Side Story 5 - Silph Co. Raid

Silph Co. Headquarters was his.

Giovanni Campione sipped on some gin as he sat on President's Koyasu's luxurious, leather couch. He let out a satisfied groan as he enjoyed the strong flavor. Two Team Rocket Grunts and Executive Archer stood by his side. The thin, pale, blue-haired man's face was twisted with such disturbing pleasure that Koyasu couldn't help but recoil every time Archer stared in his general direction, and his lean Houndoom kept growling at Koyasu as well. Giovanni had always despised that psychopath Archer. Unlike Giovanni, he wanted nothing more but to inflict suffering. So long as he could have his fun, he would be a useful dog.

And loyal. One could not forget that.

"Mr. President," Giovanni smiled, leaning in to exude confidence. The truth was, this was a dangerous play. For him to be anywhere near where Team Rocket operated would have been madness to his previous self, but the opportunity here warranted it. "Let's talk business. You know what I want."

Giovanni had Teleported here before having his dark types flood the building to delay the League, and more of his Executives had struck important regions all over the country to confuse them. More importantly, though?

Mewtwo had been let out to play. Let Lance, the Elite Four and their trainers chew on that for a good few hours.

"W—what could you po—possibly want from us?" President Koyasu stammered.

"The Master Ball, you buffoon!" Archer snarled.

Giovanni raised his hand, and Archer silenced himself. "The Master Ball, and its schematics. We want to… be able to recreate it."

"Madness!" Koyasu exclaimed. "I will give you the Master Ball, but I can't allow its production to fall into your hands!"

"Look at that! You've found a backbone," Giovanni grinned.

"Thousands— tens of thousands are dying because of your very actions, Giovanni," Koyasu said. "Why? Money? Why would a Gym Leader like you do something like this—"

"Why?" Giovanni scoffed sarcastically. "Ah, yes, why? Money is only a secondary goal. It is for the greater good of Kanto, of course."

Giovanni sipped on some more gin and calmly placed the glass on the coffee table. "Tell me, my dear president. Did you fight in the war?"

The man shook his head.

"Coward," Giovanni spat. "Had I been of age, I would have volunteered instead of letting the conscription officers come at my door. Let me guess, your wealthy family paid them off? We have time… so why don't we talk a little."

Giovanni cursed at himself. Why talk instead of running out of here? Part of him felt compelled to tell his story, and it wasn't like they were going to let him live regardless. Koyasu was the only one who had seen him, after all. Team Rocket had been slandered by the League for years ever since its inception in the post-war years. His mother had been at its head until he realized she was only after profit. He realized there was no grander goal to her actions, and then he killed her and took control. For the greater good of Kanto.

President Koyasu could only muster a tight nod.

"You want to know why, Koyasu? Because Kanto and Johto being a part of the same nation makes me sick," Giovanni growled. There was so much anger in his tone that he felt his vocal chords strain. "Indigo must be dissolved, and the war must be started again. Kanto must rule Johto. We are not equals. They must be subjugated. But that is not all, Mr. President. Kanto had broken through the front line in the last months of the war. Victory was right within our grasp."

Giovanni held out his hand and clenched a fist.

"But those damned Legends," he slammed his fist against the table. His glass rattled against the old wood. "They ruined it all."

Giovanni remembered it as clear as day despite having been a child. Fire incarnate, flying over Viridian. Moltres hadn't even aimed at them, and it hadn't even been that big. It had just flown over his city on the way to the front, and half of it had burned to smithereens, killing hundreds of thousands. The city still bore the fire's scars to this day.

Mewtwo, Giovanni thought to himself. A clone of the progenitor Mew, mixed with Ditto and human cells that had been designed over the course of decades and who was capable of dispatching any Legendary Avatar in a one-on-one fight. Once Giovanni took over and the war started again, he would be their contingency should the birds intervene once again.

With a little luck, Mewtwo would kill Lance and his Elite Four to soften Indigo for him.

"Madness," Koyasu finally answered with a trembling voice.

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter," Giovanni said.

"I do. You'll kill me anyway," he said with a tired sigh. "I will not be allowed to live now that I've seen who truly leads the Rockets."

