Pokémon: The Vision of His Future

by Keith E. Kimball

Second part of the Pokémon Future series. Ash Ketchum may have a bright new future ahead of him, but his past refuses to let go. Can Ash face the cold, hard truth of not just his own, but his father’s life…alone?

3. Chapter 3 New Beginnings

Now

It ended up being early dawn as Ash approached Blackthorn City's own Pokémon Gym. Bearing his master and Pikachu on his back, Pidgeot flapped broad brown wings heavily. The former Pidgeotto was wheezing noisily—and not from an encounter with a certain Poison-Type Pokémon, either. Concerned, Ash indicated that his friend set down outside the gym's stone outer wall.

Yet Pidgeot's never-say-die attitude was as strongly in force as ever. Ash's advice was ignored; Pidgeot banked into a sharp dive. Coming in low and fast and hopefully under the radar of any watchers, Pidgeot slipped through a side gate and into a row of large bushes. Only then did the Pokémon land.

Pidgeot laid down in the bush heavily, eyelids drooping. Ash regarded his friend with a potent mixture of concern and relief. "I can't thank you enough for this, Pidgeot," he whispered, "It would've been too suspicious if I'd switched anybody on my Pokémon team back at the Pallet Gym. Flying all the way here yourself---!" He had to break off for a respite as his emotions caught up to him. Finally, Ash finished, "I won't let you down! This will all be worth it, I swear!"

But still Ash had to wag a warning finger, "You should've stopped to rest when I told you to, though."

Pidgeot's hard beak turned up slightly in a little grin. Sometimes Ash wondered if the creature was more Swinub than Pidgeot; he was so pigheaded.

"You just take a good rest now," Ash returned his friend to his Pokéball. Then he took a moment to rub his own forearms, trying to restore some feeling. The trip had been windy, long, and cold. He wished he'd dared take the time to change out of his tux before leaving; but then again, he'd have had to go home first. They'd left straight from the Morgans' gym. Right out of an upper-story window, actually.

Ash bit his lip guiltily. Misty and Delia had to be going crazy wondering where they'd disappeared to. But it was something he had to do himself. It wasn't Misty's father, after all; and he'd rather wrestle a wild Feraligatr by hand than see his mother hurt by that man again.

Pikachu shivered a little at his feet. Ash scooped him up, hugging Pikachu to his chest, and the two friends enjoyed each other's body heat for a moment. Not to mention sharing a little self-confidence between each other's strong grip.

But only for a moment. Ash set Pikachu down gently and looked the gym's main building over in earnest.

Blackthorn Gym was still elegant and clean in its old-fashioned design. It focused on a lot of very tall windows to allow students plenty of warm light to live by. Which made it even eerier with the gym silent and dark. The windows became great black slashes in the building, each one gaping emptily at him. Neither the buildings nor the grounds were lit by even the simplest automatic light.

A glance over his shoulder let Ash see a few of the city's lights still gleaming under the awakening sky, off in the distance. Blackthorn should've been loaded up with students ready to begin a brand new semester this morning, just like Pallet. Although, at nearly a century old in its current state alone, the Blackthorn version had a lot more tenure.

He was getting no sense of life to the place at all. Not even the gentle feeling one might get knowing that lots of other people were sleeping quietly in their dorms all around him.

Most of the way there, Ash had been wondering how his father had managed to fool or trick the gym's leader, Clair, into helping him. In fact he'd finally decided it had to be some sort of blackmail. Although he personally wouldn't want to threaten anybody Clair held dear. That couldn't be good for your health.

But looking at the cold, empty facility surrounding himself and Pikachu, Ash wondered if something had happened (or at least been faked) to drive everyone away for awhile instead. Scaring all the gym's students was one thing; dealing with the Dragon Lady herself was another. Ash doubted that Clair had been fooled. Or, more likely, she'd stayed behind to take care of the supposed danger herself.

But there was no sign of Blackthorn's leader either. For the first time Ash wondered if rushing out here alone had been such a good idea after all. He could only sigh heavily. Either his own efforts or friends he'd gotten to help look for his father had led absolutely nowhere for an entire month. This might be his only chance for a confrontation before good ol' Dad decided to vanish for good.

He'd still feel better knowing what was up with Clair first, though.

Ash released his Sneasel from her Pokéball and told her to use Thief to open a window. With a practiced ease, Sneasel slid the window open without breaking the lock or setting off the electronic surveillance systems alike. Ash and his two Pokémon slipped into the dark hallway. The human had to pause to allow his eyes to adjust; his Pokémon friends waited patiently.

