Intro:
Hey everyone sorry about last week but my hand has healed very well and we are back on schedule. Speaking of schedule Tuesdays will now be the new normal release day but I will still try to do Mondays because I am starting to get busier and busier but Tuesday's I am normally free. Again this may change again but for now, be either Monday (if I can) or Tuesday. Thank you all for the wishes to get better and for those who do now know this chapter is a week late because I hit my dominant hand with a hammer while fixing my fence and I had to rest it. But we are back and healing and I can type normally now. This chapter was finished already last week but there was no editing and it didn't feel polished and I didn't wanna give you guys a half-assed product (this isn't Call of Duty) especially since this is a very important chapter for the story it introduced Mike who will be a big character going forward. Without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy this one!
AND. HERE. WE. GO.
Guide:
Regular Italics: Thoughts
Bold Italics: Talking to the Audience
COF: Character(s) of Focus
As far back as I could remember I always wanted to be rich. Being rich would solve all of my problems. You know I consider myself more of a good/bad guy, I want to do the right thing but sometimes the bad thing is the good thing to me. If you really think about it you need bad guys to have good guys so wouldn't that make me good because I inspire good guys? Before you start judging me let me get through this whole boring-ass story first and then you can tell me that I'm crazy, okay? Good.
Chapter 11: Michael Rollins
COF: Michael Rollins
I was born in a small hospital outside of Oldale Town in 1983, and yeah I'm not from Sinnoh honestly I wouldn't have moved here if it wasn't for this job I hate the snow personally. You see my family was rather how do I say, extremely fucking poor. We made enough money to afford the bills for the house and that's it when it came to food and everything else we had to improvise. The stuff we bought was never named brand and arguably not expired. My life was kinda shit honestly, my father was a carpenter that made no money and my mom was a register clerk at a clothing store, and with me and my little sister Angela in the house, it made for hard times.
Littleroot Town, Hoenn
September 1998
Age: 15
"Michael, I need you to go to the store for milk," Macy said, yelling to her son.
Macy, my mom, was super nice, and that is where I got my looks from she was the typical mother who always loved her kids and honestly would love me even if I told her what I was doing today.
"I got it Ma give me a minute," Mike said, folding his laundry.
My parents always trusted me with the funds of the family, they said I was smart when it came to monetary decisions and so they asked me to handle a lot of the money. Not the best parental decision but it seemed to keep us afloat somewhat. Stuff like bills, shopping, etc. was all in my hands.
Mike put on his favorite clothing; long dark blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a green long sleeve over it. He combed his dark brown hair and looked in the mirror at his blue eyes. Mike always thought had some good lucks on his side, he grabbed the money and walked to the town's grocery store. Littleroot town was very small and only had about 5 houses, a grocery store, and Professor Birch's lab. Compared to the rest of Hoenn it had no rivers or lakes or other bodies of water. New people didn't show up often, Mike's family moved there 10 years ago and no one has moved there since so in the eyes of the townsfolk they were still the new people. This changed when Mike noticed a moving truck parked at the house next to May's.
"Huh, newbies," Mike said, looking at the house with his hands in his pockets.
While walking through the store Mike noticed someone, somebody he had never seen before in the store. He looked to be about his age, his skin was a little darker as if he was constantly at the beach. He wore black pants that looked like baggy jeans and had this hat on that was green and white. It looked so natural that he almost thought his hair was white. He was trying to find a way to the cereal on the top. Poor guy, he was never gonna reach.
You see my parents always taught me that you should always try to help someone in need, apparently good things will come your way if you did…...whoever made that shit up needs to get jumped.
"Here I got it," Mike said, walking up to the shelf.
Mike climbed up the shelf, he had done this in the past so many times he knew exactly where to put his foot so the shelf didn't fall onto him. The boy just watched as Mike grabbed the cereal he wanted. Mike dropped down and landed perfectly unlike many times where he just fell on his face.
"Wow thanks, man, you got some real climbing skills don't ya," The boy said laughing.
"Ha yeah let's just say I know this store from the inside out," Mike said.
"Really, where are the eggs?" The boy asked.
"Turn back to the entrance and make a left," Mike said with a grin.
"Damn, what about chips?" The boy asked.
"Aisle 7, row 4," Mike said.
"Man you're a loser," The boy said jokingly laughing even more.
"Yeah yeah shut up," Mike said, chuckling himself.
It was a lot to remember but after going to this store for god knows how long it became second nature to me, at least I wasn't the one who was going to fall flat on my ass just to get some cereal.
"You look new, are you the people who just moved in?" Mike asked.
"Ha, my mom said we would stick out like a sore thumb," The boy said.
"Well considering my family was the last ones to move here like 10 years ago we notice," Mike said laughing.
"Well yeah, I'm from Johto, Cianwood City to be specific," The boy said.
"Johto huh, isn't that where Team Rocket is?" Mike asked.
"No, that's more Kanto, though Team Rocket has been slowly trying to get a foot in Johto, we left because of that and my dad got a gym leader job here," The boy said.
"Wow that's cool, I'm Mike," Mike said with a smile.
"Brendan," Brendan said with a smile as well.
From then on we were friends, really close ones too. Brendan and I almost bonded overnight, we both had similar views on things and we both like to cause trouble. Brendan would talk about how he wanted to be a trainer just like his dad. Norman was a cool guy as well, he taught us about types and how pokemon battles worked. But as time went on the money troubles at home kept piling on. Some nights my parents and I would look over bills and try to determine which ones should be put off over the others. Christmas was never a big thing for me I was lucky to get new clothes…..it sucked, but there was a silver lining. Brendan's family sort of adopted me. I was always welcomed at their house for dinner, they got me birthday presents and in times of need helped out my family. I started to think that good people existed after all.
