A while ago, a kid named Red saved the region of Kanto from these guys called Team Rocket. Three years after that, a guy named Gold saved Johto from the same team. After that day, Team Rocket was officially disbanded. But that was five years ago. And a lot of stuff changes in five years.
My name is Axel, and I was born and raised in Olivine City. My sister, Megan, became a top coordinator. She takes after my mom, who was pretty good before she retired. I never got into contests. It's too girly if you ask me. But what I really liked was the battles. Now, that is action. So I caught some pokemon and organized a team. Then I went around collected badges. After that, I entered some tournaments. I was pretty good too. I won some and I lost some, but I did well either way. That's all I did for years. But then, when I was sixteen, I learned something.
Team Rocket was never really disbanded. In fact, a guy named Archer got a bunch of people together and went into hiding. They spent those five years building new secret bases. Then, they started recruiting people. And these guys weren't all just lowly grunts with rattata and zubat. These guys were really good trainers. And one of these really good trainers hired by Team Rocket is me.
I joined the day after this tournament held at the National Park. I came in first (no surprise there), and I had the whole day to hang out. So I let all my Pokemon out and we went for a walk in the park. Then, this lady with red hair in a white coat came over. She smiled and held out her hand. "Congratulations." I smiled and shook her hand. I mean, I couldn't be rude. It was at that moment I noticed the infamous red 'R' on her coat.
I think she noticed me looking at it, because she became very serious suddenly. "Listen, kid, I got an offer for you." She grabbed my hand and led me into the woods. I really wished I had my Pokemon with me, but they had wandered off.
I ripped my hand from her. "Now, don't be rude," she said, laughing.
"What do you want?" I had asked. She handed me a pamphlet. I read all about Team Rocket in that little pamphlet. The people who run it, the stuff they do, the stuff they did, everything.
"We've been watching you along with many others," she said as I read, "And we want to use your skills to help us."
I smiled despite the situation. "How many have turned you down so far?"
She frowned. "Many. But some haven't. So? Are you in or not."
"Don't you just run around stealing pokemon and selling them?" She laughed at this. I didn't get it.
"No, no. We've moved on now. We have all the money we need. Now we get into the good stuff."
Then she looked straight at me and gave me the sweetest smile I've ever seen on a grown woman. "We've moved on now. We're going to catch ultra rare Pokemon. Then, we're going to do research on them." I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I said.
She nodded. "C'mon kid. What else do you have to do?"
I had plenty to do, I could have said. But instead, I kept my mouth shut. I would love to say I'm not that kind of guy, that I've got a heart of gold. But that isn't true. I've been getting in all kinds of trouble since God knows when. And no matter how many times I've been yelled at, I still think its a thrill.
I've grown up hearing tons of stories about Team Rocket and how cruel they are to pokemon. But it just never concerned me. I mean, how bad could it be? Tons of pokemon fight until they pass out, and yet they whine when this team apparently abuses them.
People would think of me of some heartless jerk, but I think that's a bit over the top. I'm not heartless. I just don't give a damn. That's just the way I am, I guess.
I think the lady was getting irritated because I was staring at her with a blank expression. "Kid," she said, "We have money. We have power. We have whatever you want to have. We're going to be running the entire world! Just think, kid. You, with all that money, all that power! How could you resist? You can have whatever you want!"
Most people would disagree with my decision. But they don't understand. If you put any guy in my place, they would say yes. I could have whatever I wanted. Think. Would you really turn them down?
So I took her hand and shook it. "I'm Ariana, by the way," she had said with a smile.
"Axel," I said.
From that point on, I would work undercover for Team Rocket. Whenever they told me to capture this Pokemon or defeat that trainer, I would do it. And in return, I got whatever I wanted. Plus, it got pretty fun. I learned that the life of a criminal is way more exciting with danger at ever corner.
It was perfect
