AN: Well here is the second chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon or any of the characters from Pokemon. This is merely an expression of my imagination meant for the enjoyment of others and myself~
Chapter Two Foreshadowing
The sun rose over a spring time Viridian city, the green on the trees far from new. The people here were far more relaxed than those encountered in the larger city of Saffron, as they stroll along the tree lined roads going about their days and those with the free time spent it fishing at one the many small lakes that surround it. On this fair day a young boy of the age of eight is lying out next to a small pond, his eyes closed as the cool breeze lifts a lock of hair, causing the nearby playing Eevee to turn her head and come charging back into him. The boy woke with a huff as he felt the feet of the Eevee he had long had as his companion land on his chest.
"Five more minutes..." He moaned hoping he could go back to sleep. This was one of his rare days off, and he was going to spend it resting his poor overworked eight year old muscles.
It had been a year since he had been taken in by the man he now considers a father, Giovanni. He had been given a home and clothing. But most importantly he was given a purpose.
He raised himself off his back and sat crossed legged on the soft grass, Eevee curling up in his lap, he quietly watched the tadpole Pokemon play in the nearby pond, he could hear their splashing from where he sat. It was a quiet day, perfect for a day off, perfect for a normally energetic eight year old to get some rest.
Once they had arrived in Viridian city Giovanni had immediately put him to work, he was tutored by the greatest minds his master could hire, he was trained in hand to hand combat and finally was taught tactics and how to pokebattle. He didn't mind the work, for the first time in memory he had food when ever he needed it and was given it often to help him keep up with his training. He finally had clean cloths that fit and he had to admit he loved what he now wore. No longer would he be seen as a simple street rat but as a human being. Even if when people saw the giant R logo on his black shirt flinched slightly away in what appeared to be fear. Though others would showed him respect because of it, he had yet to fully understand the reasons behind the two different reactions.
Team Rocket. That was the name of the organization he was now apart of. He was a simple grunt, he only had two Pokemon to his name. A Eevee and a low level Ghastly. At the thought of his second Pokemon and friend his hand reached down to his belt where his only two pokeballs sat in their holsters. Eevee watched him as he took the ball that held his second Pokemon and began to toss it up into the air and catching it as it fell. He repeated the process as he thought back to when they had encountered the little tyke.
::Flashback::
The evening sun was slowly setting off in the west, directly in front on them as they travelled down the roads towards Viridian. Giovanni walked slowly, with a confident stride, made to allow his young new charge to keep up with him. He didn't carry much other than a old leather duffle bag hanging over his shoulder, somehow not even wrinkling the fine suit he wore underneath the light bag. The young boy was far more ragged, his clothing old and filled with holes, the colors long since faded. What passed for a cloak wasn't much more than a ragged piece of cloth. Upon his shoulders sat not a bag of some sort but rather his prized possession and best friend, Eve, a young Eevee that had long ago joined him in his journey through life.
They were making good head way into their journey to Viridian city, it was their third day into the trip. Victor had gotten used to sleeping out doors a long time ago and was surprised that a man like Giovanni was comfortable with sleeping against a tree. Though what truly impressed the child was Giovanni's Pokemon, they were powerful creatures, large and fast. If anyone every had a hope of fighting against him they would need a well trained team. Which Victor knew that he did not, his hand reached for the weight that was now attached to the sash that held up his pants. A pokeball, the little red and white balls that held Pokemon in side of them. He never thought he would actually ever have one, but now he did. And it was for Eve, his very first Pokemon. His best friend. His hand drifted up and scratched the furry head of his little friend, who leaned into his hand.
"It's starting to get dark and if I remember from the last time I passed through this area, there is an old abandoned house just down the road. We can take shelter there." Giovanni spoke for the first time in a few hours. Victor had come to realize that while his new master was kind and wise, he was very soft spoken. He rarely said anything but what was needed, though he never hesitated to answer a question he might have. He honestly didn't know if this was a good or bad thing but was old enough to realize he couldn't change it. So he nodded and followed his master's increased pace.
They reached the old house quickly after that, with just enough light to see by. Giovanni quickly kicked in the old door and they made their way into the interior. Victor looked around and was in awe of the old architecture, the red walls and the orange pillars that made up the bottom floor entrance was amazing to the young orphan and he thought he might like to live in a place like this one day. He was led into the central room, which was circular with a pit in the center for a fire. He thought this was more than a little interesting, who would build a house where you could light a fire in the center of it? He walked around and noticed that the ceiling was domed and that there was a hole in the roof. He had thought about going towards the stairs on the other end of the bourse towards the entrance but though better of it as he watched Giovanni set up their camp.
