Angel swore under her breath as she attempted to pull on her leggings. She'd gained a few pounds this month. A new chocolate had been released recently, and couldn't get enough of it. Sadly, it looked like she was going to have to cut back on it just a tad bit. Soon, too. Her father would be very disappointed if he found out she'd put on a few pounds so soon after losing a hundred. Not that it should really matter, as her new daily routine kept her busy enough to keep her pear-shaped physique. But her father was convinced that, with the way her sweet tooth was, it wouldn't take much to fall back into old habits.
Sometimes she found it hard to juggle all the parts of her life. With too much free time on her hands, trying to find an hour or two to take care of the family finances or travel for her assignments for Team Rocket could cause an overwhelming amount of stress on her. Her life was so very simple, made complicated by her inability to manage her own time. It was difficult for her to make even a tiny bit of time to draw or watch Pokémon in their natural habitat.
The four of them lived on the shore in Flamestryke. The rest of the island had been terraformed to be a perfect symbiosis of all eighteen Types. And so, in order to maintain the purity of the island, everyone who helped manage and maintain it, as well as anyone who came to Challenge, resided in Flamestryke. It had taken a lot of time and money to purchase and design the Blossomly Island and its one-of-a-kind layout. Within two weeks of their opening, they'd drawn dozens of tourists and three Challengers.
The entire thing was more like a Contest than a Battle. All your Pokémon could faint, and you win. You could take down all of Nanaki's with one shot, and lose. It was the way you fought with your Pokémon that mattered the most. How you utilized the terrain to make their weaknesses a strength, and how you reacted to your opponent doing the opposite.
Of their thirty Challengers so far, five were given the Symbiosis Badge. Their last Challenger, about two weeks ago, had impressed her father so much that he'd given her 10,000 Pokédollars. That was the first battle Angel had watched, and it had created a stirring within.
After the Challenger left, her father had approached her with the news that her mother was pregnant, and that in six months, he'd be taking paternity leave. He'd asked her if she would be willing to take on leadership of the Gym for those few months. The look on his face when she turned him down hurt. But it was what he mumbled after that broke her heart.
Not wanting him to shut down the Blossomly Gym, she'd reluctantly agreed, reminding him of how she was so not suited for the task. He'd told her that he understood, but he would much rather it be in her hands than in her brother's, for she was more likely to actually take care of what needed to be taken care of. It was an argument she couldn't disagree with.
She'd half wanted to bring up how badly she didn't want to do it. That she finally felt the Call, and wanted to go on her first Journey as a Trainer. But she couldn't really. Not without hurting him in two ways. The first being that he would feel like he was forcing her into the temp role. And though she'd never been good at keeping secrets or hiding things from him, her allegiance to Team Rocket was something she'd managed to hide for eight years now.
The frantic sounds of her Sylveon interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to reality. Her eyes refocused just in time to see Sylvie rush into the room, lose his footing on the new wooden floor, and slide into the dresser. Angel leapt from the edge of the bed to the foot of the dresser, scared that the force of his slide would cause the mirror to wobble off onto his head. But not only did her concern prove unwarranted, but she overshot and slammed into the dresser.
With a hiss, she grabbed ahold of her arm, and smiled as she turned to her best friend. The first thing she noticed was the intense fear in his eyes, and she felt a sinking feeling in her heart. Sylvie was quite brave for being a Naughty boy, but there was one thing that terrified him. Person, rather. And that was Giovanni.
Angel reached out and cupped Sylvie's face, moving her thumb against his cheek until he leaned his head into her hand. "Stay put. I'll take care of it." She took Sylvie's face in both hands and kissed him on the forehead. With the help of Sylvie's ribbons and a small groan, she got to her feet. After a few deep breaths in to calm herself, she headed downstairs to the foyer.
Her eyes widened as she turned to see Giovanni lounging on her couch. His Persian lay beside him. At first glance, it appeared to be asleep, but she could tell by its breathing patterns that it was only pretending. Directing her attention to Giovanni, she gave a small curtsy. "To what do I owe this…pleasure?"
Giovanni's lips curled up ever so slightly as he brought a glass of red liquid to his lips. A quick glance to the nearby cabinet said that he'd helped himself to her own Flaming Cheri. His Persian moved slightly, drawing her attention. She happened to notice some gray in its face, and she tilted her head. How old was that cat, anyway? The thing had to be pushing thirty years, if not more. "It's been a long time since we spoke. Congratulations on the new addition to the family."
