Scene 20: Rocket

It had been a few months since Al was brought to Viridian City. That night, Giovanni and Kari had both agreed on having Al live with them- he wouldn't be accepted anywhere else. At school, Kari stayed by his side wherever he went (except the bathrooms & locker rooms, obviously). People wondered how Kari could hate someone one day, then be glued to them the next, but she didn't care. Al was her responsibility now and she warned everyone that if they tried to mess with him, even in the slightest, that she would make sure they would regret it. And so it began.

Kari started with the basics. She remembered learning things through experiencing them when she was younger. Kari walked throughout various places in Viridian City, trying to reestablish the lost connection of civilization. They walked to and from headquarters together, they ate together, they shopped together, they studied together, they did everything together. It was Kari's goal to get him talking like a normal kid by winter.

Al was slowly starting to understand the concept of playing or "hanging out." That bread & meat & cheese for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack was not a good/ healthy idea. And that tears meant all sorts of things- that a person could be sad, hurt, or even overjoyed. It was a lot for Al to take in. He wasn't even sure he wanted to learn all this stuff, but according to Kari, they were just the essentials. Al wondered how many more "essentials" there were. His favorite was the idea of chocolate- that chocolate (a tasty bar of milk & cocoa mixed and processed together) was actually magic. It was really a lot, but he was glad Kari was there to help him. Kari was what people called his "best friend." A person he would do anything for. A person he could love unconditionally.

Kari was still ranked number one in their class. Although Al had all of the brains and better athleticism (he was now ranked number 2), this school's primary function was being able to out-battle others, and Kari was undefeated. Besides being The Boss' daughter, Kari had definitely earned her place at the Academy. Kari even felt a kind of kinship towards the school- it was like no other educational center she knew of, and she hardly ever missed her old school.

Once, on their way home from headquarters, Kari and Al ran into an old friend. The pair had been discussing their final assignment when someone called out for her, "Kari! Is that really you?" She turned around to face the voice. It was Josh Peck. He was riding his bicycle which had some Pokémart shopping bags in its basket.

"Josh! Wow, long time no see!" He parked his bike, "Ain't that an understatement..! It's been nearly 6months!" Had it been that long already?

"What happened to you? You just never came back from summer vacation…" Josh looked upset about the whole affair.

Kari smiled, waving away the question, "It's not like I didn't want to go back, my daddy enrolled me into another school."

"Why did he do that?" Kari shrugged, "I don't know, I guess he wanted me closer to his new job? Anyways," she made to leave, "We have to get home now." She grabbed Al's arm and Josh was not happy about that, "What do you mean 'we'?" He looked Al over, judging everything from his plain glasses to his shoelaces.

"Oh. Uhm, this is my friend, Al. He… Uh, lives with us." Kari saw the shock cross Josh's face, "Uhm! Sort of, like, an exchange program! Ya! He's not from around here, you know, so we're helping him get adjusted!" Well, she wasn't completely lying… "Anyways! We better go! It was nice seeing you again, Josh!" Before the poor kid could respond, Kari pulled Al away. She hasn't seen Josh on her street since…

At the Team Rocket Academy, all students are put into pairs, along with a Pokémon partner. After graduation, the teams work together in order to accomplish any and all of their missions. In order to graduate, each pair must pass a physical exam. The first half involving a survival training- a few nights together in the wood. In the second half, the team must work together to infiltrate a strong-hold and steal a priceless artifact. All the class pairings are put to the test, but only the top 3 of each class are allowed to graduate. As for the teams unable to make the short list, they must go back to the beginning of their teachings.

The day had finally come for their Final Exam. Per Giovanni's request, Al was to be Kari's partner. She liked this arrangement- Kari was the brawn while Al was the brains. All of the students were flown in to the training grounds on multiple helicopters. Each team had a different starting point, but they were all aiming for the same location. At the center of the training grounds was the facility they were tasked with breaking into. Their mission: get in, grab the artifact, and get back out- all without being detected.

Kari, Al and Eevee were dropped off at the edge of a forested area. She waved goodbye to Amy and Georgie who were the last of their group to be sent to their start location. In 30minutes the exam would begin. Kari turned to the others, "Are you guys as excited as I am?" Al was checking his backpack again, making sure everything was accounted for. He had come a long way since they began his teachings and his now being OCD was a nice trade-off for him to be able to speak normally. Al hoisted his bag again, "Yes. I am positive that we will be in the final 3. After all, we have all prepared quite thoroughly." He looked up and smiled at Kari. He had a point. They had to overcome more obstacles than any of the other students- whether it was their disadvantage at being younger, smaller, or weaker, they made up for it with their combined cleverness, Al's genius, and Kari's guts. Like Al, Kari believed that they would pass.

A dinging sounded across the whole training field. The test had begun. From this point, they had 2days to make it up the terrain and into the facility. Eevee led the way. They silently made their way through the thickest part of the forest, across a river, and around a marsh land. By the time night had fallen, they found themselves at the edge of a cliff.

