Chapter 21
"Let's try it again," Bill sighed, rubbing his palm over his eyes. "There's a wild Venonat over there."
Felix grumbled to himself as he approached the Venonat in the small grass. "Go Bellsprout!" he shouted.
Bellsprout waddled over to the Venonat nibbling on a blade of grass. He bent his root knees and raised his leaf arms in a battle stance.
"Growth!"
Bellsprout planted his roots into the ground and instantly Bellsprout's stem body grew longer and thicker, giving him an extra six inches in stature.
The wild Venonat's eyes widened, and in response, sent out a supersonic wave. Bellsprout wobbled.
"That's okay, Bellsprout! Vine Whip!" called Felix. Bill scrunched his face.
Bellsprout looked around everywhere but at his target. Two vines shot out of his shoulders, whipped around, and smacked him across the face. He hurt himself in confusion.
"That's alright, Bellsprout, take a break! Charmander, go!" cried Felix. A red beam of light transported Bellsprout back into his Pokeball, and in a flash of white light, Charmander appeared from another ball. "Ember, now!"
Before Charmander could exhale the flames, Venonat aggressively tackled her. Startled, but still determined, Charmander shot the flames from her mouth. The fire made contact with Venonat, causing Venonat to run around in circles in pain.
"Finish it, Charmander! Ember!"
Charmander breathed another set of fireballs, putting Venonat out of its misery.
Felix looked up at Bill, anticipating approval, but Bill just shook his head.
"'That's alright, Bellsprout?' Really?" mocked Bill.
"Well, he was confused, and wasn't going to be of help if I kept him in there," muttered Felix.
"Exactly," Bill huffed. "Pathetic. And it needs to be made known to Bellsprout. He is the Pokemon. You are the master. You need to assert yourself. Tell him how disappointed you are in him and how much he has underperformed. Tell him what you expect of him next time or you'll push him harder in his conditioning exercises. Go on! Release him from his Pokeball and let him have it!"
Felix hesitated. His hand hovered over Bellsprout's Pokeball clipped to his belt.
"Don't do it, Felix," commanded Daisy.
The two boys turned their heads toward her.
"Are you questioning my methods, little girl?" Bill snarled.
"Frankly, yes," responded Daisy. "There's no need to berate your Pokemon. Encouraging them by accepting their mistakes and calmly telling them how they can be better next time is a healthier way of helping your Pokemon grow."
"Hm, yes. Tell me how that goes while you're holed up in a trench being flanked on both sides by legions of Pokemon and their trainers," Bill fired back. "Tell me how that goes when decisions have to be made in a split second when your life and the lives of your squad and Pokemon are on the line."
"I understand where you're coming from, but–"
"Your Pokemon's mind must be conditioned to handle hostile environments!" Bill interjected. "During the war, we trained our Pokemon to have first-rate stamina and mental fortitude. We trained our Pokemon no differently than our commanding officers trained us. It wasn't about love and trust. The training we received to complete our missions with no casualties, the love and trust was implied. The harshness of the training, although admittedly hard to endure emotionally, we knew it was with our best interest at heart."
Daisy took a step forward, her eyes glistening. "I get that. Really, I do. It's just that the war is over–"
"Is it?" Bill interjected again. "Sure, the Johto Empire has fallen, but look at the consequences! Kanto is in disarray! It is only a matter of time before Unova, Kalos, hell, even Galar set their sights on occupying the remnants of this once great nation! And if it isn't foreign powers, civil war will certainly be the doom of Kanto. Take a look around! War is upon us once more!"
Felix and Daisy looked at each other grimly.
"I'm sorry for everything you experienced during your service," said Daisy solemnly. "I can see you are still processing your trauma. I just believe it is time we start building emotional resilience in ourselves and our Pokemon, as well as the physical and the mental."
"You don't know what you're talking about," growled Bill, shaking his head. "I'll be damned to take advice from a little girl who has no idea what it's like. I don't even train Pokemon anymore. I collect them as a hobby now! I'm going back home to Johto to avoid the inevitable here! Why exactly did Melanie send you here? She knows this!" Bill's voice began to rise into an angry shout. "Why did she send me Bob's boy to train some stupid Bellsprout? Where even is your father, boy? Why are you here? Don't give me that 'taking down Team Rocket' nonsense! Why are you really here?!"
Bill was facing Felix now. Somewhere mid-rant he stopped talking to Daisy and seemed to be shouting to himself before turning his attention to Felix.
"My father is dead. He was murdered by Team Rocket and I suspect my mother was, too. Melanie sent me to you to help me train so that I can infiltrate Team Rocket's hideout in the Power Plant to rescue my Magnemite and Pikachu, the last family I have."
Bill paused for a moment. "Not Bob… Damn. No wonder they're after me…"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, kid. Now listen! You don't know what you're getting into! If I were you, I'd go back to Melanie and the three of you should leave the region. Get somewhere off the grid, like Alola, the Orange or even Sevii Islands if you don't want to go too far. Just get out of here! You are going to start a civil war if you don't stop meddling!"
"Good! It's about time we start fighting back!" cried Felix.
"You don't get it, kid. Team Rocket is just a band of veterans who forgot the cause and are just in it for war profiteering. They don't give a Rattata's ass about Kanto. They'll kill every last man, woman, and child in the region if it means getting funded by those who are interested in Kanto's downfall."