Then the lights flared to full brightness.

Ash reared back, drawing his arms up to block an attack as he cried, "Pikachu! Sneasel! Get behind me!"

But no attack was forthcoming. Ash blinked past his starry vision to see a mockingly empty corridor. His friends merely fidgeted a little at his feet, casting nervous glances up and down both ends of the hallway.

The intercom crackled to life. "It's about time, Master Trainer."

Ash glared hard at the overhead speaker. Next to it was a security camera; probably equipped with night vision. He didn't deign to respond. Instead Ash simply returned Sneasel to her Pokéball, nodded down to Pikachu at his side, and marched resolutely down the hallway. With angry confidence, he chose a path through the gym.

Coldly, the intercom returned, "The other way, Master Trainer."

His teeth were grinding against each other now, but the voice was right. Soon Ash pushed open the big double doors leading into the room where he'd once faced Clair herself. The huge square chamber lost much of its old-fashioned, stately elegance when it was draped in darkness. Only a few overhead spotlights shone around the rectangular pool dead center on the battlefield. The clear blue waters danced gently, bouncing reflections around in a vain attempt to shed some more light on the hardwood floors. Ash scanned the painted lines marking the field of battle. Everything was laid out as it should be; except he still had no opponent---yet.

Trying to keep his hands from shaking too much, Ash strode in and took his place at the challenging trainer's starting position. Pikachu, naturally, moved out a little further to his own mark.

Silence. Ash challenged the darkness, "What about Clair? Where is she?"

Another spotlight sprang to life; far in the corner. A suspiciously coffin-like container stood revealed. Ash gasped and stared hard; the object was made of clear plastic. Within lay a woman still and cold as death itself.

Ash took a few cautious steps forward to see better. Visibly, he relaxed. Clair was wearing her full-fledged Gym Leader's outfit. The billowing black cape that lent her such an intimidating air had been draped around her in the container. At this distance, it had looked like a shroud at first, but now Ash was sure she was sleeping quietly. Ha, Sleeping Beauty, he thought with a twist of irony.

Clair moved. Ash jumped.

No; it was a Parasect in the container with her. The scuttling Bug-Type finished climbing up her midriff to stop and emit a puff of Spore from under its mushroom-like cap. Ash could see some of the yellow pollen escape from air holes in the container's top, but most of it stayed to hover around Clair's upper body. Thus the formidable Gym Leader and her Pokémon (albeit in their Pokéballs at her waist) remained safely in dreamland.

Ash felt his muscles tensing up again. A peculiar tickle in the back of his mind had started up. A presence—a conscious one—now shared the battlefield with him. Ash turned his gaze slowly around the rest of the chamber.

Finally, a shape simply stepped out of the darkness across from him.

Giovanni stood in Clair's usual place. His dark hair was still tied back in a long ponytail as when Ash had last seen him. But the dark turtleneck sweater and khaki pants suited to Sternbreak Island's wilderness were gone. In their stead was the orange business suit he had worn when being a Gym Leader was his own trade. Hands in his jacket pockets, Giovanni merely stood there stone-faced, watching with inscrutable narrow eyes.

With a cold set to his own features, Ash retook his own mark on the floor. He'd dreamed of this moment for a month. Yet now that it was here, Ash found the words jumbling up in his throat. He had to choke them back, fighting to repress his adrenaline-borne shivers, to not dare break down in front of---him.

Giovanni waited patiently.

"You," Ash finally said and caught himself anew.

Giovanni almost smiled. Almost. "Told you, did she?"

Ash bit his own tongue to avoid shrieking at the top of his lungs. His own blood provided a coppery taste in his mouth as he snarled, "What do you think?"

Pikachu turned his back to Giovanni as he stared at his master with big eyes. Never had the little Pokémon heard such bitterness, such rage, in Ash's voice. And never before had he been afraid of his own master. For him, yes, many times---but never of.

Ash noticed the look his Pokémon was giving him. And that provided the last bit of strength his self-control needed. His muscles relaxed noticeably; Ash's shaking slowing along with his breathing. "I'm all right, Pikachu," he assured as calmly as his roughened voice would allow, "I'm all right. Let's do this. Together."

Pikachu was still unsure in his heart, but knew he couldn't afford showing any more weakness in front of Giovanni. Pikachu faced forward once more, striking up a determined pose and allowing little sparks of electricity to ripple across his fur with a challenging crackle.

