CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It was decades ago. A young Cubone tottered through Lavender Town's tower. A Drowzee walked over, his age similar.
"The humans… they took my parents," said the Drowzee.
The Cubone looked terrified, shrinking at the prospect of communication. She stared at the strange Pokemon, unblinking.
"I'm scared," the Drowzee said quietly.
The Cubone swallowed hard and managed to say, "I don't have parents, either. I'm always frightened. I'm always lonely."
"Well," said the Drowzee, "Do you want to be lonely together?"
I was inside a place where I should not have been, I was peering into a foreign and forbidden realm. I was inside the mind of Big G. I was watching his memories.
The scene shifted. Years flew by. A recently evolved Hypno watched two Marowaks elegantly dance from a crack in the tower wall. The Marowaks laughed and hugged each other. The Hypno turned away in disgust.
Another scene shift. It was an average Marowak birth. The father, another Marowak, was gone, the mother was clutching her egg as weakness varnished her body. A Hypno who didn't belong walked in, his eyes bloodshot.
"I think I'll be one of the unfortunate who die before they see their child," said the Marowak.
"Don't say that," the Hypno responded sharply.
"But it's true. Do you know what else is true? It's always been you, G. I know that when the choices presented themselves, I didn't pick you. However, I've always cared about you. I have always loved you."
At that moment the eggshell shattered, a newborn Cubone poking her head out. The Marowak smiled, scooping up the infant and holding her against her own chest.
"Please," the Marowak whispered. "When I'm gone… protect my baby. That's all I ask. Keep her safe."
The scene changed once more. A Cubone, only a child, danced with a Hypno under a dead tree. The Hypno smiled softly, laughing merrily. He left for a brief moment, lovingly ruffling the Cubone's fur. When he returned, arms full of berries, the Cubone was gone. In her place were tire tracks.
Mnay years later, the Hypno finds a strange place called Team Rocket. He sees a familiar Cubone and is about to run to her, only to notice a lanky boy walking over. The boy affectionately picked the Cubone up and she licked his cheek. He patted her head and placed her on a bed, the Hypno coming over once he's gone.
"Who are you?" asked the Cubone, her eyes scanning the mysterious Pokémon. She could've sworn she'd seen him somewhere before.
"A guardian angel," the Hypno responded, teleporting away.
More years race by, a strange man gives the Cubone a medal and everyone claps.
"As one of our strongest members, she is an excellent candidate for the experiment," the strange man said. The Cubone is guided into a room.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this, sir," the lanky trainer admitted.
"Nonsense," scoffed the strange man.
The boy sighed and carefully removed the helmet of the Cubone. The Cubone was grinning pridefully. A team of scientists appeared, giving the ground-type medication. She slept as the scientists cut open her head.
Another scene change. "Team Rocket is going to test our experiment and acquire Pokémon!" the strange man said, slamming his fist on a podium. The crowd in front of him roared.
The lanky boy and some other people dressed in black went to a beach, and after hours of searching they were surprised by seeing a Jolteon, a Vaporeon, and a litter of cubs. The boy released his Cubone, commanding her to attack. Yet something was different.
The Cubone screamed psychotically, baring her teeth. Her eyes were glowing red. The Vaporeon stepped protectively in front of his family. The Cubone raced forward, using her club to slam the Vaporeon's neck with uncontrolled power. The Pokémon's neck snapped instantly and Rocket members bagged some Eevee in sacks.
Later, the Cubone wandered around the Rocket base. A man accidentally bumped into her, and her eyes glowed that same demonic red. She began to bash his head, everything becoming stained with blood. The man released all his Pokémon, only to be surrounded by their dead bodies minutes later.
Another scene switch.
"Giovanni, it's your fault!" the boy shouted. "You said it would just make her stronger! You're the one who didn't know aggression was a side effect!"
"You cannot speak to me like that!" the strange man, Giovanni, snapped. "You're lucky I am sparing her life."
The Cubone, still screaming and trying kill, was strapped down to a metal chair. Her eyes were that horrible shade of red, yet underneath the color the boy could see fear. The trainer cried, the tears splattering on his Pokemon. The Cubone managed to create a spark with her club but the trainer yanked it away before a fire could start. A crowd of Rockets was gathered beside them.
"Listen to me, idiots," said Giovanni. "It's just as we discussed. Give the Cubone the medicine. It wipes all memories of Team Rocket. Make sure you strike its head in the exact place with the a precise amount of pressure to activate the medicine, or else it won't fully work. Parts of the aggression could remain if you screw this up. Harold, you dedicated your time to training an actually powerful Pokémon—that means not your stupid Raticate, for this purpose, correct? You have spent countless hours making sure the said Pokémon was capable of this task, have you not?"