Frustration, confusion, reluctance, curiosity, and many more emotions permeated through the air so thick it was palpable. The pause rang for several moments, not losing any of its tension.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Daisy. "Please, tell us what you know. Our knowledge of these things is limited."
"Hm, well, you are kids after all, and probably don't have a great frame of reference for world politics," said Bill. "Let's start from the beginning. It all started when Paldea refused to continue trade with Unova. Naturally, Unova wasn't pleased with this, so they invaded them. As you know, Kanto, up until very recently, had been part of the Johto Empire, along with the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions. The invasion of Paldea affected Johto's economy and so Johto came to Paldea's defense. The war continued to drag on, Johto employing all of the military might of its territories against Unova and Kalos, Unova's biggest ally. Despite our best efforts, Johto was losing the war.
"Now this part I'm sure you're familiar with: the heinous act that crumbled the Johto Empire. Just one year ago, Unova sent five Pokemon, the likes of which I had never seen before or since, to destroy an entire city right in the heart of Johto. Soldiers… civilians… not one survivor. An entire city crumbled to the ground, destroyed in a matter of minutes. No one knows how the Pokemon got past their defenses. No one knows what those Pokemon were. But it changed the fate of the Johto Empire forever.
"As a result of that day, Johto immediately surrendered. The Emperor brought all of his military home to the motherland. He discontinued Johto's occupation of Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, leaving them to fend for themselves. Soldiers from those territories went back home to those regions, no longer associated with Johto or its military. I, being from Johto, deserted and stayed here in Kanto where I was deployed at the time. Though, I think that was a bad decision now. Unlike Hoenn and Sinnoh, Kanto has never had a strong culture or infrastructure. While the other two former Johto territories have been able to somewhat stabilize their governments, Kanto has not. That's why I've got to head back to Johto. Kanto is doomed."
"But how did Team Rocket come to be? What did you mean when you said 'they forgot the cause'?" asked Felix.
"Team Rocket's only goal is revenge. They'll tell you what they do is for the good of Kanto, to start a new, thriving Kantonian Empire. There is some truth to that goal, but they're taking it too far. They're a bunch of war criminals who just don't know when to quit. They'll stop at nothing until Unova is destroyed. For them, it's about taking control of their own fates. Fighting wars on their terms instead of for the elites who will never set foot on the battlefield. What they don't understand is that they are becoming the very thing they hate. They are no better than Unova at this point.
"Because they've been trying to recruit me, I do have some insider knowledge, but not much. Not only are they warmongering at the detriment of their own people, they're building something. That's another reason I have to leave. I'm not sure what it is, but they've been trying to recruit me as a scientist to help them complete some kind of superweapon. You know how I was able to combine myself with a Pokemon? They want my research on that technology. That's probably why they killed your dad. For his refusal to participate. My work is based on his initial research, ya know. Incredible stuff, really."
"But if they're against Unova, and Johto is just a shell of itself, where is Team Rocket getting its funding?" asked Daisy.
"That's the part that has left me flummoxed. Maybe Hoenn and Sinnoh sympathizers? I know Devon Corporation would love to see the end of Silph, and Silph has been one of the few enterprises left in Kanto that defies Team Rocket. But really, I think it's just been their free reign on the citizens of Kanto that funds them. The new Kantonian tax, if you will," replied Bill.
"If Team Rocket has become so powerful, why aren't they already in charge? Who is stopping them?" asked Felix.
"I don't know for sure. Silph, I'm sure, has plenty of connections to keep them at bay. I'm sure there are foreign spies and ambassadors keeping them from fully rising to power. But part of me believes they don't want to declare themselves the official rulers of Kanto. It brings them closer to the light, easier to be monitored both domestically and abroad. I think they prefer ruling from the shadows," Bill mused.
The three of them stood in silence for a few moments. Felix knew Unova and Johto had been at war and it having something to do with Paldea, but he had never heard why. He found it remarkable how it only took fifteen minutes of training with Bill before he was able to peel back so many layers. He sympathized with Bill. Who was he to question his methods? Daisy's idealism was nice, and more comfortable for him to put into practice, but how could her advice compete with Bill's real-world experience? It didn't seem to matter anyway. Bill didn't seem interested in training him anymore, and after hearing his story, he couldn't blame him.
"Look, Bill, I'm sorry if I upset you. I don't mean to be frustrating. I know I have a lot to learn. If you don't want to train me, fine. I don't need your or Melanie's help. I'm going to save my Pokemon even if it causes a civil war, or die trying. Thank you for your help and the history lesson. I sincerely mean it. I'm going back to tell Melanie I can't keep my promise. Come on, Daisy," said Felix.
Daisy slowly picked up her backpack and shuffled briskly to catch up to Felix, who had made his way down the small bluff.
Bill stood dumbfounded at the boy's stubbornness. "Hey! Wait!" he called out.
The two trainers stopped and looked up the trail. Bill was running down the trail and when he caught up to the trainers, he gasped to catch his breath.
"Look, I'm heading back to Johto in a week. I'll help train you everyday before I leave. I'll be honest, I only agreed to train you the first time because I thought you'd lead me to your father. After hearing your dad passed away, I really didn't want to anymore. But if you're dead set on going through with your terribly stupid plan, I'll keep helping you. It's the least I can do for your dad," said Bill.
"It's a deal," said Felix, holding out his hand.
Bill took Felix's hand and shook it. "But if I'm going to train you, we're going to do it my way."