"We should rest here." Al checked his watch, "If we leave at sunrise, we will make it to the facility by the afternoon. That ought to leave us with a sufficient time frame to complete the mission." He looked up- Kari was staring at him, "Are you sure you're only 10years old…?" He chuckled, "According to the ones who raised me, yes; however, I know I do not act in such a way." He looked at his feet.

Kari knew how self-conscience he had become. Ever since Kari started re-teaching him how to be, well, "normal," he tried his utmost to fit in. But people still laughed at the way he spoke, or when he would mess something up. But Kari knew how hard he was working.

Al had placed a blanket at the foot of a tree. The one blanket was all the trainees were allowed for comfort. As for dinner, well, they had already finished the days' supply of rations. It's too bad they had yet to run into anyone else. It was apart of the exam rules that if you met another team you would have to battle them- whoever lost would have to give up their supplies and be disqualified. What Kari wouldn't do for more food right now… She went over to where Al had settled himself and plopped herself on the Earth beside him.

He was already laying down ready for sleep, but he looked upset after their conversation. She pulled out her blanket, bundled herself up, and cuddled as close as she could get to him. She had never gotten this close to him before- he sat straight up, "W-what exactly is the point of this?" His face was red. Kari looked up from her cocoon, "We're out in the middle of the forest. We're supposed to stay close for warmth, duh!" She waited a moment. He went back to laying down, as stiff as a board.

"Yes. I-I suppose you are right." Kari giggled. She could still see him blushing. She closed her eyes and took a breath in. She could smell his sweet scent of berries. Neither of them had realized how exhausted they had become and within minutes both children were asleep.

The only reason they woke so early was because of the noise. In the midst of their happy slumber, there came a crash in the distance. Al bolted straight up. Kari took a little more to wake up. Now that she was up, she had no idea how she was able to sleep through all the rumbling. Although they couldn't see it, someone just off in the distance seemed to be tearing down trees. Al rolled up his blanket, "We must investigate." Kari was in the process of stuffing her blanket in her bag, "What? Without breakfast?"

But Al had already set off towards the sound. Kari huffed in annoyance and scooped Eevee into her arms (he was a much heavier sleeper), and she followed after him. Al had stopped behind a tree only a short distance from their own. He pulled her beside him. Across the ridge they spotted the source of the disturbance.

A team was making their own way across the ravine. They certainly made an odd couple: the girl had long golden locks, pale skin, and a fierce face; meanwhile, the boy was dark-skinned, a shaven head, and a kindly smile. One last thing Kari took notice of, was that the girl didn't look too much older than herself. They had been using their Larvitar to knock down a bundle of trees. They had fallen perfectly across the ravine, creating a safe passage for them to cross. The boy pulled himself on top of one of the logs, checked that it was steady, then crossed to the other side, shortly followed by his partner.

They waited until the coast was clear, then Al and Kari walked over to the bridge, "Do you know who those two were?" Kari looked over at Al. He was examining the freshly made bridge, "I do not. However, they were wearing the blue uniforms, so it is no surprise that we've never seen them before now." He had a point. Since the Blue Group and Red Group held their classes separately, and on the complete opposite sides of the building, they never saw one another. Maybe during mealtimes, but only sometimes.

Al pulled himself atop the tree bridge, "On the bright side, we now have a means for crossing the ravine." He offered his hand. He pulled Kari beside him and they crossed together- they kept hold of one another until they were safe on the other side.

The final leg of the test was the hardest: they had to scale the rocky hillside (it was almost the size of a real mountain), where the facility lay in wait.

Eevee was finally starting to wake up, so Kari put him to work. Being a small and agile Pokémon, Eevee found it fairly easy to climb the side of the rocky hill. He would jump ahead a bit, checking for where the safest ledges were located, and the others would follow close behind. It wasn't too long until they had reached the top. Kari pulled herself over the edge, now covered in sweat and sore all over. Al came up beside her, heaving deep breathes. After they took a few moments, they figured it was time to finish their exam. In the distance they could see the fortress.

They figured it'd be more difficult to infiltrate with no night cover, but getting through the wired fencing, across the yard, scaling the building, and finally into an empty air duct, without being detected came quite easily- maybe it was because they were small…?

Once inside things got a little tricky. Al lead the way. He uploaded the map they received before the test began. Each team was given a different target to acquire and it was their job to locate it. While they crept through the hallways, they continued to run into various traps: a rolling boulder, holes in the floor, guard Pokémon, the usual… After what seemed like hours, Al announced that they had arrived.

The room they next entered was clustered from floor to ceiling in priceless artifacts. They quickly found their treasure in the far corner of the room. Kari couldn't help but admire the statue: it was a life-size, golden pleated Arcanine. It stood inside a glass container and Kari was sure it weighed a ton. Now they just had to figure out how to move it.