"Oh, of course," Giovanni nodded. "But your family might."

President Koyasu's face lost all of its color. "No…"

Team's Rocket leader snapped his fingers, and one of his grunts produced a picture in his hand. It was President Koyasu's two daughters, their husbands, his son, his wife and his grandchildren, all tied up and with tears streaming down their face.

"Now we can stop playing these games," Giovanni said "You must—"

At that moment, another grunt knocked at the door's office and let herself in. She saluted Giovanni and whispered into his ears.

"Sir, a trainer has broken into the building. He is currently breaking past all of our forces and was last seen on the third floor."

Giovanni drummed his fingers over the seat, and his Pokeballs seemed a lot heavier on his belt. "Drag Koyasu out of here for a second."

His two grunts quickly executed his order and grabbed the president out of his office.

"Do you have any more information for me?" Giovanni said.

"The descriptions all point toward it being Red Isamu, sir."

"Arceus, damn it!" Giovanni snarled. "Why now of all times?"

This wasn't Team Rocket's first scuffle with Red. First in Mount Moon, where some low-level grunts were trying to steal some fossils to sell, but Giovanni had not worried about that event. Those grunts had been the lowest of the low. New recruits trying to prove themselves.

But then, it never stopped. In Cerulean, he dealt with a group of grunts trying to smuggle TMs. In Celadon, Red broke into one of their bases and defeated an Executive. Giovanni had been too busy pretending to be a Gym Leader to keep his cover to intervene. Then, there was the Pokemon Tower incident with that damned Blue where they had stopped Team Rocket from killing Cubone to sell their skulls.

Again, again, and again.

The sheer amount of growth he had shown these last few months shouldn't have been possible outside of war. Never had he seen a trainer grow this powerful this quickly, but then again, Red had practically been raised by that peace-loving fool Samuel Oak, and had his full backing. Blue was the same.

"Swarm him," Giovanni said. "Don't let him get up here, or I'll have your heads. Bring Koyasu back in."

The woman paled. "Um… there's also another individual in the building. Blue Oak, sir. It appears they are teaming up to bring us down."

Giovanni clenched the bridge of his nose. "Bring. Him. Back. In."

The grunt scampered off, and President Koyasu was dragged back into the room— with an extra bruise forming around his eye, Giovanni noticed.

"The Master Ball and its schematics. Now."

"You'll spare my family?" He asked with desperation oozing in every part of his body.

"I will. They have no blood in this fight."

President Koyasu pointed toward his desk with a trembling hand, and Archer tried to open the drawer. When he realized it was locked, he had his Houndoom smash it open with a Headbutt, and the Master Ball fell onto the teal-tiled floor. Its dark purple tint and yellow 'M' were almost hypnotic. So much power at the tip of his fingers.

"The schematics are downstairs in the basement where we experiment on making new types of Pokeballs," he said. "You'll have to send your grunts and have them talk with one of our scientists. They'll know."

"Very well," Giovanni said. Koyasu winced, expecting his death, but Giovanni could only laugh. "You aren't dying yet, Koyasu. Not until we verify that the schematics are actually there. Archer! Go downstairs— avoid any battle at all costs. Let our grunts slow Red and Blue down. Take a few scientists with you. They'll help us get started on producing our Master Balls."

"Yes, Giovanni sir!" He bellowed before running off with his Houndoom.

With a monopoly on Master Balls and Mewtwo, Team Rocket would be unstoppable. Many dangerous Pokemon in the wild would now be able to be caught on a whim. Who cared if they hated their new masters? Drop them in the middle of a fight, and ninety-nine percent of trainers wouldn't think twice before attacking first and forcing them to retaliate to save themselves.

And if he lost a few grunts to them? No matter. Those were always expendable.

The minutes passed agonizingly slowly. Giovanni couldn't help but stare at the clock and internally curse when only a minute or two had passed. Archer was too slow for his liking, and their radios had been jumbled by the darkness swelling around the building. Giovanni moistened his lips and couldn't help but feel his hands start to sweat. It wasn't so much that he thought he would lose. Talented or not, he would not suffer a defeat from two trainers that were this green.

