Training to become a Team Rocket member was much more gruesome than Sky initially thought. They were not some goons given Pokemon and a licence for crime. They were taught how to fight and educated in espionage and spy work.
But before all of that came the basic ability of being able to read or write. Skylark was glad to know he was not the only one who had yet to learn those skills.
The first year of training went into educating the people who could not read or write, then the following years went into training them physically, mentally and tactically. Even survival training was thrown into the mix every few months, where every candidate was thrown into some thick jungle or in the mountains and left for a month. They would change the venue every session. All of which were overseen by men and women who looked as if they were part of the military
Skylark excelled specifically in the mental training aspect. He was able to take on a character more easily than the others and was better at manipulating others than the rest. He could dig into a person's psyche and dig up things that he used to earn their trust. His smooth talking earned him the nickname of 'Silver Tongue'.
But the training was not just preparing them for the life they would be thrust into in the future, it was also filtered out those that were not worthy or fit for the job. Every day Sky saw peers fail in their training be taken away and never seen again. Nobody knew where they were taken, nor did anybody ask where they were taken or what happened to them. It was just something they lived with and tried to avoid for themselves.
By the end of training, Sky was the only one in his group remaining.
-X-
Six years had gone by in a flash. There were many whom Sky had gotten to know in training, people he could consider friends. But they were no longer here. Only Sky stood as the lone survivor of his group.
He was brought back to the chambers where it all began, the large hall with the bright lights and the giant monitor. He wasn't the only one to come out there. He saw multiple other people, but none older than the age of twenty. So they had not made the cut.
Sky also did not see Lily anywhere, someone he was dying to reconnect with. She hadn't made it either.
The speakers buzzed to life and a familiar voice spoke loud and clear.
"Congratulations on passing the selection! As you can see, not all of you did."
There were only five of them there.
"Now, we have collected your data all through your training and compiled them into a profile for you. Based on that we have chosen which Pokemon would be best suited to each of you. When I call your names, you will come forward, take the things held before you and move to the side."
A green-haired guy called Butch was called up first, followed by a blonde lady called Cassidy. A purple-haired man called James was called next, followed by a redhead lady named Jessie. They all looked to be in the same age group, and by the glares they threw one another they were no strangers to the other.
Skylark was called at last and when he approached, the other four stopped their bickering and stared. Nervously he flattened his curly silver hair.
There was a tray before him (probably ejected from the slot under the giant screen) with six balls, a folded uniform and a flip phone. There was a card on top of the phone that Skylark picked and read.
"The Phone runs only on Team Rocket's private network. You can only use it to communicate with other Team Rocket members. It also has a software built into it that allows you to see what moves your Pokemon knows."
Sky threw the card back down and picked up the Uniform and the rest of the things were on top of it.
"Since ya'll have your things, proceed back to your chambers and change. Then you may return to this place or remain in the chambers until your assignments are sent to your phones" the man said before the the speakers cut out.
-X-
The Uniform fit him perfectly, and he wouldn't deny that he looked quite nice in it. The belt they gave had clips attached to it that allowed Sky to clip his Pokeballs on. The teen sat on the bed he'd been inhabiting for the last six years and stared at the Pokeball in his hand. He pointed it forward and the Pokemon inside popped out.
Red eyes stared into tiny black pupils and the Gastly cackled with glee, floating around Sky's head. The Pokemon was… friendly. He hadn't expected a Pokemon given by Team Rocket to be friendly.
Sky pointed the camera of his phone at the Pokemon and its list of moves appeared on the screen.
"Lick, Hypnosis and Night Shade" Sky read with a soft hum, "we can get creative with these."
The sound of battle distracted both Gastly and Sky, the two walking out (in the case of Gastly it was floating) of the room to see what the commotion was.
The guys named Butch and James were battling with a Mankey and a Koffing, while the girls watched. But it was clear that they too would battle at any given point.
Jessie caught sight of Sky and Gastly and with a smirk rushed over.
"Looks like the twerp received a Pokemon to match his nature, a ghost!" the woman laughed, while Sky just stared at her with a raised brow. Was that supposed to be an insult?
Cassidy walked over as well, but her eyes were fixed on Gastly.
"And what did you receive?" Sky asked.
Jessie snorted and waved him off.
Over on the battlefield, Mankey had knocked Koffing out, giving Butch the victory. Both trainers called their Pokemon back, Butch triumphant and James frustrated.
"Ghost boy! You're battling me next" the redhead declared.
"The name is Sky" Crimson hues narrowed on the scoffing woman.
Jessie waved him off again and took her place on the field. Sky took his side with a grumble.
Jessie sent out an Ekans, while Sky sent his Gastly. Ekans used Poison Sting, which Gastly absorbed without damage.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Jessie demanded.
Sky just stared at her. She had to be joking, right? They were taught type charting!
Gastly fired a Night Shade that Ekans slithered around to dodge, before burrowing into the ground. Sky had Gastly float high, so when Ekans broke out of the ground Gastly hit it on the head with a Night Shade. Ekans fell back down the hole, coming back out on Jessie's side. But Gastly had vanished.
"Alright, let's see if this works. Hypnosis!"
Gastly materialized in Ekans' face, eyes glowing a light red. Ekans began to sway on the spot.
"Make it damage itself" Sky commanded.
Gastly nodded and used Hypnosis again. Ekans swayed more violently now, before beginning to smash its face into the ground, disregarding Jessie's order.
Sky smirks triumphantly. His idea would work.
"Put it out of its misery. Night Shade!"
The blasts of ghostly energy sent Ekans flying right into Jessie, giving Sky the victory.
Before Sky could celebrate his victory, his phone buzzed.
All of theirs did.
They all took their phones out and flipped them open.
Their assignments were in.