The signs of change are all there. It's not just in Kanto. Not just Johto. It's not just the Indigo.

It's like the entire world is changing all of a sudden. Just look at what all the news reporters are saying on TV.

"Team Aqua launched-"

"-Lilycove Invasion-"

"Death toll is estimated-"

"Bodies are still being found-"

"Why did the Thirteen Pillars not-"

"ACE forces arrived only-"

"What about Team Magma?"

Team Aqua. Just yesterday, Team Aqua from the Hoenn region had just done one of the biggest siege ever conducted on a city in recent history. They launched a full scale attack on Lilycove without seemingly any reason at all. Every news channel I tuned into is talking about it.

The whole world is talking about it.

It is also the only thing the Rocket members are talking about. I walked into the lounge in the Celadon hideout only to find members resting there talking about it, the TV there turned on and the reporter on the news channel still reporting on the Lilycove Invasion. The Rockets in the lounge were debating if our organisation are going to do something like what Team Aqua did because we are Team Rocket, because we are the biggest terrorist organisation in the world and there's no way we should let some small time wannabe terrorists from another region upstage us.

Team Aqua had just sparked a worldwide fever for terrorists around the globe to try and emulate them, because if they did it, so can anyone else.

The world will soon be plunged into chaos if nothing is done soon.

Unsurprisingly, the default reaction of the various regional governments worldwide is to order a lockdown on their borders and to put in place emergency measures, stepping up security at wherever is needed and conducting more stringent checks. The paranoia is feeding on itself in an endless cycle. Measures that were previously considered a hard handed approach and infringe on privacy is now allowed in the name of security.

It reminds me a little of the aftermath of the 9/11 incident in my previous world. I don't have much recollection of it, but I think the exact same thing was what happened.

Team Rocket is now forced to lie low for the moment. All of our businesses, legal or not, are now being conducted very carefully. This would have been a good time to strike, to bring down Team Rocket if only I had concrete and indisputable proof that Giovanni is the true leader of Team Rocket.

Unfortunately, I don't, so I can only continue to wait.

I could opt to just reveal everything I know about Team Rocket right now and that alone can deal a lot of damage onto the organisation. So much damage that Team Rocket will never recover, but that is not what I am aiming for. Team Rocket is like a stubborn weed. If you don't uproot it immediately, it will simply grow again and be reborn anew.

I'm not giving it even a chance to rise again. I want to see Team Rocket gone. Exterminated.

For that to happen, Giovanni must go. He must be dead.

I'm an Elite Officer, so naturally some of the bolder grunts approached me and asked if we would be attempting something similar to what Team Aqua did. I simply gave some vague answers because there had been no instructions from the Executives. I cannot just assume. Heck, even the President is silent and had not been giving me orders or asking for updates. He must be currently too busy to care about me.

However, I'm willing to bet that the Lilycove Invasion is also everything the Executives are talking about right now. Team Rocket has the ability to easily take over an entire city if it ever so chooses. Doing something even bigger than the Lilycove Invasion is definitely possible.

It's just a matter of whether there is a benefit in them doing so.

"Elite Officer Plague."

The time eventually came about two weeks later, not long after Team Aqua and Team Magma were almost entirely eradicated by the Hoenn League in vindictive revenge. Weird how the Hoenn League didn't do this sooner when they obviously had the capability to search and destroy them long ago, but who am I to ask?

I have too much to handle as it already is. Another new mission.

"This is your new assignment." Executive Archer, the one in charge of the Celadon hideout, passed to me a folder. I opened it up to read the mission details and my heart dropped.

My worst fears came true.

"Sir, this…"

Archer gave me a grin, one that I will make sure to wipe it off his face someday.

"The time is right. Strike fear into the Indigo, Plague. Make people fear us. It's time for Team Rocket to remind the world who we are again. We need you, our Exterminator."


Johto National Park.

The Johto National Park's Bug Catching Contest.

That is the location of the next big performance that we will be putting up. This is not a raid. This is not a mission that conducts petty stealing or shady dealings. Archer said that the leader wants us out in the open to make a statement, proving that the Indigo is inept at protecting its citizens.

Given what little I know about Giovanni after our little heart-to-heart talk, he chose the location to be in Johto for a reason. He has something against Johto and I will find out what that is.

The National Park's Bug Catching Contest is a big event that attracts locals and tourists alike, held once every single month, once everyday for the duration of a week. Depending on the season, the variety of bug type pokemon one can find there can greatly differ.

Which also translates as a prime location for a terrorist attack if all they want is to rack up the body count. Lesson learnt from this experience is to never attend such events if I ever have the chance to live a normal life. My life is short enough as it is.

I had immediately informed the President about this attack the moment I had the chance, but given that the scheduled date of attack is just a mere two days after I was given the task by Executive Archer to bomb the National Park and capture/steal any pokemon we can find there, there is no way we can cancel the high profile week-long event in time without raising some serious questions. Doing so will also raise suspicions and Team Rocket will know for certain that there is a mole in their upper ranks.

The only choice left is to make sure that there will be STAR and Ranger forces who 'happened' to be stationed nearby and will be ready to be mobilised at a moment's notice. A large number of cops will already be there thanks to the ongoing contest, so all the President needs to do is to somehow ensure that there will 'somehow' be more manpower there that day.

