The air was tense as Derek looked across the field at Professor Titania. With Eve and Sparkplug still knocked out, it was down to Indiana to win this match. “Alright Indiana, use Dig to close the distance!” he shouted, pointing to the Bronzor still floating off the ground. The Zigzagoon let out an eager bark at the command, and dove into the ground. In less than two seconds, the only sign of it was the sound of digging.

“Not a chance!” Titania refuted, and gave her Bronzor a look before she told it, “Block him off with a Orbiting Wall!” Bronzor droned in agreement, and began to glow blue. A pulse of psionic energy washed over the ground, only for Bronzor to pull the rubble together into a two-foot shield that protected its underside. With a secondary pulse of psychic force, the stones merged together into a single object, like a bowl made of mortar and gravel.

Derek hissed when he saw the object form, but soon grinned when an idea hit him. “Don’t let up, Indiana!” he shouted into the hole, “Pursue it with a Rebound!” The odd command confused Bronzor and Titania, giving Indiana time to finally burst out of the ground under Bronzor. Rather than stop at the rocky obstacle though, Indiana bounced off the stone shield and back towards the hole.

When Indiana finally leaped off the hole’s lip and over Bronzor, Titania’s eyes widened in realization. “Bronzor, move the shield to block it!” she shouted, the racoon Pokemon already starting to sport dark streaks of energy. However, as the Steel-type strained to rotate the stone skyward, Indiana dodged around the rock and finally slammed into Bronzor. The Steel-type was forced into the ground from the impact, Indiana’s fangs latched on Bronzor’s edge.

As Indiana continued to smack the currently-prone living mirror though, Derek’s breath hitched at the sight of the stone bowl falling. “Quick Indy, get off him!” he shouted to the bristly racoon. Indiana let go to look at him, but barely stumbled back before the bowl crashed onto the two Pokemon. Derek winced when the impact sent shards and dust flying up, and remained cautious as he waited for the dust to settle. When the dust finally fell, both fighters were pinned under the rubble, seemingly unconscious. However, the victor was soon decided when Indiana popped out, while Bronzor remained buried.

“Well, I guess that decides who won the battle here,” Titania said, and recalled her Bronzor before she immediately let it out on the nearby bench. As she began to spray the Steel-type with a Super-Potion, Derek called Indiana over and began to heal the Pokemon, too. It had been a very busy week for the team, thanks to training, studying, and the last tests before finals. Derek let out a huff at the memory of how hellish the essay section had been, but set the bristly Pokemon down before he grabbed Eve’s Pokeball.

“Admittedly, I hope it’ll be the same success rate when the semester is over,” he muttered as Eve popped out. Eve looked at him with confusion, but didn’t complain as he gave the Eevee head-scratches while he sprayed the impact mark on her left side. At his comment, Titania sat up slightly, before she pulled out her tablet.

“That reminds me, we need to talk about the changes for the summer,” Professor Titania commented. Derek looked up at the comment as she scrolled over the screen, before she finally showed him the map of the surrounding area. “Namely, while we have been managing to find the majority of items, I have been noticing that there’s been a slow uptick in the anomalies in terms of frequency. They only showed up once a week back in January, but now, it’s been nearly two, if not three times a week. At this rate, we may start needing to do this full-time.” With her comment made, Titania looked at him and commented, “Do you think you’ll be able to help with keeping things up to speed?”

Derek winced at the idea, but began to think things over. “Honestly, I want to say I’ll be able to, but the truth is I’m probably going to be busy during the summer,” Derek admitted. When Titania turned to look at him, he let Eve down and began to tell her, “While my parents cover my rent during the semester, they’re cutting it off for the summer. And with it being $1500 a month, I have to find something that fills the bank a bit more than just working here.”

Titania winced slightly at the comment, but looked at her tablet for a while before she let out an audible tisk. “I wish I could help match that rate, but unfortunately, my budget’s been getting spread short recently,” she told Derek, seeming down at the comment. Derek let out a huff, about to ask her why that was the question. However, a sudden crash caused both of them to turn, soon spotting the gang of Trubbish chasing after the rotten half of a melon.

