Whew, right at 800 words! XD Had to trim it down a little too. This drabble didn't quite cover what I'd planned, but I needed to cover this anyway so it works. So, picking up from where we left off this time...

Poke-ball 12: Alignment

"What if I told you that all of Kanto is going to hell, and it needs someone like you to pull it back together?" said Red.

"Isn't that your job, Champion?" replied Volkner coldly.

"They won't let me do my job," answered Red. "No one wants to listen to a kid."

"What makes you think they'll listen to me any better?" asked Volkner.

"They won't," said Red. "That's why we'll need to beat the crap outta them and kick the government out."

"One, that is stupid. Two, why me?" asked Volkner. "As a Champion, I'd assume that your Pokemon are much stronger than mine."

"If I could do this all myself, I wouldn't be bothering you now," said Red, this time with a small but fierce grin. "But I can't, and you of all people should know the reasons why. I need an army, and someone to lead them. You have that army, and you're a much better leader than I'll ever be."

Volkner gave a long, deliberate sigh. "Why would I have an army?"

"To deal with Team Galactic," said Red. "And maybe to deal with that corrupted version of Team Rocket overseas if they ever came here?" He noticed Volkner's glacial glare, but kept smiling anyway. "When you're marched everywhere like a show Ponyta, you start hearing about a lot of weird things. Like how Team Rocket was once a honorable force, falling from grace only when the government forced it to be a scapegoat. How the old TR only stole Pokemon from enemies and abusive Trainers, or controlled wild Pokemon." His smile was almost friendly. "I heard the Rangers from today were inspired by them. Isn't that ironic? Heroes of nature coming from supposed criminals?"

"…You know what else is ironic?" asked Volkner, sporting his own nearly pleasant smirk. "The Rangers are just a bastardized version of the concept. They rant about people enslaving Pokemon with Poke-balls, when their own devices directly control the minds of Pokemon. They're worse hypocrites than Team Plasma and their Pokemon liberation crap."

"Really? Huh," replied Red, though he hardly sounded surprised. "How does it work then?"

"The old-fashioned way. You befriend them," Volkner explained. "Talk to them, give them food, protect them from other Pokemon or other Trainers. Maybe fight them every now and then to prove you're worthy to serve, but only if they instigate it. It takes time, of course, but stick to it and you'll have dozens, even hundreds of Pokemon who will defend your turf or gather info for you. And if you can get a legendary Pokemon on your side…Blaine and Moltres alone ended a lot of battles before they got started."

"You're sure chatty all of a sudden," noted Red.

"My Electric-types can cancel out any recording devices, even from their Pokeballs," Volkner answered with a smirk. "And I have plenty of Pokemon, Trainers, and gadgets all over to prevent other kinds of snooping."

"I've noticed," said Red, looking out the window. "It's an interesting idea, trying to revive the old version of Team Rocket here. Seems to be working too." He turned back to Volkner. "So, how about it? You could make a real name for yourself and your group if you took down those fakers back in Kanto, and it'll help me clean up Kanto some too. Deal?" He offered his hand.

"No."

"Why not?" asked Red, lowering his arm. He didn't speak with a whiny brat's tone, but a cold curiosity.

"I don't align with child sociopaths," Volkner answered.

Red frowned. "Hey, I'm almost eleven."

"It's the sociopath part I really object to, not your age," Volkner answered. "I've seen war as a kid, you know, and I know the difference between those who fight for survival, those who fight for sport, and those who fight out of bloodlust. I've seen enough of your matches on television to know you're the last one. The fact that you've never been to real war, and want a real war, makes it worse. Forget it."

"Fine, don't work with me then," said Red, this time with the expected child's irritation. "I just thought that you might want to help clean your old home up. Make your old dad proud…" He paused at the sudden angry look on Volkner's face. "Or just beat the crap out of him, whatever. I don't know what side he's fighting for yet, but…well, you know his reputation."

"…I came here because I wanted to leave all that mess behind," said Volkner tiredly. "And I have no intention of returning. Run off back to the League, and take your schemes with you. Come back when you actually care about other people."

Red said nothing, even when he eventually turned his back on Volkner, going down the spiraling stairs.

IIIIII

Looks like Red's smooth talking didn't get him what he wanted this time. Does the setup of Volkner's TR make sense so far? There were be more details on it (and Volkner in general) in future drabbles, so if there's anything specific you want to know just ask :).

(And yes, Red is pretending he has nothing to do with the current Rockets in Kanto. There will be more detail on that later too.)