The forest begins to become very dark here, and a glance up tells one why. The thick blanket of branches and leaves blocks out most light here; even in daytime, it's a bit dark here. Because of the thick woods here, the path needs to weave around trees to find suitable space to pass through. It ends up making a circular route to the north and east before finally getting back on track toward the west or south. Bugs are still common here; in fact, other than the occasional pidgey or pidgeotto searching for the bugs, it's almost as if that's all this forest contains. No wonder bug-catchers come here.

Contents:
Team Rockets Balloon (Hidden)
Zeph
Zenny
Obvious exits:
West leads to Viridian Forest - Route 2: Almost Out.
South leads to Viridian Forest - Route 2: Small Clearing.

Summary of events that lead this scene: Zeph was walking through the Viridian Forest, minding his own business. Unfortunately, he stumbles into a trap meant for someone else.

It's hour 17 on Friday, October 6th, 2000. The sun is up. The moon's phase is quarter moon and waxing, but it hasn't risen yet. At the coast, the tide is high and ebbing. Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty. In the forest, fiery red, gold, and orange leaves rustle and blow past you, swirling in the wind. While at the coast, the sea is a warm blue, reflecting the saved warmth from the summer, and the waves are gentle. Purple, gold, and vermillion clouds grace the western sky as the sun descends toward the west.

Zeph with a sudden rush of shock, as the earth starts to crumble, falls as the ground below him gives way to empty space. "Ack!" He shouts helplessly, falling in to the dark pit with a *thud*. Grumbling can be heard below, as Zeph recovers from the shock and the pain of suddenly falling down in to this pit. "Ow...." He simply remarks weakly, wondering who or what made this hole in the first place.

The answer to that question is about to be answered quicker than you could have imagined... all right, maybe not that quick, but fairly soon. After all, who else would have the tenacity to brave the autumn weather and dig a hole in the middle of a forest? You don't have to be an Alakazam to answer that question, but in case you're not fully certain...
A somewhat familiar theme, amplified from hidden speakers, echos in surround sound through the forest, drowning out the beautiful ambiance with it's proud and bold tones. Soon after, an explosion of fireworks add to this, creating a smoke screen of colours, followed by a somewhat familiar voice... "...And make it do.." The music stops abruptly. "Wait, something seems wrong, hmm... rats, I hate having to do this, but..." The music starts back up again, and peering down the hole, shrouded by the mist, stands a female figure. One with long, magenta hair, and wearing the unique white uniform of a certain rocketess. "Prepare for trouble!"
The figure quickly dashes to the right of where it was stood a moment ago, the long hair and uniform now gone, replaced by the male varient and the blue hair, "And make it double!". This "switching" takes place throughout the rest of what's coming next...
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
*Pant* "To...To extend our reach to the starts ab...above!" *Gasp*
"Jessie!"
"James"
"Team R-R-Rocket *Gasp* blasts off at the spe.. at the speed of light!"
"Surrender... surrender now or prepare to... prepare to... Oh, I give up!"
And with that, the music stops, the smoke clears, and the rocket collapses above the hole.

Brindled clouds conceal a few patches of starlit sky.

Zeph looks up above the hole, and sweatdrops greatly as the strange man with the lines that don't make any sense collapses right infront of the hole. "Oh great..now I'm stuck in this hole..." He says to himself, standing up, and looking for a spot from where he can try and climb out. "The sides are to steep...but their must be some way out of here..." he muses, ignoring the fallen James completely for the time being.

Zenny, who has been aimlessly wandering the forest for the past hour or so, blinks at the lights and music not too far off. Is there a circus coming to town? He moves in that general direction, absently using bushes for cover.

James remains collapsed for a few minutes longer, then abruptly picks himself up, dusts himself off, and returns to the previous stance of looking evil and peering down the side of the hole, a rose placed firmly within his hand. "Hahahaa. Now we have you twerp, and there's no way out, I guess you'll have to hand over Pikachu." He smirks to himself, awash in his own ego, head slightly tilted, eyes half closed, "If you don't... well, you don't want to find that out." His voice is smooth, low and calm. Ooooh, evil James!

Zenny sticks his head out of a bush. *gwomp* And gazes quizzically at the scene before him. A guy in a uniform talking to a hole? How wierd. "Squirtle?" he murmurs, rubbing his chin.

