A/N: This chapter took a bit longer to upload because I've been busy with some stuff. School, Rainbow Curse, getting frustrated with the Mushroom XIII and spending 3 hours trying to beat 3 of them, and religious stuff that I don't really care about (although I did hear an interesting story)! This might be a bit of an uneventful one compared to the previous few chapters, but you gotta work with post-GS Lavender Town and Viridian the best you can! Anyways, let's get started!

"That's... quite the interesting story." Scarlet and Joseph had learned of what happened after Matt left the Pewter Gym, and were a bit surprised by it all.

"So this means Team Rocket is back, huh?" Joseph was thinking about things.

Matt was trying to deduce the whole situation. "I guess so. I just can't really understand why, though. The last time Giovanni made a public appearance was 2 years ago during the Pokemon World Tournament, and nothing's been known about him since."

Scarlet had gotten a small idea. "Well, that Nova guy definitely knows something. Although, he seems to be a bit of a jerk. An annoying, mocking jerk! Poor Lily. I may have never met the legend that my brother is supposed to be, but she's suffered far worse."

"I know. But, she's probably far away from Lavender Town by now." Matt said.

"Yeah. I just hope she doesn't get into any more trouble for a while." Scarlet replied.

"Maybe Mr. Fuji knows something. Let's stop by his place." Joseph suggested.

"Okay. He's the oldest guy in town and from what I've heard, he knows quite a bit about a lot of stuff." Matt said what he knew of the old man.

The three went from the Pokemon Center to the large house that was not too far from it. Inside was a lot of small Pokemon that appeared wounded, and they were in small confined cage-like rooms. An old man was there, caring for a small Cubone.

"Oh, hey kids! Wait, could it be?" The old man saw the three enter the Pokemon House.

"What?" Matt was a bit confused.

"Ah, yes. You look exactly like him." The old man was looking at Scarlet. "You must be the sister of the boy who saved the town 13 years ago."

"Yeah... I'm Red's younger sister: Scarlet. And is there anything wrong with that?" Scarlet seemed a bit tired.

The old man laughed. "Hahahaha, nothing at all! You just look so much like him. Your brother helped me out a lot, you know. I haven't seen him recently, however. It's been about... 10 years, I think. Do you know what he's doing now?"

Scarlet replied. "Unfortunately, I don't. All I've heard is that apparently he's STILL up at Mt. Silver."

The old man was confused. "But didn't Red participate in that big tournament in Unova 2 years ago?"

Scarlet looked sad. "Yeah, he did. I wasn't able to see it, though. It was a live event only, and there wasn't any pictures taken of him. I really have never seen him."

"Well, that's quite worrying. But, I think as long as you're positive, you'll be fine. I know you'll see him some day!" The old man had a gentle smile on his face.

"Thanks... Um, you're Mr. Fuji, right?" Scarlet asked.

"Yes I am." The old man pointed at himself. "I've been in charge of this little home for over 20 years now. People bring lost or abandoned Pokemon here, and I see if any trainers want to take them and give these Pokemon a home. Want to take a look?"

Scarlet was interested. "Okay."

There was a lot of small Pokemon here, including a few Cubones, Rattatas, Oddish, Vulpix, and a few other kinds of Pokemon. There was one that caught Scarlet's eye though: an Eevee.

Scarlet got a big smile on her face. "I-it's an Eevee! Can I have it?"

"Sure. Just make sure to take good care of it. If I remember correctly, your brother had one too." Fuji said.

"Yep, and that's why I want one!" Scarlet picked up the Eevee and petted it gently. The Eevee was happy about its new owner, and had no hesitation to enter one of Scarlet's Pokeballs. "And that makes 3 Pokemon! Just got another 3 to go before I have my full team."

"At least you're on par with us now." Joseph said. "But now, it's time for the real reason why we came here."

Matt looked at Joseph in agreement. "Yes. So, Mr. Fuji, have you heard of anything relating to Team Rocket recently?"

Fuji was a bit surprised. "Team Rocket? Why do you want to know about them?"

"Because they're back. And they're planning something, we just don't know what." Matt said with a slightly angered look on his face.

Fuji sighed. "So you know. I guess you know that they're the ones responsible for wrecking the House of Memories yesterday, too."

"Yeah."

Fuji became a bit more quiet. "I don't know much, but I overheard something from one of the trainers who came here recently."

Matt was curious, "What did they say?"

"I couldn't listen to all of it, but apparently Team Rocket was planning on obtaining some kind of stone from the House of Memories. They were also trying to learn of the whereabouts of something that I think is called Material R." Fuji looked concerned.

