Good Evening Everyone,
So before we get the ball rolling on this story, I just want to say a few things (Bummer- I know).
First off, thanks to everyone who has sent in an OC for this story! The main OC's are posted below, but please note that all submitted OC's shall be incorporated throughout the story as supporting characters. Furthermore, if anyone wants to send in some OC forms while the story is in progress, please do so, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I appreciate the time and consideration everyone has put into these characters, as they have been extremely helpful in letting me plot out this story.
Speaking of plots, kudos to everyone who has thus far thrown me out some ideas for the story! If you have a suggestion or idea, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do with it.
Finally, thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorite-ed this story. As writers, we are always trying to create something for other people to enjoy, and to know that there are those who are enjoying the story (Even though it's only a prologue thus far) is a good feeling. So, considering that it is you, the readers, who are the most important part of this whole process, I raise my glass to you.
Now, on with the show! (Almost...)
Our Lovely Main Characters
The Rebels:
Leaf Greene- clarinetti
Jack Lazarus- Sharkness
Lara Carlin- KCNederland
Rein Yukimura- Silverdragon98
Charlie Ryder- Shadowboy8456
Tyson and Ruby Sinclair- ilovedogs12
The Undecided:
Luke Jackson- MasterFreezerman
Terra White- Titanic X
Magneta Eastridge- Shadowsplosion
The Villains:
Harold Grayson- Titanic X
Darren Blaze- InazumaNina
Eva Whitley- red. truth
Fate Cross- Dark-Key0
Note: I do not own Pokemon, or Gamefreak, Nintendo, majority of the characters, etc etc. I own my Oc's, and the plot.
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Chapter 1-Another Day
It was finally morning, but it didn't feel like morning yet. Although he had vaguely seen the light of the sun peeking out from his hideout, the fog which had rolled in the previous day was still too thick to make out any details. The rocks, trees, and cliffs of the shoreline he knew fairly well had been shrouded by the dense wall of moisture, making it almost impossible to see his own hand, let alone his surroundings. It would have been a perfect opportunity to sneak undetected into Mauve Town, one of the smaller towns that Team Rocket had conquered, and the closest one to Lavender Town. From there, he would be able to hopefully destabilize their influence over the town, and if Mauve Town was free, it would mean that the seafaring people would be able to fish again. It would also mean that boats could be sent outside of Kanto waters, to the more distant regions. Messages could be sent out, so that the plight of Johto and Kanto would be known, and aid could be supplied. All providing that he could enter Mauve town, and efficiently deal with the forces there.
It was morning, and yet he was stuck here, missing out on the chance to sneak to Mauve town. At the time, he had thought that he would be able to see through the fog on his own. Yet he had miscalculated the time it would take for it to naturally, and as such, he was essentially trapped. What had in the afternoon appeared to be a safe haven from being detected, was now a trick to get out of. For Jack Lazarus was hiding in an alcove near the cliffs, and for all he knew, he could take one step and go tumbling down to the boardwalk by the sea, a hundred meters beneath him. No, in order to take advantage of the fog, he would have to use his pokemon, a risk necessary to take. While one may notice the prescence of a Pokemon foreign to the region, he could only hope that the only ones to notice this mild disturbance would be the Rattata and Oddish wandering about. Pushing back his blonde (beginning to go silver) hair from his face, Jacks sighs at the weariness that seemed to never go away for him. Oh well, no reason waiting around, he thinks to himself, and from his backpack pulls out a bright white and red pokeball.
"Sabre..." Jack whispers, hesistantly aiming the pokeball away from him in fear of throwing it off the cliff. A bright beam of light briefly cuts through the fog, allowing him to momentarily catch the silhouette of his pokemon, his large, metallic suit of armour gleaming through the fog, before it once again became a shadow in the mist. It calls out to him, and in hushed tones he explained to his pokemon what to do. Jack couldn't tell if Sabre nodded to him or not, but he received his response when Sabre called out "Scciiii-zor!", and a gust of air was released, clearing away the fog around them. He could now clearly see his Scizor in the morning light, bright red suit shining, and yellow eyes staring at him intensely from his 'helmet' of sorts. Sabre's arms were posed as in preparation for another Air Slash, but Jack calls out to him to cease. The pokemon instantly let his claws fall to the sides, nodding his head slightly in understanding.
