Chapter 3:

Around six months later, Arthur was pleased to see how his students had progressed. They'd all come around and listened properly to him after a few months, which in turn allowed them to take in his teaching's way better. After his initial lessons about proper conduct concerning opposition and effectively using one's surroundings, he'd urged them more towards teamwork. As far as he knew, it was unlikely for most of Team Rockets members to work alone, that being restricted to the most high-ranking and capable of them. But he didn't focus on that just because of practicality. No, he intentionally spread comradery and teamwork, as well as a more supportive mindset, through all the classes. Why? Because he was hoping that it would impact Team Rocket positively.

He didn't know what the goals of the organization were, other than making money by stealing, making others gamble, sell stolen pokemon, and whatever else they might be doing that he had no idea about. Which is why he held onto the hope that there was more to it than that. He'd seen, played, and read different interpretations of what Team Rocket was doing and why there were doing it. He knew that the tensions between Kanto and Johto came from a war that had ended not too long ago. It was ended by none other than Professor Oak, although he wasn't a professor back then, which meant that Giovanni and the others played their part in the war as well. He didn't know what the state of politics and policies were in Indigo, the only thing he'd heard was anti-Johto propaganda after all, but it seemed like there was a favor towards the Johto side of the league. With so many new recruits joining because of poverty, lack of support from the government, or straight up resentment, it sounded plausible.

But he knew that Giovanni should be tinkering around with Project Mewtwo, which was probably only at its base at this point in time. Whether he was doing that just because he wanted to control the power of a Legendary Pokémon or had ulterior motives like finding Mew wasn't clear here. Yet it seemed like he was a lot more engaged in the science-branch and held onto his title as the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto with an iron grip. So maybe this wasn't just all for profit and out of malice. He wouldn't know until he got an honest answer from the man himself, which was something he hoped he would get someday, but that didn't stop him from spreading more positivity through the team. It could potentially sway the organization towards a more moral force, but that could just be the idealist in him talking. Jessie and James were bad guys, but they weren't bad guys, so maybe others could follow in their footsteps.

Speaking of them, he couldn't help but clap cheerfully when the duo pulled of a great show of teamwork with the personal pokemon they'd received not long ago. As expected, Jessie had chosen an Ekans, while James had gotten himself a Koffing, as things should be. While he'd encouraged teamwork and creativity, he'd held back anything advanced like getting new or stronger version of moves, dealing with type coverage and all that. Type advantages and disadvantages were something he taught, of course, but he didn't advertise for expansive move pools or anything like that. It was risky enough to have them work as a unit in case they wouldn't remain criminals but become full on terrorists. He felt bad enough about this already. "It was a necessary evil" he'd told himself time and time again.

With everything he did he played towards getting a chance to get away from becoming just another Team Rocket member. If he managed to pull that off, he'd be in a position where he could rectify the damage he'd caused by improving Team Rocket or straight up turn them into something that benefited others as much as them. If he couldn't … then he would need to deal with them somehow, which wasn't something he's looking forward to.

So, in order to find out what he would maybe have to do in the future, he called Jessie and James over to work on an idea he had. Perhaps they could help him with it, they did bring another point of view with them, after all.

"Why do you not want to remain here as a teacher again? I think you're pretty good at that," James asked from his right.

"Thanks, but I'd rather get out there and see the world, you know," he responded.

Loudly eating a bag of chips to his left, Jessie cut in. "You could easily do that if you just keep going like we do."

"But then I'd have to do jobs I'm not suited for," he argued back. "You know just as well as me that I suck at anything other than battling."

"So, what is your idea then?" she asked?

Arthur raised his notepad where he'd doodled up his plan. "Ideally, I'd like to work as something like a public agent. You know, act like a regular trainer, make the rounds, get some recognition, and advertise towards Team Rocket and against the League. Stuff like that."

Tilting her head to the right, Jessie pointed at something he wrote. "What's this about gyms? Aren't you rather fit already?"

"I think he means the League Gyms, Jess," James countered with a snort. "Collecting badges and going to the Indigo Conference? That would surely give you attention, might even get you a high position sometime down the line."

"That's the plan. If I can get a spot in the conference, it's likely I'll get approached to join the Ace Trainer's ranks. But why stop there?"

The two of them nodded before turning towards him in shock. "You want to win the whole thing?!" they shouted in unison.

"Imagine where I could go from there," he answered with a grin. "What better way to support Team Rocket than by having public influence, right?"

