I lay face-down on my bed crying tears of anger. Ponyta had essentially been murdered, due to sheer incompetence, and Bulbasaur had been permanently mutilated. While it probably wouldn't die as a direct result of the bulb being poisoned, it would never be able to evolve. It would never grow any stronger, and since photosynthesis accounts for a good portion of its nutrition, without proper diet it would probably die in a few weeks too. I clenched my fists. Stupid! How could I have not noticed what it was I was making! I was so caught up in the death of Ponyta, I hadn't been paying attention, and now I had just doomed another Pokemon to the same fate.

Pikachu jumped up and sat up on the bed next to me. "Pika Pi…?" He asked, patting my back.

"It's all my fault, Pikachu…" I sobbed, turning my head out from my pillow so I could breathe. "Two pokemon were hurt, because of me! What kind of place is this…? What kind of pokemon professor treats pokemon this way?!"

"Pika-chu?" Pikachu asked cocking his head.
I rolled over and wiped my eyes. "I don't know what to do…they don't care about pokemon at all…! And if all the pokemon professors have worked with them…All discoveries have been made through blood…! They have their tendrils in everywhere! How could something this evil grow to be such an empire?"

I was startled by a sudden loud ding from the intercom in the hall. "Jess Newken. You are to report to the Administration Building immediately. Jess Newken to the Administration Building." Sergeant Viper's voice boomed through the narrow hallways of the partnered barracks.

I pulled my legs over the side of the bed and sat up, rubbing my eyes again to get rid of any trace of my tears. This had to be about my display at the laboratories—what else could it be about…? Was I going to be thrown out? Beaten? Worse? I picked up my glasses from where'd I'd set them on the desk and stood up, sliding the lenses on my face and trying to straighten my uniform. "Well…here's the moment of truth…Guess we'll find out what'll happen when I get there…"

"Pika-chuuuu…." Pikachu whined, dropping his ears back. I pursed my lips in a tight smile to reassure him, but we both knew it was no use. I walked out of the dorm toward what I was sure would be my doom.
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I entered the administration building and almost immediately was met by Viper, who, without so much as a greeting, simply said. "Giovani would like a word with you. Follow me."

My heart pounded in my ears as Viper led me down the pristine hallway toward the CEO of Team Rocket. If the main boss wanted to see me…well, after what had just happened over at the laboratories it would most certainly be nothing good…. I swallowed hard and tried to put on a nonchalant face as Viper stopped and knocked on a large oak door.

"Come in." A strong male voice called from the other side. Viper opened the door and stepped aside for me to walk through, closing the door behind me.

In front of me, the CEO, Giovani, sat behind a long wooden desk in a large burgundy chair lined with gold trim. He was facing away from me, but I could see the sleeves of his dark grey suit-coat lying on the arm rests. Giovani wasn't facing me, but his pokemon, a persian, was. I was sure it was a pure-bred; it was probably the most beautiful persian I had ever seen. It's beige coat was so shiny it almost glinted metallic in the light. Its eyes were crisp, and the jewel on its forehead was as clear and glossy as a fresh rain—not even a hint of frostiness in it. When I entered the room it let out a long yawn, showing off it's sharp white teeth. Giovani reached over to stroke its head between its ears. It leaned into his hand and purred contentedly.

It was silent for a very long time before I finally found my voice. "You wanted to see me, Sir…?" I said shakily.

"I hope you realize that you and your sister have been somewhat of a thorn in my side ever since you came here." Giovani stated, jumping right to to the point. "Normally, when I come across particularly irritating recruits, I simply do away with them. This has happened to hundreds of young men and women seeking to wear the Team Rocket insignia by now…You two, however, seem to present me with somewhat of a predicament."

"P—predicament, Sir…?" I asked, still not taking my eyes off of the gorgeous persian.