Jack could now clearly see that he had had little to worry about- the edge of the cliff was nowhere in sight, and once he quietly crept from his temporary shelter, he could clearly view the small, murky purple buildings of Mauve town through the trees. From this distance, you would never have guessed that it was a town under hostage- the tiny specks of people were moving about the streets, entering and existing buildings, and doing rather commonplace activities. No, it was not until you looked to the town borders, and you caught sight of the large, imposing concrete wall, and the swarms of dots guarding it, that you would even consider the place to be a cage of sorts. That is what Mauve town had become after all- a prison to the stragglers, or escapees, wandering along the boardwalk in hopes to sneak in, or out, of Lavender Town. It also had become the post of one of his former friends,a friend from back when he was a thug, a talented one, but still a thug. Or, so he had heard from Mace, another old friend whom he had encountered previously while creeping around Vermillion.
Now, it was simply the matter of navigating around the cliffs in such a way as to arrive at the walls of Mauve quickly, well, at least before the fog rolled away. Or course, he could call on Columbia to fly him over to the town in less than an hour. But with all her strength and speed, she was reckless, and hasty, both traits not ideal in the process of a sleathy infiltration. Furthermore, the beating of her wings might make the fog around us disappear faster than we want it to, and then we would be clear targets for the grunts in the watch towers. No, Jack would take the longer, more challenging road, in hopes that his perserverance and patience be rewarded. "C'mon, Scizor." he says quietly to his pokemon, and so he begins the trudge down the cliffs, Sabre silently following him.
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Magneta Eastridge could be a reasonable person. It wasn't like she was one to rashly run into things, without any consideration on the consequences. True, she is not one to concern herself much with other people, in fact, she could care less what other people did with their lives, but it wasn't like she was a completely heartless bitch. She just knew that she was a better coordinator/ trainer than everyone else, and was honest enough to state the facts. But I digress- Magneta was, usually a reasonable person.
However, the little kindness that she at time portrayed was quashed the moment that the Rocket Grunt commented on her hair.
He had already been irritating enough to get into her book of people she disliked, the way he just waltzed up to her and rudely started to ask questions. He was still rambling in fact, going on about how this was a 'prohibited zone' for pedestrians and how it would dangerous for a young women like me to go off on my own in a town like this. While I enjoy the compliment, I am easily half a foot taller than this excuse for a member of Team Rocket, who looks like he still should be in middle school. His greasy seaweed hair pokes out from his black cap, and beneath his black jumpsuit with the Team Rocket insignia on it (A bright red 'R'; as if that was original) his skin appears pale and sickly. The kid is tiny, a toothpick with a green marshmallow whose top has been burnt sticking out of it. And his voice! A reedy, high pitched tone, as though the boy had not yet hit puberty (Which wouldn't surprise me). "I'm sorry, Miss, but this is a prohibited area of Mauve town. It is past the Authorization Level I gates, and citizens are not permitted to pass the Level I zones without proper documentation, blah de blah de blah." I am serious, he sound just like that- eventually his voice melts away into a wiry little drone, a swarm of poorly tuned radio stations all blaring at once.
"Who has pink hair anyways? It looks like old cotton candy." he continues, his words briefly becoming coherent before returning to the drone. I briefly contemplate remarking to that statement, but I sense that my sarcasm would be lost on a little tyke such as him who dares mock me. As if he was one to talk about hair- his hair looks disgusting, even beneath that hat. I mean, it's a pile of moss drenched in bacon grease, and then left to dry on top of his head. At least she took care of her hair, although she would eventually need to cut it- the last time she did it, the results had been choppier than usual (That's what you get for cutting your hair without a mirror). But at least she, unlike some people, actually washed her hair before sticking it in her black hat so that only a few bubblegum pink strands could stick out.