I surmised that if Team Rocket's main objective for this mission is to make a statement, then all we need to do is to incite fear. Fear can be incited through many other ways other than senseless killings. In fact, not killing everyone may be more effective. I would just make this a very terrifying experience for everyone unlucky enough to be at the park that day and they would automatically spread the word for us when they escape back home with their lives intact, telling stories on how efficient and terrifying Team Rocket can be, that Team Aqua has nothing on us. I would make sure that the exit out of the park is accessible for them, but not overly so that it might raise suspicions from my Rocket superiors on my end. I have to make my reasoning sound logical and convincing to them while fulfilling my duties as a spy whose true interest is to protect Indigo.

Another absolutely difficult situation thrown at my face, but what's new? It's always mission impossible for me.

This arrangement is the only way I can think of to keep the casualties to a minimum. I will try my best on my end too without raising suspicions from the Executives and also from Giovanni, but what I can do is limited if I want to keep my cover.

I had really tried my best. I really did. Even then, there will be many who will die that day, there is no changing that. No matter what I do, the death toll will be high. Blood will stain my hands red once more because the Rocket's Executioner is needed for the job.

It's all for the greater good.

The President had ordered me to keep my cover at all costs. At this point, I am inclined to agree because I am so close to getting the evidence that I need. I will just accept whatever punishment is meted out to me to atone for my sins when it's finally time for me to go to hell.

Infiltrating the National Park was simple. All of the members involved simply waltzed in there with their casual clothes, wearing their Rocket uniform underneath and hidden from view until the time came. I myself had been sitting on a bench in the middle of the park for the past hour, watching people come and go and watching the disguised Rocket members discreetly moving to their respective positions for the big display later.

I really hope that the STAR and Ranger forces the President promised me can make it in time. Deaths will be unavoidable today, but I would like to keep the deaths of innocents to as low as possible.

Although from what I can see thus far, the President had already failed to get more cops here like he had promised. Bastard probably has another excuse for not doing so, and then justify it by saying that 'It's all for the greater good'.

Motherfucker.

"Not a lot of youngsters like to come to the park nowadays to simply hear the bugs sing for us." An elderly man with white hair and mustache combined with a beer belly commented as we shared the bench, listening to the melody sung by the various wild bug types hidden by the tall ground around us. We had been conversing with each other for the past fifteen minutes when he took a seat here to rest his weary legs.

If only he knew that I am a Rocket and what I am about to do today.

"For that to happen, it must be peaceful here."

"That it is!" The old man cackled as an aipom scampered around us in a playful manner. "You not interested in the contest? Youngsters like you always flock there to look for a scyther or a heracross!"

"No. Not really." I said as I watched the clouds floating lazily in the sky. "Not a fan of bugs."

"Not many are." The old man chuckled as he fed the aipom a few treats from the palm of his hand. "But that doesn't stop us from appreciating the songs they sing for us. It's beautiful, how pokemon and humans can coexist with each other if we put our hearts into it. Pokemon are such wonderful creatures, are they not?"

My hand went down and patted houndoom on the head, who is napping beside my feet. I can feel gengar in my shadows, also enjoying this brief moment of normalcy and peace. A small smile graced my lips.

"They are. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve them. Maybe I really don't."

"Cheer up, laddie!" The old man gave a loud pat on my shoulder and did some weird actions. "If today's the worst day of your life, then tomorrow can only get better! Come on, give me a smile!"

I cannot help but choke out a laugh at his hilarious actions.

"There, better?" The old man laughed heartily as he patted his bulging beer belly.

"A little." I admitted before looking up at the clouds again.

"A storm is coming. You better get going if you don't want to get caught in it. It's going to be huge."

"Eh?" The old man squinted his eyes as he looked up into the bright sky. "But-"

"Trust me, I work at the weather forecast department. You really need to get home now."

"Well, if you say so. Who am I to dismiss the words of a pro? I for one don't fancy the rain, don't go well with my poor old joints." The old man laughed heartily again and whistled for his aipom, who scampered back and immediately climbed onto his shoulder. "See you, lad! I hope whatever is troubling you goes away soon!"

"Thank you." I replied sincerely with a small smile on my face. At least this kind old man will live. One less life weighing down on my conscience. There is still fifteen minutes left, more than enough time for him to get out of here.

Even if it is just one, if I can reduce the body count by just one without blowing my cover, I will do whatever it takes to do so. Like this, I can sleep slightly better at night. Like this, I can increase my chance, even if it's just a little, to join Jane in heaven when it is time for me to go.

We are supposed to be a band. The Twin Js. For that to happen, we must be together, not separated by heaven and hell.

Silence returned after the old man hobbled off. Houndoom lazily jumped onto the unoccupied section of the bench and rest his head on my lap, giving me some comfort. The only sounds left are the unseen bug types singing away happily, putting up a free concert for us. That beautiful sounds will leave me soon.

"I can never get used to this. I wonder if this is a blessing or a curse."

Blessing because it means I still have a conscience somewhere deep in my muddled heart. Curse because what I had done will forever weigh on me even after I'm long gone.

Houndoom lifted his head and licked my cheek, trying to lift my spirits up.

"Thanks, bud."

The smartwatch on my wrist has a countdown timer ticking. The moment it hits zero, someone contacted me through the comms and the wireless earpiece that I am wearing crackled to life.

