(Silph Co.)
Red and Fer are rushing through the building trying to arrive to the 40th floor on time, but the Rocket Grunts aren't making that easy for them.
"Hypno, use Psychic!" Fer.
"Lax, use Mega Punch!" Red.
Hypno blasted the foe's Golbat aways and Snorlax punched the Raticate. Both Pokémon crashed unto their trainers and they crashed into a wall.
"This is getting bothersome, I'm all out of healing items." Fer.
"Same here, only Poli can fight at full power." Red.
"Well, it doesn't matter, the boss is up ahead." Fer.
"Yeah, let's finish this." Red.
They ran through the floors and defeated grunt after grunt until they managed to reach the top floor. Standing before the imposing doors, they nodded to each other and pushed open.
Once they entered, they saw the CEO of Silph Co. Industries being grabbed from the neck by a bipedal rhinoceros Pokémon, Rhydon. Besides the rock Pokémon was a tall man wearing an elegant black suit with a red shirt underneath it, the red "R" logo on his left chest.
He's Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket and Gym Leader of the Viridian City Gym.
"G-G-Giovanni!?" Fer.
"You know him?" Red.
"How could you not?! He's the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto, the Gym Leader of Viridian City who gives the Earth Badge upon defeat. Giovanni." Fer.
"Well, if it isn't a fan, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm quite busy for autographs." Giovanni.
He snaped his fingers and the doors were closed by a Beedrill.
'That was fast, I couldn't even see him.' Red.
'Even that guy's Beedrill wasn't this fast.' Fer.
Beedrill buzzed menacingly and pointed his stings at Red and Fer.
"At ease, Beedrill. I'm sure these lads aren't going to interfere with my business, right?" Giovanni.
The two of them felt a pressure, the man before him was exuding an aura of malice and power unlike any other trainer they've faced.
"Now then, CEO Silph, I would like you to give me the blueprints for the Master Ball." Giovanni.
"No! The Master Ball is the culmination of everyone's efforts to make the perfect poké ball, I will never let you get your hands on it!" CEO Silph.
"Oh, please, we already have the prototype but you've piqued my interest by not leaving any trace of its production methods." Giovanni.
"I already told you that I won't!" Silph.
Giovanni looks at him with boredom and sighs.
"Rhydon." Giovanni.
Rhydon begins to tighten its grip on Silph's neck. Red and Fer tried to move but Beedrill reminded them whose hearts he has on his aim.
Silph grasped for air as Giovanni simply smiled at the unnecessary cruelty of his actions. Red couldn't hold it anymore and yelled.
"WHY DO YOU DO THINGS LIKE THIS?!!!?" Red shouted, his voice echoing in the vast room.
Giovanni's Beedrill was about to deliver a fatal blow to Red, but Giovanni raised his hand, and Beedrill stopped instantly. Giovanni turned and walked towards the window, overlooking the bustling expanse of Saffron City.
"Why do I do this?" Giovanni began, his voice calm and measured, yet laced with an underlying menace.
"For power, of course. Physical, psychological, economic, political—every form of power is what I desire. With that power, I will reign over the world as its king. Everything will go as I say, and everyone will follow my orders." Giovanni.
He gestured broadly to the city below, his eyes alight with ambition.
"Kanto is just the beginning. Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Paldea, and even those elusive regions like Star and Reborn—all shall be within my grasp." Giovanni.
"But why?! You are a Gym Leader. You had all the power you could've wanted, and I feel that you're strong. You could've become the Champion of Kanto. So, why did you choose this path?" Red's voice trembled with a mix of confusion and frustration.
Giovanni turned to face Red, his expression cold and calculating.
"Let me answer your question with another question: Why do you train Pokémon?" Giovanni.
"What?" Red replied, taken aback.
"Why do you train, capture, and battle with Pokémon? Let me tell you: you do it because you're bored." Giovanni continued, his tone now dripping with disdain.
Red gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger.
"You were bored of being a pathetic kid living in a nowhere town with nothing to show for yourself. So, you took the path of a Pokémon trainer to elevate your name through the rankings and show your worth, all due to boredom." Giovanni.
Giovanni's eyes bore into Red, unyielding and intense.
"You are correct. As the final Gym Leader of Kanto, I had a high status, overwhelming riches, and enough power to defeat the Elite Four and its champion. But there was something else that I wanted. I wanted to transcend that position and become someone greater!" Giovanni.
He pushed the chair aside and slammed his fist on the desk.
