Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket and secret Gym Leader of Viridian City, was having a normal Tuesday.
Well, as normal as Tuesdays got when you ran an international criminal organization dedicated to Pokemon exploitation. He'd approved three heists, denied funding for a "Magikarp Army" proposal (what idiot thought THAT would work?), and was currently reviewing reports from his agents across Kanto.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Then his secretary burst into his office.
"Sir! URGENT news from Pallet Town!"
Giovanni looked up from his paperwork, one hand absently stroking his Persian. "What is it? Did the old Professor discover something valuable?"
"Sir, three days ago, a child manifested approximately five thousand Pokemon in Professor Oak's laboratory."
Giovanni blinked.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"A child. Manifested. Five thousand Pokemon. Including—" The secretary checked his notes with shaking hands. "—multiple Mewtwos, the complete weather trio, several Arceus, and what witnesses describe as 'an amount of Dragonites that shouldn't be legal.'"
The Persian on Giovanni's lap felt its master's hand stop moving.
"Several... Arceus," Giovanni repeated slowly.
"Yes, sir."
"The creator god."
"Yes, sir."
"SEVERAL of them."
"Twelve, according to our sources."
Giovanni was quiet for a long moment.
Then he stood up, walked to his window, and stared out at Viridian City.
"Get me everything on this child," he said. "Everything."
THREE HOURS LATER
Giovanni stared at the file on his desk.
SUBJECT: Marcus Chen
AGE: 10
HOMETOWN: Pallet Town
POKEMON COUNT: 4,847 (confirmed)
LEGENDARY COUNT: 40+ (estimated)
THREAT LEVEL: [UNDEFINED - PLEASE ADVISE]
Attached were photographs. Surveillance footage. Witness testimonies.
Giovanni looked at a photo of a ten-year-old boy buried under a pile of Eevees, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.
He looked at another photo of that same boy standing next to a MEWTWO, chatting casually like they were old friends.
He looked at a third photo showing the boy riding a Rayquaza through the sky while eating what appeared to be a sandwich.
"This is a joke," Giovanni said.
"Sir?"
"This HAS to be a joke. Some kind of elaborate prank. Perhaps Agatha is getting revenge for that incident at the last League conference."
"Sir, Champion Lance has confirmed the situation. He filed a forty-seven page report. Apparently he tried to retire halfway through writing it."
Giovanni read Lance's report.
Then he read it again.
Then he poured himself a very large glass of whiskey, despite it being 2 PM.
"The boy has a Mewtwo," Giovanni said slowly. "OUR Mewtwo. The one we CREATED."
"Apparently he has two of them, sir. He calls one of them 'Steve.'"
"He named the most powerful psychic entity on the planet STEVE."
"Yes, sir."
Giovanni drained his whiskey.
ONE DAY LATER
"Sir, the subject is moving toward Viridian City."
Giovanni had not slept. He had spent the entire night reviewing every piece of intelligence Team Rocket had gathered on Marcus Chen, and the picture that emerged was... troubling.
The boy wasn't a threat in the traditional sense. He didn't seem interested in world domination or criminal enterprise. By all accounts, he just wanted to be a Pokemon trainer.
But that was almost WORSE.
Because a criminal, Giovanni could understand. A criminal had motives, weaknesses, pressure points. A criminal could be negotiated with, threatened, or eliminated.
But a ten-year-old with the power of MULTIPLE GODS who just wanted to "have fun and collect badges?"
That was terrifying.
"What's his team composition?" Giovanni asked.
"He's traveling with twelve Pokemon, sir. A Mewtwo, a Charizard, a Dragonite, a Tyranitar, a Blastoise, a Blissey, a Snorlax, a Gengar, a Gallade, a Jolteon, a Magikarp, and..." The agent checked his notes. "...a Shuckle."
"A Magikarp and a Shuckle."
"Yes, sir."
"Among a team that includes a MEWTWO and a TYRANITAR."
"Yes, sir."
Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why."
"Unknown, sir. Our psychological profile suggests he may have... sentimental attachment to certain Pokemon regardless of combat utility."
"He brought a Magikarp on a journey that could involve battles with Legendary Pokemon because of SENTIMENT."
"It appears so, sir."
Giovanni poured another whiskey.
THAT EVENING
"He's in Viridian City now, sir. Staying at the Pokemon Center."
Giovanni stood at his window, watching the city below. Somewhere out there, a child with an army of gods was sleeping peacefully, probably surrounded by enough Pokemon to conquer a small nation.
"What are our assets in the city?"
"Standard complement, sir. Fifty agents, various Pokemon, the underground facility—"
"And what, exactly, do you propose we DO against someone who has forty Legendary Pokemon?"
The agent was quiet.
"Exactly." Giovanni turned from the window. "We do nothing. We OBSERVE. We gather intelligence. And we pray to whatever gods haven't been captured by a ten-year-old that he doesn't decide we're a problem."
"Sir, if I may... some of the executives are suggesting we attempt to recruit him."
Giovanni laughed. It was not a happy sound.
