"I'm giving you a mega ring." Giovanni explains. "These things are incredibly expensive, and can only be produced by teams of top scientists. They aren't sold in shops for any price."
"I don't have any use for it..." Hugo frowns. "Why bother?"
"It is true that you currently have no use for this mega ring I'm giving you, however, you will have plenty of use for it once you can find an appropriate mega stone."
"You have a lead on where I can find one?"
"Yes. I have been informed that the safari zone, just north of Fuschia City, is home to many rare treasures. Among these are an apparent abundance of mega stones. Many trainers have been able to get their hands on them in this location. Of course, a trainer of your standard should have no trouble finding one appropriate for the pokémon you currently have on-hand."
Hugo sighs. "Come on, with all due respect, you know I need to head for Vermillion City, and you keep sending me further and further away from there."
"So I suppose you are not concerned for the safety of your sibling?"
Hugo frowns. He's in a tough situation here. There's nothing he can do but give in to Giovanni's commands.
"Fine."
"WHAT?! You think mega evolution is enough to take on Mewtwo?! My Venusaur was just KILLED by a legendary pokémon..." Erika speaks to Giovanni with no respect.
"Ms Erika, the battling capability of young Hugo far exceeds that of yourself." The Team Rocket boss explains the harsh truth.
"Fuck you! And why should he do your bidding? You'll probably kill his brother anyway, since you're such a sinister bastard."
"Ms Erika, I assure you that I am and always have been, a man of my word."
"Is that what you told my dad right before you murdered him?"
"Murder? I have done nothing of the sort. Your father merely had a little 'accident'. Just like I assured he would if you failed to hold up your end of the bargain."
Erika grits her teeth, glaring at Giovanni.
Hugo looks at Erika and frowns. "Murdering parents is a hobby of Team Rocket's, I suppose."
"Young Hugo, given your current situation, I don't believe you're in the best position to speak against the might of Team Rocket. Especially with the information we recently obtained on your parents."
"My..." Upon hearing those words, Hugo gets an instant headache.
"Parents… my… parents..."
Suddenly, a flashback appears before Hugo. He finds himself in the body of a young baby, not yet of an age where he can walk. He's being carried in a large basket alongside another baby. A woman is running with the basket, weeping uncontrollably as she runs…
"Parents…" Hugo's headache intensifies, briefly becoming unbearably painful.
"GYAAAAAAAAH!" An uncontrollable feeling of anger overwhelms Hugo. He cannot help but attack the person nearest to him. Aggressively, he grabs Erika by the neck and lifts her up with one hand.
"Ack… ga… ka..." Erika's body flails about as her face turns redder and redder. She is suffocating.
"Hu…. Stop… ack..." Erika is unable to speak as her need for oxygen grows greater.
Images flash through Hugo's head. He sees Brock lying on the floor, in agony after being shot. He sees the Pikachu's head that was shot off. He sees the blood of two of his own pokémon flowing across the floor. Then he sees… a young girl smiling at him. It's Leaf!
Hugo's eyes widen as he comes to his senses. He drops Erika on the floor who doesn't even have the strength to stand. She gasps for breath loudly.
"I...I'm sorry. So sorry." Hugo cannot believe what he's just done.
"Interesting… that's some mental scar you possess." Giovanni smiles slightly.
Hugo is too busy staring at his helpless victim. " I… I'm sorry..."
"Y… you twisted fucker!" She manages to say between breaths.
Just then, an explosion can be heard from outside the room.
"Ah, so he's come." Giovanni says calmly.
"TELL ME WHERE HE IS OR DIE!" "WAH! FIRST DOOR ON YOUR RIGHT! DON'T HURT ME!" Can be heard from outside.
As if Hugo wanted to see him again, in an instant the man with the walking stick is standing in the doorway, glaring at the trio inside the room.
"So we meet again, Dan." Giovanni says calmly. "Here to kill me, I presume?"
"You know that in order for my plan to work, the gym leaders of Kanto must die. That includes you, Giovanni."
