An unauthorized vehicle had taken flight in Alola's airspace but nobody in the region had any clue it was there. On board of it was a small unit of Team Rocket agents consisting of a recruiter, grunts to perform each task of flying and a girl still learning in the academy but will play an important part beyond her current rank.
The technology originally deployed by someone called Hunter J was salvaged by the Sinnoh authorities. An inside spy of Team Rocket's copied the files and blueprints so that their mechanical engineers can reverse engineer it for their own ends. The state of the art cloaking technology allowed the aircraft to come close to its target. The engines producing almost no sound it gave the occupants on board a tactical advantage.
Being inside this wonder of technology it was only now that Iris saw the beauty of it all. All her life she spend more time communicating with nature than be interested in the latest technological advancements. With the constant pestering of Team Rocket's version of failure and exploding all of their robots she figured all that metal and wiring was just a waste of time and effort. It wasn't until recently because of her enlistment she focused on mechanical engineering having to possess a certain level of competence when out in the field. She probably wasn't going to use those skills today since her role in this didn't allow her to use her repair skills.
"Target acquired. Are you prepared to deploy?" The voice of the commander sounded over the intercom.
This would be her first assignment in the field with her status as just a student and even if the commander was instructed to let her do the heavy lifting he wanted someone with more experience instead.
"Affirmative sir!" Iris telling him she was ready to put her education on trail. All that was left for her was to receive the command to start her capture of her future partner.
The commander touched a button from the pilot seat opening up the cargo bay Iris was in. The hatch door opened producing noise that someone riding a large orange dragon like creature which Iris knew wasn't a real one as she learned when Ash introduced her to his. She won't make the same error again.
"What is that!?" A boy just a little older than her startled by the sudden appearance of the flying machine had no time to respond before being attacked.
"Dragonite, Ice Beam!" Dragonite opened its jaw and a cold beam of energy shot out of it. Heading towards the Charizard its wings were suddenly frozen making it lose the ability to fly.
Seeing her target plunge down towards the sea Iris figured it would also be a good test.
"If those three idiots can survive being blasted off he can survive and make the landing." Dragonite chased down its falling target with his owner holding on.
Landing hard on a small sandy island the one called Kiawe was just doing a daily delivery from his family's farm until he and Charizard got shot down. Looking around him he was at a remote little island with no occupants but himself and his Pokémon.
"Are you alright Charizard?"
Its wings frozen Charizard slowly heated himself up trying to thaw them out.
"Who was that?" Confused about the sudden attack he never was bothered before when flying. A wave of sand got kicked up and blew on him and his Pokémon. The sandstorm died down giving Kiawe a change to look where it came from.
"I got you!" Seeing a young tanned girl with long and bushy hair he recognized the outfit she was wearing. His eyes falling on the logo on her chest he now knew who he was dealing with and was responsible for his crash landing.
"Team Rocket!?"
"That's right! Go Dragonite, Ice Beam again!" Iris planning to freeze Charizard solid to prevent any movement it launched a cold energy beam again.
"Use Flamethrower!" Charizard opened his jaw and the attacks clashed. The Flamethrower thanks to the type advantage overpowered the Ice Beam and hit the Dragonite. Iris not worried at all about the damage. Her Dragonite always prided itself on its strenght and if he actually did had taken some damage she just had to find a new one when this is over.
"Dragon Rush!" Dragonote cloaked itself in a bright blue aura creating a force field that caused more damage when he cha6rged head in. Flying low over the ground the tackle was headed straight for his enemy.
"Fly up!" Charizard's wings still frozen it flapped them but didn't give him any lift. Dragonite charged in and connected with the Fire type sending it flying into the ocean. The Fire type struggling Kiawe raised his Pokeball to return it.
"Dunk it underwater!" Iris showing no mercy ordered Dragonite to pretty much drown the Fire type. One Charizard less won't be missed since Ash said there's pretty much a valley to pick them from.
"Return!" Charizard turned into red energy and was back into his ball before Dragonite dived headfirst into the ocean creating a huge splash of water.
