The wheels of the hired car rumbled softly against the stone-paved road, the sound fading as the desert sands stretched wider with each passing mile.
Some thoughts wondered.
Maybe buying a studio and hiring singers wouldn't be bad? To go further just become Google and buy everything. Such as any social media, the potential was endless.
Leaning back against the cushioned seat, arms crossed. I started to hum.
"You're just a kid on a quest
to be the best of the best…
someday you're destined for power and glory.
Be a hero, be a hero…"
The faint tune died away before the chorus, but it lingered in my mind. Of all the anime themes I could remember, Kalos's was one of my personal favourtes.
Black and White's opening was above, maybe even tied. And then there was Battle Frontier right there with them.
The carriage jolted slightly as we passed from the last stretch of cobblestone into sand. Through the shaded glass, I caught the sight of Nimbasa's glimmering skyline behind them, shrinking into the horizon.
Ahead, nothing but open desert, dotted with small dunes and the faint shimmer of heat rising like a mirage.
I had already arranged for everything.
The Desert Resort was a pretty baren place but did have at least a Pokemon center to stay somewhere in route four.
'With all this money, why not live a bit a bit like a spoilt bastard? Especially with 9 months of the gym circuit before the league.' I had all the time in the world.
Slightly opening my eyes, across from me Clara sat happily. A smile seen on her face that I usually never saw. In her hands were chicken skewers which we ordered a bunch of food to test then all.
Eating without me huh...
The maid's eyes brightening the instant she tasted it.
One skewer... Two... Six... Eight... Thirteen...
'Damn... D-DAMN.' She just kept on eating, making me stutter in my mind. I wonder where all that fat goes, certainly not her belly that's for sure.
Ignoring that a sudden notification fully wakes me up. Getting up and checking my phone a location sent by my Team Rocket underling, Tyson, sent a location.
The desert resort was a pretty nice place to visit, but wasn't my actual goal. It had other secret's while don't interest me much have some Pokemon I'm extremely interested in. With ancient ruins being more of a hassle if anything.
As the hours go by.
The car slowed as they reached the outer gates of the Resort, tall stone archways carved with symbols of old Unovan design. Beyond lay polished courtyards, fountains, and shaded gardens, a stark contrast to the barren wilderness surrounding it.
It was the location of a Pokemon center.
...
[Omniescent POV - Days Prior]
The sun beat down over the dunes, unrelenting, the air shimmering in the distance. Tyson lowered himself against the slope of a ridge, raising a pair of binoculars to track the two hunters trudging ahead.
Both carried heavy packs that clinked faintly when they shifted.
Behind Tyson, Colson dropped into a crouch. His voice a little low "They're keeping to the north path. Still moving slow."
"Good," Tyson replied squinting his eyes. The sand gear they wore still feeling a bit uncomfortable "We keep the distance steady. As long as we make it to the entrance, we can ambush them."
The device in his pocket pulsed faintly, a GPS tracker tied to one of the hunters.
It was Rocket tech.
They tracked the Pokemon hunters through a broker in Nimbasa City, a man they'd reached by leaning on Rocket connections back in Kanto. One favor called in, and suddenly they were in.
They'd been spotted in Nimbasa's black market trading rare eggs, boasting about their "secret source." Tyson didn't need to know the details but their boss certainly craved what ever they stole.
Ego had given a clear order: find the mines and just send the location. Eliminate any others that could potentially want the Pokemon inside it.
Colson adjusted his binoculars, the corner of his mouth tightening slightly. "How are we going to kill them?"
"Usually my two Fearow can just go wild, but we have no backup or prescence in Unova. So we have to take this with a more careful approach. In Kanto I would be able to throw my weight around but here I cant.
So Rookie lets do this."
Tyson quickly explained his plan.
The two trailed the hunters for hours, shifting positions across dunes and ridges. The desert swallowed sound, so all that mattered was sightlines and patience.
Eventually, the hunters veered off the worn trail, heading toward a jagged cluster of rock that jutted from the sand like broken teeth. It was towards a small entrance which resembled a mine shaft.
With some rails barely being seen.
There was an abandoned town nearby, but that wasn't any of their business.
Tyson's eyes narrowed.
"Mark it on the map," Tyson muttered.
Colson tapped the coordinates into a small device clipped to his belt. "Logged."
They watched as the hunters entered the cave.
Tyson finally exhaled through his nose. "We can finally get closer, just monitor their location incase they come back to the entrance."
Colson gave a single nod, his hand resting near his Poké Ball.
The sun dipped lower, staining the sand crimson. Their locations near the entrance which was on top of the small hill, as they hid themselves with some camouflage. Definitely an interesting first mission for Colson.
...
Tyson crouched low among the rocks near the mine entrance, his silhouette blending with the jagged stone. Colson settled across from him, quiet, steady, his eyes fixed on the half-buried slab that marked the hunters' passage underground.
'Not bad.' He thought seeing the rookie persist.
They had been waiting for hours. Tyson didn't complain.
Patience was a weapon.
Looking at the tracker they both seemed to be heading back to the entrance, Tyson who saw this signaled to Colson and held his hand up. Colson who saw this nodded and sent out his Nidoran male.
While a Kadabra was behind Tyson.
After a few minutes, two men climbed out, their lanterns casting shaky cones of light across the dunes. The packs on their backs bulged heavier than before, as if weighed with more than just tools.
