COMPLETE: Gotta Steal 'Em All? (TEEN)

[Noteleks]

Abbreviated Title- Gotta Steal Them All? - GSTA. This is a frequent abbreviation that I use.

Summary- The following story follows Sam, a young but rather talented thief, his bad-tempered ditto which he stole from Professor Oak, his abra who thinks that she is a cat, and his secret role in the pokemon series. Ever wonder why that random old guy insisted on laying in the middle of the street? Why there wasn't any gold on the S.S. Anne (there were how many wealthy people aboard?) Why bicycles are so expensive? Why there are all those random houses without doors? Perhaps you still can't figure out why Giovanni would give up Team Rocket because he lost to a child... I offer answers here- whether you choose to believe me or not is entirely up to you.

Warning- readers have been disappointed later when they realize that this is only a fan fiction and none of this is necessarily true. But, you can always pretend that it is. That's what I do. ;P

Genres- humor & adventure with a touch of romance, tragedy, and a whole lot of suspense.

Posting schedule- I will post a new chapter everyday.

Rated T for: mild language, dark tones, and minor sexual themes later on.

Reviews/comments are always greatly appreciated. I love hearing what people think. Whether something made you laugh, cry (which has happened), or shocked you.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Just below
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue... Which makes it sound optional but it's actually not... Unless you like being lost on the first chapter of a story.

AN= Author's Note. I always put whatever randomness I was thinking of at the time down. They can be pretty entertaining sometimes... And sometimes I'm pretty boring.

Also, I did a wallpaper-type deal for GSTA There's a little challenge dealy in the description if you want to check it out here: GSTA Wallpaper. If you further explore my deviant art page, you will find my GSTA Character art. You can actually see how I envisioned some of my characters!
---*Warning: A bit of a spoiler in the descriptions. If you don't recognize the name, you should probably stay away from it. I don't have one for Sam as he is in this installment... I'm still working on that... (he's so difficult T_T' )

~Noteleks

 

[Noteleks]

Chapter 1:
No copyright infringement intended.
__________________________________
At the farthest regions of Kanto Region lies a tiny village called Pallet Town. A white picket fence surrounds the grand total of three buildings: two houses and one laboratory. The laboratory is home to the reclusive Professor Oak. It's also here that we find our questionable protagonist.

His quick, bright brown eyes darted left and right to ascertain that no one had seen him. This was almost too easy. He had been sent here by his boss, but had also heard that there was a famous Professor of sorts in this town with valuables; but surely that was a mistake. There couldn't possibly be anything of value here.

A large man walked a short path along the fence to the south but he was of no concern to an expert, such as Sam. He pressed his slim figure against the wall and turned to look in the windows. Inside was a girl, a redheaded boy impatiently tapping his foot, and two aides. The professor wasn't there at all. Bookshelves lined the white walls. There was a desk with little red machines and another that was empty save for one pokéball. In the center there were more bookshelves acting as walls separating the main office from the rest of the room. The aides were all distracted by their research. One of the aides looked up and started to turn his head to the window. Sam swiftly pulled back.

As he counted to thirty, he let his observant eyes wander. There was a window that was wide open above him that opened to the second floor but the only way to get to it was to climb onto the sill of the window beside him and then pull himself up. The trouble being that he had to remain out of sight in this process.

"Twenty-nine... Thirty," he slowly peered around the window again; the aid was not looking. Suddenly, the door opened and a boy with a red cap walked in. The aids were dedicating their full attention to the boys. Sam couldn't believe his good fortune. He stepped onto the sill, pushed off into a jump to grab the sill above him, and pulled himself up and onto it in one cleanly executed move. Sam slid through the generous opening.

The room was filled with more bookshelves though they weren't entirely lined with books. One shelf had a large box. Sam walked over and opened it. Inside were two big pearls, a rope, and a dragon scale. He put the pearls in this pocket, secured the rope to his wide belt of tools and put the dragon scale in the chest pocket of his purple vest. "Not so useless after all, old man. I like it," he chuckled. Humming, he continued sauntering through the rooms picking up items here and there. A couple of stones with fire inside them, a large chunk of ancient amber, and some peculiar colored shards among other items.

The last room on the north side of the building was the only one without bookshelves. Only two desks, one with several computers and the other had some type of metal bowl-shaped cage with pinkish purple goo inside. His cat eyes and youthful face radiated curiosity. Below him he heard the door open and close. He measured his steps and without making the tiniest of sounds he crept closer so as not to disturb the aids below. He had no use for goo normally, but he had a preference for the color purple. Being as quiet as possible, Sam unlatched the cage.

