Elegantly sipping at her tea, Janine did not even flinch as a tall middle-aged man materialized across the table from her, grasped the spare tea cup laid out on the table, and poured himself a cup.

"Father." Her perfectly trained voice was almost musical in quality, years of training having long since let her voice flow like warm honey, no matter the situation.

Her father took a sip of his tea, before placing it down on the table. "Daughter." Unlike her own, his voice was neutral, it did not inspire fear or hope. It was not deep or soft. It just was. The consummate emotionless Ninja, versus the elegant and graceful Kunoichi.

Her teacup was silently placed on the table, and with a single pat on the head of the green Spinarak that was resting on her lap, she returned it. "What need do you have of me?" One would be excused for being convinced that she was a young woman completely in love and adoring of her father, with the way her voice flowed, eyes seemed to sparkle, and body leaned forward.

"There's been a change of plans for your Journey." One would also be excused for being convinced that her Father cared nothing for her - with the way his back was ramrod straight, his eyes stared off emotionlessly at a wall, and how he did not even glance at her once.

It was in reality - quite the opposite. "I see, what are these changes then father?" She was in reality, the failure of a daughter. Impossible because of her situation to see her only family member as a true father, no matter how much he tried to reach out to her in his own way. 'Perhaps in a different life.' 

The truth was when Janine had been reborn in a world full of wonder and Pokemon, she had been excited, amazed, and practically filled with glee. Those emotions had slowly been tampered down throughout the years. First, with the death of her mother a mere year after she had been born. Then, when while in her crib in the corner of her father's office, she accidentally heard horrifying reports about wild Pokemon and trainer casualty rates. The third and final nail in the coffin was when she had been not quite one and a half years old, and had witnessed a meeting between her father - Koga, Gym Leader of Kanto, and a man draped in shadows, and a harsh, but smooth voice.

She had recognized him in an instant and knew the truth. She was in the Pokemon world, yes. But not the Anime. Not the games. Nay, she was in some kind of holy abomination of Anime, Game, and Manga - one where her father had taken up position in Team Rocket; and just as likely, Lieutenant Surge and Sabrina had as well.

It had been over 16 years since that day, and she never had been able to bring herself to form a true bond with her father, no matter how hard Koga tried. "Hoenn has finally opened their borders." Those words from him snapped Janine out of her thoughts, and with laser precision, she focused in on him.

"That's two-three years earlier than our estimations." The only sign of her shock was the way her hands reached out and picked up her fine porcelain tea cup, and the marginally hurried sip.

"I know. It's come as a surprise to everything we know, and this is why we need to change your plans. None of the spies we have implanted can figure it out. But…"

She finished Koga's sentence for him, "They aren't me."

Pride for a brief moment glimmered in his eyes before it flickered away shuddering itself beneath the steel trap that he held over his emotions. "Indeed. They are not you, my daughter. I wish for you to enter the upcoming Hoenn league and figure out what you can. Why this shift? What else are we missing? Perhaps just as importantly, try to see what you can about their negotiations with Sinnoh."

The unspoken wish of also being able to improve the number of Pokemon their clan and Gym had control over didn't need to be spoken about - that was just par for the course. Janine thought for a moment, a finger trailing across the rim of her cup as a thousand plans sparked across her mind, before, "Very well father. Am I still leaving after my 18th Birthday?"

"Indeed. I was pla-" A small ringing noise echoed out from beneath his clothing, and Koga stopped speaking and pulled out a phone. "Speak."

A moment passed, and Janine did not even attempt to hear the response, knowing from experience that her father's phone was perfectly tuned. She took another sip of her tea, thoughts still churning, even though it didn't show across her perfectly pleasant, yet neutral face. Thirty seconds later he was putting the phone back in place. "I'm sorry, but it appears I must depart." In a flurry of movement, he disappeared from her sight, leaving her alone, a steaming tea cup still placed on the table.

A minute passed before a sigh escaped from Janine's lips. 'So Team Rocket wishes to extend its roots to Hoenn.' Knowing what she did, she couldn't be surprised in all honesty. Giovanni was a smart, powerful, and greedy man; wishing for nothing more than power, and of course, money. 

Honestly, it was almost amusing how Team Rocket's theme was a bunch of Goons & Gangsters; albeit Nationalistic ones. It was that last part that she knew to have drawn her Father in, and likely Lieutenant Surge as well. In this horribly wonderful world, such an Evil Organization could almost be deemed innocent compared to the monsters that would later pop up.

