Team Rocket, the notorious gang that's known for stealing, exploiting, and in some cases, killing Pokémon. Emblazoned with a large R on their chests, they walk through crowds, inspiring fear and order at the same time.
The most recognized members of Team Rocket are unfortunately the clumsiest members as well. Jessie and James, the most traveled members of Team Rocket, travel after one trio of Pokémon Trainers, attempting and failing at stealing one of their Pokémon.
Lesser-known members, such as Cassidy and Butch who rival Jessie and James but are much better at their tasks, also work in Team Rocket's field operations. Attila and Hun, two high ranking members of Team Rocket, who are called to duty when rare Pokémon are on the line, work at their own pace.
This story has nothing to do with any of the latter. We follow a no-name Team Rocket grunt by the name of Logan. Logan isn't always a cold-hearted person, but he'll do what he has to in order to progress. On a mission, he's clever and full of surprises, which hardly makes him a light threat to an average trainer.
So, on a fateful day when Giovanni calls Logan to a meeting, he only assumes that he's only being ordered to a new mission.
In one of the remaining Headquarters still intact in the Kanto region, an Underground HQ is the last HQ that is sizable enough to maintain the head of operations. Located somewhere off the side of one of the Seafoam Islands, Team Rocket had set back up there. Grunts of every rank pass through dropping off Pokémon that they had been ordered to steal, or other valuables that got their hands on. Larger operations also meet directly with Giovanni, to make sure that all is ready.
Logan stared off into space out of a window in one of the HQ's several cafeterias. Several other grunts were also in the room, but they were considerably quiet, discussing their plans in secretive whispers. A reflection of a grunt bouncing off of the window caught Logan's attention, and he turned to face him.
The grunt wasn't anyone special in particular, just like him, but he'd seen the guy around before. "Logan Stone? Giovanni wants you to report to him directly in the conference room." He said. After Logan nodded, the man walked off.
Logan sighed and stretched his body. Taking another look outside of the window, he knew somewhere that this was going to be the last of the peaceful and boring days. Logan made sure that all of his Pokémon were with him and left the cafeteria. Walking around the corridors always gave him a sense of nostalgia, even though there were the changing faces, he could always find someone he'd seen before.
When he reached the conference room, he knocked on the door and Giovanni's voice popped up. "Ah, Logan. Come in." he said. The door slid open, and Logan walked in.
The conference room was dully lit so he could barely see a thing in the shadows. A large screen rested in the air behind Giovanni, whose silhouette was outlined by the glow of the screen. Several other people were in the room as well, probably other operatives on their own missions.
"This is Logan Stone. He is just a regular grunt in this organization." Giovanni stated.
One of the other members in the room, a woman, raised her hand. He nodded in her general direction. "This is a big mission, why would you want to give it to some no name brat?" she asked hotly.
Giovanni gave a dark chuckle. "That's exactly the reason. No one will suspect him. Now…" he paused, arranging papers around him, then he tapped something on his desk. The Team Rocket insignia changed to a map of the Kanto region.
"As you all should remember, this boy…" he paused, bringing up a picture of Red, "Is the one that threw most of our HQ's in Kanto in chaos. Likewise, he has also put down our operatives in the neighboring Johto region.
"The Lake of Rage incident, the Goldenrod Radio and Goldenrod Tunnel incidents. We've had several operations shut down thanks to him and his friends, and as we know, that's left this syndicate quite lacking in reach. In Kanto, we cannot forget Sylph Company and the Celadon Game Corner, nor can we forget how our operation in Mount Moon was torn to pieces.
"So, this is what I want done: Take back what's ours. Logan, you'll be dispatched into the Kanto region. From what order you want to take back what's ours is up to you. I just want results."
Logan stood still with a dumb look on his face. He reacted on impulse; "Yes sir!" then quickly looked away thinking about what he just agreed to do.
Even Giovanni looked surprised that Logan had responded so quickly, but smiled. "You see? This is the type of people we need working here. Now, there are a few things we need to clear up." He said, his hands collapsing while he rested his chin on them.
