Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters. I only own Lilly Revere, her mother (who will remained unnamed), and my precious laptop.

Ages: Lilly- 14

Professor Oak- 49

Giovanni- 42

2 years later…. (One week before Lilly's Birthday)

(OK! UPDATE! I couldn't figure out how to put this into the story without it being a full chapter, so I will bluntly state that Lilly has decided to begin her Pokémon journey on her 15th birthday, which is four days before Ash and Gary start theirs!)

Mid-morning rays poured in through Lilly's partially opened window, illuminating the slightly chilled room. The two occupants of the room slowly awoke, allowing the sun's rays to wake them with ease. Ryuu slowly began to swim around inside his wall-sized tank, trying to wake himself up faster. Lilly, hearing the subtle splashing of Ryuu swimming, slowly blinked her eyes opened before sitting up and stretching her arms above her head, imitating that of a feline. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the brightness, Lilly slowly looked around them room before her eyes settled on her wall clock.

'10:45am….Huh. Professor Oak usually wakes me by now…'

Lilly slowly slid out of bed before standing and stretching once more, hearing multiple bones crack near her shoulders and lower back. Strolling over to her closet, she opened both sides to the door before rummaging through it for her trademark outfit. Finding her normal maroon blouse, white hip pouch, and black army boots still clean she laid them on her bed but soon realized her black cargo pants were partially covered in mud from the day before. Huffing to herself, she pulled out a pair of dark jean shorts and laid them on the bed with the rest of her outfit before waltzing into her personal bathroom. 15 minutes later, a clean and newly dressed Lilly walked out of her bedroom with Ryuu's Pokéball in her hand. She continued down the hall and into the lab to retrieve her lab coat. As she pulled the white lab coat on, she realized that the Professor wasn't in the lab. Looking around the lab for a second, Lilly faintly heard the sound of Professor Oak's embarrassed laugh from outside. Looking out of one of the lab's many windows; she realized that Professor Oak was talking to Giovanni.

'Wait, when was Professor Oak ever friends with Giovanni….Ugh, never mind. I forgot that with me being here has messed up with the balance of things.'

Deciding that she had spent enough time spying on the two men through the window, Lilly left the main lab and walked outside.

"Good morning, Professor Oak. It's good to see you again, Giovanni."

Both men looked over and spotted Lilly standing under the eve of the Lab's front steps.

"Ah, good morning to you too, Lilly! How do you know Giovanni?"

Lilly walked down the Lab steps and joined the Professor and Giovanni on the front lawn.

"I helped him with a small Pokémon problem a couple of years ago."

Giovanni snorted, "No such thing, she rescued my Persian from drowning in a river. If it wasn't for her, I would be down a Pokémon to this very day."

Lilly's cheeks tinted a light pink as she mumbled, "Well I couldn't just let him drown…"

"Speaking of Pokémon," mumbled Giovanni as he turns to face Lilly, "Have you started your journey yet?"

Lilly shook her head, "I leave on my birthday, which in one week's time."

"Hmm…" Giovanni mumbled to himself for a few minutes before nodding to himself, "Yes that could work…"

Suddenly, Professor Oak's watch beeped. As he glanced at it, his eyes widened comically.

"Oh, I'm late! Lilly, I have a meeting in Viridian so I'm leaving you in charge of the lab. And Giovanni, you may stay as long as you wish and, if you are still here when I return, we can continue this discussion then."

Before either could respond, Oak sped off towards Viridian, leaving clouds of dust in his wake. A few minutes of silence past between the two as they were left staring after the over-enthusiastic Professor before Giovanni turned his sight on Lilly.

Lilly inwardly sighed; she was getting too old for this. It wasn't as if she believed she wouldn't have to see Giovanni ever again, she had just hoped it would be a little later in life. She closed her eyes and turned her face up towards the sun, allowing her skin to soak up the sun's rays. From near her, Giovanni lightly chuckled, "I'm still here, you know."

Lilly gave a small laugh and opened her eyes, giving Giovanni a light grin, "A girl can dream, can she?"

Soon she lost her grin and gave Giovanni a serious look, "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you wish to talk about what occurred five years ago, correct?"

Giovanni nodded, "I've done everything in my power to try and figure out how you came across the fact that I was the leader of Team Rocket and nothing adds up. Team Rocket, at the time, wasn't on the map for very long, a year at most, and all I had said about myself was that I was the gym leader of Viridian."

Lilly nodded her head in confirmation before motioning towards the lake, "Walk with me?"


Giovanni and Lilly had been walking around the edge of the lake for a few minutes while silence had fallen between the two. Giovanni was about ready to sigh out of annoyance when Lilly, herself, sighed instead.

"I have seen many things and know of more than I am comfortable with. "

Giovanni raised an eyebrow as Lilly paused to form the right words.

"First, I will answer your question. You are a very wealthy, influential man, Giovanni, and while there are others out there that could be described just the same, most, if not all, have spoken or have shown their support to bring down criminal organizations. You, on the other hand, have not, publically, shown where you stand on this matter, almost as if you were trying to stay under the radar in this matter, no?"

After running through all possible circumstances, Giovanni's eyes widened in realization that the soon-to-be 15 year old girl in front of him was correct.

