Gathering Clouds
An Interlude to Pokemon Legend
The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, and a young boy was about to start one of the best days of his life. This was the day of Ryan Lachlan's tenth birthday, and possibly the day he got his first pokemon from Nurse Joy in the Viridian City Pokemon Center. He wished he could've gotten his first pokemon from Professor Elm in New Bark Town. New trainers there got a choice between a cyndaquil, a chikorita, or a totodile, but in Viridian city, new trainers only had a choice between a pikachu, a geodude, or a growlithe. But what he really wanted was a houndour, or even a murkrow. Ryan loved dark type pokemon because they were so tough and were immune to psychic attacks like steel type pokemon were immune to poison attacks. Another reason he liked them was their ability to learn a vast amount of different attacks. An excellently trained houndoom could use solar beam, while a well trained tyranitar could use surf.
This special day started off just like any other. He got up, got dressed, washed up, and went about his daily job of delivering the morning newspaper. It was a great day, so he decided to take his time coming home. When he arrived home, his parents called him into the living room.
"Happy birthday son." his father said, handing him a package. The box was fairly large for a present, and was riddled with small holes. From inside the box came a soft whimpering sound and the sound of something pawing at the inside of the box. Ryan ripped the lid off of the package to reveal a small, black furred creature, a houndour.
"A houndour!" the boy exclaimed, gently picking up the small canine pokemon and hugging it close to him.
"We knew you'd like him." said his mother.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he cried.
"Dour." the small pokemon yipped.
Ryan spent the rest of the day getting to know his new pokemon, completely forgetting about getting his other pokemon from the Pokemon Center.
"Don't worry, we can still go tomorrow. I'm sure Nurse Joy will still have something for you." his mother assured him. That night, both Ryan and Houndour curled up to each other in bed, both happy with their new friend.
The next day, Ryan took Houndour for a walk, and they both ran around in the field south of the city. Today was just as beautiful as the last day, no exceptions at all. They were just about to head back to the city when Ryan heard a sound coming from the ground. He jumped back just in time to avoid the sting of an angry weedle.
"Houndour, do something!" the boy cried. "Use ember!" He did not know whether or not his pokemon could do this, as he had not even seen a single puff of smoke come from his small companion. Amazingly, Houndour opened his mouth and a stream of tiny flames burst from it. The weedle fainted long before Houndour closed his mouth. The duo quickly returned to the city, and later on, visited the pokemon center. Nurse Joy looked his pokemon over then gave it back to Ryan.
"Your houndour is doing nicely Ryan. Even at his young age, Houndour's ember attack is pretty strong. You might want to train him to control his power." She suggested.
"Okay." he agreed. "Oh, Nurse Joy. I was wondering, are there still any pokemon left from yesterday? I was just so excited when I got Houndour that I forgot to get one yesterday."
"I think I may have a couple left." the nurse said. She led him to the back room where pokemon were stored and grabbed two pokeballs off of the table. "Take your pick. You can have a mareep or an eevee." The boy's eyes widened at the second choice. Eevee were rare pokemon that could evolve into one of five pokemon.
"I think I'll take the eevee." he said.
"Somehow I thought you'd choose that one." Nurse Joy giggled, picking up a pokeball from the table.
"Yeah. I want to evolve it into a jolteon later." Ryan said, as nurse Joy handed him the red and white ball.
"Why a jolteon?" she asked.
"Jolteon is my favorite electric type." he replied.
"Well, I guess that's as good a reason as any." she said. "Just don't forget to train it before you evolve it, otherwise it might not learn some moves."
"Okay, I will. Thank you Nurse Joy!" he said, leaving the building with both Houndour and his new eevee in his arms.
By the time Ryan got home, Eevee was already great friends with both him and Houndour. They spent the rest of the day in the backyard playing and training. Houndour was already adept at using ember and bite, and Eevee could use tackle and bite. Both pokemon wrestled on the grass, racing around the backyard, and just having a good time. Both slept with Ryan in bed that night. But after that, Eevee preferred to rest inside his pokeball, finding it perfectly comfortable.
By the end of the month, Ryan's pokemon had learned a lot of attacks and were becoming good fighters. Ryan had even won a friendly competition against some of the neighborhood kids. Because they were kids, the prize was only a pokeball, but Ryan entered because both he and his pokemon wanted to test their mettle against others. That victory made Ryan realize that he wanted to become a pokemon trainer more than anything else in the world.
For Christmas that year his parents paid for lessons at a special dojo that trained both humans and pokemon to fight and work together. Because of that dojo, Ryan decided to stay at home for a while before leaving on his pokemon journey. He and his pokemon were learning so much that they had no desire to leave yet. The Kimono Girls from Ecruteak City in Johto came to teach for a week, giving special training to eevees and their trainers. As one of the only two trainers with an eevee, Ryan spent most of the week with the girls, learning the secrets of eevees, jolteons, and even some evasive maneuvers for his own self defense. By the time they left, Ryan's eevee was ready to become a jolteon and he was becoming a skilled dancer. As they had said, dancing can easily be combined with any form of self defense.
As the lessons continued, Ryan, Houndour, and Eevee were growing in strength, mind, soul, and size. As any growing child, human or pokemon alike, would do, all three developed very large appetites. The bond between the trainer and his pokemon grew, but the bond between him and Houndour grew faster. By the time Ryan turned eleven, he could, three out of four times, understand what the dark type pokemon was saying. This particular skill did and probably would come in handy many times.
When Ryan's twelfth birthday, and two year anniversary of the day he met Houndour, arrived, he was completely different. The idea of a typical birthday party was discarded in favour of a small pokemon tournament. Luckily Giovanni, the Viridian City Gym leader, allowed them to use the gym for their small tournament. Everyone thought he did it to find new trainers for his gym, but no one cared. Prizes were given to everyone competing, as the tournament was merely for fun. Ryan was working his way up the small ladder with the help of his two pokemon. The final battle was between Ryan and his best friend since he was five, Phil. The battle was a one on one.
"Go Haunter!" Phil cried, throwing his pokeball into the field.
"Let's do it Houndour." said Ryan. Houndour leapt onto the field to begin the match. "Houndour, start things off with a shadow ball!"
"Haunter, night shade attack!" ordered the other. Both pokemon used their attacks simultaneously, creating a small explosion of ghostly energy.
"Use bite!" Ryan commanded.
"Haunter, use hypnosis!" Phil cried. Haunter's eyes began to glow blue, but Houndour was unaffected by the psychic attack and bit into his opponent. Houndour tore at the ghost type pokemon, shaking him around, then finally, throwing it to the ground. Houndour moved in for the finishing blow, but Ryan said, "Houndour, let it get up." The haunter began to get up, but promptly fainted from dizziness.
"Dour!" Houndour cried.
"Good job, Houndour." Ryan said.
"Amazing." said a voice from behind him. "You are going to be an excellent trainer when you grow up."
"Thank you." said the young trainer as he stooped to give his pokemon a biscuit.
"I am Giovanni, the leader of this gym." said the man.
"You're Giovanni?" Ryan said in disbelieving shock.
"Yes, I am." he said. "Your battling skills are excellent. You don't take battle lightly, yet you have mercy. Your opponents can do two things after you beat them. Do you know what those two things are?"
"No, sir." the boy replied.
"I'll tell you. Your opponents can either fear you or respect you. If you show mercy, they will most likely respect you. Let me tell you something: being respected is many times better than being feared." the gym leader said. "If you have the respect of others, you'll go far."
"I'll remember that, sir." Ryan promised.
"Say, why don't you come and train here sometime? Every Saturday and Sunday if possible" asked Giovanni. "I'm sure your parents won't mind."
"I'll go ask them." he said. Ryan did as he said and asked his parents the question. His parents agreed that he should train at the gym and all of his friends gasped in awe of his incredible luck. Ryan quickly returned to Giovanni with the answer and the gym leader pulled a chain out of his suit pocket. On the chain was a gold disc with a metallic red symbol for fire embedded in it.
"Happy birthday." said Giovanni, as he handed Ryan the chain. "That medallion will be proof of our friendship."
"Thank you sir." he said.
"Just call me Giovanni." said the man, as he walked off into the depths of the gym. "See you in two days Ryan."
"You're so lucky!" cried an approaching Phil. "I wish I could be you right now. But c'mon, your parents are handing out the prizes."
"Right." he said. Ryan quickly put the chain on and both he and his two pokemon followed him back to the group.
"Ryan, you're just in time. Here are your presents." said his father. The package contained two pokeballs and a complete set of apricorn pokeballs.
