Chapter 1: The Beginning of Something New
Walking through the automatic doors, I adjusted the Incarceration or Inc Beam on my wrist and slid my visor over my head. The trench coat I was wearing and now seeing the ship, which I'd seen at the bottom of the lake, everything seemed like it was coming back together the way it was supposed to be. My revenge would be fulfilled and I'd be helping Team Rocket the ones who let me begin over.
Looking over the ship now, in the air hangar from afar, everything there seemed like it had been before. The only thing that was different, there were Team Rocket Grunts everywhere, there also were some vehicles that weren't what I'd used before. They looked much faster than the ones I had before. I smiled.
Walking down the stairs and down onto the bottom base of the hangar, the grunts who were running around the place, hauling supplies stopped for a bot and watched as I made way to the airship. I might have been a sight for sore eyes, but dammit these people needed to get working! It was almost dusk and I was leaving as soon as the light in the sky had disappeared, there were five regions that needed to be taken care of all with 13 or more people to take care of in that region alone and that wasn't even including the G-Men yet.
Walking through the mess of crates, pallets, and vehicles going through the base, I was getting lost in a train of thought of where I was going to start. Kanto, where there were only 8 gym leaders and they shared the elite four and champion with Johto. Or could it be Hoehn where I maybe could find some old team members from Aqua and Magma, or there was the possibility of finding left over members from Team Galactic in Sinnoh.
"Ahem?" I turned around a little shocked at the intrusion on my thoughts, but I held it back quickly. The person there though wasn't impressive looking, he was a grunt, at least I think it was a he, but it could have been she the way he dressed and looked with the green hair that was longer than it should have been for a guy, a dorky hat, and some old lady gloves that went up to elbows.
"And who are you?" I asked, starting down at him. My heels giving me a little leverage over him.
"Proton mam, I'm the lead engineer that's been working on your ship and upgrading it. Giovanni sent me to show you around the ship." I stared at the little pipsqueak. He didn't look much like a lead engineer, more like an overly flamboyant grunt, who didn't like following orders.
"I would think I would know the way around my own ship. So your assistance won't be needed." I stated turning on my heel and walking away from the supposed top engineer that Team Rocket had to offer. Maybe I was getting short changed if that was their engineer, than what else did they call to around here?
Reaching the loading platform to the ship I caught a quick glance inside and saw that the vehicles along with storage containers made out of the old glass were packed neatly away in the storage bay. Hmm…this was the new beginning of the Hunter J, the new improved Hunter J.
"Excuse me…pardon me…coming through…get out of the way you stupid grunt!" A voice yelled the last part. Turning around again, I was getting annoyed of being interrupted of my plans that were spinning in my head.
"What do you want!?" I asked the man who was shoving his way through the massing crowd that was surrounding the loading dock.
"I was sent here…by Giovanni…to give you…message." He rushed out , his pants coming out ragged and shakily.
"Spit it out then you buffoon. I don't have all day!" I growled gripping the front of the man's shirt and pulling off the ground. What is with everyone seeming tiny in the Team Rocket organization?
"Giovanni said you might want you pokémon back and sent me to give to you he also wants you to…" I looked around at the gathering crowd and felt disgusted. How could such pitiful people work under people like this.
"Get back to work!" I yelled. "We leave as soon as light is gone. So get a move on!" The grunts started dissipating from the loading dock, but there were still a few hanging around, but once I sent a menacing glance their way, they quickly scampered off. "As you were saying." I directed to the scientist that was now pale and had a great deal of sweat running down his forehead.
"A…Ms. J…"
"Hunter J."
"Yes…Hunter J, here are your pokémon." The scientist reached into his lab coat and pulled out three pokéballs. I grabbed them out of his hands eagerly letting him drop to the ground with a loud thump with a moan following shortly afterward. Now no one would be able to stop me with Salamance and Drapion at my side, there was even Ariados. I smirked a little bit, but then dropped it as I looked down at the puny scientists.
"Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?" The tone of voice visibly making him shake, which sent a sense of satisfaction through me.
"Yes, Hunter J. Giovanni wants you to…" he paused to shake violently, "…to tell you that you are to keep contact with him after you capture one of the Pokémon League's operatives." I stared at him, then turned away. I didn't need to hear any more from this babbling fool.
Stepping into the ship itself now though, memories started coming back of when I'd first started becoming the bounty hunter of Sinnoh, wanted by the police and the Pokémon Rangers. Ordering around the crew to go faster, recasting pokémon that had broken out of their shells, and most of all, feeling the rush of being a pokémon bounty hunter, the adrenaline running through your veins waiting for the next high of capturing another pokémon. The walls around feeling solid, the vehicles waiting in lines on the side and then there was the stairs leading up to the main control room that was sending chills down my spine. This was home and I was going to keep it the way it was now.
Walking the stairs and finally into the main control room, I felt almost every emotion, of elation, of sorrow, and the emotion of pure raw anger that was budding inside of me. The chair still there, the little platform next to it, where the encased pokémon would stay as I talked to the clients about the payment and the pokémon themselves.
Running my hand over the chair, I sat back into it and looked around. Everything looked like it had, except now, there wasn't anyone in here running the ship, and I wasn't flying unseen and untraceable in the sky towards the next target.
Letting out a strangled breath, I felt relieved. At least that's what I was going to try to tell myself. Feeling like everything was going back to the way it was fired me up, but what I was about to embark on was a new territory all together. I wasn't hunting pokémon anymore. Now I was going after some of the most powerful trainers in the world and I was going to have to take them down with my wit, power, and my innate planning abilities that might be rivaled in all aspects. I sighed, hitting fast and hard before anyone knew what was going on was going to have to be what I was going to have to do.
"Reveling in the moment?" A scratchy voice said from behind my chair. Turning around in the chair I found that it now spun towards the door and standing in the door was the most surprising figure I'd ever seen.
"You were the last thing I expected. " I said with distaste in my mouth.
"Last time I checked, you had me encased in that mixture of gold stuff."
"A talking Meowth is quite an anominally don't you think?" I said turning back around hoping that the meowth would get a case of curiosity.
"Hey, I wouldn't be mocking if I were you. You might have ship an important mission to follow, but I hold information that you might want to hear about." The meowth said, a bit of smugness ebbing into his voice.
"Like you would anything useful to tell me."
"I know where Ash Ketchum is, or the kid with the pikachu, if that's how you refer to the twerp." The meowth said, the information about the pikachu interesting me more that I wanted it to, which made me face the meowth again.
"And how would you know where he is?" I asked. The meowth smirked.
"Me and the twerp go back long ways you hear. Been following him around most of his training career of course I'd know where the twerp is. And please call me Meowth." He said his eyes turning towards me.
"Why are you telling me this information?" I asked a little skeptically. Meowth hadn't liked me when I'd captured him, so what had been the change of heart to actually help me?
"I might just be a Meowth that works for Team Rocket, but my old partners Jessie and James gave up on Team Rocket and quit, and I want my revenge on th twerp to for letting them abandon me. That satisfying you enough?" Meowth said. "Since, I can be a valuable asset, I can talk to pokémon and humans, which gives me a distinct advantage over anyone else. I also share you same goal of revenge against the same people."
Meowth was giving very good reasons on why I should take him along with me, and I was stating feel the same aura of hate from him as me. I outstretched my arm, "I'll take you on board Meowth, since you'll probably be smarter than anyone else on board." Meowth reached out and took hold of my hand.
"You know what, I think you might be right."