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-Silver's POV-

As I watch her scarf down bite after bite with hardly a moment to breathe, I can't help but think how lively it's going to get around here. When it's just me living alone in an apartment building, nothing out of the ordinary or entertaining happens in the least.

How I got here... My story leading up to this moment was a wild, chaotic, traumatic, twisted, backward, miserable tale I hated recalling.

"I just remembered!" (Y/N) gulps down another bite, then speaks again. "How did you get thrown into the cell like me?"

I pause. Then, with a curt sigh, I say, "It's a long story... I mean it."

"Ooh! Tell me!" She notices my sudden discomfort at the prospect of reminiscing old memories I'd wished to leave behind me. "...That is, if you don't mind." (Y/N) glances at me slyly, indicating she really wanted to hear what I had to say – her inordinate amount of eagerness was blinding.

Reluctantly, I relent to her dazzling gaze. "Fine,"

- - -

Born as the son of the head of an evil incorporation isn't exactly ideal. I was raised poorly, as my father, Giovanni, was almost always too busy to bother with the pipsqueak kid running around the halls, with rats-nest hair and wild eyes. Me.

Unfortunately, I remained that way for years. Everyone working for Team Rocket was forced to respect me out of respect for their boss – you didn't want to get fired for bullying your employer's boisterous little youngster – so I grew to be unruly and arrogant. Ariana, one of the four commanders, took care of me most of the time when she wasn't occupied with the assignments and missions that often filled her days.

She was my main supplier for any parental care. Ariana was mostly indifferent and never talked to me straight forward about her actions. She'd wake me in the morning, feed me meals, and try to tame my rebellious crimson locks.

Ariana was the closest thing I had to a proper parental figure in my life.

When I ran from home that fateful day to find the Pokemon Professor's laboratory, I couldn't imagine what her reaction was. It was in the past, but when I found New Bark Town and stole Totodile, my mind wandered back to her.

I wanted no part in Team Rocket's malicious and illogical schemes, so embarking on my own journey could be the only path to go down as an alternative to working under my father's will, and eventually I'd return to take him down.

Still, after a while of traveling the vast region of Johto, butting heads with a new rival, and collecting several Gym Badges, I finally decided to return. I had to get stronger to achieve my goal: to defeat my father. In order to do that, I'd need a powerful team. Just Totodile and a few others would never be enough.

I knew of a Pokemon, supposedly legendary or something, that was kept at the headquarters. The creature was called Ho-Oh, a dual type of some sort, and it had been ruthlessly captured and mercilessly held captive just before I left Team Rocket.

If I had that Pokemon, I'd be set to go.

My plan wasn't perfect, but it was simple. Enter the base. Take Ho-Oh. Run.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough, while I did succeed in finding and pocketing the Pokemon, I was caught by one of the executives and was turned into Giovanni. By pure luck, they didn't know I'd snatched up Ho-Oh, and merely threw me into a cage.

When I was tossed into the room, the first thing that caught my attention wasn't the cold, hard walls or the lack of windows or anything of the like. Rather, it was a girl. Chains bound her wrists to the slab of cement behind her, a cloth covered her eyes, and she didn't make a sound when I entered the space. She couldn't be dead... right?

When Giovanni leaves, she roughly pulls at her chains, growling in a quivering voice, "Who are you, kid?" Her voice was soft but ragged, like she had been screaming for so long, she lost her voice in the process.

Startled, I tried to put up a defense, "I'm probably older than you, but-"

"YOU THINK I CARE?!" She barks, twisting her features into a scowl. Then, in a faltering and sorrow-plagued whisper, "... Do you know how long I've been here? I can't see you, but I want to bet so badly that it's longer than you've been alive."

I paused for a moment, wondering if there was any way that was the truth. Bewildered, I decide to tell the truth. "Hmph. If I'd known that my old man was keeping a girl in here, I swear, I'd come to get you."

After that, it was a blur. I took off her blindfold and saw her stunning (e/c) eyes for the first time. She was a unique and bold person, and the longer I got to know her, the more I realized something. In the process of discarding my past, I'd convinced myself that I had no regrets... But now I realize I do.

I still strived to beat my father, but ever since (Y/N) entered my life with that captivating smile, living has been a new, brighter experience.

- - -

"Silver..." (Y/N) looked at me with a strange expression that looked like sorrow. She was... sad? About me? I'd never told a soul about anything about myself, my story, and never dared to even dream of spilling everything like this so out of the blue.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me, I'm fine." I grumble, slightly baffled at her strangely down-hearted reaction. Sure, it was miserable, what I'd lived through so far. She'd been through the wrath of Team Rocket's leader as well. "Either way, I'm here now."

"Yeah..." She mumbles, downcast.

In an attempt to cheer her up, I divert the conversation to a considerably lighter topic. "Did you want any more to eat?"

(Y/N) shakes her head slowly. "No, I'm good. Thanks." A wave of silence passes over us, enveloping us in an awkward, uncomfortable dance of exchanged glances and slight frowns. After a brief moment, she speaks again. "You mentioned wanting to defeat your father... I want to too. Although the sight of that place will only drudge up bitter memories, he needs to be taken down before even worse is done. That legendary beast you mentioned... Ho-Oh, was it? Do you still have it?"

"I... um, yes. I do. Just a moment." I spin around and enter my room, then return with a Poke Ball in hand.

It was an unusual one, not your average red and white. Team Rocket had poured everything into making the perfect Poke Ball — one that would be able to catch any Pokemon, regardless of rarity, level, or anything, put any fail whatsoever. The Master Ball. While they held scientists captive until some kids infiltrated the building they built the capsule in, this Poke Ball could literally catch anything.

Team Rocket had turned to the creature of myth that was said to have reincarnated wild, rampaging Pokemon into divine creatures of an almost mythological status. It would give children feathers made of a rainbow and bless them with a destiny to use their life with good intentions.

Somehow, Team Rocket found it and caught it.

"This is it," I say, returning to the table where (Y/N) finished the very last bite of food. She perked up as I sat down next to her on the chair across the table. "But... it's too big to let out in here."

"Oh, no, that's quite alright!" She runs to assure me with a reassuring smile. "But there's the real obstacle we need to decide if we're going to face." (Y/N) sets aside a now empty dish. "Are we sure we want to challenge Giovanni? Besides the painful things that happened there at his headquarters, I think we could make it with your Ho-Oh. I can catch other Pokemon if Meganium isn't enough if you like."

I grip the Poke Ball in my hand, fingers trembling with the pressure I put on the metal capsule. "Okay. Sounds like a plan." I nod, lips pressed into a thin line. "We charge my old man's base this weekend. That means three days until that day. We can rest, train, and enlarge our teams, and then we'll be standing at the entrance before you know it."

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Author's Note:

Hi there! One question, if you don't mind. Who else would you like on the reader's team? This will be extremely important for the next chapter, just so you know. I can just as easily pick my own favorites, but I'd like a little of your opinions.

Thank you,
Lillian

Word count: 1488 words

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