"Iron Tail!"

"Rock Smash!"

A loud banging sound echoed through the air, causing the trees to shake before another collision occurred. Wild Pokemon watched in awe as a Chansey fended itself against an Onix, the Egg Pokemon's strikes able to hold weight against the Rock Snake's tail. After a few more clashes, the Normal type resorted to using Water Pulse which was able to knock back its opponent before a clap sounded through the air, stopping the two combatants.

"Nice! Let's call it a day for now! I have to say that I'm very impressed with your prowess, Yellow." Brock stated with a smile beside his Onix, patting the Pokemon. On the other side of the field was Yellow, dressed in a purple tank top and black tights, who fell to the ground, exhausted while her Chansey wobbled next to her and pat her head. "Thanks, Chansey!"

Turning to Brock who was spraying a Hyper Potion to his Onix, she took out some Pokefood and he gave it to her Pokemon, turning to the gym leader. "Thanks for the training, Brock! I really appreciate you taking the time to do this!"

"It's no problem, kid. To be honest, you're helping me keep my skills sharp." The man smiled, spraying a Potion on her Pokemon. She looked at him in confusion. "Why?"

Upon hearing that, the man gestured her to sit down taking out a bottle of water before he wore a serious expression. "You saw the news about Lavender Town, right? With Team Rocket?"

"Oh. Yeah…" Yellow looked at the sky, remembered the news report about the last Team Rocket attack on Lavender Tower and the damage they did to the town. "It was horrible. Especially with what they did to the wild Pokemon that were found in their bags. I knew they were ruthless but this…this is inhumane…"

"They're cruel as the rumors said." He sighed while scratching his hair. "That's why I'm training. I have to protect my city. I'm not the only one either. Misty hasn't been in her gym for a few days now."

Yellow nodded, remembering that the Cerulean gym was closed while she was in the city. After lunch, she watched her Pokemon playing with a concerned expression which Brock noticed. "What's the matter, Yellow?"

"I'm just thinking…have I become stronger? I don't feel like I'm stronger."

Hearing her, he looked to the sky with a smile before sighing, scratching his hair. 'She really needs to work on her self-confidence.'

"Yellow." He turned to her with a serious expression. "You have been training relentlessly for the last few days with my strongest Pokemon and you have been able to hold your own and keep up with them. Kid, you have made remarkable progress."

Brock then returned his Pokemon and packed up his utensils, still speaking with the blonde. "Have more confidence in yourself. Your defense game is amazing though. A little more work and you will be basically impenetrable."

Yellow looked at the ground, about to say something but was interrupted. "You won't just get your battle style out of the woodworks immediately. You will have to learn as you go. Take every battle and challenge as experience. And before you say it, even Blue and Red, as skilled as they are, their battle style has flaws. Red pays too much attention on observing his opponent to the point that it can take him down in a battle. Leaf's very standard and aggressive but tends to not put any flair or thought with her decisions. Blue is too focused on overpowering his opponent as much as possible."

Hearing his analysis, Chuchu came out of her ball and lands on Yellow's lap as the girl leaned to a tree, deep in thought. "Who can help me with my battle style?"

"Well, when it comes to defense, I have taught you how much I can. The fighting style that you have is a bit more passive than what I'm used to." Brock commented, thinking before he snapped his fingers. "I know! If it's about status effects, your best bet is Koga. For healing or energy draining strategies, Erika's your girl. Those two are known to be huge roadblocks to trainers. Then again, once you pass Misty and Surge, you're gonna have a heap of trouble."

Yellow was slightly unnerved by the information but Brock simply laughed. "Don't worry, us Gym Leaders aren't only here to be to provide you a challenging match; we're also here to train you guys to be better."

"That's not what it seems with Misty and Surge." The blonde muttered, her Pokemon nodding.

The man grinned. "Yeah…some of us take the job seriously. Misty's always competitive. She thinks it will bring the best out of her foes. Trust me, on her off days, she's surprisingly mellow. A sharp tongue but…mellow. Lt. Surge on the other hand, was always intimidating but deep down, that how he shows his respect to challenger. You should see the man around his little sister."

