Meet at
headquarters at 2:30 tomorrow. You will receive a special assignment. You will
be paid for this.
Sakaki Giovanni
Musashi found
this strange, but did not question it. It had been four years since the Rocket
Gang had been fired and its three members had gone their separate ways. She
looked around her small apartment. Musashi didn’t know what had become of the
rest of the gang, but she had gone on to become a fairly good Pokemon trainer.
She only owned about 20 in all, and she fought them against each other to make
them stronger. She had hoped to compete in local Pokemon competitions, but her
reputation as a member of the Rocket Gang stopped her from doing so. Not even
the local gym leader would battle her.
"Why am I
going back?" she asked herself, "Being a part of the Rocket Gang
ruined my reputation as a trainer..."
Her thoughts
trailed as she pulled a familiar outfit from the back of her closet. The short
white skirt and a shirt with a large red "R" brought old memories
flooding back to her, and she remembered exactly why she was going back.
**********
Musashi arrived
at Rocket Gang headquarters fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. Unfortunately,
the door was locked. She tried pathetically to get it open, then finally gave
up and kicked the door off its hinges, knocking it into the room.
She stepped
inside, looking around at her old hangout, now covered in dust and cobwebs. She
frowned and shook her head at the mess.
Musashi suddenly
noticed the old full size mirror she had loved so much four years ago. She ran
to it and smirked as she noticed that the Rocket Gang uniform fit as well now
as it did the day she received it. She struck a pose, and for a moment could
imagine Kojiro standing beside her.
Her eyes dimmed
as she thought about him. Kojiro had been her best friend since they had
attended the Pokemon Academy, both of them flunked out of the school. They had
been almost inseparable since then, and when they parted ways after the gang
had been fired, they hadn’t kept in touch. There hadn’t been a day since then
that Musashi hadn’t thought about him, and she often wondered what he would be
up to.
Her eyes lit up
again as she struck another pose in the mirror. "As beautiful as
ever!" she announced, tossing her red hair back.
"Hai!"
came a familiar voice from behind her.
Musashi smiled
and turned toward the voice, knowing who it was before she saw him.
"Hello, Kojiro."
"It’s been
awhile, hasn’t it?" Kojiro looked nearly the same as she had remembered,
although he had gotten somewhat taller and his features had aged a bit. He too
wore his Rocket Gang uniform, although Musashi guessed he had altered it to
suit his new height.
Musashi wondered
if his personality had matured as much as his looks. Her question was answered
as he ran to her, threw his arms around her and spun her around. "I missed
you soooo much, Musashi-san!"
For a moment she
considered smacking him in the head and telling him to stop being so foolish,
like she had always done, but instead she just laughed and hugged him back.
"I missed you too!"
He grinned and
set her down, pleased that she hadn’t slapped him for once. "So what have
you been doing all this time, Musashi-san? Don’t tell me you’re still getting
into trouble..."
Musashi waved her
hand dismissively. "I’ve been training Pokemon."
Kojiro’s eyes
widened. "You have?! But...how? We couldn’t even catch one Pokemon back
when we were the Rocket Gang!"
You just got in
my way!" she smirked, only half teasing.
His face fell,
but he quickly cheered up. "Guess what I’ve been doing!"
"I can’t
imagine," Musashi replied, rolling her eyes even though she really was
interested.
"Well, since
I had so much fun with Salon Rocket," he started, referring to a failed
plan they had come up with years ago, "that I opened my own Pokemon
fashion boutique!"
It was Musashi's
turn to look surprised. "You mean that one near Cerulean City?"
"Hai! I take
it you heard of it?"
"I’ve heard
things around town. What did you name it?"
Kojiro turned
slightly red and tapped his index fingers together meekly, staring down at his
hands. "Salon Rocket..."
A large sweatdrop
formed above Musashi’s head. "Well, aren’t we original."
Kojiro frowned.
"Hey, it was the only thing I could come up--" his voice suddenly
stopped and he stared past her. "Um...M-Musashi-san..."
She glanced at
him quizzically, wondering what he was staring at. "What is it?"
Kojiro slowly
brought his hand up and pointed behind her, backing away.
Musashi spun
around on her heels to see a large ivory-colored Persian leaping at her. She
screamed as it landed on top of her, and she started kicking and striking it as
hard as she could. The Persian fell over with spiraled eyes.
Kojiro peeked
over the top of the couch, where he had been hiding. "Is it over?"
He was answered
by a large book hitting him in the face. "why didn’t you come help
me?"
Kojiro stumbled
backwards, his face red with an imprint of the book. "G-Gomen,
Musashi-san.."
The Persian
slowly sat up, growling angrily. It put its paw to its head and spoke.
"Geez, Musashi! You still pack a punch!"
Both Musashi and
Kojiro turned and stared at it. "Nyase?"
"That’s
right! Glad to see you’re both not completely stupid." He bounded over to
them, and Musashi hid behind her purple-haired friend.
"What’s the
matter, Musashi?" Nyase asked her, looking smug. "Scared of little
old me?"
"I am
not!" She cried. "How did you evolve, anyway? You never fight!"
He shrugged
nonchalantly. "I guess an earth stone can evolve Nyases as well as
experience level. I didn’t have to do anything but get my paws on it!"
Kojiro looked
back at Musashi, who was slightly pale and staring at the cat-like Pokemon. He
sighed and turned his attention back to Nyase. "So what do we call you
now? Persian?"
"Nyase is
fine. I wouldn’t be used to going by anything else."
Musashi finally
regained her composure and she walked to the main control panel, glancing up at
the screen. "The boss should have called by now," she said quietly,
dusting off the controls. She brushed against the switch button for the screen
and it abruptly flashed, startling her. She fell back as Kojiro Nyase rushed
over and Sakaki’s image appeared on the screen, as well as that of a Persian.
"Welcome
back, Rocket Gang," Sakaki said.
"Thank you,
sir!" the replied in unison.
"I see
you’re all ready for your mission." He eyed Nyase. "You’ve
evolved."
"Yes,
sir," Nyase answered, looking almost elated that his master had even
acknowledged him.
"Very good.
As of now, I have in my possession 149 different breeds of Pokemon. I’ve even
managed to attain a Pikachu, no thanks to you three."
Musashi looked
confused. "You got a Pikachu? Then what is it you’re missing?"
"I was just
getting to that!" he yelled. Musashi winced and Kojiro instinctively
grabbed onto her. She blushed and elbowed him away, leaving Kojiro to look
embarrassed.
Sakaki started
again. "As I was about so say before I was so rudely interrupted.."
He glared at Musashi. "There is one Pokemon that neither I nor anyone else
has been able to capture: The extremely rare Mewto. They are the rarest of
Pokemon. Supposedly, they live in caves near Cerulean City, and are so strong
no other Pokemon trainer has been able to get them. They can even harm humans.
Your job is to capture one for me."
The Rocket Gang
paled. "So we get the dirty work," muttered Kojiro.
"You will be
paid as usual when you get one to me. Don’t disappoint me this time...."
The screen then went blank.
Musashi turned to
her team members. "Back to business, eh?" They nodded. "Let’s
go!"