"We've got something for you, too." said another of his friends, the other eevee trainer in the city. Two of his other friends came with something covered with a sheet. They pulled off the sheet and Ryan gasped. Under the sheet was a fish tank containing the biggest magikarp he had ever seen.
"We know how much you want a gyarados, but we couldn't catch one. Instead, we caught the biggest magikarp we could find." said Phil.
"Thank you all." said the boy. The rest of the day went great, completely tiring out the young trainer. He and his pokemon went to bed, dreaming of the day when they would set out on their journey.
The next day was the same as any other Friday, except for the celebration of the two year anniversary of the day Ryan met Eevee. As was the tradition, Ryan was allowed to stay up much later than usual on Fridays and Saturdays. Ryan sat on the couch, with Eevee and Houndour on either side and Magikarp watching from his tank, watching a Pokemon League tournament on TV. After it was over, he got up, turned off the TV, and crept downstairs to his room. His parents were asleep by then, so he decided to go outside and look at the stars. He and his two furry companions were outside for what seemed like hours.
The sky was clear, the stars were bright, and the moon was full. But something didn't seem, or more specifically, didn't smell right. Houndour was the first to notice the stench. He nudged Ryan in the side and pointed back toward the house. Ryan turned around just in time to notice the smoke slowly making its way down the stairs.
"Eevee, grab my medallion; it's on the bed!" he commanded. "C'mon Houndour, we've gotta save Mom and Dad!" All three rushed back into the burning house to do whatever they could. Ryan grabbed his backpack containing all of his training supplies, several changes of clothes, and his wallet. He rushed upstairs with Houndour and told him to find his parents. Ryan then proceeded to save his magikarp from a soon to become boiling fish tank by returning him to his pokeball. After saving his third pokemon, the young trainer dashed to his parent's room only to discover that the roof had come down, blocking his path down the hallway. Houndour was desperately trying to move the debris, but wasn't strong enough to move it out of the way.
"Ryan, quick, go get help!" he heard his mother cry from the other side.
"C'mon Houndour, let's go!" he said. They quickly made their way downstairs and found Eevee waiting for them by the door. Ryan slipped his shoes on and ran into the night, his pokemon trailing close behind. He went to the neighbors place and slammed on the door. An old man answered the door, rubbing his eyes.
"Whatsa matter?" he yawned.
"What's the matter?!" cried the boy. "My place is on fire! You gotta call the fire department!" The man sprang to attention, as if three cups of coffee had just taken effect. The man looked in the direction of Ryan's house and his eyes went wide.
"Quick, come inside, all of you." he said, running back inside. Ryan and his pokemon entered the house and followed the man into his kitchen where he was already dialing the number for the fire department.
"Hello? Yeah, it's an emergency! The house next door to me is on fire! What, you know? Then get over here and do something about it!" he yelled into the phone. With that, the old man hung up the phone and turned back toward Ryan. "Don't worry son, they're comin." Minutes later, the fire truck arrived with a team of wartortle clinging to the top. They quickly hopped to the ground and surrounded the house, using water gun as soon as they were in place. The water pokemon had soon put out the fire, but there was bad news to come. The chief fire fighter put a hand on Ryan's shoulder and hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, but your parents didn't make it out. They suffocated from the smoke. I'm sorry." Tears welled up inside Ryan's eyes, and he began to cry. Even Houndour and Eevee wept in sorrow. Sometime after he had stopped bawling and everyone but the firemen had left, a van pulled up beside him. The window rolled down to reveal Giovanni. Even his serious face seemed filled with despair.
"I heard the bad news. I'm sorry you had to go through something that horrible." he said.
"I'm sorry Giovanni, but I won't be able to train at your gym." Ryan sobbed. "My closest relatives are in Saffron City, so I'll have to move there."
"Your aunt and uncle?" he asked.
"Yes. They're both scientists for Sylph Co." the young man answered.
"Really? I think I know them. Yes, I recall Sylph Co. sending some employees to start a lab here in Viridian City. Why don't you come to the gym with me and you can phone them?" he said. Ryan nodded in agreement and hopped into the passenger's side of the vehicle. A door slid open and Ryan's pokemon jumped into the back.
Ryan phoned his relatives and they told him the whole story.
"We've got something else to tell you, Ryan." said his uncle.
"Go ahead." said Giovanni.
"We're both part of Team Rocket." said his aunt. "Your parents were too." Ryan was both shocked and amazed by this statement.
"That's why you were able to have your little tournament here, and the reason why I wanted you to train here." the gym leader told him.
"I always wondered why we were so well off compared to everyone else." Ryan said.
"Join Team Rocket and I will give you whatever you want. All you have to do is listen to my instructions and carry them out." the man said. Ryan's face went serious and he said, "Why not, I've got nothing else left."
"Excellent. You can live with your aunt and uncle, but don't expect to lead a normal life." Giovanni said. "But I'm sure you'll exceed Team Rocket standards in no time. Come with me. I'll give you your uniform and show you who you'll be working with." The three followed the leader of Team Rocket down the hall to an elevator, where they rode it to the bottom. After walking down another corridor, they came to a large room that looked to Ryan like an equipment room. Three figures walked up to Giovanni.
"We're here boss." said a boy who looked the same age as Ryan. This boy had blue hair and was grinning stupidly. Next to him was a girl who looked the same age. Her hair was red and went down to her thighs. In the center of both was a meowth who was standing on two feet.
"Jesse, James, this is your new partner." said Giovanni.
"Him? He looks, well, sad." said the girl.
"I'm sure you would be too if your parents were killed in a fire tonight!" he yelled.
"Oh. Yeah." she said. "Sorry."
"I'm sorry Ryan." said Giovanni. "Those three can be thick headed at times."
"Then how come I can't use skull bash very well?" asked the meowth. Ryan's eyes opened wide as he heard the feline pokemon speak.
"Yes, Ryan, Meowth can talk. It's one of the only things he does well." said the man. "James, go fetch his uniform."
"Yes sir!" said the boy. He came back seconds later carrying a folded pile of clothes, a pair of boots, and a pair of biking gloves.
"Here's the bathroom." the Rocket leader told him, pointing to his left. "Go see how they fit." Ryan came back with the uniform on, looking like a true member of Team Rocket.
"They fit perfectly." Ryan said.
"Excellent." said Giovanni. Ryan bent down and looked his two pokemon in the eyes.
"Sorry guys, but this is the way it's got to be. I'm sorry we couldn't have been ready to leave on our journey sooner." he said. Both Houndour and Eevee licked his face, then Eevee returned to his pokeball.
"Houndour, dour." whined Houndour.
"Don't worry, everything will be okay." he replied.
"You can understand him?" asked Giovanni.
"I've been able to for a while." he admitted.
"Meowth, what did Houndour just say?" queried the leader of the Rockets.
"He's worried for Ryan. They've been together for so long. He doesn't want anything to happen to his friend." he said.
"That's so sad." said Jesse.
"Amazing. You truly can understand him." said Giovanni. "Do you think you can do the same for any other canine pokemon?"
"I don't know. I can probably communicate with any houndour and maybe houndoom, but I'm not sure about any other canine pokemon." Ryan replied truthfully.
"We'll have to work on that." said the man. "But until your relatives get here, you'll be sticking with these three. See if you can straighten them out."
"Yes, Giovanni." he said. Jesse, James, and Meowth gasped.
"Be quiet, you three. I have given him permission to use my name." Giovanni barked. Then he turned back to Ryan and said, "I have faith in you. Make me proud and make Team Rocket feared and everywhere." With that, he left, leaving Ryan and Houndour with their new colleagues.
"Come with us." said Jesse. "Our balloon is outside." The group of five left the room and hopped into the basket of a meowth shaped hot air balloon.
The moon was full, the stars were bright, and Ryan and his pokemon set out into a dark new chapter in their lives.
A year later, Ryan was one of the most successful members of Team Rocket. He had received a murkrow from Giovanni and had developed his ability to understand canine pokemon. He could now easily understand any canine pokemon. But he'd had his fair share of failures, mostly due to other members. Ryan had just returned from one such failure in Saffron City and was about to report to Giovanni on the next mission.
The leader of Team Rocket sat alone in his dark room. Even the persian that usually stayed by his side had crept away to avoid his wrath. Giovanni heard Ryan enter and said, "How goes the next operation?"
"All is going according to plan." replied Ryan, as he approached his boss. "They're all ready."
"Excellent. Once we have those eevees we will be unstoppable!" he cried.
