Midnight.
       Every light in Giovanni’s two story mansion was off. Giovanni sat in a 
large chair drinking red wine in his sitting room. 
       “He has the gall to threaten me?” Giovanni thought angrily. “I built 
Team Rocket with my own two hands, and he threatens to take that away?”
       Persian sat on the floor purring loudly. 
       Giovanni recalled hearing Nikolai say something about getting revenge 
on some kid in the Johto Region. Giovanni strained to remember the name. Jake 
Brooks. That was the key. He looked at Persian. “There’s an ancient proverb 
that says: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’” He said to the pokemon. 
       Giovanni stood up and walked over to his desk. He turned on the light, 
and picked up a pen. He scrawled a letter out furiously. It wasn’t the best 
hand writing, but it would get his point across. He went up to the top floor, 
where the Pidgeys were housed. Giovanni opened the cage of the fiercest and 
meanest bird that he knew. He needed that letter to New Bark Town by 12:30 
am, and this Pidgey could get it there. “Take this, and deliver it to Jacob 
Brooks, in New Bark Town. Don’t return until it’s delivered.” He said as he 
tied the letter to his leg.
       The Pidgey cooed, and then took flight. 
       Giovanni didn’t want the help of some wet nosed brat. But it would 
toss a monkey-wrench into Nikolai’s plans if he no longer had the element of 
surprise. 

       New Bark Town
       
       Jake had lain awake for some time now. At midnight, he had woken from 
a terrible nightmare, and had been awake ever since. He looked over at the 
digital clock which illuminated the room with fluorescent green light. It was 
a comforting glow that nearly put Jake to sleep again. Rascal was off 
somewhere prowling around town, as usual. 
       Jake wanted to stay awake but he drifted off to sleep again. Suddenly 
he was having the nightmare again.
       
       It was like a third person view. Jake could see himself standing in a 
warehouse, with an open roof. He started walking from the center, when a 
Lugia landed on the ground behind him. Jake pointed to a spot somewhere in 
the warehouse, and Lugia charged up an attack. A beam of yellow and white 
light fired from Lugia’s mouth and destroyed half of the warehouse. 
       An old man in his late sixties cowered in fear. Jake could see the 
evil in his eyes even through the old man’s cowardice. “Please, have mercy on 
me! I didn’t mean it.” The old man croaked.
       With nothing but an evil expression, Jake replied: “I’m fresh out of 
mercy.” With a dark look in his cold gray eyes, Jake pointed at the old man 
and muttered “Aeroblast”. Lugia, mirroring Jake’s heartlessness charged up 
another attack and fired. The old man was down instantly. 
       Jake strode up to the man’s limp form and nudged it with his foot. The 
body rolled over to reveal a young man looking back at him. All of the color 
drained from Jake’s face. He was staring at himself. 
       
       Jake shot up from his deep sleep. It was barely 12:45. A Pidgey was 
pecking at the sliding glass door that separated the balcony from Jake’s 
room. 
       Jake stood up and yawned. At this rate, he’d never get enough sleep to 
start his journey. He opened the window, and the Pidgey dropped a letter at 
his feet. Jake picked it up as the Pidgey flew away. He opened the letter and 
pulled out a neat and clean sheet of paper, with a letterhead that read: 
“From the office of the Viridian City Gym.”
       Scribbled on the paper as if in a hurry, the letter itself read:
       
Dear Mr. Brooks, 

I wish to seek an audience with you before sunrise. Please make your way to 
Viridian City with all haste. I have information that could be very valuable 
to you.

