A/N Another chapter! Another improvement! Hopefully you guys will love this one. I am having a few plot twists chuck their few ten cents in. :D
James C-gear burst into life with three beeps a second.
They had been walking for a fair while. It was nearing 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and they were only a little over halfway to Viridian Forest. That is when James got the call. Checking the contact name, James sighed.
"Ok Ash, when the screen shows and our leader starts to talk, try your best to not get mad."
"Why?" Ash asked in a confused tone, stopping to grab the phone from James.
"Just trust me."
Suddenly the screen pixelated into a shaded out figure.
"I have gotten confirmation of all the pokemon that you and James have captured. James you know the amount you will be getting."
James nodded. He had already received his payment. The leader was getting sloppy.
"Now for you, despite the fact you managed to hook in several rare pokemon, your payment will be the same as anyone elses. $500. This will be the amount you will get for every mission, due to your rank. Other privileged missions may or may not offer more payment. Now that we have cleared this out, James will sort out any and all transaction details from here on out. I will not need to talk to you again. Giovanni out."
As the screen blanked out, and Ash slowly placed the phone back in James hand, Ash exploded.
"What kind of bullshit is that!? $500 for that effort! Fuck my life!" Ash swore.
"Now you see why I asked you to stay calm during the talk."
"Why does anyone listen to him this is ridiculous, I can understand that I'm a grunt and I knew I wouldn't make a lot of money but still I thought that I would get extra for the rare pokemon!" Ash yelled, clenching his fist.
"I can already tell I don't like this man. I'm surprised someone hasn't taken him out."
James had a small twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, well he is a powerful, which is why I have an idea for you. Whenever you battle another trainer and beat them, they will pay you. Trainer regulation. This will help you gain a little bit more money, I guess. Also, you will need a C-gear as well. The C-gear not only works as a communication device, it serves as a little computer. All of your transactions can be handled on that thing. Once we stop at the next pokemon center, you can download the Pokedex app as well. It is available to all trainers."
Ash smiled. Things were looking up, until he heard what James said.
"Wait…We?"
"Yes I plan on traveling with you for a while longer."
"Why?"
"You have a lot of potential and you just need the right push to be powerful so I'm going to give you the right push." James said, bringing a rose out of nowhere. Ash slowly backed away.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Another thing you can do, once I give you the app, are missions. You can do them at nearly any point. There are usually updates every day from an admin member who needs help with an operation, or just a few extra hands moving machinery or what not. Try using the filter option in your C-gear when you get the app to choose which city the missions are from, or categories. Whoever designed the app is a genius." James said, smirking, gesturing Ash to follow him again. Ash did.
"I'm going to give you a number to get in contact with the man from the black market. This way you can have an extra option to gain cash. Sell stolen pokemon here, information and whatnot. You can buy stuff from this place as well, as I have probably told you already. Is this alright with you?"
Ash, still his young self, was still cautious, but knew that caution was likely to get him killed. So why not live?
"Alright but will all my missions have to do with stealing pokemon or am I going to be doing other things?"
"You will be getting different types of jobs and sometimes we will have to go separate ways but we could always continue to travel with each other."
"That sounds fine. How close are we to the next town?"
"We have to clear Viridian forest yet, so it shouldn't be too far after that. We are almost there."
Ash grimaced. More walking to do. At least he was learning a lot more. Maybe if he ever left, he could sell out all this information. Maybe a backup plan would be a good idea, just in case this whole criminal thing didn't work out. James started speaking again after a while of travelling in silence.
"Ok, the contact for the black market is Mike. Here, have my C-gear for a moment. I need to check something on a separate line."
"Right then, let's call Mike." Ash said, mainly to himself.
Unlike most 10 year olds that just rush off as soon as they get there pokemon, when his mother died he made sure to know everything about the Kanto region, all of the gym leaders, what pokemon they use and how strong they are. However, when he didn't get his pokemon he thought he wouldn't be able to humiliate Gary when he got to the pokemon league. Now, even though he is in Team rocket, he could still be able to go through all the gyms and beat the league. With this in mind, Ash happily rang the dealer. The screen showed a shaded out person.