Zeph looks up at James with a critical eye. Twerp? Pikachu? "I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not giving you *my* Pikachu!" He says sternly, looking at James with cold, determined eyes. Surely James would realize that Zeph is not the trainer who he is actually after, right?

And the hole talks back! How very odd. Zenny emerges from the bush with a rustle, stepping closer.

James hmmms? The evil persona dropping for a moment to reveal James other, more curious side as he peers fully over the side of the pit... though since this person fell in it, the shroud of darkness has befallen the area, making an already dark hole darker, and denying the rocket from seeing the mistaken trainer, let along the gaze glaring back at him. After a few seconds of staring at shadows, he smiles, "Oh, nice try twerp, but you're not going to get out of this one with deceit. Haha!" He stands again, rose once more in gloved hand, same bold stance as before struck, "What do you think I am, some kind of idiot?" However, the Rocket does cast one final look back into the hole, "Where's that loudmouth girl who follows you around anyhow?"
He also fails to hear, let alone see, the curious Pokemon...

Zeph sweatdrops, wondering who in the world this guy is talking about. "Loudmouth girl? Follows me around? What in the world are you talking about? You better let me go! I don't have the slightest idea of what you are talking about." He says, in a strong, sure voice. He peers upwards, seeing James clearly from his vantage point. Zeph's a bit bruised up, and a little steamed, but otherwise he's perfectly fine..."I am not trying to trick you...you tricked me, remember?"

Zenny walks up behind James, peering quizzically up at the man with the funny hair, then down in the hole, then up at the man again. He absently puts a paw on the back of James's leg.

James folds his arms, not even bothering to look down the hole now. Oh yes, this is the twerp all right, always trying to make the rocket out to look stupid, always twisting things around and always... grr... foiling their plans. Well, not today. And though the voice is a little different, there is no way that this could be anyone BUT the twerp. Plus, what with all the shouting... "Well, obviously someone is trying to twist things again, but not this time. HA!" He peers over the side for a third time, a smug smile across his handsome face, "Not this time twerp, this time you mess up and I take home Pikachu! Eeeeeehehe!" He grins, "And don't even think of escaping, I have the pit rigged with blaster balls if you try and climb out, which will send you even further and... Eeee?" He stops, peering at the back of his leg, what the heck...?

Jane arrives from Viridian Forest - Route 2: Small Clearing. Jane has arrived.

Zeph facepalms and just kneels down to the floor with the appearance of defeat. "Ok, ok. I have no idea who you are really after, and soon you shall see for yourself. I just have to wait until you find out..." He says much more softly, releazing that he can't really do much right about now until James realizes his mistake. He just sits there kneeling, and waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Crash Whack Crunch! "Damn branch!" The sounds of someone stumbling through the forest can be heard nearby. Shuffle shuffle, thud SMACK! The cause finally emerges, stumbling around the tree the pink-haired girl had just walked into. "Thet's a dump place ta put a tree..." An Ekans slithers out of the bushes after her, hissing a snicker.

James shakes his leg a little, frowning at the Squirtle leaning on it, "Hey, what do you think this is? Shoo, get lost already!" With a sigh of defeat for now, the Rocket peers back into the hole, "Ooooh, trying to make me feel guilty are you? Well it isn't going to work twerp! Ahaha..." *blink? Shakeshakeshake!* He peers back to his leg, the Squirtly apparently annoying him greatly, and overly distracting him from keeping watch over the pit, "Ooooooh! Make like a clam and scram!"
In all his self induced commotion, the Rocket fails to hear Jane arrive this time, let along be able to see her in the darkness...

Zenny narrows his eyes, looking up at James. he Squirtles. He puts his paws on his hips, looking peeved.

Zeph perks an eyebrow and peers upwards, "What's happening up there..." he mutters to himself with confusion. Well, he's stuck in here and has no hope of getting free unless James realizes that he isn't who James thinks he is. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty...you'll see..." he says once more in a normal tone, shaking his head as he does so.

