Pokémon: Ash and Iris Resolution
By: DJ Rodriguez
(Author's Notes: Hey everyone! DJ here, and a Pokémon story that I am doing as a request from Author friend Nicky Haugh.
But so you all know, after this and doing another request for another friend danielman21, will not take any more requests. I am already behind with my other stories, and I wish to not lag behind any further. Just so you all know.
In this one, Ash Ketchum and Iris team up to bring Team Rocket to justice after their friend Cilan is hospitalized by them. Normally, I do not like Iris at all due to her actions in the Unova series. Matter of fact… didn't like much of the characters that appeared in there, like Burgundy, Georgia and Trip as they are hypocrites and use any excuse to try and lessen their loss. Bianca and some of them were okay, but started to lose interest in the franchise some time ago.
But since this is for a good friend, going to put that aside and do my best for this Pokémon story he requested. He already gave me the gist of it, so will try best to deliver.
Pokémon was created as a Game Boy video game, released in February 1996. The developers were Game Freak Co., Ltd., published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The creator was Satoshi Taijiri. The anime series was released in April 1997, and still going on to this day. The first to direct the series was Kunihiko Yuyama, the chief director & written by Takeshi Shudo. Many other directors and writers came after them for other seasons, too numerous to put down here. Licensed by 4Kids Entertainment in 1998, than by The Pokémon Company International in 2006 and to the present.
Now, on with the story!)
The scene was Castelia City, a large seaside city that located in the south central Unova region. It was a metropolis with skyscrapers reaching towards the heavens, not much of nature remaining & also alive with people and their Pokémon. Many kinds of businesses were established there, goods shipped out and brought in at a steady pace. There was also areas where people would come to either battle with their Pokémon, go to studios where they could show off with their unique animal partners or to simply relax with them.
At the moment, an important meeting was taking place right now in one of the buildings. At a tall skyscraper that was owned by a businessman from the Kanto region that went by the name of Giovanni Basilio, and while it was open to the public that catered to Trainers & their Pokémon… the top part of it was always closed to them and served only the interest of Giovanni.
This was due to that Giovanni was the true leader of the notorious group known as Team Rocket, a band of evil doers that stole rare and/or powerful Pokémon from either the wild or other Trainers! Their origins were based in the Kanto region, and slowly but surely spread out to other parts of the world.
Right now, the former Gym Leader of Viridian City was waiting patiently for the arrival of two members of the organization… ones that had cost his company much money and resources, and yet had little to nothing to show for it. A Team Rocket member came into the office, saluted the man as he was petting his Persian, and stated, "Sir, members Jessie, James and Meowth have arrived.".
He stated neutrally, "Good. Send them in now.". The young man nodded and went out to tell the trio to come in.
Entering the room now was a young man with blue hair, a young woman with deep-red hair down in an unusual style that defied gravity & finally a Meowth that was between them. The Scratch Cat Pokémon glared at the Persian that was by Giovanni's side, but the evolved form of Meowth just smirked and held his head high.
The two humans looked quite nervous at their leader, who was glaring at them with such an intense piercing gaze that they felt like prey before an alpha predator.
Giovanni soon picked up a manila folder that was in front of him on his desk, one that was loaded to the bursting point with papers inside. His gaze was still on the trio and he stated with an icy tone edge that would send the shivers up anyone, "Here is another failure report… just another piece of information to go along with the long list of failures you three had made into your career.".
The humans and Pokémon winced, as this was certainly bad for them. Jessie spoke up, "Sir, if you could just…".
The leader of Team Rocket and other legit business ventures shut her up with a glare, the young woman snapping her jaw shut with an audible click. Giovanni spoke in the same tone, "Let me make ONE thing perfectly clear to you three. You see this folder here… this is just one of MANY lists of failures that are part of your portfolio. In fact, if one could take everything within the folders that list your failures and put them on a string, it would circle around the entire planet… twice!".
Mr. Basilio looked to the three hard and stated, "You have wasted precious money, resources and time in trying to catch a single Pokémon… a Pokémon that is not that uncommon in the Kanto region. So tell me, please… why put in so much effort to capture a single Pikachu?".
