"Giovanni! Giovanni! Giovanni!" Delia's altered voice pulled him out of his overwhelming, chaotic thoughts.

She began to pull him insistently by his arm, drawing his attention. The gym leader was in shock, he couldn't think clearly. His ever unflappable face was grim and he seemed to be beside himself. Several drops of sweat fell down his face, and he looked at his wife who had her face pale from the terror she felt.

"I don't…", the gym leader murmured, so slowly she could barely hear him.

"Giovanni, what's going on?", She asked altered while she did not take her eyes off him, he could see fear and concern in her eyes because she did not understand anything that was happening around her. The guilt of seeing Delia like that went through him like a deadly shot and he mentally swore that he would get her and Ash out of there safe and sound.

The front door fell, causing a loud noise as it hit the wooden floor of the principal entrance. The mocking laughter from the Black Knights breaking into the small house caused Ash to cling to his mother's clothes by hiding behind her. Giovanni then grabbed Delia by her shoulders and pulled her back.

"Stay here, don't go out for nothing", Delia nodded as she took Ash in her arms.

"Giovanni…", She said when she watched him close the bedroom door to meet Cipriani's men.

The smoke was beginning to thicken and helped Giovanni lose himself in its blackness. When the intruders managed to see him appear from the cloud of smoke he was already very close to them. The crime lord's face was calm again. He watched the four men around him with his dark, penetrating eyes. The nearest man rushed over to Giovanni throwing his fist at the Team Rocket boss who grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground causing a heavy noise as he painfully crashed into the wood. The one closest to the door shot a quick glance at his companions, one of them brown and the other blond; In order for them to launch themselves at Giovanni, this man carried a charmeleon with him and a loaded weapon ready for use.

The other two Black Knights began to throw blows at Giovanni who was moving agilely through the space they were in and knew very well. One of the enemy fists brushed his face when he barely had time to dodge by ducking, then quickly and as if he had a spring in his legs he got up forcefully, smashing his right fist into the liver of the chestnut tree, who put his hands on his stomach with pain and he dropped to the ground.

The blonde looked at his partner on the ground and gritted his teeth looking at Giovanni furiously, then he pounced, throwing punches at the gym leader who moved from side to side dodging punches, as he used to do in his boxing workouts in Viridian. The intruder near the door pointed his gun at them and yelled alerting the blonde. Giovanni looked at the subject pointing at him and as if he were watching a scene in slow motion he threw himself sideways onto the armchair in the living room and then rolled onto the floor. The unmistakable sound of a gun being operated flooded Giovanni's head and Delia's as well as she clung tightly to her son and asked any God in heaven that her husband be safe.

Giovanni rose from the ground, ready to repel the blows that the blond man began to throw in a messy way. Giovanni then grabbed his hand tightly and dislocated his wrist, then as the blonde screamed in pain he kicked him in the stomach leaving him lying on the ground.

"Flamethrower!", The dark-haired, armed man standing near the principal entrance, shouted ordering his charmeleon.

Giovanni hurriedly kicked the coffee table in the living room and held it tight to use it as a makeshift shield and cover himself from the hot flames of the enemy pokemon. For a moment he thought he couldn't resist the force of that engulfing fire as he kept his head down and clenched his teeth tightly. When the attack ceased the armed Black Knight kicked the scorched wooden table. Giovanni staggered and fell to the ground a little shaken from the effort and the smoke seeping into his lungs. He felt the wound in his side open a little wider with each movement and he brought one hand to where the stitches were that his wife had been caring for those days with so much affection.

Ash and Delia could hear the noises coming from outside while staying hidden.

"Mom, we have to help Dad", Ash said looking at his mother with a frown of concern, fear and some anxiety.

"It's very dangerous Ash", she told him trying to dissuade him.

"He needs his pokemon," he insisted as he reached into his pockets looking for something. "Look, it's Rhydon, mom"

Delia looked at the pokeball shining in the small hand of her son and then she looked at him who was smiling at her with his face sweating from the heat that now slowly filled the room.

"Ash", said the mother a little confused.