"No offense Giovanni, but don't get your hopes up." the young man began. "I can do my job, but most of your Rockets are incompetent."
"I hate to admit it, but you're right; it's so hard to find good help nowadays. That's why I'm giving you complete control over this operation." said Giovanni. "Ryan, you are the best Rocket I've ever had. You are my right hand man, and now, my second in command."
"But why me?" the boy stammered. "I'm sure there are others who are more capable of running Team Rocket when you can't."
"Like I said, you're the best I have. In fact, when I cannot run Team Rocket or the Viridian City Gym anymore, I want you to take over." said the man.
"I'm honoured." he said.
"You should be. Now, come with me." commanded Giovanni. "I'm going to give you your new uniform." The two walked down the long, dark hallway to the equipment room, where the came to shelf filled with Team Rocket uniforms and various costumes. Giovanni picked up a black pile of clothes and handed it to Ryan. "Here. This is the uniform of the Team Rocket Elite." With that, Ryan quickly changed and came back moments later. "I've had that one made similar to your last one. The gloves are identical though." he informed the boy.
"That's okay. I've always preferred biking gloves to the standard Team Rocket gloves anyway." Ryan said.
"Good. Now go. Wear that R with pride and command your army." ordered Giovanni.
"Yes, Giovanni. Team Rocket will rule the world." Ryan came out of the building and found Houndour in the same place that he had left him. "Look Houndour, we're elite!"
"Houndour!" he barked happily.
"C'mon, the Team Rocket army is now ours to command. Let's carry out the mission and get those eevees."
"Dour." Both walked over to the man leading the group of Rockets and he immediately stopped what he was doing.
"Ryan, Houndour. Master Giovanni has just informed us of your new rank. Congratulations." said the man.
"Save it for later. We've got a job to do. Tell me your strategy." commanded the young Rocket Elite.
"Intelligence has informed me that the ranch near Olivine City has begun breeding larger numbers of eevee. It's defense consists of miltanks and mareep, along with several growlithes and people. Our plan is to split the group and enter the ranch from three different sides." he informed Ryan.
"Hmmmm. It's risky, but if I bring my houndour army we should be able to pull it off." said. "Send two of your men to get the army. Then give each man a pokeball containing a houndour. I'll go with the main group."
"Yes sir." he said. The man sent two of his troops and they came back with a sack full of pokeballs. Each member of Team Rocket was given one houndour filled pokeball. They all set out in a plane to the far-off Olivine City.
After they had all arrived at their destination, They split into three groups and quietly snuck around to three different points outside of the target ranch.
"Okay, on my signal." Ryan said into a walkie talkie. "Go!" The three groups of Rockets let their houndour troops out of their pokeballs and charged the ranch. Miltank, mareep, growlithe, and humans came from everywhere to defend the eevees. Even the older eevees were helping in the fight. "Take no prisoners but the eevees!" The attack grew into a battle, both sides slowly diminishing.
One man noticed Ryan's darker uniform and attacked him. Ryan was barely able to dodge the furious man's punch, but returned with a kick to his gut. The defender collapsed to the ground, out of breath and gasping for air.
"Don't mess with Team Rocket. We fight dirty." said the young Rocket.
The Rockets had finally won, and were just heading back to their plane when the police force showed up.
"Halt!" commanded Officer Jenny. "You are all under arrest for theft!"
"It's not over yet!" Ryan cried. "We've fought to steal these eevees, and we're not giving them up! Let's go troops!" The whole Team Rocket army attacked the police, while Ryan grabbed the sack full of eevee filled pokeballs and worked his way to the back of the army and around. He hid around a building and pulled a disguise out of his backpack. He put it on and stuffed the pokeballs into the pack. He went down the back alleys and came out far away from the fight. Now he was safe. To anyone else he was a cute thirteen year old girl named Ann. He even had photo ID for this disguise. He hated the disguise, but had forgotten to pack one earlier and was in too much of a hurry to board the plane. Officer Jenny came running from the direction of the skirmish, holding a piece of paper. She stopped in front of him, a serious look on her face.
"Excuse me, young lady, but have you seen this boy?" officer Jenny asked. "I saw him sneak into the back alleys."
"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him. I hope you catch him though." He said in his most feminine voice.
"Okay, thanks anyway." she said, dashing off.
"Good luck!" the young Rocket called. He was lucky that his voice hadn't changed yet, or he wouldn't have been able to pull that one off. His face hadn't changed much either, so he knew he was safe. His run in with Officer Jenny proved that. The Rocket Elite casually made his way to the phone booth and called Giovanni.
"Hello?" asked his boss' voice.
"Giovanni, it's Ryan." he said. "We had a run in with the police, but I got away with the eevees."
"What about the troops?" asked Giovanni.
"It doesn't look like they'll make it. There were too many cops." said the boy.
"See if you can at least get the houndour back, but don't get yourself caught. I would easily trade all of those Rockets and pokemon for you and your pokemon. Take the eevees to the plane and begin your next mission." said the man.
"Right." he said, hanging up. "Okay, round two." Ryan cleared his throat, then tested his girl voice before leaving the booth.
Later that night, the boy, still disguised as a young woman, made his way to the back of the police station. The pokeballs containing the Rocket houndour were all in a sack on the other side of a storage room.
"Hmm. The place probably has an alarm. Eevee, come out." said Ryan. The small, furry pokemon popped out of his ball and stood at attention beside Houndour. "All right, Houndour, use ember to open the window." The canine pokemon did as told and the bars and glass of the window melted, giving all three access to the room. All three slipped in and an alarm immediately went off.
"Dour!" Houndour cried.
"Crap! Houndour, grab the bag and go! I'll meet you at the entrance to the woods just north of the city." Ryan ordered. Ryan took the bag and tossed it out the window and Houndour grabbed it and ran off into the darkness. Ryan and Eevee were about to leave when Officer Jenny burst in. She flicked on the light, exposing Ryan and Eevee.
"Hey! You're the girl I saw earlier! What are you doing here?" she demanded. Ryan began to cry, a trick that had been useful in the past.
"I'm sorry. The window was open and I was just curious." he sobbed. "I didn't know what I was doing." The look on the police officer's face changed, and she patted Ryan on the back.
"It's okay." the woman said. "You said the window was already open; did you see who did it? And is that your eevee?"
"No, I didn't see who did it." lied the boy in disguise. "But this is my eevee. He was my first pokemon."
"Hmm. The bag full of confiscated houndour are gone. It could have been that boy from Team Rocket." said Jenny.
"Team Rocket?" he cried.
"A small army of Rockets came earlier tonight and stole the eevees that a ranch was breeding. Several of the workers are claiming that the leader was that young man." she said.
"Kids in Team Rocket?" he asked.
"Apparently there are quite a few, but this boy seems to be smarter than any other member of Team Rocket. We only have one picture of him and only a few people have seen him. We don't even know his name." Jenny replied. "Come with me and I'll give you a picture. Maybe you can help us find him." Ryan and Eevee followed Officer Jenny to her office and she pulled a picture off of her bulletin board. She handed the picture to him and he looked closely at it. He was pointing his right arm forward as other members of team Rocket were running in that direction.
"Shoot." he thought. "I should've been more careful. I'm gonna get it from Giovanni."
"That's the only shot we have of him." she said.
"I'll be glad to help you out." he said.
"Vee!" cried Eevee.
"Thanks a lot." said Officer Jenny. "We need all the help we can get. Now, you'd better get going."
"Okay. Thanks Officer Jenny. Good luck again." Ryan said, walking out of the building.
As soon as he was far enough from building that no one could see him, he began to dash towards the woods where he would meet Houndour, Eevee hot on his tail. Houndour was there waiting for him at the edge of the woods, the bag of pokeballs beside him.
"Good work Houndour." he complimented.
"Houndour." he said. Ryan put the bag of Houndour pokeballs into his back pack and headed for a different part of the city. He got back on the phone with Giovanni and arranged a ride to Goldenrod City, where he would take a plane back to Viridian City. Soon, a member of Team Rocket came in a black car and picked him up.
"That's an excellent disguise, sir." said the Rocket.
"Yes, I know." he said. "I even fooled Officer Jenny with it."
"You are truly a master of deception, sir." commented the Rocket.
They made it easily to the Goldenrod City airport and Ryan, still disguised as Ann, found that Giovanni had already gotten him a ticket on a late plane. He boarded it and it took off soon after, heading for Viridian City.
