"Faster, Pikachu," I whispered as loud as I dared.
Pikachu knew better than to respond to me, but he did put some extra power into his jumps as he dashed next to me through the trees. We were running as quickly and as silently as we could manage. I kept one eye on the ground to avoid any large sticks that could give us away and the other was trained in front of us as we ran so I could avoid low-hanging branches.
Soon we found ourselves at the edge of the forest. I crouched under the cover of a bush that would conceal my presence but allowed me to survey the area through the thin branches at the bottom. Pikachu crawled up next to me, flicking his tail against my arm in a show of silent support. I couldn't help but grin down at him momentarily before turning my attention back to our task.
It didn't take long for me to spot the small blue flag sticking up from the ground in the middle of the clearing we were at the edge of. Scanning quickly I could see several oddly-shaped mounds which I assumed were disguised trainees and their pokemon. I knew that there were probably even more than I could physically pick out, some of the trainees were highly skilled at camouflage after all. After debating the wisdom of waiting for my backup to get there, I eventually looked down at Pikachu who was watching me expectantly.
"Five on one aren't great odds, buddy," I whispered as quietly as I could. Pikachu wagged his tail briefly and gave me a confident look, his small black eyes seeming to shimmer. I couldn't keep myself from letting out a breathy chuckle and I nodded.
"On three then?" I mouthed. Pikachu turned to look at the small flag, crouching down in preparation as his cheek sacks began to crackle gently with built-up electricity.
After the countdown, Pikachu and I burst out of the cover of the bush and dashed forward. Just I had expected one of the misshapen mounds suddenly reared up. Before they could do anything though I whipped the small gun I had tucked away in my shoulder strap and shot the guy directly in the chest. He fell back with a grunt and his pokemon, a Crawdaunt, was instantly knocked out as Pikachu let loose a controlled Thunderbolt attack that slammed into the water type.
We continued to run, taking down each of the hidden trainees with practiced skill. Victory was within my grasp but before I could snatch up the inconspicuous flag from its spot on the ground a perfectly flat portion of the meadow suddenly burst up. I immediately threw myself back into a flip and sweat ran down my forehead as I felt the whizz of the non-lethal (but very painful) Beebee gun pellet fly past my temple.
Taking as deep of a breath as I could mid-flip, I fell to the ground in a kneeling position and snapped my hands up. Steadying my own gun I sighted on my attacker. It took all of my training and focus not to flinch as a gigantic rhydon suddenly appeared and roared menacingly, shielding his trainer from my shot.
"Iron Tail, Pikachu!" I called firmly. Staying in my position I kept my gun steadily trained on where I had last seen my attacker behind its monstrosity of a pokemon.
Pikachu was already leaping without fear up at the rhydon, which was easily six times bigger than himself. His jagged tail began to glow and become coated with a metallic sheen. As he reached the apex of his jump he slammed his tail directly onto the horn protruding from the rhydon's nose.
Rhydon howled in pain from the super effective move and stumbled backward a step, causing his trainer to have to scramble to the side if he didn't want to be trampled. I instantly trained my gun on him and took the shot. A satisfying thunk was followed by a slightly high-pitched grunt and my attacker dropped to the ground. Rhydon growled but sat down next to its trainer quietly, turning away from Pikachu with obvious frustration.
Before anyone else could pop out I leaped to my feet and dashed forward. I scooped up the flag in my hand and raised it up above my head. Pushing a small button at the base of the flag released a miniature flare signal, sending green sparks shooting into the air and signaling that the game was over. Pikachu called out excitedly and jumped up so he could perch on my shoulder, which was his favorite spot.
"Way to go, Pikachu. We're getting more and more in synch every day!" I complimented excitedly.
"Pika!" he responded happily, rubbing his cheek against my own and causing a small electric spark to zap me. I shivered involuntarily and laughed, rubbing Pikachu's head affectionately as my teammates began to exit the forest and the opposing team members I had 'gunned' down began to stir with groans of frustration.
"You have definitely improved."
I stiffened and turned around quickly to see an all-too-familiar person dressed in a black suit and sunglasses (even though it was the middle of the night) melting from the trees. The imposing woman walked forward confidently, removing her glasses and giving me an appraising look.
