Author's Note: Reviewer responses at the bottom of the chapter...lalala...


I don't know how long I was under, but it felt like I came awake only an instant later. Sometime while I was out the yellow rats had dissapeared and it had started to rain.

Pour, actually. The creek bed, dry when I had passed out, was already starting to fill. Small streams of angry, muddy water were flowing swiftly past me, and I was soaked to the bone.

Coughing wetly, I managed to push myself up to my shaking knees and stagger to my feet. My muscles were tight and sore, and I could feel flashes of pain from my earlobes and my lower abdomen; contact burns from my earrings and the button on my jeans. But I was moving and breathing and had a heartbeat, which was a miracle.

I felt the thick, heavy raindrops slide off my face as I turned my face to the sky. There was no light but the eerie, yellow storm-light and the momentary pall that came with the flashes of lightning.

I had to get home.

It would be simple but not easy, it was a straight shot through the woods back to town, the road snakes all over the place up on the hills, but it would be two miles easy. I wasn't sure if I was in any condition to hike two miles through the woods, but I hardly had a choice: the lightning had fried my cell phone. Not that I would have gotten any reception anyway.

So with that, I began to trudge.

There was a path that I could follow back, I knew exactly where it was, formed by years of pounding feet of animals, and then teenagers on their way to get smashed down by the abandoned building on the point. It was narrow, but distinct, and I was slightly dismayed to find that the downpour had turned the dusty track into a slick torrent of mud, so I had to work twice as hard to keep my footing. Occasionally, I could see small little clawed tracks criss-crossing the path. Those little rats were still out running around.

I lost count of how many times I had slipped by the time the houses of Masara town came into view. One of my neighbors must have seen me stagger out of the woods because the last thing I remember was coming clear of the trees, and then watching the world lurch and spin as the ground flew up to meet me.

-

I woke up in a room that was almost completely silent.

It wasn't my room, I could tell, just by looking at the cieling. I spent several seconds attempting to bring it into proper focus, and breathed a small sigh of relief as soon as everything clicked back into place.

None of the lights were on, but there was a faint grey glow coming from the wide window to the left of my bed. I turned my head slowly, and could see that it was raining beyond the glass. The skyline of an unfamiliar city stretched on until I lost it in the mist. By the machines I saw out of the corner of my eye, I guessed I was in a hospital.

"I see you're awake."

The voice was pleasantly deep and rumbling and masculine, and issued from a shadowy figure seated in a chair in a corner by the foot of my bed, a figure that I somehow hadn't managed to notice.

There was a man sitting there, dressed in an immaculately pressed and expensive-looking black suit and a deep red shirt, his hair was dark and slicked back, every strand in place. His jaw was defined and set, his eyes were dark black and smouldering.

He looked to be about forty, but I didn't care. I'd still do him.

"Yeah," I said softly with a small smirk, my throat hurt. "Where am I?"

"Tokiwa City General Hospital." He replied, watching my face. "Your family brought you in two days ago."

I had been unconcious for two days? Damn. Tokiwa City had the closest hospital, so that much made sense.

"They say you were struck by lightning..." He continued, obviously in an attempt to prompt me into finishing the sentence.

"In a manner of speaking." I said. I wasn't in the mood. "You're the doctor, you tell me."

"I am not a doctor." He said flatly, reaching down and pulling a dark breifcase onto his lap. I watched him with a sense of unease as he snapped it open. Sure he was hot, but he was still a stranger sitting by my bedside.

"But," He continued. "That does not mean that I am not interested in what happened to you. Would you mind explaining it to me?"

"I was struck by lightning, what else is there to say?"

"We found the location where we believe the lightning struck." He said flatly, staring me down. Since when had this turned into an interrogation? "It was the lowest point of land for miles around, covered in trees. How did it hit you?"

There was silence for a minute. He was staring at me, with his piercing gaze, and I was staring out the window and watching him out of the corner of my eye. What should I tell him?

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I finally said. What the hell.

"I think that you would be suprised about what I'm willing to believe." He stated, pulling a stack of photos from the case. "Did any of these creatures have anything to do with it?"

And he tossed the glossy photos onto my lap, so they slid out all over the sheets.

There were all sorts of weird looking animals in those photos, weird rodents, strange bi-colored spheres and some nonsensical thing that looked almost like a striped ape with small tusks.

With shaking hands I drew out the photo that had first caught my eye, of the elecric rat that had appeared to me in the woods. There was a time stamp in the bottom corner of the picture, but I ignored it.

"This one," I said softly, holding it up. "But it wasn't just one. There were at least a dozen."

"I see." He said with a thoughtful frown. Then, he stood up and stepped over to gather up the pictures. I helped him as best I could, my heart beating a little faster. The photos in hand, he turned to face the window. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Natsuno." I don't know why, but I trusted this man. "Natsuno Ito."

"Well, Natsuno." He said my name like he was trying it out. "I suppose you're wondering just what exactly is going on,"

I didn't reply, but he continued anyway.

"You are obviously aware that animals have finally returned to this world. But I assure you that they are entirely unlike anything you might remember."

The last glimpse I ever had of Koro flashed through my mind.

"They have power, Natsuno. Power that you, more than anyone, can probably imagine."

That was true.

"But, humans being humans, there are those who would exploit these powers for selfish gain and amusement." He half-turned to face me, his eyes glittering in the half-light. "Utilizing the resources available to me, I have created an organization dedicated to punishing the individuals who feel that they have the right to abuse those creatures. We are always looking for new recruits,"

He paused, looking me over. I can't have looked like much, and it bothered me at the time, but there was precious little that I could do about it.

"You have amazing potential, Miss Ito." He finally concluded. "I would like for you to join us."

"Why not," I answered, laughingly. I had nothing else to do with my life. At least this sounded like it would be exciting, and it would probably get me out of Masara Town. "Though you neglected to introduce yourself."

I held out my right hand.

He smirked, and gripped my hand in his own. His palm was smooth and warm and dry.

"My name is Sakaki Giovanni." He answered. "Welcome to Team Rocket."


DUN DUN DUUUN!!

By the way... Tokiwa City is the same thing as Viridian City.

Kelley28: Thanks! I will.

Bleached Roses: Not exactly, though I suppose that an angry mob of pikachu would be something to see...ha...

Rosz-chan: I hope you'll stick with me, this is going to have a completely different feel than the origional Pokemon. And the narrator's name is Natsuno, and she's a girl. It's not made very clear in the beginning, but it will be aparrent later on. And I will continue with the town names, some things will be the american names, and some the japanese. (Like keeping Team Rocket instead of Rokketo-dan, for instance)

Thank you reviewers!!!