Meowth was the first to speak, "Boss, that ain't no ordinary Pikachu! This one is super special and rare!". Giovanni and his pet Persian cast a glare to Meowth, making him flinch and hide behind Jessie's legs.
Their leader spoke once more, the edge in his tone never leaving or dulling, "What makes this one so special that you wasted over 135,000,000 PokéDollars throughout all of this time? And also using resources from the inventory, many that were in the developmental stage and some that were being saved for certain Legendary Pokémon?".
Giovanni pushed a button, and behind him a screen came down. When it stopped to indicate that it had reached max height, the leader of the notorious Team pushed another button. A film projector came on from above, film rolling… which showed the numerous defeats of Jessie, James and Meowth. The trio were terrified as their string of defeats at the hands of their enemies was now shown.
It was like a bad reply for them; every explosion, every misfire, every drawback & every time they were sent off into the distance was being played back for their leader to see. Meowth stuttered in fear, "H-How did you get all this?!".
His former owner answered without looking to them, "I have my resources. Do not even try to figure it out.". His face and tone were hard, his face getting stonier as he beheld the buffoonery of the three. He had secret Spearows at the ready, each of them specifically trained for stealth and recon missions. Each of the flying Pokémon were sent to keep an eye on the members of the organization, and only he plus a select few knew of this.
It only played for ten minutes, but Giovanni had seen enough… especially when he had seen enough of his resources exploding and machines that were in the developmental stages torn apart… machines that were meant to capture Legendary-type Pokémon. Even some of the fuel they had used were experimental, meant for vehicles that were designed to chase after swift Pokémon.
And seeing the precious, rare power objects being blown up like so did NOT make him happy.
Giovanni stopped the film, the screen going blank and being raised back up into the secret compartment, along with the projector. He turned to face the trio, the humans and Scratch Cat Pokémon scared out of their wits at seeing the seriously stony look on his face. Their leader spoke in a tone that brooked for no argument, "Now… explain yourselves on why you spent so many of MY resources and items, and not show for anything for it.".
The duo winced once more, as indeed they had used a lot of the companies' money and resources… and could not pay them back at all, as the money in their schemes had been spent & also any resource they got was turned into broken messes beyond repair. James managed to find some courage and stated in a humble tone, "Sir, this Pikachu… it is certainly more powerful than even its evolved species, and it seems to be able to do damage to opponents despite type advantage and even size advantage.".
Giovanni stated, "That is not enough to cover the immense cost you three fools had managed to accumulate over the years with this team. So, here is another question for you three… why should I even keep you around more? It would be better for many reasons to fire you, or perhaps… even terminate you.".
The two humans and cat Pokémon gulped and gasped at the same time, sweat coming down their heads in rivets. They knew that difference between being fired and terminated; fired was being let go, that was it. Terminated… well, one would find themselves either sleeping with the Carvanhas, or eight feet under with the Digletts.
While the trio were very adamant about capturing Pikachu as they believed it was the ultimate kind of Pokémon, their leader did not share their views as he was more concerned about the cost the three were piling up on the organization.
Giovanni spoke once more, "You three have ten seconds to come up with a suitable answer, or else… down you go.". His left hand was hovering over a black button, one that when activated would open a trap door directly underneath Jessie, James and Meowth. It would send them down through the building, into the underground area of said place… and most likely to something that would truly end them.
The ruthless Pokémon trainer and businessman counted down, his finger slowly descending down towards the button. When he got to the number three, Jessie in a moment of panic and fear exclaimed, "THIS IS ALL THAT KETCHUM'S TWERP'S FAULT!".
The trio continued to shiver in fright, believing that soon they would be ended. But they were surprised when the trap door did not open, and looked in confusion to see their boss seemingly frozen with a perplexed look on his face. This caused them to stop shivering, wondering what was going on.
Mr. Basilio inquired in a tone that showed surprise, "Did you just say Ketchum?".
Jessie answered in a confused tone, "Umm… yes sir, we did.".
