Jacob took a deep breath as he stood outside the door. Butterflies flew around in his stomach, and his hand shook. Standing there, in his Team Rocket uniform, the young man was aware of the great honor he had been gifted; it was rare that a member of Team Rocket was allowed to meet the leader, Giovanni. Only the highest ranking agents generally spoke with the Leader, and they disseminated the orders to the lower downs, and then them to the grunts. Jacob, who had been a part of Team Rocket for all of three months, was now doing something many members never got to do.
He took another deep breath as a mechanical voice told him to enter. The doors swung open automatically as he stepped forward. The room was surprisingly large, Jacob thought. Forming a rectangular shape, the room stretched longwise, a huge flat screen TV covering most of the back wall. The lack of windows was apparent, but that was what was to be expected in an underground hideout. Across from the entrance sat a single wooden desk, a small screen on top of it. Behind it was a rather large leather chair on wheels that looked like it didn’t belong.
The man in the chair looked spiffy, however. Giovanni was a tall man with his hair slicked back in a dark orange suit. His green tie was the most noticeable thing about him; that, or his wicked smile. Jacob felt dirty just looking at the man. But he guessed that was what Gus had told him. His mentor, Gus had saved Jacob from a great fall when he was travelling in Sinnoh, and it was in his service that Jacob had joined Team Rocket. Gus had never liked Giovanni much, and Jacob often wondered why the old man had stayed in the organization so long, but he never got his answer. Just a week before, Gus had died from a chronic illness that finally caught him.
Jacob looked Giovanni in the eye and smiled, nodding graciously. The Leader of Team Rocket stood as he saw Jacob enter the room.
“Ah, Jacob. Nice to finally meet you,” He said motioning for Jacob to come closer before extending his hand for a handshake. Jacob grabbed the man’s hand firmly.
“A pleasure to meet you as well,” Jacob replied, sitting down in a small wooden chair one the opposite side of Giovanni’s desk. Giovanni began to speak again rather quickly, Jacob thought, and he found it to be a bit odd.
“I was so sorry to hear about Gus,” he said, lowering his tone. “I didn’t know he was so sick. I heard you two were close, and I wanted to offer my condolences.” The man’s face was scrunched up in distress, but Jacob knew he was lying. He could feel a chill down his spine every time Giovanni spoke. While Giovanni might not have been happy to lose such a talented master, he was not distressed at his loss. Gus was a thorn in his side, recruiting new members all the time that he had control over, not Giovanni.
It was then that Jacob realized what Giovanni was doing. With Gus gone, he wanted to ensure Gus’s recruits remained loyal to Team Rocket. After all, it was very likely that the many of them would leave without Gus holding them there. But why would Gus set it up that way? If he was truly dedicated to the organization, why would Gus create a system whereby his followers shared no allegiance to the group? Then Jacob’s second epiphany hit: Gus must have been planning a move against Giovanni, perhaps to wrest control of the organization from his grimy hands. Jacob’s face twitched as he thought of this.
“Thank you,” he replied to Giovanni’s condolences. “That means a lot, sir.” The Leader of Team Rocket smiled in response.
“Good. Now then, we should discuss your promotion within the organization. I’ve had a few agents watching you, and they believe you have real potential. Your pokemon may be lacking… but you have got potential. As such, I wanted you to join me here, as my pupil.” Giovanni smiled at Jacob with the most horrid of smiles, as if he was bragging at the fall of Gus’s plot Jacob only recently discovered. He couldn’t stand it.
“No,” he said quietly, before repeating it more loudly. “No! I won’t join you! I don’t even know why I’m still sitting here, listening…. To you! Gus wanted to take you down, and so I will finish what he started.” Jacob stood and grabbed a pokeball from his pocket. From it a flash of white light was released, and Jacob’s Blastoise, Nero, stood in front of him. The room was plenty high for Nero to reach his full height, and the pokemon roared as it was released. But Giovanni just laughed.
“Alright, then boy, perhaps a demonstration!” Giovanni reached into his pocket, pulling out an ultraball. In a flash of yellow, another pokemon appeared. Giovanni’s Nidoking stood tall, facing down Jacob’s Blastoise. “Try it!”
“Nero,” Jacob began. “Use Hydro Pump!” Jacob’s Blastoise released its cannons before firing a volley of water towards the Nidoking.
“Dodge,” Giovanni commanded, and the pokemon leapt to the side, easily avoiding Nero’s attack. “Now, use Earth Power!” His Nidoking glowed yellow before slamming the ground. The floor cracked beneath them, and the cracks rushed towards Nero. As they reached him, Nero was thrown backwards with a great force, slamming into the back wall behind Jacob. “Horn Drill!” Nidoking’s horn began to spin as he charged towards Jacob’s Blastoise. Nero barely had time to stand up when the poison pokemon crashed into him, his horn cutting into Nero’s torso. The pokemon yelped in pain before dropping to the ground, unconscious and seriously injured.
