Authors Note: Thanks to all for the good response to this story so far! It looks like it will turn into a trilogy after all (my original idea was for a duology), but I hope that will not scare away too many potential readers.
This is actually the story I have that has gotten the highest amount of alerts, as well as the highest amount of reviews apart from the 3 original Dark Fire parts :) thanks again, and enjoy!
Giovanni flinched as the door to his meeting room slammed open, but stopped his guards from releasing their Pokemon when he saw the two young people walking in.
"Silver?" he said, frowning. "And your lady friend... Blue, is it?"
"Yes, father."
"Why are you here?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes on both trainers. One of his aides rushed in behind them, looking frantic.
"Sir, these two just barged in! They defeated several of the guards and, oh-"
"It is alright," Giovanni told her. "Go back to work, I can handle this."
"Y-yes sir."
The aide disappeared through the door again and, after a couple of seconds, the two guards in the room followed. With only Silver, Blue and a few of the highest ranking members of Team Rocket left in the meeting room, Giovanni once again turned his attention to his son.
"Silver, why are you here?"
"I have a question for you, father."
"Go ahead."
Silver walked over and leaned against the wall, while Blue remained close to the door opening, as if ready to escape if necessary.
"There has been quite a bit of unrest lately," Silver said, looking directly at his father. "Rumors are that Team Rocket is involved. My first question is if you were involved in the Saffron City explosion."
Giovanni looked at him for a while, as if assessing his son, then shook his head.
"We were not. In fact, I have sent Surge to look for evidence of the true attacker. They are trying to make us look bad, so we suspect that it is either a rival group or... The Association themselves."
"The Association?" Blue asked in a doubtful voice. "You really think they would do such a thing?"
"Not officially, of course. Parts of it."
"It makes sense," Silver admitted, visibly relaxing. "Blue, good enough for you?"
"Yeah."
"Good enough?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Father, we wish to join you."
"The Association has gone too far," Blue supplied, and Silver nodded.
"Indeed they have," he continued. "We are not going to let them register us when we have done nothing. If that is the case, we might as well earn a reason for the registration by joining you. Provided you promise us one simple thing."
"Of course," Giovanni replied.
"Our membership will only be temporary. It will only serve to fight the Association in this question. We will not help you get rich or whatever it is you are doing, we will only help bring the Association down to make way for a power that acts for the people rather than for itself."
"That can be arranged. In fact, I am in dire need of a couple of skilled observers right now, related to this case... If you're up for it?"
"Tell us."
Platinum sipped her coffee, glancing over at her two friends. Dia and Pearl were busy chatting about some comedy magazines a few meters away, while she had insisted that she wanted to sit and have some coffee before they boarded the train that would take them to Goldenrod City, where they would switch to an airplane that would take them to Sinnoh.
She looked at the TV mounted near the ceiling of the small train station. There was a news story about riots in several smaller towns across Johto and Kanto on. After a while, it switched to a view of Saffron, revealing a large crowd gathering near the ruins of the Pokemon Center.
"Diamond, Pearl?" she called out, waving them over. They looked at the news story unfolding, then Pearl stretched a bit and sighed.
"Guess the train might be late because of that. Hope not though, we only have a few hours in Goldenrod to get to the airport anyways."
"If we are late, that is not a problem," Platinum said. "We did promise to spend more time together, and I have plenty of money with me to pay for a hotel room one or two nights."
"Still, I'd like to get out of here," Pearl insisted. "I have a feeling something bad might happen. Remember, there are a lot of people on both sides here. If something sets them off, the whole town will be a dangerous place to be."
"Oh, don't worry so much Pearl," Dia said, seating himself opposite Platinum at the small cafe table. "We can diffuse the situation with a few jokes, if needed. If that doesn't help, all three of us are well trained in battle."
"True, I guess," Pearl sighed. They sat there, waiting for the train to arrive. Dia fell asleep on the table, while Platinum busied herself with a book. Pearl looked around, trying to see any signs of trouble nearby. Suddenly, he froze.
"Guys," he said. "That guy over there. It's him!"
"Who?" Dia said, rubbing his eyes.
"That's the guy that blew up the Pokemon Center!" Pearl hissed, getting to his feet. "He must be here to cause trouble again, and with all those people here..."
"It might have disastrous consequences," Dia finished, nodding. "Should we call the police?"
"You do that," Pearl said, turning away from the table. "I am going to stop him."
The Man in Black swore and accelerated his walk slightly as he saw the trainers that had battled him a week earlier. Why were they here? Who were they, some kind of agents? He had hoped to board a train to Goldenrod and start a riot there during the meeting, but with those people there...
He turned his head and looked back, startled to see one of the three edging his way through the crowd, stalking him, quickly gaining on him. Not wanting to get caught, he broke into a flat-out run, knocking over a couple of people who were standing in the way. Despite this, the other trainer was still gaining on him.
"This is Shard," he gasped into his Pokegear. "Someone is on my tail, I won't make it to Goldenrod. Advice?"
"Proceed at current location instead. Use the situation with your stalker to your advantage."
"Yes master," Shard replied, grinning. "It will be a true pleasure."
While Saffron City was the largest city in Kanto, its train station only had two exists. Pearl instantly recognized the one they exited through as the one situated towards the former Pokemon Center. The man he was pursuing could easily lose him in the crowd, if he reached it.
As if reading Pearl's mind, his Chatler flew ahead, attacking the man. He managed to wave Chatler away and, reaching the crowd, turned around to face him.
"Stop right there!" Pearl yelled, coming to a halt in a fighting stance. The man he was chasing laughed, pulling a Pokeball from his belt.
"I never intended to run further," he said, grinning madly. Pearls eyebrows shot up as he realized – the man was never trying to get away, he was only trying to get an audience! Several protesters near them had now turned around, clearly confused by what was happening behind them. The Man in Black sent out a Cloyster, firing a powerful Ice Beam that knocked Chatler from the air.
"I have more than-" Pearl started, but he never managed to finish the sentence. A pain like nothing he had ever felt before burned through his entire body. He stared down at where the sudden Spike Cannon had hit him, just below the chest. Blood seemed to be everywhere, and he barely managed to look up as someone nearby screamed in terror.
"This is what happens when you mess with Team Rocket!" the Man in Black yelled, turning to the crowd. He was very pleased with the theatrics, and even more so that it had happened between the pro-Association and anti-Association sides of the protests.
Before anyone could stop him, he returned Cloyster to its Pokeball and grabbed Skarmory by its neck, flying away. Beneath him, he saw the young man fall over, unable to stay upright while losing so much blood. Only seconds later, the two crowds surged towards each other, ready for battle. The riot had started!