Tapping the Poke Ball on her hip, out came her Spinarak again, and as he crawled back into her lip, she let out a small smile. "Before you do that, can you grab my tablet for me?" He made a small clicking noise before scurrying off.

Sparing a fond look towards her starter as he skittered away, Janine closed her eyes and thought. 'This changes things. I had already planned out what routes I was going to search on; possible teammates, the exact route and timing I would take to challenge the Gym's…' 

She had been planning this for nearly 18 years after all - and hadn't been one bit surprised when just a few months ago it had been announced a major shift was happening across Kanto as not one, not two; but three Gym Leaders were being replaced, as Brock, Misty, and Sabrina ascended to their rightful and destined places among the Sacred 8. 'Honestly I'm surprised Sabrina didn't become a Gym Leader earlier, but then again, unlike Brock and Misty she wasn't forced into the position.' 

But, Janine would adapt, even if she had been practically desperate to challenge some of her once favorite characters, turned into living and breathing people. 'Hoenn offers an excellent chance to gain a few Pokemon I had not planned on. After all - outside of Bulbasaur I could get any Poison-type from Kanto or Johto I wanted via Koga, and it wouldn't be hard to get any Normal or Dark types either.' 

She knew others from Earth would have found it weird that she was limiting herself to just those three types, but it came down to simple logic. This world was different in many ways from the one she knew - and the types she could select to train came down to something fundamental. Once, long ago she had dreamed of being like Ash, Red, or Cynthia. She had dreamed of having a monstrous team of all types and crushing her way through all her problems.

Then; she had learned about Type Energies and Pokemon Bonds, and had been completely crushed. Much like Pokemon, Humans too had types. While everyone alive could bond with Normal types - bar the very rare Ghost Specialists, most people only had one Type Energy. It was very, very rare the trainer that could bond with, and thus train all types.

Janine was not one of those lucky few. But, she was one of the few who had two typings - much like her father Koga. Whereas he could bond with Bug and Poison, she held the natures of Dark and Poison.

While her elegantly and perfectly crafted team of Pokemon she planned to catch across Kanto crumbled; this also offered her new choices, even within the confines and limitations of her own typing. Hoenn held some of, if not the most powerful Normal types, had some truly interesting dark types, and one Poison type that held her interest. 'This is a good thing. Kanto and Johto hold an obscene number of Poison and Normal types, but with the addition of Hoenn into my roster one day, far, far into the future, I might be able to roster three separate teams.' Of course, there were problems with such a plan outside of monetary concerns - but with careful planning, effort, and taking the slow route, it could be feasible.

Of course - in the long term she wouldn't abandon the Pokemon of Kanto or Johto, but… Hoenn opening up its borders truly did offer her a wide selection of potent Pokemon that would have been impossible to get otherwise, not to mention Pokemon that would be powerful immediately, compared to those in Kanto or Johto that would take some time. 'Not only that, but it will get me out of Koga, and thus Team Rocket's gaze for a while.' 

Besides, it's not like she would completely abandon Kanto. The sound of skittering reached her ears once more, and her eyes shifted to the side and to the comical sight of her tiny little Spinarak dragging a tablet larger than it. 'Perfect timing.' 

Dropping it on the table, the tiny spider let out a happy trill, and his two eyes squinted in glee as she ran a hand down his back. Skittering up her hand and along her arm, her perched on her shoulder before closing his eyes. "Thank you Spinarak." He didn't respond outside of doing a little wiggle to dig deeper into the crook between her shoulder and neck.

Casually rubbing a hand across his back once more, and making sure to avoid the small necklace holding a tiny gray stone, she picked up the tablet and turned it on. 'Now let's see, how does the Hoenn league differ?' 

Quickly opening up the internal app that was meant to only be granted to Elite-class members or Gym Leaders of the Indigo League, she quickly signed in. In the corner of the tablet, she could see the profile picture of her father, with the tiny words 'Master-Level Gym Leader' right next to it. 

Perhaps if anyone else had seen it, they would have gasped in awe, but she had long since been using his account and knew that over two years ago the League had officially recognized her father as a Master. Not to mention that she knew that in a scant few years, he would likely challenge, and then win a position in the Elite Four. 

Quickly getting passed her musings, Janine opened up a document about the Hoenn League and settled in for a long read.

-

A couple of hours later, Janine turned off the tablet, a flicker of an excited smile on her face. 'I see, truly different.' 