She frowned, eyes turning back to him as she tried to figure out how he could have learned that when her parents had just announced it earlier today. Ah. Wait. It was most likely the talk of the island, which meant everyone at the Blossomly PokéTel would know.
Giovanni's smile fell flat at her silence. "Usually, when a person gives congratulations, the recipient thanks them. Not stares at them as if they lack the ability to form the proper response."
"I'm sorry!" She bowed her head. He would see it as submission, but what she was really doing was gathering herself. Angel hated how easily he could put her on edge. After slightly longer than necessary, she met his eyes again. "You caught me off guard. I heard such statements from you are usually followed by bad news. I was worried you had something horrible in mind for me."
He waved his hand dismissively. "Rumors about people are usually wrong. You have a brain. It's not difficult to do your own research instead of blindly following the masses. Have I ever given you a mission where you had to do something wrong?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "I digress. I have a task for you. My preferred team isn't due back for a few weeks. You're not as good as I'd like you to be for this mission, but you are one of my top Agents."
Top Agent, but not as good as he'd like her to be. That was an insulting compliment if she ever heard one, but she'd take it. The smile returned to Giovanni's when he noticed her curiosity had been aroused. Eyes still on hers, he reached down to the table with his free hand and slid a Confidential envelope she had failed to notice before across to her.
Angel picked it up and began to leaf through the dossier within as she listened to Giovanni give a more in-depth briefing.
"Surely you've heard the news of strange Pokémon appearing all over the world. Rumors say that they're stronger than normal Pokémon, and slightly crazed. The combination of which is allowing them to disrupt the habitats of natural Pokémon. There are even a few stories of skilled Gym Leaders having difficulty bringing them to heel."
She had to refrain from throwing his earlier words about rumors back in his face. Angel chose not to look at him so he wouldn't see the emotions in her eye. Instead, she continued looking over the date she'd been given. "If they are in fact so strong and dangerous, what makes you think I can help?"
"You've worked with Team Rocket for, what is it? Eight years now? Your various talents have been an asset to the organization. You have a marvelous success rate at bringing back Pokémon stolen from us, and all without drawing attention. One of your finer moments was when you convinced that Murkrow to return and continue gathering discarded items for us. The information we've been able to piece together from the various tech pieces it has brought back have helped further our understanding of Pokémon and allowed us to help them better."
Not feeling a response was necessary, Angel remained silent as she finished her perusal of the data. After putting everything back inside the envelope, she threw it in the fireplace and turned her attention back to Giovanni. The acrid smell of burning paper made her scrunch her face a bit. She almost pinched her nose to keep the smell out, but she knew that would be seen as a sign of weakness.
Giovanni set his empty glass on the table. Annoyingly, not on the coaster. But that was another thing she wouldn't dare comment upon. He steepled his fingers; his knuckles touched the bottom of his chin. "Excellent. Now that you've read over the data and blueprints I gave you, do you feel you are up for this task? The lives of dozens of Pokémon depend upon your success."
"I do. Just give me a week to—"
"Time is of the essence. You leave tomorrow night at the latest for the Kanto Region. I leave it to you to find the quickest route possible." He stood to leave, and his Persian was instantly alert and on the floor beside him. Why would it pretend to be asleep? Almost to the door, he paused and turned back to her. "I truly hope you succeed in this, Angel. It is long past time your services were put to the best use possible."
Minutes later, Angel still stood beside the table as she tried to wrap her head around what just happened. A gentle mewl sounded from the stairs, and she looked up to see Sylvie. With positivity she did not feel, she coaxed him down the stairs. Based on his hesitation, she was certain he could feel her distress. Sure enough, once he was beside her, he extended his ribbons to embrace her.
She extended her right hand to stroke his head, chuckling softly at his loud, happy purrs. "I have to leave for ten days. You're probably still scared and exhausted, but can you find Ebony and Dreamer for me? There will be some nummies in it for you."
Sylvie released his hold on Angel, spun a few times in excitement, and ran off to do as asked. It was only once he was far out of sight that Angel fell to her knees and allowed the shakes to take over. She did her best to manage her emotions as all sorts of scenarios went through her head. Angel hugged herself after another chillshake, wondering if she should have sent someone other than Sylvie. But no. If Sylvie felt she was worried it would be dangerous, there was the chance that he would act out to her dad, and then she'd never be able to leave.
Angel's hands clenched at her sides as she took several deep breaths. There was no need to be so scared about this. It could be the chance for the adventure she was looking for. If she could have her Journey before her mother gave birth, everything would work out great. Yes. This could be the start of something new.