"I saved it when I went upstairs to drop off Daddy's other pokeballs, I wanted to show Gary when I go to see him", he explained sadly for taking something from his father without permission.

Outside Giovanni was kicked in the ribs as he watched Cipriani's men rise and gather in front of him.

"Apparently you weren't as strong as they said", the man with the charmeleon sneered.

"Let's get this over with". the blond man yelled with pain and great anger as he pressed his hand against his body and showed a wince of pain.

"Wait", the man with the gun who was now pointing at Giovanni who was still on the ground smiled maliciously. "Cipriani said the asshole Koch's report said he had a wife and a son"

Giovanni then remembered that man from Cipriani with whom he had a talk at the Celadon facilities. He could never find that damn report, so he now understood how the Black Knights appeared there. If he had left earlier then Delia and Ash would have been caught home alone.

"We should just kill them all", the blonde guy yelled again.

"We can have fun with the wife first", he declared as he pointed toward the hallway where Giovanni had appeared. "Go find them"

"Damn!", Giovanni yelled at them angrily.

"Shut up!", Said the armed man, stepping on his chest hard. "Die at once", he declared, pointing his gun right at the head of the crime lord.

"Stomp, Rhydon, now!", Ash yelled with all the force he could get out of his small body as he remained hidden in the smoke.

The four men of Cipriani turned in surprise to see the fierce pokemon of the Viridian city gym leader appear from the thick of the smoke. He planted himself in front of them, hitting the ground hard and vibrating everything around him. Rhydon roared as he was now in front of his trainer, causing his opponent to back away from him. Two of the men ran out of the house, one of them was the blond with a dislocated hand.

"Flamethrower!", The man who before emboldened trampling on Giovanni's chest while he was lying on the ground ordered in a hurry.

"Horn drill!", The gym leader's little son ordered as well.

Both pokemon attacked at the same time. The flames of the charmeleon seemed to do nothing to the enraged Rhydon who hit the fire type with force that was shot out by the blow against his trainer, who was left lying on the ground by the blow of his pokemon. Ash stepped out of the cloud of smoke in the corridor and hurried to where Giovanni was.

"Dad, are you okay?", The boy asked, pressing his lips together to keep from crying. As he helped his father to his feet.

"That was amazing son, you did very well"

Giovanni patted his son's shoulder approvingly and then watched his wife appear from covering her face with a cloth. Her face was wet with sweat and flushed from the heat just like their son.

Delia looked at her badly injured husband of hers and paled, she felt dizzy and thought she would faint.

"You are fine?", Delia asked them with concern and they both nodded.

The voices and footsteps of the Black Knights still outside alerted the gym leader.

"You two go upstairs and find my other pokeballs", he told them to get out of there.

"But Dad…!", The dark-haired little boy hurried to say.

"Delia, get upstairs, quick", he said one last time firmly.

The woman looked at her husband and nodded. She took their son's hand tightly and began to run up the stairs away from danger. The boy took one last tear-soaked look at his father as he was leaving the house with Rhydon.

Outside a dozen Black Knights waited with their pokemon, including some jolteon, growlithe, houndour, charmeleon, and raticate. Giovanni appeared in front of his enemies with his head bowed. And as he advanced slowly, until he was in front of the porch of the little white house, he raised his face. The rays of the sun illuminated his face revealing a look of complete hatred and a scathing smile crossed his face. Those men had broken into his house, scared his family and swept away the tranquility of country life for his wife and son. His blood boiled with fury and the very thought that they might have done horrible things to Delia and Ash clouded his judgment with raging insanity.

"Bulldoze!", He yelled with irrepressible fierceness.

Rhydon lunged for the attack, and the ground began to move under the men's feet. That they began to send their pokemon on the attack.

"Fury Attack", Giovanni ordered with his arms crossed over his chest.

The attacks of the Black Knights pokemon were dodged by the skillful and fast pokemon of the crime lord who was used to fighting several at once. Some were thrown away struck by Rhydon's brute force as they fell on his trainer.