The man slowly retracted his hand from the button, his glare returning hard as ever… but with a mixture of curiosity in them. He spoke, "Explain, now.".
Seeing that this could be their only chance for salvation, and possibly redemption, James spoke up, "Sir, it's this twerp that owns his Pikachu. His name is Ash Ketchum and…".
Giovanni's eyes went wide at the name, and this prompted him to interrupt the blue-haired man. He inquired, "Why is it that you failed to even mention his name? All you have in the reports is the word 'twerps' and other such juvenile nonsense!".
Meowth mumbled out in fear, "W-Well, we didn't tink that it mattered so…".
The leader of the organization suddenly slammed his fist on the desk in front of him and exclaimed angrily, "EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF INFORMATION MATTERS, YOU FLEA-INFESTED CAT!". His sudden actions and tone caused them to cower in fear, all of them now clutching to one another and shaking in fear from the sight of their enraged boss.
Giovanni calmed himself down, glaring still at his subordinates and stated, "Every piece of information matters, including names. And what you just brought up… now has me intrigued.".
The group slowly, very slowly, let their grip on the other go and rose back to their standing position. Jessie inquired, "Sir, just… just what does the twerp's name…". She stopped herself when she saw the glare intensifying, becoming more deadly than the glare from an Arbok.
James managed to save his partner and cut in, "Ash, sir! She meant to say on what Ash Ketchum's name mean to you?".
Mr. Basilio looked to him and answered coldly, "It is none of your concern, but… after what has been told… I am willing to give you all one last chance.".
This brought hope to the trio, as said emotion and relief was shown on their faces. But they quickly straightened up as they saw their leader do the same and staring at them with such intensity still.
Giovanni spoke up, "This really goes against my better judgement and common sense… but I am giving you one last chance to redeem yourselves. Bring to me… Ash Ketchum.".
This surprised Jessie, James and Meowth. Normally, their goal would be to capture Pokémon even though they focused almost exclusively on Pikachu. But… to capture a human… and one that was a child. The leader continued onward, "Bring me Ash Ketchum to me. If he is captured, than this Pikachu of his will be more persuaded to surrender itself.".
The businessman and potent Pokémon Trainer looked to the trio and stated with an edge that could cut through steel, "This is your LAST chance. Fail me… and you WILL be terminated.". James, Jessie and Meowth gulped in fright as this was the ultimatum- bring Ash to their boss, or failure would be truly the end of them.
Jessie exclaimed, "It'll be done, sir! We'll capture the twer… I mean, we'll capture Ash Ketchum and bring him to you! And get Pikachu and his other Pokémon in the process!".
Giovanni nodded and turned away from them and stated, "Good. Dismissed.". The trio saluted him before running out of the office, intent to do a good job… or else.
When the door closed completely, Giovanni started to stroke the head of his Persian. He closed his eyes and said to himself, "Ketchum… a piece of my past that I left behind…".
He turned back to his desk, pressing down on a secret switch that activated a keyboard to rise up in front of him. He typed in some commands on it, and when he made the last one… the wall on the left side of him opened to reveal a secret wall. And on said wall was a portrait, one that was done by hand & by a master of their craft.
In the portrait was a large family, and within it was a slightly younger-looking Giovanni who was smiling… and beneath him was the picture of Delia Ketchum, who was sitting on a bench & in her arms was a sleeping baby boy with a headful of black hair! And underneath the boy was a Meowth who looked to be staring curiously at the baby.
Mr. Basilio looked to the portrait, the Persian doing the same. He sighed slightly and said, "So, it seems that we will see each other face to face… grandson.".
(Author's Notes: And… cut! Short, but necessary here as it will build up tension.
So it seems that Giovanni has a connection with Ash! And before you all say that Giovanni looks so young, let me say something here. I know many people that are old chronologically, but they do not look or act their age. For me, it's a reverse thing. I am 37 years of age, but people mistake me for an 18 or 21 year old due to my looks.
In any case, we got something going here and I will be sure to continue it whenever I can! For now, this is a starting point.
I hope to do Nicky Haugh proud with this story!
R&R, no flames, enjoy and leave LONG reviews!)