Hello again! This time we have an chapter that parallels Remi's...sort of.
Poke-ball 7: Bountiful
"Why are you here?"
Red smirked at the man's aggravated response. "Just because." His Espeon, draped over his shoulder like a lazy scarf, mewed coyly.
"I highly doubt that."
"You should."
Giovanni didn't understand how the boy had tracked him down to this small cave in the mountains of Johto. Ever since Team Rocket's humiliating takedown by this now-Champion, Giovanni had retreated to the wilderness to strengthen his body and mins as well as his Pokemon. Being the lynchpin in a once-bountiful organization had softened him too much. He needed to rethink his approach.
Giovanni was not ready for Red yet, and Red's arrogant demeanor showed that he knew it too. A Pokemon battle would end quickly and badly.
"So what do you want from me?" Giovanni interrogated. "Money? Fame? I doubt I could get you either right now."
Red shook his head. "Nah, I've got enough of that already. Too much." He petted his Espeon and it rubbed its cheek against his. "How would you like to become powerful again? To have Team Rocket back on the map?"
Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," replied Red, turning his attention back to Giovanni. "I can help you revive Team Rocket." His expression grew more serious. "I know all about the truth of Team Rocket. How you guys were a secret military service for the Johto war. You used to be treated with reward and respect. A lot of the Gym Leaders are still technically members."
Espeon, having not been petted for a whole minute, gave a demanding cry. Red started petting it again, though his still kept his gaze on Giovanni.
"But once the war was over, all the war crimes got shifted to you. Then all crimes started getting shifted to you guys, because no one wants to admit there's hundreds of rogue groups instead of just one. They took all your good people and left you with the flunkies. They let you be a Gym Leader so they could keep an eye on you, maybe skim off some the profits now and then."
Giovanni scowled. "How do you know all this?"
Red shrugged. "I'm just a stupid kid as far as they're concerned. Just a mouthpiece with the shiny title of Champion and loads of invisible strings. Doesn't matter what I know."
"You hate it," Giovanni said.
"I hate it."
There was a pause. A brief hiss and shriek as Red's Espeon telekinetically flung a nosy Zubat against a wall. Then more silence.
"What is it that you want us to do, if we do in fact revive Team Rocket?" asked Giovanni.
"Cause chaos," Red answered. "Weaken the government. Steal from people who deserve to be stolen from. Gather inside info. Recruit others to the cause. You know, like you did in the old days, only better."
"And you will pay us?"
"Pay yourselves all you damn want," Red said. "You hacked into Johto's treasury before. So you can hack your own government treasury pretty easily, can't you?"
Giovanni smirked. "I'm sure it won't be too much trouble, once I scare up a few old friends."
IIIIII
Oh boy, so Team Rocket's going in the picture now. This could be great or backfire horribly...