Pokemon: Fire Skies Chapter 1 “Ash Ketchum is approaching the base.” a Team Rocket Grunt announced. “Good, good…” Giovanni sat, staring at his LCD Television screen, thinking. The Grunt stood there for a moment, then asked, “…. Erm, sir, why are you staring at the T.V?” “I’m watching it.” Giovanni replied. “It’s not switched on,” the Grunt murmured. “I know that, David!” Giovanni sighed, “I’m watching it, thinking. Looking at a blank screen has given me some of my best ideas.” “….. It has?” Giovanni nodded. “…. Okay, I’m going to the showers. Is that alright, sir?” “Quite alright.” David nodded and left the room, leaving Giovanni to himself. Giovanni sat motionless for a few minutes, then he retrieved a phone from his pocket. Flipping it open, he dialled a secure Pokenav number, and put it to his ear, listening to the rings of the Pokenav he was trying to contact. There was a beep, and then, “What is it?” “I hear you’re near headquarters.” Giovanni said, smiling. “Yeah.” Ash Ketchum’s voice was croaky. “You been crying?” “No. I just swallowed a bit too much sand.” “Suppose you would have. You were in a desert after all.” “Really? I didn’t notice.” The sarcasm made Giovanni smile. “How’s Pikachu?” “Left him with Prof Oak for a month. He’s having a break. A well deserved one.” “Yes, that business in Sinnoh on the glaciers was quite tiring. And spectacular I believe.” There was a dark chuckle at the other end of the phone. “You’ve been sending me all over the world for two years now. I think you would know I leave that sort of opinion.” Giovanni smiled. Then he became very serious. “Did you find it?” “Yes.” “Trouble?” “Of course.” “Hurry up here. I’ve got another assignment.” “Not a surprise.” Without another word, the line went dead, and Giovanni snapped his phone shut, then pocketing it. Five minutes later the door opened, and Ash entered, his cap covering his face and his backpack in his hands. His Charizard stood beside him, growling at Giovanni. “Here.” Giovanni indicated the desk where his T.V sat. Ash approached and emptied his bag onto it. A couple of apple cores, empty bottles and cans, some sweet wrappers and then…. A stone tablet fell from the bag, landing on the desk with a loud bang. Giovanni smiled widely. It was circular in shape, sharp points on its edge. Markings were etched across it, depicting the sun and dark clouds, rain and thunder emanating from it. “I want more supplies before I leave.” Ash said curtly, indicating the rubbish he had dumped. Giovanni waved a hand, too busy staring at the stone tablet to care about what he was saying. He ran a finger through the markings. He laughed. “I take it you blew up an entire temple to get this!” he sniggered. Ash scowled. “Charizard didn’t like to do it. The people of that temple fed and sheltered us. They worshipped this artefact, and I stole it from them.” He looked at Giovanni. He wasn’t listening. Charizard growled again. Ash punched the table. Giovanni looked up at him. “No more!” he spat. “I won’t go on any more of your assignments!” “But we had a deal.” Giovanni said, his face blank, except for his eyes. They were sizing up Ash, as they had done on so many other occasions. “If I did something for you, you gave me three years of service. One year left Ashy-boy.” Ash’s eyes flashed. “I asked you to spare my friend’s lives! To do that I had to serve you for three years to collect four of these stone tablets!” He pointed at the one on the table. “I submitted, got you the tablets, including this one! Four! That’s it! I gave more than you did! It would have taken a few seconds to shoot my friends, but I gave two years of hard work and immense danger to stop that! You haven’t even told me what you want these things for! Now let me go!” Giovanni sighed. “I’m sorry, Ketchum. I had people working flat out, but….” He trailed off. Ash waited. “What?” Giovanni looked him straight in the eye. “There is another tablet.” Ash’s fists clenched, and Charizard roared angrily, baring his teeth. “YOU LIED TO ME!” he yelled. “I had my best agents trying to get it, to spare you the time, but they have been unsuccessful.” He walked to Ash and put his hand on his shoulder. Ash tried to shrug it off but he gripped on tight. “I know you hate me, with good reason too, but I like you Ash. I wanted to spare you this pain. You’ve travelled far and wide for two years too get me those four tablets. But I need your assistance again. You have a year left anyway. Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact location of the tablet like we did before, so it’ll take you the rest of you year. Maybe even longer.” Ash grabbed Giovanni’s shirt collar. “No! If it takes me that long, I refuse! It overlaps our deal!” “If I give you an assignment during the three years of our deal, you must complete it even if it overlaps the final year. That was part of our deal as well, wasn’t it?” Ash glared at him, then released his collar. “… Yeah.” Charizard walked to the drooped form of Ash, and placed his head on his shoulder. Ash smiled weakly and stroked his forehead. Giovanni straightened his suit then walked to his desk chair and sat down. “We know that the tablet is in Kanto, and that it is giving off strong natural currents.” Giovanni nodded at Ash’s pocket where a slight bulge could be seen. “Give your Pokenav to our technicians. They will upgrade it and give it a function able to attract these currents.” Ash raised his head slowly. “The stone tablets… they give off…. Energy?” Giovanni nodded, smiling. “Amazing, isn’t it? I won’t tell you what I’m planning with them, but it has something to do with those currents. Now go and get some rest. You will be briefed on the assignment in full after you have slept and got your Pokenav updated.” Ash turned to leave, when Giovanni stopped him. “Wait, Ash, I want to ask you something.” Ash turned back and looked coldly at him. “During all this, I have given you places to stay, nice things to eat and drink. I have given you gadgets and, overall, a nice lifestyle. So, with that in mind, after this is all over, how would you like a job in this position? A paying one, I mean.” Ash laughed. “No way. I’ve hated acting like one of your scum. As soon as this is over, I’m not going to let you prolong that suffering.” “But you’re good at it!” Giovanni insisted. “I was a Pokemon Trainer!” Ash shouted. “I had a dream, and a future that was fulfilling that dream! I was becoming a Pokemon Master! And you took that away from me!” “You would go far.” Giovanni said, smiling. “You would probably take over from me when I step down.” “NO!” Ash slammed his hands on the desk, Charizard and Giovanni looking quite alarmed. Ash breathed heavily, then said, “I can’t. I know I have no future as a Trainer anymore, especially not after two years of no real training. And then working with you! They would spit on me. And…. And….” “Yes, your first year of our deal was quite an ordeal.” Giovanni was standing up. He was looking down at Ash with a strange look in his eyes. Pity? “The death of you young friend. Quite ironic actually, considering you took on the job she died in helping you, just to save her in the first place.” Ash’s shoulder’s shook. “Don’t you dare talk about Misty. She doesn’t deserve to be talked about through those dirty lips!” “With all due respect, being dead, I don’t think she gives a toss.” Ash looked slowly up at Giovanni. He was sweating. “Goodnight sir.” he said shakily. He turned and walked out the room, Charizard close behind. David came in a few moments later. “I thought he was going to punch you.” he told Giovanni. “Spying through the cameras, I ask you!” Giovanni exclaimed, sitting back down. “David, we shall have a chat later. And yes. I thought so too.” He smirked. “At least I’m sending him home to Kanto, even if it is on bad terms.”