The captured members were eventually broken out, and Ryan began using his female persona when he was on solo missions and sometimes when he had the day to himself. He found that people trusted Ann more than Ryan, as Ann was always more friendly. Besides, he had to get information somehow. But, as only he, his pokemon, and other members of Team Rocket knew, it was all just a mask, covering his true personality. The other members were starting to say that he was becoming just like Giovanni. But his disguise inspired one member; namely, James. He started out by accompanying Ryan on minor missions, both dressed as girls, and successfuly completed all of them. James began to feel more confident, and started going out by himself. But the thing was, both Jesse and James had learned the art of disguise from him, so all of the members just assumed that he was practicing. Ryan knew the truth, though. James was crazy, and he idolized Ryan. Jesse and Meowth, along with other, younger members, did too.
Team Rocket had become a menace to the world, and all because of him and his pokemon. But things were about to change. Although a Team Rocket Elite, Ryan and his pokemon were doing all of the work themselves. After all, weren't teams supposed to work together and share the work? This team was different. Everyone on it, excluding Ryan, his pokemon, and Giovanni, was incompetent. Ryan was very often rewarded greatly for his feats, but that wasn't enough. He didn't need Team Rocket. If he was that successful in Team Rocket, why couldn't he be without it?
"That's it." he thought. "We're leaving."
"Dour?" Houndour whined.
"Houndour, we've been pulling this team up a hill for too long. It's time we went out into the world by ourselves. We'll pack today and leave tonight. No one will notice that we're missing until Giovanni gives us our next assignment." he said. "We'll finally be able to start our journey, and live decent lives. Our first destination is New Bark Town."
That night, Ryan left the black Team Rocket Elite uniform behind, only keeping the gloves. The duo successfully made it out of the building, but were stopped at the gate.
"Master Ryan. Has Giovanni sent you on another solo mission?" asked one of the guards.
"Yes. I'll be back before sunrise." he said.
"Good luck." said the other. The two guards opened the gate and the he and Houndour walked off into the night. Too tired to walk all the way to Pallet Town, Ryan decided to stop at the Pokemon Center. When he got there, he found Nurse Joy rushing several pokemon inside the building.
"Excuse me." she said. "Do you think you could lend me a hand?"
"Sure." he said.
"I need you to get all of these pokemon inside the Center. I can't do this and take care of them at the same time." she told him.
"No problem." he assured her. Within no time, all of the pokemon were in the treatment room, and Ryan and Houndour were even helping Nurse Joy and her chansey treat the pokemon.
Ryan woke up the next morning to find Houndour curled up beside him and Nurse Joy standing over him.
"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Yes. Thank you." he replied.
"And thank you for all of your help last night, both of you. I don't think Chansey and I could've done it without your help." she said.
"Don't mention it. I love pokemon." Ryan said.
"Care to join me for a cup of coffee?" Joy queried.
"Why not?" he answered. "C'mon Houndour." Houndour got up, stretched, and followed Nurse Joy and his partner into the kitchen.
"Say, I didn't get your name." she said as she was pouring a cup of coffee for him. She set it down on the table in front of him, and poured some into a bowl for Houndour.
"And I thought you would've remembered me." he said. "Eevee, come out and say hi to Nurse Joy." Eevee came out of his pokeball and cried happily.
"That's..." she stammered. Eevee began lapping up coffee from Houndour's bowl, his white tipped tail wagging.
"Yes, you gave me Eevee three years ago." he said in between sips.
"Ryan?"
"Yes, Nurse Joy."
"You've changed. But, I haven't seen you for over a year." she said.
"I've got a confession to make." the boy said. "Ever since I was twelve, I've been a part of Team Rocket." Nurse Joy gasped at that statement. "But I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm starting over in Johto."
"Are you the young man that all of the Jennys have been looking for?" she asked.
"Yes, I am. And I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm also Ann." he said.
"But why tell me? I could turn you in." she questioned. "And why trick all those people into thinking you were a kind, young pokemon trainer?"
"But I know you won't. I know you too well. As for your second question, I didn't want to get caught. After all, they do have a picture of me. But my aunt and uncle are also members; why don't you turn them in?" he stated. "They live right across the street from the Viridian City Gym. It's the blue house. Just tell Jenny it was an anonymous tip. Thank you for all of your hospitality, but we should be going now. We need to make it to the Pallet Town Harbour before two." With that, Ryan, Houndour, and Eevee turned and left, leaving the last person he cared about behind.
That afternoon, Ryan and his pokemon were on their way to the beginning of their journey; New Bark Town, the town where the winds of new beginnings blow.
The boat ride was uneventful, though Ryan and Houndour had a bit of fun avoiding the officer Jenny that was on board. The boat made it to Palet town with no trouble, and the duo got to Professor Elm's lab without meeting up with Officer Jenny.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Ryan asked, as he entered the lab. A young man with brown hair came out of a room on Ryan's right, holding a small, red device.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" he questioned.
"I'm just starting off as a pokemon trainer. I was wondering if I could get a pokedex." Ryan replied.
"Oh, that's it? That's no problem at all. In fact, I'll let you have this one." said the man. "By the way, I'm Professor Elm." Professor Elm handed Ryan the device and he pocketed it.
"Ryan. Ryan Lachlan." said the boy.
"That name sounds familiar. Hmmm, oh well. Probably just one of my colleagues in school." Elm said. "Could you possibly do a favor for me?"
"Sure." he agreed. "What is it?"
"I need you to document any undiscovered pokemon and the lifestyles of all pokemon." Professor Elm told Ryan.
"I'll do it." Ryan said. "It'll give me something to do in between gyms."
"If you need to sign up for the Johto League, you can do it in the pokemon center."
"Thanks Professor Elm. I won't let you down." With that, Ryan turned to leave.
"Wait!" called the professor. "I need to give you something before you go." He tossed the young man a small device that looked like a watch. "It's a pokegear. It's a portable phone, radio, map, and watch, all in one. I need you to communicate with me every once in a while. If you're nowhere near a phone, just use the pokegear. And there'll be a black haired young man named Xander Richmond at the Pokemon center. He's one of my other assistants, but I forgot to give him a pokegear. I need you to give it to him while you're there." The young trainer took another pokegear from the scientist, strapped his own to his left wrist and turned around once more.
"See ya later, Prof." he said, walking out the door. Ryan then found an office supplies store, where he bought a pack of pens and a couple of thick notebooks. His next stop was the pokemon center, where he successfully registered for the Johto League. He saw a black haired young man sitting on a chair, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Excuse me, but are you Xander Richmond?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah." the boy replied.
"Proffesor Elm told me to give this to you." He pulled out the extra pokegear and handed it to Xander.
"Are you working for Elm?" he queried.
"Yeah, I'm his newest assistant." Ryan responded.
"I saw you register for the Pokemon League. Mind if I join you?"
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone else around to talk to."
"Who else do you talk to?" Xander questioned.
"My houndour." Ryan replied.
"Oh. Well, as soon as I get Cyndaquil back, we can go." The wait wasn't long, and the duo left, along with their new friend Xander and his squirtle.
He was just on his way out of New Bark Town when an Officer Jenny stopped him, grabbing by the shoulder and shocking him.
"Excuse me." she said. "Have you seen this boy?" He spun around to find himself face to face with the same picture of him as a Team Rocket member.
"No, I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him." Ryan said, then thought. "Thank goodness for puberty."
"Well, if you ever see him, give the police a call." she said. "He was reported missing a few days ago in Viridian City. We'd like to find him before Team Rocket does, to prevent any problems"
"I'll be sure to if I see him. Good luck, Officer." he said, turning back towards the path ahead.
"I heard about that kid." said Xander. "People say that he was the most talented, and most successful member of Team Rocket. Kind of a waste of talent."
"Yeah, I know." Ryan said, thinking curses to Xander.
"Before we head out on the road, I need to get one of my friends. She said I wasn't going anywhere unless she came along."
"Right. Well, I'll just grab a snack at the gas station and meet you at the edge of town."
"Okay." he said, running off. "See ya later.
Ryan was about to leave when he saw Xander and his girlfriend come over the hill. Xander nearly lost his balance coming down, and tripped on a rock as he neared the bottom. The girl helped him up, and both walked over to the former Team Rocket member.
"Ryan, this is Camry, my friend." Xander said.
"Nice to meet you!" she chimed.
"You too." Ryan said.
"I heard you have a houndour and an eevee. Those pokemon are really rare. You must be sooo lucky to have them!" Camry cried.
"Yeah, I was, err, brought up in a well to do family." he said, then thought. "Called Team Rocket."
The group of six started on their pokemon journey, heading for adventures, discoveries, new pokemon, and the Pokemon League.