"Sir. We are all in position."

I look up to see the huge number of people gathered at the plaza not far from where I am, many of them are participants and spectators of the Bug Catching Contest. The organiser is now giving out the prizes to the Top 3 winners. The large number of people gathered there right now is the only reason why we had been waiting for this exact moment. It is to make sure that our attack will rack up a huge enough body count, so that we can make an effective statement.

Team Rocket is still here, watching you, and the Indigo cannot protect you

I silently sucked in a breath before giving my command.

It's all for the greater good.

I really hope this is the case.

"Do it."


Chaos. That's the only thing I see around me.

I am technically not needed here. I'm just here to supervise the entire operation and ensure that it goes smoothly since I was the one in charge of planning this whole attack. There are a few objectives Team Rocket wants to achieve in this attack on the National Park.

One, capture any wild pokemon found in the park. Two, steal any pokemon you can from any trainers you find along the way. Three, remind the world why Team Rocket is still the strongest underground power in Indigo

Objective #3 is the main priority for this attack. Hence, everything must be flashy. There must be wanton destruction. People must die. Everything must look horrifying on camera when the media arrives after this is all over. It must be picture perfect.

Bombs are the best and easiest way to do so. Sometimes, we don't even need to make them. Unstable geodudes and voltorbs did the trick and geodudes multiply by the dozen, they are easy to breed. If we need something with more oomfph, there's always gravelers and electrodes. Sometimes we may even use golems.

We had planted a lot of them at various spots of the National Park prior to the start of the attack. The cops and the Rangers patrolling the area had missed them because gengar was going around tricking their minds with Hypnosis while the grunts were doing the manual job.

I simply stood hidden at an untouched corner of the park, watching everything unfold as zoroark hid me, houndoom, and exeggutor with a cloak of illusion. If all goes well, I would not need to physically do anything, which is a good thing for the innocents.

People die the moment the Exterminator has to be called upon, so it's best if the Exterminator need not be called upon in the first place.

"Ah, shit."

I swore under my breath when a Flying Specialist somehow managed to quickly organise a counterattack with whatever trainers there are in the plaza. Then right after, she and her flying types literally carpet-bombed the entire area where a sizable group of my men were at.

She's too strong for anyone else assigned on this mission to handle. At this rate, I will definitely have to be called upon. Great, there goes my daydream of things going right for once. If I don't want to act, I might have to sound the retreat earlier than expected. I better use this short period of time to think of a convincing excuse that can fool Archer.

I facepalmed in resignation when I spotted a familiar looking aerodactyl taking down my men left and right, flying beside the Flying Specialist who is taking a ride on her pidgeot.

Must be that Ranger I met when I poached the mamoswine. She really lived through our previous encounter? What a small world.

"Sir! The Flying Spe-"

"Stop relying on me for everything. She's not even that strong, use your own head and figure it out."

I cut off whoever had requested my help. Hopefully with this, I can delay my appearance for as long as possible. I don't want to kill such a skilled and courageous trainer, it will be a pity.

The trainer who I am now certain was that Ranger I met back at Cherrygrove a few months ago dove in and out of the battlefield, saving as many as she can. If it wasn't for her, the death toll will definitely be a lot higher. Such courage and bravery are rare to find now. With each passing second, I find myself more and more reluctant to act because I am impressed by her selfless actions.

But with each passing second, it also became more and more obvious that I have to act if I want to maintain my cover.

My only consolation is that the device at the corner of the park that is supposed to block any electrical signals to go in or out of here had been secretly destroyed by an 'unknown individual' (which is actually my gengar) the moment the attack started. With this, there will definitely be someone out there who will call for help from STAR, the cops, or Rangers, whatever. At least there will be someone to save them. This is all I can do on my end.

Assuming that the President really did make sure that STAR and Rangers forces 'happened' to be stationed nearby. The amount of trust I have in him is as far as I can throw a mountain, which isn't really much. Bastard always screw my plans somehow.

In that case, I will screw my plans right back on track. Enough destruction had been caused to keep Team Rocket very happy while also low enough for Indigo's sake. Like it or not, this is the best balance I can strike right now.

I spoke to my direct subordinate through the comms. At least the Rocket's Exterminator didn't have to act. Something actually went right for once. What a miracle.

"Rainer, sound the retreat. We've accomplished what we came here to do. Make sure our stolen goods get back to base undetected and untracked. League forces will be arriving soon. No Rocket left behind must be alive. Either they escape alive or they stay dead here or we are all screwed when the League's psychics pick their minds to locate our base of operations. Should be a good enough incentive for the morons to double up and move. Make sure you do a thorough job, or your head will be the first to go."

"Roger that, Sir."

A faction of Team Rocket's Psychic Team that specialises solely in swift transport and fast retrieval began to rapidly teleport any Rockets that are still alive out of the park. Unfortunately, I know I have to act when the Ranger's crobat prevented a small group of my men from teleporting away with Mean Look. I cannot let them be captured alive. I cannot let any Team Rocket members be captured alive. Either they retreat safely with their lives intact or they remain here dead. It is still too early for anyone else not in the loop to learn more about Team Rocket. The timing is still premature.

And here I thought that I was having a good day, that something actually went right for once. I should have known that was too good to be true.

