Pokemon: Dreams Come True

Chapter 51: Bounty Hunter

At the Team Rocket base

Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, sat on the chair in front of his desk. His eyebrows furrowed in irritation. Even his Persian, which resided next to him, was on edge.

"Damn it," Giovanni muttered. "That bastard son of Cynthia keeps thwarting my plans. Him and that girl got to the site of that strange energy reading first."

His researchers had detected traces of immense energy from under Grampa Canyon, but as soon as he sent henchmen to capture the source, it was already cleared. They spotted Vali, Trinity, and Brock heading to the city.

"That daughter of mine, Amina, couldn't even successfully capture them!" he ranted to himself. "How did she lose to two new Trainers?"

Giovanni was losing his patience. He needed them for his research. If he didn't get them soon, his boss would execute him.

Ever since Team Rocket was—forcibly—assimilated into Team Ascend, Giovanni was no longer at the top of the hierarchy. No, there was one above.

The man who called himself Rei.

"I have to do something," Giovanni declared. "First, I need to get that boy, and then I'll use him to lure in that girl."

Now deciding on a course of action, the leader of Team Rocket allowed himself a grim smile. "This is not a joke organization anymore. Those three fools are gone forever. I'm not going to be humiliated again."

He was about to get up, but a mass of darkness consolidated in front of him, forming the shape of a man and a Pokemon.

The darkness faded away, revealing a man in a red hood, his same-colored cloak draping past his knee. He was dressed in dark pants and black shoes. Under his hood was nothing but shadows, obscuring his face.

"Giovanni," he said, his voice both rich and dark. He sounded young.

Beside him was a Darkrai. It had a wild, chaotic look that brought shudders down Giovanni's spine.

"R-Rei," Giovanni stammered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Rei looked around. It was hard for Giovanni to guess what he was thinking. There were no facial expressions that he could read.

"If you gathering the Plate in Grampa Canyon were a race, then you lost to Giratina's Chosen One," Rei said. "Team Magma already has one. Team Aqua lost theirs to some bastard. Some of the other teams are tracking others. And here you are, falling behind."

"Sir," Giovanni's eyes widened, "I can fix this. You don't have to worry."

"Good. Because our Lord is waiting for us. It is currently trapped with Arceus, buying us time. It is depending on us to free it. If incompetent fools like you drag us down..." From beneath the red cloak, Rei's glowing eyes were visible. "Then I can always find a replacement. It wouldn't even be hard."

"Yes, s-sir," Giovanni nodded.

"Now that you understand, I expect to see results. Your death won't be an easy one. You'll be damned for eternity." Rei chuckled darkly. "If it wasn't for me, you and the other teams would have been razed by wannabe heroes, blessed by the whims of fate and God."

"If they're blessed by fate, then how could we win?" Giovanni inquired.

Rei looked directly at Giovanni. From beneath the shadows in his hood, he could see his chilly smile. "Because a hero needs to keep winning, but a villain only has to win once. So I don't mind being the 'villain' of their story—they're just corpses in mine."

Without another word, Rei, with his Darkrai, disappeared, melding into the darkness once more.

Giovanni exhaled, knowing he was close to absolute death just a moment prior. "Matori!" he shouted.