Chapter 36-37

THE POKEMON HUNTER

I claimed an early evolution of one of the Lucario for myself. Practically a baby-pokemon with how small it was. That was good though. It meant I'd be spending less time beating stubbornness out of it and more time training it to become a useful member of my team. That wasn't all we came here for though. After the battle in the forest, we'd been hurried off back into the submarine to continue our journey.

We'd caused enough of a ruckus with the Lucario skulk, and if we wasted too much time, whatever government this region had could get off their asses and protect our other targets. Our next target? A habitat for a wide variety of water types. I doubted I'd find anything rare enough to replace a fucking Lapras but I'd still keep an eye out.

I took Draco with me to the medical station on board. It wasn't the largest or most sophisticated, but most of the damage he'd suffered was mostly superficial. Nothing a few potions couldn't fix. He sulked a bit about his defeat to Lucario, and resolved to put more effort into his training, and I couldn't ask for more from him. His new passion was a welcome sight though. I'd noticed that he'd been less interested in training recently, he'd gotten complacent in his power. It was good that the Lucario reminded him that there were always bitter fish. The Lucario also reminded of how far I had to go.

If I was to put him in his place, then I'd have to get stronger much, much stronger. That Lucario would have been nothing in the face of any of his pokemon, and it had been more than a match for the entirety of the teem I had on me right now. Pyro's death was really a huge blow. Cyro had hurt, Electro had stung, but Pyro had been the real kicker. A fully trained Charizard was something of a rarity, and I'd had one approaching the elite level. Easily my second strongest, and enough to keep pushing Draco forward.

XXXXXXX- THE ACE TRAINER

I looked around at the squad around me and clenched my fists. This was only going to be my second mission, and to learn that we'd be going after the same people that had attacked Saffron and were suspected to have masterminded Surge's death was enough to set my nerves alight. I shouldn't be worried at all, especially with the calibre of trainers here with me.

An entire squad of ace trainers, led by Koga himself, and then there's the man who had come in,teleported by a league Alakazam, calming most people with a signature smirk and friendly words. I wasn't deceived though. If there was nothing particularly odd about this mission beyond the target, then one of the Elite four wouldn't be here. Especially not Bruno. The wider world might not know this, but Bruno was, perhaps, the most dangerous of the four. He was the only one called to participate in missions like this, and training had been clear on the matter. If Bruno was coming, then shit would soon hit the fan.

The helicopter seemed to slow down as we arrived above a seemingly empty clearing in the middle of the Ilex forest. We'd already been briefed twice. Once at headquarters, and again on the ride over. We suited up in our parachutes and then Bruno casually jumped out of the plane, screaming in exhilaration. I didn't find it ridiculous, till I noticed that he was still in his signature karate gi. Not a parachute in sight. I gaped at the insanity and almost jumped in to rescue the insane man when one of my fellows grabbed me by the back strap.

"Don't stress, Rookie. Bruno's crazy like that. He'll be fine. Now, get ready to move" There was that nickname again. I couldn't stop the scowl that built on my face. She laughed, a booming big-bellied one, and I resisted the urge to recoil. Her breath smelled overwhelmingly of tobacco. The look on my face set her off again, and she was still laughing as she jumped off the chopper. I looked around in shock, noting that I was the only one still in the copter. The flight controller looked at me with a raised brow and I hurried to make the jump, his laughter ringing in the air behind me. I was starting to hate ACE.

I dove down, relying on the months of training I had in making drops like this one. It was practically routine at this point. What wasn't routine though was the trainers ahead of me disappearing after a certain point. What the actual fuck? I hadn't noticed that from the plane at all. No one around me was sounding the alarm so I figured it had to be the illusion we'd been briefed about. Nothing for it, then. Into the breach, we go. I saw the world change around me as I entered the illusion's boundary. It stole my breath away. Right below me was a massive complex. At least five stories high, and dozens of metres tall. How could something like this be hidden so completely in an illusion? It wasn't possible. It went against everything we knew about pokemon. No psychic, ghost, or dark type had this power. Even dozens of them would never be able to coordinate something like this. It spat in the face of nature. It baffled the mind, and boggled the senses. We hadn't even landed yet, and these Rockets had already managed to throw my mind into total and complete chaos. This is exactly what Koga had warned about. I took a deep breath, and settled my attention on taking out the scum in front of me. I'd leave the theorising to pops. He was much better at it, after all.