Looking down at the goo, it seemed as though it had a face. He cocked his head to the side and poked at it a little. Little beady black eyes opened and looked at him and a mouth turned to a frown. Unable to react, Sam continued staring at the little creature. Before his eyes, it transformed into a dwarf version of himself and poked him back square in the forehead. He tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yelp.

"Hey, now! That's not nice!" he scolded the blob resentfully. Sam's little me looked at him in shock.

"Ditto."

"What? No, you can't just poke people in the head like that, it hurts!"

"Ditto," it growled at him, though it was clearly confused.

Sam glared at it as he scolded it, "Don't you growl at me! I don't know what your problem is, but I didn't do anything to you. You really should apologize. I could get caught talking to you! This a dangerous and important mission I'm on!"

The pokemon was clearly shocked and unable to react. Finally, it shrunk back as if sorry. It pointed at itself and said again, "Ditto."

"Wh- Can't you say anything else! What are you?" He fumed quietly, trying desperately not to attract the attention of the aids below.

"Ditto," Sam almost jumped out of his skin as a little red device on the desk started talking in an electronic voice, "Level: 5. Type: Normal. Height: 1 inch. Weight: 8.8 pounds. A Ditto can freely recombine its own cellular structure to transform into other life forms. It is capable of copying a genetic code instantly to transform itself into a duplicate. A Ditto cannot be paralyzed due to its ability: limber."

Sam frowned at the machine. He didn't like being startled and he could usually avoid surprises, but that was the second time in less than five minutes.

Sam turned his gaze from the red machine to the pokémon that had returned to being a blob. "A Ditto? Is that what you are?" He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his dark brown cargo pants. The Ditto looked at him silently with a goofy grin across its face. Sam walked over and rubbed at the goo where its chin could have been. It smiled even wider and made a purring noise.

"Ha! You like that don't you?" Sam smiled back warmly. "Maybe I'll take you too. Would you like that, Ditto?" Ditto looked up at him happily. Sam grinned and scooped it up into his arms. A chance glance out the window showed the professor returning and with the boy with the red cap. Sam had run out of time. Ditto curled around his shoulders. He turned to go but stopped and looked back at the little red machine. "Ah, it can't hurt anything." He grabbed it and shoved it into one of his many pockets and stole his way quietly through the house to the window he'd arrived through.

Upon approaching the window, a commotion erupted on the ground floor. Sam hesitated; they were probably too engrossed to notice him as long as he was quick. The ground wasn't far. He hefted his whole weight onto one arm and launched himself through the window. With the ease of practiced grace, he landed on all fours and had hardly touched the ground before rolling out of sight of the window. He patted his pockets with his stolen treasures and sighed with relief. "Looks like I didn't come all this way for nothing, huh?"

"Ditto!" his new companion chirped with a goofy grin.

"Wait, Red! Let's check out our pokémon! Come on, I'll take you on!" Sam jumped and balanced on his toes to look through the window. There were two boys with the professor and the aids were frozen. The boy with the red cap was there and the other boy form before with reddish hair and a black shirt. The two began their battle. Sam rolled his eyes, typical.

The boy with the red cap had a yellow mouse pokémon that Sam's little red machine named a 'Pikachu'. The other boy, apparently named Blue, had a little brown fox known as an Eevee. The old man's hand smacked into his forehead for a perfect face-palm. Ditto had decided to transform into the Eevee. Electricity flashed and the pokémon growled at each other.

Uninterested, Sam stole a glance both directions and decided that the coast was clear. Trainer battles could be so predictable. With the stolen goods heavy in his pockets, he strolled jauntily around the building as the door to the house next to him opened. Sam showed little interest on the outside while inside he berated himself for his arrogance. A girl around his age seemed genuinely surprised to see him.

"Oh, I don't think I've seen you here before! It's such a small town and we don't often get visitors!"

Sam smiled back at her and returned the friendly manner, "I can't imagine why! It's so nice and quiet. I was just in the area and was surprised to find this place tucked so neatly away!"

The girl blushed and smiled at him. "I'm happy to meet you... Oh! Where are my manners, I'm Daisy."

Sam mock bowed, "The name's Sam! It was such a lovely chat, but I should move along." he gestured to the route out of town.