"Returned already? Your Charizard is nowhere near the ones we own." Iris mocking Kiawe's weak Pokémon the Team Rocket prospect was filled with adrenaline now. She imagined in her studies putting her authority out on weaker people but she never thought it would feel this good. The dominance she displayed over him was a feeling she's already used too.
"Who are you?" Not that he finally got a chance to speak maybe he could learn more about her motives. So far she overwhelmed him with a constant assault giving him no time to respond.
"My name is Iris. Team Rocket academic still in training. And I already know who you are. Ultra Guardian."
When Ash enlisted he gave out as much information about the unit he was a part of in Alola. The Ultra Guardians well explained in the file her old companion provided she knew exactly how to prepare for her target since the intel was pretty recent.
"What do you want?" Kiawe calmed down getting back some of his usual demeanor. She got the jump on him but now he was going to turn this around and make her regret her actions.
"Just getting rid of the competition. We can't have people like you working to stop our plans."
"And what are they?" Kiawe asked knowing that Team Rocket plans never amounted to anything good.
"You far away from a main island so you don't have your precious guardian deity to fall back on." The minus hint of trouble would draw out an Island Guardian. The Tapu's couldn't interfere if they were nowhere near one of the four islands that made the Alola region what it is.
"And it seems my wish is fulfilled. Dragon Rush!" Dragonite flew up and surrounded itself in a wild blue aura changing head first recklessly.
"Go Turtonator!" A giant turtle like Pokémon with a long snout showed itself. Iris laughed at his choice.
"Trying to beat me with a Dragon type? You're even more of a kid then I was told! When it comes to Dragon types I can't be beaten! Thunderpunch!" Iris sending in Dragonite again for a frontal assault Kiawe took countermeasures.
"Turtonator, use Shell Trap!" The new Pokémon turned his back to the rushing Dragonite and braced itself. Dragonite flew head first into the spiky parts of Turtonator's back and they exploded. The smoke plume gone Dragonite had some burns and bruises while Turtonator was ok.
"If you know so much about Dragon types as you claim you should know Turtonator has Shell Trap. Don't you have any concern about your Pokémon!?" Iris ignored his disrespect for her knowledge on Dragon types since it was all going to her plan.
"A Pokémon is a tool to be used. If it breaks I just get a new one. So if Dragonite is unable to fight I just switch it out for another just like you did with Charizard." The girl letting her training and education speak for her still not to impressed since Dragonite is still standing even with all the damage it took.
"Well. Is this all there is to you? I was hoping for so much more spirit. I was informed you had more ability than this."
Iris disappointed with what he's showing so far. Or it might be just her training that gave her such an edge. In any case with her allies in the cloaked helicopter nearby it was certain they'd achieve their assignment but she really wanted to do this by herself to prove her worth to the recruiter who certainly will tell Boa how she performed.
"Come on Turtonator!" Crossing his arms the ring on his left wrist started to shine.
Kiawe went through the motions like a dance and his Z-ring and Pokémon started to glow. Iris recognizing the phenomenon thanks to her time spend training with Ash who warned her of the dangers of Z-moves.
"Perfect."
Iris fully prepared to counter it quickly grabbed a small bag from her belt and threw it to Charizard. The small bag broke and tiny red particles flew out and attached itself to Turtonator. Kiawe continued the movements and chant until the Fire/Dragon type started to glow brimming with the power of Z-energy.
"Inferno Overdrive!" Turtonator created a small sphere of fire and a huge explosion erupted all around the Fire type knocking it back into the sea on the small island before the full Z-move could completed.
"Idiot." Iris inner self gloating on how easy it was still focused on her mission. He must not have expected her to have a bag of Powder in her inventory which made all Fire type attacks backfire on the user of them. A perfect item for someone like him.
"What happened!?" Seeing his Z-move fail the girl still stood there grinning. No time to think about it he returned the stricken Turtonator and took a hold of a new Pokeball.
"Marowak!"
"Won't come out!"
Before he could throw it the ball was forcefully pulled out of his hand. Multiple Team Rocket agents dressed in black and silver gloves and boots compared to the girl's red uniform he was now fiercely outnumbered. Seeing some of them with packs on their back an opening large enough to suck in Pokeballs he saw Marowak's ball get sucked in.