When it finally crashed against a tree, splattering and sending putrid pieces flying, the Trubbish let out a cheer before they began to gobble up the remains. “Yeah, I can see how you’d be short on cash for a full-time position,” Derek commented, and hummed in thought, “Maybe I can get a part-time job in sanitation or park maintenance, so I can make some ‘detours’ in the event of a wormhole showing up.” Titania gave a faint nod at the idea, and Derek smiled before he felt the weight of one vital question grow on his back.

With the weight, Derek shifted his body before he commented, “Anyways, there’s one thing I need to ask you.” As Titania looked at him, Derek shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and pulled out his physics textbook. “Is there any chance you could help me with my geology? I’m still having some troubles with some of the formulas in Chapter 9.”

Titania took the offered book, and began to flip through the pages. “I suppose so, but it’s been far too long since I worked with geological formulas,” she commented, and began to flip through the pages. She hummed in thought as she looked through the textbook, before she finally clapped the textbook shut. “Unfortunately though, I’m afraid that my skills are a bit too rusty,” Titania commented, seeming surprisingly chipper despite the denial. Derek let out a sigh at the comment, and took his textbook back from her.

As he threw the backpack over his shoulders, Titania hummed in thought for a few seconds, before she pulled out a notepad. “While I can’t help you with your studies, I do know of a few textbooks in the campus library that can help you,” she told Derek. When Derek visibly perked up, Titania tapped her chin before she began to list the titles both aloud and on paper, “For the formulas you shared, you’ll want to read the fifth chapter of Forming Solid Formulas…”

“...Basic Geological Studies seventh edition, and The Core Sciences of Earth Science,” the elderly librarian listed, and scanned the last book. With the books set to the side, she raised an eyebrow at Derek and asked, “Planning on doing some last-minute cramming, are we?”

“Well, it’s less about cramming and more about studying difficult formulas,” Derek told her, trying to hide his embarrassment at being called out. The librarian let out a snort, but simply put the books into a bag before she pushed them over to him.

“Doesn’t matter to me what you call it. Just make sure you put them to good use,” she muttered, then waved him aside, “Now, get a move on! Got other folks who need to cram stuff in before we close!” Derek stifled a comment, but left the desk with a grumble. As he looked around for an open spot to read, it seemed like every table or chair in the library was occupied by another person studying for the finals. After a few more minutes of searching, Derek eventually left the campus library for a better spot.

With the afternoon sun providing poor lighting for outdoor studying, Derek continued to wander the campus for several more minutes. Eventually finding an unoccupied table, Derek sat down before he opened the top textbook. “Alright, let’s see if these books will help me,” he muttered, and checked the index before he jumped to the proper section. As Derek got comfy reading through the books, the hours seemed to fly by. As the sun set outside the windows, the campus slowly cleared out, students and teachers alike leaving to get supper or some early sleep.

When the sun finally set behind the mountaintops, Derek glanced out the window and clapped the books shut. “I guess that covers studying for today,” he chimed, and put his textbooks down. As he stood up, a sudden rumble from his gut made him flinch momentarily. “Maybe I should grab a bite to eat before I get home,” he muttered to himself, and his pocket shook as he walked down the hall. Maybe he could get some pad thai from the local cafe tonight…

Deep in thought of what to get, Derek suddenly stopped when he heard a sudden crashing noise echo through the hallways. Derek’s hand immediately snapped to his pocket at the sound, but remained silent as he waited for any noise. When nothing else followed, Derek hummed in thought before he slowly crept in that direction. Despite being nearly six feet tall, Derek tried his best to keep his feet from making noise as he went down the hallways.

Coming to a stop at a large intersection, Derek poked his head around the hallway corner. With it seeming clear, he took a tentative step out only to freeze as his phone vibrated like crazy. Derek scrambled to pull his phone out, and glanced at the ID before he quickly answered. “What is it, Titania?!” he hissed into his phone, trying to keep quiet, “I’m a bit occupied right now!”

“I know you’re busy studying, but you’re in the perfect place to help me right now!” Titania snapped out through the phone, causing Derek to flinch, “I just got a large wormhole detected on campus grounds less than fifteen minutes ago, and I need confirmation of what came through immediately! Can you check in on the portal for me?”