Daisy looked at him with obvious disappointment. Her lower lip stuck out just a little bit for slight pout. "Oh... I'd hoped that you'd stay and chat with me awhile longer. Come back again sometime then. I won't go anywhere!"

Sam smiled politely and waved goodbye. Daisy went back into her house and he walked quickly away. Ditto transformed back to being a Ditto as the novelty of being a fox wore off. Sam commented under his breath to Ditto, "She's kinda cute."

"Ditto!" Ditto nodded in the agreement. Sam laughed, though he was sure that Ditto had no idea what he'd even said.

Sam didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was pretty much caught the moment Daisy saw him. There were going to be wanted posters... A lot of wanted posters.

He sighed wearily. It was the only mistake he'd ever made in his entire career. He picked his way through several grass patches on the way to Viridian City. His sharpened senses detected the pokémon before he saw them. As soon as he stepped out of the grass, he was surrounded by several rattata all eagerly awaiting a pet on the head. All his life, pokémon had flocked to him. Other trainers put them in pokéballs and tried to buy their friendship, but he'd never had to. He only used pokéballs to transport his pokémon in special situations. His unique ability allowed him to walk freely anywhere, even without pokémon. Normally he wouldn't be attacked, but when he was, his flock of followers would quickly beat down the upstart. He scratched the rattata behind the ears in turns as a Pidgey landed on his shoulder. Ditto immediately copied the Pidgey's image. The two birds began puffing out their chest feathers and pecking at each other.
_________________________________
Blue kicked a rock back and forth for a while... To think that he had lost! That he'd picked the wrong pokémon! ... It was just crazy.

"Ah, it just dumb luck! I'll beat him next time for sure," he reasoned. He looked at the wild grass and touched the pokéball at his side; he would just get even stronger. He gathered his dignity and stormed off into the wild grass. After winning a couple battles, he felt reasonably better. As he looked north, he saw someone standing there surrounded by wild pokémon. Blue ran closer to try and help but he soon realized that the boy wasn't being attacked at all.

All his life, Gramps had told him to stay out of wild grass or he'd get hurt or killed. Yet, here is this stranger. He was wearing a brown stocking cap over very dark brown hair. His tan complexion contrasting with the plain white shirt he wore under his rich purple vest. The pokémon around him were all clamoring for his attention.

"How are you doing that?"

"I'm not doing anything," he replied back casually, as though it was normal.

"I can see that... I thought wild pokémon were supposed to attack humans."

"They are. I don't know why they like me so much but it's been that way for as long as I can remember." He straightened and looked at the bewildered expression on Blue's face with amusement. "It seems to be a natural phenomenon that only applies to me so don't get any ideas, Blue."

That caught him completely off guard. One of the two pidgey lifted off the stranger's shoulder and flew to perch on his finger. The stranger stroked its feathers and mocked its croons back at it. We've never met before! How did he know my name? Some kind of psychic?

The stranger eyed him and then turned back to the Pidgey, "You have only one pokémon? Do you intend to catch more?"

"I want to get stronger," Blue replied back boldly.

The trainer looked at him silently. Suddenly, he pointed his finger with the Pidgey at Blue, "Hold out your hand like mine." Blue did as he said. The wild Pidgey looked at it and then flew over to him and landed on his shoulder! Blue was shocked and turned to pet the bird as the trainer had done. When he finally thought of asking the mysterious trainer for his name, he'd gone.

"When did he leave? I hardly took my eye off him for a second!" Blue thought of looking for him, but then he saw a police officer rushing by.

"Police? What could have possibly happened in Pallet Town?" Blue looked one more time for the stranger and then followed the police officer back to town.
___________________________
Sam saw the police officer and knew that he was going to have to lie low for a while. His sides still hurt from his barely suppressed laughter at the shock on the kid's face when he finally realized Sam had already left. Now, though, it was time to disappear and he didn't have much time. First things first, he had to get these treasures out of his pockets. He gathered Ditto in his arms and put it on the ground.

"Ditto, I need you to stay right here, okay?" Ditto looked at him unhappily,

"It's just for a moment. While I'm gone, you can stay here and play." Ditto nodded sulkily, but the Rattata around him were eager to play and Ditto cheered up a little. Sam walked into town as casually as possible. Viridian City was much better than Pallet Town. It actually had a market, a pokémon center, and people. Normally he'd sell to the black market but he didn't have time for that now.