Oldale Town, Hoenn
April 2000
Age: 17
10:30 pm
Mike was cleaning the bar at a small diner, ever since he turned 17 he got a job to help pay the bills in the house. He liked it, it was always busy so he was never bored but tonight it was empty. The diner was small with about 5 tables and a bar. The walls were painted blue that gave the diner this almost 1970's feel to it. Of course, the air conditioning didn't work so it was super hot in there. The old television was always playing some kind of pokemon news tonight it was about how Orre was getting worse with Team Snagem. As poor as Mike was he was thankful he wasn't in Orre.
The job was solid but like any part-time job, the pay wasn't the best. Every night I would dream, what would my life be like if money wasn't a problem.
"Hey Mike, there are two customers over at the end could you take them?" John asked.
John Simons was my boss and he was a pretty good one too, he understood my situation because he had been there. He was fair but sometimes he got on my nerves as anyone else would. I think we all know someone in our life that we like but sometimes you just wanna toss them in a lake…..no just me?
"Yeah John I got it," Mike said, tossing the towel over his shoulder.
Mike made his way over to the two men sitting. One had blue hair and the other had purple hair, it was weird to him but hey customers mean money. They were dressed nice and the one with blue hair looked to be about in his late twenties and the purple-haired man looked to be about in his mid-thirties.
"What's going on guys, can I start you off with some drinks?" Mike asked the two men.
"Um yes let me just get water," The man in blue hair said.
"Same here, water please," The man in purple hair said.
"No problem I'll get those out for you right now," Mike said leaning down the bar to get some glasses.
As Mike was under the bar he heard the two men talking, he could barely make out what they were saying. Curious he popped back up with a plan in his head.
"Sorry guys I gotta get two more glasses from the kitchen," Mike said.
"No problem take your time," The man in blue hair said.
Mike went to the kitchen and crouched down on the ground and crept back under the bar to listen more.
"This operation has to work Master Cyrus," The man in purple hair said.
"It will work, I have gone over this plan a million times Charon," Cyrus said.
"Okay run it by me one more time," Charon said.
"I have memorized the security guard routes, once we disable cameras follow me and I'll get us to the vault, once we got the money I'll lead us out of the bank through the back," Cyrus said.
As I listened to them I had two thoughts in my head, one was like the hell?! These guys are going to rob the bank…..and the other was that their plan could use some work. First of all the security guards change routes after a certain amount of time to avoid plans like these and second of all the vault has its own separate alarm and camera system. Like it's so obvious, how did they not see that?
Mike crept back to the kitchen and came back out, acting like he didn't hear anything.
"Once we have the money, we'll be able to afford expansion to Sinnoh, where my plan can start to take shape," Cyrus said before Mike got to the table.
"Here are your drinks guys," Mike said, giving them the two glasses of water.
"Appreciate it, kid," Cyrus said, giving Mike a 5.
"Thank you," Mike said, putting it in his pocket.
"Let me ask you, something kid, do you ever feel like life isn't fair to you but to others sometimes?" Cyrus asked.
"All the time man," Mike said with a slight frown.
"People like us get the short end of the stick but keep your head up one day everything will work out," Cyrus said, sipping his water.
He didn't seem like the typical "bad guy" you would see in a story or movie. He treated everyone with respect and saw me as someone just trying to get by in life and he respected that. I found myself not hating him despite hearing their plan to rob the bank.
Mike and Cyrus talked about life and how tough times could be. Cyrus would tell Mike that humanity has become too greedy and no one cares for each other anymore. Mike told Cyrus about his home life and how he agreed that people are too selfish and take things from others in need. They connected, Cyrus himself had a rough childhood with his parents both being laid off from jobs and former co-workers screwing him over, he understood what Mike was going through and the way he handled things Cyrus was reminded of a young version of himself. Charon didn't seem too interested in talking but Cyrus and Mike carried on laughing and chatting like they were long-time pals. A couple of hours later, Cyrus and Charon paid the bill and got up.
"It was nice talking to you," Cyrus said with a grin.
"Yeah man you too," Mike said, cleaning the table.
Something in my head was gnawing at me, telling me to tell him about the mistakes in his plan but how could I? What he was doing was illegal but his intentions and his attitude didn't seem that way. Like he was Robin Hood doing illegal things for the greater good, though I didn't know why he needed the money. Something told me he wasn't the guy to want to exactly rule the world with an iron fist.
"Cyrus...wait," Mike said.
"Hm?" Cyrus said walking back.
"It's about your…..plan, I overheard it," Mike said, almost ashamed.
"You were eavesdropping, how dare you," Charon said angrily.
"It's fine Charon, I should have expected someone like you to overhear us, okay so you heard our plan just so you know the police will not believe you," Cyrus said with a serious look on his face.
"...I won't tell the police, if anything I saw some flaws in your plan," Mike said looking straight at Cyrus.
"Flaws?" Charon asked with a raised brow.
"Interesting, explain," Cyrus said sitting back down.
Mike told Cyrus and Charon everything wrong with their plan, he felt bad for helping criminals but at the same time, he felt good that he was making a difference in someone's life, even though it wasn't good. Cyrus and Charon were skeptical but his logic made sense. Cyrus was a manipulator while talking to Mike he did a personal test to see if he was undercover or someone who would be an issue if a situation like this would occur. Charon was fast to dismiss Mike as someone trying to scam him but Cyrus took note of what he was saying.
