Pokemon: A Rocket Adventure
Chapter 1: Promotion
Sarah Townside, a twenty five year old woman with shoulder length blonde hair stood nervously before her boss's office doors. Her sky blue eyes flicked about while her mind raced with trying to think of why her boss had called her to his office. She fidgeted as she waited, her hands constantly pulling at her Team Rocket office uniform and adjusting her thin black rimmed glasses. She could feel her pale skin getting clammy from sweat because of how nervous she was getting and wished she had some idea as to why she had been called.
"Come!" A strong authoritative voice called from behind the door.
Sarah squeaked and hurriedly grasped the door handle and pushed open one of the large double doors. "Y-you wanted to see me s-sir?" She stuttered.
"Ah Miss Townsend, yes, please, take a seat," the sharp and intimidating man said in the same, albeit calmer, tone while he gestured to the swivel chair in front of him.
Sarah gulped as she entered her boss's large office. She took notice of all the shelves and display cabinets that housed many of Giovanni's accomplishments over his long career as both a crime boss and successful businessman. Despite having joined Team Rocket shortly after its reformation into the peacekeeping force it is now, she knew about its and her boss's past. Which all added to further his intimidation factor.
Giovanni watched as the young woman nervously walked over to the provided chair. He smirked internally, glad to see his reputation is still enough to scare people, even if it's his own employees. While she was getting into the chair he reached into an open drawer beside him and pulled out a Premiere Ball and set it on the table.
Sarah sat into the offered chair and turned so she was directly in front of him. She was thankful his desk would hide her lower half because her right leg began to bounce from her growing nervousness.
Giovanni smiled softly at the young woman as he clasped his hands together on his desk in front of himself and adopted his more businessman-like demeanor.
"You do not need to be nervous Miss Townsend. I can assure you, you are not in any trouble," He said in a soft calming voice.
The young woman visibly relaxed but quickly grew confused.
"I-if I'm not in trouble sir, how come you have called for me?" She asked in confusion. She was just a simple deskjocky that did paperwork, so she couldn't think of any particular reason for her boss to want to see her specifically unless she did something majorly wrong.
He smiled as he leaned a little forward in his chair. "I've heard good things about you, that you're a good honest worker and that you wish to be a Field Agent, assisting in operations and helping the general public. I've also heard that you don't have a Trainer's License or a pokemon of your own. Is that correct?"
She grew even more confused at this. "Y-yes sir, why do you ask?"
He nodded. "Firstly, can you explain to me why you have neither a trainer license or a pokemon,"
"Um, well, I was going to be a trainer when I turned ten like most kids here," She began. "But my mother fell badly ill just a few days before I was supposed to pick up my license and pokemon from Professor Oak. My mother and father encouraged me to still go on my journey but I didn't feel right in leaving my father alone to look after my ill mother so I decided to stay home instead. As for not having a pokemon, well, we have had various pokemon as a pets before and after my mother's illness but that's about it,"
Giovanni nodded in understanding and smiled internally as she appeared to be someone with good morals and priorities.
"I see. It's commendable that you helped to stay and look after your ill mother by putting your own desires on hold. I do hope she's doing well now,"
Sarah smiled at the compliment and appreciated her boss's concern for her mother. "Thank you sir, and thankfully my mum has recovered, well, recovered enough that she isn't at risk anymore,"
"Good, good. Now then Miss Townsend," He began as he reached over to the Premiere Ball that she just noticed was sitting on his desk and pushed it over to her. "To be a Field Agent you'll need to be an experienced Pokemon Trainer, so, my proposition is this, take this pokemon and take the Kanto Gym Challenge. If you can prove to me that you can be a competent trainer I'll promote you to the position of Field Agent along with all the perks that apply. Do you accept?"
Sarah gasped. She had never expected something like this, especially from Giovanni but it was a dream come true. It took her all of two seconds to come to a decision.
"Yes sir, I accept!"
Giovanni smiled as he leaned back in his chair.
"Good. I like the enthusiasm. Now then. I will use my connections in the Pokemon League to fast track your license renewal. I am also generously giving you six months to reach my gym in Viridian City. That should be enough time for you to build a team and acquire the seven other badges along with gaining the experience you'll need. You will also be required to report to active Team Rocket members for additional training at each of the major towns and cities along the way. Exact details to who and what the training will be, will be forwarded to you along the way,"
Sarah nodded along as she listened to her boss. She was excited but also nervous at the same time. But there was a small pit of dread in her gut since at the end of it she would have face her boss in an official gym battle and she knows how difficult getting the Earth Badge is considering only challengers that have seven Kanto badges or have completed other regional gym challenges are allowed to challenge the Viridian City Gym. There is a reason why it's known as the last stop before the Indigo League.