I have to act. My plans cannot be foiled.

"Exeggutor."

In the blink of an eye, I now stood on the battlefield facing the Ranger, who is looking down at me from where she is soaring with her flying types, the sun rays shining from behind her and casting a shadow on me. I looked up with my hands in my pockets, my face largely covered by the high collar shirt and large breton cap that I usually wear. My attire is slightly different from the usual Rocket grunts, a privilege for being an Elite Officer within the organisation. I stood in front of my fallen men, preventing the Ranger from arresting them.

"Rainer, hasten the retreat. I'm not accepting any objections."

"Roger that, Sir. And you?"

I looked back up in the sky at my 'fated' enemy. Seriously, what a coincidence.

There won't be anymore coincidences after I'm done with her. I need to make sure that the Rockets behind me that are still trying to retreat are able to make it out safely. As the organisation's Exterminator, this is my job. Team Rocket cannot suffer heavy losses from this operation if I want to maintain my cover and advance my own plans.

I'll apologise to the Ranger in the afterlife.

"I'll secure your retreat and clean up any mess left behind. Just hurry."

"Copy that. I'll pull the guys out ASAP. Good luck, Sir. For the glory of Team Rocket."

"For the glory of Team Rocket."

The Ranger and I stared at each other for a few seconds, assessing each other. I saw her eyes widened in realisation when she spotted houndoom beside me, fangs bared and snarling. There's no way she is going to forget about him when he had made such an impression on her by taking out her entire team alone.

Or at least that was how she saw it when under the influence of zoroark's illusionary capabilities. Zoroark had already gone into hiding, spreading a large blanket of illusion to hide the area we are at from view. Exeggutor is beside me, but there's no way the Ranger and her pokemon can see exeggutor because of zoroark's illusion at work.

All she can see now are me and houndoom. In actuality, I have more than just one pokemon fighting for me right now. She's fighting three instead of one.

Her team immediately dashed off and spread themselves out just as houndoom fired a Dark Pulse. She does display good judgements in battles, but still not good enough. A pity that I have no choice but to kill her today. She had forced my hand because she is too good in what she does.

An assortment of attacks bombarded us on all sides as her flying types streaked across the sky above us. It didn't hurt us at all thanks to the Light Screen and Reflect combo exeggutor had put up, placing us in an impenetrable barrier that keeps us safe. Of course, the only thing the Ranger will be seeing is how houndoom had somehow impossibly set up a barrier around us when his species is incapable of such a feat. She still doesn't know of exeggutor's presence right beside me. She won't know unless zoroark allows her to see him, which is never. She will never know unless she realise that there is a zoroark hiding himself under layers after layers of illusion.

Like I said, it's three instead of one. How we made her believe that she is only fighting one pokemon is because of our impeccable teamwork. Everything in our teamwork must be flawless, from the exact movement to the timing itself. Even the details must be perfect so that our secret to victory will never be uncovered. The moment when our secret is found out is when we had lost.

Dark types never fight fair. As a Dark Specialist, I must embody that very statement. A true Dark Specialist absolutely abhors the League regulated battles, because in those battles we are never allowed to fight fair. Rules never work in our favour, rules are our greatest enemy. That's why so few skilled Dark Specialists would choose to work with the League, because their rules never allow them to use their full strength.

But I'm a villain. Rules don't apply to me. Fighting dirty is what I do best because it is how I crawled my way to survival thus far. I'm no Gym Leader. A Dark Specialist will never have the kind of firepower that other Specialists boast because most dark types are born weak.

I'm not strong, but I'm dangerous. There's a difference between the two. That's why I'm one of the best Dark Specialists currently walking around in Kanto. I would know, I abused my double agent status and checked every single records the League has on every notable Dark Specialist in their history, living or dead. It doesn't matter if these people are the League's enemies or their allies. All I need is to learn from these records, whatever information that is available about them. Videos of their battles, preserved handwritten training notes, types of pokemon used, how they were used, how they were finally taken down. Everything and anything about how to handle and use dark types, I devoured them just so that I can survive and crawl my way up in this hell that is my reality.

As I soon realised, all of the truly skilled Dark Specialists share the same common trait. It's all in the realisation and mindset of what a Dark Specialist should really be.

To be a true Dark Specialist is to be dangerous, not powerful. It was through cheating, lying, fooling, tricking, and using all the dirty little tricks in our little bag that we win our battles. I had to do whatever it takes to learn all I can on how to be a true Dark Specialist, just so that I can stand here today as a one man army.

Yes, army. I don't need a super soldier with the strength of a thousand. I just need an effective and flawless army made up of weak soldiers.

I don't need a pokemon that is strong enough to take down a group of trainers by itself. I simply need an effective pokemon team whose teamwork can topple nations. Dark types are renowned for their impeccable teamwork. You can see it from how they behave in the wild, how they hunt their prey. Individually, they are too weak, but together, they are crazily dangerous.

Dark types never fight alone. To be a true Dark Specialist you need to understand this very concept. You need to understand the three basic concepts of 'weak', 'unfairness', and 'teamwork'. You need to first recognise and accept the fact that you are weak, only then can you accept that you have to fight unfairly to win, to realise that if you cannot win a fight alone, you have to be a part of a highly effective team to reach your own goals. It is why dark types in the wild tend to live in packs, not alone. Only a few species have the required strength to survive alone.

