In the beginning there was a single egg floating in the vastness of space. To this day, nobody knows its true origins. However, they do know that when it hatched it became the pokemon known as Arceus. For unknown reasons, Arceus created the world. He started by creating Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Dialga created and controlled time. Palkia created space dimensions by distorting space. Giratina was created to control the balance between time and space with anti-matter, but when he proved himself to be too violent... Arceus had no choice but to banish him to the Distortion World. Without him, Arceus went on to create Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. Kyogre brought forth the oceans of the world. Groudon brought forth its land mass. Leaving Rayquaza to create the O-Zone layer. Thus, bringing about the first war. For Kyogre and Groudon valued only territory. Each wanting more than the other. To settle the fight, Rayquaza defeated them. Forcing them to retreat and go into slumber to recuperate. Arceus's work was not yet done though. From him, he created Regigigas and the first Mews.

From Regigigas, he created Regirock, Registeel, and Regice to help him shape the land mass. Why the Mews were created remain a mystery. As a final use of his power though. Arceus created Xerneas to bring life to the land... but also created Yveltal. Yveltal was charged with the destruction of living things. Allowing the others to fix mistakes and start again. With time, the world settled and the prehistoric pokemon came to be. For two-hundred million years, these pokemon ruled the land, oceans, and sky. Before a large meteorite from space impacted the earth, forcing those that remained into extinction. Life could not be destroyed. For when the dust settled, life began again. Only this time new forms of life were created from the energy found in the meteorite. This gave birth to the many species of pokemon that we see today. Hundreds of years and evolutions passed, before a new species arose from the power of creation caused from the meteorite. Humans. Although, some theorists speculate that the Mews may have had a hand in the creation of humans.

Not long after, the first ice age fell upon the earth. Causing Pokemon and humans to work together to survive the harsh winter storms as the world settled yet again. With the new dawn came the legendary birds. There was Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, Ho-Oh, and Lugia. From the beauty of these 'Majestic and Magical Creatures', Humans would divide and build kingdoms in their honor. The birds were worshipped and praised. Kingdoms all over the world rose and fell, but the traditions have withstood the test of time. To this day. Three factions still work under the banners of three legendary birds. The only thing they have changed is the name. Under the banner of Moltres, Team Valor believes that pokemon are stronger than humans and they wish to help them get stronger. Under the banner of Articuno, Team Mystic believes that pokemon have much to teach us and wish to learn more from the study of them. While under the banner of Zapdos, Team Instinct believes that pokemon should be nurtured and left to make their own choices on how they grow and share knowledge with those around them.

The corner of the book caught fire, causing Nate to flip the book to the ground with a yelp. Kicking dirt on the book, Nate frantically told the little firey pokemon sitting beside him. "HEY! I was reading that!" Beside him, a tiny pokemon similar to a hedgehog with firey quills on its back, let out gleeful squeaks as it hopped around place. Nate let out a sigh of relief as the fire went out on the book. Slumping against the tree he was sitting under, he gave Cyndaquil a narrowed look. Shaking his head, Nate picked up the book and told him sternly. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to steal this?" Cyndaquil let out a cute sneeze from the dust. Reaching out, Nate pet Cyndaquil's head with his exposed fingers from his black fingerless gloves. It was a beautiful sunny day in the meadow. It would almost be too hot but sitting beneath the shade of a tree it felt cool and nice. Cyndaquil leaned into his hand, pulling at Nate's heartstrings until he told him nicely. "Oh... I can't be mad at you. Damn your cuteness."

Cyndaquil snuggled up to his thigh, his warm body warming his thigh through his black pants. Nate ran his hand through the fire of Cyndaquil's back with a small smile. It fascinated him that despite Cyndaquil being a fire pokemon, that their bound was strong enough to keep him from getting burned. When he had first got him, Cyndaquil burned him constantly. Now he just felt warm to the touch. Stuffing the book back into the backpack he'd stolen from a university student, he glanced out into the meadow to see how the new recruit was fairing. A few feet away, a Team Rocket initiate was hiding in the tall grass and trying to creep up on something. They'd been here for over four hours and the guy had barely moved! Rolling his eyes, Nate rolled to his knees, grumbling out. "Come on, Cyndakill. Let's go see what's taking this fucker so long." Nate lowered his arm down to let Cyndakill scramble up to his shoulder. Then standing up, he trudged his way across the grassy field. Walking straight up on the man, he asked the young guy curiously. "Yo, Dude. What's the hold up?"