End of Interlude
An Interlude to Pokemon Legend
The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, and a young boy was about to start one of the best days of his life. This was the day of Ryan Lachlan's tenth birthday, and possibly the day he got his first pokemon from Nurse Joy in the Viridian City Pokemon Center. He wished he could've gotten his first pokemon from Professor Elm in New Bark Town. New trainers there got a choice between a cyndaquil, a chikorita, or a totodile, but in Viridian city, new trainers only had a choice between a pikachu, a geodude, or a growlithe. But what he really wanted was a houndour, or even a murkrow. Ryan loved dark type pokemon because they were so tough and were immune to psychic attacks like steel type pokemon were immune to poison attacks. Another reason he liked them was their ability to learn a vast amount of different attacks. An excellently trained houndoom could use solar beam, while a well trained tyranitar could use surf.
This special day started off just like any other. He got up, got dressed, washed up, and went about his daily job of delivering the morning newspaper. It was a great day, so he decided to take his time coming home. When he arrived home, his parents called him into the living room.
"Happy birthday son." his father said, handing him a package. The box was fairly large for a present, and was riddled with small holes. From inside the box came a soft whimpering sound and the sound of something pawing at the inside of the box. Ryan ripped the lid off of the package to reveal a small, black furred creature, a houndour.
"A houndour!" the boy exclaimed, gently picking up the small canine pokemon and hugging it close to him.
"We knew you'd like him." said his mother.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he cried.
"Dour." the small pokemon yipped.
Ryan spent the rest of the day getting to know his new pokemon, completely forgetting about getting his other pokemon from the Pokemon Center.
"Don't worry, we can still go tomorrow. I'm sure Nurse Joy will still have something for you." his mother assured him. That night, both Ryan and Houndour curled up to each other in bed, both happy with their new friend.
The next day, Ryan took Houndour for a walk, and they both ran around in the field south of the city. Today was just as beautiful as the last day, no exceptions at all. They were just about to head back to the city when Ryan heard a sound coming from the ground. He jumped back just in time to avoid the sting of an angry weedle.
"Houndour, do something!" the boy cried. "Use ember!" He did not know whether or not his pokemon could do this, as he had not even seen a single puff of smoke come from his small companion. Amazingly, Houndour opened his mouth and a stream of tiny flames burst from it. The weedle fainted long before Houndour closed his mouth. The duo quickly returned to the city, and later on, visited the pokemon center. Nurse Joy looked his pokemon over then gave it back to Ryan.
"Your houndour is doing nicely Ryan. Even at his young age, Houndour's ember attack is pretty strong. You might want to train him to control his power." She suggested.
"Okay." he agreed. "Oh, Nurse Joy. I was wondering, are there still any pokemon left from yesterday? I was just so excited when I got Houndour that I forgot to get one yesterday."
"I think I may have a couple left." the nurse said. She led him to the back room where pokemon were stored and grabbed two pokeballs off of the table. "Take your pick. You can have a mareep or an eevee." The boy's eyes widened at the second choice. Eevee were rare pokemon that could evolve into one of five pokemon.
"I think I'll take the eevee." he said.
"Somehow I thought you'd choose that one." Nurse Joy giggled, picking up a pokeball from the table.
"Yeah. I want to evolve it into a jolteon later." Ryan said, as nurse Joy handed him the red and white ball.
"Why a jolteon?" she asked.
"Jolteon is my favorite electric type." he replied.
"Well, I guess that's as good a reason as any." she said. "Just don't forget to train it before you evolve it, otherwise it might not learn some moves."
"Okay, I will. Thank you Nurse Joy!" he said, leaving the building with both Houndour and his new eevee in his arms.
By the time Ryan got home, Eevee was already great friends with both him and Houndour. They spent the rest of the day in the backyard playing and training. Houndour was already adept at using ember and bite, and Eevee could use tackle and bite. Both pokemon wrestled on the grass, racing around the backyard, and just having a good time. Both slept with Ryan in bed that night. But after that, Eevee preferred to rest inside his pokeball, finding it perfectly comfortable.
By the end of the month, Ryan's pokemon had learned a lot of attacks and were becoming good fighters. Ryan had even won a friendly competition against some of the neighborhood kids. Because they were kids, the prize was only a pokeball, but Ryan entered because both he and his pokemon wanted to test their mettle against others. That victory made Ryan realize that he wanted to become a pokemon trainer more than anything else in the world.
For Christmas that year his parents paid for lessons at a special dojo that trained both humans and pokemon to fight and work together. Because of that dojo, Ryan decided to stay at home for a while before leaving on his pokemon journey. He and his pokemon were learning so much that they had no desire to leave yet. The Kimono Girls from Ecruteak City in Johto came to teach for a week, giving special training to eevees and their trainers. As one of the only two trainers with an eevee, Ryan spent most of the week with the girls, learning the secrets of eevees, jolteons, and even some evasive maneuvers for his own self defense. By the time they left, Ryan's eevee was ready to become a jolteon and he was becoming a skilled dancer. As they had said, dancing can easily be combined with any form of self defense.
As the lessons continued, Ryan, Houndour, and Eevee were growing in strength, mind, soul, and size. As any growing child, human or pokemon alike, would do, all three developed very large appetites. The bond between the trainer and his pokemon grew, but the bond between him and Houndour grew faster. By the time Ryan turned eleven, he could, three out of four times, understand what the dark type pokemon was saying. This particular skill did and probably would come in handy many times.
When Ryan's twelfth birthday, and two year anniversary of the day he met Houndour, arrived, he was completely different. The idea of a typical birthday party was discarded in favour of a small pokemon tournament. Luckily Giovanni, the Viridian City Gym leader, allowed them to use the gym for their small tournament. Everyone thought he did it to find new trainers for his gym, but no one cared. Prizes were given to everyone competing, as the tournament was merely for fun. Ryan was working his way up the small ladder with the help of his two pokemon. The final battle was between Ryan and his best friend since he was five, Phil. The battle was a one on one.
"Go Haunter!" Phil cried, throwing his pokeball into the field.
"Let's do it Houndour." said Ryan. Houndour leapt onto the field to begin the match. "Houndour, start things off with a shadow ball!"
"Haunter, night shade attack!" ordered the other. Both pokemon used their attacks simultaneously, creating a small explosion of ghostly energy.
"Use bite!" Ryan commanded.
"Haunter, use hypnosis!" Phil cried. Haunter's eyes began to glow blue, but Houndour was unaffected by the psychic attack and bit into his opponent. Houndour tore at the ghost type pokemon, shaking him around, then finally, throwing it to the ground. Houndour moved in for the finishing blow, but Ryan said, "Houndour, let it get up." The haunter began to get up, but promptly fainted from dizziness.
"Dour!" Houndour cried.
"Good job, Houndour." Ryan said.
"Amazing." said a voice from behind him. "You are going to be an excellent trainer when you grow up."
"Thank you." said the young trainer as he stooped to give his pokemon a biscuit.
"I am Giovanni, the leader of this gym." said the man.
"You're Giovanni?" Ryan said in disbelieving shock.
"Yes, I am." he said. "Your battling skills are excellent. You don't take battle lightly, yet you have mercy. Your opponents can do two things after you beat them. Do you know what those two things are?"
"No, sir." the boy replied.
"I'll tell you. Your opponents can either fear you or respect you. If you show mercy, they will most likely respect you. Let me tell you something: being respected is many times better than being feared." the gym leader said. "If you have the respect of others, you'll go far."
"I'll remember that, sir." Ryan promised.
"Say, why don't you come and train here sometime? Every Saturday and Sunday if possible" asked Giovanni. "I'm sure your parents won't mind."
"I'll go ask them." he said. Ryan did as he said and asked his parents the question. His parents agreed that he should train at the gym and all of his friends gasped in awe of his incredible luck. Ryan quickly returned to Giovanni with the answer and the gym leader pulled a chain out of his suit pocket. On the chain was a gold disc with a metallic red symbol for fire embedded in it.
"Happy birthday." said Giovanni, as he handed Ryan the chain. "That medallion will be proof of our friendship."
"Thank you sir." he said.
"Just call me Giovanni." said the man, as he walked off into the depths of the gym. "See you in two days Ryan."
"You're so lucky!" cried an approaching Phil. "I wish I could be you right now. But c'mon, your parents are handing out the prizes."
"Right." he said. Ryan quickly put the chain on and both he and his two pokemon followed him back to the group.
"Ryan, you're just in time. Here are your presents." said his father. The package contained two pokeballs and a complete set of apricorn pokeballs.