If you don't have this mindset, then no matter how hard you try, you can never be a true Dark Specialist. Oh sure, they are plenty "Dark Specialists" running around in the world, but they are just phonies. Truly skilled Dark Specialists are rare in any League because you need a twisted kind of mindset to be one. Karen, Sidney, Grimsley. In the entire Pokemon World League, among their numerous Thirteen Pillars right now, only three Dark Specialists qualify to sit in their ranks. There is a good reason why this is the case, a reason very few ever thought to think about.

It is easy to be a dark type trainer, but not everyone has the right to call themselves a Dark Specialist. The value of the word 'Specialist' had been greatly undervalued because everyone is using it, thinking that they are an expert in their fields simply by having many pokemon of a similar typing in their team.

Morons.

Anyone who calls themselves a Dark Specialist simply because they have a team of dark types are an embarrassment to our title. They always try to compensate for their firepower by adding the typical tyranitar or hydreigon. Sure, it helps to have a pokemon like that on your team, but if you cannot make such overly powerful and prideful pokemon to work as a team with your other dark types, then what's the point?

Ever wonder why even the likes of Karen, Sidney, and Grimsley hesitated on adding a pokemon like a tyranitar or a hydreigon to their team? Even when they are also dark types and possess the overwhelming firepower that many other dark types lack? This is the answer.

To date, I believed only Grimsley among the three mentioned trainers got around to make one of these prideful creatures to work flawlessly with his own team. Pride kills teamwork. To work well in a team you need to first remove your own sense of pride. The stronger species of pokemon have too much pride to truly work well in a team. They tend to be solo players, so adding them in might be detrimental instead. The team would do better without them.

Besides, why would Karen and Sidney need one of these monsters when their own team is easily more dangerous than a hundred of them combined? That's how dangerous their team of dark types are. They are also people who I had secretly learnt from when I used the Indigo's resources for my own ends, especially Karen. I had learnt a lot simply by watching all of her battles that were recorded on video, the ones that are not shown in public because she was training alone in a League facility where her team of dark types simply go crazy as one. Their teamwork is awesome.

Many times, I had fantasized that if Jane and I were ordinary trainers, without our circumstances weighing on us and simply going about on our journey, I would probably be the cranky trainer beating up any dark type trainers I can see. Simply because they had the audacity to claim that they are Dark Specialists. Jane would probably be the saner one, trying to hold me back and apologise on my behalf to those fools who had their asses beaten and she would pull on my ear and scold me after everything is said and done. I would tell her to stop it. She would say that she's not accepting any objections and continue to tell me off. The cycle would repeat endlessly.

Unfortunately, that would never happen. I killed that dream with my own two hands.

The 'upright' upbringing most trainers had will never allow them to fully understand the three basic concepts, and people wonder why most Dark Specialists ended up as villains. It's because their discriminatory rules rejected us in the first place. To force us to fight fair is akin to killing us even before the battle began. There is no true place for a Dark Specialist in an upright organisation like the Pokemon League. Jane gave her life for me so that I can earn Team Rocket's trust to be their Exterminator, but understanding dark types and their very nature was how I earned my power to truly be a good one. Team Rocket has no place for the weak. Only with power can change arrive.

Power I earned by learning from dark types. I learnt many things about life simply by observing them. I love how fitting it is for me to be a trainer of dark type pokemon. An effective army of dark type pokemon no matter how weak and broken we individually are.

Together, we are dangerous.

And fighting dirty proved to be effective. The Ranger is obviously freaking out at how houndoom did the impossible. She doesn't know that houndoom and I aren't alone, that we are playing dirty, that there will always be someone from my team backing us up from some unseen corner, waiting for the right time to strike. Fighting fair is going to be her downfall.

Taking advantage of the Ranger's confusion, I softly commanded houndoom.

"Inferno."

It will be a quick way to die. The pain won't last long. The Ranger's masquerain had set up a Water Sport upon seeing my houndoom but honestly, a Water Sport on that level might as well be useless. Maybe she just caught it? It does seem relatively untrained compared to the rest of her team. It doesn't even feel like it is part of the team.

There's no teamwork. Zero.

Unexpectedly, the Ranger decided to fight fire by making it bigger.

"Hurricane!"

A raging hurricane blew and forced the flames to spread back in my direction instead. I cannot help but mentally applaud her for her quick thinking to use my own move against me. Furthermore, her flying types are carefully flying way out of our physical reach, keeping us at a distance. It seems that they had learned from their previous encounter with us.

However, she still didn't learn enough from our previous encounter. She shouldn't have allowed the wall of flames to obscure her view of us, like how houndoom's Smog did the last time.

"Exeggutor. Time for our magic trick."

Since I'm sure that the effect of crobat's Mean Look had worn off, Exeggutor swiftly teleported the fallen grunts around us away to our Ecruteak hideout before shifting our positions to be behind the Ranger, out of sight.

Seeing that she thinks that I am still behind that wall of flames, I let hydreigon out and climbed onto his back. Weavile had also been released as he made himself unseen by hiding himself from view using hydriegon's thick fur and large body, riding on hydreigon beside me and always ready for a sneak attack like the troublemaker he is.