It was that should one of them escape, his entire plan would collapse. He could always run. Order his dark types to stand down and Teleport away. But Giovanni was so close. Should the state of the building shift, then that might alert the League that something had changed, but more than that, Giovanni's vanity would not allow him to not be present for the culmination of years of planning and work.

An explosion rang downstairs, and the entire building rattled. Giovanni dusted his head and sighed as he stood up.

"You keep Koyasu bound in this room," he said to his two grunts. "He must not be allowed to escape."

Giovanni arranged his suit and tie, making sure to look his best before stepping out of Koyasu's office. Large, window panes allowed him to face Saffron in its full glory. The streets down below were swarming with Rockets. The city was his. He had conquered it through might alone, and he planned on conquering many more. The hallway was large with a high ceiling and plenty of space to battle, but Giovanni could not exactly go all out here. If he collapsed the entire building, he would die, and all of his plans would be reduced to ash. With Mewtwo here, he would have been able to do whatever he wanted…

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It is too late for regrets, Viridian's Gym Leader steeled himself, and he released his Nidoqueen and Nidoking.

"Prepare for battle," he spoke.

The two poison types grunted.

The two boys arrived three minutes later.

Blue Oak, always with that haughty smirk on his face and that necklace his mother had given him. A simple stainless steel charm that he kept around his neck at all times. Red Isamu was shorter and wore his usual red cap and jersey and his face sported his usual blank expression that he'd gotten known for. Pokemon swarmed them on all sides.

For Red, a Pikachu sat on his shoulder while a wounded Charizard and Snorlax flanked him. Espeon rubbed itself on his leg. He released a perfectly healthy Lapras onto the cold tiles. Five Pokemon left, then, Giovanni acknowledged. And that Pikachu would be useless against his ground types. Blue was in a better shape. An Arcanine, Exeggutor, Kadabra, Blastoise, an Umbreon, and lastly a Pidgeot flying overhead.

Mere children, Giovanni thought. Both were only eleven and yet they had caused so much trouble. It was his first time seeing them in person, and it was hard not to feel rage at the thought that two eleven-year-olds had been thorns at his side for so long.

"So it was you, jackass?" Blue smirked, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets. "Arceus damn, Viridian's Giovanni at the head of Team Rocket. Gramps always said you were a patriot, but you're a damned terrorist? Think you're hot shit?"

"Focus," Red whispered.

Blue shrugged. "Fuck off."

"Aim to kill," Giovanni said.

Poison belched out of both Nidoking and Nidoqueen's mouths, but each served a different purpose. Nidoking's poison hovered in the air and grew into solid balls while Nidoqueen's spread throughout the ground, separating both. Nidoking grunted, and his poisonous spheres rushed toward both trainers.

Red whispered something under his breath while Blue screamed.

"Leaf Storm, Hurricane, Icy Wind!"

Exeggutor's eyes shone, and it released hundreds of leaves into the air that immediately set to strike at Giovanni. Nidoqueen dragged him toward her and wrapped him in a soft protect, but that was not the end of it. Pidgeot flapped its humongous wings and the Leaf Storm intensified while Blastoise added to the attack with a frigid wind that froze Nidoqueen's poison and Nidoking's poisonous spheres. The purple ground type grunted in pain when he was hit by the combined attack and actually slid back. The entire facade— the huge window— shattered with a deafening explosion, and the wind rushed inside of the building.

Espeon followed and targeted each of Nidoking's spheres with a rush of psychic energy, blowing them up. Giovanni frowned when each explosion was contained in an individual barrier to keep their trainers safe. Such skill, Giovanni lamented. Children they may have been, they would have made excellent Executives.

Charizard roared as it soared in the air and Blue's attack sustained itself. A white-hot Flamethrower submerged Nidoking's armor. Nidoqueen was forced into keeping up her Protect for as long as possible. Giovanni realized he would have to go all out, consequences be damned. These children were aiming to kill him as well, it seemed.

He released the rest of his Pokemon. Persian, Rhydon, Dugtrio and Kangaskhan.