"Recruit him. RECRUIT him." He gestured at the file on his desk. "This child has more power at his fingertips than every criminal organization in the world COMBINED. What could we possibly offer him?"
"Money?"
"He has a team of Meowths that can generate infinite currency with Pay Day."
"Pokemon?"
"He has FIVE THOUSAND of them."
"Power?"
"HE HAS TWELVE ARCEUS."
The agent fell silent.
"No," Giovanni said firmly. "We do not approach. We do not engage. We do not even BREATHE in his direction. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now leave me. I need to... reconsider some things."
THE NEXT MORNING
Giovanni was halfway through his third cup of coffee (he'd switched from whiskey—he needed to be sharp) when his secretary burst in again.
"Sir! He's heading for Pewter City!"
"So? Let him go. We have no operations in Pewter City."
"Sir, you don't understand." The secretary was pale. "He's taking the ROUTE ONE path. Through our territory."
Giovanni froze.
Route One was technically public land, but Team Rocket maintained a significant presence there. Hidden bases. Training grounds. Recruitment operations.
If the boy stumbled onto any of those...
"Evacuate everything," Giovanni ordered. "NOW."
"Sir?"
"You heard me. Every agent, every Pokemon, every piece of equipment. I want that route CLEAN by the time he walks through. If he so much as SEES a Rocket uniform, we're finished."
"But sir, the operations—"
"Can be rebuilt. You know what CAN'T be rebuilt?" Giovanni's voice rose to something approaching panic. "ME. After his MEWTWO tears me apart atom by atom because we made his trainer UNHAPPY."
The secretary ran.
ROUTE ONE - EMERGENCY EVACUATION
Agent Jessie of Team Rocket was having a bad day.
"What do you MEAN we have to evacuate?!" she screeched into her communicator. "We just set up this operation!"
"Orders from the Boss himself," the voice on the other end replied. "Some kid with a Mewtwo is coming through. Nobody is to engage under any circumstances."
"A Mewtwo? ONE Mewtwo?" Jessie laughed. "Please. James, Meowth, and I have faced tough Pokemon before. We can handle—"
"He has TWO Mewtwos. And forty Legendary Pokemon. And four thousand other Pokemon. The Boss used the phrase 'pray to whatever gods haven't been captured' and I think he meant it literally."
Jessie was quiet for a moment.
"We're evacuating," she decided.
James poked his head out of their nearby hiding spot. "But Jessie, I just finished unpacking my bottle cap collection!"
"LEAVE IT."
"But—"
"JAMES. The Boss is SCARED. Have you ever known the Boss to be scared of ANYTHING?"
James considered this. "No, actually."
"EXACTLY. So we're LEAVING."
Meowth wandered over, looking confused. "What's all da commotion about?"
"Some kid with an army of gods is walking through. We're running away."
"Oh." Meowth nodded sagely. "Dat seems reasonable."
Within thirty minutes, every Team Rocket operation on Route One had been completely dismantled. Agents fled into the wilderness. Equipment was buried or destroyed. Hidden bases were sealed.
When Marcus walked through an hour later, chatting happily with his Charizard about type matchups, he had no idea he was walking through what had been, until recently, a major criminal operation.
"This route is really peaceful," he commented. "I expected more wild Pokemon."
"They are avoiding us," Steve noted. "As they should."
"It's almost TOO quiet, though. In the games, you couldn't walk ten feet without encountering something."
"Perhaps the local Pokemon have learned wisdom."
"Maybe." Marcus shrugged. "Oh well. More time to enjoy the scenery!"
Behind them, hidden in a bush, Agent Jessie watched the boy and his terrifying menagerie pass by.
She would later describe the experience to her therapist as "formative."
GIOVANNI'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS UPDATES
"He's past Checkpoint Alpha, sir."
"Good."
"Checkpoint Beta is clear."
"Good."
"He stopped to have a picnic with his Pokemon."
"...What?"
"He's having a picnic, sir. The Blissey made sandwiches. The Snorlax ate seven of them. The Mewtwo appears to be... sulking about something."
Giovanni stared at the live surveillance footage.
There, in the middle of what had been Team Rocket's primary recruitment zone, a ten-year-old boy was having a pleasant outdoor lunch with a collection of creatures that could end civilization.
The Tyranitar was gently passing potato salad to a Jigglypuff.
The Gengar was making shadow puppets to entertain a group of Pikachus who had apparently teleported in from Pallet Town.
The Magikarp was flopping happily in a small stream the Blastoise had created for it.
And the Shuckle—Kenneth, according to the files—was sitting on a rock.
Just sitting.
Existing.
Vibing.
"He's having a PICNIC," Giovanni repeated.
"Yes, sir."
"On our territory."
"Former territory, sir. We evacuated, remember?"
"I KNOW we evacuated, I ordered the evacuation!" Giovanni slammed his fist on the desk. "I just... I cannot believe... He's having a PICNIC!"
"It does look like a nice picnic, sir."
Giovanni turned to stare at his agent with barely contained fury.
"Would you like me to stop commenting on the picnic, sir?"
"That would be IDEAL."