The Next Day
Mike and Brendan were hanging out in Brendan's room, compared to Mike's house his room was super clean with a lot of green and posters of Norman and other Pokemon-related things. The house always smelled like baking which was nice. The smell was all around Littleroot with everyone's windows open. The weather in Hoenn was always either really hot or humid and on some rare occasions, cool. Today was that rare day so everyone's windows were being cracked open and the crisp breeze was sent through the houses that gave it this cool but warm feeling. Mike loved days like these because it was perfect weather to either sit inside and enjoy the cool air or go outside. Mike was eating a banana watching the tv with Brendan, they were flipping in between gym battles or regular soap operas. One of their favorite past times was to make fun of how bad the shows were. It was a simple time but eventually, Mike saw something that caught his eye on the news.
"Dude, go back," Mike said, getting closer to the tv.
"Alright alright calm yourself," Brendan said switching back to the news.
"Breaking News, the Oldale Town bank has had all of its belongings stolen, security believes the thieves broke into the vault while in between changing routes and somehow knew about the camera systems. Experts say that this is the largest bank heist in the town's history and one of the biggest in Hoenn's history, police urge you to call them if you have any idea about who or how this was committed," The reporter said.
"I can't believe it, one of the largest in Hoenn history, what the fuck is this world coming too man," Brendan said.
"Yeah it's crazy," Mike said, biting his banana and watching the tv studying every minute of the broadcast.
It was almost surreal seeing someone get away with that large of crime…..and all because of me. Brendan was all ready to go track those guys down but even he knew that with no pokemon we stood no chance.
"I hope those people get what they deserve, karma's a bitch sometimes," Brendan said.
"Yeah….." Mike said.
"Quick question, what's your favorite stone?" Brendan asked, trying to change the conversation.
"Um...I'd say Topaz, shits pretty cool, what about you?" Mike asked.
"Man you know mine, Emerald," Brendan said laughing.
"Imagine being named Topaz," Mike said.
"Dude that would be fucking sick," Brendan said.
"Yeah like your first name is Topaz, okay what about the last name?" Mike asked.
"Hmmm oh, what about Heart?" Brendan said.
"Topaz Heart sounds like the main character of a story," Mike said.
"A pretty fucking awesome story too," Brendan added.
"We should be writers," Mike said laughing.
"Yeah, oh so did you see that May got her first pokemon?" Brendan asked.
"Oh yeah, she told me about it, a Torchic right?" Mike said.
"Yeah, it's so cool, the professor said he might be able to get some more Pokemon for us," Brendan said excitedly.
"That would be pretty awesome, I always wanted a pokemon of my own," Mike said.
"I wanna be a gym leader just like my dad, a strong trainer who can whip these newbies into shape," Brendan said with a grin.
"You sure you don't wanna become a drill instructor Brendan," Mike said laughing.
"Laugh now Michael Rollins but someday you'll see Brendan Emerald as the world's best gym leader," Brendan said with a cocky grin on his face.
"I can only imagine what life must be like with a gym leader in your family," Mike said curiously.
"Dude, it's awesome everyone respects you and your family and my dad is super famous," Brendan said.
"Must be nice…..oh shit what time is it?" Mike asked frantically.
"Uh a quarter past 4, why?" Brendan asked, looking at his Pokewatch.
"Shit dude I gotta get to work," Mike said getting up and running out of Brendan's house.
"I'LL GET YOUR BIKE," Brendan yelled while running to Mike's bike.
Mike rushed out of his house with work clothes on and got on his bike. While biking over to the diner he kept thinking about the bank and wondered if Cyrus and Charon would ever remember the kid that helped them with their "activity". Mike took his usual route to Oldale Town, following Route 101 it was filled with trees and trainers with their pokemon. The sound of trees rustling with the breeze almost gave Mike a calming sensation and the smell of berries and grass was always pleasant. The sound of leaves breaking under his bike made almost a rhythmic sound that he started to replay in his head. Mike was a guy of order and organization; he liked to have plans and think about every consequence, it made for an easier life. The route was filled with the laughter and yelling of trainers battling, trainers, or hanging out with their pokemon. Even though it was the most popular profession in the world, Mike's family were not trainers, none of them collected or even had their own pokemon.
As Mike walked into the diner he was approached by his boss. Mike was expecting a lecture about being 5 minutes late so he was mentally preparing himself to shut him out.
"Mike, what are you doing here?" John asked.
"Sorry boss I didn't mean to be late I lost track of time but I'm here now," Mike said.
"What are you talking about, you're off today," John said smiling at Mike.
"What? Why?" Mike asked, confused.
"A couple of customers came in and "vouched" for you to be off today, I don't know why they like you but hey money talks right," John said showing Mike a 100.
"Yeah, I guess," Mike said, still confused.
Okay, this is weird. Either I am about to be fired or something else is going on here.
"They are in the back of the store they want to see you, whatever you did...thanks," John said walking off.
I remember being nervous, who the hell would want to see me. Was it the police? Did they find out about my involvement? A thousand thoughts raced through my head and honestly, it was terrifying.
Mike went behind the store to find none other than Cyrus and Charon. They were waiting for Mike and took him to an empty warehouse. It was dark and so empty a pin being dropped would be echoed. The cobwebs and Rattatas running around the place definitely showed Mike that this place had been abandoned long ago. A couple of windows were present but were so dirty and dusty that there was almost no light shining through them. They had cracks in them and were molded over. It smelled bad from the rotting mold and moisture.
The place gave off movie villain vibes like where a villain would keep his or her base to try to intimidate the main character but really it just comes off as hey I'm an asshole who wants to sit in a moldy room with no light for some fucking reason.
"Sit," Cyrus said, pulling up a chair.
"But-" Mike said but was interrupted.
"Just sit, Michael," Charon said.