The guy shushed Nate from the grass, whispering to him. "Get back! You're going to scare it away!" Looking farther ahead, Nate saw a mound of brown fur nestled up in the tall grass. Nudging the guy with his foot, he told him sternly. "So, throw a ball at it already. What are you waiting for?" The man shuffled his feet in his crouching state, mumbling out embarrassed. "I... I've never caught a Raticate before... I'm nervous." Nate rolled his eyes behind his dark sunglasses, mumbling under his breath. "Where do they find these guys..." Nate reached down to pull the man to his feet, informing him seriously. "Rule number one. NEVER sneak up on pokemon that you don't have the courage to capture or battle. Second, get your damn ball out. If you don't have a pokemon, then you better be willing to at least try to capture one. Otherwise, they'll sneak up on YOUR ass. And third... Grow a pair, man. It's just a Raticate. It's a giant rat." The guy paled a bit, mumbling out without making eye contact. "I... I'm scared of rats..." Nate's jaw dropped and he glanced at Cyndakill in disbelief.

Clearing his throat, Nate asked the man curiously in his nicest tone. "Quick question... Why did you request capturing a Raticate as your first pokemon...? If you're scared of rats?" The man turned his pokeball over in his hands, answering softly. "I wanted to face my fears. Join Team Rocket as a brand new me." Nate adjusted his black cap hat over his head, grumbling through his teeth lightly. "Dude... You don't go into a meadow filled with field mice and rats to-" Nate stopped himself, gesturing with his hands that he wasn't getting into this and quickly revised more casually. "You know what. Forget it. It's done. There is the rat. Throw the ball." The man swallowed, adding out in a blushing whisper. "Um... He's too far away... I can't throw that far." Nate clenched his fists, then snatched the ball from the man as he stated out sternly. "You know what...! Fuck it! Give me that!" Pressing the button, Nate threw the pokeball as hard at he could toward the sleeping Raticate.

The pokeball soared through the air, then made a loud 'WHACKING' sound as it hit something. Nate blushed. Beside him, the man asked him curiously. "Did you hold the button down before throwing it?" Nate shook his head. Next to him, the man uttered out gently. "You do know that the pokeball won't work if you don't hold the button down during the release to capture-" Nate whirled to face the man, shouting out. "I KNOW!" From the grass an aggressive snort, caused Nate to lower his clenched fists with a paling face. The man's eyes widened with fear as Nate asked him shakily. "Phil... Are you sure that was a Raticate?" Phil bit his lip, weakly mumbling out. "I... I may have forgot my glasses and didn't want to say anything because-" Nate raised a hand to stop him, nervously looking toward what he had hit. Staggering up from the grass, a large bull turned to look directly at them. The bulls three tails snapping like whips in the air as it let out another aggressive snort and lowered its head to aim its thick sharp horns at them. He had hit a Tauros.

Phil stared at Tauros, asking Nate shakily. "W-W-What do we do?" Nate let out a nervous chuckle, watching the Tauros paw the ground with a hoof, before answering calmly. "Stay calm. I've got a plan. You pet him. And I'll... RUN!" Without waiting for Phil, Nate turned and ran as fast as his legs would take him. Phil let out a scream as the Tauros charged, knocking Phil aside with its shoulder as it charged after Nate with a bellowing roar. Reaching for the pokeballs around his belt, Nate quickly removed a small ball and pressed the button a second to enlarge it. On his shoulder, Cyndakill let out a squeal as the Tauros thundered through the tall grass. It would run him down before too long! There was no way to outrun it in an open field. Hefting his pokeball, he threw it out beside him, yelling out. "DASH! I NEED YA, BUDDY!" The pokeball popped open, expelling a red light that formed into a beautiful white horse with a horn on its forehead and firey red hair. Rapidash. The pokeball then snapped shot and Nate extended a hand to catch it as it was drawn back to the tech weaved into his black fingerless gloves.

