I found myself pulling my body closer to the potted plant with a grunt as the voices in the next room grew louder, the older voice ringing out with a noticeable panic. No one realized I was here, hiding behind the plant next to the door with a frown as I eavesdropped on the two men in the Director's room. One of the voices was firm and determined, trying to convince the Director to align with Team Rocket. The other voice, being much older and prone to quivering, belonged to the elderly Director of Silph Co., held against his will until he reached the terms the younger man desired.
When will they finish? I resisted the urge to peek around the corner just in case the familiar voice recognized me. I wasn't supposed to be here in Silph Co., listening in on this forced meeting. I should be at home with our servants and reading about Pokémon or something else that young children enjoyed. That didn't matter though.
All I wanted to do was see what the big deal was about this building.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of hurried footsteps racing towards the door. I peered around the potted plant to find a girl racing towards the grunt guarding the entrance to the Director's Room. The grunt let out a yell and instantly tossed his Cubone out into battle.
The girl didn't say a word, she simply tossed a Pokéball of her own into the fray and released a Poliwhirl to challenge the Ground Type Pokémon.
She raised a single finger and pointed to the Cubone before slashing the air beside her, striking her arm down and smirking. The Poliwhirl nodded before jumping up in the air and blasting his foe with a Water Gun.
The Cubone took a direct hit before glaring at his opponent, the grunt being too stupid to actually attack the Pokémon after taking a super-effective hit. The girl simply shook her head, allowing her long brunette locks to swirl in the air before resting back in place around her shoulders. She then slammed her right foot on the ground before pointing back at the Cubone.
The Poliwhirl then launched himself at the Ground Type with a Body Slam attack. The Cubone made no efforts to dodge the attack and was instantly defeated by the hit. The grunt simply took a sharp breath through his teeth before pulling out the Pokéball of his next Pokémon.
"Who are you?!" The girl didn't respond. She simply smirked and lifted her shoulders up as if she was laughing. The Pokéball burst open to reveal another Cubone, the poor Pokémon most likely about to face the same fate as his predecessor.
The strange girl wasted no time in repeating the same gesture she made the first time, and her Poliwhirl instantly blasted the Cubone with another Water Gun.
The Cubone let out a squeak of pain before hitting the Tadpole Pokémon with a Bonemerang attack. The girl winced slightly as her Pokémon was pushed back a few feet. She then slashed the air once again, somehow commanding her Pokémon without speaking a word. The Poliwhirl released another Water Gun, the move bringing the second Cubone into submission.
"You little rat!" The grunt screamed at the girl, and the room beside me fell silent in mid-sentance. The sound of a single footstep rang out as the voice trying to convince the Director seemed to move a short distance. The grunt outside then hurled his last Pokéball into battle, releasing a Marowak.
The girl frowned as she slashed the air once again. The Poliwhirl charged back into battle with a Water Gun, the attack hitting the Marowak straight in the face. The Bone Keeper Pokémon growled before launching a Bonemerang attack at the Tadpole Pokémon. The girl winced again, shutting one eye as if she was in pain instead of her Pokémon. The Poliwhirl was hurled to his Trainer's feet with a weak ribbit, the Pokémon feeling the drain of taking on three opponents by himself.
The girl suddenly leaned down and cocked her head at her Poliwhirl as the creature rose to his feet. The Poliwhirl looked over his shoulder and gave a gurgle, making the girl nod and rise to her feet. She then unclipped a Pokéball from a small belt on her waist before recalling her Pokémon.
But why? I found my mind suddenly questioning this call, even though I had been so fixated on the battle that I hardly had a chance to listen to the conversation inside. The Pokémon could still battle. It didn't faint. So, why is she switching from a type advantage? This behavior was very strange. I thought you only switched Pokémon when they fainted.
She then hurled a different Pokéball into the fray and released a familiar Pokémon into battle. A limber form landed on all fours before giving the Marowak a sickening grin.
Persian. The favorite Pokémon of my father stood at this girl's side, ready for battle. I raised an eyebrow before narrowing my eyes with thought. Persian's a Normal Type. Marowak is a Ground Type Pokémon. So, why wouldn't she stick with her type advantage?
The girl then flicked her wrist before pointing to her opponent. The Persian let out a growl before launching a Pay Day attack at the Marowak. The Bone Keeper Pokémon let out a weak roar before kneeling on the ground, feeling the energy leaving his body quicker than before.
The grunt once again ordered a Bonemerang attack and the creature listened with a moment of reluctance. The Persian took the hit with a yowl before bending over and snarling, enraged by the attack. The girl then turned in a circle before pointing to the Marowak again, the strange movement somehow ordering her Pokémon. The Persian suddenly disappeared before suddenly popping up behind the Marowak and slamming into the unaware Pokemon's back. Ah, Faint Attack.
The Marowak fell to the floor as the girl whitsled to bring the Classy Cat Pokémon to her side. The yellow Pokémon listened without a second of hesitation and smirked as he sat at her feet.
"Ugh, you pest!" The grunt recalled his fallen Pokémon with a yell as she just stood there patiently. The grunt then threw some money at their feet before running away with a scowl. "My boss will deal with you!"
The girl watched silently as he ran off towards the warp panel. Once the coward warped away, she then looked down to her Persian with a smile.
