Chapter One: The King's Plan
The Great King of Evil sat on his throne atop his tower, watching his nemesis' journey in a scrying glass. The king suddenly threw the glass across the room in rage and slumped back into his seat. His head lay in his hands as he tried to control his fury.
"The so-called 'hero' is almost here! It doesn't matter what I put in his way, he always overcomes it. And now he's practically at my doorstep and I still don't have the relics of legend!"
There was a knock at the door and a heavily tattooed moblin sheepishly slunk into the throne room, a black box nestled tightly under his arm. Ganondorf stood and regarded the nameless minion with a stormy expression. The moblin knelt before his king and held the box above his head. Ganondorf opened the box and beheld the orbs of power. Three balls sat in a row on the black velvet cushion. The dark king chuckled to himself, "At last, with these orbs in my possession, victory is assured. Hyrule is mine for the clenching!" At the word "clenching" the moblin looked up apprehensively with a confused look in his eyes. "You heard me," the king said as he turned around and swept his cape aside, revealing his magnificently clenched buttocks. The moblin quickly averted his gaze; to stare at the mightiest ass in Hyrule could drive any beast mad.
The moblin spoke up. His voice was weak and shaky from fear. "But Sire, the legends state that whoever uses the orbs will… uh…" The moblin struggled to remember the correct word.
"Vanish?" Ganondorf supplied the minion with the word. The moblin nodded his head, sending beads of nervous sweat flying across the room. Ganondorf took the box from the moblin and kicked him in the face. "Fool!" The king bellowed, "I am the mightiest being in the land, I hold the triforce of power! I have seen the bowels of Hell time and again and not once have I lost even an ounce of resolve. I am the king of all evil, what about these tiny spheres could give me any cause for fear?"
The moblin whimpered and groveled before the wrath of his king, "Forgive me, Sire. I will never again question your might. Not that that was my intention, of course. I simply meant-"Ganondorf kicked the minion in the face again. He then grabbed the unconscious moblin by the throat and dragged him to the door. The villainous king threw the door open only to come face to face with the hero of Hyrule, himself.
"Ah, Link. Come in, come in. I just have to deal with this annoyance before I deal with you." Link, looking rather befuddled, stepped past his enemy and into his enemy's throne room. Once Link was out of his way, Ganondorf proceeded to throw his limp minion down the twenty story staircase. He then turned to the little green thorn in his side and his face contorted into a foul sneer. "So, Link, here we are again. You, with your sword and bombs and whatever other deadly weapons your irresponsible mother lets her son play with, and me, with three little balls. Hardly seems fair, doesn't it? That you should come so unprepared, so clueless as to what I hold before you." Before Link could even raise his weapons the first orb, a simple little thing that was red on one side and white on the other, was flying through the air.
The ball hit him square in the chest and opened immediately. The hero was converted into red light and sucked into the orb of power. The ball bounced to the floor and rattled around a bit as Link struggled against his prison. But it soon became still with a simple and dull "Bing."
Ganondorf walked over to the orb and picked it up. He inspected it closely and could faintly see a miniature Link pounding on the inside of the orb. The king laughed at his new prisoner, "You might as well give up now, Link. You have no hope of escape, you are mine forever!"
The dark lord was barely finished gloating when his body was engulfed in light. Ghostly red flames danced across the right side of his body and a soft blue light flowed across his left half like water. Where the two auras met a void started to open and swallow the king. It was all over so quickly that he didn't even have time to react.
Chapter Two: Unleashing The Beasts
When Ganondorf awoke he was lying in a field on the edge of a strange city. The building rose higher than some castles and everything was so devoid of muck that it physically hurt him. As he walked the streets everyone gave him a wide berth. Clearly they recognized the lord of darkness when they saw him. Shortly, he came across a small but impressive building that gave off a mild sense of foreboding. Ganondorf figured that this would be the best place for someone like him to get some answers.
The doors swung open as he approached them and a commanding voice echoed in the darkness beyond. "Welcome, challenger, to the most trying and painful battle of your career!" Ganondorf stepped over the threshold and the doors slammed behind him, a heavy clunk announced that they were immediately locked. The dark lord's triforce of power began to glow a dull red, but it was unable to cut through the inky blackness. A bright light suddenly shone down on the center of the room, revealing some sort of battle arena. The ground was made of hardened soil with a rectangle painted on it. The rectangle was split into two halves and a circle was painted in the center. A smaller light turned on across from Ganondorf. A man in a black suit stepped forward followed by a large white cat. "I must say, you are certainly the most eccentric looking challenger I've had in a while. Let's test if you're as strong as you look."
"Who are you?" Ganondorf demanded, "What sort of man are you that you think you can defeat me? I am the mightiest being in all of Hyrule. Even the dead tremble at the name Ganondorf!"