Now Giovanni's eyes glittered brightly. "I do apologize for holding this little get-together in Blackthorn instead of my old gym. I could hoax the students there and take out your erstwhile rival Gary Oak as easily as I did here. But Viridian Gym will be hosting your wedding in two weeks. Quite a lot of extra people running around down there at the moment. Ah, well. Since my gym was the eighth on your Kanto League run, then the corresponding stop on your Johto League trip is, at least, thematically appropriate as an alternative."

"I guess you'd have to play it that way," Ash snapped, "Without legions of Team Rocket members to help you out anymore. So sorry me and my friends ruined all that for you years ago, by the way." Ash had finally stopped shaking completely.

Giovanni refused to be baited. Instead he somehow managed to sneer without the expression on the rest of his face changing one iota. "Don't you want to set the rules for the match first?"

"It's a Gym Match," Ash fired back, "Three Pokémon apiece, no time limit. Forgot how it works? Been so long since you ran Viridian Gym?"

Giovanni's hand left his pocket in favor of laying gently across his heart. "Oh, touché, Master Trainer," he said softly, "Your wit is as sharp as always." He slipped the hand back to its pocket, continuing to hold Ash's undivided attention with his own fathomless gaze. "Or is it? You didn't seem to be thinking too hard that day at Viridian Gym. Did you bring your Earth Badge after all?"

For an answer, Ash peeled the lapel of his tux open for a moment. All eight of Ash's Kanto League badges glinted back at Giovanni in the bright light. Ash grinned smugly, "Never go anywhere without my original set."

For the first time, a flicker of emotion passed over Giovanni's features. "You seem quite proud of your achievement. How arrogant of you."

"Why?" Ash challenged back angrily, "Just because I'm such a better trainer than you? Mom said it took you four days to reach Viridian from Pallet when you started your Pokémon journey. It only took me one."

Giovanni returned coldly, "She believed that. And so do you, apparently."

A crack about his mother had been the very last thing Ash wanted to hear. He took a more forceful pose, legs akimbo and arms loose at his sides. The sound of his teeth grating echoed slightly in the wide gym since he didn't dare speak right then.

Giovanni insisted, each word thudding out of his mouth with rock-solid intent, "This is a Gym Match, pure and simple. To make up for my absence on that day in Viridian City so long ago." His eyes narrowed yet further; but the rest of his form was still cast in stone. "Didn't you wonder? Just a little bit? How those two fools who'd been chasing you for over a full year already were suddenly Gym Leaders?"

Ash snorted, "Jessie and James admitted the gym was run by Team Rocket. They said they'd been promoted. Heh, I had a hard time imagining who'd be stupid enough to do that, but here you are."

Giovanni's voice sharpened inquisitively. "And that didn't intrigue you? A Pokémon League Gym run by the nefarious Team Rocket?"

That comment only made Ash angrier. He shifted his weight back and forth impatiently, replying, "I heard all about it later. Officer Jenny checked it out. When the Morgans blew up the gym during our Pokémon battle, they also blew up any evidence you were more than just another Gym Leader. So when you said you'd been kidnapped and your Pokémon stolen by those two, we all swallowed it; even Jenny. Wish I'd known you then like I do now."

He wanted to say more. He truly wished he had met the Viridian Leader that first day. Then it would've been his second meeting, not his first, with Giovanni when they battled over the freedom of the clone Pokémon, Mewtwo. Ash would've known who he was looking at already; he could've exposed Giovanni's secret life to Officer Jenny and not just his agent Domino. Who knew how much might've changed if Team Rocket had been disbanded years earlier?

But he didn't dare. Mewtwo had removed the threat Giovanni posed to it permanently by erasing the man's memory of Mewtwo's very existence. And Ash certainly didn't want to give Giovanni any bright ideas about returning to power.

Giovanni's eyes refused to relinquish their hold on Ash's own. "You could've returned; sought out the real Gym Leader for a rematch. A Pokémon is only as good as its trainer. You were content to face my Pokémon in those morons' hands, but you didn't exactly seek me out, now did you? What's the matter? Gary Oak's little tale of terror at having faced me leave you shaking too hard?"

"If you knew me at all," Ash snapped, "You'd know better than that." But he found his defiant pose changing as a familiar knot of guilt became forming in his gut. A knot that had first tangled up his feelings when he'd heard Jenny's reports long ago. He'd dismissed it countless times, reminding himself of victories over many Gym Leaders before Viridian and afterwards too. Not to mention helping Mewtwo win his freedom, and the fall of Team Rocket, and---well, any other excuse Ash could come up with to prove his own bravery and skill. To himself, at least.

