.  The cloak fluttered off the lone figure’s shoulders, revealing a woman in a red paintball mask and a yellow and blue-striped bandana wrapped around her head.  The Joltik in the palm of her hand dropped to the ground and hopped onto her head.<br/><br/>“Yeah, no, I hear you,” she said.<br/><br/>“Machamp! Dynamic Punch!” the grunt on the ground shouted.  He glanced over at his Pokémon only to see a Cofagrigus slowly turn towards him.  It’s lid opened and a linen-wrapped Machamp slumped to the ground next to him.<br/><br/>“Don’t just stand there!” the grunt on the ground said to the other grunt.  “Do something!”<br/><br/>The other grunt slapped his Rhyperior.  “Don’t just stand there, do something!”<br/><br/>“Rhy?” the Rhyperior replied, holding up the driver in its paw.  It glanced back and forth between him and the scene as it tried to figure out what to do with him.<br/><br/>“No kidding?” the figure said as she recalled the Cofagrigus into its PokéBall.  She let a Samurott out from another PokéBall and pulled off her bandana, revealing a blue-and-white one underneath.  “I was just heading out that way!”<br/><br/>“Use Drill Run!” the grunt said.  The Rhyperior dropped the driver and stepped forward.  It spun like a drill as it charged at Samurott.<br/><br/>“Razor Shell,” the figure said.  “Huh? Oh, no, just taking care of something real quick.”<br/><br/>Samurott crossed one forepaw over to its other foreleg, gripping the spine on its shell-armor there, and manifested a blue energy blade.  There was a blue flash and the ringing of steel against steel as the two Pokémon collided.  Samurott released the spine and the blue energy dissipated as the Rhyperior spun past and crashed into the ground, unconscious.<br/><br/>“Useless idiot,” the grunt grunted as he recalled the Rhyperior back into its PokéBall. “We’re not through yet!  There’s no way you’re getting past all of us! Go, Gyarados!”<br/><br/>The flying sea serpent roared to life as it emerged from its PokéBall.  At the same time, many more grunts emerged from the forest and sent out their own Pokémon, surrounding the truck.<br/><br/>“Razor Shell, Discharge,” the figure said as she strode towards where the driver was being restrained by the grunt.  Joltik leapt off her head and released a wave of lightning at the Gyarados and other nearby Pokémon and grunts as Samurott charged in the opposite direction, cutting down just as many enemies and trees with a single swing of its energy sword.  “Sorry, there was some interference just now.  What was that?  No, no, now’s fine.”<br/><br/>She walked up the grunt holding the driver as he fumbled with his PokéBalls and punched him in the face.  He folded like a house of cards and she caught the driver before he could be dragged down with him.<br/><br/>“Hey, you’re still headed to Pallet Town, right?” she asked.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c4/d9/73/c4d973e8d2625396fdff2805f7a79f41.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Miko Ward (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=327101.msg15658160#msg15658160)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Pallet Town<br/><strong>Active Pokémon:</strong>Joltik<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Nathan (azzmeister89), Open<br/><br/>The truck arrived in Pallet Town without incident.  The other Team Rocket Checkpoints might disagree, but they’re not in a position to argue at the moment.  While this quaint, rural town might not be under Team Rocket control, the occupation of much of the region was not without its effects.  They were met by the local militia on the way in, and a not insignificant amount of land was now clearly a refugee camp.  The last stop for some, while others were bound to continue fleeing across the water to the south.<br/><br/>It was not a large town, and Miko, now sans mask and bandana, navigated it easily.  The locals were more than happy to direct her to Professor Oak’s lab, although it wasn’t difficult for her to guess.  As she trudged up the short hill to the lab’s front door, she noticed a young man waiting by the front door.<br/><br/>“You get called in, too?” she inquired, her Joltik peeking out from her hair.<br/>