Author's Note: Well this story marks my official return to the world of fanfics. I decided to go with a fun adventure story from an unconventional point of view. I'm writing this because writing is cathartic and it is something I always return to when I want to express my emotions. Think of this story as me sharing my heart on my sleeve and just try to have a good old time! Enjoy!
Chapter 1-Finding Truths at the Speed of Light!
Team Rocket is disbanded. A heavy grunt. Team Rocket is finished forever! I will dedicate my life to the study of Pokemon. Rubbing of the eyes. The organization is henceforth disbanded. A sigh carrying the weight of the world. The boy put the article down, his hands falling to his sides. He looked up at the clock in his small room.
Three years, he thought.
The doors of his small grey room shot open, and inside came a man in a blue uniform. "It's time kid, you're free to go."
The boy tried to muster a grin, but his face came out twisted. He stretched his arms, putting them behind his head as he followed the officer through the hall of doors.
"Do you know what you're going to do now, kid?" the man asked, receiving a stern glare in response.
"Officer, I was hoping you guys would help me figure that out," the boy responded, hands in his pockets. "There has to be more to life than stealing pokemon, right?" The witty inquiry met with raised eyebrows as the officer came to a complete stop.
"As soon as I open these doors, you're on your own."
A bright light suddenly beamed through a crevice in front of the two as the uniformed man turned the handle of the door and pulled it open. The boy recoiled back, shielding his eyes from rays which seemingly rivaled the legendary bird Moltres itself. As the boy stepped out, he heard the same doors slam behind him, leaving him standing in the streets of a bustling metropolis.
Saffron City after so long, the boy thought, scratching his head. Sunlight after so long. Neither was an overstatement. Three years in a cell had turned the pigmentation of the boy's skin paler. His clothes-a handed down pair of blue jeans and a grey t shirt with worn out red sneakers to replace his black uniform-did not age any better.
The boy began strolling the city. Some things hadn't changed. Many things had. As he struggled through the lively crowd of businessmen, trainers, and shoppers, his eyes forced the rest of his body to stop when they came upon an unusual sight. There was a building, an iconic building that defined the Saffron City skyline, only it was missing an important logo.
That's not Silph Co, he thought.
Pushing off his heels and into a frantic sprint, the boy bumped his way across the street, past people and pokemon alike. He caught his breath and rubbed his eyes, making sure what he was seeing was correct. He grabbed aside a businessman with no regard for his behavior.
"Yes!" people said. "Silph Co. is gone. They've moved their operations to the Hoenn region."
The boy sat down, a sigh leaving his chest. He had no plan. Three years in a detention center, learning to unlearn his training with Team Rocket did nothing for him. In the end, they had abandoned him on the streets to fend for himself. Team Rocket generally kept its grunts somewhat feed and clothed, if the black uniform counted.
As if by design, a large bird pokemon characterized by brown fur, long beak, and a sharp glare-swooped down. Businessmen and citizens shifted their trajectory, avoiding the bird and circling around it as if the event were a normal occurrence. The bird squeaked and nudged at the boy, making him jump back.
"A fearow!" He yelled. "Do you know what would happen to you if I had pokemon right now?" Examining the pokemon closely, he saw that the creature was carrying a parcel of some sort. As if to offer, the pokemon motioned at the parcel. Carefully, the boy reached out to the bird, freeing the parcel from the belt attached across the body. He opened the package slowly, revealing a set of printed instructions:
If you're reading this, I know you've been freed from detention. You no doubt are looking for a place to start. Let me put it this way: I have information you need, and you have information I need. Get on my fearow and you will be taken to where you need to go so we can talk in person. If my suspi
Your scientist "friend".
Dr. Sky
"Skyler?"
The boy screamed, his eyes tearing up and forcing shut, his grip tightly wrapped around the fearow. A heavy feeling overcame his stomach as the bird pokemon descended rapidly.
"Could you slow down?!" He shrieked. The bird pokemon went faster, as if challenged by the statement which seemed to say the opposite. No sooner than the talons of fearow touched the ground did the boy fall off, groans escaping his body.
"Still can't handle flying, can you, K41?" an older female voice said, her hand reaching out for the boy, who pushed it aside almost immediately. His other hand reached for his mouth as if to dry gag.
"You did it on purpose!" He argued, coughing and breathing. "Skyler."
"Flying is the fastest to get to where we're at," Skyler responded with a smirk, her hands now in her coat pockets. "One of my many hideouts in plain sight. And I urge you to call me Sky."
He grinned. "Sky's too cute for an ugly hag like you!" His statement was met with a punch across the head, making him roll on the ground in agony.
"I'm only 30!" Skyler roared, regaining her composure. "Let's stop wasting time out here."
The boy looked carefully at his new surroundings. They were still in Saffron City as he could still see the skyline with the former Silph Co building, but this appeared to be the shopping area of a suburb. People and pokemon still walked the straights, but with less businessmen clearly having places to be. The scientist motioned to a sign in front of them, highlighting a small store in the row of shops called "Sky's TM Mart".