Without recalling Nero, Jacob grabbed another pokeball. “Zed, use Metal Claw!” In a flash, Jacob’s Excadrill, Zed, appeared, and it swiped forward at Giovanni’s Nidoking. The Nidoking caught Zed’s arms however, preventing him from carrying out the attack.
“Poison Sting!” Giovanni commanded. His Nidoking ducked his head and, still holding both of Excadrill’s arms, he released a purple, horn shaped projectile into Zed’s stomach. The attack hit, and Zed began to glow purple. He slouched down to the ground, badly poisoned. “Megahorn,” Giovanni said, but his pokemon was one step ahead of him. The top of Nidoking’s head glowed as he slammed it into Zed, sending the pokemon falling backwards onto the ground, unconscious. “I think that’s enough,” Giovanni declared. “No? You are welcome to try again. But if you cannot even defeat one of my pokemon, how do you ever expect to depose me?” The man said with a sly smile. “Most of those who attack me I have killed. However, I have another proposal for you.”
Jacob was busy looking over Nero and Zed. Both of them were in critical condition, and needed medical attention soon. He wasn’t sure what to do. Giovanni’s Nidoking was out of his league, out of everyone’s league, it seemed. How could anyone ever hope to take a pokemon like that down? He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t use his other pokemon against a pokemon like that. He dropped his arms at his side.
“Very well. My proposal is this; I will heal your pokemon, forget all this ever happened. And you will give me two months. In two months, I will have you become the greatest agent in this organization. It’s an ambitious goal but I think you are up to it,” Giovanni said, nodding to himself. “Once the two months are over, you will be free to go, to do what you please. Of course, I’ll need you to give me your current pokemon until then; no use allowing you to lean on them. They’re a crutch that you’ll need to drop before you can run. You can have them back after the two months are up. What do you say?” Jacob didn’t react at all. “Splendid!” Giovanni replied, taking his lack of response for an affirmative. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow!”
Thirteen Weeks Later
Jacob sneered as he listened to the other agents talk. He would rather not have been on the plane with others, but he had no choice; it was the only way to get to the site. The small plane was filled with only about half a dozen agents; the rest of the members were traveling by land, and most of them had already. Jacob didn’t know many of the agents on the plane. He had only been introduced to the two that he would be working with. MJ was a rather large person. He had joined Team Rocket as a young child, and had been part of the organization for nearly 15 years. Only a few years older than Jacob, MJ had nearly 60 pounds on him, and he towered over Jacob physically. Jacob knew he wasn’t the smartest of people, but he didn’t talk much and Jacob enjoyed that.
His other teammate, Hera, was exactly the opposite. She was a small person roughly Jacob’s age as well, but she talked so much he couldn’t stand her. Because of this, he knew much more about her: she was self-centered and easily offended, but incredibly clever. Jacob liked to think of himself as very different from her, but he wasn’t certain he was, other than his preference against talking to others.
As the plane descended, Jacob nodded to the teammates. While he wasn’t officially the leader of the group, as the apprentice of the Boss, he had an unofficial authority. The plane landed quietly in a forest, and the Team Rocket members left. Jacob, MJ, and Hera went in one direction, and another group headed the opposite way. Of course, they would both be approaching the same target.
They walked silently through the forest for nearly an hour before finally reaching the city. Cerulean City stuck out in the darkness of the night, shining brightly. From the direction they had traveled, their target was easily visible; the Cerulean Pokemon Center. Together the three moved through the alleyways of the city, approaching the Pokemon Center from behind. They could see from across the street, a group of grunts began to make their way into the Pokemon Center; the assault had begun.
Still outside the Pokemon Center, Jacob nodded to the group. MJ reached into his pocket and furnished a pokeball. He quickly released his Sandslash, who promptly began to dig beneath the ground. The hole the pokemon created was large enough, even for MJ, to drop down. One by one, they followed the Sandslash underground. The tunnel slowly leveled out, and then headed upwards. Jacob led the group in climbing up the hole. As the Sandslash reached the inside of the pokemon center, a ray of light shone into the tunnel from above. Jacob grabbed the ledge, and heaved himself up, out of the hole. He helped pull Hera out of the hole, and then MJ. The large MJ quickly recalled his pokemon, and Jacob lifted his finger to his mouth, instructing them to be quiet.
The group had made it inside the storage room of the pokemon center, where rows and rows of pokeballs filled with pokemon were stored. Of course, they didn’t want to steal every pokemon; just the valuable ones. It would have been easy to just take as many as they could carry and sort through them later, but the grunts were meant to give Jacob’s group time to find the most valuable. Hera quickly rushed to the computer at the side of the room, and began searching through the records to see what they could find.