“That depends,” Derek commented as he glanced at the yellow Cub Piper plane hanging in a display room, “Is the wormhole in the campus engineering wing?”

“...You’re already heading towards it, aren’t you?” Titania eventually asked, her voice unamused at the comment. When Derek let out a snort at her comment, she let out a sigh before she continued, “Anyways, according to the coordinates, it should have appeared in the discarded room on the east side of the wing. There shouldn’t be anyone there at this hour, but you’ll need an access code to unlock the doors. When you reach the keypad, I’ll share my code, so you can get in.”

“Gotcha, I’ll keep you on the line then,” Derek said, and sped up his pace. With the main forms of lighting being the neon panels above, a sense of trepidation started to run down Derek’s back. He sped down the wing, and looked around for any sign of trespassing. When he arrived at the end of the hallway, he looked down at the keypad before he held his phone back up. “Alright, I’m at the doors you mentioned,” Derek hissed, and tried to spot any sign of trouble through the cracks, “What’s the code you have for me?”

“It’s 5-6-1-4-7-8-2,” Titania told him, then added, “Just make sure not to make too big of a mess - I’ll be there in 25 minutes!” Derek hung up the phone at that comment, and carefully punched the numbers in. The pad briefly flashed green, and Derek soon slid through the door into the room. As he closed the door behind him, he looked around in wary concern. With only a few overhead lights, the room was apparently jam-packed full of boxes of wires, gears and scrapped machines of all strokes.

As Derek walked through the room, a sudden rummaging made him duck behind a loose pile of cardboard boxes. Derek held his breath for a few seconds, and a second pair of steps drew closer. With his body hidden behind the pile of the debris, Derek crouched down and looked through a crack. He failed to see anything for a few seconds, but when the sounds came to a stop, Derek leaned to the left.

While the cardboard edges blurred his vision, he could barely see a black-clad figure looking down at what looked like a tablet, though not one Derek recognized. “Fucking admins, why did they have to send me through without checking the area?” the man muttered to himself, seemingly deep in thought. He wiped his hands on his shirt, then griped, “I swear, they’re trying to hit new records on uniform costs.” He smacked the side of his tablet, and started moving it around the room. With the man’s attention focused elsewhere, Derek briefly considered talking to the man. After all, if he had come through the wormhole, maybe he could explain some things-!

Any consideration swiftly died a brutal and violent death when the intruder turned towards Derek, revealing the spaceship emblem embroidered right on the chest. The shuttle image itself wasn’t too bad. However, the blood-red R that sat dead-center on his shirt made all kinds of alarms sound off.

With all the games he had played, he’d be a fool not to recognize the Rocket symbol. In the show and games, they were often portrayed as easy fodder. Hell, ten-year-old kids were supposed to be the bane of their existence! But considering that they had been able to set up poaching and smuggling operations that spanned nations, and even take over cities if they had the materials, they definitely were something to be wary of.

“Ffffuck… what the hell should I do?” Derek asked himself, biting his lip. While he didn’t have the experience to handle an actual trainer, he couldn’t let them just set up a foothold unimpeded…

“Kling?”

Derek froze at the sound, and looked to his right to find a pair of connected gears suspended in mid-air. With two pairs of dime-sized, googly eyes, the Kling looked at him with curiosity before they let another chime. Derek tried to shush the metal Pokemon, but the Steel-type’s cries seemed to draw others over. Within seconds, Derek was surrounded by floating pairs of gears, their cries combining to sound like a piano rolling down a hill. As he winced at a particularly close cry, a sudden exclamation made him snap his head towards the boxes.

“Golbat, flush out our eavesdropper with Wing Attack!” the Rocket goon shouted. Fearing the worst, Derek rolled to the side at the shout mere seconds before the boxes were blown over. With gears and debris sent flying, Derek eventually stopped in a crouch, while the Kling were panicking over the attack. His hand scrambled to grab a Pokeball, but as the dust started to settle, Derek’s breath hitched at the figure standing where he had.