PEWTER CITY - THE NEXT DAY
The boy had made it through Route One without incident. He was now in Pewter City, apparently planning to challenge Brock's Gym.
Giovanni should have felt relief. The threat had passed. His operations were safe.
Instead, he felt a growing sense of existential dread.
Because here was the thing: Marcus Chen wasn't going away. He was going to travel across Kanto, collecting badges, getting stronger, becoming more and more famous. And everywhere he went, Team Rocket would have to accommodate him.
"Sir, we have operations in Cerulean City."
"Evacuate them."
"And Mt. Moon."
"Evacuate."
"And Vermillion City, Celadon City, Saffron City—"
"EVACUATE EVERYTHING!"
The agent hesitated. "Sir, if we evacuate everywhere the boy might go, we'll essentially be shutting down all Kanto operations."
Giovanni was quiet for a long, long moment.
"Then we shut down all Kanto operations."
"Sir?!"
"Temporarily. TEMPORARILY." Giovanni began pacing. "We'll relocate to Johto. Expand our Unova interests. Let this... this SITUATION in Kanto resolve itself."
"Sir, with all due respect, we've spent YEARS building our Kanto infrastructure—"
"And it's worth NOTHING if we're dead!" Giovanni whirled on the agent. "Do you understand what we're dealing with? This isn't a strong trainer. This isn't even a Champion-level threat. This is a PARADIGM SHIFT."
He pointed at the file on his desk.
"That child has more power than most NATIONS. And he's TEN. He's going to grow up. He's going to get STRONGER. He's going to catch more Pokemon—though God knows how that's even possible—and he's going to become a fixture of this region."
Giovanni's voice dropped.
"Team Rocket cannot operate in a region where Marcus Chen lives. It's that simple. Our entire business model relies on exploiting Pokemon and trainers. How do we exploit someone who could sneeze and cause a natural disaster?"
The agent had no answer.
"Exactly." Giovanni sat back down heavily. "Begin the evacuation. All of Kanto. Quietly. We'll maintain observation posts, but no active operations. Not until... not until we figure out how to deal with this."
"And if we can't figure out how to deal with it?"
Giovanni looked at his Persian, who was sleeping peacefully on its cushion, blissfully unaware of the crisis.
"Then we retire," he said quietly. "We take our money, we go somewhere far away, and we pretend we were never criminals at all."
"Sir, you can't be serious—"
"I'm completely serious." Giovanni's voice was tired now. "I've spent my entire life building an empire. But empires fall when gods walk among men. And right now, there are TWELVE gods following a ten-year-old because he gives good head scratches."
He poured himself another whiskey.
"Get me Archer. Tell him he's in charge of the evacuation. And tell him..." Giovanni paused. "Tell him if any agent, ANYONE, tries to engage with the Chen boy or his Pokemon, I will personally ensure they regret it."
"Yes, sir."
The agent left.
Giovanni sat alone in his office, staring at the photograph of a smiling boy surrounded by legendaries.
"You know," he said to his Persian, "I always thought the thing that would destroy Team Rocket would be the Pokemon League. Or the International Police. Or maybe one of those meddling kids who always seem to show up at the wrong time."
The Persian purred.
"I never imagined it would be a ten-year-old who just wanted to 'have fun and make friends.'"
Giovanni laughed bitterly.
"The universe has a sense of humor. A TERRIBLE sense of humor."
MEANWHILE, IN PEWTER CITY
Marcus stood outside the Pewter City Gym, completely unaware that his existence had just caused the complete collapse of Team Rocket's Kanto operations.
"Ready, team?" he asked.
"Always," Steve replied.
Sunny roared enthusiastically.
Mama B offered everyone pre-battle vitamins.
Big Boy yawned.
Speedy vibrated.
Splash flopped with determination.
Rocky cracked his knuckles (an impressive feat for a Tyranitar).
Ghosty cackled ominously.
Floaty gave a thumbs up with his tiny arms.
Stabby struck a battle pose.
Shelly adjusted her cannons.
Kenneth existed.
"Then let's go get our first badge!"
Marcus pushed open the Gym doors, stepping into the dimly lit interior with the confidence of someone who had no idea he'd just accidentally destroyed an international criminal organization.
Inside, Brock waited on his platform, arms crossed, ready to face another challenger.
He had no idea what was coming.
Nobody did.
TEAM ROCKET STATUS REPORT:
Kanto Operations: SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY
Agent Morale: Confused
Giovanni's Sanity: Questionable
Evacuation Status: In progress
Jessie and James: In therapy
Meowth: Reconsidering career choices
CAUSE OF SHUTDOWN:
One (1) ten-year-old boy
Who just wanted to have a nice picnic
GIOVANNI'S PERSONAL LOG:
I have stared into the abyss, and the abyss had a Shuckle named Kenneth.
God help us all.
[A/N: Next chapter—THE PEWTER GYM BATTLE! Brock faces the most overpowered trainer in history and questions whether his life has meaning! Will Splash the Magikarp actually fight? What is Marcus's "creative" strategy? And why does everyone keep underestimating Kenneth?! Leave a comment with your predictions!]