Bruno was the first to land, the lack of a parachute allowing him to approach the ground at full speed with no time wasted slowing down. I watched in shock as he did a flip in mid air, and landed feet first, shattering the ground around him, but moving in unscathed. Like falling hundreds of feet was something to scoff at. The rockets swarming around the building converged on his location, and I was treated to one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen. He cut a bloody swath through them. Not even bothering to release his pokemon, and diving on the rockets before they could release theirs. His punches broke bones and shattered skulls, killing with the kind of savage ease that I could never imagine from the man that had come in with a kind smile and laugh for every member of the squad. That man seemed to be nothing more than a dream as he pulled a rocket member into an embrace and crushed his spine in a bear hug. I barely even managed to pull on my parachute in time, so focused on the massacre in front of me.

When I finally landed, I noted that I was one of the last to do so. The squad had waited for me though, and we moved in as one. Bruno had already secured our landing sight, and was now heading east, leaving a trail of bodies in front of him. His job was clear, draw the attention of all the Rockets, and have them concentrate their efforts on taking him out. He was one of the elite four, they couldn't afford to just ignore him in favour of focusing on us, after all, even if we were the true threat. Even if we were the ones heading in to put an end to their operations. I realised my Weavile, and set him to task. The blackout field covered the entire complex and some feet beyond. No psychic-type would be teleporting out of here. Jack and Jill, deadly couple that they were, released their Fearows with a scary coordination. Both large birds took to the skies with wicked smirks on their beaks, and letting out loud caws. No one was going to be flying out of here either. We had them trapped.

Koga simply nodded at all of us before sending out his own Crobat and signing at us with his fingers to move in. We followed, covering ground with speed that would have had me gaping in shock only a year ago. ACE training meant this wasn't even the peak of what I was capable of. Not when I was truly pushing it.

We left the grounds behind us and entered the building. When we got to the very first set of stairs, we smoothly separated. Koga leading four others up the stairs, and Frank, our captain leading another five of us down the stairs. The division wasn't equal of course, Koga himself was worth at least five ACE trainers, I knew. I'd seen him school five Squad leaders at once with that team of killers he called Pokemon. He was a monster of a man, and the fact that the Elite Four and the Champion loomed above even him was enough to keep me up at night sometimes. The world I lived in was a terrifying one.

We moved down as a unit. Whatever Rockets unlucky enough to get in our way were dispatched with cold efficiency. Whatever objections I'd have had to such had been consumed in the brutality of ACE training. After killing people I'd thought of as comrades, I had no problem doing the same to the scum of the earth that dared wear the colours of the terrorist organisation.

We met our first true opposition in the form of a giant Machamp. It moved its four hands, in an avalanche of fists and attacks. Frank's Arbok struck at it when it overextended, and Jill's Growlithe drove it in to the floor before ripping out the poisoned pokemon's throat. I ignored the blood pooling at our feet, and continued to run with the rest of the squad.

We covered the ground, searching through floor after floor. It took us getting two floors down before we found the first laboratory. We slowed down, after checking that it was safe, and walked in. The sights inside almost made me wretch, ACE training be damned. Dismembered pokemon were floating in jars around the lab. There was an Alakazam strapped to the table, with its head opened and its brain on full display. It wasn't even the only pokemon here. Dozens of Ralts laid in cages, clearly poisoned. This couldn't be a lab. My dad had a lab. This was a torture center.

We all looked at the morbid sights in shock and awe. It took me sometime to realise we weren't alone in the chamber. I'd logically known from the moment we'd stepped in, but the scientists huddled in the corner hadn't come to my attention, until one of them did the most stupid thing I'd ever seen a man do. He rushed at me with a scalpel in his hands. Even if I hadn't seen him coming from a mile away, his scream would have alerted me. I caught a hold of his hand before he could do anything with the scalpel, and snapped his wrist with a savage movement. I stepped back as he dropped the weapon and fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Frank looked at me in disappointment but I just shrugged. We'd been told to avoid harming the scientists if we found any, but I'd just been unable to help myself.