Dash let out a whinny and bolted after him. There was no pokemon faster than Rapidash that he knew of. Tauros was almost on his heels when Dash ran up alongside him. Cyndakill jumped off his shoulder to jump onto Dash and Nate risked it. Jumping, he wrapped his arms around Dash's neck, managing to get a leg over his back. Dash sped up to put some distance between him and Tauros, before looking back to help nudge Nate up properly onto his back with his nose. Nate adjusted on Dash's back more comfortably, looking back over his shoulder to see Tauros slow down. The second Tauros stopped, Nate tapped his heel against Dash's side to signal him into turning around. Dash slid into a U-turn to face Tauros with his head low to show off his own horn for a fight. Tauros mimicked Dash, snorting and pawing the ground. Beneath him, Dash snorted and shook his head aggressively. Cyndakill moved up to tap his ball on Nate's waist, letting the ball recall him to safety. Clicking the button to shrink Dash's ball, he clicked it back to his belt. Hanging on with his legs, he stated aloud. "Dash! Fire Spin!"

Dash jerked his head up, neighing out a cyclone of flame that when it hit Tauros it burst into a circle of flames over him. Tauros reared with wails of pain as flames burned his fur. The grass around them caught fire, but Nate focused only on Tauros. Tauros jumped from the circle of flames, charging at them so fast that Nate couldn't see his legs in the dust and smoke he was kicking up. Even severely burned, Tauros was too stubborn to give up. Dash ended the fire spin, waiting for Nate to tell him what to do next. Nate laid over Dash, ordering him clearly. "Dodge and Stomp!" Dash waited for Tauros to get close, then jumped into the air to avoid him before stomping his hooves down on the back of Tauros's neck. The weight of Dash tilted Tauros's head enough that he charged into the ground and toppled over in a flurry of kicking hooves. Dash landed gracefully back to the ground, slowly turning to face Tauros again. Tauros rolled to its side, panting and snorting from exhaustion. It might have even been a bit dazed from impacting with the ground. The Tauros shook its head, stiffly trying to get to its feet. Nate waited to see if it could. Tauros's legs shook as it rose to its feet, but the burns it had suffered seemed to be too much for it and it collapsed unconscious.

Petting Dash, Nate thanked him. Dash had saved his life more than once over the years. From the burning grass, Phil rushed out to say with excitement. "What a plan! I thought you were going to leave me to die, but you did have a plan!" Nate blinked, casually uttering under his breath. "Right... Ya. That's what I was doing." Nate pointed to the Tauros, ordering Phil seriously. "Capture it. He'll be more useful than some rat anyway." Phil saluted him, answering with pride. "Yes, Sir!" While the man threw a pokeball, Nate looked over the burning field. Even if he wanted to stop the fire, he couldn't. He didn't have water pokemon. He preferred his fire and dark types. Nudging Dash with his heels, he rode Dash over to the tree and retrieved his stolen backpack. Slipping it on, he swung back up onto Dash and called out to Phil. "We've got to go before firefighters show up." Phil showed him the pokeball, excitedly informing him. "I got it!" Nate gave him a nod, waiting for the guy to hop onto his dirt bike before they took off toward the road.

Nate tried not to let Dash leave Phil behind. He hated babysitting new recruits. He was used to working alone. He preferred it that way. Riding across the valley, Nate admired the rich mountain views as they made their way back toward Cameron Palace. He had enjoyed coming back to Kanto after years of being away, but he was on a mission in the town of Rota. Riding into the stone walled city, the towns people pulled their children inside at the sight of their uniforms. Team Rocket had only been here a week or two, but they had made an impression by holding Queen Lorelei hostage until she told them where the Mews were. After Madam boss had learned that the Heraldry shield of Cameron Palace had two legendary Mews with a tree in the center, she had sent her second in command to investigate it. Nate worked for her second's in command's search team. For reasons he didn't understand, the higher ups were obsessed with Mew lore. Upon arriving at the castle gates, a young man in his early twenties approached them with a sour look.