Even through all the chaos, the entire series of actions only took two seconds at the most. An action so ingrained in us by practicing our teamwork over and over again until we can no longer stand.

Hydreigon took off into the air with exeggutor directly below us, exeggutor is still out of sight thanks to zoroark's work.

"Finish the dragonite."

The Ranger's dragonite had proved to be a threat during both encounters, it must be taken out.

Hydreigon immediately blasted powerful beams of various attacks onto the dragonite, catching it by surprise. Our sneak attack had made the Ranger and her pokemon panic a little from what I can see from their expressions. However, the dragonite didn't fall.

Then what about this? It's time I return the favour from our previous encounter at Cherrygrove. I should let her have a taste of her own medicine for what she did to me before.

"Draco Meteor."

If she's lucky, she will still have a complete body left to bury.

I saw her flying types congregating around her, who is still riding on the pidgeot, and collectively flew to the ground to regroup. I saw a huge dome of Protect erected around them and I know this is going to be a long battle. There's no doubt that I can win, but it's going to be troublesome with how defensive she is playing this.

Maybe I really should get going by now seeing that all live Rockets are gone, leaving only the dead ones, but I'm starting to enjoy our little battle. It's been a long time since I can really enjoy one and simply cut loose.

An unexpected huge blast of Thunder that came crashing down from the skies would have done me in if it wasn't for exeggutor maintaining a constant shield of Light Screen and Reflect around us, only becoming visible when struck. Our teamwork saved our lives once again. See? This is what a team trained by a Dark Specialist can do.

Hydreigon roared a deafening cry upon seeing that attack, and I knew that he must have gave in to his bloodlust again.

I sighed as weavile cackled in amusement. Here we go again. There's no controlling hydreigon now that he is like this. He is going to rip apart our foes limb from limb and now no one will be able to stop him. Our teamwork will have to revolve around him now, like how we practiced many times before.

The girl will end up as food in his belly. What a sad way to die.

'Master Jayce? I sense incoming trainers and the trickster had also spotted them converging onto our location. I believe them to be extremely skilled. The trickster had identified one of them to be a Gym Leader from the list of high profile threats you had us memorised. Target #9.'

Gym Leader? Target #9? Must be Falkner. Violet City is not far from here after all.

I clicked my tongue as I try to see if I can use this unforeseen development to my advantage. Maybe…

If all goes well. Hurrah. Executive in no time. My plans can finally advance to their final stages. If not, it's either indefinite jail time or death by birds for me. To do or not to do?

It's obvious which course of action will be my choice.

'Have zoroark make his illusion discoverable, but don't make it too obvious. They cannot find out that it is on purpose. I have a plan. It's time to pull our joker card. Have zoroark feign defeat when caught, the League trainers tend to not give their finishing blow when their opponents are already down because of their sense of honour. Watch out for him, pull him out if it gets too dangerous. We will beat it right away if that is the case.'

'Your wish is my command.'

Hydreigon began to fire his own bombardment of attacks from his three heads as he charged recklessly into the fray, uncaring about anything else. The dragonite used this chance to finally engage us in close quarter combat by meeting us in a Dragon Rush. There is a gust of wind blowing in their favour, which I recognise to be an effect of Tailwind. The aerodactyl which used to be my victim flew up into the air before diving down at us with a Double-Edge.

Can't let that happen now.

"Your turn now, you troublemaker."

Weavile leapt off with a cackle as he met aerodactyl's charge midair with an Ice Punch, sending the aerodactyl away from us. An Air Cutter was fired at weavile by one of the flying types, but hydreigon still have enough sense of reason to protect weavile by intercepting it with a Dark Pulse. Even if my mentally unstable hydreigon didn't do so, exeggutor will immediately pick up the slack to do what he cannot.

This, is what I call teamwork. Not like how the Ranger's stupid flying types are flying around in stupid formations. That's just looking pretty. The formations are not even useful in fighting against us. At least bring up a challenge.

I gave a specific hand signal to weavile, and he immediately blew up a massive Blizzard that got all the flying types around us to keep their distance. Weavile had been using Nasty Plot to power up while he was riding on hydreigon's back with me. He hasn't been slacking around doing nothing.

'Master Jayce. The trickster had successfully fooled his captors that he had been compromised and subdued. I think he is happy that he finally has the chance to slack about.'

I focused on the mental link I have with exeggutor as I sent him my reply.

'Make sure he hides you from view while doing that. You cannot be seen.'

'He did. I am currently transparent as you can see, or couldn't see. I will be very surprised if you can see me.'

Exeggutor and his multiple personalities. Sometimes I don't even know which head I'm talking to.

'Good. Is he alright?'

'Unfortunately for me, yes. He says that he can get out of there anytime he wishes. He's just playing along right now until an opportunity presents itself. Also, a firestorm is approaching.'

A huge vortex of Fire Spin trapped us all in just as exeggutor said that, caging us all in a fiery prison with no way to see what is happening outside. I know the League reinforcements are trying to contain me without killing me. It's because of their so-called high and mighty morals, it's also because they need me alive so that they can track where all my men had disappeared to so that they can launch a counterattack. I'm the last lead they have right now.

This is their first big mistake, and I am going to capitalise on it.