Still that nasty little voice in the back of his mind kept wondering over the years.

What if he had faced Giovanni for the Earth Badge instead?

The change in Ash's posture brought a knowing touch to Giovanni's smirk. The older man continued, "But fear wasn't your only motivation, was it? A minimum of eight badges are required to enter the League Championship competition; mine was the last you so desperately needed. You just took your pathetic excuse for a victory and ran. After all, you had what you wanted. The only thing that mattered to you. Your Earth Badge."

Ash shook his head and balled up his fists, trying to hold onto his anger. But it was dissolving fast. A dark wave of guilt battered away the half-truths and excuses encrusted in his mind, leaving behind a hard truth written for all to see. Even himself.

Giovanni finally relinquished a cold, thin-lipped smile as he closed his trap. "Still, perhaps I can't quite blame you. You had entry into the Kanto League Championship and one up on your bitter rival in one smooth stroke. The famous Gary Oak couldn't beat the Viridian Gym Leader, now could he? Then what hope had a little nobody like you?"

Giovanni's tongue clucked noisily against the inside of his cheek as he continued. "If that phone call had summoned me away mere moments later--- How different things would've been for you. But then again, perhaps honest defeat would still be preferable. At least, compared to having your entire Pokémon career based on a lie."

"I earned that badge," Ash protested; but weakly, defensively. The youth stumbled a half-step backwards. Pikachu returned to Ash's side, wishing he was taller so he could supply his master with some much-needed support.

"What do you say, Master Trainer?" Giovanni intoned, lacing the title heavily with irony, "Dare you face me here for an Earth Badge and more?"

"More?" Ash returned, shaking his head woozily.

"Yes!" Giovanni snapped, a flare of anger finally breaking through his hard exterior momentarily, "If you win, you keep the Earth Badge and no one is ever the wiser! But if I win—you publicly renounce your Elite Four position, all your badges, everything you dared claim in falsehood! You'll be exposed for what you really are: NOTHING!"

Maybe it was Pikachu's loving support. Maybe it was his own pride that forced him, once more, to face the very thing he feared and overcome it. Maybe both. From somewhere way down deep inside, Ash felt a sliver of anger still seething within. "Took you long enough to track me down for this," he returned softly, "if you felt so strongly about it. Why? Scared? Of me? Or of her?"

Giovanni winced at the invocation of Delia. Nevertheless, he replied coldly, "You washed out of the Kanto League competition fast, so stealing that Earth Badge didn't do you much good; at first. I certainly had better things to do than chase one errant coward of a Pokémon Trainer down. Let those two idiot employees of mine chase you and that pathetic Pikachu rather than foul up something important again."

"Yeah, right," Ash agreed with all the sarcasm he could muster, "And that's all there is to it." He hadn't missed how his earlier comment had drawn blood in Giovanni's wince. The hint of vulnerability reminded Ash of how Team Rocket had fallen, partially thanks to himself. He'd faced Giovanni in a Pokémon battle before---albeit one that ended in a draw. Without even knowing fully who he was dealing with at the time.

And now that he did know--- His opponent had so many things over so many years to answer for. Ash's entire lifetime, in fact.

The youth's rage returned. But it was dulled somehow. His rage was working with him, fueling him, emboldening him; yet somehow steeling him with an eerie confidence that matched Giovanni's own.

Very firmly, Ash intoned, "I agree to every one of your stakes for me. I swear, if I lose, I'll do it."

Giovanni's lips turned up in a smug grin of triumph.

Then Ash gave him the most bloodless smile he had ever dared unleash, "But if I win---"

Some of Giovanni's smile faltered as his eyebrow rose curiously.

Ash challenged, "I keep the Earth Badge, yeah. But you're gonna talk. About her. About me. Even about being the Viridian Gym Leader and the Boss of Team Rocket at the same time. You're not gonna hide behind legal technicalities anymore. You tell the world what you are; if you can!"

For an instant time stood still.

Then, very deliberately, Giovanni answered, "As you wish."

Pikachu returned to his starting position even as Giovanni reached into a inner lapel pocket for a Pokéball.

In a familiar burst of light, a huge Nidoking materialized. The bipedal reptile's purple-hued form bristled with a long row of spines and muscles alike. Nidoking's gigantic rabbit ears were the only cute feature on a toothy face noted for its malevolence. Like a sumo wrestler, the mighty Ground- and Poison-Type stomped all his weight down on one foot, then the other. The floor of Clair's gym shook with each impact. Pikachu bounced off his starting point on his little haunches; but he stepped right back up to the plate.