"Director Falon! I didn't know you were observing," I greeted her awkwardly, giving a smart bow of respect. A small expulsion of air that might have passed for a chuckle if it had come from a robot signaled the stoic woman was mildly amused by my reaction.
It had been seven years since this woman changed my life. I had just ended my journey through the Sinnoh region, coming in the top four of the Sinnoh League, and I'd been about to board a plane to go home. Agent Falon, then just a recruiter for the IIA (Inter-region Intelligence Agency) had approached me and asked if I would like to become a spy-in-training.
Now, don't get me wrong, I had always dreamed of becoming a pokemon master and for a brief second I had thought of turning her down... but I think everyone has had at least one fantasy of chasing bad guys and being able to be a spy. It had taken some thinking but eventually, I told her I would give it a try. I explained that my true goal was to become a pokemon master though and Agent Falon had lifted one corner of her mouth in her version of a smile and patted my shoulder.
"Pokemon are an integral part of being an effective spy, Ketchum. You wouldn't know what being a pokemon master is until you've gone through our training," she had stated emphatically. All of my doubts were blown away by that and I had excitedly asked when I could start.
Looking back on those first few years of training was nothing short of painful. I was in good enough shape after training heavily with my pokemon since I turned ten, but the IIA training was absolutely brutal. I was taught rock climbing, three forms of martial arts, and survival skills in almost any weather condition. There were also intensive classes on computer engineering, basic hacking skills, and course after course of pokemon theory, both on battle strategy and just normal pokemon physiology. Those classes had nearly done me in.
It wasn't that I was unintelligent, I just was terrible at memorization and there were days I wanted to toss my agency-issued study tablet out the window. But I persevered and now, seven years later, I had finally started being selected to help out with real agency assignments. I'd just gotten home from an assignment to investigate rumors of team Rainbow Rockets' return to Alola, but it had turned out to be just a rumor so I went back to the training academy just in time to help out with their annual 'Capture the Flag' tournament.
"Your skills are improving, Mr. Ketchum," Director Falon observed in a slightly monotone voice. "You even got the drop on my daughter."
My eyes flew open at that comment and I turned around to see that the last trainee, who had camouflaged themselves so perfectly, had removed her protective helmet to reveal the telltale flame-red hair that matched the director's. Isla, Falon's daughter, had been in the training academy since she was five and was known as being the best of the best. She was glaring at me with a murderous intent and I smiled brightly, hoping to diffuse her legendary temper. It was well known that Isla was as emotionally explosive as her mother was robotically calm.
"You failed because you forgot to treat your pokemon as a partner, Isla," Director Falon said bluntly. Isla's brown eyes jumped from me to her mother and she frowned heavily.
"Director, I..."
"You used your pokemon as a shield instead of as an equal teammate," Director Falon interrupted her abruptly.
Isla's mouth snapped closed and she slowly lowered her head in begrudging acceptance. After a brief silence, the director nodded at her daughter's bowed head and turned on her heels.
"Walk with me, Mr. Ketchum," she ordered over her shoulder.
Blinking in surprise, I quickly moved to follow after her, dropping the flag I had taken onto the ground in the process. Pikachu bobbled slightly on my shoulder in my haste to follow after the director, but he quickly got his balance back and leaned forward, seemingly interested in why the director had come to see us this late in the evening without any warning.
"Are you having a good evening, Director Falon?" I asked cheerfully.
Director Falon was an intimidating woman. She rose through the ranks very quickly to become the director of the whole IIA, but even so, I had always felt comfortable around her for some reason.
"Very adequate, thank you," Director Falon responded in her monotone voice. She didn't continue the niceties though and instead launched into her reason for being here. "Mr. Ketchum, you have been selected to graduate as a full-fledged IIA agent."
My mouth dropped open in shock and Pikachu let out a quiet "Chuuuu," which sounded as filled with disbelief as I was. It normally took ten years of training to be promoted from the rank of "trainee" and I was surprised that this honor would be given to me so suddenly.
"Are you sure?" I asked before I could think better of it. To my surprise, this elicited a small smile from Director Falon and she stopped walking to face me head-on.
"Your reaction is the reason I am sure, Mr. Ketchum," she replied succinctly. I frowned slightly. Honestly, a lot of what Director Falon said went over my head, but I'd found that if I stayed quiet she would eventually explain it so I could understand.