As Jacob waited, he felt for his pokeballs one his belt. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to use them when he heard a crash come from somewhere in the Pokemon Center. It sounded like the grunts might have been having some trouble.
He took another deep breath as a mechanical voice told him to enter. The doors swung open automatically as he stepped forward. The room was surprisingly large, Jacob thought. Forming a rectangular shape, the room stretched longwise, a huge flat screen TV covering most of the back wall. The lack of windows was apparent, but that was what was to be expected in an underground hideout. Across from the entrance sat a single wooden desk, a small screen on top of it. Behind it was a rather large leather chair on wheels that looked like it didn’t belong.
The man in the chair looked spiffy, however. Giovanni was a tall man with his hair slicked back in a dark orange suit. His green tie was the most noticeable thing about him; that, or his wicked smile. Jacob felt dirty just looking at the man. But he guessed that was what Gus had told him. His mentor, Gus had saved Jacob from a great fall when he was travelling in Sinnoh, and it was in his service that Jacob had joined Team Rocket. Gus had never liked Giovanni much, and Jacob often wondered why the old man had stayed in the organization so long, but he never got his answer. Just a week before, Gus had died from a chronic illness that finally caught him.
Jacob looked Giovanni in the eye and smiled, nodding graciously. The Leader of Team Rocket stood as he saw Jacob enter the room.
“Ah, Jacob. Nice to finally meet you,” He said motioning for Jacob to come closer before extending his hand for a handshake. Jacob grabbed the man’s hand firmly.
“A pleasure to meet you as well,” Jacob replied, sitting down in a small wooden chair one the opposite side of Giovanni’s desk. Giovanni began to speak again rather quickly, Jacob thought, and he found it to be a bit odd.
“I was so sorry to hear about Gus,” he said, lowering his tone. “I didn’t know he was so sick. I heard you two were close, and I wanted to offer my condolences.” The man’s face was scrunched up in distress, but Jacob knew he was lying. He could feel a chill down his spine every time Giovanni spoke. While Giovanni might not have been happy to lose such a talented master, he was not distressed at his loss. Gus was a thorn in his side, recruiting new members all the time that he had control over, not Giovanni.
It was then that Jacob realized what Giovanni was doing. With Gus gone, he wanted to ensure Gus’s recruits remained loyal to Team Rocket. After all, it was very likely that the many of them would leave without Gus holding them there. But why would Gus set it up that way? If he was truly dedicated to the organization, why would Gus create a system whereby his followers shared no allegiance to the group? Then Jacob’s second epiphany hit: Gus must have been planning a move against Giovanni, perhaps to wrest control of the organization from his grimy hands. Jacob’s face twitched as he thought of this.
“Thank you,” he replied to Giovanni’s condolences. “That means a lot, sir.” The Leader of Team Rocket smiled in response.
“Good. Now then, we should discuss your promotion within the organization. I’ve had a few agents watching you, and they believe you have real potential. Your pokemon may be lacking… but you have got potential. As such, I wanted you to join me here, as my pupil.” Giovanni smiled at Jacob with the most horrid of smiles, as if he was bragging at the fall of Gus’s plot Jacob only recently discovered. He couldn’t stand it.
“No,” he said quietly, before repeating it more loudly. “No! I won’t join you! I don’t even know why I’m still sitting here, listening…. To you! Gus wanted to take you down, and so I will finish what he started.” Jacob stood and grabbed a pokeball from his pocket. From it a flash of white light was released, and Jacob’s Blastoise, Nero, stood in front of him. The room was plenty high for Nero to reach his full height, and the pokemon roared as it was released. But Giovanni just laughed.
“Alright, then boy, perhaps a demonstration!” Giovanni reached into his pocket, pulling out an ultraball. In a flash of yellow, another pokemon appeared. Giovanni’s Nidoking stood tall, facing down Jacob’s Blastoise. “Try it!”
“Nero,” Jacob began. “Use Hydro Pump!” Jacob’s Blastoise released its cannons before firing a volley of water towards the Nidoking.
“Dodge,” Giovanni commanded, and the pokemon leapt to the side, easily avoiding Nero’s attack. “Now, use Earth Power!” His Nidoking glowed yellow before slamming the ground. The floor cracked beneath them, and the cracks rushed towards Nero. As they reached him, Nero was thrown backwards with a great force, slamming into the back wall behind Jacob. “Horn Drill!” Nidoking’s horn began to spin as he charged towards Jacob’s Blastoise. Nero barely had time to stand up when the poison pokemon crashed into him, his horn cutting into Nero’s torso. The pokemon yelped in pain before dropping to the ground, unconscious and seriously injured.