"I understand. I'll need to go to Celadon City then." Yellow said with a newfound courage which made Brock smiled before he put a hand on her shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about. Never give up. I expect to see you taking on the League very soon."

Leaving the forest, the two went their separate ways, the blonde taking the rest of her day to relax and prepare for her trip to Celadon City. After enjoying a good night rest, Yellow was about to get ready until an explosion shook the area; this caused the blonde to run outside only to see many building on fire, some of the residents trying to douse out the flames with their Pokemon.

"Where's the police?"

"They're not gonna be here for a while!"

"Help! My baby, she's stuck in the house!"

"Ahhh, it burns!"

Looking around in panic while traversing the streets, Yellow could only hear the screams of the civilians and the sound of the buildings burning. Tears slowly flowed from her eyes while she ran through the streets, seeing Brock's Pokemon saving civilians. 'It should be fine, right? Brock's got this, right? The police should be here, they can help. Right?!'

She was scared, downright terrified but she needed to get herself together and for that, she will need to act. Running forward to an alley filled with nothing but burning houses, she gripped a capsule and sent out Seadra.

"Seadra, Bubble Vortex!" Yellow commanded, her Pokemon letting out a barrage of bubbles before using Twister which absorbed the Bubble Beam the winds along with the bubbles dousing the flame but not as much as she wanted. 'It's not enough. I need to up it a notch.'

Releasing Chansey, she ordered it to use Water Pulse which made the tornado stronger, making it able to extinguishing the fire much faster. As she continued doing this and saving people, everyone cheered her on while some assisted her with rescuing the trapped civilians.

"Thanks for the help, girlie! Quick, let's get them out!"

"Give her a hand, anyone with Rain Dance! Use it now!"

After a while, the police arrived, one of the officers went on their Staraptor, surveying the rest of the city which made him click his teeth in frustration. Once he landed, he looked at everyone before he spoke. "The situation is much more serious than we thought."

After the officers spoke with each other along with asking help from the trainers, Yellow heard explosions which made her releasing Ponyta, hopping on its back before it sprints further into the city. For a while, she travelled towards the Pewter gym, worried for the wellbeing of Brock. "Please be ok. Please don't be dead."

When she passed the Pewter Museum, an explosion erupted from the place, sending her and her Pokemon to the ground before she felt the ground shake, seeing Onix on the ground with a bloodied Brock beside it. Seeing her, the man wore a shocked expression before he snapped out of it and spray a Hyper Potion on his Pokemon. "What are you doing here? You need to go!"

"Wait! What do you mean? What's happening?" Yellow said worriedly.

"There's no time. Go now! You're gonna ge-" He was interrupted by an explosion, the shockwave sending them a few meters, snapping their attention towards the entrance, seeing four silhouettes. "Brothers assemble!"

"I'm Uno! Nice to kill you!" The Rocket grunt in a blue mask said, his hands on his hips.

"Dos is my name!" The yellow one shouted.

"Hmm, I see. Then Tres, I am." The grunt in the purple silently stated.

"Greetings! Cuatro is here!" The grey masked Rocket member whisper shouted at Yellow and Brock.

"And together, we're the Rocket Brothers!" They posed together, their outrageous performance surprising Yellow before Brock pulled her down, a boulder flying over their heads which was quickly destroyed by Onix. Before she could register what was happening, the gym leader had to order his Pokemon to stop Machoke with a Dragon Breath, much to their assailants' surprise. Taking advantage of the situation, the blonde silently released a Pokeball but kept her guard while she quietly thinks her next move.

"Bullet Punch! / Flame Charge!"

Machoke sprinted forward, its fists coated in steel as it let out a flurry of punches at Ponyta who was able to block them with its flame covered hooves. Being pushed back, the two dashed forward again, this time the horse won the confrontation when it landed a kick which sent the Fighting type tumbling back into an Iron Tail from Onix which slammed it into the ground. Seeing the Pokemon unconscious, the men looked at each other before the one in the grey returned it, petting the Pokeball.