Weavile landed on hydreigon's back, still laughing uncontrollably from the pleasure of punting the aerodactyl back there. The heat from the Fire Spin does not bother him, but I am a little concerned for a different reason. Whatever pokemon that used this Fire Spin is definitely very well-trained. A trainer way stronger that the Ranger had arrived and it is not Falkner, because this is not something he can do. Someone else on top of Falkner had joined the game and we are in for a big battle.

I started to cough uncontrollably, the symptoms of my sickness making themselves known again in an untimely manner. I wordlessly signalled for hydreigon to get on the ground, who is finally sober now that the sudden Fire Spin brought it back out of his mindless rage. I release my entire team, knowing that we will have to go all out to make sure we can escape alive. The only exception is Nosy, who is still dwelling in my smartwatch because that busybody is not a battler. His battles are of a different kind.

Ninetales whined in worry and nudged me gently with her head in concern upon seeing my coughing fit.

"I'm fine." I rasped out as my coughing fit starts to calm down. I pulled up my right sleeve a little, revealing the key stone embedded in a special bracelet that I wear around my wrist.

I heard someone calling Falkner's name on the outside of this wall of fire. I now have confirmation that the Gym Leader had arrived. I need him to be here so that I can pull off my joker card because I need what he has on him. If this gamble worked, there is a high chance that my plans can finally advance to the next stage.

This is no longer something which I can take lightheartedly.

Time to go all out.

"Power yourselves up however you can while we are still safe in here. Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, Curse, whatever you need. We are in for a slugfest against more than one opponent. One of them is a Gym Leader. And exeggutor, please, next time, an earlier warning would have been greatly appreciated."

'I'm offended that you think so little of my defensive capabilities. The Fire Spin didn't even touch us, did it? Did you even feel the heat?'

"It's a matter of principle." I argued back and took a stance to prepare myself for invoking Mega Evolution. My team is now around me, facing outwards in a defensive circle because we are now undoubtedly surrounded on all sides. I had trained them well in our teamwork. I only need to give my commands when I truly need to and they can immediately adapt to any situation. They have my full trust, they are the only ones who I will ever fully trust in this hell.

You cannot trust humans. Humans always lie. They are worse than pokemon in this aspect.

Houndoom trotted to my side.

Using this power will probably cut my limited lifespan down even further, but I will have to do it to get out of here alive. At least I had put on a convincing enough show to not blow my cover, although I will need to do something more if I want to reach my own personal objective.

I need something that I know only someone like a Thirteen Pillar will certainly possess. I'm about to commit daylight robbery. If I'm lucky, I'm going to have a x2 bonus.

This is going to be fun.

To be honest, this situation may be what I need. This might actually be an opportunity to finally get what I want, to be Executive. I know what I am going to do next, if I succeed, will very likely earn me a promotion.

"At the same time houndoom go mega, use your Flash Fire to suck in the flames." I instructed ninetales while the vortex of fire is still roaring around us, trapping us in. The only thing keeping us safe from it are exeggutor's barriers. "Exeggutor, tell zoroark to use the opportunity from our counterattack to identify and steal any mega stones available. I don't want a Gym Leader to go mega on us and we need those stupid marbles. We need to be able to control the flow of the battle if we want to stay alive. Everyone else, support them and stay alive. Hydreigon, do us a favour and try to stay with us. I won't accept any objections."

Without further ado, I invoke the power of Mega Evolution just as ninetales sucked the Fire Spin in. We made our sudden reappearance as our fiery prison vanished within a second. This is our element of surprise. No one would have seen this coming, because the hydreigon and weavile species are incapable of doing anything to defend me from such an attack. Defending is not their forte. They don't know that zoroark is still conscious and is still hiding exeggutor from view, who is instrumental in defending us from harm.

"Dark Pulse!"

No one was expecting me to go for such a counterattack, as evident from how all the other opposing pokemon that were surrounding us immediately scattered in a surprised manner. My eyes immediately spotted a huge number of fire types and flying types around us. The Ranger from before is now gone. In her place is the Gym Leader of Violet City, staring at me with cold eyes. There is also another Ranger in the sky, riding a charizard. He is obviously the trainer of all the fire types surrounding us right now.

I don't particularly care about the two of them. All I care about are my objective.

"Inferno!"

Mega Houndoom bathed the skies in hellfire that scorched a few of Falkner's flying types. Hydreigon and honchkrow used this opportunity to get into the air. Honchkrow took on a supportive role as she darted around, finding opportunities to pin the targets down for hydreigon to blast indiscriminately with his attacks. Weavile rode on hydreigon's back, attacking mercilessly whenever possible.

Shiftry used his fans to disperse a large ball of fire coming our way as bisharp charged ahead to meet a pyroar in combat, stopping its charge immediately. Drapion fired Toxic Spikes along our perimeter, forcing the fire types on the ground to keep their distance while drapion continues to shoot volleys of needles. She is our walking artillery responsible for providing suppressive fire on our side.

I think I vaguely recognised the unknown Ranger. He is kind of a famous hotshot within the Rangers, a member of the 1st Regiment of the Johto Ranger Force, Pyral Furnes. Someone of his position will most likely possess what I need. His presence is my x2 bonus.

Mega Evolution is not a power they can use lightly as members of the Indigo League, but a criminal like me don't have the same concerns because I am not bound to the same laws as they do. I just use this power whenever I want, whenever I need to, because I never follow the rules.