"Ah you must be the new recruit for Team Rocket. Pleasure to do business with you! Now, tell me what do you need from me tonight?"
Ash only raised his eyebrow at the polite attitude of the man but chalked it up to the man making sure that customers returned to do business with him.
"Well I wanted to know the price for a few pokemon or the eggs for those pokemon."
"Well lucky for you often the eggs that come from me aren't very expensive thanks to a dear friend of mine being a very good breeder, so tell me what pokemon you are interested in and I will take a gander at what I've got."
"Just two for now. A Bagon and a female Snorunt. Also, I need a dawn stone."
"Hmmm let's see. You're in luck my friend. I have a female Snorunt. Her total cost, along with the dawn stone, is $2300. I also have about 5 eggs left from a Salamence that cost about $500 each. Anything you want to know about the eggs or from the Salamence that laid them?"
"Yes, about the Salamence, I saw some reliable information that usually the eggs that hatch have very different personalities from the mother and father. Can you confirm that?"
The shaded out man laughed.
"For a new recruit, you're well informed. Yes, for inexperienced breeders, but my friend is able to make sure that when the eggs hatch they will be extremely obedient to their trainer. Unfortunately only three species of pokemon are susceptible to this hatching method so far, Salamence being one of them. All other pokemon that she has performed it on never worked. So what items will you be buying today?"
Ash was intrigued by that statement. Mike had said "Items" referring to the pokemon. He guessed that it would be a right frame of mind to have as an illegal dealer of pokemon and items.
"Yes I want to buy the Snorunt and the Dawn stone along with the egg, so the total should be $2800 correct?"
"Yes that is correct. Since your account has been set up I'll take the money out once you get the pokemon."
Ash froze.
"A-account? What account?" He stuttered.
"Oh, James set up an account for you and transferred all funds he could find laying around the place. Your total funds count comes to $12,000. That is impressive for a kid your age."
"James never told me about this."
"Then I guess he didn't tell you about the surprise either. Oops... Wasn't supposed to say anything… My bad. Oh, where will you be at?"
Ash, still confused, and now curious as hell, decided to ignore the subject change and get on with the call.
"I believe I will be at the Viridian Forest Lake in about a day."
"Viridian Forest… a day… OK. A Pidgeot will be delivering them. She will know it's you when you say my name to her. Later, Ash." He said.
With that, he signed off just as James came around the corner.
"Yo, Ash. I have an important mission to do. For now, your gonna have to haul your own ass through Viridian Forest."
Ash laughed.
"Yeah, no problem. Will you be in Pewter city by the time I get there?"
"Pretty much. I just have to run a few errands that will take me a couple of days. Stay safe!"
"Like you care." Ash laughed, before handing back James' C-gear.
"Of course I would Ash. You're my prized recruit. I expect big things from you."
And with that, James walked away, smiling.
Ash arrived at the entrance of Viridian forest by sundown. The whole route thing got him confused. Why not just name the roads everyone had to walk on? Ash sighed, and entered the forest. Gathering that it would be better to travel all night with Charmander by his side then camping out the front waiting for day, he pulled out his pokeball.
"Come on out, Charmander!" He said.
The fire lizard burst out of the pokeball, looking for a fight. However, this would be the second time the salamander would be disappointed.
"You're here to keep me awake, buddy!" Ash said, walking into the gloom. (Not pokemon)
Charmander, still confused, pumped his little legs after Ash.
As the night went on, Charmander gained a lot of experience from fighting all the bug type pokemon. caterpie and metapod were easy cooking, but a weedle every now and again proved stumping, as Charmander had to avoid that poison. Ash, as he went deeper in, spotted an odd looking male standing next to a tree. Bored out of his brain, Ash went over and talked to him.
"Yo." Ash said, waving his hand.
"ARRGGGURRBANSTUF!" Yelled the man, turning and falling over flat on his face. Ash, utterly confused, ran and helped the man up.
"The hell man? What's wrong?"
"Ohh, nothing," the guy said, waving Ash off and standing. "You just scared the Muk out of me is all."
"Riighht…So what are you doing out here?"
"I could ask you that same question. I am here testing out a move of mine. I could teach it to you as well."
"A move? What move?"