"Nidoqueen, you keep protecting me," Giovanni muttered through the howling Leaf Storm. "The rest, rush in and overwhelm them."

Pikachu hopped off Red's shoulder and in a split second, it rammed into Persian's flank with a Volt Tackle. The normal type hacked as it rolled away, shards of glass penetrating his skin. Dugtrio spat out a few globs of mud at the electric type, but it was far too fast to get hit. Rhydon flexed, and shards of rock exploded out from his hand and barrelled toward Red. Exeggutor joined with Espeon to protect Red, and the Leaf Storm intensified.

A barrier combined with a technique as intensive as Leaf Storm, Giovanni mused. Impressive. "Nidoking, Kangaskhan, Rhydon! Go in!"

The three Pokemon ran forth to carry out Giovanni's will while the rest of his Pokemon hung back in support.

Snorlax rolled in front of Blue and Red while Kadabra propelled him forward through Psychic. Nidoking heaved to stop the massive normal type while Rhydon and Kangaskhan sidestepped it. An Ice Punch rammed into Nidoking's gut, and the poison type retaliated by stabbing Snorlax with poison dripping from his horn. Pikachu kept dodging every single strike Persian dealt and retaliated with quick, focused Thunderbolts while Charizard and Pidgeot struck from afar.

Rhydon came upon Blastoise, who angled its cannons and struck at the rock type's armor with a Hydro Pump. Kangaskhan was free to reign, however. The normal type broke into a run, her fist glowing bright white as it struck toward Blue. No psychic would stop her Mega Punch.

Giovanni's face fell when tendrils broke out of every inch of Umbreon's body and wrapped around Kangaskhan. She would have broken through had Espeon not begun to assault her mind.

Red spoke, and an eerie light escaped from Lapras' horn. Confuse Ray!

"Kangaskhan, stand back!"

The normal type took a step backward, but psychic force restrained her long enough for the Confuse Ray to get her. Giovanni clicked his tongue, grabbing his Pokeball to recall her, but it was then that Arcanine teleported—

No, it was Extreme Speed. The fire type rammed into Kangaskhan and threw her off the side of the building. Giovanni's heart sank as Kangaskhan's screams grew more distant, and then he heard a huge crash and a car alarm. If she wasn't dead, she was only barely alive. Giovanni clicked his tongue. Persian finally slashed across Pikachu's gut, sending blood splatter everywhere. The electric type cried out in pain, and Charizard swept into the Leaf Storm. Pikachu quickly hopped onto its back and retreated to safety.

"Power Gem."

Persian's gem shimmered bright red, and Rhydon screamed as he ripped off chunks of rocks from his body. The shards turned white and shot out like lasers. Even then, Rhydon was too busy overwhelming Blastoise with sheer power. Shards of rocks flew off of him like shrapnel with every strike. The sharp rocks easily tore through Blastoise's gut, and he didn't have a good angle to strike back with his canons. Kadabra tried to hold the rock type off of it, but there was no way it was going to stop Rhydon.

Kadabra was the weakest link.

"Dugtrio!" Giovanni yelled. "Kill that Kadabra!"

The ground type blurred, catching both Red and Blue off guard. Not many people were used to his Dugtrio's speed. Pikachu jumped off Charizard's back in an attempt to slam Dugtrio with Iron Tail, but the ground type buried itself to avoid the attack and got in front of Kadabra. Claws reached out of the floor and slashed as deep as he possibly could across the psychic's chest and arm. One hit was enough to penetrate any barrier and send it flying, and Blue recalled the psychic type before more harm could be done to him.

Lapras screamed and let out a frigid Ice Beam that froze everything in its vicinity. The attack was so quick that one of Dugtrio's head were hit. Pikachu took advantage and hit the same head with Iron Tail while Exeggutor's Leaf Storm switched focus.

"Swap with Persian," Giovanni whispered to Nidoqueen.

The poison type wheezed, finally letting go of Protect and Persian instantly replaced the shimmering green barrier before Charizard had a chance to hit him. Giovanni had trained the two in absolute defense. They could keep Protect going for a long time.