"You did well. We'll show them next time."

This action earned a look of confusion from Yellow before she pushed back her thoughts when all of the grunts threw out their Pokemon, sending out a Rhydon, Golbat, Magneton and Arbok. Facing the four, she released her Ivysaur and called Chuchu to the battle while Brock sent out his Golem.

"Golbat, take the skies and use Air Cutter!" Uno stated, his Pokemon flew into the sky before it released a barrage of blades. Using Iron Tail, Onix blocked the attack before slamming it on the ground which created a shockwave that knocked their opponents off balance. Not missing a beat, Yellow commanded Ivysaur to use Seed Bomb which secured a hit on Magneton that sent it into a building. Before she could state her next move, a huge bolt of lightning appeared from the rubble coming her way until the blast bent towards Chuchu who absorbed it, the mouse giggling while rubbing her cheeks.

"What the?" Uno said flabbergasted before Ivysaur shot another wave of Seed Bomb at Magneton, the move this time barely doing nothing to the Steel type.

"Woah! C'mon, c'mon, you gotta try harder than that if you want to hurt my Ion!" Dos said, making a thinking pose then dashing forward with a bat, Magneton following behind with its body crackling with lightning. Before he could make a command, his Pokemon was smacked aside by Onix who turned to attack him but was intercepted by Arbok, its Aqua Tail clashing with the rock snake's Iron Tail. "Thank you, my brother!"

"No problem, it is. Take them down, you must." Tres said before paying attention to his battle against Brock who was able to push back the purple cobra. The yellow masked grunt nodded before he ran forward. "Got it! Let's go, Ion!"

"Hidden Power, Chuchu!" Chuchu jumped into the air, its tail glowing white before swinging it around and sending out a white arc of energy that transformed into a water blade that hit the magnet which sent it into the ground, much to Brock's elation. "Right where I want you…Golem, Earthquake!"

Golem stomps the floor, trapping Magneton before the Rock type retreated into its shell and used Stone Edge which made its shell glow, spikes coming out until it started rolling towards the group.

"Dino, hold it back." Cuatro stated while Golem rolled up a ramp and was about to fall on them, his Rhydon quickly able to intercept and hold back the Megaton Pokemon.

"Good job, Dino. Now, Hammer Arm please." The grey rhino's arm glowed, about to strike its opponent but was rewarded with failure when he heard a clanging sound, much to its trainer's confusion. Before he could do anything, his Pokemon was attacked by a vicious tornado of bubbles until Chuchu hopped on its head, a huge sphere in its hands which it slammed onto the Pokemon's face. Not missing a beat, it jumped off and unleashed a Discharge towards Golbat's direction, the move about to hit until it curved back and hitting Rhydon's horn.

"Alright…" Cuatro grinned, his Pokemon brimming energy as the electricity coursed through its body before two orbs of lightning formed in its hands. "Shock Wave!"

Unleashing the move, none of them expected for the attack to be absorbed by Chuchu before Brock commanded Onix to hit the ground, creating up a dust cloud which blinded their opponents. Upon Yellow's commands, her Ivysaur used Growth before using Seed Bomb which pelted its opponents which made them unable to retaliate until Brock followed, his Onix knocking away Arbok before using a Dragon Breath, paralyzing them.

"Damn it!"

"Stronger than expected, they are."

The Rocket Brothers were about to retaliate but lost their chance when Brock's Golem used Earthquake which defeated all their Pokemon. "Oh no! Our Pokemon!"

Releasing a sigh of relief, Yellow was about to celebrate before she started feeling drowsy, looking around in panic to see that her Pokemon and Brock was feeling the same. 'What's happening?'

Observing the place in a quickly manner, she then noticed something in the crowd, her eyes widening when she spots a yellow Pokemon in the distance holding a pendulum. Noticing her, the Pokemon was about to charge an attack but she beat it to the punch when she pointed at its direction. "Seadra, Bubble Beam!"