"I don't think you have the power to take on a Gym Leader yet, but I've been wrong before." He grimaced, reflecting on the duo of Jessie and James. "However, don't expect to stay out of their sights forever. The Gym Leaders won't be pushovers either.
"Rock, Water, Electric, Grass, Poison, Psychic, Fire, and Ground. Those are the types that the current Gym Leaders of Kanto use. It's basic knowledge, but the old Poison user Koga has been implemented into the Elite Four, with his daughter... his weaker daughter... Janine taking his place. The Rock-type user, Brock, has recently ended his travels with Red, and is back in Pewter City. Don't underestimate him, as his strength could be on par with some of our own Executives. The Water-type user Misty has returned awhile ago and resides in Cerulean City... one of the areas that we'd like back.
The rest of the leaders, besides Blain and Gary, should be where they normally are. Blaine has returned to the restored Cinnabar Island, so don't go off of the rumors that he's in some cave in the Seafoams by us. Gary... well... he'll be very difficult to deal with. Just hope you don't encounter him too quickly." Giovanni explained. He paused for a second, letting the information soak. "Did you get all of that?"
Logan scratched the back of his neck. "I think sir..."
"It doesn't matter, Gabriel knows all of this." One of the people sitting by the table said irately.
"That brings me to my next bit. Logan, meet your team members." Giovanni announced, pointing towards a door that just opened.
This was a bit too much, even for Logan. He had always worked alone, and had gotten results just fine. True, this mission was big... okay, this mission was way big, and he probably wouldn't be able to do it alone. Fine, so in this case he'd have some partners, but he already didn't get to choose who he wanted to be on his team. Then again, Logan was a loner, and therefore didn't know many people on a personal level.
A girl around the same age as Logan walked through, followed by an older, muscular man. The girl had long, pure-black hair that reached down to her waist and dark green eyes. She was pleasant to look at for Logan. She didn't quite seem to see that though, and merely walked over to Giovanni's left side.
The man was much more muscular in the room, but not to the extent where it made him stand out. He had electric green hair, but Logan couldn't see any of his face as it was covered by a pitch-black mask.
Giovanni held his hand up to the girl. "The girl's name is Lavender." He switched hands and held it to the man. "This man is your superior for the mission. You may call him Gabriel."
The three nodded at each other. "So, the mission for you three is simple. The first part, you must reinstate our presence in the Kanto region, so we may begin operations more freely. Lavender Town, Celadon City, Saffron City, and Cerulean City are the four primary targets we want. Mt. Moon isn't strictly necessary, but try to deter Trainers from approaching it." The three nodded again. "Good. You three are dismissed."
Logan, Lavender, and Gabriel left the conference room and back into the secluded hallways. Lavender was blushing for some odd reason or another, and Gabriel seemed busy fiddling with a hand-held device. Logan couldn't help but to cough and rub the back of his neck.
"You two should get acquainted. I have various things to attend to so we can hijack our way onto a ferry arriving at Vermilion City amongst other things." Gabriel said before taking off.
The two young Rocket members stared after him in silence. Keeping to his old habits, Logan walked off as well, heading towards the usually empty cafeteria. After a few minutes of walking in various, and seemingly random directions, Logan noticed that Lavender was following him around. Silently ignoring it for now, he entered the barren room to receive a couple nods from the cooks that used this cafeteria as a break room.
Logan briefly spun around to look at his follower, who flinched. Just as quickly, Logan turned back around and sat in his usual booth by the windows. Lavender followed still, murmured something to him. Logan cupped his ear, and Lavender repeated what she asked.
"May I sit here?" was her feeble question.
Logan shrugged. "I don't care." he replied.
The two sat in silence. "So, what's your team?" Logan finally asked. Lavender looked surprised or confused, so Logan asked again. "What Pokémon do you use?"
"Oh... my Chikorita and my Spinarak." she murmured. Logan groaned.