"Let's finish this", he declared harshly, reaching out his right arm against the Black Knights. "Bulldoze"

The unstoppable earth/rock pokemon roared indomitable. He charged forward with overwhelming force that drove his opponents back. Following the orders of his trainer the ground shook again with force, and creaked as if it were a small dry leaf that had just been stepped on. The attacking pokemon were hit squarely and thrown to the ground being weakened.

"Stone Edge and then Bulldoze!", Giovanni yelled as some Black Knights ran to their cars to flee.

The sharp rocks pierced the ground and the cars, making escape impossible, were then hit by an earthquake attack again and left unconscious on the ground. Giovanni looked at the scene in front of him and then at his pokemon partner.

"Thanks friend, you did well", the gym leader said calmly and returned the pokemon to his pokeball to rest.

Delia and Ash appeared running after him with his pokeballs. They were agitated and sweaty from the heat and smoke that flooded the house.

"You are fine?", Giovanni asked looking at them with concern.

"You defeated everyone!", Ash shouted excitedly watching the pokemon and their trainers scattered across the street.

Delia could not speak and looked at her husband seriously. She did not understand what was happening, why had those men broken into her house like that? Everything they had, what they knew, now lay under the ashes of their beloved home. A lump in her throat threatened to make her cry, but she held on tightly and managed to confront her husband.

"Giovanni!, What does this mean? Who were these men?", Her voice began to break and her hands shook helplessly. "Our house is destroyed!", She screamed at him in dismay.

Her head began to spin and her vision blurred. Delia felt the ground under her feet move, she put a hand to her face and then lost control of her body. Giovanni caught his wife in his arms before she fell to the ground.

"Delia!", He patted her face and brushed a few strands of hair from her face.

"What's wrong with mommy?", Ash asked very scared as he took his mother's hand.

"Easy, she just fainted"

"What will we do now?", The heartbreak in Ash's voice didn't go unnoticed by his father.

Giovanni was in a desperate situation. He had Delia passed out in his arms and Ash stood next to him on the verge of tears. The crime lord was terrified for the first time in a long time. They couldn't stay there any longer, Cipriani would send more of his men surely. They had to leave as soon as possible, Giovanni began to think quickly about what to do, he looked at the mansion on the hill and was about to announce his next move to Ash when he heard a calm and familiar voice.

"Sir…"

Giovanni raised his face and looked at Archer walking towards them. Never before had he been more glad to see his loyal executive. The man in a white uniform stopped in front of Ash who stood with his fists raised trying to protect his parents from that stranger, with watery eyes and pressing his lips.

"Archer", Giovanni said, relieved to see him, although he wouldn't admit it.

Ash looked at his father who nodded making him understand that he was not an enemy and stood next to his mother again.

"I came as soon as I had your coordinates sir", He placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly, he looked at Ash and then at the burning house behind them. "I think I'm late sir..."

"It's not like that, you've come at the right time"

A loud explosion came from the house causing Ash to jump scared. Giovanni gestured quickly for Archer to take Ash. The executive picked him up off the ground and began to walk away from the house with his boss. At the end of the street he was waiting for the car in which Archer had come from Viridian.

"Where we go?", Ash asked worriedly when Giovanni put his seat belt on.

"To a safe place…", His father announced.

The trip from Pallet Town to Viridian City was quick with Giovanni at the wheel. Ash remained silent, gently stroking the face and hair of his mother who was still passed out next to him. And he paid no attention to what his father was talking about with the man who accompanied them. When they began to advance through the Viridian streets, the dark-haired little boy could not help looking out the car window, he had never been to the city before and that was exciting, although he would have preferred this visit to be different.

They went directly to Giovanni's private helipad to get out of town as quickly as possible. When Ash got out of the car a cool wind hit his face and made his hair dance. He looked at his father carefully pulling his mother out of the car, and wanted to ask him what was happening, why had everything suddenly changed like this?. He was a little cold and the air cooled his hands. He wanted his mother to wake up and hold him tight.

"Hurry up Ash", his father told him when he saw him stay behind.

"Yes daddy", replied the little boy, hastening his pace.