"Get out of my way, boy. Unless you want me to toss your seaweed head into the ocean, I suggest that you shut your trap- save the precious few brain cells you still have so you can run errands for your boss." I snap at him, and he stops his lecture mid-rack, looking at me with bewilderment. Cabbage coloured eyes stare back at me blankly, before a tiny flame bursts inside of them. "How dare you disrespect me, a member of Team Rocket! We call the shots around here, and unless you take back that statement, I'm going to make you regret you ever said it!" the boy/ grunt cries indignantly, pointing a grubby finger at me as if to make a point. Sheesh, I thought he was bad enough, but he's a whiner too? Great... "I'm quaking with fear... what are you going to do- poke me to death with that pointer finger? Keep whining in that falsetto voice? Or, I beg you, please don't make me touch your slimy seaweed head." I deadpan, and he again stares blankly, and then after a moment of silence reacts. "You've left me no choice: it's my responsibility to keep you disrespectful citizens in your place!" he squeals, taking a few steps back while pulling out a pokeball from his belt. I step back, right hand lightly touching the closest pokeball to it attached to the belt. This is going to be such a waste of time, but at least I'll have an excuse afterwards to throw him in the ocean.
"I choose you, Rattata!" the grunt shouts, tossing the pokeball out into the street, which has become our makeshift battlefield, and out pops a small, purple rat pokemon, and I groan. Is this really my greatest challenge? Why do I even bother? I think to myself, and then throw out my pokeball. After a flash of light, an owl-like creature swoops into the air, rises up majestically, and then dives back down until it is hovering a few feet above the ground. "Hah, is that all you got- a little birdy?! Let's show them-Rattata, quick attack!" he cries, and the little pokemon shakes its head furiously before charging towards Nox. Pathetic, really. "Evade it, Nox, and then use Hypnosis!" Magneta calls, and Nox gives a quick hoot before following orders, easily dodging the small rat pokemon's attack, and then releasing golden pulses towards the Rattata, eyes glowing red. The agitated creature at first looks confused as it is surrounded by the rings of light, and then its eyes start to droop, until it falls asleep. "What?!" the boy cries, but I've already given Nox the go ahead, and with its eyes glowing still, he swoops towards the sleeping Rattata, who shudders sometimes as the life seems to be sucked right out of it. No matter how the trainer begs the pokemon to wake up, it does not, and within moments, Rattata's eyes turn into spiralling black x's, and the fainted pokemon returns to its pokeball. One down.
"Ahh, no, Rattata! Hmmph...you won't get away with this- let's show them, Ekans!" a reedy voice calls out, and out of another pokeball comes a slightly larger creature, a lavender coloured snake which hisses at Nox, glaring at us with its buttery- yellow eyes. I shake my head in disbelief. To think that a trainer of my calibre is wasting my time on a snotty kid like this, who thought he was so tough because he joined the bad guys. Ugh... what have I stooped down to?! "Nox, Psybeam." I tell him plainly, and he nods in understanding before his eyes glow once again, and from his beak a pink yellow beam spirals out, hitting the snake pokemon before the trainer can even make a command. "Hey, that's cheating! It was my turn first!" the grunt squeals, and I roll my eyes. "You should have given it a command then, instead of just standing there like a moron." I mutter back to him as his fainted pokemon returns to the ball, leaving me with one more opponent. "Make this quick kid- I might just fall asleep." I call out him, faking a yawn to emphasize my point, which causes him to fume. By now, a few of the braver citizens are watching me from their windows, a few even standing in their doors as the kid is getting pummeled. Not like I needed an audience, but whatever. After a moment of the boys blathering in surprise, his irritating voice pierces through the morning air.
"Don't think you've won this yet, I still have one more pokemon! C'mon, Magikarp!"
You have got to be kidding me.
