Hey guys! This is my first story, Parallel Rivals. I hope whoever reads it will like the first chapter! (this is honestly more of a fun thing for me, I'll update whether or not I get many people reading, and my schedule for the people that do choose to follow along will most likely be very erratic)

Here's an overview so you understand what's going on: Jade, May, Paul, Gary, and Serena are apart of an organization led by Cynthia, where they work as assassins to eliminate bad people from their world. Ash, Gladion, Misty, Drew, and Dawn are apart of an organization led by Steven, where they work as organized robbers to take away what makes the bad people in their world powerful

This story will have Pokemon, but more so as wild animals rather than trained Pokemon.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN POKEMON

Chapter 1:

Night

The cool night wind blew softly through the trees, while street lamps illuminated the long, dark neighborhood road. But rather than being lined with houses that looked like they'd belong to average citizens, every single one was a huge mansion that could take up a block on their own. They all had certain styles to them, however they all had a few shared characteristics. One being that every front lawn looked like a small forest. A well-kept one, but a forest with many trees and beautiful plants nonetheless, and a single path that took you in. And surrounding every one of those lawns were massive iron gates that stretched up to the clouds, easily over 15 feet tall and surrounding the entire perimeter of every property.

However, despite all of those houses, one that didn't stand out in particular was of special interest to a group of five people, people that were moving quietly in and out of the shadows as they traveled down the long road.

"Alright, once we get closer, I'll hop the fence and take a quick survey of the area, make sure it's as we left it since we don't have the van this time," a feminine voice that came from one of the people said. She slid past a street lamp, briefly illuminating her dark figure. She was a honey blond with bright blue eyes, and soft, fair skin. She wore all black, black long sleeved shirt with a high collar, black gloves, black combat pants, black combat boots. Even the utility belt around her waist was black.

"Good idea, you can never be too careful with someone like this," another voice, this one male, muttered. In the darkness, his viridian eyes flashed, and as he continued on, the moonlight briefly allowed his spiky brown hair and black clothing that was identical to the first girls' to be illuminated. "Hey Paul, how're you feeling? Ready to go kick some ass?"

"Just because I caught a damn cold doesn't mean I'm incompetent," another voice, Paul, hissed from his position beside him. His hair and eyes were so dark that, especially with the clothing, he was practically impossible to see. "If anything, ask Serena how she's doing. She sliced her damn leg open last time she hopped a fence like that if you recall correctly."

"For your information, I stumbled because Gary suddenly screamed like a little girl when they started to shoot at us," the honey blond from before snapped, gesturing at their spiky haired companion. "Come on, you know that. I was worried about him, and with the guns going off, I lost my balance. It never happened before, that was just a one time slip up 'cuz I was caught off guard."

"I did not scream like a little girl!" Gary yelped indignantly. "I panicked because I didn't think they'd see us, and suddenly they just opened fire! If anything, blame Paul! He's the one who told me that, and that's why I was caught off guard!"

"Right, and you also didn't almost piss your pants when you had to defuse that bomb during your assessment," she said sarcastically.

"For your information, that was a really stressful situation! Plus it was like a year ago!"

"It was a dud dummy! Nothing would have happened if you failed, it was just a test!"

"Yeah, that's what made it so much more-!"

"Hey, loudasses," a cold voice suddenly said from behind them. "Shut up and get moving. We don't have all day. And frankly, I could do with getting back in a timely manner."

Without a second thought, they all snapped to attention, straightening up and abandoning all arguments. "Yes, May," they mumbled simultaneously, falling silent as they continued on.

May, the young woman who'd just snapped at them, stepped into the light of a street lamp, surveying her surroundings for a moment. Her brown hair was tied back in a black bandana, and her blue eyes flicked about as she looked around. Finally, she glanced back behind her at the fifth and final person on their team.

"All clear, Jade. Don't think they gathered any attention."

"That's good," the last girl murmured in a monotone voice. As she stepped forward to join her comrade, the light shone down on her, revealing long black hair that perfectly matched her outfit, and sharp jade green eyes that narrowed as they were met with the sudden light.

"Let's get going," May told her, walking off and disappearing into the darkness again as her clothes melted in with the shadows. "They've pulled ahead a bit, and we have to make sure they aren't bringing any unnecessary attention to themselves before we can carry out the kill."

Jade simply nodded and walked after her, allowing herself to be swallowed by the pitch blackness outside of the circle of light.

If anyone were around to overhear, they would have immediately understood the people that stood before them: a team of assassins preparing to rid the world of one of these rich homeowners.

But just because no one was around to overhear, didn't mean that they were completely alone. Unknown to the team, five more shadows were lurking a ways back, coming for a different reason but with the same motives...

"So like we were saying, once we get to the gate, I'll hop it and take a quick look around," Serena whispered.

They were still walking along the streets, carefully positioning themselves against the tall iron gates that merged with the next after reaching the end. With their dark clothing, nothing could be seen, and the only indication of them ever being there was the soft blow of wind that followed a sudden movement.

"Once she gets back, if everything's as we left it, we'll head on in," Gary added.

"I still wish we'd brought the van," Paul grumbled. "I would've felt better if you could keep an eye on us while we did this from the outside like usual."