Sarah picked up the white ball and tapped the button, enlarging it to is normal size. She noticed a lightning bolt printed onto the ball above the button which told her it contained an electric type and then the number scratched into the ball above that. She opened her mouth as she was about to ask what was inside, when it suddenly jumped out of her hand and snapped open. She squeaked in surprise as in a burst of white light a pokemon materialised on the desk in front of her.
"Pikachu!" It cried and shook itself. It shuddered uncomfortably when its blue eyes landed on the ball resting in the woman's hand. He growled at it and edged away a little and that's when he realised he didn't recognise the young woman before him. His ears twitched as he felt a presence behind him and he turned to see the most intimidating man he'd ever seen before in his life.
Giovanni stared disapprovingly at the Pikachu that wilted under his harsh stare. "Miss Townsend, meet your new partner," He said with a gesture of his hand to the little yellow mouse pokemon.
"Oh wow, a Pikachu," Sarah gasped in surprise but her expression quickly turned to confusion as she took in the Pikachu's appearance. "Though, not like any Pikachu I've ever seen before,"
Her boss nodded in agreement before he handed over a small leaflet of papers. "He was recently rescued from a Team Galactic research centre where he had been experimented on. His visual change is noted to have been a side effect but the full details of what has been done to him are in those notes. I'd advise you review them thoroughly later,"
She nodded and took the papers. She was shocked and sickened inside that some people are vile enough to do such things to these amazing creatures.
"I am also giving you the rest of the week off considering it's Friday tomorrow. Use this time to get to know your partner. I will inform you the moment I have confirmation your new license is ready as well. Good luck Miss Townsend." He finished as he stood up and held out his hand to her.
Sarah stood as well and shook hands with her boss. "Thank you sir, thank you for the oppotunity."
XXXXX
Sarah sighed as she opened the front door to her family's Vermillion City house. She held it open while her new pokemon walked in.
It had been quite the experience getting home with him. She quickly learned that her Pikachu doesn't like traveling inside his pokeball as he practically slapped it out of her hand with the broadside of his tail when she was going to recall him back in her boss's office. She had then picked him up and carried him in her arms out of the office which he loudly protested against until she was shocked by his heightened electricity just outside the office doors while also giving Domino a scare. It was then slow going getting home as her Pikachu wasn't in any rush and shied away from anyone that got too close to him which she had to then coax him back out whenever he hid. She was thankful that he was willing to follow her though, otherwise getting home with him would have been more of a headache.
"The pros and cons of becoming a trainer I guess," she quietly sighed to herself as she shut the door.
"Sarah, is that you?" Called a scratchy feminine voice from upstairs.
"Yeah Mum." She called back in reply.
"Pika!" The unique Pikachu jumped at the unfamiliar voice.
"It's ok Pikachu, you're safe here." Sarah reasured him as she proceeded to guide her pokemon to the kitchen.
Several minutes later the door to the kitchen opened and a middleaged woman limped in while using a cane for support. She looked very similar to Sarah but older and had curly greying black hair instead.
"What are you doing home so early?... Oh!" The older woman asked just as she noticed the Pikachu with red and black markings sat on the breakfast bar near her daughter, eating an apple.
"Mum, this is my new partner pokemon and my boss basically gave me a promotion, sort of, and the rest of the week off," Sarah smiled.
"A promotion?"
Sarah nodded then proceeded to explain to her mother the day's events and the details of what she'll now be doing. During the conversation the Pikachu relaxed a bit as he could sense no maliciousness from the older woman but he would shy away when she reached out to pet him. Prompting his new trainer to explain his predicament.
"You will have to work hard to gain this Pikachu's trust Sarah,"
"I know Mum. I still can't believe people would do such a thing,"
"Team Rocket was no different," Sarah's mother said in disapproval which prompted Sarah to sigh.
"I know about my organisation's past Mum. But if it wasn't for Team Rocket stopping Team Flare or Galactic we might not even be alive right now,"
Her mother sighed in defeat. It had been a sore subject between them about their conflicting views on Team Rocket, one not overlooking the bad they once did and the other believing in what they now stood and strived for, which unfortunately lead to arguments from time to time.
Changing the subject so as to avoid another row, the older woman gestured to the Pikachu's left ear and to the small earring attached to it. "Why does it have an earring?"
Sarah blinked as she now only just noticed it since it was indicated to her by her mother. She quickly flipped through the notes her boss had provided her with and found the entry she needed.
"Due to Experiment 4472's heightened electrical power, our usual microchip identification tags short out so we went back to the old method of a physical tag…" she read out.