Delia opened her eyes a little, she still felt dizzy. Giovanni carried her in his arms and her head rested against her husband's chest. He was rushing towards the waiting helicopter, Ash walking beside him in a hurry. The woman tried to lift her face a little and she managed to see her son before closing her eyes again.

As they soared through the skies over Kanto, Archer told Giovanni that the team he sent to Pallet Town was carrying out the mission given to them. Ash looked curiously at the man who was talking to his father. He was interested in knowing about him. He spoke calmly and seemed very cunning. He called his father lord or boss and was complacent. Then he turned his gaze from him to his father who looked tired. He was wearing black pants and shoes and a dirty and wrinkled pale blue shirt. That was because that morning he intended to leave and return to the city and Ash knew it before they told him just by seeing him dressed like that at breakfast.

Ash fell asleep while he held the hand of his mother who was sitting next to him. He woke up when Archer gently shook his shoulder.

"Come on little one", Archer's calm voice calling him brought him out of his dreams.

Ash rubbed his face sleepily, looked for his mother, but she was gone.

"Mommy", he said with concern.

"It's there", Archer pointed out for him to look at Delia being carried on a stretcher, Giovanni walking beside her talking to what looked like a doctor.

Ash tried to remove his belt in a hurry and his hands knotted into a skein of knots, then Archer pushed his small hands away to help him free himself. The boy got out of the helicopter aided by Rocket executive and ran to catch up with his father.

Delia opened her eyes slowly, her body was tired. Her vision was a little blurry and she ran a hand over her eyes in an attempt to improve her vision. When she managed to observe her clearly she realized that she did not recognize that place. She got out of bed in a hurry and felt dizzy from her sudden movement. She sat on the edge of the bed, she remembered then what had happened that morning. A feeling of sadness flooded her chest and she clasped her hands one over the other in her lap. She looked carefully at the room where she was, it was a spacious and Roman-style place. It had high ceilings, elegant moldings, and a gorgeous bed, it reminded her of the gym in Viridian City. Which brought her to mind Giovanni and of course Ash. She put a hand to her face, concerned for her husband and son. Where were they? She wondered her with her heart beginning to pound. She carefully got up from the bed and went to the deep red curtains that covered the entire wall, carefully pushed them aside and the breathtaking view of the Vermilion Sea dazzled her.

"You've finally woken up", a familiar voice said from behind her and she turned to look at him.

Giovanni appeared dressed in a tailored black suit, wearing a white shirt without a tie, and appeared to be familiar with where they were. He looked at her smiling and she felt annoyed, why could he be so calm while all her life was going to hell?

"Where is Ash?", She asked in an irritated voice.

He raised both hands to her asking her to calm down a bit.

"Sit down honey" He pointed to the bed.

Delia looked at her husband and then sat down, to know on her son.

"Ash is safe, he's outside playing"

She felt confused and Giovanni's calm words were of no help.

"What happened?", She asked as she put a hand to her belly.

"The baby is fine", he told her quickly when he noticed her worried face. "A doctor has come to see you, I will ask him to come back to check you now that you are awake"

She nodded feeling a bit calmed knowing that the little one in her belly was fine but still with a fervent desire to know the truth.

"Where are we, Giovanni?", Delia needed answers and an explanation, he just couldn't keep quiet now like other times before.

"Vermilion City", the crime lord replied as he licked his lips nervously by that follow now. "I brought you and Ahs here from Palette Town"

She was silent looking at him for a moment trying to process his words. It seemed to her that this man in front of her was not her husband, and it was said that she did not know this man standing in front of her.

"Who are you?", She asked him coldly with her fists clenched at her side. "Why have they attacked us?, I deserve an explanation from you!", She demanded, standing up angrily.

Delia felt her heart beat uncontrollably, the fatigue, the fear, the confusion, and the anguish were all stirred inside her, churning like a raging sea in the middle of a storm. She was ready to face her husband, even if the truth that he will said would change everything between them forever.