Hugo and Erika are stunned by this revelation. Erika suddenly realises that she is a target of this horrible man.
"And after I'm done here, that'll be five down!" Hugo knows about Blaine and Sabrina, but who's the fifth victim? Does he think Brock is dead?
"Weezing, smokescreen!" Giovanni quickly summons his pokémon and pulls off the move. The smoke completely covers the room. Hugo and Erika are left helplessly in the smoke, suffering a fit of coughing. Hugo can't see a thing, but he feels a rough hand grab his arm, and he's pulled to what he thinks is the back of the room. Eventually, he gets out of the smoke and finds himself standing in a lift alongside Giovanni. The doors are slowly starting to close.
Hugo can barely see anything through the thick smoke, but he can just barely make out the bodies of Dan and Erika, the latter being helplessly sat on the floor, still not fully recovered from Hugo almost strangling her. The silhouette of Dan walks towards Erika, pistol at the ready. This is the last thing Hugo can make out before the doors are fully closed.
"ERIKA!" Hugo punches the doors on the lift, desperate to get them open again, but with zero success.
"We're moving down now. You're safe. Relax." Giovanni tells him. "I want you alive, you are useful to me."
Hugo is struggling to breathe. Maybe it's claustrophobia from being in a small lift he thinks, but really it's an accumulation of all the recent traumatic events overwhelming him. He breathes heavily, putting his hands on his knees. The whole time, Giovanni merely stands perfectly still with his arms folded.
"You are aware of Dan's plans?" Giovanni asks.
"To kill everyone?" Hugo asks.
Giovanni shakes his head. "The whole picture is unclear, but it certainly revolves around harnessing energy. He wishes to summon something. What exactly that is is unknown. However, we have reports of some sort of mind control device being involved..."
"He has a Giratina..."
"Yes. It's clear he must've spent a long time in Sinnoh and learned much about the lore over there in order to learn how to capture such a beast..."
Giovanni finally loses his distant stare and looks Hugo straight in the eyes.
"You are aware that he wishes to kill all gym leaders?"
Hugo nods. "I am now."
"His next target could likely be your friend, Misty Waterflower." Giovanni explains. "Believe it or not, it would be beneficial to me if you could stop him, or at least stall him until we at Team Rocket learn more of his plans."
"What about the other gym leaders?" Hugo asks.
"There are two others. Lt Surge, and Koga. One with many years of military experience, and the other a master ninja. Both will be more difficult to take down than your young friend." Giovanni's gaze is uncomfortably serious.
"Hugo, what I'd like you to do is act as a bodyguard for your friend Misty. Attend to your business at Vermillion City then make your way to Fuschia. But remember, multiple gym leaders in one place is a bad idea. It's much more difficult to protect two at once."
The lift reaches its destination and the doors begin to open. They are in a large underground tunnel. The entire tunnel is one big road, and there is a car parked at the side.
"Get in. You're driving." The Team Rocket boss orders.
Hugo climbs into the driver's seat while Giovanni takes a seat as a passenger.
"I wish to travel to Saffron City. Take me there."
Hugo begins to drive. He has never driven a car before, and wishes he could have someone more patient in the vehicle with him. If someone had told him his driving teacher would be the leader of a criminal gang, he'd have had trouble believing them.
He makes many mistakes along the way, but Giovanni is surprisingly patient with him, offering advice on his driving when he can.
"We're here." Giovanni says after an hour of driving. "I'm getting out. Straight on for Lavender town, right for Vermilion and left for Cerulean. Goodbye." With that, Giovanni departs the vehicle. This whole thing is weird. Why are there cars in an underground tunnel? Isn't it usually trains? He sees a petrol pump at the side of the road so he stops, refuels, and continues. Another couple of hours of driving pass and he reaches another lift built into the wall at the side of the road. There's a sign above the door that reads 'CERULEAN'. He exits the vehicle, enters the lift and waits as the doors close. A minute later the lift doors open and he wonders out to find that he's inside an old shed. He opens the shed door, which locks automatically as it closes behind him. "Nice hiding spot." He thinks aloud. He looks around and sees that he's less than a mile from the outskirts of the city. A short walk lasting less than half an hour finds him outside Cerulean gym. By this time, the sun is setting.