"Now remember," Giovanni called with evil cheerfulness, "No Pokémon substitutions allowed in a Gym Match."

Too late, Ash recalled that Viridian Gym had been known for its Ground-Type Pokémon back in Giovanni's day. A type that Pikachu's Electric nature was extremely vulnerable against. Ash had been expecting a Diverse Team like his own; especially since Giovanni had fielded just such a Pokémon group against him long ago.

Ash took only a second to regret being so predictable. After all, Pikachu had seen him through countless lopsided battles before. "Go, Pikachu! Agility!" At his master's command, Pikachu leapt into a charge so fast, it almost appeared the spunky Pokémon had used Teleport to cross the pool.

"Nidoking, use Megahorn," Giovanni prompted with calm assurance. As Pikachu neared, Nidoking bent down to thrust the foremost horn adorning his head with a vicious slash. The Megahorn Attack missed the scampering Pikachu; barely.

But Pikachu was close enough not to miss now. "Thunder!" Ash cried.

"Pika-CHHUUUU!" came the response as Pikachu unleashed the most powerful Electric-Type attack of all at point-blank range. An electric bolt easily as thick as Pikachu himself jumped from the mouse's body. Even as the Thunder crashed onto Nidoking, Ash could feel the leftover electricity make some of his own hair stand up even at this distance.

Nidoking didn't even blink. Giovanni sneered, "I don't know what sort of weakling Ground-Types you're used to facing, Master Trainer, but I suggest a change of tactics in this case. Oh, and don't bother trying to set off the emergency fire sprinklers or some such trick either. They're deactivated. Nidoking, use Earthquake."

"Niidoo," assured the Pokémon as he slammed his thick tail onto the ground. For a second, Nidoking lifted his entire massive frame off the floor completely to stand on his tail alone. Then he crashed both clawed feet back down, sending shockwaves of pure force rippling the bendable floorboards across the length of the gym.

The attack would spell doom for Pikachu—if it hit him. "Iron Tail, hurry!" Ash ordered.

"Pikaa!" as Pikachu somersaulted head-over-heels into a midair leap. The Earthquake Attack passed by beneath the spinning yellow streak harmlessly. Pikachu's little tail glowed white, clean and pure, as he brought it down toward Nidoking's head like a bolt from the blue.

Reflexively, Nidoking caught Pikachu's tail in a huge clawed hand. The Iron Tail Attack dissipated harmlessly in his grip. Pikachu found himself hanging upside-down in Nidoking's clutches, both Pokémon so surprised they simply stared at each other for a moment.

The Earthquake continued to rattle the gym, albeit less forcefully with each pass as the ricocheting shockwaves died down. The building had stood the test of time and many, many Pokémon attacks of every type by virtue of its flexible design and constant maintenance. Intended to shake and roll rather than break, the battle room did its job and held.

Both trainers managed to stay upright; Giovanni with maddening ease born of much practice. "Nidoking," he prompted quietly, "Tail Whip. Using Pikachu's, if you please."

Ash cried, "Wait!"

Nidoking didn't care. The moment of silence broken, Nidoking whipped Pikachu against the floor by his own tail fiercely. Just once. But once was enough; Pikachu disappeared into a hole smashed through the floorboards by his own body.

Ash cried out from the depths of his soul, "Pikachu! Get up! Please!"

Shakily, Pikachu clawed himself free of the opening. He straightened up, looking the massive Nidoking that towered over him straight in the eye. "Pik-aaa---" and Pikachu assumed a ready stance. In a very unsteady fashion.

"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, knowing it was hopeless, knowing it was futile; but also knowing Pikachu would never forgive Ash if he recalled the little creature. Not in this battle. Not with so much on the line.

Pikachu launched himself with surprising strength head-first into Nidoking's broad chest. Nidoking actually rocked back on his tail for support a little, snarling, "Nido?" Yet still his grip ensnared Pikachu from both sides, squeezing fiercely.

Giovanni's smirk matched Nidoking's as the former intoned, "Enough of the pregame show, Master Trainer. Nidoking, use Body Slam." Nidoking simply fell on his own chest, allowing Pikachu to lead the way, as the Pokémon crashed to earth in the hole Pikachu had made—

And kept going right through the gym's floor and beyond.