"Headbutt. I am trying to hook me a Heracross. I already have a male, so I need a female."
Ash smiled. Time to show James what he could do without him.
"Well, do you want any help?"
"Actually, yes. I want to train my Heracross a little more, so I need to have him battle something a couple of times. Do you mind losing a little bit?"
"As long as I don't have to pay you." Ash said, smiling. "Go, Charmander."
Charmander ran out from behind Ash, and stood in position. Heracross came out seconds later.
"Go Heracross, use horn attack!"
"Charmander, dodge and use bite!"
With surprising speed, Heracross launched itself across the field of darkness and slammed into Charmander, launching the fire type into a tree not 4 metres away. Charmander, with effort, pulled himself up, and stood, awaiting his next command.
"Try using ember, Charmander!"
"Heracross, dodge than use swords dance!"
The ember, even though right on target, missed as the flame skimmed the thighs of the Bug type as it flew away out of harm's way. Ash grimaced. He needed Charmander strong and healthy if his plan was to work.
"Now Heracross, use horn attack again!"
"Jump on its back!" Ash yelled, realising he just got his opportunity.
Now in sync with the other Pokémon's speed, Charmander easily jumped onto the bug types back, and launched an ember into the back of its head. A loud screaming pitch later and Heracross crashed into the ground. Not out yet, it slowly got up, and hovered in mid-air. Charmander had jumped off before the crash and now waited for Heracross to make a move. It did. It hurled itself at the salamander, who in turn hurled its Iron Tail at the Pokémon's head, launching it into the air and crashing onto the other guy. The man's backpack and gear went flying across the whole glade, and Ash rushed forward, using the opportunity. In the midst, he grabbed Heracross's pokeball, and returned the pokemon. Frantically grabbing another pokeball out of his backpack, he tossed it into the pile of pokeballs on the ground and shoved Heracross into his pack.
The man got up and looked at the mess. He turned his head and saw Ash picking up his pokeballs in the corner, and putting them into the pack. He walked over and helped him out.
"Wow, your Charmander is something else." He said, picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
"Really? Thanks! Oh, I returned your pokemon to his pokeball and he is somewhere in the bag. Sorry." Ash said, smiling a little.
"Ahh, no worries. I will get him out later. Thanks for the battle though."
"Yeah, no problem. I might come back and learn that Headbutt move of yours. Oh, what's your name?" Ash said, grinning from ear to ear, and calling Charmander back into his pokeball.
"I'll be waiting. And it is Kirin." He said, waving.
"Later Kirin!" Said Ash, walking towards the lake, the biggest grin on his face.
He was smiling because not only did he get him a Heracross, he also found a Leftovers in that pack.
He should have arrived at the lake sooner. He wasn't prepared when the Pidgeot swooped in and landed right next to him.
"Pidgeot?" The burly bird pokemon said.
"You're here because of Mike, aren't you buddy." Ash said, grinning.
The Pidgeot tilted his head, then lay down on the grass by the lake. Ash, ever so carefully, moved towards it, and gasped at what he saw. On the back of the pokemon was a C-gear. Ash ran forward, and grabbed it. Looking through the contacts, he saw a message, and opened it.
Yo, Ash, my favourite mellow customer! This is the surprise James got for you. I had a G-x9 available. It is slightly more reliable than the newer G-VR C-Gear but works fine. James and I are the only one on your contacts list, and I also took the liberty of installing Rocket Science. This is our "App" so if you look closely enough, you will find what you're looking for. Oh, and the backpack on Pidgeot is the items you requested. I suggest you get acquainted with Snorunt right away, as they are fidgety little critters.
Oh, for the record, if you wanted to set up a trade link between you and I, as a personal customer, then talk to James. He is my other "Worthwhile" customer. All the other grunts that come to me are gutless and without humour.
Well, that's it from me! Mike out!
Ash grinned again. At least there was someone else he could rely on. He glided his finger over the screen, and saw this odd looking icon. Clicking on it, the whole screen went black, and the Team Rocket symbol showed up. Barely seconds afterwards, there were three options to choose from. Tasks, Chat and "The Dex."
