Route 22 wasn't big. In fact, there were only a few Pokemon roaming the area. Because of this, not too many trainers stayed. Instead they traveled on through to Viridian Forest or took their chances with Viridian gym.

Siri, however, had no such plans. There was no point for her to take on the gym except for the experience, but even then it would be too easy. The gym in Viridian had become a Normal-type gym after the last one run by Team Rocket was taken down. It would be all too easy for her team.

It was better to train where a few Flying types were about. What better way to strengthen her Pokemon than to battle their weakness?

This drive had the orange haired girl creeping through the route. She was crouched down to avoid Pokemon detection. One of her Pokeballs was already in her hand, prepared to send out her Pokemon.

"Spear!"

The instant Siri heard the noise, she spun on her heel, her ponytail flying around her. Siri rose, bringing her hand up to let the ball fly free. "Let's show them what we've got, Tyrogue!"

The Spearow that had drawn Siri's attention squawked at the noise, but it simply flinched rather than ran when the Pokeball released a flash of light. When the light vanished, it revealed a small, humanoid figure.

"Ty!" Tyrogue exclaimed. He brought his arms up and hopped on the balls of his feet.

Spearow glowered at its new foe. For a reason Siri had not taken time to note, it was on the ground. But now its wings spread, beating air against the ground as the Spearow rose into the air.

Letting loose another, "Spear! Spearow," the sparrow Pokemon shot toward Tyrogue.

Siri beamed. Adrenaline pumped through her system as Spearow grew closer. Pokemon battles were always such a thrill. It was even more so with the disadvantage. It was nothing more than Tyrogue could handle though.

"Bullet Punch that Peck," Siri ordered.

Exclaiming his excitement, Tyrogue dashed forward to meet Spearow. His hand took a silver glow. It solidified until Tyrogue's hand looked as if it was made of steel. Once the Spearow was in range, Tyrogue bent his knees only to shoot back up with an uppercut. It caught the bird directly in the chin. A smirked graced Tyrogue's face as he landed back on the ground. Spearow flapped its wings, struggling to regain its balance. Once achieved, the wild Pokemon glared down at its captured opponent, cawing its rage.

"Rogue," Tyroge scoffed as he curled a finger toward himself in a taunting manner.

"Row!" Spearow cried as it shot down. Its wings were extended to either side, splitting the air as it grew more speed with its decent.

Siri's eyes widened as she recognized the attack. Her gut twisted as she yelled out, "Tyrogue, dodge!"

It was just her luck that she'd find a Pokemon too strong for its normal area. In order for this Spearow to know Aerial Ace, it would have to be around level seventeen. A Pokemon that strong typically didn't hang around Route 22. If anything, that kind of power would be found outside of Cerulean City or later.

A purple creature barely had times to throw up his arms before Spearow's wing hammered into him. Tyrogue cried out as the force propelled him backwards. He rolled across the ground, crying out its name.

Siri jogged over to the position he finally stopped. The sparrow Pokemon's mocking caw echoed behind her. Tyrogue attempted to raise, wincing all the while. After making it half way, he fell back to the ground. Spearow was their third encounter that hour, so Tyrogue had already been worn down a bit. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't been hit by such a strong flying move.

"You did well, Tyrogue, but I think it's time you got a bit of rest," Siri remarked, retrieving Tyrogue's Pokeball from its spot in her bag. "Return for now, buddy."

Shaking his head, Tyrogue began to raise again. "Ty-" Before he could finish, the red beam shot from the Pokeball.

Ever since they'd started battling together, Tyrogue had been slow to leave a battle. It was because of this Siri had to learn the hard way when to tell he needed to leave a battle. Learning just when had taken Tyrogue fainting multiple times, but Siri now usually had the right estimation of time.

Taking a deep breath, Siri exchanged Tyrogue's Pokeball with another. She could feel the glare of Spearow on her back. Rolling the Pokeball around in her hand, she stood and turned. When she'd captured her newest Pokemon, it hadn't been the kindest creature. Part of the reason Siri had captured it was to get it to finally stop attacking. It had managed to take down Tyrogue when Siri threw a Pokeball as a last ditch effort to stop its rampage. Granted, they had accidentally knocked it out of a tree it was sleeping in. Perhaps it just really wasn't a morning person.

"Welp," Siri sighed, tossing the Pokeball up and down. "Guess this will be a fun battle." Pulling back her arm, Siri tossed the Pokeball in front of her. "Let's show them what we've got, Mankey!"

The red and white ball opened, releasing a bright white light. It took a circular shape with four limbs. The ball snapped shut and returned as the figure solidified. The pig monkey snorted, his normally enraged eyes narrowing more.

Siri returned Mankey's Pokeball and retrieved a Pokescan. Ever since Kanto's Professor Oak created the Pokedex, information had been gained about all Pokemon. As not everyone had one, though, Silph Company made a device known as a Pokescan. When a Pokemon entered the Pokeball, information was stored about different Pokemon stat. The Pokescan told the trainer that information.