Nate sighed, sliding off Dash to approach the well-dressed man. The Persian at the man's side hissed at him, but Nate ignored it and bowed with respect. Giovanni glared at him, waving the recruit away from them as he asked sternly. "Where have you been? Why didn't you check in with Miyamoto?" Nate straightened up, answering honestly. "We tried. We got no signal in the mountains. Why? What's going on?" Giovanni looked around to make sure no one was close, then stepped closer to tell Nate seriously. "My mother got a lead. She's sending Miyamoto out to investigate where a Mew was last seen." Nate nodded, starting to say seriously. "That's great news. Tell me where she is headed and I'll aid in-" Giovanni raised a hand to signal him to stop, before discreetly telling him. "No. I have another job for you." Nate gave Giovanni a confused look. It was no secret that Giovanni and his mother never got along, but this was the first time he seemed to be plotting something behind her back. Handing him a thick envelope, Giovanni told him in a deep discreet tone. "Take this. I want you to escort Ariana to the Orange Islands as part of her team. I hear Team Mystic has found something that I want."

Nate didn't get a chance to say anything because Giovanni added out casually. "Everything you need to know is in the envelope. As one of our most promising Grunts, I'm counting on you not to fuck this up. From now on you work for me and you take orders from Ariana. Not my mother. Understood?" Nate watched Giovanni's free hand slid into the pocket of his pants to clearly grab something. Without drawing attention to it, Nate accepted the envelope upon answering casually. "Understood, Sir. I'll leave when she is ready." Giovanni carefully removed his hand from his pocket, patting him on the shoulder as he professionally stated out. "That's what I want to hear. Keep it up, kid. You'll go far with me in charge." Nate gave him another bow, watching Giovanni stroll calmly away before too many people noticed him. Nate slipped the envelope into his pocket, feeling uneasy. Would Giovanni have shot him if he had refused? What was so important that he needed him to accompany Ariana? Turning to pet Dash, he whispered to him coolly. "Well, so much for staying in Kanto a while. I wonder what's going on."

At the sound of heavy footfalls, he turned to see nine Dragonites dressed in royal riding harnesses. A young red-haired woman with dangling gold earrings and a skintight white Team Rocket riding uniform, approached with two confiscated Dragonites in hand. Tossing him the reins to one, she smugly stated aloud. "I sure hope you know how to ride one of these. We have a lot of ground to cover and I don't wait on Grunts." Nate retrieved Dash's pokeball to return him, before telling her casually. "I can ride." Ariana moved around her Dragonite to step up against the saddle and told the rest of her team. "Due try to keep up, Boys. I'd hate to get there and back before you even get off the ground." The men grunted softly in response. Nate moved around his Dragonite. He'd never flown before, but it couldn't be all that different from riding a horse. Stepping onto the bars at the base of the saddle, he grabbed another wrapped bar at the front to hold onto and stood up against the padded body formed saddle.

Dragonite slowly leaned forward onto all fours, spreading its wings to gear up for takeoff. Nate watched Ariana hold the wrapped bar with one hand and the reins in her other, before she clicked her tongue and took off into the air. The other men followed her, causing Nate to take a deep breath as he told the Dragonite to follow them. His Dragonite leapt into the air, leaving a dust trail behind them from the force of his powerful wings. Nate did his best to center himself across the saddle. This felt more like trying to ride a motorcycle. If he didn't stay centered between Dragonite's wings, he'd have trouble staying balanced in the air. For the first hour, he was the farthest behind. He wasn't used to the intense wind on his face and the way Dragonite rose and fell with the wing currents. It was enough to make his lunch threaten to come back up. Once he got used to the feeling though, he relaxed and actually began to enjoy himself. Encouraging his Dragonite to go faster. Before long, he was riding alongside Ariana's flank and learning to steer by watching her handle her stolen Dragonite.

It was said that Dragonite could fly around the world in just sixteen hours. Nate had never believed that, until they reached the Orange Island's in less than three hours. When it normally would have taken a week of travel by boat. Circling over the Orange Islands, Nate's heart raced. He could see the three islands where the three Teams kept their Headquarters. Fire Island, Thunder Island, and Ice Island. Landing down on Shamouti Island, Nate casually stepped off Dragonite and threw up over the edge of the dock. The constant swooping drops had done him in. Ariana hoped off her Dragonite gracefully, announcing to her team. "You men go and find us some food and lodgings. But you two stay." Nate straightened up on the wooden railing as she gestured another Grunt closer to him. Flipping her red hair off her shoulder, she told them both discreetly. "Alright, Boys. Time to earn your keep. Who feels like retrieving that Prism Scale from Team Mystic?" To Be Continued...