"A Pokeball sucking machine?!"
"Now? Do you have any other Pokémon left for me to crush or will you finally stop struggling? I do enjoy our game but it's a bit one-sided." Iris telling him to just give up. The other men surrounded him with Weezing, Raticate and Arbok's trapping Kiawe on the spot.
"An excellent catch recruit. Your training seems to pay off."
"Thank you commander." Iris taking in the compliment quite humble the leader of the mission then directed his attention to the Pokémon less boy explaining how the girl stood in affairs.
"As for how easily she beat you. That bag she threw contained powder from a Vivilion. A highly explosive material, a spark is enough to cause a massive explosion. Or in the case of Fire types, a complete wipeout. We also increased it's potency for a bit more bang."
"That's not fair!"
"We're Team Rocket! We don't do fair twerp! A lesson you'll learn soon!"
Iris throwing another bag this time blue powder came out of it dispersing in the wind. The wind mixed with the blue powder attacked Kiawe's nostrils slipping in them making him feel drowsy. He slipped into immediate slumber the blue powder actually a Pokémon's Sleep Powder this time.
Iris returned her Dragonite saying nothing. The Dragon did what it was told too and deserved no compliment. She was the one that did the work in handling the tool used to complete her assignment.
Seeing Kiawe's feet dragged through the sand Iris was pretty disappointed. If he were somehow to be in anyway competent there would a steep learning curve for him. But if people like her, Ash and Serena despised Team Rocket at first there might be hope for him yet. After all since the boss had at least some expectation and Iris learned to never question Giovanni's motives so the captured twerp might turn out decent in the end.
Returning to the aircraft it set off. The island left behind there was no evidence of Team Rocket affairs except for some markings in the sand which could easily be mistaken for wild Pokémon having a fight.
Iris waited patiently in one of the halls of the aircraft until Kiawe's procedure was complete. Knowing the recruitment process they used Iris harvested no feelings of revenge. Sure they pretty much brainwashed and corrupted her and her Pokémon into joining but the offer was just too good to pass up to be a part of something grander. Knowing the same fate might happen to her if her or anyone's performance is unacceptable she just had to continue to perform to the high standards Boa and the boss set. Standards so far she was able to meet.
"Iris?" Seeing the commander alongside Kiawe who was not having any cuffs or chains on him she knew the process was a success and he pledged himself to Team Rocket even when he's not wearing his uniform yet like she did.
"After a talk it didn't take long for him to agree to enlist. You already met but this is your partner Iris."
"Kiawe. I read your file." Being blunt to him Iris still thought he was weak.
"Nice to meet you." Kiawe said.
"Our instructor will be the judge of that." She warned him that there will be no pleasantries until Boa accepted him as a student.
"Now. I'll inform Boa on your performance in this. You in the meanwhile get to know each other and you might as well give him the basics Iris."
"Affirmative sir." The recruit saluting her officer Iris told her partner to listen up and explain the Team Rocket basics. Kiawe asked something in the middle of it.
"Where are we anyway?" Seeing all these metal walls he thought they were in an underground bunker of sorts.
"You're in one of Team Rocket's state of the art flying machines. Only the latest technology is used in our operations."
"F…F…Flying…mach…ine? Like…a plane!?"
"It's more a helicopter than a plane." Iris describing the object they were in saw something change about her partner.
Seeing Kiawe grew pale, sweating and being nervous Iris couldn't believe it. Her partner had no issue flying on something as weak as his Charizard yet the most advanced flying machine ever constructed induced a fear of heights into him?
"You aren't afraid of heights are you?"
"N…No…!"
Shaking her head in disbelief she told him what she thought about his phobia.
"Afraid of heights? Such a kid."
Old habits slipping through he better get used to flying machines. Since after experiencing the life of a high ranking officer in this missions commander Iris planned to have one build for herself when she reached a rank worthy enough of such privileges.
And her fear of aircrafts teammate wasn't going to stop her otherwise.