(V) Ava

Isaac couldn't contain his excitement as he immediately raised it in the air and the yellow slip of paper began to glow a bright white light. The Starter Roulette Token rose into the air as the light grew brighter.

Dark silhouettes of a little, quadrupedal amphibian with pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head and a small plant bulb on its back appeared, followed by another.

This one was a bipedal, reptilian with what looked like a fire burning at the tip of its slender tail. Third was a small reptilian that looked like its body was encased by a tough shell. It had a long tail that curled inward.

The fourth was a short, chubby rodent with long, pointed ears and a lightning bolt-shaped tail. The final silhouette was a small, mammalian, quadrupedal with a bushy tail, large furry collar, and long pointed ears.

The five shadows began rapidly cycling in a circle until no discernable qualities could be seen. The light quickly began to rescind as it descended to the patch of dirt below.

As it reached the ground and the light focused on a single point before brilliantly flaring up once more, revealing a small Eevee before the young man.

He began grinning excessively as he clapped his hands together in excitement. While he clearly could tell the difference between Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Eevee, once the roulette began spinning, he couldn't track what the indicator was actually selecting.

He would have loved to receive one of the Kantonian Starters but he definitely preferred an Eevee to a Pikachu. The small tan fox blinked its large brown eyes and looked around curiously at its surroundings.

Isaac knelt down and extended his hand toward Eevee with his palm upright. The fox cautiously leaned forward and sniffed his fingertips before giving a small lick and perking up.

Eevee's information finished generating on his visor and appeared before him.

『Name: Eevee ♀』

『Type: Normal』

『Ability: Adaptability』

『Nature: Jolly』

『Item: None』

『Potential: Silver』

『Level: 5』

『HP: Purple』

『ATK: Blue』

『DEF: Green』

『SpA: Blue』

『SpD: Green』

『SPD: Red』

『Normal Moves: Tackle [U], Growl [U], Tail Whip [U]

Innate Moves: Double Kick [U], Wish [U]

Hidden Moves: Celebrate [U]』

Isaac stared down and couldn't understand what half of everything meant, 'Potential..? Green, blue, purple, and red..? Where are all of the numbers?!? Innate moves..? Hidden moves..?' He thought as he reached forward and patted Eevee who lifted into his palm, closing her eyes and making a soft happy sound.

None of the information made immediate sense to Isaac who smiled down at her when another notification appeared on his visor.

『Would you like to give Eevee a nickname?』

『[Yes]/[No]』

Isaac nodded, which was apparently enough for his visor to understand and he stared down at Eevee, "How about... Ava..?" He said in a soft voice and she looked happy with her new name, quickly spinning in a circle and staring up at him with her big brown eyes.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small pokéball, pressing the center with the tip of his index finger, enlarging the ball before extending it toward Ava. She leaned forward and booped the center, prompting the pokéball to pop open and a bright, red beam shot towards the Eevee, covering her with a bright red aura before being brought into the pokéball.

The ball shook in Isaac's hand once... twice... three times... and Eevee was successfully caught. He held his hand out and pressed the center once more as the red beam arced to the ground in front of him leaving Ava wagging her tail as she stared up at him.

Isaac smiled and went over to the pile of pokéfood and berries lying on his old jacket and grabbed a small handful of berries and took a bite of one as he sat down leaning against the back of the tiny cave.

Ava came running over and ran up his leg and into his lap and sat down staring up at the young man. He popped another berry into his mouth and offered one to his new companion.

The Eevee sniffed the berry before taking a tiny bite, pulling it from Isaac's fingers, and putting it down on his lap before tasting it. Soon it swallowed down the rest of the berry.

"Vee!!!" Ava exclaimed in happiness. The exhausted man smiled softly as he stroked her soft fur while she curled up on his lap and drifted off to sleep.

***

Giovanni scowled as he heard the report from Sird. He flicked his wrists and the young woman and her five henchmen stood up and quickly departed the large room.