MANKEY – MALE

ABILITY – DEFIANT

MOVES – COUNTER, FURY SWIPES, LEER, LOW KICK

If Siri had the time, she could look more in depth about each trait, such as what in the world a Defiant ability did. Movement from Mankey drew her eyes up. Mankey charged forward, not waiting for any direction from Siri. Her annoyed, "Hey!" was drowned out by a squealing, "Mankey!" as he shot up toward Spearow.

Mankey's paws glowed white, light claws extending from them. When Spearow was in range, Mankey began a flurry of attacks. The first few hits landed, but then Spearow maneuvered backwards out of Fury Swipes' range.

"Hey, Mankey!" Siri called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "You're supposed to listen to me."

With a snort, Mankey launched back up. Before he had the time to use another Fury Swipes, Spearow shot forward. Siri inhaled sharply, waiting for the Aerial Ace. It was sad she was sighing in relief when she saw it was only a peck.

"Mankey!" he yelled as he plummeted back to the ground. Before he got too close, Mankey recollected himself and flipped to land on his feet.

Siri facepalmed and sighed. "Mankey, use Counter on the next attack!"

"Man," he snorted, straightening up as if to say he could care less what Siri said. Regardless, rather than attack again, he stood there waiting.

Spearow remained in its spot in the air. "Spear!" it cried as it Leered Mankey.

The monkey flinched, the main physical sign the Pokemon move took effect. Rather than remain unsettled by the Leer, though, Mankey began jumping back and forth between each foot and yelling at the Spearow. Siri blinked. When a Pokemon fell under the effects of Leer, it wasn't typical they could shake off the fear so quickly. It was nothing against the Pokemon – it was simply Leer's ability. If anything, Mankey just seemed like it was angrier than before.

"Row!" Spearow shrieked in annoyance, shooting down toward the ground as it began another Aerial Ace.

Siri bit the inside of her lip. For Mankey to have any chances of winning, he would have to either dodge or Counter. The chances of getting Mankey to dodge was about as high as his chances to out speed the attack. The sheer speed of Aerial Ace was what made it nearly impossible to dodge.

Mankey was going to have to withstand an Aerial Ace with the effects of Leer weakening him.

"Come on, Mankey! You can do it!" Siri shouted.

"Mankey!" her Pokemon cried, his entire body surrounded by a thin aura. He spread his legs out, his arms cross in front of him as Spearow came within attacking distance.

Its wing slammed in Mankey, sending him up into the air. One of Mankey's eyes was closed in a wince, and he had cried out upon contact, but when he came to the ground, Mankey remained standing. However, his legs shook with the effort. The glowing aura that had been around him flowed to his hands, encircling them like gloves.

"Man!" Mankey declared as he used what little energy he had left to shoot toward Spearow.

Still regaining air after the descent, the Spearow was just in Mankey's range. With a shout, Mankey slammed his fist into the bird. With the downward force, Spearow slammed into the ground. Mankey crumpled to the ground in front of Spearow. He huffed, daring the Spearow to get back up with a glare.

It didn't.

"We did it," Siri murmured. "Mankey, we did it!"

The monkey pig paused for a moment, but then snorted, "Mankey?"

Mankey began to turn, Siri calling, "Way to go!" as it did. Just before he turned, though, something small and black shot out toward him. It exploded into a series of black ropes, encircling Mankey. He screamed as lightning crackled from the black ropes.

"Mankey!" Siri took a step toward her Pokemon. Purple needles slamming in the ground by her feet sent her scrambling back. "Hey," she exclaimed. Rather than look for the source of the attack, Siri quickly produced Mankey's Pokeball and pointed it toward Mankey. The red beam shot out, but rather than capturing Mankey's form, it slammed against a black aura. "What the heck?"

Laughter drew her attention to the same place the attack had come from. A young man stood there, dressed in all black clothing. A male Nidoran stood at his feet. Noticing he'd gained her attention, the man smirked.

"Hello there, little girl," he said, crossing his arms. "I take it this is your Mankey?"

Siri glared, shifting her eyes between the man and the poison Pokemon. "Yeah, that's my Mankey. Now get him out of that contraption."

Hoping to scare the man, Siri brought out Tyrogue's Pokeball. Tyrogue was her only other Pokemon, and even if the man had been there long enough to see Tyrogue's exhaustion, he didn't know Tyrogue was her only other Pokemon.

Rather than be intimidated, the man simply snorted and held up a black device. He clicked the button, and then the ropes around Mankey hissed with electricity again.

"Mankey!"

"Hey!" Siri shouted.

Mankey fell to the ground as the electrical flow stopped, heaving in exhaustion. Siri's eyes stung as she realized she couldn't make a move without the man hurting Mankey. Even if she tried to send out Tyrogue, this man could flip the button. There was actually a chance of Mankey dying.

Siri glanced around. The duo were alone with the three Pokemon, only accompanied by tall grass broken up by large trees. A normal route, void of any trainers who could help Siri out. Her hand tightened around Tyrogue's Pokeball. Even if he could draw about the nergery to fight, there was nothing Tyrogue could do.

Finally, she sighed and dropped her head. "What do you want?"