The differences between the Hoenn League, and the Kanto and in turn the Indigo League, were startling, but also expected. In Kanto, how things worked was actually quite old-fashioned, where they followed the traditional route, with the Gym at Pewter City being the easiest - and the gym at Veridian being the hardest. Obviously, this spoke nothing of each Gym Leader's strength, but this was just how it worked. Brock would use a team of two very weak Beginner-Level Pokemon, whereas Giovanni would use a team of 6 fully evolved Advanced-Level Pokemon.

This system not only let Gym Leaders focus on their specific role in the league circuit, but also granted them more time for personal training, and drastically lessened the need for Gym Trainers. In fact, her family Gym, which was in the city of Fuschia, was truly strange among the Kanto part of the Indigo league due to the sheer number of Gym Trainers they had. This was only matched by typically the Pewter Gym due to the number of challengers every season it got.

In Hoenn it was different. There was truly mandated order, and instead every Gym Battle's challenge, no matter the Gym, was based on your number of Gym Badges. This means that if you challenged the 'traditional' first Leader in Roxanne as your 8th badge, you would still face an immensely powerful team, and not a couple of Geodude's or whatever she would use for the 1st badge.

'Interesting. This does mean however that the need for Gym Trainers is drastically increased, which roots their Gyms into the local culture in a different way. Whereas in Kanto and Johto Gym Leaders are spiritual pillars, in Hoenn, they are much more seen as teachers and mentor figures. Of course, both are seen as bastions of defense for their cities, but still - a different view upon the same position.' 

What was interesting was that, supposedly, the challenge of the two leagues was roughly the same, depending on of course what gyms you challenged in what order. After all, looking at who the current Gym Leaders were, she knew very well that challenging Norman for your 8th badge, versus Flannery would be night and day. No matter how strong a Pokemon is, the difference between who is commanding it in battle would exponentially change the outcome. 

'But; in general, it's the same. First and Second badge are for Beginner-Level Pokemon, 3-5 for Novice-Level, 6-7 for Intermediate-Level, and the 8th for Advance-Level.' Now, such terminology was kept mostly as an internal league metric to measure Pokemon and individual trainers. As such, it was for the most part kept away from the public so as not to ruin the allure of Pokemon training for young and bright-eyed teenagers. 

Couldn't have the public knowing that because of her bond with her Pokemon, and thus strongly nurtured Type-Energies, Agatha held the title 'Master of Ghosts' because she could rip through the veil and seemingly conjure up thousands of screeching and hungry ghosts, or that Bruno could decide that walking through a mountain was a reasonable thing to do. The world was better off not knowing there was a reason most of the Top 16 in the Conference disappeared into ACE or other Government Organizations. 'Enough, focus.' 

What was different about Hoenn, was the measured strength she had found. To put it bluntly, apart from their newest Gym Leaders, they were full of monsters. Their three newest Gym Leaders in Roxanne, Brawly, and Flannery were rated as Expert-Level Gym Leaders. This; was expected. After all, this was essentially the level expected out of a particularly skilled Conference winner, and so it's perfectly normal for a Gym Leader, particularly a new one to be at that level.

It was however important to note that across the Indigo League, this was a similar ranking to Brock, Misty, Erika, Lt. Surge, Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, and Chuck. 8 out of 16 of the Indigo League's Gym Leaders were rated as Expert-Level trainers. From the investigations done, it was only the 3 newest members of the League for Hoenn that were the same. But, although that ratio difference could be handwaved away, particularly because of what kind of monsters were in the remaining eight Gym Leaders across the Indigo League, the problem got worse.

From the digging the League, and presumably Team Rocket had done - the next lowest-rated Gym Leaders were a pair of 10-year-olds, Tate and Liza. Besides the horrifying fact that 10-year-olds were Elite-Level trainers and had been rated that for over a year, the monsters that lay behind them were even worse. To put it into perspective, Clair - the traditional 8th Gym Badge of Johto, was only an Elite-level trainer herself. Of the 12 Gym Leaders of the Indigo League her Father, Giovanni, and Blaine were the only Master-Level trainers. 'Possibly Morty also if the rumors about him challenging Agatha soon are true.' 

Funnily, enough, Hoenn matched this. One league, in a region whose land mass was less than either Kanto or Johto, let alone them combined, matched their Master-Level Gym Leaders. With Watson, Norman, and Winona being ranked solidly within that tier, from what press release obtained from Hoenn, and spies embedded could tell.

Then there was him. Wallace. 'Fucking hell. It's no wonder we're struggling to get accurate information.' Janine had been completely flabbergasted when she had read his profile.

Barely an Elite-level trainer. Focused on contests. Waste of talent.

Yes. The future Champion of Hoenn. Labeled as a waste. It was nearly enough for her to tear her hair out.