"My dream is to become the strongest person in the whole world to alleviate my boredom. Strong enough to bend everything to my will. Anything I dislike shall disappear; anything I desire shall be brought before me. And for that, I need more power! I DESIRE MORE POWER! That's the keystone in any society and the backbone of my ambition." Giovanni.
Red gulped, the weight of Giovanni's words sinking in.
"A-and, what will you do after you accomplish your goal?" Red asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Giovanni regained his elegant demeanor and smiled, a chillingly serene expression. "That will depend on how bored I am afterwards."
Red regained his composure and was pissed, so much that he wanted to scream but Fer got to him first.
"You're a sick and mad man!" Fer.
Giovanni simply laughed at the statement.
"The same was said when the first human befriended a Pokémon. "You're mad." "These are monsters." "They should be eliminated." Similar comments were given at the time, yet now! Pokémon are an essential part of our society." Giovanni.
"So, go ahead and call me a madman, crazy or whatever insult you can spit. I'll show the whole world with my actions." Giovanni.
Just then Ariana burst the doors open and bowed.
"Apologies, Boss." Ariana.
"What's the inconvenience?" Giovanni.
"There was an unexpected element. A trainer has arrived and is aiding Sabrina." Ariana.
"What? Just defeat him and deal with Sabrina." Giovanni.
"His Pokémon are quite strong and both Proton's and mine are tired from facing Sabrina's. More importantly, I've received news that the police have dealt with our decoys and should be returning in less than ten minutes." Ariana.
Giovanni frowned.
"What's the status about Proton? I don't doubt his abilities but Sabrina can use the trainer's interference to heal her team." Giovanni.
"I left Vileplume and Kabutops with him, they should be enough for him to beat them." Ariana.
"Very well, contact the chopper and tell Proton to escape through any means possible. As for you two." Giovanni pointed at Red and Fer.
"Beedrill, eliminate them." Giovanni.
Beedrill covered his stings in poison and was about to pierce Fer and Red's hearts until…
*CRASH*
A Fearow broke through the window and crashed Beedrill into the other side, throwing him out of the building.
Everyone was stunned for a second until a voice was heard.
"Phew! Good thing I managed to arrive in time. I guess Sabrina was right."
Everyone looked at him and saw Kaori being carried by his Beedrill.
Kaori landed on the room and focused all his senses in Giovanni.
"Giovanni." Kaori looked at him with mixed emotions and steeled himself.
(Flashback)
Kaori was standing in front of Proton's Pokémon with his.
"Alright! Wing Attack on Vileplume and Thunder Punch on Kabutops!" Kaori.
Monferno charged his fist with electricity and charged towards Kabutops as Fearow did the same with his wings glowing sky blue.
"Kabutops, Liquidation. Vileplume, Sludge Bomb. Golbat, Razor Wind." Proton.
Kabutops covered his scythe-like arms and lunged at Monferno, Monferno defended himself with his Thunder Punches in order to prevent damages from the water move.
Monferno's left hook got intercepted by a right slash and vice-versa, Monfernos then aimed for one of Kabutops' legs but received a Liquidation from the side of his shell. Monferno took damage and fell before quickly spitting and lunging once again towards Kabutops.
Meanwhile, Vileplume began a barrage of Sludge Bombs to poison Fearow the flying type was taken aback by how Sludge Bomb, a typically slow attack was sent with such strength and swiftness. Fearow flew as low as possible and with a swift motion threw sand at Vileplume.
The sand made him lose sight of Fearow and received a Wing Attack to his side. Vileplume rolled back a few meters before standing up and shooting once again the Sludge Bombs.
Meanwhile Golbat charged his attack to deal damage to both Fearow and Monferno.
"Aww, heck no! Beedrill!" Kaori.
Beedrill came out and went towards Golbat.
"Evasive maneuvers, Golbat." Proton.
Golbat flew away with Beedrill behind him.
"Agility and then use Pursuit!" Kaori.
Beedrill increased his speed and flew towards Golbat while surrounding his stings in dark energy.
"Too late! Razor Wind!" Proton.
Golbat waved his wings and various razor-sharp winds began to attack Beedrill, Fearow and Monferno.
Vileplume and Kabutops quickly left the area while Kaori's Pokémon were left to receive the attack.
"Fearow, Twister. Monferno, Dig. Beedrill, Fury Cutter!" Kaori.