A plume of broken rock and floorboards alike marked their passing. Ash cried out for Pikachu, but was drowned out as the earth groaned mightily. The gym's walls and ceiling remained immobile, but the hole their combating Pokémon had made was widening swiftly. The ground beneath the floor cracked with an ear-splitting snap. Exposed was an even greater darkness than Giovanni had shrouded the gym in.

Hungrily, the gap reached for them with a rapidly growing maw.

"Pikachu! I'm coming!" Ash cried, diving into the crevasse head-first.

Giovanni turned and ran. But he wasn't fast enough. The floorboards were disappearing under his feet even as he scuttled across them. In the end, he could only rage helplessly as the blackness swallowed him too.

--Then--

"Pallet Town," Giovanni grumbled to himself, "What an overestimation of itself. More like Pallet Dump." Bad enough he was going to have to stay here; but according to the backstory Team Rocket had cooked up for him, he'd have to say he was born here. How humiliating.

Still, a local boy just might get a few extra points with the professor. And Giovanni shuddered at the mere thought of what Madam Boss would do to him if he didn't even get the job. Cleaning the Tauros enclosure with his tongue would probably look pretty good by comparison.

Looking very glum, Giovanni drove the car his mother had loaned him through the small town's streets. The vehicle wasn't as upscale as he was used to, either. He'd feared the middle-class car would make him stick out in Pallet. But one look had let him know this set of wheels was probably the best this hick burg had ever seen. Heck, his luggage was probably better than anything these local yokels had.

Finally. The mailbox ahead had the right number; that had to be Oak's place atop the hill behind it. Giovanni steered around the side of the hill to discover a semicircular driveway. Taking the nearer entrance, Giovanni spent another moment driving uphill before he arrived.

But he wasn't the first, he saw.

A much more expensive car sat a little ahead of his. It was a big four-door model with a Johto region license plate. A young man, roughly Giovanni's own age, was getting his luggage out of the trunk. The youth had on nice clothes—light grey pants, light blue polo with an orange undershirt, and a dark brown jacket atop—but they weren't up to par with the car. His build was fair, but his face narrowed as it descended from forehead to chin into a hatchet's blade. The effect of sternness was heightened by a head of prematurely grey hair.

Then, as Giovanni stepped out of his car, the other man blew away the image of seriousness by smiling warmly. Extending a hand in invitation, the youth added, "You must be the new guy. I'm Spencer Hale. Nice to meet you."

Giovanni smiled broadly back as he shook Spencer's hand firmly to make sure the grin was visible beneath his new beard and mustache. He added, "Nice to meet you, Spencer. I'm Vance Ketchum."

Thus was Vance Ketchum born.

Inwardly, Giovanni groaned yet again at the choice of last name for him. A fondness for puns was one of the few weaknesses Madam Boss had. He supposed she wanted her agent to ketchum with their pants down and steal everything. But he hated puns.

Still, that didn't stop Giovanni from studying his potential rival intently yet circumspectly. Effecting a slightly confused face, Giovanni politely probed for info with, "The new guy? So I've got the job for sure then? I've got to admit, a welcome from the old guard doesn't hurt my feelings."

Spencer didn't suspect a thing. Instead he grinned back, "Heh! Either you should check your e-mail more often or, more likely, Prof. Oak forgot to send one. Yup, we're partners now, Vance. C'mon, let's get our stuff and hurry in; I'm sure the professor is waiting for us."

"Hey! What about me!" called a feminine voice from the driveway behind Giovanni. The ding-ding of a bicycle's bell accentuated her call for attention.

Riding toward them was one of the most interesting contradictions of herself that Giovanni had ever seen. The girl had shorts, knee-high socks, and shoes suited for riding her bike, but her green plaid overshirt and dark brown undershirt looked more like a gardener's ensemble. Her bike had a little wire basket across the handlebars and her brown hair was done up in twin pigtails. Pigtails! Giovanni couldn't remember the last time he'd seen those.

But the biggest contradiction came when the girl stopped her bike and swung smoothly off it. Her height and the definition in her slender figure marked her not as a girl, but a young woman at least Giovanni's age. A very girlish woman, but a woman nonetheless.

Giovanni felt a condescending smile forming on his lips and hoped his beard covered it. She had to be a local, dressed so poorly; couldn't even afford a car at her age. How pathetic.

He got another shock; Spencer stepped up to the lady with arms outstretched warmly. "How could I ever forget you, sweetheart?" he prompted as the girl melted into his embrace. So softly Giovanni almost missed it, she whispered to Spencer, "It's been weeks. You were gone so long---" They shared a quick but passionate kiss; Giovanni should've looked away to give them some privacy.

