Three and a Half Years Ago

"There you are Silver!" Ethan shouted after he finally cornered his rival. He found the redhead staring down the sheer cliffs of Route 47, looking down at the restless seas below. It would be a long fall. And a very messy landing. Ethan pushed that thought out of his mind.

"What're you running for? I need to talk to you about something!" Ethan cried out, even though Silver's back was still turned to him. "It's important-"

"What do you want?" Silver growled. Ethan blinked. Why was Silver so mad?

"It's about Team Rocket! You have to help me stop them, they're trying to make to make a comeback!" Silver said nothing in response and Ethan was left staring at the back of his rival's head for what seemed like several minutes.

"No."

"What?!" Ethan cried out, equal parts angry and confused. "What do you mean no? You have t-"

"I don't have to do anything!" Silver shouted angrily, further adding to Ethan's confusion and annoyance. "I have no interest in that. My goal is to be the world's strongest trainer. That's it." Ethan was stunned.

"A-are you serious right now? What is wrong with you?!" Ethan demanded, leading to another silence from Silver. Finally, Silver sighed and turned around. A dark red 'R' decorated the bottom hem of his shirt.

"S-Silver...w-what the hell is that? Is this some kinda joke?!" Ethan roared. Silver took a deep, irritated breath.

"It's exactly what it looks like Ethan. I am Silver, and I am the heir to Team Rocket." The words hit Ethan like bricks, with each one heavier than the last.

"Heir? The hell?"

"My father is Giovanni, the head of the original Team Rocket. He is making his way over to Goldenrod City to take his place as head of Team Rocket. Once that happens, he will unleash his plan to completely cripple Johto and then take over Kanto." A long silence followed. Silver silently mused whether or not Ethan was normally capable of being quiet this long under normal circumstances.

"You're lying. You have to be. This can't-"

"If you want, you can join Team Rocket." Silver said sarcastically, his eyes narrowing in sadistic delight. Ethan took a step back.

"No way Silver. The hell is wrong with you!" Silver rolled his eyes and put one hand behind his back. A second later, Silver had a gun trained on Ethan. The air suddenly turned cold around Ethan. He instinctively took a step backwards and forced down a gulp of air.

"Well then, I can't let you go around messing with my future company, can I?" Silver asked menacingly. Suddenly, Ethan's senses seemed to go into hyperdrive. The air felt cooler, Silver's gun-toting figure seemed sharper, the crash of the waterfalls louder. He felt himself shivering. Was he going to die here?

"Manaphy, Heart Swap!" A voice cried out. Silver's eyes snapped past Ethan, but his vision was taken over by a red flash. A second later, Silver found himself looking at...himself? He recognized the red hair, black long-sleeved shirt, and the handgun and inwardly cursed.

Ethan blinked his eyes and looked down to see his arm covered by a black sleeve and ending in a small black pistol. Without thinking, he dropped the gun and watched it descend to the waters below. He was so confused it hurt. Since when did Silver turn to Team Rocket? Was Silver really about to kill him? And why was Ethan staring at himself. Then, without warning, Ethan watched as a figure appeared, grabbed Ethan's body and began running.

"W-Wait! Put me down!" Ethan cried helplessly from Silver's body. He took a step forward and noticed his feet felt incredibly heavy. What kind of shoes was Silver wearing? Ethan saw another flash of light and suddenly he was being carried by the mysterious individual. He started struggling, but the figure only held tighter. The two were nearing the edge of the bridge when Silver summoned his Feraligatr.

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump!" He ordered.

Then, Ethan found himself flying. The mysterious figure, a man wearing a purple tuxedo quickly turned and dodged Feraligatr's Hydro Pump attack before summoning his own Electrode. That was when Ethan realized he was still flying through the air. He looked down and saw nothing but the ocean below. Was the man working with Silver. Then, a large pink object floated into his view and Ethan landed in a young woman's arm.

Present Day

Misty and Steven were still sitting on Nugget Bridge when the duo of Lance and Red landed before them. Both men had a dark confidence about them that seemed to leak out wherever they went. Sometimes it was awe inspiring. Other times, it was terrifying.

"Red and I are going to Vermillion City in order to give them some back-up." Lance's sentence, as usual, was a statement. The decision had already been set in stone and he was only telling Misty and Steven out of courtesy, not for their opinion. Knowing this, however, didn't keep Misty from worrying.

"Janine is going to spend a day or two here in order to recover and then she'll join us there." Lance continued, his eyes focused on a spot between the heads of Misty and Steven. Steven nodded appropriately.

"Will you be alright Red? It's been a bit since yo-"

"I'll be fine Misty. Don't worry so much." He gave a cool, small smile meant to reassure Misty, but all it did was give her butterflies. Wordlessly, she nodded, giving the two world class trainers her blessing to leave. With that done, Lance summoned his Dragonite and just like that the two were gone. With the speed of Lance's Dragonite, they'd reach Vermillion within half-an-hour.

"I suppose it's too late to stop them, huh?" Misty asked, mostly to herself. Beside her, Steven chuckled his deep and somehow sophisticated laughter. It somewhat put Misty at ease as she got up. Although she didn't see, Steven looked almost sad as Misty prepared to leave.

"What are you about to get done?" He asked eagerly while also standing up. At her full height, Misty stood a respectable 5'7" and at his, Steven towered over her by nearly a foot.

"Nothing really. Once I'm done with Beth here, I think I'm going to do a bit of training around Cerulean Cave." She responded as her long, thing legs strode over to the young Beth who, along with her Rattata, seemed exhausted.

"Wow Misty," she said between pants, "your Starmie is really strong." In response, Starmie chirped softly and its core let off a dull glow.

"Thank you Beth. One day, you're Rattata will be big and strong just like Starmie!" Despite her tiredness, Beth's eyes went wide as she looked down to her Rattata, which also seemed to beam with pride.

"Wow, really?" She asked, her eyes opened huge. Misty nodded.

"Definitely,"

"Home base, I'm calling to notify you of my arrival." Jasmine said into her phone. There was a short pause before a deep, scrambled voice answered.

"Good. Stay safe Jasmine." The voice ordered.

"Will do." Jasmine responded before closing her phone.