"A-and you figured this out in the five seconds it took for you to reach the tree line?"

Lilly let a small smile grace her lips as she tapped the side of her nose gently.

Giovanni huffed in annoyance of how she wouldn't reveal her secret to him.

"You have spent much time and effort on your Team, Giovanni, and I know you would hate to see it all go down the drain. Team Rocket can EASILY change the world for the better by helping Pokémon instead of harming them. Have you put any consideration into what I had said?"

Giovanni sighed and nodded, "Yes, while some members bluntly said that it was a stupid idea, that I was getting weak, and up and left the Team, most of the others agreed with your words of advice. But we are still having trouble with the Police Force. While some parts of the Police believe we are doing good, others do not trust us yet and still believe we are stealing Pokémon from good, honest trainers."

Lilly thought for moment, "Have you thought of getting evidence?"

Giovanni looked over at Lilly, "How?"

Lilly shrugged, "Videos, Pictures, and Sound Recordings most likely. SHOW them what the trainer is doing to the Pokémon before you go in and take them. If you don't feel comfortable with having a Team member walk into the Police Headquarters, have a small section of Team Rocket train in the art of Stealth and have it so they deliver the evidence during the night, while everyone is asleep."

Giovanni blinked a few times before a wide grin settled over his face and he grabbed Lilly up in a hug before spinning her around in a circle.

"Lilly you are a GENIUS! Team Rocket is forever in your debt!"

"Please…air….."

Giovanni looked down at Lilly in his arms before finally realizing that she was turning blue in the face. Chuckling, he let her back onto the ground.

"From this day forth, Team Rocket shall try and change the world for the good of humanity. If it is alright with you, I wish to enlighten Team Rocket and tell them the name of the person who has helped me change my motive."

Lilly smiled and nodded, "It is alright by me. Just expect me to call you every once and awhile to update you on how I'm doing on my journey."

Giovanni placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair, earning a scowl from her, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just for that," said Lilly as she batted away Giovanni's hand, "when our time comes to battle, I'm wiping the floor with you."

"I will look forward to that battle."

By this time, they had finished making a complete lap around the lake and stopped in front of the lab. Giovanni checked his watch.

"The time has come for me to head off. Tell Samuel that I will video chat him later so that we can finish our discussion. Oh, and Lilly?"

"Hmm?"

Giovanni placed a hand firmly on her shoulder, "You will be a great trainer, I just know it."

Lilly nodded softly, "That means a lot coming from you, Giovanni. I will always remember that."

Giovanni nodded and, without another word, began walking off towards Viridian. Lilly stood there for a few minutes, contemplating his words before smiling to herself and walking back over to the lake. Releasing Ryuu from his Pokéball, he looked questionably up at his mistress who was still smiling to herself.

"Today was a good day, Ryuu, and I'm sure more are to come."

Ryuu, who still believed his mistress was in a trance like state, used his tail to splash a decent amount of water at her, causing her to splutter like crazy.

"Why you little- Get back here you crazy fish!"

Toeing off her soggy boots and shrugging off her already soaked lab coat and hip pouch, Lilly jumped into the lake after Ryuu, intent on getting her revenge.

Realizing that a game was afoot, Ryuu quickly darted underwater before surfacing and leaping out of the water and over Lilly, covering her with a spray of water.

Lilly spluttered once again before shouting, "Oh it is ON!" and diving under the water after her strangely colored Magicarp.

From a distance, a strange Pokémon with baby blue eyes could be seen sitting on a tree branch high above the tree tops, yet still covered by foliage. It watched silently as Lilly chased Ryuu around in the large pond, laughing the entire time. At one point in time, a Wartortle had approached Lilly and allowed her a ride on her back to catch up with the nimble Magicarp.

'They respect her very much…' thought the blue-eyed Pokémon as it nibbled away on a Lum Berry, 'Almost like a sister or a mother….'

The Pokémon quickly finished its berry before firmly nodding its head, 'Then it's settled. I will follow this human to see if she is worthy of being my Trainer.'

As the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, the unnamed Pokémon continued to observe Lilly from afar as she began her daily Lab tasks. When Lilly eventually finished her outside work, she returned Ryuu to his Pokéball before making her way back into the Lab, unaware of the Pokémon still watching her every move. By the time Lilly had finished all of her duties, the sun had sunken low in the sky and the Professor had only just returned. After giving Giovanni's message to Professor Oak, Lilly retired herself to her room for the evening with a cup of instant ramen and a plate of diced baby carrots. As Lilly settled herself in the recliner, located between Ryuu's massive aquarium and the window, she allowed Ryuu back into his watery home. Sighing to herself, she finished up her noodles before tossing a few of the diced carrots into Ryuu's tank, watching as they would float about halfway down the tank before disappearing into the unknown depth that was Ryuu's mouth. She continued feeding Ryuu the carrots until they were all gone. Setting the plate on her desk, Lilly turned towards Ryuu just as he burped. Lilly giggled, even if no sound was heard, a large bubble was now making its way to the surface of the tank. Lilly sighed before letting her eyes roam over her room for the past 10 years. She would miss this place that was certain. But she knew that no matter what, she would never give up on her dream, no matter what life threw her way.