DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters, place names, etc. The only character I own here is the lovely Samara Kantaris (or rather, she owns me...hehehe). Oh, and Sasha and Brianne (mentioned fleetingly in this chapter)...and Ivan (who makes his debut here).

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooooh I got two reviews! Thank you so much, guys! As soon as I read them I wanted to post the next chapter, but it was on my other computer so I couldn't, until today. I'll reply to the reviews here like most people do

Chibi Zumi: Thanks for your flattering review especially the advice about the battles...I took that into account when planning other chapters I'm glad you like the plot as well! The plot of The Kanto Journeys is pretty straight-forward, I think it gets better later on...hehehe but I'm not gonna give the game away.

NoZoMi aNd HoTaRu: Thanks a lot for your review! I'll definitely keep on with it

By the way, I updated the author's note in the Prologue, just letting you know where I'm going with this story (or series, I should say...hee hee). About this chapter: we get out first battle! And we get to see Kantaris' Pokémon! Yay!


That evening, at about 8:45, Kantaris was sitting on her bed in the small flat that she shared with Sasha and Brianne, two of her fellow Team Rocket members. Situated in a seedy area of downtown Celadon, it was definitely not a luxurious place to live. They'd been there for just over a year now, and yet there was still some stuff in the corner of the room not unpacked. It just sat there in boxes, gathering dust.

None of the three girls owned much anyway. By way of possessions, Kantaris only had a couple of drawers full of clothes (plus her two identical black Team Rocket uniforms) and a small backpack containing a pistol and an old medal from Pokémon Stadium, her most prized possession. She had only one coat and two pairs of shoes, one of which came with her Rocket uniforms. Her only items of jewelry were a fake designer watch that she'd stolen from a market and a grubby silver chain that she'd found somewhere. In her coat pockets she always carried a lighter and some cigarettes and, if she could afford it, bits of makeup. She also had a trainer's belt which held her two Pokémon.

At this moment in time, all of Kantaris' possessions were strewn over the bed, although when I say 'strewn', they didn't really take up that much room anyway. She was dusting off her clothes and shoving them into her bag. Brianne came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an old tea towel.

"I heard you chatting shit at the arcade today," she said

Kantaris said nothing.

"You're really going? Honestly? You're taking the Gym Challenge? You?"

"Yes. Me." Kantaris didn't look up. She pulled a brush through her long, black hair that always seemed to be out of control; she put her coat on.

Brianne made a noise that sounded halfway between a laugh and a grumble. Kantaris rolled her eyes. She couldn't call either of the girls she lived with her 'friends'. They hadn't supported her before, and they didn't support her now. Nobody did. Except maybe one person. But would he support her? Kantaris loaded her gun and put it in her coat pocket. Even though she was a Rocket, she still didn't feel quite safe walking the streets of Celadon after dark.

Kantaris stood up and picked up her bag. She put it over one shoulder and left with little more than a brief goodbye, heading towards the Game Corner.

The lights were still on when she got there, which meant that some of her teammates were still there. Kantaris lingered outside for a moment, looking at it. Then she went round the back. Once inside, she headed straight for the office. She knocked, dumped her bag outside the door and went in.

"You feeling any better, Boss?" she asked tentatively.

"Kantaris." Giovanni acknowledged her without looking up. Nobody else ever bothered to ask him how he felt, so he knew it must be her. "I suppose I am."

"I'm sorry we weren't much help today. If...if my group could have got there sooner, I might have been able to take out a couple of that kid's Pokémon and – "

"It wasn't your fault. You probably couldn't have done much." Giovanni put his pen down and sat back, gazing at Kantaris. "But we were close. So close. Ah, well. It's happened before, and no doubt it'll happen again."

He shook his head and shrugged heavily. Kantaris felt a fleeting twinge of both guilt and pity. Then she steeled herself.

"I need to ask a favour, actually," she said quietly.

"A favour?" Giovanni laughed a real laugh, not one of those insane criminal laughs; this was rare for him. "It must be something pretty important, if you're daring to ask at this time."