It could be broad daylight and Jane would still run into every tree possible. Being dark doesn't help much. "Tarnation, Ah hate bein' lost. Stupid forest. Who put this 'ere anywaaaah!" She catchs an upturned root on a foot and trips, landing with her face mere inchs from the hole. Blink. "Whut's thet?" The snake slithers up and peers in the hole. "Ekansssss..." "Ah kin see thet Sidewinder!" "Kansss.."

James continues to stare at the Squirtle for a moment longer, then glares back down the hole, thinking for a moment. No thundershocks, no ingenious escape plans, no loudmout brat by his side. Something feels wrong here. "Oh, I'll see? Well, actually you won't because there isn't any light... Ha!" He blinks for a moment, his face a picture of confusion. That wasn't even an insult, or a taunt. "Wait, hmmm... no, what I mean is... Ooooh!" He pouts, no kid is going to get the better of him! He is James! From Team Rocket! Fists clenched, the Rocket peers down the side of the hole again, "OOoooh, I'll show you who wont see!"
With that, the rocket pulls out a small device from his pocket, pushes a red button and... voila! The area around his is suddenly lit up in an amber hue, casted outwards from spotlights mounted on the once hidden balloon. "Ha! Now I can see that..." He peers down the side of the hole again, now that its inner core is lit up, then up over at Jane. Then just simply rubs the back of his neck, trying to fathom it all. "Jane?" *Blink, Peer* "Heeey, you're not the twerp!"

Zenny isn't sure what's going on here, except that he doesn't like this guy with the blue hair. he Squirtles, puffing up his chest.

Zeph stands up immediately as the amber light illuminates the hole clearly. "I told you." He says very quickly, before glacing for a way out. As he scans through the walls of the hole, he spots a tree root and quickly dives towards it in a few seconds, climbing out as fast as he can before James gets any other ideas. He doesn't even notice Jane or the Squirtle nearby, trying to pull himself out of the pit as his only concern.

Jane blinks a few more times, then looks up with her own equal confusion. "James? Twerp? Whut the tarnation ya all doin' out here? An' whut's with th' Squirtle?" She doesn't reconize Zenny as the same one she'd seen the other day.

James sweatdrops.
The confusion still remains as he looks back at Jane, still rubbing his neck, though an innocent grin crosses the confusion as he trys to explain things, "Well, Jessie and I dug this hole because we knew that the twerp was coming this way, only he didn't fall down it. This other person did whom I believe was the twerp, only it turns out he wasn't the twerp, and this Squirtle here came out for no good reason then you came and... and..." *pant-pant*. The Rocket takes a deep breath, then sighs, arms going all floppy, along with his pride. "Looks like I messed up again..." *pout*
He fails to notice Zeph escape the trap during this explanation, as well as forgetting about the Squirtle in the process...
...But this comes to an abrupt half a few seconds later. "Wait..." He grins, standing bolt upright again, one clenched fist held high as he comes up with an idea, "Eeeehehe, maybe I haven't lost this yet!"

On the other hand, maybe he has. Already upset at the rather *rude* stranger, Zenny manages to put together that this... *guy* dug a trap for somebody or other. Since that's not the sort of thing good guys do, that makes him a bad guy, and so... the Squirtle doesn't feel at all guilty about sucking in a breath and Water Gunning the Rocket in the face. Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

Zeph manages to climb out successfully from the pit, and breathes a sigh of relief. "Phew!" He quickly turns around, noticing James is being water gunned in the face and a pink-haired girl with a big R like James has now appeared on the scene. "Uh oh. Got to help the Squirtle..." He says to himself, starting to slowly walk back in to the trees as quietly as possible.

Jane rolls her eyes at James. "So whut iffen it ain't the twerp, whoev'r thet is. He's still a trainer, go steal his pok'mon or somethi--" She stops as Jame's gets sprayed at. "Uh.. aft'r yer show'r, maybe." Sidewinder coils at her feet, ducking her head in them, embarassed. "Ekanssss..."