Mike sat on the chair, it was rusted over he hoped that Cyrus and Charon weren't using this as their base because chances are they would die from a bacterial infection before they got to do anything.
"That intel you gave us, proved to be the reason our heist was successful," Cyrus said sitting across from Mike.
"I was skeptical but you were telling the truth," Charon said, crossing his arms.
"Okay so are gonna kill me to get rid of any involvement or traces back to you guys?" Mike asked.
"No, actually quite the opposite, we want to thank you," Cyrus said, pulling out a briefcase.
"Thank me?" Mike curiously asked, looking at the briefcase.
"Thanks to you we have 12 million Pokedollars to expand our "business" so to speak and it's because of you kid," Cyrus said, giving the briefcase to Mike.
"You're a smart kid, consider this a reward," Charon said.
Mike opened the briefcase, inside was 500,000 Pokedollars. Mike's eye's widened. This was the most money he had seen in his entire life. The green money reflected in his eyes and a smile came across his face.
It was dirty money but I didn't give a shit, that was 500k that could pay off all my family's bills for a year. It wasn't until Cyrus' next question where something clicked in my head.
"You know Mike, this world is full of ungrateful people and I want to change that, and with this money, we are one step closer to fixing this world of ours and I would like you to join us, you have proven to be a valuable asset when it comes to plans and ideas, Charon and I want to bring about a new world where everybody is equal. Nobody is scammed or worth less than others….not even people like your family. Stick with us that 500k will be the least amount of money you earn," Cyrus said grinning at Mike.
Mike just sat there, becoming a part of this was something extremely illegal but that money, being rich was something he could actually be. His family wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore and he could finally make something of himself.
"We are moving to Sinnoh to begin our operations in 1 week, give it a thought," Cyrus said, giving Mike a phone number.
"Why Sinnoh?" Mike asked.
"It has certain pokemon there that will aid us in our mission, plus with the scientific research there I can use it to our advantage," Charon said.
Cyrus and Charon walked out of the warehouse but before he left Cyrus turned to Mike.
"Kid, people like us have to work twice as hard as everyone else, doesn't sound a little unfair to you?" Cyrus asked before leaving.
He was right, it was unfair how people get handed opportunities, and people like Mike got screwed out of them. Of course, he didn't want to get involved with this but really what other option was there, work at the diner and be poor for a long time or try to make something of himself and get rich.
Two Days Later
Mike hid the money from everyone until he could find a good lie to show how he got this money and when the heat started to die down from the bank robbery he didn't spend any of it. The lie was simple, Mike had gotten a business job in Sinnoh and got a huge bonus for signing up. This would explain the money and it would also justify the move to Sinnoh to his family. It needed some work but the foundation was there, if he was gonna do this he was gonna do it right.
"Yo, Mike you there?" Brendan asked, snapping his fingers.
"What...oh yeah sorry just drifted off," Mike said looking at Brendan.
"I can tell you've been like this for the past couple of days, you good man?" Brendan asked with a look of concern.
"Yeah I'm good just bills and shit," Mike said.
"Oh I get it," Brendan said, throwing a rock into the lake.
"Hey Brendan let me ask you something," Mike said.
"What's up?" Brendan said looking at him.
"Suppose somebody does a bad thing but it's for a good reason…...are they a bad person?" Mike asked.
"Well, I guess it would depend on the situation if the intentions are pure normally I'd say crime is never the answer but say someone is in your case and they robbed a gas station to feed their family I wouldn't hate them for it," Brendan said getting up.
"Interesting…..," Mike said.
"Why do you ask?" Brendan asked, taking a bite of an apple.
"Nothing just on my mind," Mike said looking into the lake.
"Alright well just make su-" Brendan said being interrupted.
"HELP ME," A voice called from inside the forest.
"The hell was that?" Mike said getting up quickly.
"I don't know, let's go, someone could be in trouble," Brendan said running.
Brendan ran without any hesitation, like what the hell could we do if someone was in trouble we don't have pokemon. Sometimes Brendan did things without thinking them through but he had a good heart. It reminds me of that kid here that's causing problems for Team Galactic.
Mike and Brendan ran deeper into the forest only to find Professor Birch. He was calling for help while being chased and attacked by two Poochyenas. Brendan and Mike both had slight grins on their faces.
Out of all the pokemon to be attacked by, you're scared of those things.
"MIKE, BRENDAN, HELP!" Professor Birch yelled out.
"How?!" Brendan asked.
"IN MY BAG THERE ARE TWO POKEBALLS TAKE THEM!" Professor Birch yelled, running.
Mike and Brendan ran to the bag and saw the two pokeballs one contained a Treecko and one contained a Mudkip.
"Awesome, Pokemon," Brendan said.
"You pick first," Mike said.
"No, you," Brendan countered.
"No, you," Mike said.
"No yo-" Brendan was about to say.
"JUST PICK ONE," Professor Birch yelled out.
Brendan grabbed Treecko and Mike grabbed Mudkip and launched them out.
"Wow," Brendan said with a smile on his face.
"Cool," Mike said with a grin.
The two Poochyenas turned their attention to the starters and got into a battle position. Mike and Brendan were excited, their first pokemon battle!
"Okay time to do what my dad taught us, um Treecko use Pound!," Brendan yelled.
"Mudkip, try to use tackle!" Mike shouted with a little less confidence.
The two pokemon attacked and they both hit. Mudkip tackled one Poochyena to the ground and Treecko pounded its fists into the other Poochyena causing them to run away.
"Awww that's it?" Brendan said disappointed.
"I can't believe that worked," Mike said.
"Thank y-you," Professor Birch said panting.
"Are you okay Professor?" Brendan said helping him up.