"We've got something for you, too." said another of his friends, the other eevee trainer in the city. Two of his other friends came with something covered with a sheet. They pulled off the sheet and Ryan gasped. Under the sheet was a fish tank containing the biggest magikarp he had ever seen.
"We know how much you want a gyarados, but we couldn't catch one. Instead, we caught the biggest magikarp we could find." said Phil.
"Thank you all." said the boy. The rest of the day went great, completely tiring out the young trainer. He and his pokemon went to bed, dreaming of the day when they would set out on their journey.
The next day was the same as any other Friday, except for the celebration of the two year anniversary of the day Ryan met Eevee. As was the tradition, Ryan was allowed to stay up much later than usual on Fridays and Saturdays. Ryan sat on the couch, with Eevee and Houndour on either side and Magikarp watching from his tank, watching a Pokemon League tournament on TV. After it was over, he got up, turned off the TV, and crept downstairs to his room. His parents were asleep by then, so he decided to go outside and look at the stars. He and his two furry companions were outside for what seemed like hours.
The sky was clear, the stars were bright, and the moon was full. But something didn't seem, or more specifically, didn't smell right. Houndour was the first to notice the stench. He nudged Ryan in the side and pointed back toward the house. Ryan turned around just in time to notice the smoke slowly making its way down the stairs.
"Eevee, grab my medallion; it's on the bed!" he commanded. "C'mon Houndour, we've gotta save Mom and Dad!" All three rushed back into the burning house to do whatever they could. Ryan grabbed his backpack containing all of his training supplies, several changes of clothes, and his wallet. He rushed upstairs with Houndour and told him to find his parents. Ryan then proceeded to save his magikarp from a soon to become boiling fish tank by returning him to his pokeball. After saving his third pokemon, the young trainer dashed to his parent's room only to discover that the roof had come down, blocking his path down the hallway. Houndour was desperately trying to move the debris, but wasn't strong enough to move it out of the way.
"Ryan, quick, go get help!" he heard his mother cry from the other side.
"C'mon Houndour, let's go!" he said. They quickly made their way downstairs and found Eevee waiting for them by the door. Ryan slipped his shoes on and ran into the night, his pokemon trailing close behind. He went to the neighbors place and slammed on the door. An old man answered the door, rubbing his eyes.
"Whatsa matter?" he yawned.
"What's the matter?!" cried the boy. "My place is on fire! You gotta call the fire department!" The man sprang to attention, as if three cups of coffee had just taken effect. The man looked in the direction of Ryan's house and his eyes went wide.
"Quick, come inside, all of you." he said, running back inside. Ryan and his pokemon entered the house and followed the man into his kitchen where he was already dialing the number for the fire department.
"Hello? Yeah, it's an emergency! The house next door to me is on fire! What, you know? Then get over here and do something about it!" he yelled into the phone. With that, the old man hung up the phone and turned back toward Ryan. "Don't worry son, they're comin." Minutes later, the fire truck arrived with a team of wartortle clinging to the top. They quickly hopped to the ground and surrounded the house, using water gun as soon as they were in place. The water pokemon had soon put out the fire, but there was bad news to come. The chief fire fighter put a hand on Ryan's shoulder and hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, but your parents didn't make it out. They suffocated from the smoke. I'm sorry." Tears welled up inside Ryan's eyes, and he began to cry. Even Houndour and Eevee wept in sorrow. Sometime after he had stopped bawling and everyone but the firemen had left, a van pulled up beside him. The window rolled down to reveal Giovanni. Even his serious face seemed filled with despair.
"I heard the bad news. I'm sorry you had to go through something that horrible." he said.
"I'm sorry Giovanni, but I won't be able to train at your gym." Ryan sobbed. "My closest relatives are in Saffron City, so I'll have to move there."
"Your aunt and uncle?" he asked.
"Yes. They're both scientists for Sylph Co." the young man answered.
"Really? I think I know them. Yes, I recall Sylph Co. sending some employees to start a lab here in Viridian City. Why don't you come to the gym with me and you can phone them?" he said. Ryan nodded in agreement and hopped into the passenger's side of the vehicle. A door slid open and Ryan's pokemon jumped into the back.
Ryan phoned his relatives and they told him the whole story.
"We've got something else to tell you, Ryan." said his uncle.
"Go ahead." said Giovanni.
"We're both part of Team Rocket." said his aunt. "Your parents were too." Ryan was both shocked and amazed by this statement.
"That's why you were able to have your little tournament here, and the reason why I wanted you to train here." the gym leader told him.
"I always wondered why we were so well off compared to everyone else." Ryan said.
"Join Team Rocket and I will give you whatever you want. All you have to do is listen to my instructions and carry them out." the man said. Ryan's face went serious and he said, "Why not, I've got nothing else left."
"Excellent. You can live with your aunt and uncle, but don't expect to lead a normal life." Giovanni said. "But I'm sure you'll exceed Team Rocket standards in no time. Come with me. I'll give you your uniform and show you who you'll be working with." The three followed the leader of Team Rocket down the hall to an elevator, where they rode it to the bottom. After walking down another corridor, they came to a large room that looked to Ryan like an equipment room. Three figures walked up to Giovanni.
"We're here boss." said a boy who looked the same age as Ryan. This boy had blue hair and was grinning stupidly. Next to him was a girl who looked the same age. Her hair was red and went down to her thighs. In the center of both was a meowth who was standing on two feet.
"Jesse, James, this is your new partner." said Giovanni.
"Him? He looks, well, sad." said the girl.
"I'm sure you would be too if your parents were killed in a fire tonight!" he yelled.
"Oh. Yeah." she said. "Sorry."
"I'm sorry Ryan." said Giovanni. "Those three can be thick headed at times."
"Then how come I can't use skull bash very well?" asked the meowth. Ryan's eyes opened wide as he heard the feline pokemon speak.
"Yes, Ryan, Meowth can talk. It's one of the only things he does well." said the man. "James, go fetch his uniform."
"Yes sir!" said the boy. He came back seconds later carrying a folded pile of clothes, a pair of boots, and a pair of biking gloves.
"Here's the bathroom." the Rocket leader told him, pointing to his left. "Go see how they fit." Ryan came back with the uniform on, looking like a true member of Team Rocket.
"They fit perfectly." Ryan said.
"Excellent." said Giovanni. Ryan bent down and looked his two pokemon in the eyes.
"Sorry guys, but this is the way it's got to be. I'm sorry we couldn't have been ready to leave on our journey sooner." he said. Both Houndour and Eevee licked his face, then Eevee returned to his pokeball.
"Houndour, dour." whined Houndour.
"Don't worry, everything will be okay." he replied.
"You can understand him?" asked Giovanni.
"I've been able to for a while." he admitted.
"Meowth, what did Houndour just say?" queried the leader of the Rockets.
"He's worried for Ryan. They've been together for so long. He doesn't want anything to happen to his friend." he said.
"That's so sad." said Jesse.
"Amazing. You truly can understand him." said Giovanni. "Do you think you can do the same for any other canine pokemon?"
"I don't know. I can probably communicate with any houndour and maybe houndoom, but I'm not sure about any other canine pokemon." Ryan replied truthfully.
"We'll have to work on that." said the man. "But until your relatives get here, you'll be sticking with these three. See if you can straighten them out."
"Yes, Giovanni." he said. Jesse, James, and Meowth gasped.
"Be quiet, you three. I have given him permission to use my name." Giovanni barked. Then he turned back to Ryan and said, "I have faith in you. Make me proud and make Team Rocket feared and everywhere." With that, he left, leaving Ryan and Houndour with their new colleagues.
"Come with us." said Jesse. "Our balloon is outside." The group of five left the room and hopped into the basket of a meowth shaped hot air balloon.
The moon was full, the stars were bright, and Ryan and his pokemon set out into a dark new chapter in their lives.
A year later, Ryan was one of the most successful members of Team Rocket. He had received a murkrow from Giovanni and had developed his ability to understand canine pokemon. He could now easily understand any canine pokemon. But he'd had his fair share of failures, mostly due to other members. Ryan had just returned from one such failure in Saffron City and was about to report to Giovanni on the next mission.
The leader of Team Rocket sat alone in his dark room. Even the persian that usually stayed by his side had crept away to avoid his wrath. Giovanni heard Ryan enter and said, "How goes the next operation?"
"All is going according to plan." replied Ryan, as he approached his boss. "They're all ready."
"Excellent. Once we have those eevees we will be unstoppable!" he cried.