Regards,
Giovanni
Viridian City Gym Leader
       
       “I don’t know why I’m doing this.” Jake said as he pulled his clothes 
on. He grabbed his pokeballs and put on his hat. Jake stepped outside and 
whistled loudly, which was Rascal’s cue to come home. He slung his bag over 
his shoulder. Rascal slowly walked up to Jake. Jake knelt down to Rascal’s 
level. “Hey buddy, we’re goin’ on a train ride.” Jake said to Rascal.
       “To where?” Jake looked up; startled. Rose stood in the doorway of the 
Pokemon Center. 
       “I’m takin’ the one o’clock to Veridian City.” Jake said standing up.
       “At one in the morning?” She put her hands on her hips. 
       Jake nodded nonchalantly. “Yep.”
       “Why?” Rose asked impatiently. 
       “A man out there has some information for me.” Jake said absent 
mindedly.
       “Why do you need information?” She asked. Jake had forgotten that she 
didn’t know about his true mission. 
       “It doesn’t matter.” Jake took a defensive tone. 
       “Yes it does if you’re going to try and get yourself killed like in 
Olivine.” Rose shouted as Jake started to walk away. 
       “Rose you’ve only known me for three days. If you’d known me longer, 
you’d know that brushing with death is what I’m good at.” Jake said angrily.
       “I’ve known you long enough to know that you’re a lone wolf, and are 
as stubborn as they come.” Rose shot back. 
       “Look, I need to get to Viridian before sunrise. It’ll be okay. I’m 
not going to ride on the top of a van, or go out looking for a fight.” Jake 
assured her.
       “Just don’t do something you’ll regret.” She whispered. 
       Jake gave her a sad smile and said, “It’s too late for that.” He 
remembered the nightmare. It still flashed vividly before his eyes. 
       Jake and Rascal walked to the train station, and made it just in time 
to catch the one o’clock to Viridian. “Well we made it.” He said to Rascal as 
they took their seats.
       It was an uneventful hour long train ride. Jake slept most of the 
time. When the train came to a stop, a conductor woke Jake up. 
       “Mr. Brooks?” he asked as he gently shook Jake. “We’re there.” 
       “Oh, thank you sir.” Jake yawned as he stood up. He looked down at his 
watch. The wrist-watch read 2:05. “We made great time, now all there is to do 
is find Giovanni.” Jake said stepping off of the train. 
       “I’m right here.” A voice came from a shadow on the waiting platform. 
A tall man in a burgundy suit stepped out of the shadows. His dark slicked 
back hair glinted in the light. “I wasn’t sure how you would get here, so I 
just waited at the station.”
       “I’m Jake Brooks. Why did you call me here?” Jake asked.
       “I have a limo outside. All will be explained away from prying eyes.” 
Giovanni said looking around. 
       “Alright, but you’d better have some good information.” Jake said. 
       “It won’t cost you a dime, I promise.” Giovanni said.
       They walked outside and got into the limo. “Milton, take us around the 
block.” Giovanni ordered. As the butler started the car Giovanni rolled up 
the divider that separated the cab from the rest of the limo. “Are you 
familiar with a Nikolai Kruschev?”
       Jake’s heart skipped a beat. “What did you just say?”
       “Nikolai Kruschev. Do you know him?” Giovanni repeated.
       “H-He’s dead.” Jake stammered. An image of the old man in the 
warehouse flashed through his mind.
       “Hardly.” Giovanni said. “Four years ago, he spent six months in the 
hospital, because he kidnapped a police officer’s son.” He took a soda out of 
the cooler next to him, and handed it to Jake. “Only the officer’s son didn’t 
take too well to being kidnapped.”
       “The boy was twelve years old. And with the help of a cloned Lugia he 
nearly blew the entire harbor district all to hell, and Kruschev along with 
it.” Jake finished Giovanni’s story. “The Lugia didn’t take too well to being 
used like a puppet, so he decided to do something about it, by helping the 
boy get revenge.” Jake paused for a long moment. “That right?”
       “Yes but how did you know?” Giovanni asked.
       Jake smiled for a second. “I’m said boy. Only, Sundance and I had 
originally planned to take Kruschev out of the equation for good.”
       “Sundance?” Giovanni looked puzzled.     
       “The nickname I gave the Lugia.” Jake explained. “After that, Sundance 
and I said our goodbyes and parted company.” 
       “Well Kruschev is still alive, and he seems to harbor a great hatred 
for you and your father. But with your father gone, there’s only you for him 
to torment.” Giovanni said.
       “Why’re you tellin’ me this?” Jake asked.
       “Because, I’ve entered into a shady deal with him. And if I openly 
back out of the deal, he will do anything to destroy me. I can help you. I 
already have a double agent who can feed you any information you need. I can 
tell you about Kruschev’s movements. And as a good faith payment I’ll tell 
you right now that the Pokemon League Conference in six months is when he 
plans to break you.” 
       “Who’s this double agent you’re talkin’ about?” Jake asked.
       “Her name is Bonnie Pryce; she was the agent that stole the Lugia 
fossil.” Giovanni said. 
       “I knew I recognized her. I knew her along time ago.” Jake said to 
himself.
       “And the fossil, what’s that about?” Jake asked.
       Giovanni looked at him. “He plans to make a super clone. One even more 
powerful than the first Lugia clone.”
       Jake stepped out of the car as it pulled back up to the train station. 
       “Here, this is a ticket for the two thirty back to New Bark Town.” 
Giovanni said as he handed him a ticket. 
       As Jake walked away Giovanni shut the door. 
       “Sir I thought, you were the one who wanted a super clone.” Milton 
said. 
       “You were listening in?” Giovanni asked angrily. 
       “No sir I just heard mere scraps.” Milton dodged his penetrating 
stare. 
       “Well see to it that those scraps don’t reach Kruschev’s ears.” 
Giovanni said.
       
       New Bark Town
       
       Jake wearily stepped off of the train. It was 3:50 am and it appeared 
that the sleepy town hadn’t lost any of it’s deadness in the almost three 
hours that he’d been gone. He went to his room in the Pokemon Center, plopped 
onto his bed and turned on the TV.
       He was greeted by the TV with bad news on the 4 o’clock news. 
“Yesterday afternoon, Pewter City was virtually annihilated by Team Rocket. 
There have been no deaths, but there were a number of injuries. The 
whereabouts of Gym Leader Brock, are unknown to police but he is believed to 
be alive.”
       Jake was in disbelief. “Annihilated?” Jake yelled. Rascal came into 
the room, and looked at Jake.
       
       Somewhere On Mt. Silver
       
       =Sundance, can you hear me?= A voice echoed in Sundance’s mind that he 
had not heard in four years.
       =I thought, you said it wasn’t safe to stay in contact.= Sundance 
replied. 
       =We’ve got a problem.= Jake’s voice echoed. =Kruschev is still alive.=
       =How?= Sundance asked. He stretched his wings and prepared for flight.
       =I don’t know how, but I need your help partner.= Jake said.
       =What do you need?= Sundance stood perched on a cliff face, outside of 
the cave he had lived in for four years.
       =I need you to fly over Pewter City; I heard it was wiped out. And 
when you’re done there I need you to meet me in New Bark Town.= Jake said. 
       =Will do, I’ll meet you in New Bark Town when I’m done. Oh, and Jake?= 
Sundance’s wings spread out wide.
       =Yeah?=
       =It’s good to hear from you again.= 
       Sundance kicked off of the cliff face and flapped his ten foot wings. 
He was on his way to Pewter City.