"That's all? We'll have to work on something to up your team. Hmm... Maybe while we're at Vermilion City, we can take a couple of Pokémon." Logan offered casually. "I mean, my team should be able to take on the average guy no problem." he boasted.
"Who do you have with you?" Lavender asked.
"Oh. I have a Pidgeotto, Nidorino, and my Misdreavus. Show yourself Misdreavus." Logan commanded, and to his order, his Misdreavus appeared out of his shadow.
Lavender stared at Misdreavus for a couple of seconds in awe of Logan's complete mastery of it. "Chikorita never obeys what I want it to do like that."
Logan looked up interested. "Oh? Well, you don't exactly have an authoritative air around you..." he paused. "If we're going to be taking Kanto, then we'll have to work on that. I have an idea, follow me." Logan said, standing up.
Lavender followed suit and the two walked wound back up in the maze of corridors. Along the way, Lavender could see Logan's Misdreavus weaving in and out of his shadow, keeping an eye on her. Eventually, she realized where they were going. Their destination was the sparring rings which grunts were allowed to use to get used to several situations involving police or other interfering parties. It was also sometimes used by grunts to settle disputes, or to simply train. One more use was when grunts were selected to become Executives they underwent a test of skills in battle.
"I can't go to the sparring zone!" Lavender fretted.
Logan sighed. "It'll be fine; no one'll notice a couple of more people joining in."
Lavender still clutched the edge of Logan's cloak. "But..."
Logan finally turned around and faced Lavender. "Look, Lavender, you're going to have to put some faith in me if we're going to get anywhere." he scolded. He grimaced inwardly that he'd have to deal with her for next few weeks. Hopefully she'd improve.
"F-fine." She answered. Surprisingly, she appeared to be willing to change her... shyness? Logan wasn't quite certain what it was that appeared to be her problem, but if she got over it, the less grief on his travels he'd have.
The sparring rings were completely underground the plain of the sandy surface under the ocean. Artificial lights lit the entire arena, giving the room large shadowy areas which spread across the ring like falling water. Lavender and Logan took their sides in the ring, both preparing their Pokémon for battle.
"Come on Chikorita... let's do our best!" Lavender murmured to a green Pokeball with a darker green leaf on the top. Lavender threw the ball, watching as it opened releasing a familiar burst of red energy which released her Chikorita. It whipped her leaf around defiantly and faced Logan.
"Very well... Misdreavus, you're up first." He raised his arm out and Misdreavus jumped out of his shadow and floated to the center of the arena.
The two sides stared each other down before Logan raised his arm. "Chikorita versus Misdreavus. Begin."
Lavender cocked her head. "What are you doing?"
"I'm also refereeing this match. Now, are you going to focus or what?" he paused. "Misdreavus, use Shadow Ball." he ordered. Misdreavus created the ball of energy which slammed its way down onto its target.
"Leaf Storm, now! Use it to dodge the attack!" Lavender called out. Chikorita hesitated a second before sending the whirlwind leaves to rob the homing attack of its sight. Logan noted the hesitation in Chikorita but continued.
"Dark Pulse! Use it at ground level!" Logan commanded. Misdreavus did as such, leaving only one option to dodge left for his opponent.
"Jump in the air, then use Leaf Storm again!" Lavender yelled. Chikorita was already in the air, but she changed her mind on the attack and decided to go with her Trainer's decision. She sent an explosion of leaves all over the arena.
"Quickly, into the shadows!" Misdreavus flew back into one of the darkest corners of the ring and jumped into the darkness. The flurry of leaves died down, leaving Chikorita the only Pokémon on the field. Chikorita glanced left and right for Misdreavus but couldn't find him. "Arial Ace! From the shadows!"
Misdreavus extended his shadow as a small blot traveling across the ground. Suddenly, in a burst of black, Misdreavus shot through Chikorita, leaving black energy and feathers behind. Chikorita was beyond stunned from the impact, and fell to the ground completely out of her wits. "Round to Misdreavus." Logan announced.
