An Alola Surprise!

The Dream We Share

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena's POV

Police officers fanned out methodically around Team Rocket and wasted no time apprehending them with a variety of metal restraints. Several grappling hooks were fired from concealed locations to reel in the giant balloon. Pokémon from both sides were ordered to return to their Pokéballs, and Meowth was issued a pair of specially made miniature handcuffs.

"Oy, do ya think you could loosen up these things a lit—" An officer tossed Meowth along with Team Rocket into the backseat of a police car, paying little heed to the cat's complaints. The door was shut promptly.

His face up against the tinted window, Meowth's yammering was reduced to an unintelligible muffle doing little besides fog up the glass as he scratched to no avail. The sight elicited a small grin from Serena. She was relieved that Team Rocket was finally being properly apprehended instead of being blasted away where they could recuperate and attempt more evil. Glancing up, she noticed Officer Jenny moving towards her.

"Miss, are you hurt? Are you all right?" asked the policewoman while patting Serena's arms and legs down like an airport security check. She held out Serena's wrists in examination, the rope marks failing to escape her scrupulousness.

"What happened here? Did they do this to you?" she asked.

A frown crossed Serena's face. "Yeah," she admitted. "But it doesn't really hurt. Team Rocket tied me up but that's all."

Turning, she noticed Ash, her friends, and Professor Kukui were similarly being questioned by other officers. Ash's interrogator, in particular, was a man of about equal stature to him, however, who looked to be several years older. He had matte black hair and wore a long brown trench coat that flared at the collars and extended to his knees. His expression was far more inquisitive than concerning like Officer Jenny's, and his attire looked nothing like that of a policeman's.

"That's Looker," Officer Jenny explained, apparently noticing Serena's gaze, "He's a detective that goes around different regions gathering information on villainous organizations such as Team Rocket. He arrived as soon as he heard the report that potential evildoers were in the area."

"Is a detective really necessary for all this? The trio that kidnapped me may be villains, but they aren't really all that dangerous," Serena pacified.

"I'm afraid that's not entirely the case. You see, these three have been causing trouble all across different regions, and we have you to thank for finally putting their evil deeds to a halt. Besides, it's not them who we're truly after; it's their 'boss' who they answer to."

"Their boss?"

"His name's Giovanni. Unfortunately, that's about all the information we have about him. He's a mysterious figure who operates from the shadows, and we can never really seem to tell what he's planning next."

Serena paled at the thought of Giovanni capturing her friends and using them to achieve world domination. Suddenly, the antics of Jessie, James, and Meowth seemed far more pernicious.

"I see..." she whispered, the shakiness in her voice betraying her emotions.

"Anyways, we hope to find him soon, and take them down for good. Also, I believe this belongs to you." Jenny handed Serena a pink bag that had been lost during the battle.

"My purse!" Serena exclaimed. She gratefully accepted, and fastened it across her body.

It felt like over an hour had passed before all the interrogations had concluded, and Team Rocket had been taken away. Serena imagined their final, muted promise to be something along the lines of, "Twerps, this isn't the last you'll hear from us!" She sighed before heading to rejoin her friends.