"Man, I don't know if you're crazy or … no, you're definitely crazy," James laughed. "But being a trainer is expensive. Without a sponsor it'll be really hard to deal with everything, and that's not even covering getting strong pokemon."

Jessie threw her empty bag of chips over the backrest. "Yeah, there's no way you can deal with all that without the proper support. You'd need space for your pokemon, someone to care for them, lots of money … where would you even take all that from?"

He just smiled at them while they worked things out themselves.

"Wait a second …" James rubbed his chin in thought. "Team Rocket can provide all of that. In theory, at least. But how would you-"

"By getting attention from the right people, like Admin Archer!" Jessie finished.

Leaning back with a wide grin, he clapped both of them on the shoulders. "You got me."

They looked at him in surprise, before James laughed. "And here I thought you were just a polite little boy. But here you are, playing the long game."

Jessie was still processing everything when she asked "Then all the lessons and help was to get attention from the higher ups?!"

"The lessons were, and it seems like it worked out as intended," he answered with a nod.

"Talk about devious, Art. And here I thought we were the planners," James said and gave him an enthusiastic slap on the back.

Arthur chuckled in response. "Maybe I learned a thing or two from you after all. So, what're your thoughts on this?"

He received a double thumbs-up, but that wasn't all. "But getting the higher-ups to agree to this won't be easy, even with your performance. Money is power, and you'll be needing quite the amount of it, at least at the beginning."

"Yeah, but I think if anyone can do this it's him," Jessie added. "Maybe put in some sort of failsafe that'll make the whole idea more agreeable? Like paying everything back in case you fail?"

He made a note of that. "Sounds reasonable. Maybe add some interest to make it even juicier?"

"That would certainly help, but you better not let it come to this or they'll bleed you dry," James circled that part bright red.

They worked it out a bit more after that, leaving Arthur with a proposal that should cover everything and make it as agreeable as he could manage. Satisfied with what they came up with, he put it away and leaned back with the others.

"Phew, that was quite a bit of work. And here we wanted some more help from you for our final exams next semester," James said. "The earlier we can get your stuff done the earlier we can focus on the rest."

"Yeah, that's gonna be a pain in the butt," Jessie lamented with a groan. "But we'll be full-fledged members after that. Specalists here we come!"

Right, they're here longer than he was, even if just a little. While they'd be done after another six months, he'd have to wait a whole year instead, which was quite funny considering their age difference. But even then, he wasn't old enough to properly work in the field, as for some reason the age requirement to become a trainer was sixteen instead of ten. It made sense if he thought about it, but he wondered why that was different from what he knew. With other things, such as Pokémon moves, having changed to make this world more realistic, he supposed could see why. The argument of this society seeing someone as an adult earlier didn't quite find the temper and naivety of ten-year-olds, and while sixteen was still a lower bar than in his old world, it was a compromise between the two. Going on a journey was regarded as a coming-of-age ceremony here after all, no matter if one wanted to try being a professional trainer or not.

"But whatever are we going to do without you when we're out on the field?" James lamented playfully as he slung an arm over Arthur's shoulder. "Someone else has to be the brain of the operation! Things are sure looking bleak."

"If you need me out there then I have failed as your teacher," Arthur laughed in response. "I'm sure if both of you put your half of the braincell together you'll manage."

"I'd worry less about us and more about him, James," Jessie teased with a smirk. "Who's gonna have little Arty's back with us gone? Who's gonna keep all the girls away from him without me giving them the stare? I fear for our little friend to be overwhelmed the second we leave."

They shared a hearty laugh after that until they were interrupted. It took them a while to calm down, but their class head required their attention. And more importantly Arthur's presence.

Archer looked over the reports he'd received from the class heads for the past months. While there had been slight improvements across the board since last year, his little experiment seemed to have borne fruits. Recruit Anderson had indeed raised the scores for the subject he'd appointed him across the board, which was something he'd anticipated but wasn't convinced off at first. Not only that, but the atmosphere had changed ever so slightly; instead of pushing each other down, their current recruits were working as a unit. There were those that did both, of course, but the course was the correct one. That's something they were supposed to do in the first place, yet it seemed that the sense of unity had been outshined by individual desire. Even the worst of their students managed to climb up to a passable score, with motivation running high.

