"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."

– Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 7, Ludwig Wittgenstein

Prologue

Charizard and his trainer arrived at Saffron City's HQ building by nightfall. To be honest, Charizard hadn't really been expecting the stuffy League CEO to be waiting for them at the roof, but then again, maybe he should have. His trainer was only ever called in when the League Meant Business. He felt Red unmount with a jump, and once he had made sure that his partner was safely on the ground, Charizard carefully slid down the rod he had perched upon.

"Ah, Red! You've made it," the CEO greeted, wringing his hands anxiously. Charizard scoffed, which released a small ball of flame that made the little man jump. Red gave him a bemused (if hidden) little smile, but had schooled the expression by the time the man stopped freaking out. He didn't look like much, the little man, though Charizard knew from experience that he shouldn't be thrifted with.

Bureaucrat, Red had called him. According to his partner, bureaucrats mostly took care of the inane human niceties Charizard thankfully didn't have to worry about, and Mr Bones happened to be one such bureaucrat. He was a savvy sharpedo of a man, having managed to reach the management position of the League in only a few years. Rarely had Charizard met anyone as married to his job as the sharpedo man – and that was saying something, coming from a dragon that hung out with Red all day.

Another man soon joined sharpedo man, and both began whispering to each other rather nervously while shooting Red side glances. Red, predictably, wasted no time in leaning against the railing and staring down. Charizard wasn't much a fan of skyscrapers, but his partner took that aversion to a whole new level. It was at the rooftop of one such skyscraper that Vic had died all those years ago, after all. Charizard knew that Red, who was still staring at the abyss bellow them, was remembering the exact instance in which it had happened.

"S-shall we go in?" the second little man called.

"I'd rather not," Red replied, still peering down. "Or do you have a room Charizard can fit in?"

The two men once more exchanged glances and Mr Bones smiled wryly at his colleague. "I did tell you that Red is more of a blunt type, David." He then turned back toward Red and explained: "Well, uh, I'm sorry to have called you out here on such short notice, but to put things plainly, David here has come to me looking for counsel." Sharpedo man gestured toward the second human. "You see, it appears that Hoenn may well be following Kanto's footsteps in the criminal organization department."

Charizard tensed. His partner remained unaffected, at least outwardly.

"Is that so?"

"It is. You are, of course, rather familiar with our very own Team Rocket, being the one who brought them to heel," Mr Bones continued. "Now, recent reports from trustworthy sources all seem to be pointing toward two copycat organizations with similar agendas. From what we can tell, they have begun recruiting heavily in Hoenn, though their exact aims are not yet discernible. However, the General League Comission is quite concerned. The two syndicates have done a good job of staying underground, so our knowledge at the time being is limited… but I hope you agree that these are bad news."

Red nodded. Charizard could tell that his partner was displeased. No wonder! Team Rocket had been dangerous enough with just one of them… It would be a nightmare to deal with two iterations of it at the same time. Still, that didn't answer what the humans wanted from his partner. Were they looking for tips on crime fighting or something? Charizard almost snorted out another fireball.

"How can I help?" asked Red a moment later. "You must have called me here for a reason."

It was the new human who answered. "Please do not think that we are helpless, Mr Red. The League of Hoenn is working on the problem as we speak. Our own champion, for one, has taken to the road once again and is investigating the situation himself…" He launched into a long rant on how the situation was already being handled by their vastly talented and fantastic champion. This was all well and good, Red replied to him, if that was the case, then it would be best to go back to Mt Silver, seeing as they had it all under control.

The human flushed unattractively. "W-ell, Mr Red… n-no need to be so hasty! The thing is… as I was saying, the two organizations are quite secretive and hard to catch. So far, they have succeeded in avoiding all of our attempts at contact almost entirely. They clearly know that our champion is onto them and have done their utmost to avoid him… we believe they might even have infiltrated the League…"

Charizard blinked. Well, at least they didn't have an ex-champion as a conspirator like the Rocket man, though of course those were rather low standards.

"Due to this," the little human continued, "we have come to the conclusion that sending someone from outside the hoennian league might be our best bet at catching them off guard. Someone strong but not easily recognized. Champion Stone is too well known not to attract attention wherever he goes, and as such, the amount of intelligence he can gather is limited. The same goes for the elite four and gym leaders." Red nodded. "We have considered many possible candidates to send to Hoenn undercover… and, to be frank, Red, you're one of our best bets… or at least, so and Mr Bones here assures me. To be frank, I, uh, have my doubts. No offence to you, of course, but I am not entirely certain you are very suited for stealth, what with your overwhelming fame… Even so, I came here to talk to you and see what you can bring to the table."

Before Red could say anything, sharpedo man cut in. "My dear David, as I have already told you quite a few times, stealth is not a concern. You see, your champion may not be quite adequate at it, but in our case… well, let's just say that one can recognize Red while undercover, not in Kanto and much less in Hoenn. After all, there is something the entire nation is in the dark about… regarding our dear champion."

The David man looked like he wanted to do nothing more than to ask what that was, but he was cut off.

"What about my champion duties?" Red's expression was focused. Charizard could tell that his partner was thinking furiously.

"Your predecessor is well equipped to deal with them," replied sharpedo man. "Let's be frank, Red. You hardly make any appearances on TV anyway unless you are challenged, and it has been a long time since anyone has gotten past the elite four… not since Lance joined them, not since Gary Oak took the mantle of gym leader. To put it plainly, Red, it is quite probable that no one would even notice your absence."

Ouch! That must have stung. Poor partner.

Recognising a moment of weakness, sharpedo man pounced. "Come now, Red. We both know the chances of anyone discovering your little secret are slim to none. You've truly got the entire world fooled! The press won't notice a thing even if they saw you without the cap. Or more likely, they wouldn't notice because of it. Here, we've given your cover story and, though you couldn't pass as a nineteen-year-old with a late start to her pokémon journey would probably work just as well."

"W-wait a second – her journey?" the other human repeated loudly. "W-what do you mean her journey!?"

Once again, he was ignored.

"A nineteen-year-old?" Red gave sharpedo man an unimpressed look. "I am twenty-six."

The bureaucrat grinned like a shark. "Ah, but my secretary agreed that you have a youthful face, Red! Especially without all those layers you like to hide behind. Add a ribbon to your hair, and you'll pass as a teenager without an issue!"

Red narrowed her eyes. Clearly, his partner was pissed. After staring sharpedo man down until he was adequately cowed in a way only Red could, Charizard's partner straightened and asked point blank: "when do I leave?"

And so our tale begins! Gods. Finding a way around using gendered pronouns for Red until the reveal has been a nightmare, but lol, I feel like it was worth it.