"Good job, Alonso." My eyes grew wide as she finally spoke with a quiet voice, petting her Pokémon behind the ears. The Classy Cat Pokémon purred and rubbed his face on her legwarmers. She then gently scooped up the money with nimble fingers, pocketing her winnings. I watched in awe as she pulled out all of her Pokemon's Pokéballs and tossed them into the air.
A Charizard, Poliwhirl, Pikachu, Pidgeot and Nidorina appeared before her with smiles on their faces, waiting for their orders. I slowly crawled out from behind the plant halfway for a better look, forgetting the fact that I was supposed to be hiding.
"Good job, gang." She gave them a nod before swinging her bag from over her shoulder towards her chest, allowing her to reach inside the bag with a smile.
"Ignis," She suddenly called out as she pulled something out of the pale yellow bag. I raised an eyebrow as the Charizard suddenly walked forward and grinned. I then recalled how some Trainers preferred to name their Pokémon. How weird. She must have named them. She then tossed the object in her hand with a smile and the Charizard caught it without a single sound.
My eyes focused on the object to find only a can of Lemonaid. I cocked my head as I stayed slightly hidden by the plant, resting on my hands and knees as she pulled out another can of the drink.
She called out more names as she hurled the drinks to her team. Poli the Poliwhirl, Chu the Pikachu, Alonso the Persian, Quinn the Pidgeot and Nee Nee the Nidorina. I frowned as she then pulled out a Fresh Water and took a quick drink herself. It was then that I realized what she was doing here.
She was here to rescue the Director.
The girl waited for all of her Pokémon to heal up before recalling them all into them back into their Pokéballs, then took a moment to rearrange her team into her desired line-up. I watched as she then turned towards the way to the Director's Office and froze.
I flinched as I realized that she had spotted me.
I scurried to hide in the potted plants with a squeak, the girl suddenly dashing towards me. I burrowed my way in between a potted tree and a corner, my heart pounding as the girl headed straight for me.
"Hey," Her voice called out to me as she got down on her hands and knees, staring at me with a smile. "Hey there, little guy." I gulped as she crawled a bit closer to me. "What are you doing in here?" I raised an eyebrow as I found her voice sounding as if she was worried about me.
I didn't respond. I just pushed myself further into the corner and whimpered. I didn't mean to sound like such a baby, but the situation honestly scared me a bit.
"Did you get trapped here when Team Rocket captured the tower?" She then sat down across from me with a caring smile, further confusing me. Why is she talking to me? She doesn't know me. What does she care that I'm here?
"..." I found myself opening my mouth and trying to give her an answer. "I'm here with my dad." I found the explanation coming out in a quiet whisper as her eyes widened for a split second before returning to a normal width.
"It's alright, little guy." She reached out her right hand, trying to get me to come out of this secure spot. "I'm going to get you all out of here. Just hold on, alright?"
I don't really know why, but I nodded at her coos. She then smiled once again before checking over her shoulder for a heartbeat before looking back at me again. "Where is your dad? I'll be sure to get him out of here, not to worry."
I waited for a moment before patting the wall that divided the hallway from the office. She watched me for a moment before nodding in understanding.
"I got it." She then stood up with a determined smile and motioned for me to come out from the corner. I thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out whether I really wanted to trust this strange girl and come out.
I decided to risk it.
I slowly crawled out from the plants and stood up, making me realize just how small I was when I found myself only coming up to her waist.
"It's alright." She gave my head a gentle pat before taking a step towards the office's doors. "I'm going to fight Team Rocket's Boss and save your father, little guy. You go ahead and get out of here." She pointed towards the hallway she entered from. "Just take the warp panel right at the end of the hall and then head towards the next warp panel. You should end up on the third floor. Then, all you need to do is take the stairs and head to the exit. A friend of mine is helping everyone out down there."
She paused for a moment before reaching a hand up to her white hat and acting as if she was pulling on some spikes of hair. "He's got brown hair that looks like a Sandslash's back, a black shirt on and a white fanny pack on his waist, you can't miss him. He'll get you out of here, little guy."
I gave her a nod, even though I had no intentions of following her directions. She then gave me a nod in return and headed inside of the office. I slowly walked towards the door and watched her walk towards a tall man in a black suit, while the Director cowered on his couch and his assistant trembled.
"Ah, Leaf." The man turned towards towards the girl with a scary smile, a hand slowly reaching up to adjust his suit collar. "So, we meet again."
"Giovanni! Release the Director!" The girl quickly pulled out the head Pokéball and fell into a battle stance, ready to face the man that had taken over Silph Tower. No, I couldn't leave now.
I had to watch this girl face my father.
Author's Note: Hey there! I was inspired to write a little something for the storyline of LeafGreen after beating Silph Co's Tower in my recent playthrough of LeafGreen—which I did name myself Leaf this time around.
You see, I have a headcanon that Silver is actually present for every Giovanni encounter in those games, hiding and watching Leaf/Red face his father, which explains how Silver would know his father lost to Red in HG and SS's flashback/Celebi event. Silver's always hiding behind something, the couch in the base, behind the plants as seen here or behind a statue in Giovanni's Gym. Another headcanon I have is that Leaf would try to befriend Silver, but he would run away or remain pretty silent. (I think I enjoy the idea because I see Silver and Blue as a brother/sister relationship in the manga)
Anyway, headcanons aside, I hope you enjoyed this! (Oh, yeah. That's my team in LeafGreen, nicknames and all. If you happen to be familiar with my Rocket!AU "The Pains of Being in Charge", you have every right to have a mini-freak out about Alonso here. :D)