The man looked a little taken aback. "Hyrule, hm? Never heard of it. As for my name, I am Giovanni, the Viridian City gym leader and the greatest criminal mastermind in all Kanto."
Ganondorf sneered. The way this small man brushed him off without a thought was unacceptable. He would learn to fear soon enough. Giovanni raised his and to reveal an orb of power and Ganondorf felt the colour drain from his face. It was impossible, there were only three orbs and they were all in his possession!
"Rhyhorn!" A flash of white light erupted from the sphere and a grey beast similar to a Helmasaur appeared on the battlefield. Ganondorf stared at it in dismay. How could this man, this Giovanni, have gotten an orb of power and then used it to seal a Helmasaur? "Well?" Giovanni's question snapped Ganondorf out of his stupor. "Are you going to send out your Pokémon or not? I can see the ball on your belt. Did you honestly think you could defeat me with only one Pokémon?" Ganondorf looked down at the ball on his belt. At the very least, it would be an interesting way to get of Link once and for all.
Ganondorf took the poke ball in his hand and tossed it into the ring. Another flash and Link appeared, looking very angry and confused. He looked around for a couple of seconds before his gaze fell on Ganondorf. A wicked grin spread across the king's face. "Hyah!" Link ran at his enemy, sword raised. Before he could reach him, however, lightning struck Link's sword and he fell to the ground. The 80,000 volt blast killed him instantly.
Giovanni looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "That… that was person. You just sent a person to be killed by my Rhyhorn. What sort of monster are you?"
Ganondorf grinned at the crime boss. "You have no idea." He let out a battle cry and charged at the Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn responded in kind and the two collided in the center of the ring. For a few seconds neither one budged an inch. Then the Rhyhorn started sliding backward. Ganondorf's triforce of power glowed as he took one step after another, pushing the ground type back by its, still sparking, horn. The Pokémon dug its heels into the ground in an attempt to stop the king in his tracks but Ganondorf just kept on coming. "This is the power of Ganondorf," he said through gritted teeth. "This is the power of The Great King of Evil. You will come to fear me as so many others have before you." With that, Ganondorf heaved the Rhyhorn over his head and threw it the rest of the way to Giovanni.
Giovanni stared at the rhinoceros Pokémon sprawled in front of him. "It doesn't matter. You don't have any Pokémon, you must forfeit. You've lost."
"What?!" Ganondorf roared, "Humour me then. Release another of your monsters. I will show you the power of a loser."
Giovanni looked at the king in dismay, but he produced another poke ball anyway. "Nidorino." A creature similar to the first appeared between the two men. It was smaller than the first and had bigger ears. Its body was purple and noticeably lacking in armour.
Ganondorf laughed, "This is it? Your first beast looked to be more of a threat." The Nidorino lunged at Ganondorf with unprecedented speed but was shot out of the air by a blast of dark magic. The Persian at Giovanni's side arched its back and hissed. Ganondorf glared at the cat and, without even looking at Giovanni, said "Next."
Giovanni leered at the strange man before him and decided that he would outmatch him at any cost. He produced two Ultra Balls and tossed them into the air. "Rhydon, Kangaskhan, finish this!"
The Pokémon, which looked almost like bipedal versions of the first two, appeared on either side of Ganondorf. "Well this just isn't fair. Here you have two huge monsters, and all I've got is one even bigger monster." And with that, Ganondorf fell to his knees and began to convulse. His form grew larger, more animalistic, his face distorted, his muscles bulged, and a trident appeared in a cloud of darkness. Giovanni's Persian ran off into the dark and his other two Pokémon started to back away. Giovanni's eyes got so large they seemed like they would pop out of his skull. Where the evil king Ganondorf once stood was now the dark beast Ganon.
Chapter Three: The Takeover
The monstrous boar-man loomed over Giovanni and his Pokémon. It let out a terrible roar and slashed at the Kangaskhan, ripping its chest open and sending it flying across the gym. He then turned to the Rhydon who was now standing in a rather warm mud puddle. Ganon swatted the Rhydon aside and approached Giovanni. The gym leader was glued to the spot with fear, and Ganon could smell it. He inhaled the smell of Giovanni's fear and, satisfied, returned to his human form.
"Now," growled Ganondorf, "do you fear me?" Giovanni could only nod. "Excellent." The evil king crossed his arms and smiled, clearly very content with himself.
After changing his pants, Giovanni showed Ganondorf around his hideout below the Viridian City gym. "And this is where I monitor all my employees," Giovanni announced as he led his guest into a room lined with television monitors. Every screen featured at least one man or woman dressed in black and sporting a big red "R" on their chest. Most of the Rocket employees were sitting in dimly lit rooms around map tables or sleeping behind a desk. The rest seemed to be either gambling or mugging children.
"It seems as if you have a very loose grip on your organization," remarked the king.