"Y-yeah I'm okay, you two did well out there," Professor Birch said.
"We can't have our professor dying on us," Mike said with a slight smile.
"Do you want your pokemon back in their balls?" Brendan asked.
"No actually as a token of appreciation keep them," Professor Birch said with a smile.
"REALLY?!" Brendan said wide-eyed.
"Awesome," Mike said, also wide-eyed.
"Congratulations boys, your first pokemon," Professor Birch said with a smile.
Brendan could barely contain his excitement he went on and on about how this was the start of his life as a pokemon trainer. Mike on the other hand was more focused on Mudkip, he had never owned a pokemon before. As Mike was thinking Brendan called out to him.
"HEY MIKE," Brendan said, running over to Mike.
"Yeah?" Mike asked sitting next to Mudkip.
"So we both got some pokemon, you know what that means?" Brendan said with a smirk.
"Uhhhhh, we go out for lunch?" Mike asked.
"No…..well yeah sure I'm down but we have to see who is better," Brendan said pulling Mike up.
"Michael Rollins I challenge you to a pokemon battle," Brendan said with a cocky grin.
"Brendan, I don't wanna embarrass you," Mike said, smirking.
"LET'S GO," Brendan shouted.
Pokemon Battle: Michael Rollins vs Brendan Emerald (1 on 1)
"Alright dad let's see if I can do this, Treecko let's go," Brendan said, encouraging Treecko to go forth.
"Mudkip, show 'em who's boss," Mike said.
Mudkip and Treecko faced each other ready to fight. The adrenaline sensation went through both Brendan and Mike. Mike was especially nervous, Brendan had battling in his blood but Mike normally just listened to Norman and didn't think much of it. For him, this was his chance to see if he could do things like these.
"Treecko, let's waste no time, pound that Mudkip," Brendan shouted.
"Mudkip, dodge, and hit a Tackle," Mike commanded.
Both pokemon rushed at each other. Treecko tried to jump onto top of Mudkip to get a Pound in but Mudkip dodged just in time and tackled Treecko to the ground.
"Hahaha nice Mudkip," Mike said smiling.
This is actually kinda fun.
"Treecko, shake if off buddy we gotta win this," Brendan said.
Treecko got back up but he was weak. Pokemon when they are first adopted can normally only take about two hits due to the lack of training.
"Mudkip, quickly go for another Tackle!" Mike ordered.
"Treecko, dodge it," Brendan said, a little concerned.
Treecko tried to dodge but Mudkip had the advantage and tackled him again, this time Treecko stayed down.
I won, it was a very fast battle mostly because our Pokemon were both a little tired from the previous encounter.
"Damn you kicked my ass bro," Brendan said, picking up Treecko.
"Is he okay?" Mike asked.
"Yeah I think so just needs a pokemon center," Brendan said petting Treecko.
"Looks like I'm the superior trainer," Mike said laughing.
"WHAT NO WAY," Brendan said.
The two boys walked out of the forest and to heal their pokemon at Professor Birch's lab. Mike showed his family Mudkip and they were both curious and happy for him. Mike was the first person in the Rollins family to own a pokemon. Mudkip loved Mike and his new home. He had this habit of making bubbles when he was happy and it always made Mike laugh. They got along quickly and Mike loved having a constant partner with him. However, Mike still had one thing on his mind, Cyrus and Charon.
I didn't even know if their plan was going to work, I might just be walking into a trap but that 500k was a promising sign. But what about Brendan and the life we had here in Hoenn. The way I saw it I had two options, stay in Hoenn and continue to get worse in terms of money or risk it all and go to Sinnoh and maybe become rich and make something of myself and help my family. Unfortunately in life sometimes you have to get rid of the things you like in order to advance…
Mike met with his family and talked to them. He told them that he was offered a job in Sinnoh in a Pokeitem business. In return, he told them that this would grant him benefits and a great paycheck. As a sign of good faith, Mike showed his family 10k out of the 500k that he got as a "signing bonus". They weren't on board at first but after talking it out Mike's family agreed that this was their best shot at getting out of the hole they kept digging themselves into and with that decision it was final. Mike was moving to Sinnoh.
The Next Day
Brendan's House
"Wait, no man you can't go, we have so many plans!" Brendan said sadly.
"I know dude I know but this is my chance," Mike said.
"...fuck Mike," Brendan said sitting on his bed.
It was hard telling Brendan I was leaving, like heart twisting hard. He was my best friend and now we would be separated. I still tear up a bit when I think about it.
"Will you visit?" Brendan asked.
"I don't know, I hope so," Mike said sitting next to him.
"What am I gonna do without ya though for years we have stuck by each other's side," Brendan said.
"Dude, you will make your way in life, you're stubborn as hell and once you set your mind to something you always accomplish it, I have no doubt I'll see your name in the news one day," Mike said, tearing up a little.
"Looks like you and I won't be becoming top trainers in Hoenn huh," Brendan said.
"You have to carry that idea on without me, we'll still keep in touch and you better kick ass or I swear to Arceus man," Mike said chuckling a little.
"Ha, same to you…..thank you, Mike," Brendan said.
"For what?" Mike asked.
"You helped me get comfortable here, I didn't have many friends in Johto or here but then you came in and showed me what real friendship is," Brendan said looking at Mike.
"...same here man," Mike said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Mike and Brendan hugged both with tears in their eyes. Little did they know that two adventures were about to start.
"Stay safe in Sinnoh," Brendan said letting a tear fall.
"You become the best trainer this region's ever seen," Mike said also with a tear falling.
"You're damn right I will," Brendan said.