Standing over three feet tall, the creature’s mouth seemed to stretch unnaturally wide as it turned towards Derek. With razor-sharp teeth and almost bloodthirsty eyes, the Golbat let out a snickering hiss before he spread his wings wide in greeting. “Well, well. Seems we’ve got a little rat that scurried in,” the Rocket chimed, causing Derek to glance at the grunt.

The man clad in black smirked at Derek’s prone state, before he began to scratch his chin. “You know, I know I’m supposed to keep a low profile,” the grunt began to say, before his smirk turned into a leer, “Then again, I should make sure there aren’t any loose ends.” Derek’s heart clenched at the expression, and reached deep into his jacket pocket. Grinning at Derek, the grunt snapped his fingers and exclaimed, “Golbat, enjoy your meal with a nice Bite attack!”

The Golbat let out a cry of delight at the command, and pounced towards Derek. With a chair-sized fanged mouth open wide, the blonde felt a lightning-shaped sticker and immediately threw the ball out. “Sparkplug, intercept with Spark!” Derek exclaimed as the Pokeball opened up, and Sparkplug let out an eager cry. With how close they were, he quickly collided with the giant bat between the eyes, and lit both of them in an electric aura. The electric shock struck the giant bat hard, and Golbat stumbled back in a slight daze while Grubbin landed with a small ‘Grub’.

“Fuck, you actually have Pokemon?” the grunt cursed, and Derek glanced away from the fight to see him hold up two more Pokeballs. Quickly expanding the two capsules to full size, he threw them up as he exclaimed, “Fuck this, I’m not going to fuck this up! Beedrill! Duskull! Get out here!” A pair of red flashes lit up the room, before the Rocket Grunt’s Pokemon soon appeared in the room. The Duskull was the first to act, and stared at Derek with its sole eye before it vanished with a cackle. However, the grunt’s Beedrill only gave Derek a glare, and its wings began to whir with a passion. Its glistening conic needles rose up in anticipation, and the child-sized bee crouched down as it got ready to battle.

Not wanting to let Sparkplug be outnumbered or succumb to his panic, Derek pulled out his other Pokeballs. “Alright, Eve, Indiana! We’ve got a real battle on our hands!” Derek exclaimed, and the two Normal-types immediately landed in front of him. Eve let out an eager yip, and shook her body in preparation for battle. However, as Indiana sniffed the air, his fur bristled before he let out a low growl. The two trainers stared at each other for several seconds, unsure of who would move first.

As one Kling collided with a pipe, the Grunt finally made the first move. “Golbat, sweep them up with a Wing Attack! Beedrill, hit that bastard with your Twineedle!” he shouted, pointing at Derek. The giant bat was the first to move, and rose up in the air as its wings glowed an iridescent white. As the Golbat prepared to swoop down, Beedrill pointed both stingers at Derek, and its wings began to reach a fever-pitch.

However, Derek was quick to move against the Grunt, and pointed at the flying Pokemon. “Sparkplug, Eve, get them grounded with Spark and Growl!” he shouted to the team, before he glanced at Indiana and added, “And Indiana, use Odor Sleuth to find that ghost before he sabotages us!” With the commands given on both sides, the room turned into an arena of chaos.

As the grunt’s Golbat and Beedrill swooped down, Eve let out a growl of surprising volume. The noise caught both by surprise momentarily, and Sparky used the moment to immediately leap at them. The electricity jumped through the air as Indiana sniffed around frantically, and as Golbat fell from the shock, the Zigzagoon turned around and lunged at a corner. The Duskull returned into view as Indiana hit it mid-air with a Headbutt. Derek only glanced at the two momentarily before Indiana Tackled the Duskull into another pile.

With the Normal-type and Ghost-type’s fighting hidden from sight, Derek turned back to the main battle. Despite the battle being effectively reduced to a two-versus-two, the battle had seemingly devolved into a free-for-all. Each fighter attacked whatever opponent was closest, but with the four Pokemon practically creating a battle ring around them. Derek watched with trepidation, and when he spotted the Golbat leap at Eve with its mouth stretched wide, his eyes quickly widened in shock. “Eve, look out!” he exclaimed, and Eve looked away from Beedrill towards the callout.