In order to pass the test, each team had to steal their artifact and get it to the roof where a Team Rocket Helicopter was to meet them. Kari looked over at Al, he seemed to have come to the same problem she had. But before she could voice the question, she noticed a light. She looked up. The room was aligned with large window panels- she could plainly see the moon shining outside. That was it!

Kari told Al the plan and they set to work. Al connected an airlift (courtesy of Team Rocket Academy) all around the Arcanine's container. Kari climbed atop before the balloon could completely fill. Slowly, Kari felt the container start to rise off the floor. It was slow progress, but they had to keep silent. As soon as they were in range, Kari tossed Eevee towards the nearest window pane. Luckily he was small enough to barely fit on the edge of the window-seal. Eevee pawed his way to open the latch before the balloon arrived. They quietly edged their way in-between the opening and out into the fresh air.

Now that they were out, Kari felt like cheering. She heard the engine of the airlift change direction towards the building's helipad. She and Eevee smiled down at Al who had stationed himself below. Clever as he was, Al had simply latched a sturdy piece of rope to the side of the Arcanine container, tied a loop for his foot, and was now hanging on tight. In his hand was what looked like a game controller, but Kari knew that he was using it to control the airlift. As they neared the top of the tallest tower, they saw another team waiting there. It was the Blue Team they had seen before. They were the first team to complete their mission.

Kari leapt off the balloon before it had a chance to clear the rooftop. Al steered the Golden Arcanine to a landing. While Al deflated the airlift and returned it to its pouch, Kari went over to the other team. As soon as the boy saw her approaching, he rushed over. He took Kari's hand into his own, "Hi, there! I'm Darian! You're Kari, right? The Boss' daughter? I've heard about you! That you're really good, and now I know for sure! Wow, to think that you finished your test already!"

He spoke very quickly, and continued to shake Kari's arm the whole time while never breaking his smile. Kari laughed, "Well, it's not like we're the first ones." She looked over at the girl. She seemed to refuse the idea of making eye contact, and made no movement as if she wanted to introduce herself. Darian didn't seem at all surprise by his partner's attitude, "Oh, don't mind her. Alice is always moody like that. But, she is the number one student at the academy, so I guess she has that right." Wait a minute. Kari thought that she was the top student. Had she been wrong?

There was a sudden bang from behind them all. Rushing through the roof door, soaked down to the bone, was Emily and Eric. As soon as Emily caught sight of Kari she stamped her foot, "Aw, man! I thought that we had beaten her this time!" Eric was laughing, "Well, we were kind of held back thanks to that flood, so I'm not surprised." After they had caught their breath, they joined the others.

Al had left the statue and was now interested to see what everyone else's targeted treasure was. Emily and Eric had lifted a statue as well, an emerald one in the shape of the legendary Poke'mon, Celebi, making it quite easy to carry. Darian's team had taken what looked like the largest Clamperl pearl in the world. Kari wondered whether all these priceless artifacts were actually real.

The final hour of the test dragged on as they waited for any more teams to arrive. Another Blue Team joined them after a long journey up the side of the building. A loud bell rang from somewhere- the exam was up. As if on cue, they caught site of a large helicopter flying in from the mountain side and headed towards their rooftop. Just as the helicopter landed, someone else banged through the rooftop entrance. Amy and Georgie, covered in head to foot in dry mud, sat in the doorway huffing and puffing. Kari and the others of the red group went to help them. They had retrieved their treasure (an ancient text about Unown) but had gotten lost on their way through the labyrinthine facility. Kari congratulated them on reaching the end, and they all helped carry them to the helicopter. Moments later, they were all headed back to headquarters.

Upon their arrival, the teams were escorted to an open classroom. Sergeant Viper was waiting for them. He went on to lecture each team individually on what they did wrong, and to praise them on the good. He seemed to be quite proud of Team Kari and Al, being the smallest of them all, yet able to steal the largest treasure of all the teams. Nevertheless, it was Team Alice and Darian that claimed the 1st place spot due to their record time in completing the mission. But they had all passed the final exam.

The Serg. must have been in a giving mood, too, because he even made an exception for Amy and Georgie even though they were late. He posted the final individual class rankings on the board: 1st- Kari. 2nd- Alice. 3rd- Al. 4th- Emily. 5th- Eric. 6th- Darian. 7th- Derek. 8th- Amy. 9th- Georgie. 10th- Kate. Even Kari was shocked at the results. She figured that due to her low physical scores, she would be ranked much lower; however, how Sergeant Viper put it: although she was always the smallest and weakest of the lot, she never stopped fighting. She was able to hold her own against bigger opponents, and, in his eyes, was the academy's "most improved" student.

Kari blushed as her friends crowded around to congratulate her. Even Darian and the others that she assumed were Derek and Kate were clapping for her. Alice, on the other hand, looked murderous. Kari never understood why Alice hated her so much. It wouldn't be till many years later that Kari would have the opportunity to find out why.

That night, they celebrated. They had all passed their exam and were official Team Rocket Members! Kari still didn't quite understand what that meant, but at the time, while she was surrounded by her friends, she didn't care.