Soon there was a fire going in the fire pit and they had their two sleeping bags spread out. Giovanni was bent over the fire, preparing their meal, his suit jacket hung up near by, the simple white shirt he wore under it was smudged slightly from the traveling. That was when things started to go wrong.
Victor had been sitting on an old box they had found, when he felt a unnatural wind blow through the house. Giovanni looked up with an eyebrow raised, a hand reaching for a pokeball at his waist. When suddenly the box beneath him fell apart, causing him to fall unto his bum. Giovanni had made a move to check on Victor when his suit jacket was suddenly thrown into his face, accompanied by laughter.
"By all the rotten luck..." Giovanni turns to his young charge.
"Ghost Pokemon, low level by the pranks they are pulling. I think this might be a good opportunity for you to increase your team size." Victor stared at him for a moment before nodding in understanding. Giovanni grabbed a pokeball and tossed it to him.
"Use that to catch it, Eevee should be able to handle it. Right?" Giovanni questions with a sternly raised eyebrow. Victor looks at Eevee who nods in determination and jumps down from his shoulders. They took up positions in the center of the large room, near the fire with the wall to their backs. Giovanni stood off to the side to watch, his eyes tracking the unnaturally dark wind that flowed back in forth in pretentious laughter. He was more than a little curious as to what will happen next.
"Eevee... Umm.. Growl!" Eevee jumped in front of her trainer and let out a series of low barks. The unnatural wind came to a stop and turned towards them, a pair of floating eyes appearing from within. Giovanni spoke up at this,
"A Ghastly. They are fairly weak Pokemon, tough to catch though." Turns to Victor.
"Catch it." He says simply. Victor merely looked at the floating head and back at his master before nodding fearfully but determinedly. The Ghastly let out a low haunting laugh before emitting a purple haze that began to float towards Eevee.
"Eve use Sand-Attack and dodge!" Eve did just that, kicking up a large cloud of dust from the floor with a whip from her tail that caught the smog and caused it to dissipate. Eve runs across the room, using the fading cloud as cover, Victor couldn't have been more proud, he was practically jumping up in down.
"Eve! Bite him!" He knew at this point that trying to use tackle or quick attack would be useless but he remember something that had happened a couple of years ago when Eve had bit a man and a dark aura had appeared. Maybe he could use that.
Eve charged forward, her mouth opening and just like all those years ago her teeth turned a dark black color and dark energy began to flow off her, she jumps into the air at a surprised Ghastly, wailing as it tried to get away but was too slow to dodge.
After a short time the cloud of smog and dust fades fully away and Victor cries out in victory at the sight of Eve holding the downed Ghastly with black glowing teeth.
"Eve it's over, get out of the way!" Victor couldn't have been more excited than when Eve did as he asked and he threw the pokeball straight forward at the ghost Pokemon and he watched in awe as the Ghastly disappeared into a flash of red. He held his breath as the ball shook, once, twice and finally three times before it flashed white and sat still on the floor. Victor slowly moved forward as Eve touched the still ball with the tip of her snout. He picked it up and smiled.
"Perfect, I was impressed I hadn't expected that Eve knew Bite. And I didn't know you knew that it was a Dark based attack and thus the Ghastly would be weak. Very impressive." Giovanni slowly clapped as he watched his young charge grin up at him.
Victor smiled, maybe he had a new friend...
::Flashback over::
Victor fingered the ball once more before setting it back in its place. It was getting late he noticed and knew that he will have to return to HQ shortly. He had been told at the end of his free day he was to report to Giovanni in his office for something important. Victor hoped it was a new training exercise or something fun like that. Doing katas all day was boring as hell, even if they were the basics of hand to hand combat.
"Eve! We need to start heading back, I would like to take care of things before the sunsets." Eve pokes her head out of some tall grass and rushes out of it up to him, quickly jumping onto his shoulders. He pets her happily, proud of how much faster the little dog Pokemon had become over the last year. They made their way back into the city and smiled at some of the people they knew, a baker who was also a grunt in the organization, a businessman who helped fund them, a young trainer only a few years older than himself who wore a R logo on his sleeve. He was sometimes amazed by how many members of his Master's organization was in the town, considering the Viridian was home to a large clan of Officer Jennies.
