20 years ago...
"That was almost too easy," Bounty chuckled, wiping Giovanni's blood from his pistol before replacing it in its holster. The former Team Rocket leader lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, beaten in battle by his most trusted followers before, at his own prompting, being executed. As it stood, the four Shadow Admins remained in a wide circle around him, taking in their victory. At his fellow Admin's remark, Sleight's eyes narrowed, looking at his former leader's body before seating himself at the long, ebony desk at the end of the room. He leaned back, placing his feet on its shiny surface.
"Don't jinx us," he warned, his icy blue eyes focused on Bounty. "There is still work to be done. Have any of our spies managed to get inside Kanto's chain of command? Or Johto's? Hoenn? And what of Sinnoh?"
Ace nodded. "Riley and Miller managed to.... 'replace' several prominent figures last month," she said. "McKlellen and Adrian the month before. Others are in position, waiting for our assassins to take out the leaders of the other regions."
Sleight nodded. "Excellent," he said. "Soon enough, we'll be ready... Until then, make the announcement. Begin recruitment and training immediately -- with our new policies. Giovanni sought and failed to remake the world, to remove liars and thieves from power; but together, we will bring about the end of corruption, once and for all, and create an era of 'peace.'"
The other Shadow Admins saluted Sleight before turning and heading out. Sleight waited until he was sure they were gone; then, he pulled out a PDA, flipping through several files. His eyes darted back to Giovanni's body; then, he stood up, called for a couple of Rocket Grunts to remove the corpse, and left the room.
18 years ago...
"Don't move," the Rocket warned, his pistol pointed at the President of Kanto. The man looked fearfully at his captor, but nodded nonetheless. All around the room, guards were being held at gunpoint; the President had a feeling that the situation throughout the rest of the building wasn't much different. He jumped as someone knocked on the door, once, twice, three times; then, nothing. The next instant, the doors flew open, and another Rocket strode in, flanked by two burly Grunts. He recognized the man as a lawmaker he had met a couple of months ago; now, he wore the black uniform of Team Rocket, and his eyes betrayed the flame of hate hidden by his calm face.
"Master Sleight," the pistol-toting Rocket saluted, grabbing his captive and hoisting him to his feet. "Our mission has been accomplished. What do you want us to do with all of this baggage?" He gestured to the guards.
"Exterminate them," Sleight said simply. "Leave the President -- Kanto must see its leader hand over his position. Then he will join the rest of his cabinet, in an... undisclosed location."
The President looked confused for a moment; then his eyes widened. "You'll never get away with this..." he said, his voice shaking. "The other regions will do all they can to defeat you -- you'll face a war you cannot win."
Sleight frowned and held up a remote, pointing it at the TV. The President watched as large groups of Rockets marched into the various cities of not only Kanto, but its neighbors, too. His eyes widened even more in terror, thinking of the risk that he would be taking by refusing. Hundreds might be killed; thousands, even. By the looks of it, the KPF had already been subdued; no one arrived to fight back against the invaders, aside from a few brave trainers, who were quickly felled. "All right!" he said. "I'll do it... As long as you promise not to harm anyone, I'll do it."
Sleight smiled, snapping his fingers. Several Rockets came in with two large cameras and a teleprompter-like device, turning them on. The President sighed, wiping his brow. Looking directly at them, he began to speak, hoping beyond hope that this was a better choice than the alternative.
"Citizens of Kanto," he said bitterly. "Do not be alarmed. It is with great..." He had to force the next word out. "... pleasure that I announce the new reign of Team Rocket. Do not fight back; follow their orders and no one will be harmed. Please -- for the sake of your lives, do not disobey."
"Well done, sir," Sleight said, as the cameras were removed. "You will be escorted out... And rest assured, your citizens will remain safe -- for now."
He exited the room, followed by two Grunts escorting the President. The guards led him outside; then, without hesitation, they placed a gun to his back and fired. The bang rang out through several blocks; then, they tossed his body down the front steps, into the dirt below.
12 years ago...
Six years is long enough... Markus Aleivy thought, pushing his way through a thick bush and into a clearing. It was empty, much to his annoyance. Hopefully the others feel that way, too... And why am I always early?
He knew why -- because he was one of the only ones who bothered to check for waiting Rockets. Despite the fact that they were on the Sevii Islands, a place that was now hidden from the Rockets because of mole work, he still didn't feel at ease -- he never did. It was impossible to, with Team Rocket's reach stretched so far, especially when you were on their list of wanted trainers, as Markus was. This in mind, he edged his way around the perimeter of the clearing, Pokéball in hand, ready to fight if the need arose...