Intrigued, Ash nearly pressed "The Dex" then realised he had work to do. Clicking Tasks, a menu popped up. Just like James said, there was a search option, ranging from region to city, difficulty, payment and sequential. Ash picked the "All time" option in sequential, and scrolled through all the mission options that were available.
Mission 1: Steal pokemon from specific Trainer.
Mission 2: Steal pokemon from Pokemon center in Pewter City.
Mission 3: Help Butch and Cassidy in Celadon City with their assignment.
A huge list in reverse chronological order, of missions, numbering in the hundreds. Ash estimated that there was around 500 missions to choose from. Each option on the list had a in depth summary, and once you clicked the link, it would take you to a mission folder, containing things like essential items, requirements, preferences, location and many more.
Ash whistled. This was a pretty in depth app. Whoever made this was definitely not getting paid enough. He skimmed through the options, until one in particular caught his eye.
Mission 79: Infiltration of Pokémon league and Gym system in Kanto.
Gripped with a sense of exhilaration, Ash pressed the link. However, there was no folder. Only the app closing down and the sign of a pending call. Confused, Ash went to press the end call button, but before he could, the call was answered.
"Welcome to missi…Ash?" Said the confused man on the screen.
"J-James?" Ash sputtered, just as muddled.
"Well looks like my secret is out. You clicked on mission 79, correct?"
"Yes. So this is probably why you have disappeared these last few times."
"Yup, now you know one of my missions. I planned on telling you later on, but I think the way you found out is better. Before I continue, is there any questions you wish to ask?"
Ash nearly shook his head, then thought of something.
"What rank are you?"
Ash was pretty sure that the split second look of pure rage was definitely warranted when he heard what James said next.
"I am a Admin. You see Ash, the ranking goes, from the top, Leader, Executive, Admin, and lastly Grunt. I have been stuck as an Admin for the last two years even though I am a lot more competent then some of the higher ups. However, "Leader" has yet to promote me. I know I can't do anything about it, but you can. You have a lot of talent and you will be able to go through the ranks easily."
"Wow. Harsh," Ash said, looking at a not very happy James. "Tell me what this mission is all about."
James composed himself, and looked all business.
"Ok basically we want to take over all the gyms and then the league. Flint, from Pewter city is already aware and a part of our scheme. We have been watching all of the gym leaders and know everything about them. We have recently developed a disguise feature that can change everything about someone to make them look exactly like someone else, behavioral and all."
"Oh I get it. Basically if they don't agree, you can replace them with some one that looks and acts just like them and take over there gym."
"Precisely."
'Damn' Ash thought. These scientists are crazy good.
"Thanks to another experiment of ours we can make sure that the pokemon of the gym leaders listen to our replacements. Unfortunately we haven't been able to make much progress. I am sure you could guess why."
"Strength issue. These people train daily and get stronger every day. It would be hard to take them down."
"Exactly, and with what limited resources I have, I can't really do much about it. You, on the other hand… Your perfect for what I need."
Ash raised his eyebrow.
"I see how I can be very useful for this mission but what about the other grunts? Are they that weak?"
"They have no drive to get stronger and I can already tell that even if I do get stronger I won't get any more promotions. You I can see going far. This is why I need your help. Once you defeat the gym leaders we will use that moment as an opening to take them out, or convince them to our side. Trust me, I have a way with words."
Damn right he did.
"This is everything you need to worry about right now. Continue your training and try to get stronger. This is so you can gain proper strength to complete this task. I will see you in Pewter city in a couple of days." James said, and then hung up. Ash smiled. He had a good purpose now. Looking up, he realised that is was night time again, about 8 o'clock. The whole Heracross incident had made time lengthen out considerably and it was midday by the time Ash made it within eyesight of the lake. The whole Pidgeot incident and James' call had made time fly by. Ash settled into the small tent that he had set up moments before Pidgeot arrived.
'Sweet dreams, Gary. I am coming for you!' Ash thought before drifting into a fitful sleep…
A/N Another chapter baby! Hope you enjoyed this one. I was kinda stumped on how to translate the end, but I hoped it worked out fine. If you think I am doing alright, then tell me :D
If you review, I will weave a conspiracy against Giovanni.
If you already couldn't tell.
Vires out!