For anyone who does not know this, Magikarp is, from the standpoint of a trainer, the weakest, lamest, most despicable excuse for a pokemon in the whole bloody universe. If there is a body of water, and you have an Old fishing rod, there is no way for you not to encounter a Magikarp. The size ranges, but I would estimate that they are all generally the size of a sleeping bag. Their bodies are orange, with weak dorsal and tail fins, big, empty eyes lacking any intelligence, and a mouth that looks like it's trying to kiss anything that comes its way. The Magikarp has only one move, and it is 'Splash', whereby it flops around and splash's its foe with a litte bit of water. It is so weak though that it does no damage at all. Also, for a swimming pokemon, it is surprisingly slow in water, to the point where a sleeping snorlax can outswim a Magikarp, anyday. The only thing that the Magikarp has going for it, is that it is so embarressingly weak and harmless, that you don't know whether to let it keep flopping madly on land, pretending as if it had a chance to survive, or to take pity, quickly bring it out of its misery, and knock it out already.
However, while I would not mind letting the useless little bugger keep flipping about like an idiot, I have better things to attend to. Like walking out of here, getting something to eat, sleep, and finding my sister. In fact, getting myself kidnapped by a proper rocket grunt would be more productive than this. At least then I could beat the grunt to a pulp and interrogate him/ her without any qualms about being too harsh. But this kid...it feels like a waste of energy to be harsh to him. "Magikarp, do something!" he cries, just as I give Noctowl the final command, and he swoops in after his target, who is feebly lying on the ground, as though breathing itself was a difficulty to it. And just like that, Noctowl slams into the besodden, bright orange fish, sending it flying off down the street, and before it even can properly land, it is brought back to its safe, comfy pokeball by a beam of red light.
The grunt stares at me, and then at his pokeball, and then back at me, shock and anger on his face. "You, you won't get away with this!" he says indignantly, and I smile at him, the expression lacking all warmth to it. "I won't? No, I think I am already, great and powerful Team Rocket Grunt. Next time you want to pick a fight, make sure you can actually put up a decent battle, smart boy. Because your tiny jabs and taunts are going to get you nothing but trouble. Like right now." I hiss, and before he knows it, I am tugging him by the ear down the street, and refuse to let him go. He cries like a piglet, but it is only after I shove him into the cold sea water that I release him. "Clean up, and go home to your mother." I tell him point blank, and with that turn my back and walk away. I can feel the eyes of the village on me, staring with various degrees of intensity, fear, relief, confusion, and surprise. I ignore it the best I can, calling for Noctowl to come back into his pokeball. If the rest of the security around here is as scanty as that demonstration implied, it seems like I'll be en route to Lavender Town before lunchtime. Magneta Eastridge, you are good.
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It didn't make sense to her- why was this happening? She had been so careful in her gathering of information. Quietly she would enter the labs whenever she was to deliver a message to the scientists, and then would creep into the archives, shift through a few folders non-chalently, and then make copies of the upcoming plots and fax them off to her friend and partner in Cinnabar. She would then delete the leftover junk files, eliminate any video footage of her prscence, and quietly creep out. She had done all the right things so that they would trust her, having always followed her orders, getting the job done. She proved her worth during those reconnaissance missions, when she mysteriously left the guards feeling weak- an ability that left many of her co-workers intimidated of her. But that's how she wanted it to be. That way no one could snoop into her business, and she wouldn't be caught in this situation. Yet here she was, in this cell underneath the Lavender town Team Rocket Base, awaiting whatever her captors would decide to do next to her.
Pushing her long, silky black eyes from her face and behind her red headband, she gazed tiredly at the door, the only door in and out of her cell. Normally she was the energetic one, the one always pumped for a new crime or scheme. Even if it was all just a facade, she could still pretend to be excited, couldn't she? But whether or not she wanted to pretend now, she simply did not have the strength to do it. All there was for her was panic, and concern. Concern as to whether her friend had received the latest bunch of data she had sent, fear of what would happen to her, and most importantly, fear to where her pokemon were. Kilala, Sakura, Flare, Aris, Spark, and her Knight! What had happened to them all, especially my wonderful Knight in shining armour? True, he was overprotective of her, but he had always hidden her when she needed to disappear with his illusions. What would she do without him to help her- what could she do without any of them?!