He nodded at me and I stepped to the back of the line as he began to question the scientists. I couldn't hear much of what was being said. The tiny glow from his pocket told me his cone of silence was active. That was the reality of being an ACE trainer. Secrets within secrets. We were here, on the mission, and we still weren't trusted with all the details and available information.

"We'll be rushing to the lowest floor. Form up" was all Frank said as he left the Scientists shivering on the floor. I saw the barest hints of that Gengar of his rearing up in his shadow. It was terrifying. I took a deep breath and joined the rest of the squad. We followed the captain, and this time, we made our previous pace seem like Child's play. We followed the stairs, practically flying across them, covering feet with jumps and running across the steps whenever we couldn't jump the distance. By the time we got to the lowest floor, I checked my internal clock and wasn't even surprised to find that it'd taken us less than a minute to cover that distance. We moved in, and I could tell that something about this floor was different from the rest. For one, it was cold. So fucking cold. For another, it was dark. Even our flashlights barely penetrated a few feet into the smog around us.

The air was heavy. Breathing had never been so difficult before, not even the peaks of mount Silver had made me feel like this. This was unreal. Suddenly, the darkness disappeared like it never existed, chased away by the rushing light. There were spots in my vision from the sudden change, and when my sight finally cleared, I found myself looking at something strange. A bipedal, humanoid pokemon, with vague feline features. Black skin, and a long purple tail. The most scary thing about it was its eyes. A bright gleaming blue. "Welcome human, you stand in the presence of a superior being. Bow,"It said in a haunting voice. It took me a second to realise that it had no lips, and those words had been projected into my head, through my psychic shields. What the fuck?

XXXXXXX- THE CHAMPION

"Dragon rush" My opponent screamed out and I smiled as her Kindra flew across the air, covered in a light green air before colliding with Dragonite. There was no contest, as my starter no-sold her starter's attack.

Claire was fond of challenging me whenever I visited the city and I never hesitated to take her up on it. Always good to remind my cousin that she was only next in line to rule the clan because I allowed it to be so. I was the strongest of the Blackthorne, after all, and if I ever chose to step down as champion, unlikely as that was, I would take the clan, as was my right.

Dragonite practically ignored her pitiful attack before turning the Water dragon's momentum against it and driving it back into the ground. It was too dazed to get up and Dragonite fired a dragon rage straight at it. The battle tha that had been going on for the past 30 minutes ended there. The Kigdra had put up a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

No one's effort was ever enough. I'd become the strongest years ago, and now? Nothing excited me. I never got to put it all on the line because I was always sure that no one would compare. I'd tried to get to battle the other champion level trainers like Oak and Stone, but they never agreed. Scared to lose to me and have the world see them for what they really were. Inferior.

Everyone was inferior at the end of the day.

THE ACE TRAINER

Something about the pokemon across from me rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn't just its obvious psychic power. Something else about it rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn't enough for it to clearly be the strongest psychic I've ever seen, it was something more than that. All my instincts were going haywire, and ACE training was clear. Instincts are our subconscious' way to alert us to things not visible to our conscious minds. After all, we took in more information than our brains could ever hope to consciously process.

With my instincts the way they were, I had no choice but to release my starter. "Let's go, Metagross," I said in a whisper. A gift from my father when I came first in the Trainer Qualification Exams. My brothers had been so jealous, especially when they'd never received anything as cool from dad. No one ever got gifts from Dad. It was the moment that told me I was more than everyone else. I was special, from the day I was born. No psychic could cause me to doubt this.

The rest of the team followed my lead in sending out their Team Aces. I smiled. They were following my lead, weren't they? Big for a rookie, eh? Lily's Ninjask was a blur. Covering ground between it and the Psychic at a speed none of us could even dream of following. Absolutely unreal. Only the shield that sprang around it and stopped the bug type in its tracks allowed us to get a look at what had even happened.

"That was quite rude of you, to start without allowing me to introduce myself. Anyway, my name is…." The annoying voice in my head was cut off as Frank's Slaking shattered the protect and punched it into the ceiling. The monster did it so casually that I was forced to reevaluate my feelings in the species. Their tendency for truancy and laziness made them terrible for battles but Frank showed what a motivated Slaking could look like.