Lavender quickly returned Chikorita to her Pokeball and cycled her other Pokémon out- her Spinarak. Logan returned Misdreavus to a special black Pokeball as well, and sent out his Nidorino. Logan's Nidorino stamped the ground and scrapped dirt up as if to charge the tiny bug Pokémon, but waited on Logan for any decision.
Lavender took the lead in the fight by already issuing orders. "Spinarak, Shadow Sneak!" Spinarak ignored her orders completely, contemplating on Nidorino. Instead, Spinarak jumped into the air by nearly invisible threads with her front legs glowing purple, the sign of Poison Jab.
It's clear that her Pokémon were against her orders. It was inevitable that Logan would have to set her two Pokémon out straight.
Nidorino took the hit with relative ease, and stared down at the tiny insect when the Spinarak when she realized her mistake. Nidorino still, however, didn't move just to spite her. "Ice Beam, Nidorino." Nidorino opened his mouth, charging the icy cold beam. Spinarak was flash frozen by the attack and the victor was clear.
"Looks like I win this round." Logan stated simply. "Your Pokémon second-guess you, and your effectiveness is reduced. Send Chikorita out." He demanded. Lavender complied. Chikorita once again saw the arena. Logan squatted to Chikorita's eye level. "Listen you…" Logan growled, a fiercely cold aura growing around him. "Your Trainer Lavender and I are going to be buddies for a while now, and we can't afford to have disobedience. You get a feel for what I'm saying here?" he asked. Chikorita shuddered but nodded. In an instant, Logan's aura changed back to normal. "Good. Now, we won't have any more insubordinance, will we?"
Lavender recalled Chikorita back to her ball. "I don't believe it… She's actually listening to someone…" she said in amazement.
"It's not really all that hard to do. Some Pokémon need to be roughed up a little to respect you, or they want shows of strength." Logan smirked, knowing that his longer expertise accounted for something. "And now your Spinarak..." He mumbled, approaching the small block of ice. "Nidorino, smash her free, would ya?"
Nidorino complied, smashing open the icey trap. Spinarak was still somewhat dazed, so Logan took his time to squat down and stare at the spider Pokemon. When it registered the Rocket member, it shuddered and returned its gaze. "Now, the same applies to you as it does with Chikorita. You'll be following Lavender's orders... Or you'll get to deal with me." He smiled darkly. Like before, the aura around Logan returned to normal as his onlookers looked at him in disbelief.
Lavender appeared to almost say something before a small communicator badge went off in Logan's pocket. He took it out, and it flipped open His eyes scanned over a message on it, then looked at Lavender. "I guess that match took more time than I thought it would take. Come on, at least we got one thing settled before the S.S. Anne came within range." He motioned for Lavender to follow, and the two made to reunite with their commander Gabriel.
The elevator clanked to a stop and opened its doors to a small gathering of Rocket operatives huddled together next to a small boat with a large red 'R' emblazoned on it. Gabriel stuck out poorly in his white uniform, but nevertheless he still had quite the intimidating aura. The two grunts walked up behind the executive, and several other workers backed off as the three stepped onto the motorboat.
"You two ready? We hit Vermillion, and I have some business to attend to first. The Pokemon Fanclub used to have a secret entrance that was never revealed when it changed hands into what it is now. There's a cache with several things we can use if we're to take back Kanto."
"Then are we free to do as we want when we arrive?" Logan asked.
"Just don't go making a big ruckus when we're there." He ordered. He motioned to a couple other grunts, who started up the boat, then pulled on a lever which freed it from all but a couple clamps. "To get to Vermillion, we're going to stow away on the S.S. Anne with the help of this little motorboat. I'll cut the engines when we're within range, and we'll swim to it from there." On cue, a couple grunts nodded to Logan and Lavender as they pulled out three scuba suits from a box. "Any questions?"
The two shook their heads as they were outfitted in the suits, and when that was done, another lever was pulled and the motorboat drifted out of the cove. Gabriel started the engine on the boat, and within seconds the three were rocketing towards a ship in the far distance.
