Reflections of the Past
Chapter 3: The New Recruit
by: KentaMarina

Feb. 2008

I'm just having a blast here. Move along!

* * *

Original A/N:

It'll be a while before that stupid block in my head will be washed away, so have patience, please!

You'll probably get it during the next few months...

* * *

Chapter 3: The New Recruit

        I continued to read the rest of the document.

    He felt uneasy about his mission. He also thought about what will happen if he were to fail this mission and the possibility of losing his life. But, what was important to him was how I would feel...

        I closed my eyes again and tried to remember what happened next.

* * *

        As I walked out of the Pokémon G-Men Headquarters, I had a lot of thoughts in my mind.
        "Should I tell Marina about this?" I asked myself as I sat on the edge of a water fountain that had a statue of a PokéBall. "And if so, what should I tell her?"
        A moment's silence passed before Lance came out and saw me.
        He sighed. "I know that this mission could cost you your life," he said while he sat down beside Kenta. "I understand what you're thinking right now Kenta, but remember, you have to stay strong," he finished.
        I thought about this for a second. "Maybe you're right, Lance," I agreed. "After all, I didn't mess up in Mahogany, right?"
        Lance nodded in agreement.
        "Thanks a lot Lance. Now I know what to do..." I replied, looking at him.
        "Well then, good luck on your mission, and remember, you're not alone," said Lance as he stood up and walked inside Headquarters.

        It was almost nighttime when I got back to New Bark Town. I recalled Fearow and went inside my house up the stairs into my room and sat near his table. I took a piece of paper and started to write a letter. After I was finished, I went downstairs and put the letter on the table along with Typhlosion's PokéBall. I quietly stood there for a few seconds and went back to Headquarters to receive my Rocket uniform, and my final instructions.

* * *

        "Don't forget, send us some new info on their plan, Kenta," said Lance.
        I was all set and ready to go. I was now dressed in black as an ordinary Rocket Grunt with my blue Gyarados, Fearow, and Beedrill with me.
        Lance continued on. "If they send you out on a mission, do whatever you can to not complete it."
        "Well Kenta, good luck and come back soon," said Prof. Elm. "We'll be waiting for you and of course, helping you too."
        I simply gave a nod as I called out Fearow and rode off in the bright sunrise towards Goldenrod City.

* * *

        "Sir?" asked a voice. "You might want to see this."
        "What do you mean?" asked a second voice.
        "We have something on our radar," replied the first voice," and we have a visual on our monitors."

        When they got to the control room, the picture of a boy in a Rocket Grunt uniform, riding on a Fearow, came up on the screen.
        "Should we let him in?" asked the first voice.
        The second person thought about it. "Let him in," he finally said.

* * *

        After I landed in front of the metal gate, the gate immediately opened and some 15 or 20 Rocket Grunts that were armed with guns stepped out and aimed at me.
        I stepped back a little, and I have to admit that I was pretty surprised. "Hey, was it something I did?" I asked, raising both of my hands up.
        "What's your business here?" asked one of the Rockets.
        "I..." I began, and that was all I could say since I was too nervous.
        "Yes?" replied the Rocket, who was now aiming his shotgun at my head.
        "Think of something Kenta, or else they'll blow your head off!" shouted a voice inside my head. "I heard you guys were looking for a new member, and I want to maybe, tryout for that?" I replied nervously, acting like a weak Trainer that can easily be beaten.
        Obviously, this must've worked, since the Rocket signaled to the others to lower their weapons. He also told them to go back to base.
        "Follow me," he said quietly, and I simply followed him.

        We went through a long hallway filled with steel doors and dim lights. It became a little chilly as we continued on.
        While we were still walking, something came to me. "This guy might be one of the Executives of the Grunts, but he's not as powerful as Giovanni, though..." I thought.
        After what finally seemed like hours, we reached the control room. The Rocket placed his hand on a green pad beside the door. The scanner-lock, as I had called it, scanned his hand, and after a few beeps, the door slid open.

* * *

        "This must be the largest place on the whole base," I thought as the Rocket and I went inside the control room.
        The control room was in the size of a huge circle, lined with steel walls and computers. There were also a few people in there, apparently monitoring incoming units within their radar, or doing other things.
        "Sir, we have somebody who wants to join Team Rocket," said the Rocket.
        The man that the Rocket referred to as "Sir" stood up from his seat. I immediately recognized him from our past encounters and the photos he saw at Headquarters. It was Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. I tried to keep a confused face when Giovanni approached him.
        "Um... Hi?" I said as I smiled like an idiot.
        Giovanni was not amused. "We'll see where we'll put you," he said. "Richter, you battle him now!" he commanded.
        "So, his name's Richter..." I thought.
        "You do know how to battle, don't you?" asked Richter, the Rocket.
        "I think so..." I said, still pretending to be like a weak Trainer.
        "Alright then, follow me," said Richter as Giovanni went out of the room. As I followed them, I arranged my Pokémon.