CLICK goes the lock on the door, and from comes a girl, not much older than myself. She dresses nearly all in black: a long sleeved, high collared shirt with dark crimson lining, which is held together by sparkling diamond buttons, along with black leggings beneath a ruffled black skirt, black buckled boots, and a swaying black cape. On her hands there are fingerless gloves,black with a flash of yellow- a symbol of a bird sown onto the fabric, as though it had been struck by lightning. Her nearly all black attire contrasts with her flawless pale skin, like ebony and snow, while her long dark brown hair falls in curly ringlets down to her waist. However, it is her eyes that truly catch my attention. The left eye appears to burn with a flame of ruby red irises, yet her right eyes almost appears to glow as it watches me through golden orbs. It is not the colour of them that frightens me though, rather the lack of emotion lying within them, as though I was staring into the eyes of a dead person.
Although my throat feels thick like cotton from fear, I swallow it and ask the girl "Well, what do you want? Here to take me to another interrogation?" I ask her, trying to sound bored by the proceedings. The girls watches me for a moment, and then lightly shakes her head no. "We know everything that we need. I am her to dispose of you." And like a reaper of sorrow and death she approaches me, and all attempts to remain calm crumble to dust. "Please! I have done nothing wrong, let me out! Take me to an admin, or someone- I know that they shall all vouc-"
A high pitched scream could be heard from throughout the basement floor, one which echoed along the dark, narrow corridors. It was the last sound that Kisara Light made before her young, childlike character was crushed.
Later, the girl with red and yellow eyes entered another room, this one being slightly more aethestically pleasing than the former. In here there were plain wooden chairs, four in total, a large, rectangular table, and a faded, thin rug on the cold floor. The concrete walls had been eggshell white, and the primary source of light came from a fluorescent light bulb hanging above her. Her guest was already inside, dressed in a red t-shirt, black vest, dark shorts, and combat boots. The guest sat lazily in one of the chairs, feet stretched out against the chair parallel to hers. She chose to stand, ignoring the indication for her to take a seat. "So what do you want?" a rugged voice asks, a coy grin on his face. "Team Rocket wishes to make use of your services, as you have previously offered." she replies automatically, as though her voice was coming through a speaker. "Ahh, which service are desired? I am multi-talented after all." "To assist in the capture of various targets." "What, you guys can't deal with a few kiddy trainers yourselves?" "The targets we would be assigning you are of a much higher calibre." From her jacket, the girl pulls out a plain manila piece of paper, and slides it across the table for him to view. He looks dubiously at the fine typed words, and then back to her.
"Four targets? Hmph, I can see why you'd be requesting for my assistance- this is a specialty of mine." "So I have heard. Then you shall take it on?" "Depends on how much your boss is willing to offer me. If you know of my skill, you know that I am very picky about my clients." he slurs, giving her an alluring half smile. Her cold, frozen gaze cut through his fake charm, and instead stated "We are willing to pay your price, whatever that may be." "10 000 000$. Half of it is given as an immeadiate deposit, and your head'll wire the other half once I've collected your targets." "Very well. We shall be in contact, then." "Indeed, I will enjoy getting into contact with you." he replies seductively, which the girl again ignores. "And your contact information is?" "Ray Ellis- ask the right people, and they'll send out the message. And you, pretty?" "That is not your concern." she replies flatly, and he pauses, mouth dropping in mock surprise. "Hmm, ouch. I imagine that's why your nicknamed the Black Rose, eh, Mrs. Cross?" "I have other business to attend to. You shall be contacted should be require your aid." the girl known as the Black Rose tells Ray curtly, and with that exits the room, skirt ruffling as she turns to leave. Yet she was just able to make out the mercenary's parting words. "Heh, and I believe that I shall be having business with you soon enough, eh, Fate? Until we meet again."
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Excellent, so the first actual Chapter is complete! I have done what I can with things, and we shall see what happens next, I suppose. The other characters shall be introduced in turn, and it is likely in the next chapter that they shall all begin to convene on each other, but its ambiguous at the moment. Credit goes to yellowgardian for Kisara Light, and Southern Jaguar 94 for Ray Ellis. Oh, and sorry for any Magikarp-bashing; I don't hate it, Magneta Eastridge does.
Let me know what you guys think. I love to hear what is good, and what I may be able to do to improve my writing.
Until next time!
clarinetti