When the group of three had approached the boat, Gabriel pressed a few buttons on the boat's dashboard, causing the engine to cut off. He motioned for the other two to follow him as he stepped off the side of the small boat. However, before Logan stepped off as well, Gabriel surfaced and grabbed the side of the boat.
"Set it on autopilot back to the Headquarters. We can't have anyone knowing that Team Rocket's moving again. See that green button? It'll give control of the boat back to the base, so just press it, and follow us." He said before adjusting his suit's mask back on his face.
Logan did as he was told, and the boat spun around and took off back where they had just came from as soon as he stepped off and was submerged in the cool waters. Underwater, the hazy blue shapes of Logan's companions swam towards the approaching S.S. Anne, which still had several minutes until they'd be able to grab on to it.
A communicator that was embedded in the suit went off, and Gabriel's voice sounded to the grunt. "Alright, this part's going to be a bit difficult... We'll need to get inside the boat without alerting anyone. There's an emergencey hatch on the left side of the Anne, which we'll climb up to when it passes. When it does, both of you grab on to me when it comes around... We'll need a bit of help, so we'll use my Poliwrath to help out." He said, struggling to pull out a pokeball from his belt. He spun the ball in the water, and in a flash of red, a large Poliwrath waded underwater next to it's trainer.
Logan swam on Gabriel's free side. "How will we get up to the escape hatch though? Wont it be rather high compared to the water level?" He asked. He could see that the S.S. Anne was quickly approaching now, and the time for action would be in a mere moments.
"Poliwrath, do your thing. Him first, than the girl." Gabriel ordered.
Poliwrath nodded, and grasped Logan tightly with one arm, and shot down into the darker waters, with Logan yelling in surprise. The S.S. Anne was now but mere meters away from the two Rockets, when the Poliwrath returned at full speed hurtling towards the surface. However, just as soon as he appeared, the Poliwrath released Logan, causing the momentum to send Logan bursting out of the water into the air. Logan blinked a couple times, but soon found a railing at the arc of his jump and grasped it as hard as he could, letting his feet rest on the side of the giant cruise liner.
"Gabriel! I..." Logan roared, then stopped, realizing that he wasn't really thinking about anything to complain about. In a few more seconds, he found that Lavender was shot out of the water as well, and he reacted on impulse to catch his new flying teammate. He swung Lavender to the railing on the other side of the doorway, and the two glanced at each other before Gabriel himself shot into the air, his arms as crossed as possible for flying in the air. At the last few seconds, he unfolded his arms and grasped onto Lavender's and Logan's hands as his feet landed on the small platform the door rested on.
"That'll be all for now." He said to his Poliwhirl, who returned to its Pokeball as soon as Gabriel held it out.
"How do we get in from here? Wouldn't the doors be locked?" Lavender asked. Gabriel looked at her.
"How new of a recruit are you, girl?" Gabriel asked. He rolled his eyes, and took out a small, pin-like metal pick and jammed it into the door's lock. It sparked, but the door opened inwardly, allowing the three to walk in with ease. "Any Team Rocket operative can open any door, any time. To us, there are no locked doors, there's only the open world. Remember that, Lavender."
Lavender nodded as the two others walked inside, careful to avoid any of the passengers. Fortunately, is was evening and quickly approaching dusk, and the majority of the passengers would be on the deck, waiting for fireworks to be shot off.
The cruise liner was huge, and finding empty rooms to pilfer cloths from was exceptionally easy, but finding an unused room turned out to be difficult, but in the end the group found a single, small bedroom, that the three could just barely get comfortable in. It was probably meant for only one person, but it served it's purpose long enough for the three to get changed, with Lavender getting the room to herself for several minutes, but now the three were dressed in regular clothes with their Rocket uniforms hidden underneath it.
On the deck, the fireworks had begun to burst overhead the passengers of the S.S. Anne as the stowaways on board took refuge until the cruise liner reached its home destination at Vermillion. Team Rocket's plans were about to be set in action in a region far from where Red could intervene. However, other forces in the Pokemon world are present, but do they know of Team Rocket's intentions?