Speak of the devil, Victor thought as he pasted one who eyed him warily, even though his jacket covered the Rocket logo on his uniform shirt. Not that he was worried, Giovanni practically owned the town as its Gym Leader. Soon he was approaching the complex next to the gym which led into the underground base.
First he went to his room and changed out of his everyday cloths and pulled on the full Team Rocket Uniform. It was made up of Grunt black cargo pants, a black form fitting shirt with the Rocket logo on the chest, and then he pulled on the coat that Giovanni had given to him as a sign of his favoritism. It was black much like his uniform with the Rocket logo on the back and a R pin on the collar. He didn't have the hat, but that was because of an old injury on his head that made it hard for him to wear anything other than a hood. He then pulled on the white gloves and boots and made sure his pokeballs were secured to his belt.
While he never truly cared about what he looked like, he was happy to finally not be stared at and sneered at as he walked around in rags. Now as he walked down the halls of the Rocket base, he was given thumbs up by the younger members and nods of acceptance by some of the older. Each time they payed attention to him he couldn't help but beam, he could feel that even Eve was happy about it, as her tail swished back and forth against his back. He finally had the ability to care for her properly now that he worked under Giovanni, he brushed her daily and fed her the best poke-food that he could get at the small allowance that he got weekly. They honestly couldn't be happier.
They finally came to the big red door that was the boss's office. A large black R adorned its ebony frame, though to his surprise the door was cracked open just slightly and he could hear voices. With a touch to Eve's snout, he motioned for her to remain quiet, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. He slowly moved up to the door and listened in.
"Look Gio, you and I both know that this isn't the place to raise a-"
"And I fully agree but you don't need to retire, you can keep working, Delia."
"No, I want to be there for the entire thing, I know you won't be. I support you but we both know you don't have the time to spare. Even for this." Victor hears a sigh.
"I understand, I won't hold you. You are one of my Executives. You have the right to quit and I'm not the type to hold you of all people against their will. Where will you go?"
"Thank you, Gio... And I'll return home to Pallet Town. We will be safe there and it's close enough you can keep an eye on things."
"If this is what you want, I'll support you, Delia. I'll keep you on the payroll and I will make sure that you and him are taken care of. Just make sure I get updates... I may not have the time but that doesn't mean..."
Victor was trying to hear a bit better but instead pushed the door a little, making a little knocking noise. Thinking fast he quickly knocks on the door before he was called into the office. It was a spacious affair, in the center was a large desk where Giovanni was seated, on the back was a series of screens and to the sides where desks and tables for people to sit down and work. Standing behind the desk, straightening her white lab coat was a women with long brown hair and a kind smile. She wore the gold pin of a Rocket Executive officer on her collar and a red R adorned her breast pocket. Giovanni was ignoring the pointed glances she was giving him before clearing his throat.
"Good, Victor I was expecting you." Giovanni glanced at the woman that he only knew as Delia. He stood at attention, his hands behind his back, his chin held high and his feet spread apart slightly.
"I have arrived at sunset as ordered, Sir" Giovanni nods and waves for him to relax, which he does, though the only change is in his posture which slumps slightly.
"I am glad you have become so punctual. Victor, before we get done to business I would like you to meet Executive Ketchum. She is in charge of Research and Development." Victor bowed his head slightly to her in respect. He could see that she was slightly impressed by him, and he stood a little straighter. He might only be eight but damn it, he was training hard.
"Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you" Victor greeted her formally, having been taught by his tutors to always treat the executives with respect. She smiled and waved for him to stand down, her smile is kind and pleasant, he decides he likes her.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Victor. The Boss has spoken highly of you. While I might be retiring soon, I hope to hear great things about you in the future. Sir, I must be off. And yes... I'll also make sure to include pictures in the updates." With a bow of her head and a small, sad smile she walks out without another word. Victor watches the change in his Master's face, his normally stern, calm demeanor broke for a second to reveal pain and just a hint of regret. But it passed quickly, covered back up with the stern look that Victor was first so intimidated by at first but now relaxed him.
"Hmph, Well then let's get down to business. Executive Ketchum was here to give me an update on our status within Mt. Moon. This is where you come in Agent Hunt." And thus Victor received his first mission as an Agent of Team Rocket.
AN: Thank you for reading the second installment of my little story! I hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait to continue it with all of you my dear readers~ If you enjoyed the read, have any questions or constructive criticism feel free to review! Until next time my Friends~
Your hardworking author: WiseSilver~