"Could you spare me for a while? I'm thinking of travelling."

"Really? Where are you planning to go? If you need a holiday, I could give you one easily. I could get you there as well, if needs be." He poured himself a whisky and offered one to Kantaris. She declined.

"Actually, Sir...it's not a holiday. I'm thinking of taking the Gym Challenge."

He's either gonna love me or hate me for this.

"I see." Giovanni drank his whisky in one go. "You know, it's a long and hard road to take. It's harder than it looks. How often do you hear about a new Champion or a new Pokémon Master?"

"I..." Kantaris swallowed hard. "I'm afraid I'm not too good with current affairs, Sir."

"How often do you see me lose to Gym challengers, then?"

"Rarely."

"Do you know why?"

"Because...because you're good?"

"No, a lot of trainers don't make it, that's why. Every time you enter a Gym, there's always the risk you'll never be able to crack it. And then what? Eight gyms, Kantaris, and at each one, more trainers fall by the wayside."

Kantaris wanted to question his bitter tone of voice, but decided to leave it. He was probably just trying to discourage her.

"But," he continued, "if that is really what you want, I'm not really in a position to stop you. The only thing I could do would be to make sure that you didn't earn your Earthbadge, but by then you'd already be well on your way, I suppose."

"Thank you," Kantaris replied. "But you know, if you needed me round here, or anywhere else, I would do as you wanted. I'm not leaving Team Rocket."

"Now that is something that I could never let you do." He smiled briefly. It was a rather cold smile, but Kantaris liked it anyway and she smiled back.

The next day, Giovanni took a helicopter over to the Gym in Viridian City, as he often did. And this time, Kantaris went with him, as she often did as well. But this time, she would be starting her journey there. When she left Celadon City, nobody said goodbye to her and nobody waved her off. She felt pretty alone, as usual, but this time it didn't feel so bad.

Kantaris loved hanging out at the Gym in Viridian. Before she'd decided to take the Gym Challenge, the only wish she'd had that remotely resembled a dream had been to run the Gym with Giovanni someday. She'd learnt most of her stuff here, mainly from watching him battle other trainers, trainers who were following the same path she was about to embark on. Kantaris couldn't imagine being her Boss's actual opponent in that Gym. It was a pretty intimidating place, and she was sure she'd never be good enough to win. But then again, it would be a long time before she was setting her sights on an Earthbadge. If she wanted to succeed, she would have to take it one step at a time.

Before she set out, Giovanni thanked her for her loyalty to Team Rocket.

"I should be thanking you," Kantaris said. "You've taught me everything I know, and now I'm gonna use what you taught me. I'm aiming to take the League, you know."

"And there is no reason why you shouldn't. But..." He reached into his back pocket and took out a bundle of cash. "...you'll need money. This should last you for a while. And you'll need a map."

He gave her the money along with a crumpled map of Kanto.

"Remember," he said, "battle hard and if you lose, don't be too generous in how much money you give out. Build the strongest team possible, and don't scrimp on training. Look after yourself and be ruthless. That's the only way to the top."

Kantaris nodded.

"And Kantaris," he said, "never forget: you're a Rocket."

Kantaris smiled a wicked little smile and then leaned over and kissed Giovanni on the cheek.

"The next time I see you," she said, "might be right here, when I'm battling you for my Earthbadge."

"Hmph," he said. "Well, I won't be handing it to you on a silver platter."

Kantaris saw the sparkle of humour in his eyes and she laughed. Then she said thank you (again) and goodbye. She left the Gym and cut through the small forest onto the main road of Viridian City. This was her own little 'shortcut' to and from the Gym.

On her way out of Viridian City, she stopped at a Pokémon Mart on the street corner and bought a couple of Potions and six Pokéballs. Outside the Mart, she looked longingly down the road to the West, the one that that led up to the mountains and Indigo Plateau. It looked like a pretty harsh road. The thought that she'd be tough enough to take it someday filled Kantaris with both worry and excitement. But she shrugged.

