Giovanni sat in his private office, the dim lighting casting long shadows across the sleek mahogany desk. His Persian lounged gracefully at his feet, the rhythmic sound of its purring the only thing keeping the room from complete silence. Across from him, a massive monitor displayed a live feed from the Mt. Moon operation—what little was left of it.
The screen flickered as another frantic report came through, static crackling in the background. "C-Commander Vale is down!" a grunt's voice gasped. "We… we can't hold them back—Arcanine! They're everywhere! We've already lost over half the unit—AAAGH—"
The feed cut to black.
Giovanni leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. His expression remained impassive, but the slight narrowing of his eyes betrayed his irritation.
"Arcanine…" he murmured, almost to himself. "No wild pack of Arcanine could ever truly exist. If you see one in the wild—which is rare—they're leading a pack of Growlithe… And yet…" His gaze flicked back to the darkened monitor. "The League has no reports of anything like this. Who has a pack of at least twelve Arcanine—and how are they still an unknown?"
His Persian stirred at his feet, sensing his mood, its sharp eyes narrowing as a low, warning purr filled the office. Giovanni absentmindedly reached down to stroke its head, the smooth motion belying the cold fury simmering beneath the surface.
The door to his office slid open with a quiet hiss, and his personal intelligence officer stepped inside—a gaunt man with slicked-back hair and a perpetually hunched posture. He clutched a tablet to his chest like a lifeline.
"Sir," the man began, his voice tense, "we've cross-referenced the description of the Pokémon involved. There's no record of a trainer commanding that many Arcanine—not in Kanto, Johto, or beyond. Frankly, sir… it shouldn't be possible."
Giovanni didn't respond immediately. Instead, his fingers drummed against the desk, a slow, deliberate rhythm that sent a chill down the operative's spine.
"Yet someone has made it possible," Giovanni finally said, his voice dangerously calm. "And they have chosen to make their debut by interfering with my business." He shifted his focus back to the operative. "And the Mew?"
The agent swallowed nervously. "We lost all tracking. Whatever those Arcanine are, they caused a complete breakdown of our containment measures. We have no confirmation of capture."
Silence stretched between them for an agonizing few seconds before Giovanni leaned forward, his expression hardening. "Find out who they are. Mt Moon, its near Pewter and Cerulean City. See if any interesting trainers went through there and get me their full background."
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The warm hum of the Mt Moon Pokémon Center filled the air as trainers bustled about, tending to their teams and there was one obnoxious brat saying something about leaving a charmander on a rock. The scent of antiseptic lingered faintly beneath the comforting aroma of brewed tea from the Center's small café.
Ash leaned back in one of the cushioned chairs near the corner, hands tucked behind his head as he stretched. His clothes were slightly scuffed—nothing too alarming—but he felt the dull ache of his muscles due to his earlier "enthusasit walk" through Mt. Moon.
Misty plopped into the chair beside him, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders. "I can't believe you left without waking me up," she huffed, drying her hair with a towel. "Do you know how weird it was waking up to an empty room and a note? You're lucky I didn't think you were kidnapped."
Ash chuckled softly, glancing toward her. "Relax, Misty. I just wanted to check out the caves for a bit—see if I could find any rare Pokémon." He left out the part where he'd unleashed a small army of Arcanine against Team Rocket. No need to worry her.
Misty snorted. "Yeah, and you conveniently missed the part where I was stuck explaining to Nurse Joy why my traveling companion wandered off before sunrise." She tossed the towel over her shoulder, eyeing him suspiciously. "You didn't go looking for trouble, did you?"
"Trouble?" Ash's grin widened in a way that immediately put her on edge. "Come on, Misty. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"The kind that attracts chaos like a Magneton," she shot back, folding her arms. "You're hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything," Ash lied smoothly, right as the doors to the pokemon center burst open and a team of Rangers and Jenny walked in.
"Mt Moon is closed until further notice!"
The Pokémon Center fell into a hushed silence as trainers turned toward the sudden entrance of the Rangers and Officer Jenny. Her uniform was slightly scuffed, a telltale sign that whatever was happening in Mt. Moon wasn't just routine trouble.
Misty blinked. "Wait—what? Closed? Why?"
Jenny's sharp gaze swept over the crowd before settling on the front desk, where Nurse Joy looked just as surprised as everyone else. "Effective immediately, all travel through Mt. Moon is prohibited," she announced. "Team Rocket activity has disturbed the local Pokémon, causing mass panic and aggression. It's too dangerous for anyone to be anywhere near the area until we can get things under control."
Ash stiffened. Misty didn't miss the way his expression twitched—just for a second—before he quickly masked it with a look of feigned curiosity.
"Team Rocket, huh?" Ash said, folding his arms. "They must've done something big to shut down the whole mountain."
Jenny frowned. "More than big. Something—or someone—hit them hard. We've found abandoned equipment, unconscious grunts, and wild Pokémon riled up beyond anything we've ever seen before. It's like the entire mountain turned against them."
Misty's eyes narrowed, and she turned her head ever so slightly toward Ash. He was suddenly very interested in the floor tiles.
Before she could interrogate him, Jenny continued. "The Rangers are doing everything they can to restore order, but it's going to take time. If anyone was planning on heading that way, change your plans. We'll be setting up a perimeter."
Ash exhaled, nodding along as if he wasn't intimately familiar with the chaos Jenny was describing. Misty, however, was watching him like a Hawk
"Ash," she said slowly, her voice dripping with suspicion. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about what went down this morning, would you?"
Ash, master of deception that he was, laughed nervously. "Haha, Misty, come on—what could I possibly have to do with Team Rocket getting their butts kicked?"
Misty didn't say anything at first. She just stared at him, her arms crossed. Then, in a completely unimpressed tone, she muttered, "Right."
Jenny, oblivious to their exchange, turned back toward the other Rangers. "Let's move. We need to keep civilians out." With that, she and her team exited the Center, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.
Ash coughed into his fist, shuffling his feet. "Sooo… breakfast, an then i heard something about an abandoned charmander?"
"Ash Ketchum," Joy called out, her tone light but firm. "Your Pikachu is fully healed—though I must say, he seemed far too pleased with himself for a Pokémon that was supposedly resting."
Ash laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, well, Pikachu's always full of energy. Right, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, hopping from Joy's arms onto Ash's shoulder, looking immensely proud of itself.
"It shouldve just been general exhaustion we fought hard on the way here." Ash states with a nod towards joy.
Nurse Joy gave Ash a knowing look but didn't press the issue. "Well, he's certainly a tough one. Just make sure he doesn't push himself too hard." She sighed before turning back toward the front desk.
"You hear that Pikachu? Stop beeing asuch a battlemaniac."