The Secret of MissingNo

By Mandy Nader

Sometime around 2 AM, Jeremy awoke abruptly as a brilliant flash of purple light illuminated the far end of the hallway. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, the young Pokemon trainer bolted to his feet as he recognized his brother and a large Psychic Pokemon silently examining their surroundings.

"Eric! We're over here!" Jeremy called in a stage whisper. Professor Stone and his Kadabra cautiously slunk toward the holding cell. "This is awesome! I knew you'd pull through!" cheered Jeremy as they arrived outside his cell.

"Keep your voice down!" hissed Eric, nervously glancing up and down the prison corridor. "Do you have any idea what a risk it is for me to leave Viridian City?" The professor wrung his hands, the worry evident on his face. "And especially to do something so... illegal!"

"Dude, it's ok!" reassured Jeremy. "Like Rose told me, it ain't illegal unless you get caught. Which ain't gonna happen if we're careful. You totally need to switch to decaf."

Eric ignored the jab about his coffee addiction and glanced down the hallway once again. "I still don't feel right about flagrantly defying the law like this."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, it's not like I actually did anything wrong. You know how Officer Jennies are, arrest first and ask questions later."

"Not like it matters now. I mean, I'm here, aren't I? Hurry up and wake Rose... QUIETLY... and I'll see what I can do to get you two out of here."

"Yeah, about that..." Jeremy uncomfortably shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Umm... there's three of us who need to escape."

"Is that so?" asked Eric, a touch of anger seeping into his voice. "Convenient how you didn't mention that to me earlier."

"Yeah, well... it was awfully convenient how you didn't bother to tell me that Glitches could mess up my Pokemon storage system!" retorted Jeremy, crabby after the ordeal of his long day.

Rose awoke to see the two Stone brothers glaring at one another through the bars of the holding cell. "Hey, guys, could you keep it down?" she asked blearily. "Some of us aren't morning people, you know?"

"He started it!" snapped Jeremy, pointing at his brother.

"Stop acting like such a child," replied Eric irritably.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Look, I'm not playing diplomat until I've had my morning caffeine. The guards might show up and blow the whole deal if you two don't knock it off."

Eric sighed. "You're right, Rose. You always were the voice of reason when things got out of hand at school." The young professor turned to his brother once again, his voice slightly calmer than before. "You might as well wake the third member of your party, Jer, although I would greatly appreciate it if you'd inform me of things like this beforehand."

"Yeah, well. having this guy come along wasn't exactly my idea." The Pokemon trainer turned to the snoring lump on the floor and nudged it with his shoe. "Hey, wake up, and keep it quiet."

"Don't give me orders, you little punk," growled Butch.

"I'm the only reason you're getting outta here, Botch, and unless you follow instructions, you can stay here." Jeremy hated to admit how much he enjoyed this small taste of power.

Silently, Butch stood, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. Years of service in Team Rocket had taught him that sometimes he had to swallow his pride to get what he wanted. There was no sense in wasting the kid's usefulness now. He'd get back at that little brat later.

"All right. If everyone's ready now... grab my hand, Jeremy," instructed Eric, tentatively reaching through the cell bars. "Form a circle and we'll use Kadabra's psychic abilities to remove ourselves from here."

"Ewww gross," muttered Butch. "Hold hands? Forget it."

"Then you can forget about escaping," Eric answered matter-of-factly. "Kadabra's Teleport works only for people it has physical contact with." Jeremy tried to keep the smug smirk off his face.

Butch's facial expression suggested that he had just kissed a Jynx, but he reluctantly took hold of Rose's left hand as the Kadabra's paw found his other hand.

"All right, Kadabra, prepare for Teleportation." The Psychic Pokemon began to glow purple once again.

"Wait, stop! What about our Pokemon? And my Pokedex?" Jeremy panicked. "We can't leave all our stuff here! I was ready to take on the Elite Four!"

Eric sighed with frustration and broke the circle as Kadabra stopped glowing. "Why didn't you think of that before I arrived? Do you have any idea how dangerous this whole operation is? The longer we wait here, the riskier this becomes for all of us!"

"How could I get my stuff if I couldn't get outta here?"

"Shhh. Leave that part to me... or should I say, to the best little kitty in the whole world!" Rose cooed, holding her Pokeball against the cell bars and releasing her baby Meowth into the hallway. Butch rolled his eyes as the adorable creature sat washing his paws. Rose crouched down and began speaking quietly to her Pokemon. "Kitty, we need you to find where those bad nasty cops took my stuff, then come right back. Remember what my backpack looks like?"

The Meowth mewed softly in agreement and took off silently down the corridor.

"YOUR stuff? What about the rest of us?" demanded Butch.

"My Meowth is primarily tracking by scent, and he's only familiar with mine. I'm sure the police put Jeremy's belongings right next to mine. And if you're lucky," she turned to Butch, "your stuff is there too. If not..." She shrugged. "Then Eric can follow Kitty back and collect our stuff. Everyone ok with this?"

"Yes Ma'am," answered Eric.

"Eww, don't call me that, it makes me feel old!" Rose cringed at the thought.

*****

Moments later, the kitten returned to the cell and meowed at Rose happily.

"Did you find my stuff?" she asked hopefully.

"Meow!"

"What a good little kitty you are!" she whispered, scritching the cat between its ears. "Now can you go right back, and take this nice professor with you?" Rose continued. "Once I get my backpack, I'll give you a nice little kitty treat!"

The little Meowth took off once again, followed closely by Eric Stone. Butch snorted, a disgusted look on his face. "You make me sick, you know that?" he snapped at Rose. "No self-respectin' Rocket would treat a Pokemon like that."

"I suppose you think it's a better idea to abuse the creatures who are gonna help you out of a tight spot," Rose retorted.