Without recalling Nero, Jacob grabbed another pokeball. “Zed, use Metal Claw!” In a flash, Jacob’s Excadrill, Zed, appeared, and it swiped forward at Giovanni’s Nidoking. The Nidoking caught Zed’s arms however, preventing him from carrying out the attack.
“Poison Sting!” Giovanni commanded. His Nidoking ducked his head and, still holding both of Excadrill’s arms, he released a purple, horn shaped projectile into Zed’s stomach. The attack hit, and Zed began to glow purple. He slouched down to the ground, badly poisoned. “Megahorn,” Giovanni said, but his pokemon was one step ahead of him. The top of Nidoking’s head glowed as he slammed it into Zed, sending the pokemon falling backwards onto the ground, unconscious. “I think that’s enough,” Giovanni declared. “No? You are welcome to try again. But if you cannot even defeat one of my pokemon, how do you ever expect to depose me?” The man said with a sly smile. “Most of those who attack me I have killed. However, I have another proposal for you.”
Jacob was busy looking over Nero and Zed. Both of them were in critical condition, and needed medical attention soon. He wasn’t sure what to do. Giovanni’s Nidoking was out of his league, out of everyone’s league, it seemed. How could anyone ever hope to take a pokemon like that down? He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t use his other pokemon against a pokemon like that. He dropped his arms at his side.
“Very well. My proposal is this; I will heal your pokemon, forget all this ever happened. And you will give me two months. In two months, I will have you become the greatest agent in this organization. It’s an ambitious goal but I think you are up to it,” Giovanni said, nodding to himself. “Once the two months are over, you will be free to go, to do what you please. Of course, I’ll need you to give me your current pokemon until then; no use allowing you to lean on them. They’re a crutch that you’ll need to drop before you can run. You can have them back after the two months are up. What do you say?” Jacob didn’t react at all. “Splendid!” Giovanni replied, taking his lack of response for an affirmative. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow!”
Thirteen Weeks Later
Jacob sneered as he listened to the other agents talk. He would rather not have been on the plane with others, but he had no choice; it was the only way to get to the site. The small plane was filled with only about half a dozen agents; the rest of the members were traveling by land, and most of them had already. Jacob didn’t know many of the agents on the plane. He had only been introduced to the two that he would be working with. MJ was a rather large person. He had joined Team Rocket as a young child, and had been part of the organization for nearly 15 years. Only a few years older than Jacob, MJ had nearly 60 pounds on him, and he towered over Jacob physically. Jacob knew he wasn’t the smartest of people, but he didn’t talk much and Jacob enjoyed that.
His other teammate, Hera, was exactly the opposite. She was a small person roughly Jacob’s age as well, but she talked so much he couldn’t stand her. Because of this, he knew much more about her: she was self-centered and easily offended, but incredibly clever. Jacob liked to think of himself as very different from her, but he wasn’t certain he was, other than his preference against talking to others.
As the plane descended, Jacob nodded to the teammates. While he wasn’t officially the leader of the group, as the apprentice of the Boss, he had an unofficial authority. The plane landed quietly in a forest, and the Team Rocket members left. Jacob, MJ, and Hera went in one direction, and another group headed the opposite way. Of course, they would both be approaching the same target.
They walked silently through the forest for nearly an hour before finally reaching the city. Cerulean City stuck out in the darkness of the night, shining brightly. From the direction they had traveled, their target was easily visible; the Cerulean Pokemon Center. Together the three moved through the alleyways of the city, approaching the Pokemon Center from behind. They could see from across the street, a group of grunts began to make their way into the Pokemon Center; the assault had begun.
Still outside the Pokemon Center, Jacob nodded to the group. MJ reached into his pocket and furnished a pokeball. He quickly released his Sandslash, who promptly began to dig beneath the ground. The hole the pokemon created was large enough, even for MJ, to drop down. One by one, they followed the Sandslash underground. The tunnel slowly leveled out, and then headed upwards. Jacob led the group in climbing up the hole. As the Sandslash reached the inside of the pokemon center, a ray of light shone into the tunnel from above. Jacob grabbed the ledge, and heaved himself up, out of the hole. He helped pull Hera out of the hole, and then MJ. The large MJ quickly recalled his pokemon, and Jacob lifted his finger to his mouth, instructing them to be quiet.
The group had made it inside the storage room of the pokemon center, where rows and rows of pokeballs filled with pokemon were stored. Of course, they didn’t want to steal every pokemon; just the valuable ones. It would have been easy to just take as many as they could carry and sort through them later, but the grunts were meant to give Jacob’s group time to find the most valuable. Hera quickly rushed to the computer at the side of the room, and began searching through the records to see what they could find.
As Jacob waited, he felt for his pokeballs one his belt. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to use them when he heard a crash come from somewhere in the Pokemon Center. It sounded like the grunts might have been having some trouble.