"You two were some of the most promising recruits I've ever had." Giovani continued. "The top of your class, she excelled at the physical performance tests, you were phenomenal with pokemon knowledge and biology. However, ever since we enforced the rule that family cannot be on the same team, you two have been purposefully trying time and time again to mess things up!" He pounded his fist onto the arm of his chair. His persian meowed and he began to stroke it again. "Every time I think, 'that's it, this is the last straw, I need to get rid of these menaces once and for all,' you then turn around and impress me again, so that I can't in good conscience let those skills go to waste." He paused again. "What's more, I have already poured thousands of dollars by now into your training; it would be poor business practice to just throw away my investment in that manner." He turned his chair around so I finally saw his face. He was middle-aged, with brown hair slicked back. His broad shoulders filled out the dark gray double breasted suit, giving him almost the impression of an arbok's hood. His piercing black eyes stared intensely at me through his chiseled features finishing off his intimidating appearance. "I have decided to make a bargain with you."

"I'm listening." I replied.

"This will be your final chance." Giovani stated. "Prove to me that you were a good investment on my part. You will follow my orders exactly as I say, no questions asked, no objections. If you can do that, and prove to me that I did not waste my money, time, and resources on you, you will be allowed to remain. But one more failure, and…"

"REEEEEEEOW!" The persian screeched.

"Do we have a deal?" Giovani asked.

I thought about it for a while. "Just so we're clear…" I started, "Define success."

"Your sister and her teammates pass the field training course, for starters." Giovani replied. "Secondly that once you and they finally become field agents you prove your worth to me and bring in a perfect and impressive pokemon; one that will be good enough to make me forget about all your shortcomings."

"So, catching wild pokemon that show some sort of rare quality." I reiterated.

"Mmm.." Giovani hummed quietly, leaning forward on his desk. "Tell me, Miss Newken: What exactly do you think our mission is?"

This question took me by surprise. "To…find and study rare and exotic pokemon so we can better understand them…" I answered.

"WRONG!" Giovani barked, suddenly standing. "Our mission is to collect the world's most powerful pokemon. Those pokemon that aren't rare or powerful, we test, we experiment, and we improve! That is our mission! And if you need to steal those rare pokemon then so be it!

I stood, frozen, utterly stunned. What Cassidy had said to me and Jessee months earlier popped into my head. em"You wouldn't think I'd skip out on the chance to get in on the greatest crime organization on the planet do you?"/em I hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but suddenly it all made sense. That's why Cassidy was here. That's why she had been so shocked to see me and Jessee that day. That's why Professor Conifer and the rest of the scientists didn't seem to care about the pokemon. They were just lab rats! A means to an end! A chance to make the next generation stronger. And because the organization was so wide and trickled down into so many separate entities, it made it almost impossible to track down and bring to justice.

"So do we have a deal?" Giovani asked again, giving me a sly menacing grin. I felt a push against the back of my legs and looked down to notice the persian rubbing its long sleek body against me, pushing me forward toward the desk, where Giovani stood with hand extended for a shake.

I paused. "If I agree to this," I started nervously, "I just have to bring you impressive and powerful pokemon and me, Jessee, and our whole team stays safe?"

"I promise." Giovani affirmed, his menacing grin never once faltering.

I hesitated again, every moral fiber of my being, screaming to me that this was wrong. But in the end my need to protect my family won out. I reached out and grasped his hand tightly, shifting my gaze to his cold black eyes. "It's a deal."

"Wonderful." Giovani smiled, sitting back down in his large chair. "You will be tasked with the standard 'grunt' training until your sister and her team complete theirs, at which point you will immediately be sent out to begin on our arranged agreement." He turned his chair around again. "You will meet with the other grunts at 6:00 tomorrow morning to begin your supplementary training. You are dismissed."

I wanted to say something. I wanted to chastise him for being such a cruel and evil man. I wanted to challenge him to a pokemon battle…mess up his pretty little persian—then we'd see who was so great. But I didn't. I couldn't. He had me in a stale-mate using my siblings as pawns, and there was nothing I could do but play into his hand. So, I simply replied, "yes, sir." And left the room without another word.