"Hey! Hugo! How's it going!?" A voice calls. Hugo turns around to see an awesome sight. With a beautiful sunset in the distance, from over the horizon a figure approaches. That figure is pushing themself in a wheelchair, with a beaming smile on their face. It's Brock!
"BROCK!" Hugo cries out with delight. He runs towards his crippled friend… just in time to see him topple forwards out of the wheelchair, hitting his face on the cold, hard pavement.
"I-I guess I'm still getting used to this." Brock groans.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be resting?" Hugo asks as he helps his best friend back into his seat.
"Naw, the nurse gave me the all clear. I'm here to continue my journey with my friends."
"Awesome! Welcome back bud!" Hugo exclaims out of happiness.
The two make their way into the gym.
"So, tell me, what's been going on since I've been gone?" Brock asks.
"Well, it's a long story. I've actually been away from the girls for the past day.
Brock and Hugo make their way into the back of the gym, inviting themselves into Misty's 'home'.
"Hey, everyone! We're back!" Brock calls, receiving no response. "Huh. Where could they all be?"
The boys look around, until they find the girls all sat around the television in the living area, their eyes glued to the screen.
"Ugh, they're watching a chick flick? Think I'm gonna be sick..." whispers Brock as they sneak up behind the girls.
A cringey couple are on screen saying cheesy things to each other. "Oh Delila…." The cringey man says. "I really love y-" The show is cut off as a news bulletin flashes on screen, causing the girls to gasp.
"Breaking news coming to you live from Celadon City."
"In what can only be described as a terrorist attack, the Celadon Gym was today the scene of a horrific blood-fest. Several pokémon were reportedly killed alongside two police officers and the leader of Saffron City's gym, Sabrina. One gym trainer was also hospitalised by a gunshot amid the horror show. The gym leader herself, Erika, has since gone missing as many speculate she may have also been killed. Our Livenews helicopter captured this footage from the skies above the scene."
Video footage is played which gives a birds eye view of Hugo pulling Erika's arm out of the gym and leading her to safety.
"That's Hugo! Dawn shouts at the TV."
"No way! How'd he get there?" Misty asks.
"Um… well, it's a long story." Hugo interrupts their conversation.
"WAAAAAAH!" Misty figuratively jumps out of her skin. "Woah, you… you startled me."
"And look who I brought with me!" Hugo smiles.
"Brock!" Leaf and Dawn exclaim.
"Ugh, you..." Misty groans.
"Hi everyone, I'm back and ready to get some!" He grins in the way only Brock can.
"Hey, Hugo, was that really you on the footage?" As Leaf asks this, Hugo frowns at how skinny she looks.
"Yeah well, let me be honest..."
"What's up?" Asks Misty, folding her arms from within her armchair.
"THERESACRIMINALTRYINGTOKILLEVERYONEANDHESGONNAKILLYOUANDWE'REALLSCREWED!"
"Wow! Slow down and speak in English!" Misty tells him.
Hugo takes a deep breath, and tells them the whole truth of the story, he wanted to leave out the part with Lauren but realises he wouldn't be able to explain why his Rotom is now a Gengar. He does, however, leave out the part where he strangled Erika...
"WEHEY! My boy Hugo got roofied!" Brock bursts into laughter.
Misty gives Brock a slap in the face. "Seriously?! All that and THAT'S the part you care about?!"
"So you're saying he's after Misty next?" Dawn asks, receiving a nod from Hugo.
"...And he doesn't seem to know Brock's alive?" Leaf asks, receiving another nod.
Misty stares into space for a moment. "And they want YOU to be my bodyguard? Hugo nods for a third time.
"Well FUCK I'm dead then!" Misty complains. "Might as well just shoot me now! It'll be me looking after you, not the other way around!"