"No, we need all hands on deck for someone like this," Gary retorted quietly. "We could potentially fail if the whole team isn't there. I did the math, we're guaranteed a 100% success rate if we're all here."

"I also did the math, and you're 100% guaranteed a sock to the face if you don't stop speaking like a calculator," his teammate snapped back.

"Could you guys shut up and pay attention?" Serena suddenly hissed.

The bickering boys looked up, and realized that they were now there. The house in front of them, although it looked relatively like the rest they had passed, was the one they were about to infiltrate.

"You guys really need to work on not bringing your crabby moods with you to the mission site," May remarked. "Any louder and security would've noticed us before we even got over the fence."

"It's not my fault Paul's questioning me," Gary muttered, earning a death glare from the man in turn.

"Just let me work my magic," Serena sighed as she stretched out her arms. "It'll take me two seconds to do what I need to do, so calm down. We can get this over and done with soon enough."

"She's not wrong," May told them. "Just sit back and proceed as we planned."

"Thank you," Gary muttered.

The team stood back, allowing Serena to do her usual quick stretching routine before she gripped the iron bars.

"Bon Voyage," she called with a smirk before scaling upwards.

"Not gonna lie, she never fails to impress me with how quickly she does that," Gary muttered as they watched her reach the top a few moments later and slide down, disappearing into a bush on the other side.

"Hey May," Jade said quietly while Gary and Paul watched Serena. "Everyone seems to be a bit snappy today. What's that all about?"

"They're just kind of pissed cuz before we left for the mission, they were playing a game of Capture the Flag with Zoey's team, and they lost pretty quickly," May muttered back. "Kinda stupid, but you know how competitive they are with each other, since were the only team to rise up to the top rank after only a year. It really dented their pride, especially since Zoey's team is a rank below us."

"They shouldn't have played a team of six with only three people, especially since Paul just got better and Serena's leg only recently healed up," Jade grunted. "Why didn't you join in?"

"I was finishing up some of the paperwork you handed off to me while you did the report on our last mission," she told her in a salty tone. "Remember that?"

"Oh, right."

"Alright," Serena's voice suddenly called from above. Everyone looked up, and saw her perched at the top of the gate. "It's all basically the same since yesterday. There are servants and guards all over the inside, with a surplus of cameras for outdoor security. The markers we set up are still there, and just like we planned, the back areas and top floors are mostly quiet."

"Quick as always Serena," Gary complimented as she slid down to join them, before turning to everyone else. "Alright, so let's go over the plan. We all head in and watch for the cameras. Sneak around back, and then two of us will get in through a back window and make their way to the top. The first one'll find out which room he's in, and once that's determined, the other will go to a back window on that floor and open it to let the rest of us in. We'll get in, two surveying the halls and outside while two more guard the door, and the last will carry out the kill. Once that's done, the code will be the call of Noctowl. Got it?"

"We went over this plan a million times at headquarters," Paul grumbled. "Why do you need to tell us again?"

"It's always good to refresh your memory," Gary snapped back, grabbing onto the gate. "C'mon, let's just get going."

The team began to scale the wall, and one thing would be quite apparent to anyone watching as they did so: Jade was the best out of all of them. While everyone trailed behind Serena, she was struggling to keep up with the green-eyed girl, who made it to the top and waited a few seconds for the others to join her. Once they all made it, she didn't even grab the gate to slide down. She simply leaped, landing into a perfect diveroll that was so flawless she was able to stand up as soon as her feet hit the grass.

If anyone saw that performance, one thing would be absolutely clear: despite how everyone else seemed to have their own skill, Jade was the leader of this little troupe.

"Okay, whose got the mission log?" she whispered once everyone had joined her.

"Me," Gary replied with an eye roll. "I always have it, remember?"

"Just checking," she replied sharply. "Just start filling it out while we move in."

Gary nodded, and as the team began to duck and weave between the trees, making for the back of the mansion, he rolled up his sleeve a bit, revealing a beautiful black band around his wrist. He tapped a button at the top, and brought his watch up to his mouth before beginning to whisper into it.

"Mission number: 72. Target: Maxie Magma. Status: start, all well. Position: preparing to enter, within target zone. Time and Date: 11:33 PM, October 4th, 2022," he said softly, before clicking a button at the top and dropping his arm back to his side. May gave him a nod of appreciation, before they all slid to a halt by their designated area.

They were in the back area of the mansion, which was a bit more unruly than the front that was exposed to the public eye. Almost all of the lights were off, save for the single light above the door that led into the back of the house.

"Just like the layout you gave us Serena," Jade murmured in approval, making the blond grin cockily at the rest of the team. "I know you'll all be annoyed by this, but remember: follow the plan. I know we've done this countless times, and its all really straightforward, but this is a mission we really can't afford to mess up."

"Will they reduce our salary if we don't get it done?" Gary asked, his eyes widening in mock worry.

"Who cares," Serena muttered, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm. "We just get in, kill the target, get out. His guards probably won't even know what happened for a few days since his house is so big. Plus he's a huge recluse."

And then, without warning, a figure shrouded in darkness suddenly darted forward and whacked Gary in the back of the head with something long and thin, making him stumble before falling to the ground in front of his shocked comrades.