Prologue
"Move quietly, only speak if necessary, wait for my command."
"Yes, Boss." Two figures responded in unison, the voice of a male and a female. All three figures spoke in hushed tones, matching their outfits of choice on this specific evening – black pants, black shoes, a jet black jacket with a large "R" emblazoned on the chest, accompanied by black hats with the very same "R" on the front. To complement their outfits, each of them carried black backpacks on their backs, all also emblazoned with the "R" logo.
The three figures hunched down low, moving in the cover of darkness along an embankment of a pathway, carefully walking along the grassed area to tone down the sounds of their footsteps. Looking up into the sky, they saw their target. At the top of a steep pathway with shrubs and trees on either side, a large building with a rounded top, six large windows on the front just above an overwhelming and unnecessarily large doorway, and a windmill overshadowing the property in the background stood eerily silent. The night was still somewhat young, but the surroundings matched the quiet and still overtones of the quaint town. "Now. Go." The leader sternly and firmly whispered to the other two, who followed suit without a second word.
The three made their way up the pathway, stopping at every second or third tree or shrub to ensure they wouldn't be seen. They didn't have much to worry about however, very few people came near this property at the best of times, let alone in the evenings. The three continued forward, making small and abrupt hand motions amongst one another to indicate whether one should move forward, wait, or hang back for the moment. They arrived at the top of the pathway, looking up at the large building which seemed even bigger up close now that they were here. The front doors, however, weren't what they came for, and they strafed their movements to the side, now making their way along the side of the building, hugging the wall and ensuring they stay on the grass. The 'Boss' in the suit moved first, looking around once again to ensure no cameras were present and there wasn't anyone else around, but they didn't have anything to worry about. Security in Pallet Town wasn't a point of major concern, everybody knew everybody and this specific location wasn't a popular area for tourists to come.
"Pidge…" The three stopped in their tracks immediately, all backs against the wall looking out over the town. Their heads unanimously darted upwards all at once, but were only met with a small bird Pokémon flying happily overhead.
"It's just a Pidgey, keep going," the Boss stated firmly once again in a whisper. The three continued forward hugging the side of the house with their backs, before they made their way to the other side of the building. As they turned the corner, they were met with a huge fenced off area that looked not unlike a cow paddock, filled with various types of Pokémon. All of them seemed to be still or happily grazing, but the three couldn't even see the other side of the fencing. Continuing along the wall, they came to the location they were looking for – a large back window. The Boss reached silently into his pocket, and pulled out a half red half white ball, pressing the middle button. A jet of blue light shone only momentarily, as a large grey Pokémon popped out and landed quietly on the grass next to him. "Rhyhorn, you know what to do." The Rhyhorn dipped its head, before gently moved forward, using the large horn on the front of its head to begin slicing a square out of the window at the back of the building. The Boss watched as the Pokémon traced a square around in the glass, finally meeting the starting point with the end. The Boss reached forward and pushed gently, pulling the glass off and then placing it to the side on the ground. "Thanks," he grunted with a sly smirk, before pressing the middle button once again and with another flash of blue light only momentarily, the Pokémon returned into the Poke Ball.
The three figures ducked down and entered the window one by one, stepping inside the grand building for the first time. They were met with silver floors, pristine white walls which were lined with hundreds and hundreds of Poké Balls and books, each individually labelled and ordered. Taking no time to look around or marvel at their surroundings, the three moved forward as silently as possible, when suddenly… footsteps. Almost at once, they moved forward and leaned over a railing, peering down overlooking what looked like the control centre and the crux of the laboratory. Downstairs walked a man of average height, sporting a white lab coat with a red undershirt and tan pants. He held in his right hand what looked like a few little electronic books, all red in colour, as he hummed to himself and made his way around the various sections of the lab, checking books, and typing furiously into a computer whenever he stopped humming and proclaimed quietly "ah-ha!"
Up on the railing, the Boss looked at the other two and mouthed one word… "now." They didn't need a second to think, immediately springing into action. The two of them grabbed their backpacks, unzipped quickly and quietly, and pulled out several Poké Balls which seemed to be attached on an electrical cord that looked like a string. One of the grunts moved silently to the right of the room, the other made his way to the left of the room, placing the tiny Poké Balls down on the ground in quick succession. The leader of the trio kept watch over the Professor, who seemed to be completely unaware anything was happening in his lab, let alone meters above his head. Once the balls had been placed down and spaced out in various locations throughout the ground level, the boss stood up from his crouched position and admired his handy work. Surveying the area, he made his way silently to one of the walls, reaching out and touching one of the Poké Balls on the wall somewhat hesitantly, as if he was expecting to be electrocuted or there was a chance an alarm would go off. The brief hesitation wore off once nothing happened, and he slowly made his way along the line of hundreds and hundreds of Poké Balls, tapping them individually as he walked past them. Almost understanding without a word spoken, the two grunts followed behind their leader, grabbing the Poké Balls that the Boss touched, throwing them hastily and quickly into their backpacks. After an extensive number of Poké Balls had been speedily placed into their backpacks, the three people looked at each other and nodded. The job was done. They slowly and carefully made their way back out the way they came, almost gliding along the silver floor ensuring not to leave any tracks, fingerprints or traces they were there. They exited back out the rear window, looking once again over the Pokémon grazing in the yard, who hadn't even noticed a thing. The electric wire trailed behind them as they briskly made their way back down the pathway in the darkness, unspooling the wire as they went behind them. Moving quickly into an open area, they took one last look up the pathway to the Laboratory. The female grunt reached down and handed the metal wire to their leader, who looked at her with another wry smile from the side of his mouth.
The leader took a deep breath and knelt down, his grunts did the same. "Ready?" He looked at both of them, one after the other.
"Ready," they replied in unison once again. The leader reached into his pocket and pulled out another Poke Ball, pressing the centre button again. This time however, a Pokémon that looked not unlike a Poke Ball came out.
"Voltorb," he spoke sternly in a hushed tone, "Thunderbolt. Three… Two… One… GO." The Voltorb began to charge a bright yellow, pulsating light as if it had its own pulse. All of a sudden, a bright strike of electricity popped out of the Voltorb, attaching to the end of the electric wire. The grunts didn't waste any time, the leader in one swift motion recalled the Voltorb to its Poke Ball once again, and the three of them stood back up again, turning their backs on the laboratory and disappearing into the darkness of the night. The electricity travelled quickly up the line the grunts had left, up the pathway, around the side of the building, through the window and then diverting amongst the Poké Balls that had been placed by the two grunts in the upstairs area. No less than 10 circular Pokémon were released from their Poké Balls at once, however rather than being red on top and white on the bottom, they were much larger than the Voltorb seen previously, and this time white on top and red on the bottom. Being released from their Poké Balls seemed to have angered them, and each of them looked aggressively at once another.
The leader and his grunts continued running, but stopped momentarily. "Giovanni, what's wrong?" One of the grunts asked through deep breaths from the sprinting.
Giovanni responded the only way he knew how, with a wry smile from the side of his mouth. "Electrodes..." He took a deep breath as if he was savouring the moment in a twisted sense. "Explosion."