In the mountains between Pewter City and Cerulean City hundreds, if not thousands, of humans and pokémon affiliated with Team Rocket were hard at work. Instead of their uniforms they wore camouflage, staying under the cover of the spring canopy, hiding in mountain caves or skulking through the rocks. Every now and then radios would crackle with a warning as pickets and sentries picked up something in the air or on the back trails and everyone would pause their work to hide.
Squads of trainers with psychic pokémon, their powers boosted by the enthralled pokémon from the Saffron City gym, would subtly alter the perceptions of the interlopers, trying to persuade them to move on, and if they persisted, would alter their memories instead and then send them on their way.
Everything the operation required, from heavy equipment and pallets of supplies to electronics and prefabricated structures, flowed through the mountains like chunks of food carried by a stream of ants. Ground types expanded caves and dug underground outposts as fire types hardened the earth to provide sturdy walls and floors for the humans to install their equipment.
While that was going on, in the middle of the mountain operations, Archer and Arianna were busy shouting at people over the radio. After one final exchange Archer reached over and shut the radio off with a satisfying click.
"We told them how many times to double check those measurements?" he growled before laying the side of his head in his palm.
"Not enough," Arianna sighed. "Now we've got to go back and expand that tunnel, which changes how the load is distributed, meaning we've got to rework the structural supports."
"We'll have to bring in more metal. Those new sensors that Cerulean installed will pick up more activity that we'll need to delete from the logs. Which means more chances to be discovered if they compare estimated deprecation of the sensors to actual deprecation. The entire operation could be at risk because some idiots couldn't follow instructions."
"The wear and tear on the sensors won't be noticeable until well after the operation should be complete," Arianna reassured Archer. "It's a setback, nothing more."
"It's an extra risk, right when we're on the cusp of victory," Archer muttered. "It's almost as bad as those imbeciles who didn't cover their tracks when moving those jammers in the mountains."
"It's inexcusable, but I'm surprised the Cerulean gym leaders were able to find those traces," Arianna muttered. "I would have never expected them to go out and personally inspect the site."
"Yeah, I could understand a senior gym trainer finding it, but those three gym leaders?" Archer shook his head. "I'm surprised they quit playing at being coordinators long enough to leave the city, let alone go on a wilderness trek."
"Well, in the end it shouldn't matter," Arianna went on. "The boss turned it to our advantage. It's just another hurdle that we've overcome."
"It's been nothing but fuckin' hurdles ever since we started," Archer said with a wry grin. "Nothing has gone smoothly. We've had to compensate or improvise every step of the way."
"At least we're almost there," Arianna sighed.
"Oh please, this is the easy part. Taking over the administration of the region? That's going to take ages and ages."
"Well, we won't have to be in the field for that. Plus, the rank and file will have plenty of time to take a well-deserved rest."
"They've been great, haven't they?" Archer said, his smile becoming softer. "Nary a word of complaint, even after the nightmare that was Saffron."
"Morale's been steady," Arianna leaned back in her chair. "They've been steady. And they know it's all going to pay off soon."
"From your lips to the ears of the forgotten gods," Archer responded. "Soon a new golden age for humanity will begin. Once we've acquired the Secret Fire and used it to destroy the League."
Days passed.
In the mountain forests north of Cerulean City there was a campsite under a conifer, the tent pitched under the shelter boughs of the tree. A man and a pokémon sat outside while overhead the stars turned towards dawn.
As the morning entered its darkest phase the man stood up and began to stride off, beckoning the bisharp to follow him.
The morning light teased across Ash's face and gently brought him back to awareness as the vibrations of the bus reminded him of where he was. He yawned and stretched, trying to turn in his seat, but he couldn't get comfortable enough to go back to sleep. In no small part because he had to contort himself to avoid disturbing Pikachu who was still asleep on his lap.
Giving up on sleep, Ash opened his eyes and stared out the window. While he didn't recognize any specific landmarks the general landscape of small mountains framing green plains with patches of forest was familiar enough. They were almost at Cerulean City.
He looked over to see Brock and Misty still asleep in the seats next to him. The pokéraised boy guessed that they were more used to sleeping in moving vehicles than he was. Falling asleep the previous night had been difficult and Ash was vaguely aware that his sleep had been fretful, filled with vivid and bizarre dreams that couldn't be recalled under the light of the sun.
Putting the night behind him, Ash looked up at the nearest television attached to the ceiling of the bus. There was a news show on and it looked like there was an interview with a child playing. With nothing better to do, Ash found the headphones for his seat, plugged them in, and started listening.
"Snorry wasn't a fighting pokémon," the child, a young boy with brown hair and freckles was saying. "He knew Hyper Beam, but that was pretty much it! He never used it because he wasn't very good at battling!"
The interview continued and the boy talked about his family's pokémon, a snorlax, that had been taken during Team Rocket's occupation of the city. About how his whole family had loved Snorry, about the horrible day Team Rocket had taken him from them with the threat of violence, and how his absence was still affecting them.
"I keep looking around when I want a hug to sleep, expecting to see him, but then I remember he's gone," the boy looked down. "And then I want to cry again."
Ash looked down at Pikachu with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He took the headphones out of his ear; Ash didn't want to dwell on that.