Rome wasn't built in a day. One step at a time.

She set off to the north with her bag on her back and the sun in her eyes.

Over an hour later, Kantaris was still walking, trying her best to explore all the grassy areas she could find. She carried a Pokéball expectantly in her hand. She'd never actually caught a Pokémon before, well, not in a legitimate way. Her parents had given her Stella (her Misdreavus) and Kantaris wasn't all too sure but she thought that she'd stolen Cyndaquil, or found him, whichever.

But the road was strangely quiet. It was a little chilly, so maybe that was why there were hardly any trainers on the road. Or maybe October was just a bad time to be starting a Pokémon journey, if there was ever a bad time for doing such a thing. Kantaris stopped for a moment and looked around, feeling pretty stupid. There were a couple of Pidgeys in a nearby bush, but they didn't attract Kantaris' attention all that much. She knew she'd probably resort to catching one at some point, but first she wanted to see if she could find any more interesting Pokémon. She sighed, and carried on her way.

The Gym Challenge was quickly losing its appeal.

"I must look like such an amateur," she muttered to break the silence.

And then, as chance would have it, she heard a rustling in the long grass by the side of the road. She gasped and with her free hand released Cyndaquil from its Pokéball. Cyndaquil came out and grunted in discontentment. Kantaris stood poised, waiting for whatever was in the grass to show its face. Cyndaquil walked around in circles on the spot before sitting down lazily. Kantaris resisted the urge to kick it.

After a few moments, a cute little Pokémon face emerged from the bushes and twitched its nose. A brown and white busy tail rose up behind its head.

"An Eevee!" Kantaris squealed. "Cyndaquil, Tackle attack!"

Cyndaquil stood up and yawned but ignored her order completely. Kantaris growled in frustration. Then a male voice made her jump.

"Go, Totodile! Tackle!"

A small blue crocodile (a Totodile, Kantaris presumed, seen as she hadn't seen one before) rushed forward like a blur and toppled the bewildered Eevee over just yards away from where Kantaris was standing. Before Kantaris had chance to react, the Totodile's trainer ran over, tossing a Pokéball as he ran. The Eevee was swept up into red energy and captured inside the Pokéball.

"Hey!" Kantaris yelled. "I saw it first!"

Her hand automatically went to her coat pocket and her fingers closed around her pistol. She forced herself to leave it where it was. That wasn't the way to play on the Gym Challenge.

The Pokéball wobbled, and Kantaris willed the Eevee to break free. But it didn't. She scowled as she turned to face the trainer angrily. He was about the same age as her, maybe a little younger, with short, dark hair that looked a little wavy at the sides, and striking blue eyes. He grinned a cheeky grin as he picked up the Pokéball, and Kantaris was not amused.

"Don't you just hate it when that happens?" he said.

"Indeed."

"Hey, no hard feelings, honey." He laughed, extending his hand to shake. "Your Cyndaquil looks a little tired though. I'm Ivan, by the way."

"Cyndaquil's always like that. It doesn't like me," she replied, shaking his hand reluctantly. She hated the feeling of losing. "And I'm Samara Kantaris."

Kantaris was the name that she always went by, but out of habit she always gave her full name (well, her first name and surname) outside Team Rocket situations.

She deftly pressed the button on Cyndaquil's Pokéball, and the Pokémon returned to it. She gave the Pokéball a sharp rap with her knuckles, hoping that Cyndaquil could hear and/or feel it.

"Kantaris? That name sounds familiar." Ivan narrowed his eyes at her. "And I recognize you from somewhere..."

Kantaris twitched and turned her head slightly. As a Rocket, it unnerved her if anyone said that they recognized her. But Ivan didn't mention Team Rocket. Instead, he scratched his head and asked,

"Weren't you at Stadium last year? In the summer?"

"Pokémon Stadium? In Saffron? Maybe."

She was aware that she wasn't being very friendly, but why should she? The guy had practically stolen a wild Pokémon (an Eevee!) from right under her nose. Ugh, it was Cyndaquil's fault anyway for being a slowcoach who refused to listen to her...