But he didn't. And he wondered why. Even as he realized the sneer had disappeared from his lips.

Before the couple turned to him, Giovanni's countenance returned to normal. Spencer let the girl hang on his arm as he led her over to Giovanni. "Vance, my new friend," Spencer said magnanimously, "Meet my old friend, Delia."

The woman untangled herself from Spencer and proffered her hand like a man would for a handshake. Giovanni found himself gently grasping her palm, turning it down into a lady's formal greeting, before kissing the back of Delia's hand gently. At least, as gently as he could, with the rough hairs of his mustache rubbing her skin.

He added, "Always a pleasure to meet a lady."

Delia blushed a little and pulled away; a bit too quickly.

Spencer didn't fail to notice; but he also wasn't willing to give up on Giovanni's friendship right away either. His heartiness sounded a bit forced (but only a little bit) as he replied, "If you knew Delia, you'd know she's no lady." Delia glanced sharply at him, but Spencer smoothly continued with, "She's far too independent for that particular title."

The young man made a bit of a show in slipping his arms over Delia's shoulders from behind for another embrace. She responded, "True, true," as she leaned her back against his chest; caressed Spencer's arms with hers. Delia smiled jokingly at Giovanni, "Sometimes I wonder why I keep Spencer around."

"Indeed," Giovanni said in a way that was neither challenge nor joke. The statement was simply a mystery.

Apparently Spencer decided some more definition in their relative places was needed. Looking thoughtful, he cast his gaze down toward the back of Delia's head before saying, "Poor Vance showed up all by himself, sweetheart. Any of your girlfriends have a broken heart in need of tender loving care?"

Delia smiled at Giovanni once more, but it was a polite grin.

He felt disappointed, strangely enough. Her face had lit up so when she'd smiled at Spencer.

Anyway, Delia was saying, "I'm sure we can find a date for you soon, Vance." She giggled, displaying her girlishness again, as she added, "With a nice car like that, it shouldn't be hard!"

Looking greatly reassured by her attitude (and trying to hide it from them both), Spencer pulled back and indicated Delia's bike with his thumb. "Need a hand with anything, sweetie?"

"Nope," Delia reassured, "I'm here to pick up, not drop off today. Let me help you with your luggage instead."

Moving back toward his own car's trunk, Giovanni called out cheerfully, "And here I thought I'd be toiling away by myself. Three sets of helping hands will make the professor's work go much, much smoother."

As she shouldered a few lighter bags of Spencer's, Delia replied, "Oh, no! Sorry to disappoint you, but it's you boys who'll be doing all Prof. Oak's dirty work. I'm just the babysitter."

Giovanni made a honestly puzzled face for once as he put his luggage on a little push-cart he'd unfolded. "The professor has children? At his age?"

Delia laughed. The sound was light and musical to Giovanni's ears; perhaps because it was totally lacking in malice or sarcasm. Few in Team Rocket laughed like that. On the job, at least. Not too many of his female companions of the past did either. They were high society people, usually laughing down their nose at someone.

Sort of like Giovanni had been feeling about Delia mere moments ago.

Had been feeling about her?

"No, silly!" Delia challenged playfully, "His children do! You know, grandchildren! Err, well, a grandchild, anyway." As the trio bore their suitcases into the main hallway, Delia gushed further, "I'll show you a picture in a minute. Daisy is such a cutie! So smart too! She's almost six, so she's much easier to manage than some of the other babysitting jobs I've had, believe me!"

Thanks to his companions' familiarity with the huge home, Giovanni had his stuff thrown in his room in moments. He could truly unpack later; as he'd suspected, Spencer and Delia had dumped their own load and were waiting to give him a tour. Not to mention hopefully dig up the professor himself.

Spencer and Delia alike wore knowing grins as they creeped upstairs to Oak's main lab balcony. Seeing Giovanni simply walking up behind her, Delia turned to give him an overblown shushing motion with her finger to her lips.

To her delight and his own surprise, Giovanni began emulating the others' cartoonish walk up the stairs, a heartfelt grin shining through his facial fuzz.

Oak was there, alright. Passed out face-first on his computer desk and snoring heartily into some research papers. Giovanni hoped he wasn't drooling in his sleep; Oak might've shorted out the computer at that range and Giovanni didn't want the big job of replacing it. Not on his first day.