Within seconds, Seadra turned around and immediately launched a barrage of bubbles at the Pokemon that she recognizes as Hypno directly in the gut. Not turning, Brock snaps his fingers which made his Golem bounced off the ground at an astonishing speed before landing a heavy strike to the Psychic that knocked it unconscious.

"Phew, that was a scare." Yellow sighed in relief, feeling the drowsiness leave her before she helped Brock tying up all the grunts they could find. Suddenly Chuchu ears start twitching, the mouse looking around which caught the attention of its trainer who questioned the Pokemon. "Chuchu, are you o-"

"Greetings, citizens of Pewter City! I hope that you enjoy your victory for now buuuuut that's boooring. No effort! No development. Soooooo…" A voice echoed throughout the city, everyone searching for it but to no avail.

"Where is that voice coming from?"

"I don't know. I'm scared…"

"Mommy, what's happening? Is someone talking to me?"

Amongst the confusion, Brock starts inspecting the place carefully, jumping on his Onix to have an overhead view of the city but he could not find anything strange, much to his dismay.

"I want to play a game! You know, there's nothing better to do on a boring day thaaan. You guess it! A quiz! However it has a twist." Upon hearing that, Yellow had a bad feeling, clutching her chest while searching the place until she found something that made her heart stop. "O-oh no. Oh nononono!"

"It seems one of you have seen what I have planned. Well, no matter. Explanation time! I have six explosives hiding around the city. Easy, right? But hear this. For every ten minutes you fail to find one, one will go off. So you have to be quick and smart. Oh, isn't that exciting?!"

In the midst of the panic from the Pewter City people, Brock tries his best to stay calm as he observed the area, an idea coming to his head before he turned to Yellow who seemed stunned. "Yellow, I'm going to need you to buy some time. I'm going to the gym to get something to help us."

Turning to him, the blonde was about to protest but stopped as she notices an unwavering expression on his face which made her lower her gaze. She was never used to being the leader, that was always Blue. He was always the leader. It's in his genes. She was about to open her mouth but she remembered something that made her calm down and take a deep breath.

Getting a nod from the blonde, Brock continued. "I have a plan but I'm going to need for you to work with the police and the trainers to find the first couple explosives. There is a Pokemon I have that can help us with finding them. Man, what a time not to have her."

"But-"

"Yellow." Interrupted by the calm tone of Brock's voice, she stopped before she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to make all that training that you did? What you and your Pokemon went through go to waste?"

The blonde girl descended her gaze, the gym leader cleared his throat which snapped her back to reality. "You can also be strong. I believe in you. You have my badge after all. The badge of courage."

She then gripped her bag, Chuchu on her shoulder as she nodded and looked at him which made the man proud as he watch confidence sparkle from her eyes. "Yellow, I'm counting on you. Alright, I need to go quickly."

Approaching the people and ignoring the loud beating of her heart, she took a deep breath before she poked one of the officers, her nervousness grew when she got his attention. 'Man, this is different without Blue with me.'

"B-B-Brock said that we should g-give him time and l-look for the explosives." She started stuttering, gripping her bag strap and fiddling her fingers.

"Don't worry, kid. I heard everything." The man smiled before he made an announcement to everyone while Yellow letting out a huge sigh, Chuchu patting her cheek. 'That was tiring. Now to check for the bombs.'

Searching around the place for a couple of minutes along with some other trainers and officers, Yellow was able to find something out of place, about to inspect the device until she heard a ringing sound in her head, the voice once again popping in her head.

"Ding-ding-ding! Time's up, everyone. The first ten minutes are gone and you know what that means…"

"Pop goes the weasel!" As those words were said, Yellow could barely react when an explosion occurred, sending her back into a light post which the collision knocked the wind out of her. Regaining consciousness and rubbing her aching back, she witnessed the destruction made by the explosion, barely able to make out a sphere like Pokemon that disappeared into thin air. "Owwwww…what was that?"