"No offense Giovanni, but don't get your hopes up." the young man began. "I can do my job, but most of your Rockets are incompetent."
"I hate to admit it, but you're right; it's so hard to find good help nowadays. That's why I'm giving you complete control over this operation." said Giovanni. "Ryan, you are the best Rocket I've ever had. You are my right hand man, and now, my second in command."
"But why me?" the boy stammered. "I'm sure there are others who are more capable of running Team Rocket when you can't."
"Like I said, you're the best I have. In fact, when I cannot run Team Rocket or the Viridian City Gym anymore, I want you to take over." said the man.
"I'm honoured." he said.
"You should be. Now, come with me." commanded Giovanni. "I'm going to give you your new uniform." The two walked down the long, dark hallway to the equipment room, where the came to shelf filled with Team Rocket uniforms and various costumes. Giovanni picked up a black pile of clothes and handed it to Ryan. "Here. This is the uniform of the Team Rocket Elite." With that, Ryan quickly changed and came back moments later. "I've had that one made similar to your last one. The gloves are identical though." he informed the boy.
"That's okay. I've always preferred biking gloves to the standard Team Rocket gloves anyway." Ryan said.
"Good. Now go. Wear that R with pride and command your army." ordered Giovanni.
"Yes, Giovanni. Team Rocket will rule the world." Ryan came out of the building and found Houndour in the same place that he had left him. "Look Houndour, we're elite!"
"Houndour!" he barked happily.
"C'mon, the Team Rocket army is now ours to command. Let's carry out the mission and get those eevees."
"Dour." Both walked over to the man leading the group of Rockets and he immediately stopped what he was doing.
"Ryan, Houndour. Master Giovanni has just informed us of your new rank. Congratulations." said the man.
"Save it for later. We've got a job to do. Tell me your strategy." commanded the young Rocket Elite.
"Intelligence has informed me that the ranch near Olivine City has begun breeding larger numbers of eevee. It's defense consists of miltanks and mareep, along with several growlithes and people. Our plan is to split the group and enter the ranch from three different sides." he informed Ryan.
"Hmmmm. It's risky, but if I bring my houndour army we should be able to pull it off." said. "Send two of your men to get the army. Then give each man a pokeball containing a houndour. I'll go with the main group."
"Yes sir." he said. The man sent two of his troops and they came back with a sack full of pokeballs. Each member of Team Rocket was given one houndour filled pokeball. They all set out in a plane to the far-off Olivine City.
After they had all arrived at their destination, They split into three groups and quietly snuck around to three different points outside of the target ranch.
"Okay, on my signal." Ryan said into a walkie talkie. "Go!" The three groups of Rockets let their houndour troops out of their pokeballs and charged the ranch. Miltank, mareep, growlithe, and humans came from everywhere to defend the eevees. Even the older eevees were helping in the fight. "Take no prisoners but the eevees!" The attack grew into a battle, both sides slowly diminishing.
One man noticed Ryan's darker uniform and attacked him. Ryan was barely able to dodge the furious man's punch, but returned with a kick to his gut. The defender collapsed to the ground, out of breath and gasping for air.
"Don't mess with Team Rocket. We fight dirty." said the young Rocket.
The Rockets had finally won, and were just heading back to their plane when the police force showed up.
"Halt!" commanded Officer Jenny. "You are all under arrest for theft!"
"It's not over yet!" Ryan cried. "We've fought to steal these eevees, and we're not giving them up! Let's go troops!" The whole Team Rocket army attacked the police, while Ryan grabbed the sack full of eevee filled pokeballs and worked his way to the back of the army and around. He hid around a building and pulled a disguise out of his backpack. He put it on and stuffed the pokeballs into the pack. He went down the back alleys and came out far away from the fight. Now he was safe. To anyone else he was a cute thirteen year old girl named Ann. He even had photo ID for this disguise. He hated the disguise, but had forgotten to pack one earlier and was in too much of a hurry to board the plane. Officer Jenny came running from the direction of the skirmish, holding a piece of paper. She stopped in front of him, a serious look on her face.
"Excuse me, young lady, but have you seen this boy?" officer Jenny asked. "I saw him sneak into the back alleys."
"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him. I hope you catch him though." He said in his most feminine voice.
"Okay, thanks anyway." she said, dashing off.
"Good luck!" the young Rocket called. He was lucky that his voice hadn't changed yet, or he wouldn't have been able to pull that one off. His face hadn't changed much either, so he knew he was safe. His run in with Officer Jenny proved that. The Rocket Elite casually made his way to the phone booth and called Giovanni.
"Hello?" asked his boss' voice.
"Giovanni, it's Ryan." he said. "We had a run in with the police, but I got away with the eevees."
"What about the troops?" asked Giovanni.
"It doesn't look like they'll make it. There were too many cops." said the boy.
"See if you can at least get the houndour back, but don't get yourself caught. I would easily trade all of those Rockets and pokemon for you and your pokemon. Take the eevees to the plane and begin your next mission." said the man.
"Right." he said, hanging up. "Okay, round two." Ryan cleared his throat, then tested his girl voice before leaving the booth.
Later that night, the boy, still disguised as a young woman, made his way to the back of the police station. The pokeballs containing the Rocket houndour were all in a sack on the other side of a storage room.
"Hmm. The place probably has an alarm. Eevee, come out." said Ryan. The small, furry pokemon popped out of his ball and stood at attention beside Houndour. "All right, Houndour, use ember to open the window." The canine pokemon did as told and the bars and glass of the window melted, giving all three access to the room. All three slipped in and an alarm immediately went off.
"Dour!" Houndour cried.
"Crap! Houndour, grab the bag and go! I'll meet you at the entrance to the woods just north of the city." Ryan ordered. Ryan took the bag and tossed it out the window and Houndour grabbed it and ran off into the darkness. Ryan and Eevee were about to leave when Officer Jenny burst in. She flicked on the light, exposing Ryan and Eevee.
"Hey! You're the girl I saw earlier! What are you doing here?" she demanded. Ryan began to cry, a trick that had been useful in the past.
"I'm sorry. The window was open and I was just curious." he sobbed. "I didn't know what I was doing." The look on the police officer's face changed, and she patted Ryan on the back.
"It's okay." the woman said. "You said the window was already open; did you see who did it? And is that your eevee?"
"No, I didn't see who did it." lied the boy in disguise. "But this is my eevee. He was my first pokemon."
"Hmm. The bag full of confiscated houndour are gone. It could have been that boy from Team Rocket." said Jenny.
"Team Rocket?" he cried.
"A small army of Rockets came earlier tonight and stole the eevees that a ranch was breeding. Several of the workers are claiming that the leader was that young man." she said.
"Kids in Team Rocket?" he asked.
"Apparently there are quite a few, but this boy seems to be smarter than any other member of Team Rocket. We only have one picture of him and only a few people have seen him. We don't even know his name." Jenny replied. "Come with me and I'll give you a picture. Maybe you can help us find him." Ryan and Eevee followed Officer Jenny to her office and she pulled a picture off of her bulletin board. She handed the picture to him and he looked closely at it. He was pointing his right arm forward as other members of team Rocket were running in that direction.
"Shoot." he thought. "I should've been more careful. I'm gonna get it from Giovanni."
"That's the only shot we have of him." she said.
"I'll be glad to help you out." he said.
"Vee!" cried Eevee.
"Thanks a lot." said Officer Jenny. "We need all the help we can get. Now, you'd better get going."
"Okay. Thanks Officer Jenny. Good luck again." Ryan said, walking out of the building.
As soon as he was far enough from building that no one could see him, he began to dash towards the woods where he would meet Houndour, Eevee hot on his tail. Houndour was there waiting for him at the edge of the woods, the bag of pokeballs beside him.
"Good work Houndour." he complimented.
"Houndour." he said. Ryan put the bag of Houndour pokeballs into his back pack and headed for a different part of the city. He got back on the phone with Giovanni and arranged a ride to Goldenrod City, where he would take a plane back to Viridian City. Soon, a member of Team Rocket came in a black car and picked him up.
"That's an excellent disguise, sir." said the Rocket.
"Yes, I know." he said. "I even fooled Officer Jenny with it."
"You are truly a master of deception, sir." commented the Rocket.
They made it easily to the Goldenrod City airport and Ryan, still disguised as Ann, found that Giovanni had already gotten him a ticket on a late plane. He boarded it and it took off soon after, heading for Viridian City.
