Chapter 38 ; Rise Or The Fall ; Part 1

"A sudden knock on the simple metal door surprised Eli, but he quickly lifted Teddiursa off him and started to move toward the bed, regaining his composure.

The man at the door was around 40, short and fat, with a completely black uniform. Eli didn't take long to guess that this was a grunt, not a member.

"Here's your package, sir." The man nodded before giving a bow. "Your presence has been requested in room 204."

Eli watched as the man faded in fear as he reached out and grabbed the package before quickly closing the door. But through the last creaks of the door, before it closed, he could hear a sigh of relief fall off the grunt before audible footsteps dispersed down the hall.

Eli quickly opened the door before saying.

"You."

The grunt stopped, shivering in fear for what seemed to be trauma from the members and higher.

"Yes, sir?"

"How do I use this?" Eli pointed towards the tablet, causing the man to look at him in confusion. He looked around for a moment before he slowly started to approach Eli.

"I will, sir... but for."

"For what?" Eli asked.

"I'm trying not to be impudent... good sir, but I have a life to live." The man constantly stroked his hands, looking like one of those greedy merchants from a children's book." 5 RP for my services.."

"Fine. But tell me, how do you use this?"

The man nodded before instructing Eli on everything related to the technology, such as the store, the built-in map, and other useful features. He then explained how to transfer rocket points and check how many you had.

"There is also a miniature version of this tablet that takes place as a watch; I believe it was in the package I gave you, sir."

"Very well."

Eli pressed the tablet towards the man's watch as he gave a small bow and shuffled down the hall with a gleeful strut.... straight into three rocket members that were ambushing him.

Eli watched as the three extorted him out of the points before beating him up and letting him go on his way.

"You lookin' at something punk?" One of them looked toward Eli, who smirked at them.

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Closing the door, Eli put the tablet on the bed before opening the package that he was given with his fingers. A uniform, a watch, his belongings, a gun, a couple of potions and antidotes, and a red band. There were also two bottles of pills, which Eli put in his pockets.

Eli remembered when Brynn told him what it was: a power bracelet adapted to the user's weight and put on a new form of pressure to help it grow through processive adaptation.

"Wear this, Teddiursa," Eli instructed, splitting the one band into two and placing them on Teddiursa's left and right arm.

Teddiursa gritted its teeth as it was weighed down to the ground, but it slowly started to sit up as Eli put the team rocket watch on.

After briefly setting it up and changing into his team rocket uniform, Eli followed the GPS towards room 204, which was on the 2nd floor, and he was on the 4th, which seemed to be the dormitories.

Where even was he right now? The GPS didn't show anything outside, as it was strictly on the inside of the building.

Walking down, Eli saw the same fat man who gave him the package walking into the same elevator.

Eli looked around the metal box; his mouth somewhat frowned as he looked towards the button with simple numerical numbers.

"Where are you going, sir?" The man stuttered before he shook his head at the silent man. "204; I told you before, didn't I? Haha."

He clicked the second floor, even though Eli could tell by his shaking that he wasn't meant to be there.

"Why did you join team rocket?" Eli asked the man, who clicked his tongue. "I joined late; my father was a breadmaker. He fell into an abusive 2nd marriage with his wife, and I got into gambling. I joined when I was 25. Too timid for Pokémon and fighting and managed to land a job as a grunt as a delivery man."

"What would happen to you if you didn't?"

"The secrecy must have been kept somehow." The man gulped. as the shaking intensified. "I owe debts to the people you saw bully me, you know. Ah, here's your stop. Good day to you, sir."

Eli walked out before walking across the slender hallways identical to the ones on the 4th floor. Finally finding room 204, Eli saw no knob before looking for a keypad.

Clicking on the button next to it, a red light suddenly spread across his eye before heavy locks were sound clicking and the door opened.

As Eli stepped inside, what awaited him was a large warehouse with a ceiling higher than a four stfourry building an incredibly wide and spacious. But nobody was in it.

He may have come first.

Time slowed down around him, as he knew exactly what this meant. Looking at his pokeballs at the side of the black with hints of white team rocket uniform, Eli watched as they moved slower. As usual, his time perception slowed down the attacks and physical moments, such as grabbing a Pokeball. The reduced gravity meant it flew slower in the air and took less time to reach the ground.

Twisting his neck, Eli saw something that resembled a needle approach him, causing him to grit his teeth. Gaseous normal energy appeared in the direction of the barrier, and Eli attempted to harden it so that a wall could be created but to no avail. The wall was broken instantly by the impact of the needle as the arrow grazed Eli's cheek before pinning itself on the ground.

Whipping out his gun in time for the pokeballs to finally hit the floor, Eli held the gun in both hands while using the iron sights to shoot in the direction of the needle almost immediately after it hit the floor. The sound of the hollow reflections shows that he was unfortunate enough to miss.

"Water gun! flush them out!" Eli growled towards Skrelp, who instantly released a jet stream full of pressured water towards the direction, but the sound of hollowness came again.

Feeling a sharp prick on his neck, Eli sighed before saying.

"I surrender."

"Not bad." A woman appeared in front of him before tilting her purple eyes with a playful smirk. "How did you know I wasn't going to kill you?"

"If team rocket wanted me dead, I would have never woken up, and that needle would have killed me," Eli admitted, as the woman only chuckled.

"Oh darling, you're a fool if you think people in team rocket don't want you dead."

A frown pricked Eli's blank face as he slowly looked toward her. "Who?"

"I don't give help to others... and nothing you got right now is worth it to me." Her sweeping gaze landed on the Pokémon before it fell on Skrelp.

"How much?"

"excuse me?" Eli frowned before his frown grew deeper. "Not for sale."

"Such a potential... wasted." She sighed before introducing herself. "My name is Janine. I'm supposed to be your instructor, but I'm here to see if you belong in a body bag or a team rocket."

Eli only sighed before observing her closely.

They would only let somebody who absorbed a quarter of the island goes so freely, so their precautions are stable. She seemed here to test him physically and mentally, so he wouldn't be a loose cannon. In team rocket, he was most likely constantly monitored just in case something unfavorable for them happened.

"Why such a hard face? you have such a beautiful young lady in front of you!" Janine muttered as Eli felt her piercing gaze over his face. It wasn't even candlelight towards Giovanni, but she had possessed some skills.

"Can we get down to business already?" Eli complained, which caused her to shrug.

"Me v you, pokemon on pokemon. Simple enough? Limitations will block me from using material items and my energy, but you can use anything you want. I have a foreign set of Pokémon; mine are too strong to face your weaklings."

Eli could feel her probe his reaction, but his face was stone cold.

"Don't get much reaction out of you, do you? Especially those eyes... I've seen eyes like those multiple times."

"I proceed with the challenge."