Inside, it looked like your average store. A counter, a line of shelves containing various technical machines, hidden machines, pokeballs, backpacks, and various other supplies for trainers. Sky locked the door, flipping the curtains shut to block out the rays of the sunset. Then she stepped behind the counter and began fiddling with a switch.
The boy fell backwards as a staircase seemingly appeared out of nowhere on the back end of the store, behind the backpacks and assorted trainer accessories.
"Step into my humble home," Skyler said with a smirk.
"Let's get right down to business, Agent K41."
"Business?" the boy asked. The secret room was small, but it carefully organized all the amenities one would need in a home: a kitchen, some chairs, a bed, a bathroom, and crates surrounded by a endless sea of documents. "Still a pack rattata I see."
Ignoring his remarks, she walked towards him and stopped, scratching her head of long red hair. "Well for starters, K41 is a mouthful. You need a name."
"Giova-" His lips were met by her fingers.
"No."
"Fine, you choose."
She thought for a minute, heading towards the back of the room and sitting on an armchair next to a large multi-screen computer the boy had not initially noticed. He followed her. "Kai."
"Kai?"
"Short and sweet, the 4 looks like an "A" and the 1 looks like a "I"." She turned back to her computer, typing out several items before taking from a mug on the counter. "How much do you exactly know about your time before Team Rocket?"
Kai considered this question carefully. How many times had he asked himself this? For years, his only goals involved stealing and following the orders of Giovanni and his superiors.
Skyler smirked. "My guess is close to nothing. I can hear the cogs in your tiny head trying to figure it out."
Although the remark annoyed him, Skyler wasn't wrong. He remembered one detail about the moments in his life when he had tried to reminisce about his murky past.
That one detail was that he could remember nothing at all.
"What if I told you I could help you find out who you were?"
Kai's eyes grew wide, but quickly he crossed his arms. "What's the catch?"
"Right to chase, huh?" Skyler responded with a raised eyebrow, finishing out what she was typing. "Team Rocket is in Johto, and from what I've been hearing, things haven't been going so smoothly."
Kai sat down on a chair, trying not to drown in the document ocean.
"In fact, they're on the brink of collapse due to some pesky trainers, rival gangs, and rumored intervention from the Elite Four. They have a hideout in Johto I need to get to, and I need your credentials to do it. It's the only lead I have."
"Why me? There's lots of grunts and executives like me," Kai wondered out loud, his arms crossed once more.
"Your battle acumen is one reason, but it's your attitude that made me choose you."
"Attitude?"
"As I'm sure you already know, locking up former members of the mafia for 3 years in juvenile detention centers and government prisons accomplished nothing except getting the Rocket army off the streets."
"And?"
Skyler stopped, turning her chair to make eye contact with Kai. Her face appeared flustered. "You were always different, okay?!. If there's anyone I trust to accomplish this, it's you." She turned her head quickly. "Hmph! Get used to that, you won't get many compliments out of me!"
"Compliment?!" Kai rolled his eyes. "Even if I did agree to help you, I don't have anything but the clothes on my back! The uniformed government guys all my Rocket issued pokemon from me!
"I can provide you with everything you need, but I need your word on this," Skyler said, looking at Kai with a serious expression that caught him off guard. He had never seen her so serious. "It's not the Rockets I'm worried about."
"Then what?"
"It's what is waiting to fill in the power vacuum once the Rocket mafia is disbanded for good. I have it on good record that there are conspirators out there, and I'm sure the Rockets know who they are as well. Our only lead is that hideout to which you have grunt credentials."
Kai sighed. Nothing else awaited him anyway. He nodded. "Fine, now let's backtrack. What is it you have for me?"
"You're from the Johto region. That's where you're originally from." Skyler reached out to her keyboard again, pressing several buttons. The screen showed the tag "K41". She explained, "This states you were taken from Johto approximately 12 years ago by the Rockets. Unfortunately, there's nothing else."
Skyler pressed a button on her computer, shutting it down and turning to Kai. "Now then, I have a package for you, and this as well." Reaching for her pocket, the scientist pulled out a pokeball, tossing it to Kai, who caught it in one hand. "Two things: you've probably never seen this pokemon, and you're going to have to deal with his personality. I'm a scientist, not a breeder, so this is all I have to give you in the way of pokemon."
Kai nodded, his hands wavering. His palms looked for the button in the middle of the red and white capsule and clicked on the mechanism. The feeling of holding a pokeball after so long gave him butterfrees. The capsule released a white beam which began to take the shape of a four-legged creature. When the white light surrounding the silhouette dissipated, a pokemon with black fur and silver bands on his four limbs stood before the two humans. The canine-like creature carried a silver plate with black eyebrows on his head. Walking towards Kai on its paws, the pokemon sniffed out the room with his triangular nose.
Kai slowly walked towards the canine pokemon. "Hey, little buddy. What's your-" The last word came out broken as the boy tripped over a pile of papers. The dog yelped, hiding behind Skyler. Kai grabbed his head, looking towards the pokemon.
"What kind of pokemon is this? And why is he so scared of me?"
"This is a houndour, and he has a scaredy meowth problem."
What is the secret behind Kai's past? What conspirators lurk in the shadows? And what is the houndour's problem? Find out in chapter 2!