"Mewtwo. My name is Mewtwo, and this wasn't supposed to be personal, but I must confess that I'll enjoy ripping your spines from your bodies." The pokemon said in my brain with audible malice and I couldn't resist the urge to flinch at the feeling he was broadcasting. There was rage, so much hatred, and another feeling I couldn't quite name.

It floated out of the hole it had been punched into, and used its telekinesis to force Jack's Blastoise' hydro pump to move around it. Jill's Electabuzz's attack shattered against its shield like it wasn;t one of the most powerful electric type moves known to man.

'Metagross. Look for an opportunity, and wipe that smile off its face' my orders were intentionally vague. That was the secret to training a Metagross that a lot of people never understood. The species were frighteningly intelligent, capable of making connections and idea beyond even the most prolific human geniuses. They were unreal, with IQs unmeasurable by any human standards. Why was I telling you this? I mean everyone knows how smart they are, right? No. They don't. People logically know it, but never actually manage to internalise it. If they did, you'd never see trainers give orders to their Metagross in battles. After all, what strategies could we come up with that the Supercomputer pokemon hasn't already thought about and discarded.

As I thought, a flash cannon sailed through the shattered shield the moment Frank's Slaking was able to rouse itself from its lull. Slaking had blown through the shield with another lazy punch, and this time, Metagross' flash cannon slammed into our opponent at the same time as the follow-up punch. I marvelled at the coordination. This time, it wasn't allowed to fly backwards from the attack as the Slaking grabbed it by its tail and slammed it straight into the ground. Lily's Ninjask slammed into it with a bug bite in the blink of an eye and Jill's Electabuzz charged up another Thunder.

I smiled. This is ACE. Unreal coordination and tactics. Not just powerful pokemon, but powerful pokemon working together in a coordinated unit to bring down an objectively superior target. I all mattered for naught though. The "Mewtwo" teleported from its previous position and hovered above all of us, looking none the worse for wear. The rage bearing down on my head doubled though. Good, we're getting on its nerves. I smiled, a long bloody smile and watched as James' Pidgeot and Lily's Ninjask harried it through the air. It flew, chased by both flying types, with one trying to harry it into colliding with the other. A cookie if you guess which pokemon is doing what.

It leaned out of the way of the Ninjask's charge before sending two psybeams crashing against the Pidgeout's protect. The first one shattered it, the second got through and was barely dodged. Lily's Ninjask interfered again with another charge that Mewtwo teleported away from. At least, it tried. It teleported, but appeared right back where it was to take an attack straight to its centre mass, sending it back to the ground. I smiled at Metagross, and sent feelings of pride at him through our bond. As the Mewtwo stabilised its crash, it was grabbed by the jumping Slaking and tossed down with even more force than before. Electrified water crashed into it with the force of a tsunami as Jack and Jill's pokemon executed another smooth combo. My thoughts of victory died a swift, silent death, as it twisted in mid air, flew through the electrified water and grabbed the Blastoise's head. 'Too fast' was the only thought that went through my head as a harsh cracking sound rang across the room.

Jack's face was ice-cold as he sent out his next pokemon. The Golem appeared and caused a rumble on the ground. Mewtwo had already moved on from the Blastoise's still form and was approaching Jill's Electabuzz. Lily's Ninjask appeared in its way and let loose the signal beam it had been charging. Mewtwo dodged with contemptuous ease, but it was forced to change direction as Slaking landed right where its body would have been with a powerful crash. I smiled as the Anger was joined with annoyance and irritation. It tried to progress further but was forced to reroute as the ground opened in front of it and Golem came out with a scream and a mega punch ready on each fist. It weaved through Golem's punches and tossed it aside with impressive telekinetic power, continuing its way to the charging Electabuzz. The thunderbolt crashed into its body to no effect as it kept going, not even registering the attack. No one was in position to obstruct its attack on Electabuzz but Jill quickly returned it to its ball before releasing it on the other end of the cavern. Smart move.

The irritation doubled as it tried to teleport again but found itself returned back to its previous position.

