Future Sight

Back in Castelia City Ash and his companions sat in a boardroom located in the Mayor's office. The city was still recovering from the ordeal of being inundated with hundreds of Venepede that now resided under Gym Leader Burgh's watchful eye in Central Plaza.

The media had arrived from all parts of the region, requesting interviews and statements from the Mayor. So no one paid attention to a more imminent threat now residing at the heart of the Desert Resort.

"Ash, what do you know of this Team Rocket? Tell me everything," Jenny watched the boy nervously perched on the edge of his seat.

"I can't say much," he said slowly… carefully. "All I know for sure is that they're a criminal organisation back at home in Kanto."

"Who happened to arrive on Unova shores the same time you did."

Ash almost paled. "I don't have any connections to Team Rocket if that's what you're alluding to," he lied. He may have hated them and all they stood for, but he knew the risks that came with crossing his own father.

"Officer, we can back him up," Iris cut Jenny short of starting a full interrogation. "We've been travelling with Ash since he arrived here."

"Team Rocket's only interest, as far as we know, is to steal other people's Pokémon," the boy's other travelling companion Cilan, one of the Gym Leader's of Striaton City chimed in.

"Alright, I believe you," she backed down; knowing the word of a gym leader could be trusted. "But I'm guessing it's more than just powerful Pokémon they're interested in. What did they find in those ruins?"

"A meteonite stone," the answer came from the front door where there a middle aged man stepped in. With greying hair and wearing a brown suit and trench coat, he took in the board room's inhabitants with small, beady eyes.

"Agent Looker!" Ash was immediately on his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you, Ash," he nodded before filling in the remainder of the board. "As Ash mentioned, my codename is Agent Looker. I work for the International Police."

It was Jenny's turn to stand this time. "The International Police?"

"I'm here to investigate the activities of Team Rocket as well as a new gang on the rise across Unova," he replied. "And what they're after is this."

The agent placed a series of satellite photos on the table, aimed at the very spot in the desert they were at previously. They were before and after photos; one of a flat, desert landscape and then the other a giant crater that Team Rocket had somehow managed to excavate.

"Juniper, the source of the energy surge you picked up on is an ancient meteonite that was left buried in the desert."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad," Jenny raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "If it's simply an old rock they're after…"

"It's not just a rock, Jenny. This stone has the ability to turn the tables regarding the ruling powers of Unova. It cannot be left in their hands."

Jenny scoffed, "Those are children's tales; stories that have been around for years. A powerful stone coming down from the sky and powering an advanced civilisation only for it to fall due to their own greed for domination. How can something like that be real and we not know about it?"

"Because we couldn't allow for the same mistakes to be repeated," Juniper whispered in an undertone, her eyes wide and panicked. "We need to stop them from obtaining that stone. With something like that in anyone's hands, they have the power to make or break Unova. Whoever holds that stone holds Unova to ransom. "

Looker nodded, pulling from his pocket a fancy envelope addressed to the Mayor's office. He threw it on the table only to have it snapped up by Jenny and Juniper. "They're holding a masquerade ball for the 'big shots' in Castelia. I suggest we make an appearance."

The ball gown was long and elegant. A deep, shimmering silver it was quite possibly one of the most elegant and expensive pieces of clothing I'd ever worn. It had been waiting for me upon my arrival back to my room.

Large ribbons wrapped around my bust forming a tight bodice that accentuated my hourglass figure, and was held up with a single, thick silk shoulder strap. Past my thighs the dress loosened into a floor-length skirt. A matching silver mask was also provided and formed into the shape of a silver Butterfree wing. My hair I pulled up into a bun and held it in with chopsticks. For once I looked like a princess. This evening, there was no doubt of my high society parentage.

It was the quiet knock at my door that broke me from my thoughts and I answered it only to be greeted by Archer.

"The boss wants to see you Madame," he said officially through his quiet smile. "In the laboratory."

I nodded, "I'll be right up."

The testing lab was still in a state of refurbishment. Great sheets of plastic that hung from the ceiling separated the main workspace from the remainder of the construction zone. I could clearly tell that once it was finished, it was going to be top of the range. Although it was the view from massive, full length windows that came as an impressive surprise. Normally Team Rocket's lab workspaces were situated several floors underground or stationed in a large, windowless building on a deserted island, not in what had once been a penthouse suite.