"Yeah, that's right. Hey, you really were there! You were that chick with the Misdreavus that had Thunder!" Ivan said. Come to think of it, he wasn't sounding too friendly either. "I was there as well. We battled in Round 5. Do you remember?"

"Uh, no," Kantaris replied.

She could only remember the trophy she'd won, and possibly a couple of the harder semi-finals and final battles that she'd lost out in whilst trying to win the other tournaments. She couldn't remember this guy, and that meant that he hadn't been much of a challenge. And now, she suddenly felt impatient to carry on her way. But what Ivan said next made her freeze.

"You're that Rocket girl, aren't you?" There was a hint of anger in his voice. "I gotta hand it to you, you thrashed me! I couldn't believe it when you won the Prime Cup tournament!"

"The Prime Cup was just my party piece! I won lots of battles!" Kantaris bragged. "And I thrashed loads of trainers! How do you expect me to remember which one?"

"You thought you were so good. And you still do, I see! But you're just like any other Rocket – "

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kantaris asked, rapidly losing her temper.

"It means you only won 'cos you had rental Pokémon. And you got lucky. See, that's the problem with you Team Rocket people, isn't it? You gang up on law-abiding trainers, thinking you're so tough. But once you're on your own, you're all pathetic as far as Pokémon training goes."

"That's what you think, is it?" She turned away and shifted her bag on her back, hinting that she was ready to walk off. "Well, it's been lovely meeting you again – even though I may as well have never seen you before 'cos sure as hell you don't register in my mind – but I'm in a bit of a rush. I have to go."

Ivan ran in front of her and held her by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.

"Hey, hey, not so fast!" He smiled a cruel little smile. "I haven't seen you for over a year, and now you're leaving so soon?"

"You're creeping me out," Kantaris said. "We battled. Once. And I beat you. Get over it."

"That tournament meant everything to me! I wasn't good enough to battle for real outside the Stadium!" Ivan yelled, letting go of her but not breaking eye contact. "But instead, the whole tournament went to the person who deserved it least: you. I've been waiting ages to pay you back, and I'm not gonna pass up this opportunity. I'm ready for a rematch, Kantaris. Are you?"

"Ready for a rematch?" Kantaris put her bag down. "You should get ready for another ass-kicking, 'cos you just asked for one!"

"Fine," he said. "I'll use my Eevee to start."

Kantaris gave him the dirtiest look she could muster, and she yanked the first Pokéball from the belt around her waist. With a cute little flick of her wrist, she threw it up into the air.

"Stella! It's time to meet an old friend..."

Ivan's eyes glazed over a little when he saw Stella again. She was the same Misdreavus that had sealed his fate at the Stadium a year ago. And she was probably the only Pokémon that Kantaris had actually owned out of the team she had used. Ivan wondered where Team Rocket scum like Kantaris could have gotten such a rare Pokémon. She'd stolen it, obviously. And that was probably why her Cyndaquil wouldn't listen to her. She was a disgrace to Pokémon training! There was no way he could let her win.

Kantaris caught the Pokéball as it came down. She looked at her Misdreavus proudly. Stella had to be the most gorgeous and unusual thing to ever come out of a Pokéball. She was eerily beautiful, with a ghostly necklace of pearls around her neck. Her hair was long and a creepy shade of blue, tinged with purple, and it streamed out behind her. She hovered a few feet above the ground, surrounded by a violet aura. She bore a strange resemblance to the ghost of a maiden, not that Kantaris had ever seen one. Kantaris wondered if all Misdreavuses were as pretty as Stella.

And Stella was strong and loyal.

"Let's start with a Confuse Ray!" Kantaris ordered, for want of a better word – she never 'ordered' Stella around. Stella just obeyed her. They were friends.

Kantaris shielded her eyes as Stella launched a glittering ray of light upon Eevee.

"Eevee, Quick Attack!" Ivan ordered.