It scowled and ran across the ground, seeking a new target to harass. Ninjask peppered it with signal beams, but it paid them no heed, dodging without even looking. Slaking was in another lull, ignoring Frank's coaxing for it to return to the battle. My estimation of the species proved correct once again. Powerful as fuck, but practically useless in battle. I wonder how Frank had risen so high with such an unreliable pokemon. The Golem used Earthquake to great effect, forcing Mewtwo to float off the ground, perfectly timed with Pidgeot's aerial ace. It somehow managed to dodge the surprise attack, and grabbed the flying type in its psychic grip. I swallowed down a wince as it ripped off the Pidgeot's wings in a display of brutal savagery. Blood, flesh flying everywhere. James screamed, and even if it was contrary to all we wwe taught in ACE, I couldn't blame him. The Pidgeot was far from his strongest, but it had been his starter. His first pokemon on the journey that took him from an orphan on the streets of Viridian to an ACE trainer, in the most competitive ACE squad. He took a few seconds to release his next pokemon, but it mattered little. Slaking was more than willing to keep Mewtwo engaged in the meantime. Slaking cared for very few others beyond Frank, but Pidgeot had been one of those rare cases. They were friends, and no truant nature survived watching a friend be maimed in such a manner.

He was relentless as he pursued the psychic type. Throughout the battle, I'd gotten the sense that Mewtwo had been holding back, toying with us, but now, it was barely even keeping up. Slaking moved with a speed that could almost be called hasteful. It punched and clawed at the Mewtwo, using his bulk to practically bully the pokemon into following his pace. It couldn't retreat, Slaking was relentless, and even as it tried to teleport away, Metagross continually strained his brain power to block off the powerful psychic's ability to twist space. Slowly but surely, the Mewto was being hemmed in, and cut off. It had no chance of surviving this. The powerful Slaking would not be denied.

He finally made contact with a punch that barely brushed across the psychic's cheek. It mattered little though, the punch was powerful enough to slow Mewtwo down, and move it in position so it couldn't dodge the follow up. Every hair on my skin stood on end as the punch landed ripped through the pokemon with a sonic boom. It was gone, vapourised by the powerful attack. I felt the presence in my mind disappear instantly and smiled in relief. We did it! My smile could have blinded the sun itself.

"Well, that's a relief," Jack said with a lighthearted smile. I thought we were goners. I turned to look at him and my smile froze. A blade appeared where his head had been, and separated it from his body. "You children have cost me a lot, today. That Mewtwo was a failure, but it still had its uses. Forgive me for this, but I mustn't allow you to escape after what you've seen here today." A voice came from one end of the cavern that my eyes had slid over. The Gengar next to the Woman that came from the shadows told me exactly why that was. The pokemon that killed Jack also came into visibility. Kabutops? What the fuck? Resurrecting fossils was supposed to be purely experimental tech. A pipedream in even the most advanced league research centres. And now, a random Rocket had an actual prehistoric pokemon. This shit just isn't fair. Jack's head landed on the floor with a dull thud, and I could see Jill shivering out of the corner of my eyes. They were twins, so closely linked that some speculated about the nature of her relationship. I calmly counted her out for the coming battle and prepared to deal with the pokemon in front of me. Kabutops- water and rock type pokemon, known for being physical attackers. Strategy? Blitz with quick attacks and watch out for the blade. Gengar- ghost and poison type. Strategy? Surround and overcome.

The Kabutops was the true threat here, and I knew exactly how to deal with it. No longer having to focus on blocking Mewtwo from teleporting, Metagross had all the space and energy to focus on the adversary across from him. For the Gengar, I took hold of one of the pokeballs on my belt and released Arcanine. I smiled at my giant legendary pokemon. Originally a Growlithe with the giant gene, Dad had helped me evolve him after I passed ACE training. He'd gone from one of the weaker members of my team, to the cornerstone. He even beat Metagross more often than not. No supercomputer could think its way out of the sheer firepower Arcanine could casually toss around. Frank gave me a look as Arcanine appeared on the field, and I tossed a significant one to Jill's still form, and Jack's dead body. He nodded. I was breaking protocol by having more than one member of my team out, but it was clear that this was necessary right now. We were two members down, and facing an unidentified number of assailants.

Arcanine was briefed by Metagross at the speed of thought, and he covered the ground in a speed not far below that, attacking the Gengar in less than a second. No one could follow his path across the field, as he appeared above the ghost in less than a second, and latched on to it, with teeth glowing from the dark type energy of a crunch. I smiled in pride as the Gengar started to struggle to get away, and my partner kept hold of it with no difficulty. Our opponent looked unfazed at one of his pokemon being taken out of the fight, and I didn't understand why until the ground beneath us all began to rumble. Of course he had more pokemon.