        We finally reached a room with a one-way mirror outside. In it, I could see a standard battle arena. Giovanni opened the door and let the two of us in.
        Inside, Richter spoke first. "Three-on-three sound good?" he asked me.
        "Okay, whatever that means," I said as I took out a PokéBall. I threw it up in the air and shouted, "Beedrill, I choose you!"
        The red PokéBall opened, releasing a ray of white light, which revealed Beedrill.
        Richter threw a PokéBall up in the air, releasing a ray of white light, revealing a Shelgon.
        Then, suddenly, without warning, I suddenly got my game face. I got the head start. "Beedrill, start off with a Twineedle attack!" I said.
        Beedrill went for Shelgon, attacking it with two hits from Beedrill's powerful stingers. Beedrill scored a direct hit as Shelgon fell back.
        "Not bad," I heard Richter say. "Shelgon, Dragonbreath!"
        Shelgon released what looked like a Flamethrower attack right at Beedrill. Beedrill fell on the ground, paralyzed. Kenta was stunned.
        "Beedrill went down in one hit?! This guy must be good." thought Kenta as he recalled Beedrill. He took out his second PokéBall, and released his Gyarados.
        "Shelgon, Fire Blast!" commanded Richter.
        Shelgon charged up and fired an attack that looked like a star right at Gyarados.
        "Gyarados, counter with Hydro Pump!" I commanded.
        Gyarados dodged the attack and released a powerful torrent of water, sending Shelgon flying against the wall. Richter was not impressed as he recalled his Pokémon. He took out another PokéBall and threw it, releasing a Sceptile.
        "Gyarados, Ice Beam!" I commanded.
        Gyarados opened its mouth and released a beam of ice, trapping Sceptile in an iceberg.
        "Sceptile, Sunny Day!" commanded Richter.
        Light began to filter down on both Gyarados and Sceptile, releasing itself from the iceberg. I then had an idea.
        "Gyarados, Flamethrower!" I commanded.
        This time, Gyarados opened its mouth and released a jet of flame at Sceptile.
        "Sceptile, counter with Solarbeam!" said Richter.
        Sceptile, in return, instantly fired a beam of light that canceled out Gyarados' attack. I remembered that when Sunny Day is in effect, Solarbeam can be fired without charging. Sceptile then launched another Solarbeam, which knocked out Gyarados. I recalled Gyarados and sent out Fearow.
        "Use Aerial Ace!" I commanded. Fearow was gone for a split second and was suddenly back, knocking down Sceptile.
        "Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" commanded Richter.
        Sceptile got up and formed a straight line of leaves and it circled Fearow, dealing damage.
        "Fearow, go up!" I told my Pokémon, who immediately took flight. "Use Fly!" I suddenly said. Fearow dived down with amazing speed at Sceptile. Sceptile was knocked out.
        Richter recalled Sceptile and took out a Great Ball. "Shiftry, I choose you!" shouted Richter as he released his next Pokémon. Before I could say anything, Richter ordered Shiftry to use Fake Out, which made Fearow flinch.
        "Fearow, finish it!" I said. Fearow began to glow, and took flight.
        "This will end it! Shiftry, whirlwinds!" countered Richter. Shiftry also began to glow and it created whirlwinds.
        "Fearow,"
        "Shiftry,"
        "Sky Attack!" I shouted.
        "Razor Wind!" shouted Richter.

        It was as if everything was in slow motion. Fearow dived for Shiftry violently. Shiftry released the whirlwinds at Fearow with one sharp swing of its fans. Then, a cloud of dust covered the arena. When the dust cleared, both Fearow and Shiftry were still up, panting. Suddenly, Fearow sagged slightly, while Shiftry collapsed. We both recalled our Pokémon and I thanked Fearow. I then fell on my knees, realizing that the attacks I used were not normally the attacks I would have used. I felt like somebody else was fighting, not me...

* * *

        I don't know how it happened, but I was assigned as an Executive (Richter was not too happy about this). Giovanni asked me to get rid of my uniform, but I convinced him that the other Grunts might get jealous at me, so he let me keep my Grunt uniform. I was also given a nice room, and fortunately for me, there was a computer there. The first thing I did after I came in and shut the door was to disable any surveillance equipment. I spotted a set of cameras and used a little device HQ supplied me to disable them. I pulled out another gadget and it automatically scanned the room for more equipment. It detected 5 or 6 hidden cameras and I immediately disabled them also. I ran a last check and the gadget did not detect anything else, so I learned that the room was free of surveillance, and that I could do anything I want. It took me about an hour to get rid of all programs and files that were being used to trace my computer's activity and created replacements that would make my computer look inactive. I decided to tell Lance that I was in and where I am. He replied that after a few weeks, the "help" would finally come. After that, I lied down on my bed and slept, wondering how Marina, Jun'ichi, and Matt were...