James blinks. Simply blinks. Face dripping with.. eww, Squirtle water. Icky! He shakes his head, wipes off most of the dew, then peers at the Squirtle, "Why you... you..." but before he can do anything back to the Squirtle, he looks back at Jane, having now taken in her words, "Hmm? Oh, right..." He then looks over to the...
Reblink. The pit is empty, and the trainer is... over there. Sigh. This is getting complicated! The trainer also seems to be backing off. Well, we can't have that. With one last glance at the Squirtle, and a quick, "I'll deal with you later" threat, James looks over at Zeph and smirks. It's one of those evil smirks, a conniving if nothing else. "Hmmm, and where do you think you're going?" With arms folded once more, and that small button device in hand once more, he merely watches the escaping trainer. "Well, I hope I don't spoil your master plan, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you..."
The button is pressed, and once again the area is plunged into darkness, multiplied by the leaves overhead, "...In the dark"

Zenny blinks. Blinks again at the sudden darkness. Then, looking annoyed, reaches up and *slaps* at about where he remembers the back of James's knee being.

Zeph is suddenly left in to the dark, and stumbles slightly as he nears one of the trees. "Now no one can see..." he says with a slight chuckle, still able to slowly but surely. He has no idea how he could help the Squirtle, especially when he can't even see anything.."Things getting complicated...." he mutters to himself, not knowing what to do next. He doesn't even know what's happening out there near the pit, it's just too dark...

Jane sighs as it goes dark once again, and mutters about not having Hoss with to light the way with his fire. She stumbles towards where she saw James last. "Hey, stop playin' with the lights. The brat's gonna get 'way at this rate!"

...NOW the rocket realises that THAT was a DUMB thing to do. Standing around in the darkness, James's expressions are hidden in the inky darkness of the area, but you can pretty much guess what they are. "Rats, you're right, maybe that wasn't such a good idea after al-Owch!" He feels a sudden, sharp fwap against the back of his knee, bending his leg forward and, after a few moments of trying to regain his liquibrium... umm, equilebrium, the Rocket falls into the very trap he dug, landing with a whiney, "Ouch!". This is soon followed by a lower, softer "Ow" soon after...

Zenny waits patiently for his eyes to adjust enough that he won't stumble into the hole himself. he grumbles.

Zeph suddenly freezes as he hears someone fall in to the pit with an ouch! and a weak oww..."Hmm...I wonder who that was...The guy who trapped me in the pit?" He mutters, standing behind one of the trees patiently, and calmly for something to happen that will give him a chance to take some kind of action.

Jane blinks, eyes adjusting enough to at least see dimly, as James does a bad impression of a rabbit diving into its burrow. "Hey, the train'r gut outta thare alre'dy, that's gonna do ya no good down there." She kneels down at the edge, and tries to reach in. "Jus' hold on so Ah kin help ya." Sindwinder crawls up onto her back and peers over her head into the hole. A few chunks of dirt start to give under her hand. They look down, and then snake and girl look at each other, and then both look at the 'camera' in a manner similar to Wile Coyote just before falling off a cliff. "Ah crap..."

Dirt crumbles. Girl and snake fall in as well. Crash! "Ow! Darnit! Sidewinder, get offa me an' find a way out." She shuffles around a bit. "Someone turn the darned lights back on, dangumbit!"

James meefs! Having another Rocket land on him isn't much fun, nor is falling down holes. After digging himself out from under the fallen trainer, and dusting himself off a little, the rocket stands, looks up out of the pit, then blinks and ohs, "Right... hmm..." searching around, James pulls out a small device with a button on it. The light switch! Yey! Right? "Eeeeee! Here it is... so, I'll just press this and..."
Sadly, for the Rockets, there is no light. If there was, James (Or at least the Ekans if no one else) would have seen that the button on this device isn't red... in fact, it's blue. And blue on this means only one thing. One thing that starts with a few muffled sounds in the direction where the balloon was... ah, is. "What was that?" Sounding like low crashes , the sounds get nearer, then die off. It was probably nothing but the spotlights malfunctioning... or... or maybe it was... "Wait, that sounds like..." Panic. "EXPLOSIONS! EEEEEEE!"
And indeed it is, for not only is the Balloon now nothing more than dust from the blasters stored upon it, that detonator just happened to trigger ALL the blasters, including the ones IN the pit.
***BOOM***
And in one glorious display of light and sound, and with the pit collapsing inwards, two figures and an Ekans can be seen being launched into the sky, flicks of smoke trailing behind them... Heading for the horizon...
James, at least, can manage a smile as he flys, "Well, at least I turned the lights on after all... "IT LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKETS BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAAAAIN! *Ping*