What is it with all of these single letters to represent things? Matt was still thinking. "Do you know anything else?"

"Unfortunately, that's all I could hear. Sorry. Maybe you could get some more info at Vermillion City." Fuji looked a bit sad.

"Okay. We were planning on going there next anyways so I think we'll leave now. Thanks for the info." Matt said.

"And thanks for visiting. And you, Scarlet." Fuji looked at Scarlet. "Take good care of that Eevee, okay?"

"I will." Scarlet said. The group left the Pokemon House and proceeded to finally leave the spooky town. Their next destination was Vermillion City. First, though they encountered a certain Pokemon along the route leading to it.

"IT'S A SNORLAX!" Scarlet yelled with excitement.

"Yeah but it's asleep. How're you going to wake it up?" Joseph said.

"With this, silly!" Scarlet brought out her Pokegear, and went to the Radio App. She put in a specific frequency and a song started to play. The Snorlax woke up.

"Alright Charmeleon weaken this thing!" Scarlet was really enthusiastic about getting that Snorlax.

"Char Char!" The Charmeleon scratched and bit the big fat Pokemon, and weakened it enough to where Scarlet could catch it.

"Okay, GO POKEBALL!" Scarlet threw the Pokeball at the Snorlax and successfully captured it. "Woo hoo! I now have 4 Pokemon! That's more than BOTH of you guys!"

"Well technically I still have a fossil that needs to be resurrected. So I sort of have 4 Pokemon." Matt explained.

Scarlet pouted, "Shut up. At least I have 4 alive Pokemon."

"Yeah, I guess you do. Let's continue to head towards Vermillion." Matt suggested.

"Okay!" Scarlet was happy with her new Pokemon. She just had a couple more to go before her team would be what she wants it to be. The group continued to head for Vermillion.

Meanwhile...

A tall, young-looking man activated a microphone and started to speak to it. There was also someone else who was speaking.

"So, how's it coming along?"

"We've had some troubles due to a few... intruders, but we should be done with it in due time."

"That's good to hear. But, who are these 'intruders' you speak of?"

"Some trainers that have gotten in the way of our operations."

"Could you possibly tell me more?"

"I can't give too much away, but we call these trainers M and B."

"Seems like they're significant somehow. What makes them so important?"

"Well, they're both important for different reasons. For Trainer B, he is partly responsible for disrupting both the Mt. Moon and Lavender Town operations. Trainer M is a bit more complicated. You see, she has some past connections with us. And there is someone quite important that she's involved with. I can't exactly say more, but she is easily our most powerful opponent right now. We need to somehow take her out."

"Sounds quite dangerous. Is there anyone else involved with this?"

"Yes. There were also two other trainers who disrupted the Lavender Town mission. We call them S and W. They're... interesting, to say the least."

"What's so special about them?"

"Well, Trainer W happens to be the current Indigo champion's younger sibling. He's getting more powerful, and has connections with S and B. Trainer S might be weak at the moment, but she could easily be our most powerful adversary."

"Why do you think that?"

"You see, Trainer S has a relation to the same trainer who defeated Master Giovanni."

"Are you telling me S is Red's..."

"Sister, yes. We don't know if she'll be as capable as Red was in the past, but we can't be too careful. He was the one who ruined the entire team."

"Yes, we all know. I see how you are going through trouble, but for now your team has to focus on creating it."

"Yes, I know. We have made progress with that, but we've been having troubles with it. It will be done in due time. And thankfully, we have someone very important working on it."

"Who, exactly?"

"I can't say much, but they were... a specimen from the operation 4 years ago."

"Oh yes, that one. I'm looking forward to what you make."

"Myself too. Speaking of which, how's it going for you?"

"Well. We haven't really had any interruptions, so production's been quite smooth. We should be done soon."

"Good. Now, I'm afraid I must go. I have other tasks to do."

"Alright then. I look forward to see what happens."

Conversation END.

Back at Vermilion...

"Ahhh, finally we're here." Matt was tired from having to walk so much.

"So we're gonna go to the gym now, right?" Scarlet asked.

"Just let me rest." Matt said exhaustingly.

"Okay then. Let's go to the Pokemon Center and get some sleep." Joseph said.

The group went to the Pokemon Center, and got some rest. Tomorrow, they would fight the next Gym Leader: Lt. Surge.

A/N: Okay, exposition chapter OVER. Next chapter, the group faces Lt. Surge, the Lightning American. 'MURICA! So next time, get ready for the most patriotic chapter ever. You're gonna need to. So see you next time (on Rayquaza Ball Z)!