"Yes sir," said Harold through gritted teeth.
"Then get to it and then dispose of the creature somewhere far away, I don't care how. Also, get the boy out of here." Giovanni casually strode out and two grunts took the Cubone's trainer away as he stared sadly at the wall.
"I quit," the boy said, yet his tone was more sad than anything else.
In Vermillion City a Raticate failed to bite the Cubone's head, so Harold hit her with the butt of gun and tossed her out the window, where she slept unconscious on the streets.
Big G let go of my paws and I found myself back at the Rocket base. I was crying softly.
"I'm going to trust you and you have to trust me," said Big G. "Let's find somewhere safe for you and leave Denari."
Leave Denari. I wiped away my tears. How dare he suggest I leave Denari. My one love, the one who I went through everything with. Leave Denari. The thought of leaving Denari made me so… angry.
"If you don't come with me, I am afraid I will have to use force," Big G said firmly.
I smiled sweetly, looking at this high-level psychic. I laughed, fuming inside. How dare he. How dare he threaten me, how dare he control me. I loved Denari, and I would do anything to make sure he was okay. Big G watched me become a monster and didn't help me. Big G watched me kill and he didn't save me. But now, after he tortured me by showing a past I preferred not knowing, now that I was happy and in love, he had come to the rescue.
Fuck that.
Red. Everything was red, everything was infuriating. Before I knew what was happening I had summoned more strength than I ever have before, more power than I had ever felt, and slammed the top of Big G's head with my club. He looked dazed for a moment, then fainted. If I had used the sharpened part of my bone club he probably would've died.
The red faded and I stepped over Big G without remorse. I walked down the hallways and entered a random room. Inside of it was a large tube full of fluid, something that resembled a deformed fetus inside it. Genetically altered Pokémon were in cages throughout the room, full of defects and tumors. Next to the fetus was a large diagram of Mew. I sprinted away as fast as I could.
Clapping echoed throughout the building and I followed the sound. Giovanni was there, residing on a balcony with hundreds of grunts watching him. Black curtains with the Team Rocket logo were behind him. The Rocket boss's dark hair was slicked back and his suit was freshly pressed.
"Fellow Rockets," he said with a grin, "I have gathered you here for a very special announcement. As you know, all members of this organization were taken in because they were rejected. Bullied, broken, rundown. I, too, was once this way. Together, we have united to create an organization dedicated to capturing Pokémon. Our goal has been to get stronger, to acquire more Pokémon, and to be respected. Today, we have a new goal."
Confused murmurs from the crowd. Giovanni raised one hand and smiled. "Today, we have an even better goal. No longer are we wandering rejects, but instead powerful members of society. Therefore it only makes sense to embark on a grander journey. No longer shall Team Rocket be a group shrouded in shadows, a petty picking of people catching mediocre wild Pokémon. Today we realize that we deserve better, that the world is our orchard! My dear friends, from now on members of Team Rocket are permitted to take whatever they want… even if someone owns it already."
I was transfixed, desperately attempting to decipher what this cruel man meant. Where was Denari when I needed him?
"Perhaps you are confused. Understandable, take it all in. Take it in and prepare for a future that begins now," Giovanni said. "You may be wondering what caused such a fantastic boost in standards. I am pleased to announce why. An experiment we have been working on has been effective for five months, which means it qualifies as the end of stage one. My dear friends, Rocket scientists have successfully gathered the DNA of Mew, the legendary ancestor of all Pokémon, and have created the developing stages of… a clone!"
The crowd howled like feral Pokemon. The fetus in the fluid twirled through my memory. The tumor-ridden Pokémon were nothing more than failed experiments like me.
"It's a great cause for celebration," Giovanni continued, "But I have an even bigger reason to celebrate. Some rumors have been swirling around that I have reconnected with someone from my past. Those rumors… are true. We saved each other, in a sense. So of course I was pleased when we met once more. They were perfectly willing to try some of our expert technology, one thing we tested was a helmet designed for the Mew clone. It influences strength and makes Pokémon more lenient. My friend and I got some training in, and after a day, we didn't even need the helmet! They were so compliant and strong, a perfect model of what a Rocket should be. I think it's time to introduce them."
Something emerged from behind the curtains and stood proudly by Giovanni. There was no denying it. There was no way to get away from the painfully familiar smirk on their face.
"Ladies and gentleman," said Giovanni, "Meet my Persian, Denari."