"Oh the poor dear,"
"Pikachu, do you mind if I have a look at it?" Sarah asked softly. The Pikachu tilted his head slightly and lifted his left ear to give her a clear view of the small brass ring. She gently used a finger to lift the ring slightly while she looked closely at it. "I can see something, but I can't make it out. Hey Mum, where's your magnifying glass?"
The older woman opened one of the kitchen drawers she was next to and rummaged around for a moment before she pulled a small magnifying glass. "There is always one in your Dad's man drawer." She chuckled to herself as she gave her daughter the magnifying glass.
Sarah thanked her mother and used the magnifier to get a better view of what she could see on her Pikachu's earring. "Even with the magnifying glass I can't read much. All I can make out is the number 4472,"
After that the two began to talk about what the future might hold for Sarah and her partner. Her mother decided to help by giving her daughter some advice on pokemon care and when her father came home, they discussed the things that Sarah would need to prepare for while out on the road.
XXXXX
Sarah yawned as she climbed onto her bed and sat up against the headboard. The sun had set several hours ago but she wasn't tired enough yet to sleep and decided to use the time before going to bed to continue reading the notes on her Pikachu. She smiled as her new pokemon climbed onto the bed with her but stayed on the opposite end. She had plenty of cushions and pillows on her double bed so she moved a few of them to give her Pikachu something more comfortable to rest on.
The Pikachu was exhausted. He has had a day of non-stop thrills, frights and confusion as everything was so new to him now after a couple of years being isolated and his old world view being shattered. He watched as his new trainer piled up some extra pillows on the bed next to him and smiled gratefully at her for that. So far she's been the only human to treat him with kindness since the handler that looked after him when he was a Pichu. He was also growing to trust her as she, so far, has not done anything to hurt him and seems to understand him somewhat since she has not tried to touch or handle him since he voiced his displeasure earlier in the day. He wondered if this was the start of the life he dreamed about since his evolution into a Pikachu as he climbed onto the pillows and curled up to sleep.
XXXXX
Sarah awoke the next morning to the sound of whimpering and something squirming around at the end of her bed. It took her sleep-addled brain a good minute to remember she now has a Pokemon partner, and a traumatised one at that. She then realised what the whimpering was and quickly sat up and in the early morning light coming through her window, she saw her Pikachu. He was still asleep but he was whimpering and squirming, like he was having a bad dream.
"Pikachu, Pikachu!" She called to him, but he didn't respond. She then reached out to shake him but stopped as she wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not but upon seeing some blue sparks jump from his cheeks she realised she had to. "Pikachu, wake up!" She said a little louder while gently shaking him.
Pikachu woke up from his nightmare and let out a cry of fear while he discharged the built up energy in his cheeks. He heard a feminine gasp as blue bolts of electricity arked across the room, leaving scorch trails along the walls and ceiling. He looked around after the discharge and sagged with relief when he realised he wasn't in his old cell. His eyes then fell on the young woman he remembered had become his new trainer. She had scrambled back quickly to avoid getting electricuted and she was currently looking at the scorchmarks. He whimpered fearfully as he was afraid of how she'd react to this.
When Sarah looked back at the young pokemon her heart broke at the fear she saw in his eyes. Without thinking, she reached out and pulled the Pikachu into a supportive embrace and began to pet him soothingly with her hand while she uttered soft reassurances to him. Pikachu was caught completely off guard by this and he didn't know how to react until after a few moments of being in this supportive and gentle embrace, he broke. He clung to the woman's pajama shirt as he began to cry, all the while she continued to shower him in affection.
While the mouse pokemon cried, she couldn't help but feel a boiling anger rising inside of her, all directed to who truamatised him. "When I become a Field Agent. I better not find whoever did this to him. Because if I do, Arceus knows I'll make them pay for it." She seethed internally.
Later that morning the pair were in the kitchen having breakfast. Sarah had spent a little bit of time cleaning him up after his breakdown and was happy to see that he now tolerated her touch. She decided to try her luck when she placed a particulary large apple down in front of him. As he picked up the apple with his red and black furred forepaws she gently stroked her hand down his back. He squeaked and froze, he was rigid long enough that she began to think she had overstepped her bounds but thankfully he eventually relaxed and let her continue.
After a few more pets she removed her hand and retrieved her bowl of cerial and sat down at the table beside him. "Pikachu," she began, getting his attention. When he turned his head to look at her and their blue eyes met, she continued in a serious tone. "I promise you, I will never intentionally hurt you,"
He blinked for a couple of seconds as he let what she said sink in. He then smiled from the heartfelt sincerity he had felt from her. "Pika pika," he thanked her before going back to his apple.
