In one of Team Rocket's headquarters, in the southern end of Viridian City, Ash Ketchum, one of the highest ranking members of Team Rocket was staring down at his shoes, eagerly waiting for his father, Giovanni, to summon him for his new assignment. Sitting and waiting. He couldn't think of anything else to do or look forward to. Just waiting. He then got up and limped a bit to his desk, the fall he had last week, gave him a ankle sprain and he was forced to keep off of it, though Giovanni was angry that he did a clumsy thing such as that, but accidents happened and as long as Ash didn't mess up like Jessie and James, he'd be fine. He scratched his messy black hair and picked up a journal. He then flipped through the pages. Nothing. He laid it back down. Something is missing…. He thought to himself as he tried to figure out what, but gave up. Again: Nothing. Was he in some sort of trance? No. Did his fall give him a concussion? Not here and not then.

"Ash Ketchum." A voice down the hall said getting louder.

"Yes?" Ash responded.

"The boss wants ya." A Grunt said as he went to the other side of the door and followed Ash to where Giovanni's Office was.

"Thanks." Ash said as he got up and limped out the door. His father's office was not far and it didn't take long to reach him. When he did reach, he looked in and found his father reading a book. He looked up and saw Ash and put the book down. Giovanni's office had a map of the world behind him. Two bookcases filled with books and in the center of the office, sat Giovanni. A laptop was in sleep mode on his desk.

"My son… How is your ankle?" he asked coldly,

"It is fine. Why you summon me?" Ash said as he sat down in one of the ruby cushioned seats that sat across from Giovanni's desk.

"I think it's about time you do something useful. Every year around this time, a batch of trainers leaves Pallet Town to begin their Pokémon journeys. It is up to you and you alone, to find out what kind of Pokémon they receive and track them and when the time is right, capture them."

"Yes father, it will be done." Ash replied as he stood up and watched as Giovanni reached into his coat and pulled out a Pokeball with a lightning emblem on it.

"This is a Pikachu may it serve you well." He said as he sat down and continue reading.
"Thanks dad." Ash said as he went back to his room