~15 Years Ago~

Pallet Town was aglow with the light of a mighty inferno.

Former Champion and Pokémon researcher extraordinaire Samuel Oak hurried along the dirt path of Route 1, an old Poké Ball clutched in either hand. He moved with the speed and grace of a man not half his age, the edges of his lab coat trailing behind him, threatening to brush against the flames that had engulfed the trees on either side.

Above his head, another massive lance of fire splashed against the grass, courtesy of the strange Pokémon moving at speeds akin to that of a jet's. Had the Professor the time to spend, he would have been very curious as to why a Garchomp was rampaging this far to the South of Kanto. The thirst for that knowledge was strong, though as a priority, it was a very distant second.

"Gyarados!" The Poké Ball in his right hand burst open, spitting out the massive form of the Atrocious Pokémon. He spread his fins without prompting and left the ground, the purple glow of a Giga Impact beginning to form around his body as he took off in pursuit of the Dragon Type in the sky.

"Blastoise!" The cannons on the Pokémon's back were already firing before the large body of the Shellfish Pokémon even had the chance to fully form. Trees splintered and fell apart as the Hydro Pump that had crowned his Trainer the strongest in all of Kanto all those years ago tore through the flames, leaving behind nothing but steam and craters.

Shrinking the Poké Balls and hooking them back onto the belt that was kept concealed by his coat, Samuel crossed an arm in front of his face, doing his best to block out the heavy cloud of smoke that had become the air around him.

His free hand flicked three times. A Rattata with burns decorating half of its body was the first to be captured, the Poké Ball completing the trajectory it had been thrown at and landing back in the veteran's outstretched hand. A Pidgey that was flapping its wings weakly and a Caterpie that was curled up on its side, both shivering, soon followed.

Overhead, his Gyarados bellowed. Glancing up, Samuel watched as a Solar Beam arched out from behind his windmill and slammed into the Garchomp, heading it off before it could strike at the town and making its flight falter, if only for a moment.

To be able to take a direct hit from Venusaur and still continue on… this was more worrisome than he'd first imagined. No wild Pokémon would have been able to get that powerful in this part of the world without him or one of his Pokémon noticing. And there were no wild Garchomp in Kanto. They were an endangered species in their home region of Sinnoh, and the known pockets in Johto and Kalos were even smaller.

This one must have had a Trainer. The only person or thing worth notice in Pallet Town was either himself or his lab.

His lab…

Samuel cursed quietly and turned back around, pushing one of the buttons running along his belt. It was an alarm keyed specifically to himself and his Pokémon, letting them know to return to the lab once they were done. As he passed Blastoise, he noticed two more Draconic shapes rising into the air above the Ranch. Charizard and Dragonite, released by Alakazam to aid Gyarados, if he had to guess.

If Alakazam was there, then that might buy him enough time to get back. His part-time lab assistant was no fighter, though, so whatever was so important to this unknown trainer that they would set a Pseudo Legendary on a small town to get to would be as good as stolen if he didn't hurry.

Tauros charged past him as he entered the town, a howling Blizzard trailing in the Wild Bull's wake. As the last of his Championship team entered the fray, something in the trees to his left caught his attention. It looked like a man running in the opposite direction, a small bundle in his arms.

Someone trying to escape the flames, perhaps? Either way, he didn't have time to investigate. There were more Water Types in the lab that would be able to help, but they were behind a door that nobody else had the security codes for.

The moment he opened the front door to his lab, something slammed into his chest. He almost fell over backwards, but the unmistakable feeling of psychic energy pushed him back to his feet. He looked over at his wizened assistant, mind still moving too quickly to really keep up, but everything came to a screeching halt when he heard whatever was in his arms start to sob.

"M-my baby! Someone took my baby!"

Samuel Oak could do nothing but stand there are Delia Ketchum, one of his closest friends and the mother of his godson, cried into his chest.

XxX

~13 Years Ago~

"Status report."

"Sir!" The Grunt before him, one successful mission away from a promotion, snapped to attention. He was doing an admirable job of staying upright, but the deep bags under his eyes and the veins decorating his sclera were things that perfect posture just couldn't hide.

"Project Guardian is stable and proceeding according to expectations. Reactions to Normal, Flying, and Bug Types is reflexive and intense adoration, as per your and Executive Archer's predictions. Tomorrow we'll begin experimentation with Poison Types, and building Project Guardian's resilience to Toxic attacks. Also…"

The man behind the desk leaned forward slightly as the Grunt before him trailed off, his Persian growling low in its throat when the hand that had been idly stroking its neck stilled.

"Speak."

"P-Project Guardian refuses to stop crying, Sir!" The Grunt's already ramrod-straight back stiffened even further when he noticed the shadows to his left begin to form a distinct claw. "No matter what punishment we try, he won't stop!"

The man behind the desk relaxed back against his chair. A deep, rattling breath echoed throughout the dark room.