"Gee, thanks for having so much confidence in me." Hugo pretends to smile.
The whole mood in the room has been killed completely, there are a good ten seconds where nobody says a word. The only noise is the TV that nobody is watching any more. Until Leaf, of all people, breaks the silence.
"So what, you guys are just gonna give up after all of that? Just accept that everyone's gonna die? Do you think I gave up when I had no food or family as a kid?! Huh?!"
After that outburst, Leaf storms off to the guest bedroom she's been sharing with Dawn.
"Wow..." Says Hugo.
"Never seen that side of Leaf before..." Agrees Dawn.
"She's right, y'know. We have things we need to do, let's go and get them done." Brock pipes up.
"Yeah! Let's do it! Off to Vermilion City, and then Fuschia!" Dawn punches the air excitedly.
It's the following morning, and Hugo is up early as usual. He's just returned from his morning workout and had a shower, then he wonders into the living room and switches on the TV. A detective is being interviewed on the news.
"...It's clear that this man is out to get all of the Gym Leaders. You can tell by the way he's acting. They better all be careful." Says the detective.
The news report shows mugshots of all 8 Gym Leaders; Brock, Misty, Lt Surge, Erika, Koga, Sabrina, Blaine and a silhouette of someone else. There is a red cross over the images of Sabrina and Blaine, there are question marks over Brock, Erika and the faded out silhouette.
"The criminal has already taken down two of Kanto's Gym Leaders, Saffron City's Sabrina and Cinnabar Island's Blaine. Pewter City's Brock was also rumoured to be hospitalised and it is currently unknown whether he survived the attack. Due to the power supplies being destroyed in the Pewter City attack, we are unable to receive a report from Pewter Hospital. Celadon City's Erika is currently missing and the trainers of her gym say they believe her to be dead, as she would never disappear in such a manner. The eight gym leader, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons, is also missing and there's speculation over their safety. The three remaining Gym Leaders are Vermillion City's Lt Surge, Cerulean City's Misty and Fuschia City's Koga, who was set to leave his gym to his daughter and replace the retiring Agatha of the Elite Four. Channel One caught up with Koga earlier this morning." The news reporter explains.
The image changes to Koga, who has an interviewer with him holding a microphone to his mouth. He's standing just outside his Gym.
"I do not fear him." Koga looks determined. "If he wants to come and attack me I'll be more than ready for him. He better not think he can take down me or any of my ninja crew."
"What is your reaction to the deaths of some of your fellow Gym Leaders?" Asks the interviewer.
"Of course I am saddened by the recent tragic events, but I have full confidence that myself and the Lieutenant will be able to combine our military and ninja experience to take down this crook."
"And what about the rumours that this criminal is currently on his way to attack Cerulean's City's Misty Waterflower?"
"I am sure that the Cerulean police will be on top of everything, but I believe that the best course of action for Ms Waterflower will be to flee the city. She can feel free to come to Fuschia where I will offer her my full support and we can deal with this crisis together."
"Mr Koga, thank you for your time." The interviewer ends the interview.
"Wow!" Comments Brock. Hugo hadn't noticed him entering the room. "How am I STILL listed as the official Gym leader? I applied to get it changed to Forrest over a week ago!"
"Wait, you only just applied a week ago? You've barely been at your gym the past four years!" Hugo replies, confused.
"Yeah, well, Forrest wasn't old enough to be an official leader at first so he had to act as the temporary leader, then when he was old enough, I wasn't there to fill out all the paper work, and now I've finally had the chance to do it, I guess the Indigo League have other things on their minds."
"Other things? Understatement of the year!" Hugo blurts out, getting a chuckle from Brock.
The girls all make their way into the room, Dawn now able to walk normally again. Leaf also seems to have cheered up, even if she's still ridiculously thin. As the boys notice them, Hugo frantically reaches for the TV remote and switches off the news before Misty sees anything.
"Let's go boys! We're out of here!" Misty tells them, and the gang make their way out of the gym to start their next journey.