Fearow created a Twister that overpowered the wind blasts, Monferno dug underground and evaded the attack, Beedrill had to cut through each slash that was going after him.
"Vileplume, Kabutops, focus on Fearow with Aqua Jet and Moonblast." Proton.
While Fearow was sustaining the Twister, Kabutops charged at him with his body covered in water energy and Vileplume shot an orb fully charged with fairy energy.
"Intercept with Mach Punch and Iron Tail!" Kaori.
"Fearow can't learn those moves!" Proton.
Monferno emerged from underground and punched Kabutops with a Mach Punch, he then covered his tail in steel energy and grabbed the Moonblast. The Moonblast was powerful enough to push Monferno back before he redirected its course.
Fearow finished repelling the Razor Wind and lunged towards Vileplume.
"Aerial Ace, all of you." Kaori.
The three mons charged in flying energy and charged at Vileplume.
"Intercept with Stone Edge, Supersonic and Leaf Storm." Proton.
Kabutops slammed his claw on the ground and various stones began to come out from there and attacked the trio. Monferno glared at that and changed to a Mach Punch to break the stones, clearing the way for Fearow and Beedrill while he resumed his brawl with Kabutops.
Golbat then screeched as loud as he could and tried to confuse Fearow but Beedrill intercepted him by shooting strings into Golbat's mouth, he then proceeded to beat the crap out of him with Fury Attack.
That just left Fearow receiving the incoming Leaf Storm. He slew through the leaves and gathered more flying energy within him until it exploded. Fearow's body was covered in blue flames and crashed against Vileplume.
[Congratulations, host. Your Fearow has learned Brave Bird.]
Vileplume was pushed back and fainted due to the powerful attack. Fearow landed on his claws and some red sparks, indicating the recoil damage, surrounded his body while he winced.
'Brave Bird? The only game where he can learn that, that I've played, is in Radical Red. Even Pidgeot can only learn it via egg move.' Kaori.
[This world is your ideal version of Pokémon, as long as it makes sense, you can teach moves that are normally not learnable to other Pokémon.]
'What about some of Radical Red's abilities, because some of those are quite nice.' Kaori.
[They're fair game.]
'Whoo-hoo!' Kaori.
"Give it up, Proton. I'll take the rest of your team in no time." Kaori.
"Haha…" Proton left out a laugh.
"Huh?" Kaori.
"Oh, sorry, it's just funny that you thought this was over just because you've defeated Vileplume…once." Proton.
He then took out a weird yellow crystal and smashed it on top of Vileplume.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! This lame strategy!?" Kaori.
The item was a Max Revive. The dust from it fell upon Vileplume and quickly healed its injuries and even restored its stamina. Kaori was having some flashbacks from many games where these damned items ruined his victories, worst yet was that he doesn't even use items due to a personal policy so the saltiness was quite high.
"Now then, shall we try this again?" Proton.
He then took out two green spray bottles and sprayed both Kabutops and Golbat whom looked revitalized.
"Of course, you just did that." Kaori.
"Using items mid-battle aint cheating." Proton.
"The Pokémon League rules state that it is cheating!" Kaori.
"Last time I checked this was not a typical rule-abiding battle. Charge, now!" Proton.
The three rocket Pokémons dashed towards Kaori's team while he was thinking for counters, until…
"Psychic." Sabrina.
The blue glow surrounded Proton's Pokémon and were thrown back while he had an annoyed expression.
"I appreciate the cover, Kaori." Sabrina spoke with her Jynx, Alakazam and Golduck in perfect conditions.
"You scratch my back, I scratch yours. No problem. Though it did surprise me that you can create a substitute of yourself." Kaori.
Sabrina had created a substituted of herself using her powers so that she could go back to her gym and gear up properly, while also bringing more recovery items and Pokémon.
"A psychic never reveals all its tricks. Which reminds me…" Sabrina.
She opened four more poké balls and from them came out: Slowbro, Mr. Mime, Exeggutor, and Hypno.
"Oi, oi, this is nowhere to be fair." Proton.
"Last time I checked this was not a typical rule-abiding battle." Sabrina smiled mischievously.
"Clever girl. Jump them!" Proton.
Some hidden grunts appeared and rushed towards Sabrina and Kaori with their Pokémon. Unfortunately for them, Sabrina's team are in sync.
"Repel them with Psywave." Sabrina.
All her Pokémon's eyes glowed and waves of psychic energy began to emanate from them into the grunts, the grunts were pushed back by the attack, including Proton and his mons.