Delia started forward, but Spencer gently held her back. "Let me," he added conspiratorially as he advanced in front of her. She let him go.

Carefully outside of arm's reach but still rather close, Spencer sucked in a big breath to bellow, "Professor Oak! Look! It's the legendary Pokémon Raikou!"

With a satisfying start, Oak leapt to his feet in a flurry of dislodged paper. "What! Where!" he called out, fighting to clear the sleep from his eyes. He stumbled and Spencer was quick to catch him. Realizing that he who was steadying him had also been the one to awaken him falsely, Oak gave the younger man a playful punch on the shoulder. Spencer and Delia laughed together.

Giovanni couldn't quite bring himself to join them this time.

Instead he extended a hand, smiling politely, "My apologies if I've caught you at a bad time, Professor. I'm Vance Ketchum (mental wince), I'm here for the assistant's job---?"

Oak's eyes widened in a little bit of self-reproaching horror, "Yes, of course! I'm so sorry, young man, but I forgot to let you know you'd gotten the position! Before you came all this way, too!" Oak's hand took his in an apologetically pumping grip. "I've been hoping to hear from someone like you, Vance, for a very long time now." At that last, there was a strange sparkle in Oak's eyes to go along with a slightly silly upturn of his broad, welcoming grin.

A bit of suspicion slashed into Giovanni's thoughts. Oak knew something about him. Somehow, someway, Giovanni couldn't fathom how, but Oak had a fact or two on his side. But how much? Giovanni's suspicion didn't show in his demeanor as he replied, "Oh? You've heard of a humble local boy like me? I'm flattered, Professor."

Oak chortled and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Let's just say a Ketchum helped me out of a jam in my youth. Any branch of that family tree is very welcome in my laboratory. And rest assured, I've got plenty for you and Spencer to do, since my wife---passed on."

The professor's good humor vanished with his own gloomy reminder. Oak released Giovanni's shoulder to shove both hands in his own lab coat's pockets. Spencer gently gripped the old man's shoulder, adding softly, "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it back for the funeral, Professor. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, Spencer," Oak reassured with a quick smile, "You had a funeral of your own to attend back home in Greenfield. It's I who apologize to you. If I hadn't kept you working so hard, if I'd realized how short time was becoming, I would've sent you to him right away."

"How could you have known?" Spencer returned warmly, "My father was sick for a very long time. Nobody knew exactly when it would happen. The end just---came a lot quicker than anybody expected, that's all."

Delia, it seemed, had been waiting for an opportunity to broach the subject delicately. Now she gently sidled up to Spencer, leaning against him to provide her body's comforting warmth, even as she pulled one of Oak's hands free to gently hold in hers. She didn't say anything. She didn't need too. For that moment at least, the woman dressed like a girl looked nothing less than angelic as she supported the men in her life.

Giovanni, always the outsider, always watching everything he did and said with anybody not of Team Rocket, for the first time---resented it.

Outwardly, he coughed politely and started for the stairs. "I'll be seeing you later, Professor. I didn't mean to intrude."

To catch him, Oak had to move outside of his young friends' protective circle. But the moment's shared sorrow and love had done him a world of good; Oak's gaze was notably brighter, his movements stronger. And he was quite genuine when he said, "Nonsense! We've all got work to do; no more time for being mushy! Did you put your luggage away yet?"

Giovanni nodded.

"Good!" Oak continued, "Let me show you around!"

Giovanni only had one more bit of trouble on his first day. Delia insisted on preserving this historic day mid-tour with some photographs. Giovanni took the first one; outside with Oak leaning up against the property's wooden fence. He was framed by Spencer and Delia on each side.

That was easy since somebody had to take the picture. But try as he might, Giovanni couldn't follow Madam Boss' instructions and wheedle out of being in the second shot. Oak captured the image of Delia, smiling broadly and giggling, as Spencer and Giovanni held her between them.

One thing the picture did not record, thanks to the beard: Giovanni's cheeks warming as he touched her. It was simply the physical proximity, he told himself, she was the only woman around, after all. He'd find someone better, more high-class, to occupy himself with. Even in this town there had to be somebody—

The thoughts rang strangely hollow as the camera's bulb flashed.

Text, original characters, and events Copyright © 2006 Keith E. Kimball. This is a fan work and not for profit.

All other characters, events, and trademarks Copyright © their respective holders including but not limited to Nintendo Company Ltd., GameFreak, The Pokémon Company, Shogakukan Production Inc., 4Kids Entertainment, etc.