Sam opened the doors and walked inside and there was Red, the boy from the lab. He was talking to the clerk. The clerk gave him a package and told him to take it to Oak. Sam walked over to a shelf and pretended to be interested in something there. As Red walked by, Sam gave him a charismatic smile. Red looked at him distrustfully and left. Sam chuckled to himself quietly, people can be so easy to mess with. He walked up to the clerk and sold his load for a whopping load of money. The clerk's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw the pearls.

Feeling confident and comforted by the sound of money in his pockets, he was just about to leave the store to go get Ditto when the door opened and hit him square in the face. The force was strong enough to knock Sam over and the monster of a police officer who'd opened the door tripped over Sam. Flustered, the police officer jumped to his feet and was about to help Sam up when he looked at the wanted poster in his hand. Sam had seen it to.

"Wow, that is an excellent likeness. Who drew that? They must be very good. Where can do you think I get one of those?" Sam commented as he pointed to the wanted poster. The police officer frowned down at him.

__________________
AN:

I sincerely hope you enjoy the story. The first chapter is somewhat lackluster, but I assure you, later chapters are much better.

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.
_______________________________
The old professor stared at the empty cage as he had done for the last ten minutes. Who in the right mind would steal a Ditto? Why and to what purpose? That one especially, it was so irritable and did not take orders from people. He'd never seen a meaner or more non-conformist pokémon. They say that Mewtwo had the cruelest heart of all pokémon, but the professor would stake his reputation on that Ditto being worse. Mewtwo would pale in comparison. He sighed. The sooner the little beast was back the better.

There was no telling what kind of trouble and destruction that pokémon could cause.
__________________________________________
"I don't like being man-handled," Sam tried reasoning again with the stubborn police officer.

"I don't like having to chase down criminals who steal from helpless old men," the oversized ape in uniform returned.

"Touché. But seriously, you're stretching out my collar." no response. "I'm choking." still nothing. "I'll die."

"Stop complaining then. You're wasting your breath." Sam made a face but remained silent. "Why, look at that! It's a miracle! I've silenced the cheeky little wretch!" The man exclaimed.

Sam kept his mouth shut. This great oaf was stupid, sure enough, but Sam's feet were hardly touching the ground and he decided that being hanged wasn't a very fun way to die. His only hope right now was Ditto. That the gorilla still hadn't remembered Ditto was one stroke of luck. If the police officer remembered and Ditto was caught... Sam couldn't stand the thought of the little fella being locked up like that again. He knew the pokémon wasn't worth anything, but he'd give up his whole treasure trove back home to keep the little guy. Quiet suddenly, the wild grass gave way into a massive battlefield. Unconscious Rattata littered the whole area.

"What in the name of Mew is this?"

"I haven't the slightest clue. It looks like a bunch of unconscious Rattata. But you never know. They could really be Pidgey in disguise," Sam said sarcastically. The police officer wasn't amused by his humor and showed it by lifting him farther off the ground and landing a meaty blow into his stomach before letting him go. Sam sank to his knees and tried to catch his breath.

"Got anymore wise words?" Sam shook his head, "Good. You stay here, this might be a poaching crime."

Sam looked at him incredulously. Was this guy for real? He studied the ground; it felt as though if his very insides were bruised. He closed his eyes tightly and slowly the pain started to dull. The police officer was thudding around 'investigating'.

Unfortunately, he regained the ability to speak and he muttered, "Poaching? They still have their fur and they're still breathing, ya stupid oaf."

"What'd you say?" he whirled around, "What'd you call me?" Anger had turned his face bright red.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't say anything," Sam lied trying to adopt an innocent look. It didn't work.

"Stupid oaf? Isn't that what you called me?" Sam froze. "Do you think I'm deaf as well as stupid?" He was standing over Sam now with his steel-toed boot dangerously close to Sam's face.

"Well... Yes." If lying didn't work, than maybe the truth would?

"How about I teach you a lesson then!" Sam put his hands up to protect his face, but the boot wasn't what hit him.

The officer's powerful fist slammed into the side of his head by his temple. The force of the blow knocked him back. His vision was black around the edges and he was seeing stars. The second blow to his stomach barely registered in his head. He wanted to defend himself, but couldn't so he waited for the third blow to come.

"Youch! What the bloody Mewtwo is this!" Sam opened his eyes and looked at the police officer. His Ditto had apparently learned how to bite from the Rattata. The fangs of an Eevee were deeply imbedded in the officer's leg and blood was spurting everywhere. The police officer screamed, Ditto growled, and Sam gaped. Ditto managed to pull the big man to the ground and tore viciously at the man's leg.