"Do you remember Team Galactic?" she asked suddenly, changing the topic. I nodded automatically as I remembered back to my journey with Brock and Dawn through Sinnoh.
"That was the team led by Cyrus who tried to enslave Dialga and Palkia, right?" I clarified. The director nodded slowly.
"Yes. Their aim was to use the legendary pokemons' power to create a new world and destroy this one. And unfortunately for everyone, we have confirmed reports that their team has been reorganized."
"What? But I thought Cyrus was lost in the other dimension that Dialga and Palkia opened briefly?" My mind was spinning at this news. The IIA kept track of all of the evil teams around the regions, feeding information to local police stations and other elite teams to try to keep them from ever gaining power, but I hadn't ever heard of Team Galactic being reformed.
"That is true. For a time Charon, the second in command, took the lead of Team Galactic but with our help and the tenacious work of Detective Looker from the International Police he was eventually captured. However, several months ago we started hearing rumors of another Team Galactic and we have found that Charon's granddaughter, a young woman named Neptune, has successfully reorganized Team Galactic with the same aims of destroying this world and forming a new one."
"That's awful," I responded with a small groan.
"Pika pika," Pikachu said sadly in agreement and Director Falon nodded briefly.
"IIA has decided that we need more detailed information, but Neptune has proved to be a much better tactician than we expected and it is nearly impossible to get any information about the new team without being a member yourself."
I frowned, nodding slowly as I could see the issue that might create.
"Mr. Ketchum, you have shown excellence in almost every area of training. Your physical prowess is top-notch, your strategic battling is marvelous, and your ability to bond with your pokemon and utilize their skills to everyone's advantage is borderline unbelievable," Director Falon remarked as blandly as if she were reading off a shopping list. I could feel my face slacken in shock at the compliments dripping from her stone-cold expression and I wasn't sure what to do with them. "However, you are not known for your deception skills."
Pikachu let out a burst of laughter and he slapped my head lightly with his tail as he continued to laugh on my shoulder. I gulped and tried to smile awkwardly. It was true that I was a terrible liar, but I had recently found a way around that.
"I know I struggled with that in the past, Director, but I have found a new tactic that really works for me! I just act super confident no matter what I say, even if it's dumb. That way people underestimate me and after a while, they stop paying attention to what I say," I explained.
Director Falon regarded me silently for a moment and I was just starting to feel foolish when she nodded slightly. "Yes, I was informed that you recently passed your undercover training class using a similar strategy. It is a simplistic form of deception, but it may be exactly what this mission needs."
"Mission, Director?" I asked, starting to feel excitement bubbling through me.
"The IIA has selected you, Ash Ketchum, to become a full agent. Your first mission will be to infiltrate the new Team Galactic and act as our undercover agent," Director Falon explained with a serious tone. My mouth dropped open once more and Pikachu shifted with nervous energy on my shoulder.
"Me?" I asked and was mortified when my voice broke. I quickly cleared my throat and stood to my full height of 5'11", hoping that Director Falon somehow hadn't heard that. I had obviously gone through puberty years ago, but even though I was nearly nineteen my pesky voice would still sometimes break when I was shocked or got too excited.
"Yes. A few of my council worried that since you had such an integral role in defeating the old Team Galactic that you would be too recognizable, but as far as we know Neptune never saw you in person. So once you are sworn in as a full agent you will be given an alias. You will need to become this new person when you are with Team Galactic and convince them you want nothing more than to help Neptune reach her goals."
Director Falon looked me steadily in the eyes. Since there was only moonlight to see by, her normally dark brown eyes looked like they were black as coal.
"Will you accept this mission, Mr. Ketchum?" Director Falon asked in a quiet and authoritative voice.
I glanced over at Pikachu briefly, who twitched one of his pointy ears in a silent show of agreement. Taking a deep breath I turned to meet her eyes and nodded firmly.
"I will."
A/N Hey guys! Man, it's been a while since I have written a pokemon fic. What are your thoughts? Hopefully this AU world isn't too out there :P Next chapter will introduce our heroine!
And just as a question, do you think I should introduce a love rival later on in the story? And if so should it be Gary Oak or Calem (from the video games) or a new character?
Also, last thing, I just wanted to send a shoutout to shippergirl5000 for helping encourage me to post this and decide on the title for the fic. Thanks for your help squadsister! :D