The sun had set by now, allowing for the lights of Castelia City to glisten and sparkle like a messy assortment of fairy lights. Though none of this seemed to come to the mind of the head of Team Rocket as he watched the excavated meteonite in its protective glass case. For some reason it looked smaller than what I had remembered... a lot smaller.

"What happened to the stone?" I questioned, approaching him from behind.

"It is a ruse," he simply replied. "The remainder of the stone is on its way back to Kanto."

I gave him a puzzled look, "A ruse? What for?"

He said nothing, simply locating his e-pad on the bench and sliding it over to me. This I took with a curious glance.

"After you had your little unauthorised dream rendezvous with my Mewtwo, it seems that my people have picked up on a peculiar scan of your session via the dream mist harvested from the Dream Yard."

I immediately straightened. "Oh?"

He nodded, signalling for me to press the play button on his e-pad where there I saw my own dream played back to me. It was eerie watching a movie taking place that had come from the depths of my own mind. I saw the huge palace structure, the room and then my son, sleeping so soundly in his crib. I wanted to cry. To reach into the screen and take back what was rightfully mine.

The scene moved and suddenly I was standing in that strange toy-room, facing Silver again... only he was older now, handsome and strong in form. I saw the pride that dawned in my own father's expression as I watched the careful yet pained look in Silver's eyes. The way he held himself so poised, so collected. I could clearly see he was a thinker like his grandfather. In Silver Giovanni saw the sort of heir he'd always wanted. And I realised that once I had him back, the Crime Lord would stop at nothing in conditioning the boy according to the workings of Team Rocket.

I placed the e-pad back down on the bench, blatantly avoiding eye contact. "Why did you need to show me this? To remind me that my son is still missing?"

Giovanni frowned. "No, look at it again. Closer this time."

I hesitated but did as I was told, this time taking in the occasional flickering that I'd originally thought to be mere interference. Upon a closer examination however, I soon came to realise it was so much more. They were perhaps a thirty second spray of blurry images that splashed across the screen in fast motion. Too fast for my eyes to take in anything at all. It was an added layer to the dream.

"A dream within a dream?" I inquired. "Why don't I remember it?"

"Because it emanated from your psy-senses. Your ability reacted with a combination of the dream mist and the meteonite fragment. Your powers were enhanced and your Future Sight activated."

"You mean I could see the future in my sleep?" I scoffed.

But my father's face was straight. "Precisely."

I immediately blinked, "Wh... what?"

Taking the e-pad from my hands, he proceeded to type in several commands before handing it back to me, this time displaying a new video. This one was blurry and scratchy at best; like an old film. But there was no denying the events that took place now in slow motion. Just brief flashes, or glimpses of this 'so-called' future, but undeniable.

It showed my encounter with N and his Team Plasma goons, as well as my union with Lance. A union that I'd hoped to keep secret for at least a little longer. It played the events leading up to Giovanni's arrival as well as our exploration of the temple. I cringed at the memory of my being tasered by Comet and it came to light one of the reasons for his sudden and unexpected promotion. Giovanni had seen it all before it'd happened.

Then it went further to this evening. The ball and its attendees gathered around Giovanni and his speech only to be interrupted by a blast so huge that it knocked everyone standing off their feet. It played a chase that was to take place between me on my Charizard and Team Plasma before finally ending in a faceoff with Sa'lu herself. Then the images stopped and a command for a password blinked on the screen.

I scowled. "What's the password? What happens next?"

Giovanni took the pad from me and turned it off, "My people are still deciphering the reel," he lied. Then signalling me forward, he led me from the lab and toward a lift that would take us down to the ball below.

"So Team Plasma is set to attack you for the stone tonight?"

And he nodded.

"But you can prevent it now that you've seen it, right?"

"I can but I wont," he said which only set in more confusion.

"What?" I hollered. "Why?"

"Because it will expose them as a criminal organisation," he answered. "Team Rocket will go after them and fight them. We will be made out to look like a righteous, vigilante group here in Unova. Then a promise will be made that I will personally see to it that this Team Plasma threat is eradicated from Unova."

"What about Sa'lu?"

He simply nodded. And as the lift doors came open I knew he'd seen the future. He knew what was going to happen but he simply stated: "Do what you must do to get the job done."