Giovanni sighed. "We've hit a few pint-sized snags lately and morale is at an all time low." He turned to Ganondorf and shrugged, "There isn't much I can do at this point. I've been publically disgraced and most of my employees are losing faith in Team Rocket. Even those who remain loyal to me are too busy with previous assignments to back me."
Ganondorf shoved the crime boss aside and sat in the only chair. He looked over the control panel in front of him. "Maybe they need a new leader, someone whom they will fear."
Giovanni was incredulous. "Are you seriously suggesting that you take over my company?" One look from the king was enough to silence any further protests.
"There must be some way to communicate with our underlings from here." Ganondorf started fumbling with the controls, turning monitors on and off at random.
"Here, let me." Giovanni leaned over the panel and prepared the microphone. He couldn't help but linger on the dark lord's use of the word "our". "Are you suggesting we go into business together? As partners?"
Ganondorf took the mic and grunted, "If that's what you want to call it." He then turned on the microphone and addressed every Rocket grunt and admin across Kanto. "Greetings, minions, this is your new leader speaking. Mr. Giovanni has been gracious enough to hand over a large portion of your organization so that I may set it back on the path to glory. Now, it has come to my attention that most of you are common thieves; you have little interest in anything outside of money and are too cowardly to use lethal force unless absolutely necessary. This has to stop. If I ever hear of any member of MY organization showing mercy to anyone who may stand in their way, you will die." The king paused to let his listeners think about this new rule. After a full minute, he continued, "Our first goal is to seize power from the ruler of this land. All Rocket employees are to come to the Viridian City Pokémon Gym in seven days' time for further briefing." Ganondorf turned off the microphone and looked at Giovanni. "I need some of these Pokémon."
Chapter Four: The Flames Of Jealousy
As the sun set over Pallet Town, Professor Oak sent his research assistants home and began locking down his lab. His evening routine was halted by a sudden beeping sound from the Pokémon transfer station. It appeared as if some anonymous trainer was sending him their Pokémon for safe-keeping. The professor thought this was quite unusual, but accepted the transfer anyway.
As the Professor turned to exit, the figure observing from the window was granted a brief view of his rear end. The dark king was appalled that this elderly man's butt could rival even his own. A rage of envy overtook Ganondorf and he punched his way through the wall without a second thought. He then stormed up to Professor Oak and grabbed the two poke balls out of his hands. "I'll take these," and with that he struck the Professor with a pulse of dark magic and sent him flying down the hallway.
A Team Rocket grunt slunk in through the hole in the wall and whistled in approval. "Excellent work, sir."
Ganondorf smiled and pressed the buttons on the front of the poke balls. A large bipedal boar with a mane of fire appeared to the king's left and some sort of winged scorpion appeared to his right. "Perfect. You two belong to me now," he barked at the confused Pokémon, "you will do exactly as I say when I say it. Understood?" The two Pokémon looked at each other and nodded to their new trainer.
Meanwhile, the grunt was perusing the shelves of poke balls in search of something a little more… "Rocket." When he had found what he was looking for he returned to Ganondorf's side. "Excuse me, sir, but I believe this may also serve you well." He stood at attention and pressed the button on the front of the poke ball. A shadowy creature with piercing eyes and a wicked grin materialized between the two men. The Gengar whizzed about the room, knocking things off shelves and making rude noises until the grunt recalled it.
Ganondorf took the poke ball and turned to leave. He beckoned for the Emboar to follow and whispered a command to his Gliscor. The scorpion-bat knocked the grunt unconscious and barricaded him and the Professor in a closet. Once it had rejoined the other two outside, Ganondorf and his Emboar exchanged a wicked look. "Burn it down."
Chapter Five: A New Rival
Several weeks later, Ganondorf sat in the Team Rocket control room below the Viridian City gym. He watched a large central screen, which displayed a live video feed of Tohjo Falls. The screen showed Giovanni standing at the top of the falls. He checked his watch reread the letter Ganondorf had sent him. The evil king smiled cruelly as two Rocket grunts crept out of the shadows and grabbed their former employer.
"What the- What do you think you're doing?" Demanded the crime boss. The grunts simply looked away as they shoved the man over the edge and into the turbulent waters below.
Ganondorf spoke to the grunts through his microphone. "Excellent work, you too. Now return to your posts and await further instruction."
"Sir." The grunts saluted and slunk back into the shadows. Ganondorf leaned back in his seat and tented his fingers. The new leader of Team Rocket couldn't have been more pleased with himself.
Ganondorf's reverie was interrupted by a bell indicating a challenger had arrived at the gym upstairs. Ganondorf entered the arena, only to come face to face with a giant turtle-like Pokemon. He looked past the beast at its trainer and was struck dumb. Before him stood a boy with pointed features and a Clefairy at his shoulder. His spiky hair was a shockingly familiar blonde and he wore a green jacket. The king, attempting to regain his composure, asked the boy his name. The boy gave his foe a confident smirk and replied, "Green."