"Ka-boom! There goes the first bomb, guys! How was it? Did you get it right? Did you get it wrong? Well, don't worry, we have others!" The voice stated, pure excitement oozing from it despite the sheer violence and brutality of the game which unnerved the young blonde. 'What's his problem? This game is hurting people.'

Barely able to get up and searching through the city on her Ponyta, she was able to help a few people from the rubble, one of them being an old lady while hearing the taunts from the voice.

'Who would play with people's lives like this? Without a single care in the world?' She thought before her attention cut off when another explosion let off, screams filling the air which she tried her best to save as much people as she possibly could despite the growing pit of discomfort she felt from seeing blood and broken limbs of some of those people. 'This is cruel.'

After a few more explosions, some able to be easily avoided, Yellow started panting, her exhaustion, both physically and mentally, taking the best of her as she sat down to take a break. "How does…the heroes in novel and movies…do this…so easily? This is…so hard."

"Yellow, to your right!" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts, Ponyta quickly grabbing her and running which made her narrowly avoid a bomb, her Pokemon able to outrun the blast thanks to Agility. She looked to the left to see a familiar face that made her let out a small smile.

"Attention, people of Pewter City!" Brock loudly announced to the population of Pewter City which got the attention as the man revealed a Pokemon gripping onto his pants with an unbothered expression. "Thanks for holding on as long as you can. It must have been hard but now, I have a plan! This is Croagunk! She can sense the bombs around the city for us! We don't have time on our side so let's work together and take out all the bombs!"

Soon as he finished, the gym leader immediately got to work, commanding his Onix to slap away one of the Electrode and his Golem to take down another which made everyone come to a realization. "Those spheres. Are those…"

"So it was an Electrode." Yellow finished before she saw his Croagunk shaking uncontrollably then pointing towards the Pokemon Center, shooting a Poison Sting at something that moved, everyone seeing an Electrode rolling out of the bush in pain. The trainers near it then ordered their Pokemon to attack it who quickly defeated the Electric type before it could explode. Once it was done, the Pokemon disappeared before a ringing sound was made, everyone hearing the voice in their heads again.

"Wow! Good job, gu-"

"Let's get the others, Croagunk!" Brock said, his Croagunk jumped into the air and spun around, shooting the purple needles at various places, everyone rushing to those places to take out the bombs, much to the dismay of the voice.

"No, wait! C'mon, guys! That's unfair!"

Everyone ignored the voice as they attacked the Electrode, the voice once showing excitement now oozing with anger and disappointment. One of the needles hit a bomb near Yellow, the girl turning to see two children trapped in rubble near it which made her eyes widen in fear as the ball slowly rolled towards them. 'Oh Nononononono!'

"Chuchu! Hidden Power and use Discharge to make it faster!" Upon her shout, Chuchu started crackling with electricity before it spun around and shot a huge ball of water, using Discharge to shoot the sphere as it rocketed across the children and hitting Electrode, making it fly into the air until it immediately exploded. Instinctively dashing towards the two kids, Yellow shielded them from the blast which made her yell in pain when she felt her back being pelted by the flying debris.

'C'mon, just a little longer.' She endured the attack, tears prickling from her eyes until Ponyta went in front of her using its flames to protect them. After a while, a couple other explosions followed until a ringing sound resonated through the air causing everyone to start cheering.

"We did it! Finally!"

"That was sooo terrifying…"

Midst the cheers, the voice came out which interrupted them as it spoke. "Congratulations…you have finished the quiz-Who am I kidding? You all don't care. I'm leaving."

As everyone continued applauding when the voice stopped, Yellow releases out an exhausted sigh while watching the police and firemen cleared the fires and rubble amongst the streets.

"Finally…it's over…" The blonde smiled weakly, the two kids she saved calling for help along with her Pokemon as she slowly lost consciousness. "…finally…over…"

"H-huuuuhh?"

Yellow woke up to blinding light, her eyes clenched shut as she clutched her head in pain and rubbing her temples. "Uhhh…what happened?"