Eve’s eyes went wide at the giant bat about to eat her. Trapped between a maw and a sharp end, Eve’s body glowed white before she leapt up. With the Quick Attack launching her up high, Eve landed on a shelf before she immediately dive-bombed the duo. The Beedrill was quick to jump back, darting back to its trainer. However, its Golbat partner was soon pinned to the ground when Eve finally landed right on top of it.

Derek grinned when the Golbat let out a cry from the impact. However, the mood swiftly changed when the Golbat swung its wings up, sending Eve flying. With her body a brown blur, Derek barely caught the sprawling Eevee, only to stumble back from the impact. As he glanced down at Eve, he only got a moment to look over when a sudden command made him start. “Beedrill, stick him through with a Poison Sting!” the Grunt commanded, which triggered a toxic aura to coat the giant bee’s stingers. Derek gulped as the Beedrill pointed all three stingers at him, and jumped down behind some boxes. Just as he hit the floor, the air was quickly filled with poison darts that streaked across the room.

Derek winced when a few darts punched through his cardboard barrier. When the rate died down, Derek poked his head out from one side, only to swiftly duck back when he was nearly skewered. Derek hissed at the close call, and scrambled to find something useful. “Sparky, hit them hard with Spark!” Derek shouted out, unsure of where the Bug-type was. However, the Grunt had seemingly forgotten too, as Derek heard frantic scuffling before the sound of crackling electricity shook the room.

Derek waited with bated breath for a few seconds, then finally poked his head out. With a single glance, he saw Sparkplug smugly sitting on top of the unconscious Golbat, Beedrill struggling to get back up. The giant hornet was quick to lunge at Sparkplug with shining needles. Yet as it neared the grub Pokemon, a sudden aura of sparks caused Beedrill to seize up and fall to the ground. Sparkplug quickly capitalized on the stunned Pokemon to pounce with widened jaws. As he quickly went to work on breaking Beedrill’s carapace with a Bug Bite, a sudden noise made Derek look away.

“By the plates, what’s wrong with these Pokemon?,” the Grunt hissed as he placed a hand on Golbat. The man frowned when there was only a moan for a response, then flipped the bat Pokemon over. After a few seconds of rummaging through his pockets, the Grunt finally pulled out a yellow diamond and split it open. “I’m sure a quick dose will help him get back on his feet,” he muttered, and prepared to dump the contents into Golbat’s mouth.

However, his treatment was swiftly interrupted when a sudden blow struck his arm like a train. With a loud curse as the Revive was sent flying, the Grunt shook his arm with anger. He tried to look at the growing bruise, but a sudden swing that missed his head by mere inches made him look up at Derek. “You… You actually tried to attack me?!” he exclaimed, almost in denial at the action.

“You had your Beedrill fucking attack me. I think self-defense is more than fair,” Derek responded, tapping his impromptu pipe on the ground. The Grunt opened his mouth to complain, but a backhand swing made him scamper back.

“Fuck this! I’m not dealing with this anymore,” the Grunt growled, and quickly pulled his PokeBalls out. Derek froze at the action, fearful of what Pokemon he’d send out next. However, rather than a new combatant, three red beams shot out. The criminal’s Pokemon quickly vanished back into their capsules, and the Grunt repocketed the balls before he pulled out one final Pokeball. The grunt glared at Derek, and told him, “I hope you’re happy, because you’re now on Cosmic Rocket’s hit list!”

Derek lifted his pipe up to strike the Grunt over the head, but as the ball opened up to let out a larger, volleyball-sized PokeBall, Derek gulped in fear. When the Voltorb opened his eyes and began to glow, Derek cursed and scrambled to get behind something. Rather than explode like Voltorb were known to do though, the grunt slapped a hand on top of the ball Pokemon, and the two soon flashed out of sight. Derek stared in shock for several seconds, eventually letting out a hiss between his teeth and stood back up.

“That’s going to bite me in the ass,” Derek hissed, then looked around for a moment before he called out, “Is everyone alright?” Sparkplug and Eve let out joyful cries at the comment. When Indiana didn’t respond though, Derek turned around to find him atop a box, staring listlessly towards the ceiling with his tongue sticking out. Derek let out a sigh, and poked Indiana in the nose, startling the Zigzagoon. When Indy finally let out a bark, Derek sighed in relief and looked around. “Well, I don’t think he took anything,” he commented as he looked around, trying to figure out what might be missing.