"…Fool." The Shadow Claw dissipated. The Grunt tried to breathe a silent sigh of relief as the imposing presence subsided, only to choke on the air as a tan tail coiled around his neck. He thrashed for a moment, only stopping with the telltale whir of a Poké Ball opening. "How old is Project Guardian?"

Something stomped past him, out the still open door. The Grunt tried to turn his head to see what it had been, only for the tail around his neck to tighten even further.

"Answer the question."

"H-He is three!" Something trailed down the Grunt's side. His shriek of pain was muffled before it could leave his mouth, but the sound of his uniform splitting at the seams was telling. "Sir!" He added, on reflex.

"Indeed. He is three." The man, if anything, gave off the impression of being even less impressed than before. Persian hissed at the man, an apex predator addressing prey that had been unfortunate enough to stumble into its domain. "He is also the future of this organisation, and the only means for me to accomplish my goals at any point in the next two decades. His loyalty to us is worth more to me than the lives of every other person in this base."

Clawed shadows grabbed at the Grunt's feet. He hit the ground with a resounding bang when they tugged at him, wrapping around his mouth to muffle his screams. Two lashed at his arms as he struggled, pinning them to his sides and putting a stop to any resistance. The shadows dragged him to the side, where a second door was cloaked in darkness, open and about as inviting as a hug from a Cacturne.

"You will be punished for jeopardising this mission," was the last thing he heard before the door swung shut, missing his face by mere inches.

The next time anybody would see him would be three hours later, quivering violently and watching over Project Guardian as the young boy played with a Rhyhorn.

XxX

~10 Years Ago~

"Again."

Rocket Soldier Guardian pushed himself off the ground, his hands glowing and a shoulder's width apart. A moment later, a long staff was materialising between them, which was swung before it could even finish forming.

There was a flash of light, movement and blazing energy too swift to properly see, and the staff was shattered all over again. Rocket Soldier Guardian crashed to the ground, curling around the gash that had been torn into his side five minutes ago.

"Again."

It took him a second longer than before, but Rocket Soldier Guardian pushed himself back to his feet, wobbling briefly when the world seemed to invert itself before his eyes. He's barely managed to get his hands up in front of himself before an orb was energy was crashing into his forearms, forcing them apart and striking him in the chest.

He collapsed to the ground yet again, the beginnings of a red puddle forming underneath his heart.

"Again."

XxX

~5 Years Ago~

Rocket Officer Guardian stood at attention as his superior, Executive Archer, leafed through a thick folder with his codename and identification number on the front.

"Mission: Bridge. Failed. Mission: Scourge. Failed. Mission: Master. Failed. Mission: Syringe. FAILED!"

The desk Archer was sitting behind rattled as he slammed a fist down onto it. Rocket Officer Guardian's face, largely impassive until that moment, curled in distaste at the final mission name.

"We had no right," he muttered, under his breath. Instantly, Archer face was contorting in rage, the manila folder slamming onto the desk and knocking a small collection of pens to the ground.

"WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT!" Archer stood up, abruptly enough to knock his chair over. Planting his hands on his desk, he leaned over Guardian, his look of anger having absolutely no effect on the pre-teen. "Team Rocket will be the strongest! We will lead the world! And for that to happen, YOU DO YOUR PART!"

"I won't hurt them." Rocket Officer Guardian glanced up, looking the significantly taller man in the eye. His gaze was alight with blue wisps of energy, identical to that which was slowly covering his hands. "I will never hurt them."

They stood there for a moment, man and child daring the other to react first. The glow around Rocket Officer Guardian's hands was growing brighter, his browns irises steadily shifting towards an electric blue. He spoke first, keeping his voice to a low tone that any other eleven-year old would have difficulty copying.

"The bridge would have collapsed onto a nest in that valley, and we found a way around. Missions Scourge and Master were both bad info. Syringe was being used to cure a strain of Pokérus that ate through bone. If I stole that, Cubone and Marowak would be close to extinct by next week." Rocket Officer Guardian's hand flashed, once. The small sphere he'd launched curved around the Golbat that Archer sent out on reflex, detonating against his crisp uniform and sending him a few inches into the back wall.

"They speak to me. It's not my problem if nobody else ever decides to listen." Golbat looked towards his owner, confused by the sudden movement, though he very quickly stopped caring when Rocket Officer Guardian gave him a gentle scratch between the ears. This human was always so nice, and smelled so good. He couldn't begin to imagine why his owner didn't like him.

Rocket Officer Guardian remained for a moment, continuing his ministrations to Golbat's scalp and watching Archer slowly extricate himself from the wall. Once the man was fully on the ground, he spoke.

"This will be the third time I've told you that I respond directly to Giovanni, and nobody else. I don't care if you're an Executive, my business and assignments aren't anything you need to worry about." Did he feel bad? Maybe a tiny bit, but he wasn't going to let it show.