Solaceon Town, Sinnoh
December 2001
So far the move to Sinnoh was going well. My mom got a job at a clothing shop and my dad was now a construction worker. Decent money honestly for them but my new ahem "job" with Cyrus and Charon was a success. With the money they had, they were able to convince some people to go into business with them. Cyrus named us Team Galactic because of some universal plan type bullshit I don't really remember. In the span of one year Team Galactic had grunts and some new commanders. Cyrus personally picked them out but for me it was different. You see I don't want to be a target of interest for the police so Cyrus named me the advisor. It was my job to oversee all the plans that we were coming up with and fixing them and trying to make them less moronic than they sounded sometimes. Cyrus and I continued to build a friendship outside of the business. He would come over to the house and even have dinner with me and my family. We got a nice little house in Solaceon Town it was nice and better than Hoenn except it got so fucking cold.
"Delicious Mrs. Rollins," Cyrus said cleaning his mouth with his napkin.
"Oh thank you, Cyrus, you were always so polite, so how is the business with Mike? I hope he is behaving himself," Macy said while eating.
"Oh, he is an amazing employee, couldn't ask for someone better," Cyrus said grinning at Mike.
Yeah, I was a goddamn good employee alright.
"I'm surprised you can even do work Mikey," Angela said laughing.
My sister Angela was pretty average she loved to tease me and call me Mikey, she is the only person allowed to do that and if someone else called me that I'd break their hand.
"Shut up," Mike said.
"So Cyrus, what exactly do you do again?" Daniel asked.
Daniel Rollins, my father. Arguably someone I get more traits from than anyone in the family. He always liked to ask questions and was especially skeptical about this job. You see people like my father were the reason I had to lie, if he knew what Cyrus and I were actually doing he would kill both of us.
"I am a manager of a distributor of Poke Items such as potions, pokeballs, etc," Cyrus said.
"Interesting and that allows Mike to have a good paycheck," Daniel said with a raised brow.
"Dad, come on," Mike said.
"No no Mike it's fine he has a right to ask questions, you see sir business has been booming recently and as you know Mike is more than a regular employee he is a supervisor of shipments which I am sure you can agree is an important job," Cyrus said.
"I agree and I don't mean to be rude. I was just curious," Daniel said.
Cyrus worked his magic on my family, see Cyrus was a charmer he could spin any conversation and also manipulate people into seeing things his way. It's how he convinced people to join Team Galactic such as his commanders and lower ranks he called grunts. People like me and Charon saw how he worked and both respected and scoffed at it, what a dishonest way of communicating with people…...and it fucking works like a charm.
"Oh look at the time Mike we have to go," Cyrus said looking at his watch.
"Oh shit yeah," Mike said getting up.
"Michael, language," Macy said glaring at Mike.
"Sorry mom," Mike said, kissing her cheek.
"He'll be home later tonight, thank you for having me over. It's always a pleasure," Cyrus said, shaking Daniel's hand.
"Anytime, bye Michael," Daniel said.
"Bye dad," Mike said, grabbing his coat and leaving.
Mike and Cyrus waited until they were far out of the town limits before engaging in actual business conversation. It was winter in Sinnoh so the snow was starting to stick and the temperatures were unlike anything Mike had seen before. He could see his breath and the icy bite of the wind made his face cold in an instant. The trees were covered in snow; he only imagined how bad it was in the infamous Snowpoint City.
"Charon should be meeting us with the commanders soon, if we pull this off Mike this will be our crowning achievement," Cyrus said.
"Yeah I know and it's gonna work. I've been brainstorming this plan for months now," Mike said lighting a cigarette.
"You know those are bad for you right?" Cyrus said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, and what we do is legal," Mike said, smoking.
"Touche, but Mike, what we do is for a bigger purpose, it's nice to see someone as young as you that sees the bigger picture. It gives me hope for the future," Cyrus said waiting at a door to a warehouse.
"Eh, I ain't no saint," Mike said, putting a foot on the wall.
We were on the verge of our biggest plan yet, you see Veilstone City was the second-largest city in Sinnoh, and in the middle of it was a massive building. It was so big it contained access to the city's power plant, bank, and businesses. And we were gonna take it and make it our headquarters. Now, why not the biggest city, Jubilife, and well the answer is simple, that place would give us too much attention, now yeah Veilstone will give us attention but it'll die down as people submit to us but taking Jubilife, that would cause a riot and we weren't prepared for that yet.
Eventually, Charon and the commanders arrived and they all sat down to discuss how this plan was going to work. The way Mike had it set up everyone had a role. Saturn and Jupiter were in charge of getting guard uniforms and cutting off cameras. Mars was going to sneak in after the cameras were cut and unlock the back entrance for Charon from there he is going to hack the building's security system giving Cyrus access to the power, doors, and gas vents. Mike and Cyrus were going to infect the vents with a knockout agent Charon made to knock out guard pokemon. It wasn't going to hurt them but it was going to render them useless. After all, this is done, Team Galactic will force the owner of the building to surrender control and once they had that building Veilstone City belonged to Team Galactic.
"Okay, so is everything ready?" Cyrus asked.
"Yes, Jupiter, and I have memorized the routes Mike sent us," Saturn said.
"I know exactly where to go when the cameras are out," Mars added.
"The chemicals are in your bag and I'll rush to the computer," Charon said.
"No fuck ups we got one shot at this, and a small time frame," Mike said.
"Have faith in us Mike," Jupiter said.
"It's not my job to have faith it's my job to make sure we are on top," Mike said.
"Mike and I will send the gas down the vents, everyone will be given radios so we can keep in contact, this is it everyone this is the moment the world will see what Team Galactic truly is," Cyrus said.
I went over this plan with a fine comb for hours every day for about two months, I sent everyone specific details about their positions and with help from Charon we figured out exactly where everyone was going to be.