Giovanni lowered his face in pity, staring at the fine white marble floor at his feet. The moment he had most feared since the moment he married Delia came. He had to face the demons that he himself created in all those years. He waved her hand inviting her to sit down again. Delia thought for a moment about refusing his request, but her legs were shaking and she thought it best to be seated when she listened to Giovanni's explanation. The gym leader squatted in front of her and took her hands in his, stroking them gently. Trying to accommodate the ideas in his head in clear and concise sentences and end it in one fell swoop.

"Sorry", he announced with sincere words, "I'm not who you think Delia..."

The chocolate-eyed woman felt her heart beat a thousand times an hour. She knew her life was about to take a complete turn. She with expectant eyes she looked at him expecting more.

"I… I am… the leader of Team Rocket"

Silence. She heard him, he was sure, but she didn't say anything, she just looked at him calmly. She blinked. She wondered if she had heard him right. Had her husband just said he was the leader of a criminal organization? He had hidden from her that he was one of the most wanted men in the region. She felt anger rise up her chest and her eyes fill with tears. She raised her hand against Giovanni and gave him a strong slap that made him turn his face, he did not say or do anything he just waiting, and his Delia began to cry.

"Since when?", He heard her ask, forcing a calm voice.

"Since before Ash was born", he confessed, looking at the ground. Delia took his face in her hands and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Is that why you agreed to let us go live far away?, Didn't you need me near your businesses?", She exclaimed in a tone full of sadness and resentment, her chocolate eyes were now clouded with bitter tears.

"It wasn't like that, Delia", he said, standing up. "I just wanted to keep them safe"

"You haven't done very well ...", She stood up. "I've lost everything I had and loved, my home, my memories, my quiet life with my son. You have caused me a lot of pain..."

Giovanni felt something inside him break into many small pieces that are difficult to put back together. Delia's words sank deep into his being, his greatest fear was coming true in front of him because of him. The words that came from his wife's lips were something he always wanted to avoid hearing. They pierced his chest and he felt that he was losing the only thing he really loved in his life, his wife, his family. The only thing that really really mattered.

"I know, I understand how you feel, and I'm very sorry, Delia", he dared to say with his heart in his hand.

"Go away Giovanni, I want to be alone...", She said turning her back to him so as not to look at him anymore.

He keep stood with one hand towards her, try reaching for his wife. Then he slowly dropped his hand and looked at her for a moment. Delia stood in front of the huge window overlooking the Vermilion Sea, her arms crossed over her chest. Giovanni looked at her one last time before heading to the door, when he left, it closed softly and he sighed sadly. His face seemed calm and anyone would have thought that it had not disturbed him. However, he felt lost.

When her husband left the room Delia turned to look at the huge empty room and sat on the bed crying. Her whole life with Giovanni was a lie. Everything that she ever believed was true was not true now. She didn't have a home to return to, and surely her and Ash's life were in danger. She wondered what she should do. She alone could not keep Ash safe, much less being pregnant. Her whole life was hanging by a thread.

"What should I do?", She asked, gently rubbing her belly.

When Professor Oak noticed the blackened smoke coming from Delia and her family's house, he rushed to get on his bike. He hurriedly pedaled the steep path that would take him to the home of his good friends. When he was near the place the professor put one foot on the ground to stop his advance and the bicycle skidded sideways. He hurried to hide in some nearby bushes so as not to be seen by the strange men who were putting out the fire. He had never seen these people. He carefully observed the ground in front of the house that appeared to have been the field of a pokemon battle. The men who were putting out the fire wore black uniforms that the professor thought resembled those of Team Rocket, but these did not have the particular red letter on their chests. They were moving some cars and taking other uniformed men, but in a different way. After a while they finished their work and disappeared down Route 7 towards Viridian.

When he was sure that there was no one left and that the cars were moving far enough away not to be seen, the professor walked slowly towards Delia and Ash's house. The place was almost completely burned. But it seemed like they weren't there. He wondered what had happened and if they were okay. He didn't know if calling the police would be good or waiting for Delia to call him first.

He took his bike again and returned home hoping to find out soon about Delia, Ash and Giovanni.