He slammed his fist against his desk as the doors closed and he gritted his teeth stamping out the cigar against a golden ashtray. From behind the shadows, a tall older short-haired bespectacled man wearing a lab coat with the Team Rocket logo on his left chest stepped forward.

"They failed to eliminate the target. This is not good." He said with a calm tone.

"They said they killed twenty-five people, how are you certain he wasn't included?" Giovanni growled back without turning his head.

"They failed." He stated as a matter of fact before turning around and stepping into the shadows before leaving his final words, "I'm saying this to annoy you, I wouldn't have helped you take down the first if I wanted to save the third."

Giovanni grumbled as he stroked the Persian seated next to him as he pondered what his next move was. He understood what was said and hated that he agreed with it. His mother trusted this man more than anyone except maybe one person, but he had always remained wary of him.

The mysterious man approached his mother twenty years ago and helped her raise Team Rocket from a small-time crime organization into the giant conglomerate that is today.

'Team Rocket's now the largest criminal organization in the entire world and it's in no small part due to that loathsome man.' Giovanni thought to himself.

It was true, no matter which way you spun it. He advised Madame Boss to expand into Johto, invest in the small up-and-coming criminal organizations such as Team Aqua and Magma, and even secured partnerships with Teams Galactic, Plasma, and Flare to create the Villainous Union under the lead of Team Rocket to oppose the Pokémon Association.

Since Madame Boss stepped down and gave Team Rocket over to Giovanni, there was some tension but once more, he stepped forward and was able to soothe the transition and keep everyone in line and happy enough to work together.

Giovanni had taken over Team Rocket five years ago right before he turned twenty-five and had since created two more groups under him, Teams Skull in the Alola Region, and Team Yell in the Galar Region.

Unfortunately, those too were suggestions from the man Giovanni hated. Every achievement that Team Rocket has made always lead back to him.

He pressed a button and relit his cigar taking a deep puff before the door opened and two women and two men Rocket Executives entered followed by a small bipedal pokémon who all approached the desk and knelt.

"I have a job for you guys..." Giovanni coldly stated as smoke was expelled from between his teeth.

***

Isaac awoke the following morning early as the rays of sunlight pierced through the tall canopy of leaves. He groaned as his stiff body rejected the sleeping experience, stretching as far as he could extend before patting the still-sleeping Ava.

He noticed something on his visor in his peripherals and pulled it down, seeing a red envelope flashing repeatedly. Three notifications appeared one after another.

『Profession Updated!』

『Quest Screen is Available!』

He immediately pulled up his [Character Screen] to see what his new profession was.

『Name: Isaac Firenze』

『Age: 19』

『Profession: Rookie Trainer』

『Perception: 15』

『Intelligence: 20』

『Strength: 5』

『Speed: 7』

『Stamina: 9』

『Insight: 20』

"Rookie Trainer..?" He muttered to himself, "I've spent almost 10,000 hours playing Pokémon! How am I only a rookie?!?" He groaned loudly and rolled his eyes.

He noticed his Stamina had increased as well, "Maybe from all my running yesterday?" He pondered quietly before calling the [Quest Screen] up next.

『Daily Quests: 5/5』

『DQ1: Run 5km [0/5] - Reward: +1 Speed』

『DQ2: Complete 100 push-ups [0/100] - Reward: +1 Strength』

『DQ3: Plank for 10 minutes [0/10] - Reward: +1 Stamina』

『DQ4: Beat 10 pokemon [0/10] - Reward: +1 PokeFood』

『DQ5: Train with partnered pokemon for 1 hour [0/1] - Reward: +1 PokeFood』

『Main Quest: 2/2』

『MQ1: Catch 10 Pokemon [1/10]- Reward: ???, ₽5,000』

『MQ2: Reach Veteran Trainer Rank - Reward: ???, ???, ₽20,000』

Isaac grinned as he read the new screen, "This is new..." He muttered to himself as he rubbed his palms together.

———

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