Ok, this is a story about everyone's (ok, maybe not everyone's, but mine, so too bad) favorite human bad guy. And maybe why he's almost always in the shadows of his organization.
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As the team of failures stood there, begging for another chance, a man sat in the shadows, barely listening to the failures' cries for mercy. It was true that they were failures, but that was their purpose. He was amazed that they actually thought that he would want some Pikachu with a little extra abilities. He would never tell them the true reason he had sent them to follow that particular trainer, Ash Ketchem. That name brought back memories that he had long forgotten; not to protect himself from pain, he could take that, but to protect his family. He had powerful enemies; and he did not want them to try anything with his wife, or his son.
"I'm tired of listening to your excuses," he said. "Just get out there and bring me rare Pokémon." The team of three looked almost like they were going to cry. They couldn't believe that they were getting out of this. He just wanted them out of his sight. He was amazed at their constant failures; they didn't seem to be able to do anything right. Strange that they were doing so well at their true mission.
---------------------------------After the trio left, he went into his back room; the room he only entered when he was feeling depressed.
He looked around in the room; the walls were covered in pictures from the days when he was a young trainer. Though he had been raised in Team Rocket, he had still wanted to be a legitimate trainer when he was young. He had been traveling for two years when he finally got enough badges to enter the League. He had done fairly well, beating many return trainers with more experience than him, but he had still lost earlier than many, and only made it to 25th place. That had almost broken his heart, for he thought that if he could make it as a trainer, he would be able to make lots of money without the risk involved with TR; but he had managed to fail anyway. He had decided to go back home and get to know the people he would one day be leading.
He looked at one picture; it was him when he was 11 years old. He lightly laughed at the picture. He was wearing the most ridiculous training clothes: A worn out pair of jeans and a stupid looking maroon shirt that was covered by a thin, blue vest that really wasn't a vest, but some type of material that made it thin as a shirt, but not a shirt at the same time. His hair had been slightly spiky when he was young. His hair had been getting in his eyes for a long time, but he thought that the look itself was cool; so he had suffered through it. But when he returned, such a hair style was not acceptable, so he had it cut and started putting gel in it so it would stay out of his eyes forever.
He had kept the maroon shade in his clothes, though now he wore clothes more befitting of the leader of Team Rocket. He also later decided that he may not have been able to become the greatest trainer in the world, but he could be a Gym Leader, so he had arranged for the Viridian Gym to come under the control of Team Rocket, in secret of course.
---------------------------------He then looked at another picture. This one was from when he was much older. He had been leading TR for some time now, and he had just found a dream that he never knew could exist. He had met her on one of his missions, one that was so important that he had gone along with his troops. She had gotten away from the first attack, and had been wandering through the forest when they found her. He had brought her back to the HQ to find out how much she knew, but he had become fixated on her somewhere along the way. He had found out her name from a computer database: Rebecca Robinson. He thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He later had her released and asked her out. She had said yes, but he wondered if she wanted to, or if she was just afraid of him. After a year of dating her off and on, he had fallen even more in love with her; but he knew that she would never want to marry the leader of Team Rocket, but she was also very understanding. He decided that she was worth taking a permanent vacation from TR for. He left TR under the control of some of his best members, and asked her to marry him. He was almost shocked when she said yes; having already assured her that he did not have control of Team Rocket anymore.
A few weeks later, they had gotten married. He could remember the best part of the preacher's words like they had just happened. "Do you, Rebecca Robinson, take Giovanni Ketchem to be your lawfully wedded husband?" "I do," she said in a voice that made Gio's heart melt. He had never been so happy, so happy that he almost fainted right there on the spot.
Those had been some of the best years of his life. They had moved to the small Pallet Town, and had built a house with his legitimate earnings as a Gym leader. They lived the simple life, earning just enough money to survive, with a little extra for a rainy day. He had always enjoyed such a life, but there was also something missing. He never actually got tired of the life, it was just that he wanted to go back. He was going to go back for a while when Rebecca told him that she was pregnant, and that they were going to have a child. He was more shocked now than when she had said she would marry him. He had to stay now, and he put the want to return away. He was many things, but he was not the kind of person that would abandon her.