Wednesday Night
9:00 pm
9:00 the first round of outside guards change positions.
"Okay Todd time to head out," Todd said to Ryder.
"Alright let's go," Ryder said.
The two guards started to walk back into the break room only to be confronted by Jupiter and Saturn. Using a stun baton they knocked out the guards and hid their bodies in the lockers and took their uniforms.
9:30 The guard of the cameras goes to get coffee.
The guard left the camera room to fill up his mug. Saturn snuck into the room and planted a chip that would shock the system killing the cameras with a simple press of a button. They both left right before the guard went back in. To make things easier for Charon and Mars, they took care of the guard and any employees that wandered near the back entrance. Saturn hit the button and the camera system was frozen, this kept the pictures on the screen but the cameras weren't functional leading the guard to believe all was well.
9:45 all employees go home leaving just the night guards and the owner in the building, Saturn and Jupiter have exactly 3 minutes and 35 seconds to get Mars in undetected. Mars said she would figure an alternate way in.
"Took you guys long enough, what time is it," Mars asked.
"9:47, really this window was the best entrance?" Saturn asked helping her in.
"Hey shut the hell up, all the other doors are guarded," Mars hissed.
10:00 Mars should have exactly 45 seconds to unlock the back entrance and sneak Charon into the building before the guard walks back around.
Mars quietly opened the door and Charon ran in quickly in just the nick of time. They ran to the server room and Charon did his magic. In minutes he was able to route the system's power grid and everything to the remote Cyrus had on the roof. Mike and Cyrus were dressed in black to avoid detection.
10:30 Cyrus and I crawl through the vents when given the signal and gas the vents for any guard pokemon.
Cyrus got the message on his phone from Charon.
"He's right on time, let's go," Cyrus told Mike.
"Almost there man, we are so close," Mike said, crawling into the vent from the roof.
"Don't celebrate yet," Cyrus said.
"Once we ge-," Mike said but fell out the vent through an empty shaft and right onto the floor.
"MIKE," Cyrus quietly shouted, trying to grab him before he fell.
"Ow fuck," Mike said holding his ribs.
Wow, that hurt.
"Mike if you can hear me try to find your way to the top floor I'll meet you there," Cyrus said over the radio.
Mike got up as soon as he realized he was out in the open and saw the light of a flashlight and dove under a desk in what seemed to be an office room. He covered his mouth to avoid audible breathing. The guard's footsteps grew louder and louder until it was right in front of him.
I remember thinking I was fucked, no way he was not going to hear that crash and doesn't check under the desk. This was it, I was going to jail and everything was fucked.
The guard was about the check under the desk when there was a struggle and the guard was knocked unconscious.
"So much for your plan huh," Saturn said, helping Mike out from under the desk.
I never thought I would be so happy to see that face only a mother could love.
"Hey every plan has its flaws...thanks," Mike said.
"Shut up let's get you to the top floor," Saturn said.
Saturn and Mike quietly made their way, they had to sneak past plenty of guards, and with their combined brainpower, they figured out a way to not be detected. They finally reached the stairs to the top.
"I'll watch the stairs, go meet Master Cyrus, and don't fuck up this time," Saturn said with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah," Mike said going up the stairs.
As Mike snuck through the halls the gas entered the building and the bodies of knocked-out pokemon almost flooded them. Charon had made it so that humans were immune to the gas. Mike eventually made his way to the Owner's office where he met with Cyrus.
"You okay?" Cyrus asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," Mike said.
"Once we get in there lock the door so he can't make a run for it," Cyrus said.
"Got it," Mike said.
Cyrus was about to go in but before he did so he put a hand on Mike's shoulder.
"This is it my friend, our journey to victory begins here," Cyrus said breaking into the room.
Mike locked the door as intended and Cyrus began threatening the Owner. He said to hand over control of this building or he was going to use the remote he had to shut this building down screwing up the whole town's electrical grid. The Owner pleaded for Cyrus not to do anything but wouldn't budge. Cyrus was starting to get more and more irritated. Cyrus was normally a peaceful man and rather used intelligence and critical thinking to get his way but sometimes that didn't work.
"What about if I toss you out the window," Cyrus said grabbing the man shoving half his body out the window.
"NO NO NO," The owner begged Cyrus to let him go.
"God damn Cyrus is that necessary?" Mike asked.
"Quiet Mike this is how you run a business you gotta kick ass sometimes," Cyrus said.
After ten minutes of arguing and threatening the owner gave in, he surrendered the ownership of the building and the keys to go with it. The Veilstone Center now belonged to Team Galactic.
The whole team celebrated, and the commanders laughed and talked all night with bottles of champagne and card games. Cyrus was the happiest he had been in years despite losing most of his emotions. Mike had a feeling of joy in him. It was the best feeling he had in a long time.
"We did it, Cyrus," Charon said laughing with joy.
"It worked cause of this genius right here, HAHA," Cyrus said pointing to Mike.
I had never seen Cyrus so happy, now that we had Veilstone in our control people would take us more seriously.
Mike looked in the mirror and smiled, finally, he did something that he was happy with. This was the beginning of the good times for him and Team Galactic.
Eterna City, Sinnoh
August 2005
Age: 22
Mike stood against the wall smoking a cigarette, he looked up at the sun as it gazed down on him even though his protective sunglasses. His clothes looked brand new and his confidence grew overnight. He walked around Eterna City with swagger, he smiled and winked at the ladies. His family had paid off their house, he was getting respect from everyone around him, it was a glorious time for him.
