Her picture was posted on every Rocket’s hit list. Most lived in fear of an encounter with her. They had orders to kill her on sight, regardless of the situation. But she slipped through their fingers each time, and Giovanni was not kind to those who failed in their attempts. She always knew when eyes were on her. She always knew when someone had trained their rifle on her. And her Meowth always attacked the offender.

She had caused more trouble for the Rockets than anyone, even that irritating Ash Ketchum boy, though he took a close second. But unlike the boy, she was always hunted by Rocket members. A whole squad had been set aside for that purpose. Overkill? No way. Not considering the damage she had done to the operation.

Giovanni had time to muse, as he always did, about this seemingly unstoppable young woman. He hated her with a passion, and it would have given him great satisfaction to send her to the grave. But she had slipped through his fingers yet again, for once sending her own message back to him.

‘I’m on to you. When will you learn that you can’t catch me? This was very insulting. Are you trying to be funny? That squad isn’t going to cut it, old boy. If you’re going to try to kill me, at least do it right!’

Giovanni boiled inwardly at the memory. Now that the target was alerted, she’d do one of two things.

One, she’d hole up and be impossible to find for weeks, even months.

Two, she’d find entertainment in leading the squad in endless circles until she tired of the game and vanished again. This was the most likely course she would follow. She found it amusing to lead them around by the nose and then disappear, only to reappear hundreds of miles away with the squad beating the bushes in a remote region - usually full of dangerous Pokemon.

This time, Giovanni wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.

“Call the squad back. We need them here. Send them back out the moment that little bitch is sighted.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind my saying, she’ll probably know that plan,” his underling said.

“I know. But we have no other option if we want to keep the condition of that squad in its present dubious condition. Carry out my orders.”

“Yes, sir!”

As the man left, Giovanni turned back to his desk. The report on his desk still had that note attached to it. The little bitch had them running in circles all the time. He examined the photo that had been taken by a Rocket upon the first sighting of the girl. She was deceptively pretty, and Giovanni would have considered her a non-threatening creature, had he not known what she was capable of. Her shoulder length ebony hair and dark green eyes showed no sign of being on the black list. The Meowth perched on her shoulder was just as innocent-looking. It was almost ironic. That Meowth had put more Rockets in the hospital than any other single Pokemon. That innocent looking girl would never be suspected of being the Shadowdart, the most hunted member of the Rocket hit list. No, she was good at hiding, Giovanni had to admit.

Now, she had been sighted last near Fortree City in Hoenn. Giovanni smiled. He at least had two operatives there to keep an eye out. Even if they were the two he most despised.

“You!” he yelled at a random underling. “Get me Jessie and James on the phone.”

This was a strange request, but no one disputed with Giovanni when he was in this kind of mood.

******************************************************************

“Hello?” Jessie said into the phone.

“You three.”

Jessie jerked and mouthed to her teammates, “It’s the Boss!”

“Yes, sir?”

“I have a special assignment for you.”

“Sir?”

“That troublemaker Shadowdart has been sighted in your region. You are to report her if she is sighted - where she is going, who she is with, what is she doing. If the situation permits, you are to capture her and hold her until the squad arrives. Understood?”

“The Shadowdart assignment?! US?!”

“Answer my question! Do you understand the assignment or not?!”

Jessie gulped. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. You begin immediately. Continue as you normally would otherwise.” He hung up.

Jessie looked over at her teammates, who had heard everything due to Giovanni’s volume of speech. Their mouths were hanging open.

“The Shadowdart assignment,” Meowth breathed. “Dat was outa nowhere!”

“Yeah.” Jessie stared at the phone. “Well, you heard the man… let’s get back to following that Pikachu.”