"They ain't pets, they're tools. You remember the Team Rocket oath: all Pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket. Yer too soft to be a real Rocket, no wonder you ain't got a partner yet." Butch added in a superior tone.

"Well, I'm not surprised your partner left you behind, if that's the attitude you've got toward your companions." Rose shot back.

Jeremy nervously looked down the hallway for his brother as he listened to his cellmates arguing. This Rose might be a Rocket, but at least she still had a trainer's values at heart. Butch, on the other hand, seemed to be a completely rotten individual. And these two are supposed to be co-workers, he mused.

After a few endless seconds, Eric returned with two backpacks in his arms. Rose and Jeremy beamed.

"Yes! My Pokedex and my Pokemon!" cheered Jeremy as Rose dug through her belongings and fed her Meowth the promised treat.

"Yay! I finally got my clothes back!" cried Rose happily, throwing a forest green hooded sweatshirt over her incriminating "R" shirt. "As much as I love my Team Rocket uniform, it's not exactly a good way to look all sweet and innocent." She looked over at Butch disapprovingly. "You'll have to change, too."

"No way," grunted the tough Rocket. "Besides, all my other clothes are at HQ."

"You really think it's a good idea to go traipsing around wearing that? You might as well put a neon sign over your head saying 'Come arrest me'."

"She's got a point," remarked Jeremy.

"Who asked you?" Butch shot back.

"We're not taking you along if you're going to be a liability," Eric said bluntly. "I don't care what Jeremy told you, I have the final say in whether you go or not."

Reluctantly, Butch removed his black uniform shirt and stuffed it under his arm.

"I guess that's not too bad," Rose commented, critically staring at Butch, now wearing a gray t-shirt with the rest of his Rocket outfit. Butch glared at her. "We can always pick up new clothes after we escape."

Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking filled the halls of the police station.

"You hear something, Growlithe?" An alert female voice echoed through the hallway.

"The cops!" cried Rose, wide-eyed. "We gotta get outta here!"

"Was it down here, Growlithe?" asked the officer's voice. She was getting closer by the minute.

"It was yer stupid cat that gave us away!" growled Butch.

"No, it was your stupid mouth!" Rose snapped.

"Forget whose fault it is!" shouted Eric over the din. "Grab hold of Kadabra and let's go already!"

The group linked hands and Kitty leapt onto Rose's shoulder as Kadabra began to glow purple once again. Just then, Officer Jenny and her Growlithe dashed down the hallway towards the holding cell.

"Take Down, Growlithe! Don't let them get away!" she commanded.

"Kadabra!" intoned the Psychic Pokemon as it began Teleportation. Growlithe charged directly through the spot where they had been standing a second before. The Fire Pokemon looked around, confused, and began sniffing the ground.

"Don't worry, Growlithe," said Jenny, her voice filled with determination. "We'll get 'em. We always do."

*****

Moments later, the escapees arrived outside the entrance to the Viridian City Pokemon Center. Eric mopped his brow and sighed with relief. "Ok, Jer, that makes us even now. You can't say I'm not keeping up my end of the deal."

"I just wanted to say... thanks, Eric," said Rose softly. "I appreciate what you did for us back there." Glaring at Butch, Rose sharply elbowed him in the ribs. "Aren't you going to thank Eric for saving your worthless butt?"

Butch just shrugged. "Whatever."

Rose rolled her eyes and turned to Jeremy. "Hey, Jeremy, you wanna re-trade Pokemon? It's not like I don't trust you, but I want my Squirty back."

"Yeah, sure," the young trainer replied, pulling Blastoise's Poke Ball from his backpack and handing it to Rose. "Thanks again for letting me Surf for awhile."

"Don't mention it." She handed the two red-and-white spheres back to him.

"You do realize that we're wasting time standing around here," interrupted Eric Stone nervously. "The police will be searching this area extensively once news of our escape gets out. I want to be as far away from Pallet Town as possible before daylight."

"Give me a minute, guys," said Rose, "I've gotta get out of these clothes before we go anywhere. You have no idea what a pain it is to be wearing a skirt for this long. I don't know how Jessie does it." The Rocket girl ducked behind some bushes and tossed a Poke Ball into the air. "Sprouty, if anyone tries to mess with me, zap 'em with Stun Spore, ok?" she addressed the large Victreebel that materialized in a flash of red light.

"So we oughtta get going right away, huh?" asked Jeremy. "But where are we headed?"

"Cinnabar Island, of course," answered Eric. "That's where those Glitches are hiding out. I didn't plan on traveling with you, but I can no longer hide out in Viridian. The police might come looking for me after that little jailbreak."

Rose appeared from behind the bushes, wearing her typical trainer outfit: an aqua top, a pair of cutoff shorts, and running shoes. The sweatshirt was knotted around her waist. The average person would never suspect she was a Team Rocket member. "And we've got to get my Articuno back from that Pokemon Center on Cinnabar." Aiming her Poke Ball, her Victreebel vanished once again.

"The cops shot it with a tranquilizer dart when they captured her," explained Jeremy. "Then they took it to the Pokemon Center and they hauled us off to jail."

"How we supposed ta get to Cinnabar, then?" muttered Butch. "We ain't got a car or nothing."

"Windslicer can't Fly us all there. Rose, do you have a Flying Pokemon?" asked Jeremy.

She shook her head. "Just Sapphire. I could call my mom and ask her to bring a helicopter... but that would probably attract a lot of negative attention, especially from the cops. She is a Rocket elite, you know," she added proudly.

"I guess we're walking, then," sighed Eric. "And we'd better get going now." He pointed toward the eastern horizon, where a faint glow was beginning to appear. "Sun'll be up soon and we should at least be on our way by dawn."

Butch grumbled. "So much fer gettin' a full night of sleep."

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