Furthermore, as a general guideline, only a mega-evolved pokemon can possibly fight on equal footing with another mega-evolved pokemon, assuming that they are approximately on the same level. When Mega Houndoom just made his appearance, I had been waiting to see where Falkner's and Pyral's eyes and hands had gone to on reflex after the surprise I sprung on them. I now know that there are only two pokemon on their side right now with mega stones from how they had reactively looked at their charizard and pidgeot. I saw how their hands had also reactively reached for their key stones hidden on them when Mega Houndoom scorched the skies with his flames.

From that alone, I can tell two things. One, both trainers are capable of using Mega Evolution. Two, only two pokemon on the other side are capable of going through that process, and I now know which two.

Jackpot.

That information is all I need. Time to pull out our joker card.

Although it seems that zoroark did not need my instructions after all. The little trickster had already stolen the Charizardite Y somehow and I had no idea how he did it. That lazy slacker never let me down before, not even once.

"Falkner! Be careful of the zoroark! It-"

It was too late as zoroark leapt off from the ground, already free of his captor's constraints long ago by using a Substitute. Falkner was forced to fly low after a particularly strong Dragon Pulse hydreigon had fired, allowing zoroark to cling himself onto the pidgeot Falkner is riding on. Perfect timing and teamwork. My pokemon had never let me down before.

A blast of a Dark Pulse later at zero distance, zoroark jumped off the pidgeot and landed back by my feet on all fours before standing on his hind legs once more. He proudly gave me the two items I had commanded him to steal with Thief when the opportunity arises.

A Charizardite Y and a Pidgeotite. These are rare to come by even if you are a trusted trainer of the Indigo League. This might be what is needed for my immediate promotion to Executive. Our joker card worked.

"Shit! Our mega stones! Don't let him get away!"

Falkner's pidgeot is still standing strong despite receiving a Dark Pulse right at its face, and the expression on Falkner's face tells me very clearly that he is now enraged. Zoroark stealing not just one, but two mega stones will definitely cause an uproar within the Indigo League. Mega Evolution is a secret that absolutely cannot be let known to the world, and I just so casually not only use it in front of the two trainers in front of me, but also deprived them of their greatest weapon.

In their eyes, what they see is that their weapons are now Team Rocket's to use, and Team Rocket definitely possess the knowledge and skill to utilise Mega Evolution, an extremely feared power whose very existence is heavily guarded. To strike fear into Indigo is one of the objectives of today's attack on the park. With this joker card move, I not only achieved my own personal objective, I also fulfilled my mission as a Rocket. My cover had been further solidified.

Someone should give me and my pokemon a round of applause. Too bad our only audiences are two very angry trainers who cannot appreciate the beauty of my performance.

The loss of two rare mega stones will be a huge hit to the Indigo League, and also a huge embarrassment for them. Conversely, the addition of the two mega stones will be beneficial to Team Rocket. Just what I need to get myself promoted.

All with a usage of Thief. It is a really handy move, although I cannot help but wonder just how did zoroark managed to steal the Charizardite Y without me seeing it in action? That slacker is getting trickier to deal with day by day.

"Close the curtains. Night Daze."

A massive pitch-black shockwave of dark energy blanketed the area as zoroark let loose a powerful Night Daze. He had obviously used the time where he had feigned capture earlier to secretly power up with a Nasty Plot. He's tricky like that.

With the Night Daze causing destruction everywhere and obscuring us from view, I whistled for my pokemon to use this chance to regroup and returned back to my side. I'm glad that they came out unscathed.

With zoroark's Night Daze still running rampant, our still invisible Exeggutor (thanks to zoroark) protected us all with his barriers as his eyes glowed strongly with power, already charging up the required psychic power to get us out of here with Teleport.

I'm in a good mood. There are a few hiccups here and there, but I am now a lot closer to my end goal. For some reason, I have a feeling that the female Ranger is why Falkner is even here in the first place. Not only do they look somewhat similar, Falkner's appearance is too swift even if Violet City is near the National Park and I doubt the President has the ability to somehow manipulate a Gym Leader to station himself here today.

If what I suspect is true, I will have to thank her the next time I see her. I'm grateful to her for her assistance. Something actually went right for once after all.

Feeling slightly mischievous today thanks to my good mood, I cannot help but imitate Giovanni by tipping my breton cap a little in the direction of the two persons standing on the side of justice as their pokemon charged towards us, determined to get the stolen items back.

They won't be fast enough. They had fought fair, but the point is I never cared about fighting fair. They should have used all means to put me down the moment they had the chance. I am a criminal, not your regular trainer.

I am a true Dark Specialist. Fighting fair against people like me gets you nowhere.

"Thank you for your kind donation, gentlemen. Adieu."

We disappeared in a Teleport.

And the curtain closes.


Name: Jayce

Official Identity: Jacob Myers

Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar

Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent

Team Rocket Identity: Elite Officer Plague

Team Rocket Rank: Elite Officer

Pokemon Team:

1. Ninetales, female

2. Exeggutor, male

3. Weavile, male

4. Honchkrow, female

5. Gengar, female

6. Houndoom, male

7. Umbreon, male

8. Hydreigon, male

9. Drapion, female

10. Zoroark, male

11. Bisharp, male

12. Shiftry, male

13. Porygon, (Nosy), genderless