"Alright! Sabrina, I will keep Proton and the grunts in check, you better hurry towards Silph Co. and help there." Kaori.
"I don't think so." Sabrina.
"Sabrina?" Kaori.
"I'm afraid you wouldn't last enough time. That's why I'm going to ask you to rescue any civilian from the building instead of fighting Giovanni." Sabrina.
Kaori was taken aback.
"You're strong, but not nearly enough to fight at Giovanni's Level. At least not yet." Sabrina.
Kaori was quite pissed at the statement, but he took Sabrina's word for it. Maybe its due to him not being originally from here that his perception of reality is a bit altered but even then, he coped with the fact that he's not strong enough, at least for now.
"Ok, I'll follow your orders. Don't you dare to lose, you still owe me that rematch." Kaori smiled.
"Sure, I just hope you won't be salty once I win." Sabrina.
Kaori giggled a little.
"Monferno, come back!" Kaori returned Monferno to his poké ball and sat on Fearow's back.
"Fearow, Beedrill, take me to the top floor of the building." Kaori.
Fearow took flight and so did Beedrill behind both of them.
"Yeah, right. Intercept with long range attacks." Proton.
Vileplume charged a Solar Beam, Kabutops Ancient Power and Golbat an Air Slash.
"Charge Beam." Sabrina.
Various of her psychic types shot a highly concentrated beam of electricity towards the three Pokémons, interrupting their attacks.
"You're still dealing with me." Sabrina.
"You Gym leaders are annoying; I hope you wrote your will when you left a while ago. Because those will be the last thing that'll be left of you." Proton.
"Tough words coming from a mere Admin." Sabrina.
(A/N: Team Rocket Ranks:
Grunt: Basic level, mostly team full of rats, get beaten quite easily.
High-Grunt: Have Poison-Types, are paid better, are not that much of cannon fodder.
Elite-Grunt: Strong with different Pokémon from different regions, mainly Johto and Hoenn.
Commander: Can order grunts, has high level Pokémon, called for important things.
Admins: The same as commander but way better plus customizable uniforms.
Executives: The only people Giovanni actually gives a fuck about. High risk high reward kind of missions.
That's all.)
Kaori flew without worries until he saw Red and another teen at mercy of Giovanni's Beedrill so, he decided to intervene.
"Fearow, Smash the window with Aerial Ace and attack the Beedrill. Beedrill, you'll carry me inside the building with your strings." Kaori.
Both of them nodded.
Fearow prepared to attack and increased his speed, Kaori jumped backwards and let his arms be covered by Beedrill's string. Once Fearow crashed into the window, Kaori changed his position and let Beedrill carry him more comfortably.
And then, they looked into the abyss and it looked back, and its silhouette was that of a man with an endless ambition. With one final gulp, he entered the window and gave all his attention to Giovanni.
(End of Flashback)
"It seems like a pest has passed Proton." Giovanni.
"Apologies, let me correct his mistake." Ariana lightly bowed and took a poké ball out.
"That won't be necessary, we were already leaving." Giovanni snaped his fingers.
*SNAP*
Beedrill flew right back from the window and appeared besides Giovanni. Fearow followed afterwards and wanted to battle but Kaori stopped him.
"Release CEO Silph and leave." Kaori.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, you see, I need something that he's not so keen into giving." Giovanni.
"I wasn't asking." Kaori.
He let Monferno out and with a Mach Punch he attacked Rhydon's hand. Monferno grabbed Silph and placed him behind Kaori.
Giovanni whistled at the display of power and mused.
"That's a Monferno, right? It's quite rare to see a Pokémon from the Sinnoh region in these parts." Giovanni.
"Sir, the chopper is here." Ariana.
A big black chopper descended into the level of the last floor and Giovanni looked at it.
"I'm afraid I won't have enough time to deal with you today, Mr. Silph, I'm afraid I won't be able to resume our meeting, but be sure that the Master Ball will be used just as intended." Giovanni.
Both Giovanni and Ariana began to walk towards the chopper and carefully enter it. Kaori was gritting his teeth in frustration since he knew how different their levels, metaphorically and literally meaning, are.
"I hope I don't hear more of you meddling kids. Or else, I won't be as merciful." Giovanni looked at them with a malicious smirk.
The chopper left and the ones that remained felt like they could breathe again.
Kaori then turned towards Red and spoke.
"We should really step our trainings up a notch." Kaori.