Nine months later, Rebecca had a son, and Gio was thrilled. He had never actually wanted children, but he now was glad that this had happened. They named him, 'Ash', after his great grandfather, Gio's grandfather. It was part honor, and partly because he really liked the name. And so, he had stayed and helped raise his son, and was happy for the first five years, but that feeling that he was missing something returned. He became very depressed, and Rebecca saw it. She was very understanding, and told him to go back. He had not wanted to leave her alone, but she had assured him that she could take care of herself and their son. The hardest part for him was that he could not ever directly see her again, unless he left Team Rocket. He left that day happy and sad. Though he was returning to what he did best, he was also leaving the person he cared about most. He still wondered how a person could be so understanding; and wondered even more why he was leaving. He knew he would figure out some way to talk to her, he had to; and with TR's connections, he could. The only thing he took with him was a picture of himself, Rebecca, and Ash. His son looked very happy in that picture. His black hair was in front of his eyes, just like his own had been when he was young. He wondered what the future held, and if he would ever be able to give his family the life he wanted for them.
---------------------------------He had returned, and TR was more than happy to have him back. He looked around at his organization, and he was disgusted. Even though his best people did all the could, they lacked the leadership skills that were needed to run such an organization. And so, 'The Boss' took his place at the head of Team Rocket again, but he would never forget those years he had spent living the simple life, and he would never forget his family.
---------------------------------It had been five years since he had returned, and TR was doing great. People were afraid of them again, and he was happy. Well, mostly. He had figured out how to keep in touch with his family, but he was still sad. He wanted her and his son to come and be with him during these times, but he knew that she would not want to. So he let them stay there in that little town, knowing that someday he would go back to them. How surprised he was when his plans to steal all the Pokémon from the trainers on the St. Anne was foiled mainly by a young trainer that looked just like he had when he was young. He asked a team of TR members that had been recruited while he was gone, Jessie and James, he recalled, if they knew who that was. They did not know his name, but confirmed that he was the one that was training the Pikachu they were after. He was more interested in the trainer himself. If that was his son, why didn't he know he had started training Pokémon? He would find out. It was probably true. Rebecca probably just didn't tell him that his son was now a Pokémon trainer, wanting it to be a surprise for him when his own son came to claim the Earth Badge.
---------------------------------He later confirmed through his connections in the League that it was Ash Ketchem, his son, and he assigned his trio of failures to catch that Pikachu that he was training. It would provide a distraction for the trio, to keep them from messing up something important, and it would give his son a little extra training on the side.
---------------------------------Ash had received all eight badges, even his own, within this region of the League, and he was a little glad that the emergency that called him away from the Gym just before Ash had arrived had happened. He didn't want to face his son in a battle yet. It was funny that the only people around who could replace him as temporary Gym leaders were those trio of losers. He knew that if they at least had some real Pokémon, they would be able to give his son a good fight. He was not really surprised when they lost, though he was angry that they managed to destroy the Gym in the process of proving that they were failures.
---------------------------------Ash later had gone into the League, and managed to put him to shame. He thought that his son would finish high, but in the top 16, that was something he had not expected. Truly a 'Chip of the old block'.
---------------------------------And so there he was, standing in his room of solitude, thinking of where his organization was going, and if he would ever see his son in person again. He sighed, and figured that all would happen as it should, he knew that one day, he would meet his son again, and that it was time to continue on with what he did best. To lead others, from within the shadows of life. He walked out of that room, and went to where there was a new trainer waiting to be defeated. He laughed at the trainer's over-confidence. He would show this one that not all battles can be won.
And once again, he sat in the shadows.
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Well, what do you think? I got the inspiration for this one when I was on a message board and I was talking about Mewtwo and Giovanni. I've always been a fan of the 'Giovanni is Ash's father' theory. I personally think that it would make sense.
Anyway, this one comes from the fact that I've never heard anything about Ash's father, other than he's a great trainer. No one in the show even says if he is alive or not, thus opening the door for theories like this one.
I know there are people out there that think that Ash could never be the son of the great Giovanni, and I just happen to disagree.
This is not the real name of Ash's mom, either. I needed to say a actual name for her, because calling her 'Mrs. Ketchum' would be stupid. Anyway, you can now forget the name, it was just for my own purposes. Oh, and thanks to Nekonezume for helping me come up with a last name for her. You saved this fic from collecting dust for the rest of eternity. :)
Oh, and just why doesn't Ash ever talk about his father? He has to remember something, so what's the scoop? Maybe Ash knows more about his father than he lets on. ;)