Eevee shook its head, trying to shake off the effects of the Confuse Ray. Kantaris smiled in amusement as it regained its composure and launched an impressive Quick Attack...that passed straight through Stella without leaving so much as a mark. Stella giggled, and Kantaris erupted into fits of laughter.

"I remember you!" she said. "You were that idiot who...jeez, things haven't changed much, have they? Normal attacks don't affect ghosts, my dear!"

She felt sorry for the Eevee though, who was staggering around underneath where Stella was floating in the air.

Ivan racked his brain. What other attacks did Eevee have?

"Leer," he called out uncertainly.

But the Confuse Ray had definitely messed up Eevee's little head by now. Its eyes glowed, ready to perform a Leer attack, but then they flickered and went out, and the Pokémon fainted. Ivan recalled it with a grumble. In the air, Stella did a little flip of triumph, even though she had barely needed to do anything. Kantaris fought the urge to laugh. What person would send a newly-caught, already-weakened Pokémon into battle when none of its attacks would even work against the opponent? The same kind of person who'd lose in Round 5 in a beginners' tournament.

"Go, Totodile! Water Gun!" Ivan nudged forward his Totodile, who was dancing around beside him.

Totodile sprayed Stella with a pathetic-looking stream of water. Stella shook it off, her pretty purple eyes flashing in annoyance.

"She didn't like that. Psywave, Stella!"

Only too happy to oblige, Stella let loose a wave of dark purple, green and blue that was only just visible. Totodile fell backwards as it passed over, but recovered quickly and got back on its feet. Ivan was about to call for a Tackle, but he faltered. It wouldn't work against Stella.

"Ugh, Thunder attack," Kantaris said, rolling her eyes. This was taking way too long. She should have just used Thunder in the first place and wiped that Totodile out.

Sparks of electricity flew through the air and struck Totodile full on. It collapsed without a sound.

"How the hell did I lose to a Rocket?" Ivan fumed. "And how can a Misdreavus have Thunder? You're a cheat!"

"Ever heard of TM moves?" Kantaris asked calmly, picking up her bag. She wasn't angry anymore. Her opponent wasn't worth her anger. "You should try and get hold of one at some point. You'll be amazed. Or try breeding Pokémon, if that's more your thing."

Ivan reached into his pocket and took out a note and a heap of change.

"It's all I have," he muttered. "Sorry."

"In that case, you'd better forget it," Kantaris replied. Giovanni would have gone mad at her for not taking the money, but she was feeling terribly gracious. "Just stay out of my way."

Kantaris beckoned Stella, who floated over to her. She turned around, about to hit the road again with Stella alongside her – it was getting dark, and she wanted the company.

"Stay out of your way?" Ivan re-called Totodile and followed a few steps behind. "You're on the Gym Challenge, right?"

"To end this issue once and for all, yes. Although I'm freaked out by your...intuition. Seen as I never told you I was on the Gym Challenge."

"I'm on the Gym Challenge too!"

"How nice for you." Kantaris exchanged glances with Stella, who was pretending to fall asleep.

(Yes, Stella shared her trainer's sarcastic sense of humour as well.)

Kantaris winked at Stella and they quickened their pace with no intention of turning round to talk again. Humiliated and annoyed, Ivan gave up following them.

"You can't avoid me, Kantaris!" he shouted. "We're rivals now!"

"Takes two to form a rivalry," she replied cattily, "and if I'm gonna have a rival, it won't be someone who's a few short of a dozen. It'll be someone on my level. But thanks anyway. Battle fodder is always valued."

Stella giggled, then turned around and pulled a face at Ivan. He didn't see it: he was already going back the other way. The wrong way.

That night, Kantaris stopped at a random Pokémon Centre along the roadside. She chatted to Stella, mainly because there was no person there who seemed to want to talk.

"Jeez, how's about that for a first day? No new Pokémon, just some creepy guy who thinks he can call himself our rival."

Stella tugged her trainer's hair affectionately.

"Ah, we'll make it, Stell'..." Kantaris whispered, running her fingers over Stella's translucent hair. "He won't get in our way."