As he looked over the messed-up room, the Klings from earlier finally reappearing, an approaching noise made him pause. Listening for a few seconds, Derek paled when he heard the sound of sirens growing closer. “Shit, I gotta get out of here before I end up being framed,” he yelped, and immediately began to scramble for his Pokeballs. Derek quickly recalled his Pokemon, and began to catch the dozen Kling frantically. While some tried to dodge, Derek managed to finally catch them all, the last pair of gears running right into the ball.

As Derek stepped out of the room, he heard the alarms stop shortly outside. Breath hitching at the possibility of being arrested, Derek sped towards the nearest exit. When he stepped outside, Derek glanced around. When he saw the cop car parked near the campus building, Derek let out a nervous breath before he walked up to the tanned officer stepping out of the car. “Sir, are you here about the break-in?” he asked, trying to keep calm.

The officer looked at him with concern, but slowly nodded. “Yes, I’m Officer Henderson,” the officer said, and gave Derek a stern look. “How is it that you know about the break-in?” he asked, and placed a hand on his firearm.

Derek gulped slightly at the veiled threat, but quickly raised his hands in peace. “I actually was investigating it myself,” he began to tell the officer. When Henderson glared at him, he quickly told the officer, “I had been studying for finals, when I heard something crash. After I called my teacher, Professor Titania, for permission codes, I entered and found that some nut-job had broken into there to steal some of the old equipment.” He grimaced at the memory of needles being shot at him, and added, “He tried to attack me when I found him, but I ended up scaring him off after I got him in the arm with a spare pipe.”

“Is that so?” Henderson commented, and looked at Derek with suspicion. Glancing at his backpack, he then asked, “How do I know you didn’t steal stuff yourself?”

Derek gulped internally at the accusation, but quickly pulled his backpack off his shoulders. “If you want to look, sir, you’ll find that all I have in here is my textbooks and some Pokemon memorabilia,” Derek told Officer Henderson, then added with a frown, “Hell, I’ll even show you the phone call I made to Professor Titania if you’d like.”

Officer Henderson frowned in suspicion, but took the offered items. He first looked at the phone, checking the call history, before he rummaged through the backpack. Derek felt a short surge of anxiety when Henderson pulled out one of the Pokeballs. However, the officer soon dropped it back, and rummaged for a while longer before he handed the stuff back to Derek. “Alright, I guess you’re in the clear for now,” Henderson commented, seemingly frustrated at the lack of find, then pulled out a notepad. “If you saw the thief though, what traits did he have?” He asked the blonde student.

Derek hummed in thought, then started counting details off on his hand. “Let’s see, he had short, military-cut black hair; brown or dark-green eyes; A little shorter than me, so I want to say about five-foot-six in height; If he seeks medical treatment, he’ll likely be getting a cast on his right arm from where I hit him with a solid metal pipe.” Derek frowned momentarily as he considered telling the Officer about the Grunt having Pokemon. After a few seconds, he eventually partially explained to Henderson, “The weirdest part though, was that he seemed to be dressed like a member of Team Rocket, with a bright, blood-red capital R on his shirt.”

Henderson let out a snort at the last comment, but wrote it down before he put his notepad away. “Personally think it sounds like a complete load of horse crap, but I guess every detail helps,” he commented, then gave Derek a look. “I’ll be sure to let folks know, but it’ll likely be a while before we find anything. We’ll call you if we need any more information.”

“That’s not a surprise, especially as the bastard made a big mess in there,” Derek commented, before he gave a thankful nod to Henderson. “Hope you manage to catch him.” Henderson shook his head, but waved Derek away from the site. Derek walked away with a seemingly calm expression, not looking back at Henderson. When he finally went around the corner and out of sight, Derek audibly let out a gasp and held an arm to his chest.

“Holy fuck, I can’t believe I wasn’t brought in,” he commented aloud. Taking in a deep breath, Derek practically rushed towards his car and quickly got in. He was hardly a fool to try and wait for cops to question him like crazy!