"You're awake!"

She turned to her left, seeing Brock beside her bed, fiddling with an Ultra Ball in his hand. Seeing a thumbs up from the gym leader, she quickly looked out the window to see parts of the city being under construction, some of the workers being assisted by Brock's Pokemon. "So everything's ok?"

"Yep! Nice going!" He said, standing up and throwing the ball at her which she barely caught. When she was about to look at the ball, she felt a hand on her head, seeing the huge smile from the gym leader. "I'm very proud of you, Yellow. You will become strong. Just keep that courage from yesterday and you'll go far."

"Think of it as thanks for the help." Brock said, his Croagunk giving him a menacing glare when he locked eyes with Nurse Joy which made him clear his throat and leave the room. Seeing other injured people in the room alongside her, Yellow's eyes glistened while she lets the nurse check on her wounds. "Why would they go so far for this? This was all pointless."

"Greed maybe. World Domination? Money? Probably more. They stole a huge amount of fossils and rocks that we collected from our last excavation." Brock answered with his fingers on his chin, Nurse Joy's expression softened as she checks Yellow's wounds.

"But…still…"

"You wouldn't understand. Honestly, I don't think anyone understand what their goals are. They want something and we may need to find out what that is."

"Well, you're A-OK, Yellow! You can go today if you want." Nurse Joy beamed, giving the girl her clothes then attending to the rest of the patients. Yellow worded a 'thank you' before getting herself ready as she was informed by Nurse Joy to take the rest of the week off to rest to get her body back to be fit for traveling. After exiting the hospital, she met with Brock outside who was speaking with a few scientists from the Pewter Museum before he turned to her, a smile on his face. "I'll talk to you later. Hope you enjoy your little gift! I know you'll love it."

Yellow nodded, rushing back to her room in order to find out what Pokemon was she given. Once she got everything sorted out, she released the Pokemon, her eyes widening when she saw it.

"No…way…"

After a few days, Pewter City started looking better, the population returning to their daily routines with a difference being one of many rules being sent out by the Kanto Pokemon League and the Police Force in response to the frequent attacks from Team Rocket; one of these rules being for in every household, at least one person must have strong Pokemon. According to the Pokemon League, this should help to lessen the damage from attacks as well as deaths until police arrives.

Waking up early and packing her things, Yellow sported a surprised expression once she got outside, seeing the city with barely no damage despite the recent attack. "Wow! It looks as good as new. Almost like nothing happened a while back."

She then made her way to the Gym, seeing that the Pewter Museum was closed along the way, police officers and detectives surrounding the place. When she entered the familiar building, she saw the last few minutes of a gym battle, the match ending with Brock's Amaura beating a youngster's Butterfree. The young boy fumed, stomping the ground before he returned his Pokemon and ran out. "I'll get you next time!"

"Remember what I said. A good defense is a good offense!" The gym leader shouted before he patted his Pokemon who let out a small giggle. Turning to Yellow, the man smiled. "Ah, Yellow! Glad to see you're up and walking. So, is it the same as usual today?"

"N-no. I was planning to take your advice. So I-I'm heading to Celadon. I wanted to say…thank you. Thank you for everything." She bowed awkwardly which made Brock scratch the back of his head then sighing. "Lift your head, Yellow. Please. I'm just doing my job. Now get outta here and break a leg."

Smiling and nodding, Yellow left the building and then the city, preparing herself for her journey to Celadon with Chuchu on her shoulder. As she ventured down her path and defeated some trainers quite easily, her thoughts went to a certain spiky haired brunette after she defeated an Ace Trainer's Raticate.

'I'll show you who's weak!'

"How is the project, professor?"

"Here is the latest updates on project Meta, Giovanni sir." A scientist stated while showing various rooms where people are conducting research, the smile on his boss' face growing bigger at one room in particular which held a huge machine with liquids in them which are connected to a cube that is at the center of the room. The man listened to the explanation from the scientist until he looked at the center room with a frown. "It is good that we're making progress but I expected the project to be 50% finished. Is Silph not keeping their end of the deal with the funding?"

