[A/N: Sorry about this chapter being late, I've been busy with my job and such. But I can assure people I have no plans on dropping this even if I have writer's block or such, as I created goals for myself one of them is to reach 100 chapters as the first goal and complete this story with at least 500-700 chapters. Also I plan on dropping a couple of new stories these will be one shots for now until I reach maybe 100 chapters for this one. And these one shots were already made before I even published this story. And be a good way to pass the time until I upload the next chapter next week.
And I want to say thank you to those that have been donating their powerstones.]
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— No One POV —
In a secluded area of Viridian Forest, where people rarely ventured, stood a large cargo truck and two men dressed in black outfits with a red letter R emblazoned on them.
One man was loading cages containing Weedle into the truck, while the other was fiddling with a strange device.
"Careful, idiot! Don't break the damn thing, or it's coming out of our salaries!"
The man with a goatee scolded the young man, who appeared to be a new recruit, as he scratched the back of his head.
"My bad, sir. This is my first field assignment. Mistakes happen."
The recruit replied with a small smirk.
The man with the goatee could only sigh.
"I swear, this is a real pain. I can't believe I'm stuck with an amateur, and I'm on bug duty."
"Um, sir, can you tell me why we're collecting all these Weedle?"
The man with the goatee gave the rookie an annoyed look.
"Rookie! Didn't you read the assignment back at base before being sent here with me?"
"No, sir. All I saw was that it was an easy way to rise through the ranks and earn some quick money."
The rookie replied with a small, cocky grin.
"I swear..." The man sighed. "Fine, I'll refresh your memory. We're trying to collect all the Weedle in this forest for three reasons. First, they'll be used by low-level grunts like you. Second, they'll be sold to others. Third, we'll have them evolve into Beedrill, since Bug-types evolve quickly, and Beedrill honey has been in high demand on the market lately."
The rookie Team Rocket grunt remembered the mission but wondered why they needed Weedle when they could have captured Beedrill instead.
"But why can't we just capture Beedrill instead, Joe?"
The man with the goatee, whose name was Joe, was growing increasingly frustrated with the rookie. He really wanted to punch him for asking so many questions while wearing that cocky grin, as if he were already destined to rise through Team Rocket's ranks.
Especially since this was one of many missions created and authorized by Team Rocket's second-in-command, Noir.
No one knew Noir's appearance or true name except for the boss himself.
"Kid, I'm only going to say this once: Never question a mission assigned by the boss or Noir, especially Noir. He's someone you don't want to annoy.
"So stop asking questions, Axel, and get ready to release the specially made pheromones the boys in the lab developed to attract only Weedle."
The grunt named Axel gave him a sloppy salute and started the machine again.
"So, Joe, is Noir really someone you don't want to mess with? I mean, the only time I saw him was after the initiation, and he didn't seem all that scary to me."
Joe was already at his limit because of the kid's questions and cocky attitude.
I swear, this rookie really wants to die!
Before he could say anything, a giant shadow appeared over them. Axel was about to throw his Poké Ball when Joe stopped him, recognizing the Pokémon. He had only seen it a couple of times in the past, flying overhead with Noir on its back.
The moment Corviknight landed, a man dressed entirely in black and wearing a Houndoom mask dropped to the ground.
Joe immediately bowed his head. He then turned to see that the rookie, Axel, was still standing in surprise and forcefully pulled him into a bow.
"It is an honor to meet you, sir."
Noir stopped a few feet in front of them.
"You can raise your heads. I just came to check on your progress and ask you something."
"Yes, sir. Everything is going smoothly, and we should be done by this evening. What did you want to ask, sir?"
"I want to know if you've seen a kid with silver hair and red streaks. He should have a Wimpod with him."
Before Joe could say anything, Axel started laughing at Noir's question.
"Ha ha ha! A kid with a Wimpod? Sir, that has to be a joke. What did this kid do to get your attention?"
Before Joe could tell Axel to shut up, Noir stepped closer to the rookie and swept his legs out from under him with his left leg.
Axel hit the ground hard and immediately got back up, irritated by what Noir had done. Before he could throw his Poké Ball, Joe grabbed him and held him back.
"Kid! Do you want to get yourself killed?"
Axel struggled to free himself.
"Let me go, Joe! All I asked was why he was looking for a kid with a Wimpod. He didn't have to do that!"
Joe held him tightly as he faced Team Rocket's second-in-command.
"Please forgive him, sir. This is his first assignment, and he's still new to Team Rocket. I'll discipline him back at base once we're done with the assignment."
Noir simply nodded in agreement.
"Make sure you do. And, rookie, what's your name?"
Axel calmed himself and told Joe to let him go, assuring him that he wouldn't do anything.
"It's Axel."
"How many Pokémon do you have?"
Axel found the question odd, but Joe was already shaking, knowing what Noir might do.
"I only have one Pokémon. It was given to me after I passed the initiation to become a member of Team Rocket. It's a Rhyhorn... sir."
Noir gave a small smirk beneath his mask before turning toward Joe.
"And you, Joe?"
Joe took a small step back in fear but still answered.
"I-I have only two Pokémon so far. A Primeape and a Magnemite, sir."
Noir crossed his arms and nodded.
"Good. Now, let me tell you why I wanted to know if that kid had passed by. I'm tailing him under orders from Giovanni, but I lost track of him when he entered Viridian Forest. So, report to me on your communicator if you spot him. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Noir nodded and immediately climbed onto his Corviknight. Before taking off, he gave them both one final piece of advice.
"And another thing: Don't underestimate the kid. I've been following him, and even as a new trainer, he's good enough to defeat both of you. So be on the lookout for him."
Both men nodded, and Noir took off immediately.
"Who does he think we are, Joe? Be careful of some new trainer with a Wimpod? I'll just squash that little bug with my Rhyhorn!"
Joe looked at him with an expression that clearly said, How can you still be this cocky and stupid?
"Newbie, listen here. If Noir tells us to be careful, we listen. You may not know this, but Noir is considered one of the strongest trainers in the world."
Axel was baffled by what Joe had said. This was the first time he'd heard anything like it.
"Wait, you can't be serious! Him? One of the strongest? I mean, I know the current Champions in each region are ridiculously strong, especially the World Champion himself, but him?!"
Joe could only sigh. Some people in the world pursued other professions instead of participating in the League, yet they could still be just as strong as the Champions themselves.
"Kid, remember this: The world is a big place. Also, just so you know, Noir actually faced the World Champion a couple of years ago and won."
Joe smirked as he looked at Axel's baffled expression.
"Are you kidding me?! You're saying Noir defeated the undefeated World Champion, Aster, who maintained a fifteen-year winning streak?!"
Joe simply patted him on the back, wearing a look of pity at the rookie's ignorance.
"All right, enough gossip. It's time to get back to—"
"Stop, thieves!"
When both men turned around, they saw a boy dressed in a samurai outfit.
"Damn it, Samurai! I said to wait until we came up with a plan!"
"I know, Liam, but I can't stand by and watch all those Weedle locked in those cages!"
Liam looked at Samurai with a newfound sense of admiration.
"Fine. We might as well go with the head-on approach. Courage, let's go!"
At that moment, both grunts saw a differently colored Wimpod emerge from the boy's Poké Ball.
"It's him!"