The captured members were eventually broken out, and Ryan began using his female persona when he was on solo missions and sometimes when he had the day to himself. He found that people trusted Ann more than Ryan, as Ann was always more friendly. Besides, he had to get information somehow. But, as only he, his pokemon, and other members of Team Rocket knew, it was all just a mask, covering his true personality. The other members were starting to say that he was becoming just like Giovanni. But his disguise inspired one member; namely, James. He started out by accompanying Ryan on minor missions, both dressed as girls, and successfuly completed all of them. James began to feel more confident, and started going out by himself. But the thing was, both Jesse and James had learned the art of disguise from him, so all of the members just assumed that he was practicing. Ryan knew the truth, though. James was crazy, and he idolized Ryan. Jesse and Meowth, along with other, younger members, did too.
Team Rocket had become a menace to the world, and all because of him and his pokemon. But things were about to change. Although a Team Rocket Elite, Ryan and his pokemon were doing all of the work themselves. After all, weren't teams supposed to work together and share the work? This team was different. Everyone on it, excluding Ryan, his pokemon, and Giovanni, was incompetent. Ryan was very often rewarded greatly for his feats, but that wasn't enough. He didn't need Team Rocket. If he was that successful in Team Rocket, why couldn't he be without it?
"That's it." he thought. "We're leaving."
"Dour?" Houndour whined.
"Houndour, we've been pulling this team up a hill for too long. It's time we went out into the world by ourselves. We'll pack today and leave tonight. No one will notice that we're missing until Giovanni gives us our next assignment." he said. "We'll finally be able to start our journey, and live decent lives. Our first destination is New Bark Town."
That night, Ryan left the black Team Rocket Elite uniform behind, only keeping the gloves. The duo successfully made it out of the building, but were stopped at the gate.
"Master Ryan. Has Giovanni sent you on another solo mission?" asked one of the guards.
"Yes. I'll be back before sunrise." he said.
"Good luck." said the other. The two guards opened the gate and the he and Houndour walked off into the night. Too tired to walk all the way to Pallet Town, Ryan decided to stop at the Pokemon Center. When he got there, he found Nurse Joy rushing several pokemon inside the building.
"Excuse me." she said. "Do you think you could lend me a hand?"
"Sure." he said.
"I need you to get all of these pokemon inside the Center. I can't do this and take care of them at the same time." she told him.
"No problem." he assured her. Within no time, all of the pokemon were in the treatment room, and Ryan and Houndour were even helping Nurse Joy and her chansey treat the pokemon.
Ryan woke up the next morning to find Houndour curled up beside him and Nurse Joy standing over him.
"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Yes. Thank you." he replied.
"And thank you for all of your help last night, both of you. I don't think Chansey and I could've done it without your help." she said.
"Don't mention it. I love pokemon." Ryan said.
"Care to join me for a cup of coffee?" Joy queried.
"Why not?" he answered. "C'mon Houndour." Houndour got up, stretched, and followed Nurse Joy and his partner into the kitchen.
"Say, I didn't get your name." she said as she was pouring a cup of coffee for him. She set it down on the table in front of him, and poured some into a bowl for Houndour.
"And I thought you would've remembered me." he said. "Eevee, come out and say hi to Nurse Joy." Eevee came out of his pokeball and cried happily.
"That's..." she stammered. Eevee began lapping up coffee from Houndour's bowl, his white tipped tail wagging.
"Yes, you gave me Eevee three years ago." he said in between sips.
"Ryan?"
"Yes, Nurse Joy."
"You've changed. But, I haven't seen you for over a year." she said.
"I've got a confession to make." the boy said. "Ever since I was twelve, I've been a part of Team Rocket." Nurse Joy gasped at that statement. "But I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm starting over in Johto."
"Are you the young man that all of the Jennys have been looking for?" she asked.
"Yes, I am. And I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm also Ann." he said.
"But why tell me? I could turn you in." she questioned. "And why trick all those people into thinking you were a kind, young pokemon trainer?"
"But I know you won't. I know you too well. As for your second question, I didn't want to get caught. After all, they do have a picture of me. But my aunt and uncle are also members; why don't you turn them in?" he stated. "They live right across the street from the Viridian City Gym. It's the blue house. Just tell Jenny it was an anonymous tip. Thank you for all of your hospitality, but we should be going now. We need to make it to the Pallet Town Harbour before two." With that, Ryan, Houndour, and Eevee turned and left, leaving the last person he cared about behind.
That afternoon, Ryan and his pokemon were on their way to the beginning of their journey; New Bark Town, the town where the winds of new beginnings blow.
The boat ride was uneventful, though Ryan and Houndour had a bit of fun avoiding the officer Jenny that was on board. The boat made it to Palet town with no trouble, and the duo got to Professor Elm's lab without meeting up with Officer Jenny.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Ryan asked, as he entered the lab. A young man with brown hair came out of a room on Ryan's right, holding a small, red device.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" he questioned.
"I'm just starting off as a pokemon trainer. I was wondering if I could get a pokedex." Ryan replied.
"Oh, that's it? That's no problem at all. In fact, I'll let you have this one." said the man. "By the way, I'm Professor Elm." Professor Elm handed Ryan the device and he pocketed it.
"Ryan. Ryan Lachlan." said the boy.
"That name sounds familiar. Hmmm, oh well. Probably just one of my colleagues in school." Elm said. "Could you possibly do a favor for me?"
"Sure." he agreed. "What is it?"
"I need you to document any undiscovered pokemon and the lifestyles of all pokemon." Professor Elm told Ryan.
"I'll do it." Ryan said. "It'll give me something to do in between gyms."
"If you need to sign up for the Johto League, you can do it in the pokemon center."
"Thanks Professor Elm. I won't let you down." With that, Ryan turned to leave.
"Wait!" called the professor. "I need to give you something before you go." He tossed the young man a small device that looked like a watch. "It's a pokegear. It's a portable phone, radio, map, and watch, all in one. I need you to communicate with me every once in a while. If you're nowhere near a phone, just use the pokegear. And there'll be a black haired young man named Xander Richmond at the Pokemon center. He's one of my other assistants, but I forgot to give him a pokegear. I need you to give it to him while you're there." The young trainer took another pokegear from the scientist, strapped his own to his left wrist and turned around once more.
"See ya later, Prof." he said, walking out the door. Ryan then found an office supplies store, where he bought a pack of pens and a couple of thick notebooks. His next stop was the pokemon center, where he successfully registered for the Johto League. He saw a black haired young man sitting on a chair, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Excuse me, but are you Xander Richmond?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah." the boy replied.
"Proffesor Elm told me to give this to you." He pulled out the extra pokegear and handed it to Xander.
"Are you working for Elm?" he queried.
"Yeah, I'm his newest assistant." Ryan responded.
"I saw you register for the Pokemon League. Mind if I join you?"
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone else around to talk to."
"Who else do you talk to?" Xander questioned.
"My houndour." Ryan replied.
"Oh. Well, as soon as I get Cyndaquil back, we can go." The wait wasn't long, and the duo left, along with their new friend Xander and his squirtle.
He was just on his way out of New Bark Town when an Officer Jenny stopped him, grabbing by the shoulder and shocking him.
"Excuse me." she said. "Have you seen this boy?" He spun around to find himself face to face with the same picture of him as a Team Rocket member.
"No, I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him." Ryan said, then thought. "Thank goodness for puberty."
"Well, if you ever see him, give the police a call." she said. "He was reported missing a few days ago in Viridian City. We'd like to find him before Team Rocket does, to prevent any problems"
"I'll be sure to if I see him. Good luck, Officer." he said, turning back towards the path ahead.
"I heard about that kid." said Xander. "People say that he was the most talented, and most successful member of Team Rocket. Kind of a waste of talent."
"Yeah, I know." Ryan said, thinking curses to Xander.
"Before we head out on the road, I need to get one of my friends. She said I wasn't going anywhere unless she came along."
"Right. Well, I'll just grab a snack at the gas station and meet you at the edge of town."
"Okay." he said, running off. "See ya later.
Ryan was about to leave when he saw Xander and his girlfriend come over the hill. Xander nearly lost his balance coming down, and tripped on a rock as he neared the bottom. The girl helped him up, and both walked over to the former Team Rocket member.
"Ryan, this is Camry, my friend." Xander said.
"Nice to meet you!" she chimed.
"You too." Ryan said.
"I heard you have a houndour and an eevee. Those pokemon are really rare. You must be sooo lucky to have them!" Camry cried.
"Yeah, I was, err, brought up in a well to do family." he said, then thought. "Called Team Rocket."
The group of six started on their pokemon journey, heading for adventures, discoveries, new pokemon, and the Pokemon League.
End of Interlude