Soon they'd be making their quick stop in Cerulean City so Misty could yell at her sisters, and then he could head back to Pallet Town to visit his own family.
Ash didn't need to worry about anything.
Dawn spilled over the mountains, bathing everything in rich golden light. Streams fell through boughs to splash over the forest floor, creating collages of rich color. A gentle breeze stirred the warm air, carrying the scents of trees and flowers.
It was all a promise of a day full of possibility.
A possibility that Team Rocket intended to seize.
Some squads had been up for hours already to complete their preparations. Others rose with the sun, broke their fasts, and then began to move into position. Today was the day that they had been preparing for so long.
After today they will have finally won.
A shrill beeping accompanied the stabbing sunlight as it infiltrated the quarters of the Sensational Sisters of the Cerulean City gym, where the sisters bunked when working late and they couldn't be bothered to go back to their house. A hand reached out from under a pile of blankets on one of the three occupied beds and slammed down on a digital clock on the bed stand.
Next a blonde head stuck out, accompanied by a groan.
"It can't be morning already," Daisy whined, glaring at the sun.
"Another hour, please," Violet groaned from another bed.
"Can we just skip today?" Lily growled.
"No, we've got that thing with Giovanni today," Daisy said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes before shaking her head. "Let's get ready so we can get this over with."
"Today's gonna suck," Violet said, sitting up in bed.
"Preaching to the choir," Lily groused, rolling out of bed and onto the floor with a thump.
"Well, let's do our best to make it suck as little as possible," Daisy stated, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "So that means we prepare. Now get moving you two."
Unbeknownst to the Sensational Sisters, a bus from the coast by Pallet Town was pulling into Cerulean City just as they arrived at the outskirts of town to meet Giovanni.
The gym leader from Viridian City was pulling up in a plain unmarked vehicle, most likely a private taxi service. When Daisy caught sight of the vehicle she held a pokéball up to her face and whispered something to it.
"You do that every time we meet Giovanni," Violet remarked, glancing over at her sister.
"What, is it some sort of good luck charm?" Lily asked.
"Something like that," Daisy said flatly, putting the pokéball away. "Come on, let's go greet our guest."
They walked out onto the street corner where the plain vehicle was coming to a stop. The passenger side door opened and out stepped Giovanni wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.
"Is that supposed to be a disguise?" Daisy muttered.
"Maybe he's being funny?" Violet suggested.
"Outside of a little banter I don't think he has a sense of humor," Lily grumbled.
"It's probably supposed to be a subtle insult," Daisy said quietly, before forcing her face into a pleasant expression. "Welcome to Cerulean City," she said in a loud clear voice.
"Thanks for meeting me," Giovanni said. "I trust that this is still a good time?"
"We cleared out our schedule weeks ago and nothing's come up," Lily answered, also politely smiling.
"I'm glad that you had no pressing gym business to attend to," Giovanni returned her smile.
Daisy tried not to grit her teeth.
"Well, we do prioritize community involvement here at the Cerulean Gym," Daisy forcefully kept up her pleasant facade. "But we wanted to make sure there was no danger to the community at this time, so we cleared our schedules."
Giovanni hummed noncommittally and then said, "Is that the term for what you do here? I was unaware."
"I'm well aware that the Viridian City Gym likes to keep its distance from the municipality hosting it and I'm sure that the policy was implemented for valid reasons," Daisy said, keeping the smile plastered on her face. "But we prefer to be engaged with the city."
The tips of Giovanni's mouth quirked downwards for a split second and his gaze rested on Daisy's face for a moment.
"I find that both the city and the gym are more efficient when they are as decoupled from one another as practically possible," Giovanni stated. "There's no need to get in each other's way."
"I find that community engagement doesn't necessitate coupling municipal and gym operations," Daisy replied, starting to walk. "You understand how the relationship of a gym to the community is much different than that of a city council, but that doesn't mean we can sit apart from either. After all, the municipal government and the gym serve the same community in different ways. Community involvement and engagement helps us to understand and address the needs of the city as it relates to the function of a gym and it acts as a lubricant when dealing with municipal authorities."
Her sisters were following her and Daisy only spared a brief glance back to confirm that Giovanni was also following. She mentally congratulated herself on all the preparation she had done for this meeting, so that she wouldn't get caught flatfooted and so she could remain professional.
Her preoccupation was one explanation for why she didn't notice Giovanni slip a pokéball into his hand, though it was a hidden gesture, subtle and quick so that anyone would have probably missed it.
But Daisy did hear the sound of a pokémon being released.
There was a rush of movement before spikes of rock shot out of the earth, seeking the hearts of the sisters.
Digging pokémon burst through the earth on the outskirts of Cerulean City, followed closely by men and women in the uniform of Team Rocket. The ground was ablaze with white light as they released their pokémon.
Engines rumbled in the mountains and foothills, accompanied by the loud stomps and cries of large pokémon with groups of team rocket upon their backs, as yet more members of Team Rocket came streaming down from the highlands.
Armored vehicles came down the roads, flanked by large pokémon, while any of the inhabitants of the city who were out in the open could only stare on with horror or run for their lives.
Team Rocket flowed into Cerulean City.
AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading this.
The next chapter will be released on 11/1/2023
Don't forget to review! Concrit is welcome!