While this was a great development, it was also disturbing. A boy, a child, mere twelve years of age, was not only as or even more knowledgeable than some of their longtime teachers in the subject of everything related to Pokémon, but had the qualities of a leader. There were reports about the boy being stressed out for the last month of the experiment. His evaluations fell off just a bit, but this was to be expected. He didn't fall of as much as he anticipated, however. With the right resources, this recruit would blitz through the ranks and have the strength to match it, something Team Rocket was lacking right now. With just two Admins and Executives respectively, their direct power was limited, especially since neither he nor Ariana were supposed to make any sort of public appearance. But it was also a risk. The kid was just too nice for this line of work, but keeping him here as a teacher would be a waste of his potential … maybe he could be used in an entirely different manner than usual.

The sound of his doorbell rang, causing him to straighten out his back and focus on the here and now. With the press of a button, the mechanical doors to his office opened and in strolled the very boy he'd been contemplating about, guided by his noticeably pleased-looking class head. The two of them stopped in front of his desk and saluted.

"Admin Archer!" they said in union, while only the older man proceeded. "I've brought Recruit Anderson as instructed."

"Thank you, Specialist Tamaki, dismissed."

The man gave his student a reaffirming look before saluting again and leaving.

"I believe you might be wondering why I called you into my office, Recruit?" he asked the boy cooly, who briefly nodded in response. "Your performance, not only individually but also as part of your class, has been good since the beginning. Due to your interference with the training of other recruits I've not only been told but have printed facts that they've improved as well." The boy took his eyes away from him for a moment, likely to look at the papers on his desk, before focusing once again. "I've had my doubts, as you might imagine. A boy of your age might be energetic physically, but to have knowledge equal to our teachers? I laughed in your class heads face when he told me you corrected him on several occasions."

The boy briefly narrowed his eyes as if offended, before closing them for just a moment, and looked back at him like nothing had happened. "Suffice to say that the results speak for themselves. Usually, this is kept for the winner of events, but I believe an outstanding job also deserves its reward." A low chuckle escaped his lips when he saw the boy perk up; everyone liked to be rewarded after all. A job well done needed to be so one could identify with what they're doing and who valued them. A valued worker was a happy worker, and a happy worker was a loyal one. "Which is why I want to ask you: What kind of reward would you like for all the work you did these past months?"

Archer was waiting for something he'd heard over the years: A strong or rare Pokémon! A quick promotion! Maybe a transfer to a preferred unit or place. Less work and more money had come up from time to time as well, but the last time he heard someone wanting this kind of reward was when their newest of their Executives joined years ago. He'd watch the boy thinking about the possibilities, waging them against one another, before something seemingly hit him and his eyes lit up.

"Sir, I'd like to request a meeting with the Boss," the boy answered confidently.

Archer fixed him with a stare. "You want to meet our leader? How curious." He moved from his desk to a nearby window, his arms crossed behind his back. "As you might imagine, our leader is a busy man, which is why we Admins take care of everything not worth his time. So, before I can accept your request, I'll have to know why you want to meet the boss."

He didn't see the boy but he could hear him shuffle nervously. "May I be frank, sir?"

A casual roll of his hand made him continue. "While my grades may be passable overall, I believe it's clear that I'm not exactly cut out for what most of Team Rocket's members do. Which is why I have come up with an idea that'll allow me to offer support from the public side, without anyone being any the wiser. That's what I want to present to the boss, along with asking a question whose answer is important to me."

Archer pondered about that for a moment. For someone so young, this boy had a good head on his shoulders. He'd managed to come to the same conclusion as he did, and instead of trying regardless and potentially fail, came up with something else. There had been talks between the higher ups about to further their power, and a public force that bolstered them or at least moved against the League was a point that came up once or twice. Right now, they held two Gyms in Kanto and a handful of the other Kanto Gym Leaders weren't happy with how things were run at the moment, the focus on Johto instead of them was clear as day.

That wasn't a surprise after Lance Wataru of Blackthorn had taken the mantle of Indigo's Champion, which would only become worse once pro-Kanto Gym Leaders would step down and have their children take over, which was due to happen in Pewter, Cerulean, and Celadon City in the upcoming years. The Elite Four wasn't much help on that front either, with Bruno not caring about politics at all, Lorelai being pro Johto and Sevi, and only Agatha properly representing Kanto's interest. Oak had been a fool to step down from the position of Champion when he did.

He turned back towards his visitor, who stood tall and firm as they locked eyes. His confidence written all over his face, as was the drive shining in his eyes. "What exactly is it you want to propose to our leader?" Archer asked calmly.

A confident smile appeared on the boy's face. "What do you think of getting a pro-Kanto Champion?"

Thanks for reading!