Side Story 5 – Silph Co. Raid

Side Story 5 – Silph Co. Raid

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."

"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 Pidgeon 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.