Of course, she knew that outside of Lance the Indigo League had other Champion-ranked trainers. Professor Oak, Pryce, and likely even Giovanni. Not to mention the possibilities of Ash/Red and Gary/Blue popping up in the coming years.

But, the worst part is Janine couldn't find anything on the Battle Factory, let alone Team Magma or Aqua. She found nothing on Juan, someone who should be a Master, particularly cause if she remembered correctly he was Wallace's teacher. What about Zinnia and the Draconid clan?

Now, looking at the Indigo League holistically; they completely eclipsed the perceived Hoenn forces, and even taking into account what she knew, they should still eek them out.

But, that was the problem. Hoenn wasn't even half of the size of the combined Indigo League. What about Sinnoh? Unova? Kalos? Galar? Paldea? Mew forbid, what if Rainbow Rocket showed up in Alola?

Although she didn't have the greatest family ties to her father, and she was a reincarnator… that did not change that deep inside of her beat the blood of Kanto, and she fully intended to one day take over the Gym. If not even take her father's future spot in the Elite Four. Let alone the fact that she was the Heiress to the clan, and so the burden of hundreds of lives would one day directly fall onto her shoulder.

'We're screwed.' It was perhaps an illogical thought process, but the truth was, no matter how much the government tried to espouse that the Kanto and Johto regions were two branches of one league, there were underlying tensions, and had been since the Indigo League formed.

Hell, she knew Team Rocket wanted to split the two regions back up! Hands tightening around her teacup, Janine let out a heavy sigh. 'I need to go to Hoenn, dig out a few secrets, and then slowly work my way up to the top of the Indigo League. Or, at least enough to enact change. If we continue to squander in the past, as more and more of the Regions open their borders in the coming years… we'll be reduced to irrelevancy, and perhaps even crushed if war breaks out.' 

This wasn't the happy-go-lucky anime world where everything would work out. If any of the Major Regions sensed weakness - they would strike. It had happened many times before, and would likely happen many times in the future. 'Not to mention Pryce and Professor Oak are getting up there in age, whereas Steven and Wallace are young, and Brandon if he exists is merely middle-aged.' 

Taking a steadying breath, she carefully placed her cup on the table and stood up. 'A week till my birthday, then sometime soon after that I ship off to Hoenn.' That was practically no time at all, but - it was more than enough for some studying, preparation, and obviously, a small bit of bribery. 'It appears I'll need to set the clan on searching for the right Pokemon. Although I'll need to grab a badge first in Hoenn before sending it over, it'll make a fine third Pokemon on my roster.' 

Also, she needed some alone time to prepare for the fact that she was going to be an 18-year-old young adult bullying a bunch of 13-year-old kids, Hoenn's standard minimum requirement for age, compared to the Indigo League's 17. For a brief moment, an amused smirk crossed her face before disappearing. 'Well, there goes my whirlwind adventure-based romance. Oh, what am I to do if I can't have a strapping young rookie sweep me off my feet?' With a quiet snicker, she left her meditation/tea room.

It was going to be a busy week, but, she wasn't stressed. Janine's gaze shifted to the little one on her shoulder, and all possible worry seeped out of her. 'Worst case, you just evolve a little bit early my friend. At most, we'll get a bit of flack for preparing so hard; but there won't be too much surprise. After all, you are my future Ace.' In truth, outside of wanting to push her friend's potential to the max, there was only one reason her Spinarak hadn't evolved. Stupid laws. 'I understand some Pokemon need to be restricted, and badge numbers are an easy way to showcase the strength required, but still. You'd think they'd allow clan Pokemon to evolve without badges or tests.' 

In truth, it didn't matter much. Having already checked, she had been delighted that much like in Kanto, she'd only need to obtain her 3rd badge in Hoenn to be able to legally evolve her Spinarak into Ariados. Such a badge number was no problem for her, even if she didn't capture any extra Pokemon. 'There's a reason most clans delay their members from Adventuring for a year, sometimes even two.' Her eyes briefly squinted as she walked through the wooden halls of her home, 'After all, making a splash is better for your clan than the faster growth you'd gain from going out on an Adventure earlier.' 

Stepping into the closed and sound-proofed training room, Janine gently nudged the spider resting on her shoulder. "Wake up buddy, time for some more Poison Jab training."

"Spiiiii!" Beady black eyes opened up, and he shook out his legs before leaping off of Janine and silently landing on the ground. Not even waiting to be told what to do, he scuttled forward before leaping directly at a stone block! Right before he collided with it, Spinarak's tiny white horn flashed purple!