Once they had eaten, they moved into the living room where Sarah continued to review the notes she had been given. Her Pikachu was busy digging through a stack of news papers that had been on the end table in the corner beside the sofa. The tv was on and showing a Championship Battle between a boy and a gym leader from the Galar Region, though neither human nor pokemon were paying much attention. It was simply on for ambience.
"I can't believe some of this crap…" Sarah muttered to herself out loud in annoyance from something she had just read in the notes.
Her Pikachu nodded along in agreement while he dug through the papers. He eventually found a small thin colourful book that caught his attention and he pulled it out. It was a comic book and featured a muscular human flying through the air in a red and blue suit with a big S on his chest and a flowing red cape. Intrigued he sat down with it and began flicking through its pages.
He largely understood the human language, mainly verbal but he did understand some of the written language. He was able to read most of the small words in the speech bubbles so he got the jist of the plot, superhero fights bad guys. Half way through the comic he came to a full page illustration of a bald man dressed in a black suit with some green highlights and he gave him a similar vibe to the man from the day before when he met Sarah. The illustration was depicting the man introducing himself and had a fairly large speech bubble in block capital letters that read, "I AM LEX LUTHOR!"
After rereading the character's name again, Pikachu's eyes lit up. He liked the sound of that name, especially the first name. He turned to face his trainer while he held up the comic.
"Pika pi!" He called to get her attention and tapped a paw on the page when she looked up.
"Hmm?" She then noticed that her Pikachu was holding up a comic book. "Oh, that's one of my Dad's old Superman comics,"
"Pika," he said in the negative and tapped the comic on the open page.
Sarah tilted her head as she tried to understand what he was saying. She noticed how his red and black paw was tapping on a page illustrating Luthor. "That's Lex Luthor, Superman's arch enemy," she explained, thinking he was asking who the character is.
"Pika," he replied with a shake of his head. He looked at the page as he tapped it again to make sure he was pointing at the character's first name. After a few taps at the name he then pointed at himself. "Pi pika pika,"
Sarah stared at the Pikachu for a moment as her brain worked out what he was saying along with his gestures. It then dawned on her what he was asking when he repeated the motions. "Oh, you want to be called Lex?"
He nodded with a happy smile.
"Huh, hmm, Lex… Lex the Pikachu. I like it. It has a nice ring to it," she smiled fondly at her Pikachu. "Alright then, I'll name you Lex,"
The newly named Lex dropped the comic and clapped his forepaws happily. Sarah herself smiled at seeing her Pikachu looking so happy and it further solidified that he was now her's.
Later that day Sarah was sat with Lex in her lap. He was comfortable enough with her now that she could touch him without him freaking out. While sitting together, Sarah decided to use the smart features of her tv to bring up Poketube and play videos of pokemon battles.
She had explained to him that battles would be part of the journey they'd be going on and she was showing the inexperienced pokemon what to expect. Lex seemed excited by the battles he watched on the tv, especially ones involving another Pikachu. Sarah was glad to see the excitement in her pokemon and she herself felt excitement in finally being able to begin training and helping her pokemon grow.
Suddenly during a rather mesmerising battle between a Pikachu and a Charizard her mobile phone began to scream. Lex squeaked in fright from the sudden noise and jumped away while Sarah let out a shriek and fell off the sofa. The phone continued to blast out a rapid electric guitar rhythm while she frantically grabbed at it and swiped her finger over the green accept button on the screen to shut it up and to answer the call.
"HELLO! Ehmm, uh, Hello?" She gasped out as she answered it.
Lex's ears twitched as he looked on curiously and as he could faintly hear a voice coming from the device his trainer was now holding up to her ear.
"Oh, sorry Giovanni sir, no, everything is ok, my phone's ringtone just startled me is all,"
She smiled as she looked at Lex who tilted his head slightly.
"He's doing great actually. I think we're bonding really well,"
She nodded along as she listened to what was being said and then quickly picked up a pen and ripped a piece of paper off of an old newspaper and held her pen to it. She nodded again and said she was ready then began to write something down. A few moments later she pulled the phone away from her ear and smiled as she sat back down.
"That was my boss," she began. "The scary guy from yesterday," she quickly added and Lex immediately knew who she meant. "He just told me my trainer's license would be ready to be picked up from Professor Oak on Monday," she smiled happily. "Those must be some connections he has to have got it renewed that quickly." she then muttered to herself.
Lex sat back in her lap and relaxed into her while he went back to watching the pokemon battles. He stiffened for a second when Sarah began to pet him again but he quickly relaxed and cooed at her touch.
"So, we have the weekend to get prepared and to do a little shopping for our journey," Sarah smiled while she pet her Pikachu. "And come Monday, that'll be us." She pointed at the screen as it showed a woman pokemon trainer hugging an Eevee after a very close victory.
"Pika." Lex nodded, feeling excited for what was to come.