The gang receive quite a surprise when there are swarms of police officers patrolling the streets. Officer Jenny is among them, and she approaches the group.
"Good morning, Ms Waterflower. I'm terribly sorry, but for your safety we're going to have to ask you to remain in the Gym until further notice."
Misty frowns. "I'm sorry. I have somewhere I really need to be..."
Officer Jenny looks unprepared to back down. "Ms Waterflower, I am sorry, but I must insist that you remain in the Gym.
"Make me." Misty folds her arms.
"Very well then. Boys!" Jenny claps her hands above her head, and two 6 foot 5 bodyguards appear, muscles bulging out of their tattoo-covered arms. They wear vests, have very short hair and wear sunglasses to make themselves appear as intimidating as possible. Both appear to be in their mid thirties. Most people would have to back down to such characters, but these two giants are still smaller than Hugo.
"This is Greg and this is Brett. They will be your bodyguards while you stay in the Gym." Jenny states confidently.
"Yeah right." Hugo snorts in defiance, putting himself in-between the two guys and Misty.
"I must warn you, they are trained to exert force if they encounter resistance." Warns Jenny.
"Really? Is that why they look so frightened?" Hugo asks with a smug grin.
"Please step aside sir." Brett warns.
"Make me."
On cue, Greg swings his fist in an attempt to punch Hugo's stomach. Being younger and faster, Hugo is able to grab Greg's fist, blocking the attack. He raises his leg, giving Greg a hard kick to the balls. The tough guy falls to his knees, holding his crotch and a tear dripping from his eye down his now red cheeks.
"You're trying to use force on ME? Really?" Hugo asks. Brett seems to have learned his lesson, and takes a step back.
"Wow..." Jenny is almost speechless, until she reasserts herself. "Okay, it appears that you have sufficient muscle to protect yourself." She steps up very close to Hugo, who has to look directly down to meet her eyes.
"You better not leave Ms Waterflower unsupervised at any time, or her death will be considered an act of manslaughter by you." She tells him quietly.
"Come on boys, move out." Jenny claps her hands above her head again and she's followed by Brett, along with Gregg who is limping and still holding his crotch.
"Hey, you look like that Pewter Gym leader who got killed." Jenny comments as she walks past Brock.
"Well that was interesting." Dawn says after they're gone.
"Hey Mist." Says Hugo.
"What?" Misty asks.
"Try not to die."
"Really? What great advice, because I was planning on being brutally slaughtered."
"WATCHOUTCOMINGTHROUGH! OOF!"
Just then, a young boy comes sprinting past. He bumps into Dawn, knocking her over completely.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry. I really must watch where I'm going."
"Hey, if it isn't Wally." Brock grins.
"Oh… oh no. What happened to you?" Wally asks Brock, instantly forgetting about Dawn, who looks annoyed.
"Ah… don't worry about me. I'm fine. How are you?" Brock asks.
"Well… I'm on a mission." Wally responds, filled with excitement.
"Huh? What sort of mission?" Brock is intrigued.
"I'm going to the power plant." Wally says with a huge grin on his face.
"The whatsitnow?" Brock asks.
"The power plant." Misty tells him. "Just east of here. Apparently Zapdos really likes it there."
"Zapdos?! Wally, you're crazy!" Hugo frowns.
Wally shakes his head. "No I'm not. I'm ready to take down Zapdos and capture it for my team."
The gang look at each other, trying not to laugh. Dawn, however, who has already decided she dislikes this boy, can't help but burst into laughter.
"It's not funny! I'll show you! Let's battle! I want revenge for last time!"
"Sure, why not?" Hugo agrees. "I have a new pokémon I'd like to debut anyway."
Moments later, they've found a field around the eastern outskirts of the city. Wally stands opposite Hugo on their grassy battlefield. Brock and the girls are at the side, ready to witness a one sided battle.
"Go Kirlia!" Wally gives out his battle cry as he summons his trusted partner.
Hugo realises this will be interesting. Ghost is strong against psychic, psychic is strong against poison, and poison is strong against fairy.