Turning on his heel, Rocket Officer Guardian marched towards the door, his shoulders back and posture perfect. Stopping in the doorway, he threw one final look back, eyes still slightly aglow.

"If this happens again, I will take it to Giovanni. And we both know who in this room is irreplaceable."

With that, Rocket Officer Guardian left the room. Silence settled in for a moment, only dispersed with Archer's occasional gasps.

XxX

~4 Years Ago~

Some time later, Golbat was selected to accompany Team Rocket's most esteemed Officer for a routine patrol of Johto's border hideouts.

He came back a Crobat.

XXX

~2 Years Ago~

Executive Guardian cast a sceptical glance at the tiny Electric Type in his arms, his dubiousness written all over his face. The Pichu looked back up at him, looking about as affronted as a mouse could be.

"…This… is my new partner?" Every Pokémon had the potential to rival Legendaries, over the years he had learned that better than anyone else. Having said that, Pichu were typically a younger species to find in the wild, with most of them being little more than babies fresh from an egg. And they certainly what he was expecting to receive as a new partner, the result of a raid on some famous Professor's laboratory in an attempt to scrounge up some more support for their cause.

What he didn't know was that this particular Pichu had faced down the elites that had been sent, and that only half the team had come back, the last conscious agent falling into a coma after finally handing over a rabid Electric Type to the boss and, if gossip was to be believed, telling him to go fuck himself right to his face.

Executive Guardian listened to all of this with a stony face. Once the story ended, he stood still, his new partner content to laze in his arms.

He then snorted. Just once, very quietly, but it was still a laugh.

If the Pichu chose then to attack him for his insolence… well, legend would go on to claim that it was the closest Executive Guardian would come to losing a fight in recent times.

XxX

~1 Month Ago~

"This is the newest of our technology – The Dream World."

The Lead Rocket Scientist thrust his hand towards Executive Guardian, presenting a PokéDex that looked somewhat thicker than the prototypes he had stolen in the past. Guardian took it, his own excitement quashed beneath years of training and the reminder of a childhood dream that had long since been crushed under the weight of active duty and responsibility. Nobody seemed to care too much about the quick glance he shot at the man sitting behind the desk.

"Its main function is to-!"

Giving no indication that he was listening to what the man was saying, Guardian clicked the front of the technological brock open, twisting small slabs of metal in intricate patterns as only the creator of such as device should have been able to do. After a few seconds, the device let out a little beep and unfolded, pushing Guardian's slightly glowing hand aside to finish the job he had started.

The Persian behind the desk let out a jaw-cracking yawn.

"…Quite." The unnamed scientist blinked twice, before the spark re-entered his eye. "Anyway, as I was say-!"

A flash from Guardian's belt drew all eyes to his hip. Everybody, save the Lead Scientist and the man behind the desk raised an eyebrow upon realising that the Poké Ball that had always hung there, covered in yellow and brown paint styled into lightning bolts for as long as any of them could remember seeing it, had vanished.

Guardian and his partner, the Pikachu riding on his shoulder, glanced at each other, each with an eyebrow raised.

Then Pikachu vanished in a flash of light.

"Ah!" The Lead Scientist jumped when Guardian levelled him with a look. It wasn't quite threatening, no more than the expressions that were usually found on his face, but the slight crease of his forehead and blaze of light blue in his eyes was enough to get his point across. Had it been someone he didn't trust, they would have already lost control of their bowels. "The sequence you chose was for total recall, yo-!"

The clunky device gave a slight hiss, the screen flickering on and off. Wisely, Guardian decided to drop it, stepping away as bubbles rose through every crack along its metal body.

Something popped, and suddenly Pikachu was right back where he had been, almost seeming to dangle in the air for a moment before plummeting down beside the melting machine. He swayed back and forth, stumbling to his feet briefly before giving up and tipping over sideways.

"Pi…ka…BLARGH!"

For a moment, all was silent. After that moment, some of the smoke coming from the Dream World managed to reach the ceiling, setting off the sprinklers that had been installed after one too many close calls with some form of Aura attack.

Guardian swooped down, picking up Pikachu by the tail before he managed to roll into his own mess. Without a word, he walked out of the room, the door sliding shut behind him on its own.

"It'll be ready within the month!" The Lead Rocket Scientist called through the door, trying to make it look like he wasn't inching away from the two puddles, one of which was beginning to mix with the water on the ground while the other steadily ate through the metal and concrete beneath.

The man sitting behind the desk dropped his head into his hands. His Persian licked one of his arms, but unfortunately, it didn't quite work to cheer him up.

XxX

~1 Minute Ago~

RID: #0000475

Name: ████

Age: ████

Status: Active

Partner: ████ (deceased), Pichu – Pikachu, M (active)

Mission History: ████

Bio: ████

CON: Champion