There was a sudden rustling behind him, and he whipped around, though relaxed when he saw that the newcomer was simply Shannon Ramirez, a refugee he had met a couple of months before -- one who happened to have helped him disable a Rocket Facility or two in that time. She smiled and nodded at him.
"I saw a couple of other trainers approaching on my way here," she reported. "I'm not sure if they're Rockets or refs, though."
"I'm sure we can take either one," Markus responded, spinning his Magnezone's Pokéball on the tip of his finger. Through the trees, he could hear someone else nearing; he and Shannon slunk into the shadows, watching as another trainer entered the clearing, followed by another, two more, four others. There were eight in total, ten including Markus and Shannon. Recognizing the first, Mark smiled, slowly stepping into view. "Long time, no see, Kane."
The Dark-type specialist nodded curtly. "Mark. Shannon," he said. "So, we're really doing this, then? I almost thought against coming here, considering the Rockets ferocity towards renegades. I suppose it's good that I kept true to my word. I'm assuming you have the plans all drawn up?"
"Of course," Mark said, reaching into his bag. He extracted blueprints, showing them to Kane. "I think it'll work, at least until we have time to add on to it."
Kane looked over the papers for several moments before nodding. "Good; I'll have my workers get going on construction immediately," he said. He gestured to the other trainers with him. "Meanwhile, I would decide on our first act of defiance."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, stepping outside of the clearing as the others gathered in a circle...
Sleight smirked at the news. It was an unsettling sight, though the Grunt who had made the report didn't show his unease. The Admin thought the news over for another moment, and then began to chuckle. "You're dismissed, Alder," he said. Alder nodded, saluted and then left. Sleight pressed a button on his desk, prompting a screen to flip up. It turned on, showing the faces of the other Shadow Admins.
"Well, my friends, apparently we have a new resistance group to take care of," he immediately began. "'Team Liberty,' they call themselves."
Joker laughed. "How funny," she smirked. "I received news of them, as well. Don't worry; they'll follow the same road as the others. They'll spread word about themselves for a little bit, manage to take out a couple of patrols, and then-"
The line suddenly went down. Sleight's eyes narrowed as it was replaced with a picture, a bird-like creature flanked by two swords. Beneath it were the words "Team Liberty," followed by the words "Blackskull," "Goldhawk" and "Bluefalcon," alongside a message. The Shadow Admin studied this for a moment. Then, he smiled. So... It's war. All right; I'm willing to humor them... for now.
Present Time...
Sleight was both impressed and annoyed as he surveyed the battle taking place outside of Team Rocket's Fuschia base. Twelve years ago a resistance group called 'Team Liberty' had announced its existence to the world, declaring war on Team Rocket in an effort to remove the group from power. Sleight and the other Shadow Admins -- especially Joker -- hadn't thought much of it: in the time that they had ruled, small rebellions had popped up constantly, each one swiftly defeated by their forces. But this one... Sleight didn't know how, but this one had managed to drag out this little 'war' for over a decade. While admiring their determination, he was losing patience, though he knew that they would not be able to hold out for much longer...
"Sir?" Sleight turned to the door to find Jackson, a Rocket Executive, standing with a PDA-like device in his hand. "Our newest recruits have just finished their training. They're awaiting further instructions at Chapel."
Sleight nodded, grabbing the Pokéballs lined on his desk and placing them on his belt. "I will be there shortly," he said, heading out the door. "Hopefully they'll prove more competent than the last group when it comes to capturing targets..."
The war was not going well. Goldhawk knew that, and he knew that Blackskull and Bluefalcon saw it too. Each passing day brought about the fall of more and more veteran Agents, and the earlier deployment of new ones. Grounds shifted from the control of one side to the next sooner than one could say "Gyrados." The strain was starting to show, as arguments among the three Team Liberty leaders grew hotter and hotter. Despite this, they knew that they had to do something; that was why they had unanimously decided on a new course of action. It was clear that their current forces would never be able to free every region; however, if they could find the members of the Elite Four, the Gym Leaders who had been imprisoned or were in hiding, or even locate the missing Legendary Pokémon, then maybe, just maybe they could end Team Rocket's reign. They just needed troops to send on that mission...
Goldhawk looked at his desk, noticing that a red light on his intercom was blinking. He pressed the button next to it, and was greeted by the voice of Red, one of Team Liberty's Chief Advisers, as well as an effective Agent.
"Goldhawk, sir, we've just finished training a large group of recruits," he said. "Shall we initiate Operation R.A.L.L.Y.?"
Goldhawk smiled. "Affirmative," he answered. "Permission to initiate Operation R.A.L.L.Y. has been granted. Proceed under protocol."