"Gengar!" He summons his new poison/ghost type.
"Come on Kirlia, use confusion!" The attack hits, causing Gengar to involuntarily take a few steps back.
"Sludge wave." Gengar seems very excited for battle, and puts maximum effort into launching a large quantity of poison towards Kirlia, who barely manages to dodge.
"Again, confu-" "Perfect! Finish with shadow ball!" With reflexes vastly superior to wally, Hugo gets in first with a powerful, super effective attack. It hits Kirlia directly. Kirlia is flung back, flying into its trainer in the process, knocking them both over and giving them bruises.
"Oh, poor Wally." Brock frowns. "Hugo should've taken it easy..."
"Uh oh… Wally, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Hugo begins, about to return Gengar and help his opponent to his feet.
"WAIT!" Wally surprises everyone with this rallying cry. "It's not over yet!" Wally springs to his feet, bruises visible all over his body. "Kirlia, get up and use magical leaf!" Even his voice sounds tired, but impressively, his rallying cry is enough to spur on Kirlia, who makes it to its feet.
Taken completely by surprise, Gengar recieves a critical hit from magical leaf. Unfortunately, the type match-up reduces the damage dealt.
"Wow." Hugo is stunned, unable to react quickly.
"Now! Confusion again!" Another psychic attack hit Gengar, who clearly feels it. The ghost looks to be in pain.
"Again! Don't let them rest!" The passion is very apparent in Wally's cries.
Another confusion attack is attempted, but this time Hugo and Gengar are ready for it.
"Screw it. Use hyper beam." Gengar leaps to the side, simultaneously shooting beams from its eyes. This time, Kirlia is flung almost twice as far and when it hits the ground there's no doubt that it can no longer battle.
Hugo and Gengar have emerged victorious, but Gengar has been battered, sustaining heavy damage. The ghost type looks happy to have won, but at the same time its breath is heavy due to fatigue.
The whole gang are surprised by Wally's significant improvement in such a short time.
"I have to admit..." Brock begins, pushing his wheelchair towards Wally. "I wasn't expecting so much fight from you there."
"You had Hugo panicking for sure." Adds Misty.
"Pfft..." Dawn is unimpressed. "I Think he was just giving the kid a chance..."
"Hey there Wally..." Hugo walks towards him with a smile. Wally look distraught as he's knelt at the ground, nursing his fallen Kirlia.
"Keep at it kid." You're not bad." Wally turns around and looks up at Hugo's towering figure. He gives a weak smile. The pair shake hands and suddenly Wally bursts into life, leaping to his feet while returning Kirlia to its comfortably encapsulating ball.
"Thank you. I'll beat you next time though." Wally nods confidently, then dashes off towards the east.
"Have fun catching Zapdos!" Hugo jokes as Wally disappears into the distance.
"Pfft. Catch Zapdos? Yeah right!" Grins Misty.
"Snobby little brat..." Dawn mutters under her breath, folding her arms.
"Well, that was fun." Grins Brock. "Who agrees we get going now?"
Meanwhile…
It's a peaceful Saturday morning in the Johto region, and many of the citizens of Johto's various towns and cities are looking forward to enjoying their relaxing weekends. None more so than Violet City's Falkner.
"Ah, what fine weather. I'm looking forward to today." Falkner stretches his arms in a relaxed yawn.
All of a sudden, seemingly out of thin air, three men appear. They possess long white hair, are pretty muscular and are dressed like ninjas. Their costume covers their mouths and foreheads, with a horizontal gap for their eyes. Their muscular chests and arms are on display too.
Two members of the trio grab Falkner, one at each arm, while the third, stood a couple of feet away, pulls out a pistol, pointing it in Falkner's face.
"...Come..." The man holding the gun tells him.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Falkner wonders aloud, surprised by these men. "Wh-who are you?!"
"You'll find out… let's go..." The same member of the trio replies, his Unovan accent obvious, even with his voice slightly muffled by his costume.