Metagross levitated himself off the ground, and Arcanine followed his example, in moving across the field to make himself less of a target, less likely to be felt by the pokemon underneath us. It was all for naught though, as a massive Steelix came out from the ground beneath us, directly underneath Arcanine.

My legendary fire type wasn't able to do anything as the air was driven out of his lungs and he was sent flying. The Gengar managed to secure its release in the confusion. Arcanine managed to land on his feet, but he was quickly faced with additional opponents. The woman in the shadows had released two more pokemon. A duo of Gyrados, I felt something in me give at that. This was ridiculous.

I was so afraid that fear itself had become meaningless. The Mewtwo, Kabutops, a fucking Steelix, and now Two Gyrados. It was all ridiculous, and something about that realisation calmed me down enough to focus on the situation.

Arcanine was outnumbered, and surrounded by giant pokemon, much larger than he was,but that didn't matter. We still had the advantage. Frank was convincing Slaking to get involved again, James and Lily looked to be consoling Jill and helping get her mind back on track. All I had to do was hold on till the rest of the team was ready. I had no need to win this battle. ACE wasn't about that. Jack might be gone, but we still remained strong as a unit. More than strong enough for whatever Team Rocket could throw at us.

"Arcanine. Formation 21" I said with a broad smile on my face. We could do this. No pressure. He listened and bathed the area around him in a swarm of flames. One of the Gyrados wasted no time in drowning the flames in a hydro pump. The steam covered that section of the cavern almost instantly. I waited for a few seconds, and heard the roar of pain from one of the Gyrados just as I expected. Formation 21- use fire to bait a liquid response, and take advantage of the resulting steam to move in with a thunderfang. A basic tactic, but Dad had been right when he said the most effective tactics were often the most basic ones.

It proved its effectiveness today. The Gyrados' thrashing helped clear out some of the steam, and I could see exactly what happened next. THe other Gyrados tried to rush at Arcanine with a headbutt to free its partner. Arcanine waited until the last second to dodge and allow it to crash into the pokemon it sought to save. I smiled at the chaos, and Arcnaine did not hesitate to take advantage.

The Steelix was left unprotected, and my Legendary took no time in covering the steel-type pokemon with a bright blue flamethrower. So much fire at such a high heat that I felt like I was being baked even over here. I watched as the fire started to get hotter and more focused, Arcanine being intent on roasting the steel type where it laid.

It was all for not though. A claw of darkness rose out of the ground beside my legendary and took a long swipe at his side before either of us could react. The Gengar rose out of the ground with a wicked smile on its face. My smile became stiff as it followed up by attempting to lick the injuries it caused my loyal partner. Luckily, Arcanine was able to drum up the focus to dodge out of the way of the attack, but by that time, the Gyrados had settled themselves and my Arcanine was even more outnumbered. At least, he was, until Metagross cared to show his effects on the battle.

He turned from harrying the Kabutops with telekinesis and fired a bright bolt of electricity at one of the Gyrados. Thunderbolt. He'd waited for the precise moment when they were making contact to unleash his attack, and he got both of them for the price of one. Only one of them ended up being knocked out, but the other looked to be on its last legs. I smiled at my starter, and prepared my next orders for Arcanine. They proved unnecessary though, Slaking landed right on top of the Gengar. Punching through it half a dozen times with a mega punch. It dispelled instantly, unable to gather the energy to reform after such a decisive attack. The second Gyrados was knocked out by another thunderbolt, and I turned to see Jill's Electabuzz with a grim smile on its face. The Steelix wasn't left conscious for longer, as James' Typhlosion landed right on top of it in a manoeuvre similar to Slaking and roasted it in one of the species' trademark explosions.

By contrast, the Kabutops suffered a more violent, slow end. Jack's Golem, with its trainer gone, held nothing back in its attack of the pokemon that had done the deed. Both rock types wrestled across the cavern, with Metagross using their telekinesis and other means to subtly shift the battle away from the Kabutops' favour. When the Golem caught the prehistoric pokemon in a bear hug, I knew it was over. It crushed the fossil in those strong arms, and though I felt the loss of such an interesting species, as well as the information we could have gained of the Rocket's process from the pokemon, I couldn't deny the joy I felt at watching it die. Jack and I hadn't been the best of friends, but he was my teammate. We'd bled, fought and worked together to achieve common goals. There was no way I could say I hadn't grown to care for him.