Tyson leaned forward, his fingers counting down.
The hunters muttered to each other, one pulling his coat tighter, the other wiping sweat from his brow despite the cold.
"Hey how much do you think this will get us?" One asks.
"We have being doing these runs too often, we should hold out on selling these eggs. The market might decrease the price..."
The moment the count hit zero, Colson's Nidoran moved.
In a burst it ran with its horn glowing purple, right into the Pokemon Hunter's neck.
"What the fuck-" He screamed.
Both of them now alert try to pull out their Pokeballs.
But it was too late.
"Kadabra," Tyson barked. The psychic appeared in a flash of red, eyes glowing faint gold. The hunters froze, startled, fumbling for their belts as their Pokeballs were taken away with them now at Team Rocket's mercy. "Knock them out."
As simple as the order, they fainted on the spot.
With one of them slowly dying from the poison in his neck. With no antidote in sight.
Quick and efficient.
With no real struggle.
"Here's a better chance than ever, here. Kill them." Tyson says with a cold demeanor. Hand stretched out with a knife being shown. Colson who saw this flinched.
"Ah fuck it," He murmurs already knowing what he signed up for.
With his resolve firm, he stabbed.
*Squelch* *Squelch*
The desert fell quiet again. Only the sound of wind and the slow drip of blood into sand remained.
Tyson crouched beside the bodies, methodical. He pulled their packs open, revealing a clutch of eggs nested in straw-lined crates. The wonders of spatial technology carrying such as load of eggs.
Even the bags costed a pretty penny.
"Bingo," Tyson muttered.
'The boss said we could split the loot, Colson doesn't mind an 90-10 does he...'
Colson who was to the side, was vomiting his guts out at the kills.
Tyson clicked his communicator, speaking in clipped tones. "Target neutralized. Location confirmed. Let's leave." He transmitted the coordinates, encrypting the message through Rocket channels.
Only one recipient mattered.
He rose, motioning for Colson to help drag the bodies into the rocks. Evidence would be buried by the desert in time. "Stop being a bitch and get up."
Colson who heard this never wanted to slap someone more than right now.
'Shut up please.'
When it was finished, Tyson straightened, his shadow stretching long across the sand. A notification was on his phone "Another mission huh. Rookie lets go, our next stop is Eindoak Town"
Colson only nodded as his Nidoran consoled him.
Trying to rub its head on his palm.
"Thank you..."
...
[POV - Silver Sakaki (Present Day)]
The desert shifted the closer we got to the mines. Sand gave way to broken stone, the sun bleeding down into jagged rock that looked ready to swallow anyone dumb enough to wander in unprepared.
I had already booked a room back at the Pokemon Center for later a place for me and Clara to rest once this was over. But right now, the abandoned mine was all that mattered.
Clara trailed behind me, as quiet as ever.
The only noise I'd gotten out of her all day was when we stopped at a food stall. She'd stood stiff, hands folded neatly, until I bought skewered meat and handed her one. She blinked, then bit into it without a word.
By the time we reached the mine, she'd eaten two more, tossing the sticks into the sand with the faintest glimmer of contentment in her eyes. Cute.
Now, though, she was back to being a shadow. Her Gengar drifted close, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. I stopped in front of the mine's mouth. The supports looked rotten, the wood splintered, but still standing.
Barely.
"Good enough," I gaslight myself.
'To be fair these stayed up until years later for Ash and Goh. Surely they wont fail now...'
I unclipped all my Pokeballs, Beedrill's included. Sending out Gliscor, Totodile and Beedrill. With my extras being saved as filler Pokemon in battles. They really didn't mean much to me.
There was no way I was risking death by using weaker Pokemon. We jumping these fools like we in Jujutsu Kaisen.
We stepped inside. The first chamber reeked of dust and damp air. Jagged crystals jutted from the walls, catching what little light there was and scattering it across the stone. I heard it before I saw it — the clatter of small rocks, the scrape of stone moving against stone.
Then, the Roggenrola shuffled out.
Half a dozen of them. They barked and lined up like they thought they could block me.
"Not what I came for, but honestly not bad" I said.
Catching them for future recruits and breeding didn't seem bad. Expand Team Rocket's options never hurt.
Beedrill darted forward before I could even bother to command him. His Poison Jab cracked through two of them, sending them bouncing off the cavern walls. With the rest being cleaned up by Totodile and gliscor.
Clara who held the bag with all the items, started to catch and store the Pokemon.
I smirked. "That's more like it."
We pushed further in. The deeper we went, the colder it got. The air shifted, heavier, like something was waiting.
The chamber opened wide, the ceiling vanishing into shadow. Chains dangled from broken beams, clinking faintly as if the mine itself still breathed. And then came the sound, a metallic clang, sharp enough to echo like a bell.
'Oo~' A smile seeped into my face.
On the ceiling, a spiky metal disc with four vines for legs, hanged to the ceiling. These vines each ending with a green ball with metalic spikes on the tips. The Pokemon's eyes gleamed at us.
It was a Ferrothorn.
While it's size seemed a bit small...
"I thought it would be bigger..." I murmur a bit dissapointed.
But hey. Nothing a bit of perfect scienfitic food cant fix!
It loomed half-hidden in the rubble, bristling with spiked vines, its steel body catching the faint glow of the crystals. Each sway of its vines scraped deep gouges into the stone.