Day 78

[from Pokémon: The Chase]

As Giovanni heard the door to his office open, he did not turn around to see who it was. He simply continued to stare silently out of the window at the morning sun, his hands clasped behind his back. He knew who the two agents that had just entered were; he had been expecting them.

The footsteps behind him came to a halt before his desk. "You wanted to see us, sir?" said a female voice.

Giovanni finally turned round to address the two operatives, who were stood to attention. "Ned and Kelly. I have a mission for the two of you."

"What is it, boss?" asked Ned.

Giovanni slipped his hands into his pockets, his coolness belying the apparent seriousness of the situation. "I assume the two of you heard about that Arcanine that escaped from Saffron City Zoo last night?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was all over the news," said Kelly. "That was one of ours, wasn't it?"

Giovanni nodded. "A few weeks ago, we stole that Arcanine from a tourist in Vermillion," he said. "We then sold it to that zoo for one million Poké Dollars. It was a good deal. However, now it's escaped, and that presents a problem to us."

"How so?" asked Ned.

"Well, right now, there will be two different parties looking for that Pokémon," said Giovanni. "First will be the zoo, who will want to recover their investment, and get the Pokémon back. Second will be the Pokémon's own trainer, which the Pokémon itself will no doubt be looking for. Indeed, it's possible they've heard about the breakout and realized that the escaped Pokémon is theirs. Now, if the zoo finds out that that Arcanine was stolen, they'll be after their money back, and most likely, the police will become involved. If that happens, our entire operation will be in jeopardy, all because of a single Pokémon."

Giovanni was not exaggerating, and the agents knew it. The future of Team Rocket really was at stake here. "So what do you want us to do about it?" asked Kelly. "Capture that Arcanine?"

"Yes," said Giovanni. "Do it before either the zoo or its trainer can get to it. In fact…" His dark eyes lit up dangerously. "If we can catch it before the zoo does, maybe we can sell it back to them as a replacement, for another million Poké Dollars. It's not like they'll be able to tell it's the same Arcanine; they all look the same."

Ned and Kelly both sneered. "So, do you have any idea where that mangy mutt is headed?" asked Kelly.

"Last I heard, it was headed north, towards Cerulean," said Giovanni. "From there, I assume it will head south-west, and try and pass into Johto. Go after it, capture it, and bring it back. Make sure nobody sees you do it."

"Of course we won't," said Ned confidently. "We're not amateurs."

"If you were amateurs, I wouldn't have selected you for this mission," said Giovanni dismissively. "But I don't have to remind you what's at stake here. I'll keep in touch with you via your communicators. Good luck to the both of you."

"Thank you, sir," said Kelly. "We'll catch that Arcanine. You can count on it."

"You had better," said Giovanni, his tone suddenly becoming more stern. "That will be all."

Giovanni sat down at his desk, thinking quietly, and Ned and Kelly left the room to begin preparing for what seemed, to them, to be an easy mission.