The smirk turned into a sneer. "That's a good girl. You know your place." The man produced another Pokeball. It opened, and from it appeared a purple butterfly Pokemon. "You're going to set down your bag and then let Butterfree here put you to sleep with Sleep Powder," he explained. "Any sudden movement and Mankey here pays the price."

Siri stared at her Pokeball, her head throbbing as she struggled to figure out any other solution besides giving this man her Pokemon. When she found herself once more coming up with nothing, Siri sighed and stored Tyrogue's Pokeball. Biting down hard on the inside of her lip to avoid crying, she placed her bag on the ground.

That was all there was to it. She was absolutely powerless to protect her Pokemon.

Nodding in approval, the man gestured toward Siri. "Use Sleep Powder on this girl, Butterfree."

"Freeee," Butterfree shrilled, its eyes dropping.

Glowering at his Pokemon, the man pointed toward Siri. "Butterfree, do it now."

Sagging slightly, the Butterfree nodded before flapping over toward Siri. When it drew close, green powder began falling from Butterfree's wings. Siri's eyes drooped when the powder landed on her. It was like a fast acting drug, chasing away Siri's will to stay awake.

Siri's knees buckled from beneath her, sending her crashing into the ground. The pain was dull, barely registering in her sluggish mind. She had fallen beside her back. It gave her a clear view of the man walking over to scoop up her bag.

"Ty... rogue...," Siri groaned.

The last thing she heard was Mankey crying out in protest before the darkness consumed her.

"Man.. Man..."

*~*~*~

"Mankey!"

The word finally finished as the darkness released Siri from its grasp. She shot up, having ended up on her back some time during her sleep. Siri swirled around, searching the now dark route for any sign of her Pokemon.

There was no sign of anything from the day. Neither the man nor her Pokemon were anywhere in sight. Spearow was even gone.

"You guys," Siri murmured, staring down in her lap.

"Looks like you're finally awake."

Because of her encounter with the man, hearing a male voice sent Siri flying to her feet. On the way up, Siri scrambled as far away from the source as she could. Flickering red light blinded her at first, a contrast to the night sky she'd awakened to. It was just far enough it hadn't lit up the area around her.

When Siri's eyes finally adjusted, she saw a boy about her age – so close to seventeen. His head was tilted, his spiky grey hair hanging to the side. Dull grey eyes stared down at her. He wore a green jacket with black sleeves and a raised color, but the jacket was only half way zipped up to reveal a black shirt underneath. The light provided by the fire just barely revealed a pair of grey pants as well.

Nothing about him seemed familiar.

"Who are you?" Siri demanded.

Rather than answer, the boy only stared at her longer. He was on the ground to the right of his fire, a tree providing a backrest. At first he was leaning forward, but finally ended his staring by sitting back and closing his eyes. Something about the boy seemed oddly calm.

Of course, that could be because Siri wasn't in the mood for any amount of calmness.

Clenching her fists, Siri snapped, "I asked you a question."

"I was told Team Rocket was spotted around here."

Despite her anger, Siri's shock mad her pause. Team Rocket was a known gang in Kanto. There was some rumor though of them being taken down twenty years ago. Their name was only used to tell of Kanto's history, or occasionally when speaking of Johto. Why would this random boy be speaking of such an ancient team?

When a minute went by of Siri just gaping, the boy opened his eyes. "You had Sleep Powder residue on you," he stated. "You are also on a route for Pokemon but have no Pokemon on you. Were you attacked?"

The very attack that lead the boy to these conclusions ran through Siri's mind. Since he mentioned Team Rocket and immediately jumped to Siri being attacked, it seemed likely he thought Team Rocket had been her assailants. But that was insane.

"Yeah, I was attacked. Some guy stole my Pokemon."

Her words only assured the boy's theory because he sighed. "So, I was right," he grumbled, letting his head drop back. The impact gave a quiet thunk. "Looks like they are around here then."

Siri placed her hands on her hips. "What is all of this about? And who in the world are you?"

Once more, the boy refrained from answering. If Siri wasn't so worried about the law – and, you know, morals – she would have strangled the boy by now. Every time she tried to ask him a question, his only form of reply was blankly staring ahead of detaching himself in some other way. She may have only asked a few questions, but as he did it every time, it was driving Siri insane.

The boy rocked up onto his feet. Once his feet were under him, he used the tree to guide him the rest of the way. He crossed his arms, revealing grey fingerless gloves.

"My name is Zane Kry, and I'm the one who is going to help you get your Pokemon back from Team Rocket."

Maybe, Siri thought as the gaped longer at this boy claiming Team Rocket was back, she really should have just taken out the gym leader.

*~*~*~*

So... This was just going to be me writing a random beginning to a Pokemon fanfic I didn't plan on starting... Yeah, I failed. And this became a story XD And I chose to not even introduce the main character until after Siri. What do you all think? If this gets zero attention I may stop it... Despite my want to continue it... Mostly because I have so much other stuff to work on. So when I say your reviews will possibly keep this alive, I am being dead serious. YOUR THOUGHTS DO MATTER! Love you :)