Chapter 9

Team Rocket Exposition

"So Gold," I said as we tramped along the road, "Is it true you have 16 badges?"

"Yes it is," Gold said proudly. He patted his backpack. "Lance gave me a special commemorative case to keep them all in."

"Show off…" Ash grumbled. We were on our way to Union Cave. The road was long, and my feet were beginning to get tired. I was almost considering asking Meganium to carry me on his back for a while, but then the road curved around into a wooded area, and the tall, gaping entrance to Union Cave stood before us.

"Union Cave," Ash said, "The path to Azalea Town. I hear some rare Pokemon live in here, so keep your Poke Balls handy."

"I don't have any…" I pouted. "I forgot to go to the Pokemon Mart in Olivine."

Gold put his hand on my shoulder. "Relax, kid. I have over 30 Great Balls in my bag, and I'd be more than happy to let you use some of them."

"Sweet!" I exclaimed. And so, we gathered our courage and entered Union Cave.

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The warehouse was dark and dusty. Bare light bulbs hung in the musty rooms, many of which contained only empty boxes stacked against the dust coated walls. Crickets and maybe even roaches could be seen scuttling about in the darkness. But, just because the warehouse was old and dirty didn't mean it was empty.

Several members of the evil organization, Team Rocket, could be seen walking down the hallways in ranks, or running from room to room searching for equipment, or sitting in offices, giving orders. This was the Team Rocket Headquarters! Right now, all the Rockets were rushing to the main hall. Two of these Rockets, a tall, slim woman with flaming red hair and a lanky man with purple hair, were running particularly fast.

"Hurry up, James you nitwi!" The woman called as the man stumbled and fell.

"Jessie, I'm tired. Why must we run like this?" James panted, trying to keep up.

"Because the Boss has big plans involving that stupid forest Pokemon, and if we get to the meeting first, it will make us look good and he will want to give us the most important jobs." Jessie sighed with dreamy eyes. "Ah, to be on the good side of the Boss."

"Well I have a feeling we're already late," James muttered.

"Because of you!" Jessie growled. "Now, come on!" She grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him down the hall.

Giovanni looked up and smiled as the Rockets began filing into the main hall. It gave him a great feeling of power to know that he was in control of such a powerful force. Eventually, he would dominate all Pokemon, and they would call him King. He smiled to himself.

When all the Rockets were gathered, he picked up his microphone. "All right everyone, pay attention! This is perhaps the most important meeting I have ever held!" He looked around the room, and then continued. "Thousands of years ago, the guardian of Ilex Forest, Celebi, died. But his spirit has continued to watch over Johto from that point on. Now, from then until now, mankind has altered the earth dramatically, from deforestation to global warming, and so on. This has made Celebi very angry."

"How do you know that?" A Rocket in the front row asked.

"Do not question me!" Giovanni roared, but then proceeded to calmly answer the question. "Ancient scrolls foretold several unexplained atmospheric disturbances and seismic activity would occur when Celebi was angered. Recently there have been severely strong winds in Ilex Forest, as well as the volcano in Cinnabar erupting last year, and Pokemon that rely on Earth's magnetic field, such as Magnemite and Voltorb, have been exploding or going crazy for no reason. This surely is the sign of Celebi's return."

Jessie and James looked at each other nervously, and then turned their attention back to Giovanni. Meowth hopped up on James's head for a better view.

"The relevance this has to us, Team Rocket, is clear," Giovanni said with a small smile. "The legendary forest guardian would make a perfect prize for us to catch and sell, wouldn't it?" There was silence, and Giovanni bellowed, "WOULDN'T IT?"

"Yes sir, Giovanni!" The Rockets echoed in unison.

Giovanni sat back in his chair with satisfaction. "So, that is our main focus from now on. All other operations are halted. I will now break you up into groups and give you your objectives. Jessie and James?"

Jessie and James stood up, and Meowth ran forward and stood between them.

"Your mission is reconnaissance. Take a squad of twenty Rockets with you and split up. Find out anything, and I mean ANYTHING you can about Celebi and his return. No bit of information is invaluable. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Boss!" Jessie and James said, thrilled to be finally given a big assignment.

"Captains Hulk and Greystorm?" Giovanni said. Two brash, muscular men stood up and crossed their arms proudly. "Your job is recruitment. If we're going to battle against Celebi, we will need more people than we already have. Take your squad and go to all the cities and towns in Johto and Kanto, and God help us, go to Hoenn if you have to, and recruit as many members as you possibly can!"

"Yes sir, Giovanni." Capt. Greystorm said with a sneer.

Finally, Giovanni said, "Lieutenant Yoi!" A tall girl with long, flowing brown hair stood up and smiled. Giovanni smiled at her. Lieutenant Yoi may as well have been his second in command… she was his daughter. She had been around the team since she was a child, and she had become accustomed to the ways of Team Rocket, and many of the officers came to love her as much as her father. When she turned 17, she had become a full-fledged member.

"Yes, Boss?" she said. Even though Giovanni was her father, she was no different from the other officers.

"Lieutenant, I want you to take three squads and patrol the seas between Johto and Kanto. You will be our maritime training facility. Hulk and Greystorm will be responsible for bringing the new recruits to the ship, and we'll train them there. You are to have all new members trained in a month, got it?"

"Yes, Boss." Lt. Yoi said.

Giovanni turned back to the entire group. "Once all the objectives have been completed, which should take no more than a month, we are all to meet at our old headquarters in Mahogany Town. From there, we will mass our armies and move out to the foot of the mountains for the final battle. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Boss!" the whole group said in unison.

"MOVE OUT!" Giovanni ordered. The men and women formed ranks and marched out of the room. Giovanni beckoned Yoi over to him. He looked up at his daughter and smiled. "Be careful, alright?"

"I will, Daddy." she assured him. "I'll be fine."

"I know." he said. "Now, go." She turned and left. Giovanni leaned back in his chair. Soon, he would be in the possession of the most powerful Pokemon that ever lived. He closed his eyes and whispered, "And they will call me King."