The woman's attempt to retreat back into the shadows were halted, and she was levitated towards us, completely restrained by Metagross' telekinesis. "Hello Rocket, I have no idea what you expected with that little stunt, but we'll enjoy ripping your secrets from your mind".

"Unfortunately, I can't allow that to happen" Another voice rang out. Was every member of team rocket obsessed with dramatic entrances? The voice didn't remain in the shadows for long, and walked out to all our surprise. The man was wearing his trademark black suit, and had his hair slicked back. The smile on his face sent ice through my blood. Giovanni? Team Rocket? 'This is insane', my mind told me, but I couldn't ignore what was obvious to me. The bright red R on his suit left no doubts as to his allegiance. After all, if he wasn't a rocket, what would he be doing here?

"Ace Squad Alpha. What a shame to see you here. Sadly, I can not allow any of you to leave here alive. Don't get me wrong, to kill such bright lights of the human race saddens me, but I must do what I must. Rest easy knowing your demise is for the greater good, though."

"What insanity is this?" James asked with a scowl on his face. He looked apoplectic. "Team Rocket? You? You're a gym leader. A pillar of Kanto, one of the few things keeping the region stable, and you're in Team Rocket at the same time? You're a traitor?" James' voice rose as he asked question after question.

I could see why he was annoyed though. He'd grown up as an orphan in Viridian city, only being able to complete his journey because of the funding he'd received from Viridian's gym. He'd only been able to become who he was because of Giovanni's help, and he'd looked up to the man with an ungodly level of hero worship. It had been pathetic when I saw the Giovanni collection cards and the action figures he had of Giovanni's known team, but now, I felt nothing but sadness for him. To have someone you looked up to turn out to be a traitor must be devastating. It mattered little though, we were ACE. A traitor in front of us was just a body that didn't know it was dead.

"Ahh James, my boy. You must not remember who you are" We all looked at the man in confusion. The only reason we were tolerating this little back and forth was because of Slaking. Frank was allowing this to run its course so Slaking would be more likely to have gotten out of his lull by the time the battle started. We'd need him if we were to have any hope of succeeding in this. After all, Giovanni was an elite level trainer, who had declined being on my father's elite four to remain Viridian's gym leader.

"Longing, rusted, furnace, daybreak, seventeen, benign, nine, homecoming, one, freight car" Giovanni said in a smooth voice, and I could have sworn the man had gone insane until I looked at James and found him staring at the Gym leader with a glassy look in his eyes.

"This one is ready to serve, Master" The man I'd called my friend said in a stiff, robotic voice.

He walked away from us, towards Giovanni, and I watched in shock as he knelt before the traitor. Pure insanity, I wasn't the only one confused and furious at this turn of events.

"James. What are you doing?" Lily shouted after him and he didn't even bother turning. Giovanni's smug smile sent a rush of emotions through my body, none of them were positive.

"The man you knew as James never existed. Nothing but a spy for Team Rocket. Of course, we had to add some elements to his personality and take out a few of his memories to allow him pass through ACE training. He was my agent without even consciously knowing it. Now, I don't need an agent in the League anymore. It is time for the League to fall. It is time for the rise of Rocket. You won't get to see this, of course. You will be the first casualties of a new age. Rejoice in the honour."

Slaking appeared in front of the man at the end of his monologue with a punch that displaced the air around all of us. I watched in shock as the man was unharmed, a psychic shield having sprung up around him at the very last second. I felt my heart fall to my stomach as a familiar mental pressure made itself known. Mewtwo. Another one? This one's presence was somehow even more suffocating than the last.

"Perfect Mewtwo" Giovanni announced with a bright smile on his face. "Behold the greatest scientific marvel the world has ever and might ever see. A legendary pokemon made from human hands. A perfect pokemon." I scowled at the statement as even more fear shot through my body.

Man-made pokemon? What kind of abominable research were these rockets dabbling in. This was just getting ridiculous. I felt the necklace I carried around my neck heat up.