"No! They are, boss. It's just that the materials that we have on our end are…lacking. The failures done from our previous missi-"

"Failures?!" Giovanni erupted, his voice causing some of the scientists to stop their work. Despite being taken aback by the shout, the scientist cleared his throat and answered. "Y-y-yes, sir. Failures. Due to the performance of the last few missions, we were unable to retrieve the adequate minerals needed to reach our goal in this project."

The explanation angered the man, causing him to glare at his secretary, demanding an explanation. "What does he mean not enough?!"

The woman was about to explain but she was interrupted by the scientist who had a hint of fear in his voice. "I-If I may, if you could look at the rooms, you can see that we were able to extract the precious metals from the Pokemon Confagrigus from the Lavender Tower to create the material needed for the casing of the device however the DNA needed from the Legendary Pokemon is lacking. My apologies for my intrusion."

"It is of no problem. Now…Archer. What is the meaning of this?" Giovanni silently asked, turning to Archer who shook in fear before he spoke. "My apologies, boss. There were some…complications on the missions to retrieve the DNA from Zapdos."

"What complications could there have been, Archer? The Kanto Police Force? The rangers?" Archer hesitated before he uttered the name, making sure not to test his patience.

"A child. His name is Red Fires. His actions along with a few others are letting the public eye be more aware of our movements and plans thus making it difficult to operate as we would like."

The name took Giovanni aback, his usual stone cold expression changing to a somber one before he quickly composed himself. Archer saw the man's fists tightened while he looked through one of the windows however what caught him by surprise was the slight smile on the man's face before facing him. "An interesting development. If we play our cards right, we could get him to join us."

"We tried but he was insistent on not taking our side." The blue haired admin stated, slightly angry with Giovanni's reaction. The man smiled, gesturing to his secretary and whispering in her ears which made her jot down some notes on her tablet.

"Not to worry, leave the boy to me. I have my ways." Giovanni said with his hands behind his back. Turning to the scientist, he donned a serious expression while looking at the rooms. "How much time would be needed to create the device if we have all our materials, Professor?"

"I-it should be finished in a few months. F-four or five M-months, give or take." He stuttered, checking through his tablet and the materials that he had. After his secretary showed some information on her tablet that caught the man by surprise, he then turned to Archer with a look of disappointment. "Archer. From our statistics, it seems that there is a decrease in the amount of soldiers that we have. How many did we lose in those missions?"

"W-wel-"

"From what I've checked, they lost a total of 568 grunts. Possibly more on the side missions thanks to the police force being more alert of our movements." The secretary stated calmly, trying her best to ignore the hateful glare that Archer was giving her. Hearing this, Giovanni sighed before he stated his gratitude to the scientist and moved out of the room.

"Archer." The man jumped upon Giovanni's cold voice, his body instinctively sweating as the man pointed to him. "I need you to go to the Seafoam Islands to see if there is a change to the situation there. Thalia."

He did not wait for the blue admin to speak before he turned to his secretary. "Set a course to Mt. Ember immediately and call for Ariana to join me."

"Yes, sir." The secretary, now known as Thalia, answered before making both her and Archer made their way to their respective quarters. Enjoying the moment of peace, his Persian popped out of its ball, cuddling with him as he took a deep breath. 'It was going to come to this anyways. We can't hide in the shadows forever.'

"I can't allow for anymore failures again no matter who we face from here! Anyone who messes with Team Rocket again will feel a world of pain."

Well, I'm done with this. We are having a little break from our main characters for now, they're out of commission for now anyways and like everyone: time still goes forward, sadly. So Team rocket still on their foolishness and they're more frequent than before. Still secret but frequent. Plus, I was writing for Yellow's character development for a while now and it's gonna get better from here. Sorry for the huge hiatus, things were getting rowdy but now everything is under control. I hope you guys like the chapter and let me know your thoughts and stay safe. Enigma out!