Nidoking finally broke through Snorlax, whose gut was bloodied and torn open and his hand loomed over Exeggutor with a Poison Jab while Nidoqueen stood on all fours and spat out a glob of poison in their general direction. Arcanine blurred in front of the Poison Jab and bit into Nidoking's tough hide with all of the elemental fangs at the same time. Many times, Arcanine had tried to find an opening to fling his Pokemon off the building again, but he had not found any.

Meanwhile, Pidgeot was not silent. The flying type screeched, and a huge sphere of energy concentrated in its mouth. Hyper Beam?! Here?! Giovanni internally screamed with a surge of panic. Blue was going to get them all killed! The attack swept through the hallway, creating an enormous explosion that—

Everything collapsed, and Giovanni fell to the floor below with his entire team. Red had somehow climbed on top of Charizard in the nick of time, although his arm was bleeding heaps while Exeggutor had spared Blue from the worst of the blast and held its trainer in a psychic bubble.

Giovanni's face and suit were caked in dust, debris and his own blood. Charizard swept down with a Flamethrower aimed directly at him, but Persian jumped in front of him with Protect. Giovanni's eyes swept the current floor. Umbreon, Lapras, Snorlax, Blastoise and Pikachu had fallen down while the rest remained on the upper floors. Exeggutor placed Blue back on the ground and Giovanni's head split open until cold numbing darkness coated his every pore.

"Finish off that Lapras," Giovanni spat, standing up and dusting off his suit. Confuse Ray was too much of a threat, but it had tired it out somewhat.

The water type was largely stationary and as good as a target as any. Nidoking and Rhydon rushed forward, but Pikachu couldn't stop being everywhere. It harassed their legs, dodging every single one of their slow attacks and hitting back with Iron Tail. It split itself off with Double Team just like it had done against Persian and bought Lapras enough time to hit Rhydon with a Hydro Pump. Red pointed forward, and Charizard blurred. The trainer dropped off of his back, landing with a clumsy roll while the fire type slammed into Rhydon at full force and grabbed him.

"Nidoking, keep going after Lapras. Dugtrio, help against Charizard."

The flying type's claws shimmered white and buried themselves into Rhydon while the rock type repeatedly hit it in the head with a fist that exploded with Stone Edge every time it struck. Nidoking mauled Lapras, who cried out in pain as Nidoking gored its neck and secreted poison into its bloodstream. Red quickly recalled the water type, and Espeon jumped down to meet him while Blue did the same, not bothering to use a Psychic or his massive Pidgeot.

Charizard flared up with power that came from nowhere— Blaze! Dugtrio sent a few balls of exploding mud at the fire type, but it only had eyes for Rhydon and grabbed the rock type into a Seismic Toss, flying off into the air and out of the destroyed window.

Nidoking turned to Snorlax, who landed with a boom on the floor and created a crater, but Giovanni signaled the poison type, and he took a few steps back, returning to Giovanni's side.

"Whew," Blue sighed, noticing a lull in the fight. "This really gets my blood pumping. Hey Red, get a load of this guy! He really thinks he can take us."

Blue recalled the rest of his team and set them down on this floor, and Red did the same.

"Surrender to the League," Red said, ignoring his fellow trainer. "Strike a deal with Lance."

"Hah!" Giovanni cackled. From the corner of his vision, Charizard carried Rhydon back down and a shock wave rocked his body. A second later, he heard a huge crash. Rhydon was down. "It is true what they say! You are a child of few words, Red," Giovanni spat out the name. "A deal? Lance would rather see me killed, and I have gone too far to give up now."

"Well, die," Blue shrugged. "Not my problem."

Four Pokemon left to their nine, Giovanni's mind raced. And that was if he counted Persian, who was straining to keep up his Protect. They were stronger than he expected. Easily past the level of eight badges already.

Giovanni could not afford to send off his Pokemon into the fray any longer.

"Stick together. Persian, swap with Nidoqueen. You're going to hit their psychics—" Giovanni whispered.

"Keep whispering, loser! You'll still fucking lose," Blue grinned. "Umbreon, go on the offense! Arcanine, you're support!"