I could do whatever I wanted in some cities, all I needed to do was say some kind of special codeword and bam I got everything, I had new clothes and shoes, they were expensive and honestly, I had never felt this good in my whole life, ever since we took Veilstone Cyrus and Team Galactic were making tons of money and power was handed to us and every time someone tried to stop us well let's just say they didn't try for very long.
Mike took a puff from his cigarette and pulled out his Pokeball to release Blacksteel into the city, Blacksteel loved the sun and ever since Mike got his upgrades he gave his pokemon the absolute best life he could. They deserved it, they stuck with him through the bad times and they believed in him. Mike never made them do the "dirty jobs" he had to do but they always got a piece of the prize.
Deep down I knew what I was doing was wrong but hey fuck it I had given shitty cards all my life it was time I took something I wanted and that's what I did, I didn't have to worry about bills or food or anything, my parents and siblings got what they wanted and everyone was happy. Even my mom's boss who had been a real pain in the ass recently stopped being so mean to her. See Ryan here decided that he wanted to treat my mom less than anyone else and even pushed her down once. He needed some convincing to leave her alone.
"MACY CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK SHE WANTS, GOT IT!" Mike shouted, choking Ryan with his own tie.
"I swear to god hurt her one more time you're gonna deal with me, understand," Cyrus said punching him in the mouth a couple of times.
Ryan muttered out a "got it" as Mike finally let the tie loose, allowing him to breathe fully again.
I think we got the message through. After that night, Ryan never bothered my mom again. Hell, he even gave her the week off with triple pay, how's that for encouragement. . I didn't have the heart to tell my family what Cyrus and I were actually doing. Our names were kept out of the news they knew about Team Galactic but they had no idea about our involvement and I wanted to keep it that way. I kept in touch with Brendan and apparently he was the one who took down Team Magma and Aqua and he had become champion of the Hoenn region, talk about opposites he knew nothing of my involvement either, and honestly, I don't know how he would have reacted if I told him the truth.
Mike was walking down the street, taking in the view of everything when suddenly someone crashed into him.
"Ow, fuck," Mike said sitting up.
"I am so sorry mister," A woman said, helping him up.
The girl looked to be about Mike's age. When Mike got a good look at her, he just admired how good she looked. Her eyes were gorgeous and were clear as the ocean and her hair gave her this badass look that was very attractive to Mike.
Oh, no trouble at all bumping into someone like you.
"It's fine don't worry about it, I got in the way too," Mike said dusting himself off.
"I am just rushing to get to the pokemon league as fast as possible," The woman said.
"Oh, going to take the challenge on?" Mike asked.
"Yup!" The woman said.
"Well I wish you luck," Mike said trying to get a name.
"Cynthia, and you are?" Cynthia said with a smile.
"Mike, maybe we'll get a new champion," Mike said.
"Hopefully, my team and I have been training for a long time, whatever happens, I couldn't be more proud of them," Cynthia said.
"Wait why are you in Eterna City if you're going to the league?" Mike asked.
"I wanted to see the statues before I left, then I realized I was here longer then I wanted, I have to go but I hope to see you again, bye!" Cynthia said running off.
Huh, I wonder if she'll win?
Mike didn't focus much on it, he had to get back to headquarters but not before giving his team a little walk. Over the years Mike had gotten his pokemon team together. He had his starter Swampert, Aggron, Dusknoir, Salamence, Flareon, and Magnezone. He loved all of them; they stuck by his side and despite being part of a crime organization they were all so friendly. Not long after Mike was back in Veilstone City, they were going to discuss how to get control of Eterna City.
And that leaves us now. Boring I know but hey I have a story too you know. Am I proud of what I've done, not really but it doesn't haunt my conscience anymore so I guess that means I have come to terms with it. You know I went from such a shitty situation to I'd say a solid-state of living sure I am a criminal but hey sometimes in life you have to take matters into your own hands and this is the case I did. I'm not proud of what I've done but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change anything…..
Outro:
Okay a big chapter but I loved writing it so much I hope this was in-depth enough to really show Mike and how his character is so I hope I did a good job as Mike will be an important character going forward in the story. Again thank you to everyone for the good wishes and being so patient with this chapter I put everything I had into this one and I think it's one of my best chapters yet. Leave a review telling me what you liked or even disliked about the chapter. Feel free to pm with questions, thoughts, etc, or if you wanna tell that the process of making a pickle is a better story than this then hmu! Thank you all so much for reading and I will see you in the next chapter.
Don't forget to smile,
-Shocker
Question of the Chapter: Is there something about Mike you really like? Also, what was your favorite part of the chapter?
-For me, I like how Mike is a good guy at heart but he accepts his "fate". Also, my favorite part was having Mike and Brendan's friendship that was so fun to write about and imo a good way to connect regions.
Important Events:
-Witness the rise of Team Galactic
-Backstory of Michael Rollins and his impact on Team Galactic
Mike's Team (6/6):
-Silver (Swampert): Waterfall, Dive, Ice Beam, Surf, Hammer Arm, (unknown full moveset)
-Blacksteel (Aggron): Earthquake, Dig, Rock Slide, Cut, Rock Smash, (unknown full moveset)
-Rogue (Dusknoir): Psychic, Brick Break, Confuse Ray, Fire Punch, Shadow Ball, Control Touch, (unknown full moveset)
-Lyon (Magnezone): Thunder, Shock Wave, Thunder Punch, Flash, (unknown full moveset)
-Atlas (Salamence): Dragon Claw, Fly, Aerial Ace, Zen Headbutt, Toxic, (unknown full moveset)
-Flare (Flareon): Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Bite, Quick Attack, Strength, (unknown full moveset)
Next Chapter: A New Member
On his way to Hearthome City, Lucas finds a new friend!