The dark type sunk into the floor and crawled up on the half-broken walls while Arcanine ran toward Giovanni's Persian. The feline's eyes glared, and Arcanine froze for a split second, allowing the normal type to pass him. Umbreon snarled as he jumped out of the wall, darkness exploding out of him with a harrowing silence.

The dark submerged all of Giovanni's Pokemon, and Nidoking blindly swept his arm and tail around. Right at that moment, Charizard flew back into the building, not blinded with rage but with determination as it spat out a Dragon Pulse at Dugtrio, who buried to avoid the blast.

Blastoise's Rapid Spin sent high-pressurized water flying everywhere, including the building's walls. They easily collapsed from the strain, and Persian yowled in pain, but a Night Slash cut across Espeon's barrier and Dugtrio was close behind with a Night Slash of his own. Persian quickly ran back to Giovanni's side, going around every opponent and dodging their attacks with ease until Arcanine slammed into him with another Extreme Speed.

Snorlax was too slow, so Pikachu was the last line of defense. Thunder roared, and Persian was caught in the blast until his fur caught on fire, but Dugtrio was immune. Espeon cried out as Dugtrio's claws slashed at her, but Giovanni's smile fell when Exeggutor kept the ground type still with Psychic and began to assault his mind. At the same time, he expended his barrier to include Red while Blastoise focused his attacks on Dugtrio.

A Sludge Bomb from Nidoking would have killed off Espeon had Red not recalled it. Next to Giovanni, Blue's Umbreon still clashed with Nidoqueen, and it was losing. At least until Pidgeot swooped down with something akin to a remote Steel Wing, and Snorlax reached them with a Rollout that led into a Heavy Slam onto Nidoqueen. The Protect around Giovanni nearly collapsed when the full weight of the massive normal type landed onto Nidoqueen, and Umbreon pawed at her leg with some kind of dark type attack—

Which quite literally destroyed her leg. Such power! That could only be Foul Play! Giovanni's eye twitched as Snorlax used Ice Punch repeatedly on Nidoqueen's face and her protection collapsed. Persian was still reeling from the Extreme Speed.

"Now," Red said.

Pikachu appeared from nowhere like an assassin, and it would have killed Giovanni had Nidoking not drawn the electricity with his horn. The poison type kicked the rodent away and turned to continue spewing his poison on the opposition. Umbreon had struck many blows to Nidoqueen, but even with a broken leg, it was no match for her. Nidoqueen roared, and she clapped her hands around the dark type's face, crushing its skull. Giovanni clicked his tongue when Umbreon hadn't died. Blue's mask of confidence slipped, however, and he placed Umbreon back into its Pokeball.

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon! Pidgeot, Arcanine, Hyper Beam!" Blue snapped.

Red side-eyed him, and Giovanni blinked.

That was suicide.

Fucking Oak giving his grandson these damned TMs! Giovanni watched as two spheres of concentrated energy materialized in Arcanine and Pidgeot's mouths and the air around them shifted from how hot these attacks were. Water gathered in Blastoise's mouth and cannons so powerful it was just foam and vapor. Red just ran away without a single word, leaving Blue and his wild suicidal grin to face Giovanni.

His ears popped, and everything exploded.

When Giovanni opened his eyes, he tried to move his arm and restrained a scream. Broken, he acknowledged. He had fallen multiple stories, and he was nearly dead.

But not dead.

He had noticed Persian and Nidoqueen desperately use Protect in front of him the moment of the attack.

And yet, he had lost everything. To two children. Giovanni stared around in hopes of finding a teammate as he strained to stand up. Bodies littered the floor. Dead employees he had taken hostage and the Rockets he had brought for this mission. Was it over, then? He no longer had the Master Ball, and he doubted he could recreate it now. Giovanni's skills had rusted. He had not focused on or loved Pokemon battling for years now. Was Kanto doomed to irrelevance—

No.

He still had Mewtwo.

Giovanni limped toward the stairs and his Persian soon joined him.

"Go find the others," he hacked.

Koyasu had probably died of collateral damage, but Giovanni's identity was going to get leaked. The knives were out.

It was war.