"Ditto?" Sam said quietly, completely shocked. Ditto stopped and came over to him and whined. Blood was spilling into Sam's eyes from the cut the police officer's ring had left. Ditto licked the blood off and rubbed against Sam's face. The police officer was had stopped screaming and lay moaning. Sam slowly got up into a sitting position. Ditto crawled into his lap.

A second police officer came running up from Pallet Town with Blue. Ditto immediately got up and stood defensively between Sam and the new threat.

She saw the mauled police officer and the Eevee with blood dripping from its chops and the crazy glint in its eyes. Blue immediately checked his pokéballs to ensure that his Eevee was indeed still there. The policewoman pulled her gun out of its holster and pointed it at Ditto. Before she'd even fired her shot Ditto leapt at her and his teeth clamped down ferociously on her hand. She screamed. Blue was paralyzed with fear. The policewoman was trying to get the Ditto off her hand unsuccessfully.

Sam's head pounded. Everything was happening so fast. Finally, his thoughts started to come together. At this rate, Ditto would be put down or killed when he was captured. "S-Stop! Ditto! LET GO!" Everyone froze. Ditto stopped growling. "Ditto, come here. Come to me." Slowly, the fierce look in its eyes vanished and it let go of the officer's wrist as it recognized its master. Ditto bounded over to him and transformed back into it's normal form as it crawled up onto his shoulders. The police officer and Blue looked at him shocked.

The original police officer reached for his gun. "That beast needs to die!" Sam's eyes widened with fear for the companion cuddling against his neck happily. He wanted to plead with them but couldn't think of an argument for it. Stars were still bursting in his vision.

"Don't you dare. That pokémon is to be brought back to Gramps unharmed," Blue warned the giant man.

The police officers looked him, the woman cursed and gritted her teeth, "Taimon, put your gun away!"

The oaf was loosing consciousness from blood-loss, but didn't falter. "That beast will eat us alive before we get back."

Blue looked at Sam and Ditto, he was obviously still terrified, but held his ground, "Look, he's got perfect control of it. It obeys his orders." The woman sent Sam a stony glare. Sam nodded. The big man finally let the hand with the gun fall. He must have finally lost consciousness. The policewoman hesitantly walked over to Sam with handcuffs handy, but decided against it when Ditto growled.

"You're the person who stole from Professor Oak, aren't you?"

Sam nodded and said ruefully, "I am, but don't worry. I'm not going anywhere just yet."

She looked down on him like he was garbage and then walked over to stupid oaf who'd caused all this. She ripped his shirtsleeves to try to bandage up his leg. Sam watched dully. Then he heard more footsteps. They weren't the normal thuds of the police though. They were softer, daintier. A nurse from the pokémon center. She saw the scene around her and her white-gloved hand covered her mouth. He flashed her his most charming smile and she blushed. He must have looked as miserable as he felt and she rushed over to him.

"Hi," Sam greeted cheerfully.

The nurse was younger, probably the real nurse's aide. She cleared her throat in a business-like manner and responded, "Hello. Now, where are you hurt?"

"What are you doing? Forget him, get over here!" The frantic policewoman yelled. The nurse pulled back from him and obviously couldn't decide what to do.

Sam saw the indecision and managed a lop-sided grin, "I'll be alright. Don't worry about me." She smiled at him and then hurried over to help the officers. His vision was almost normal. No more blackness or stars. Blue came over and sat next to Sam. He eyed the Ditto warily. Sam looked at him. "Its alright. He won't bite you."

Blue looked at the blood dripping from the ditto's chin. "Did you really steal from Gramps?"

"I did. Did I steal something from you too?"

"No. I just wondered. I don't really care..." Blue responded with a shrug.

"Well, that's probably a good thing. So why does your gramps have a ditto locked in a cage?"

"It's been sitting in Gramp's upstairs room for six years. It never looked very happy there... sitting in that cage I mean. When I heard that Ditto had been stolen... Honestly, I was grateful.."

Sam pet Ditto silently. And that's where it'll stay now, if it isn't killed.
_____________________________
After the nurse had finished her work, she was sent away. She walked past Sam mouthing 'I'm sorry' and Sam simply smiled and mouthed back, 'It's ok'.

The police officer, or Taimon, as Sam had found out, was now conscious and glaring at Sam. It had been at least half an hour now and Sam felt much better. His head still hurt and his abdomen was tender, but he was all right.

He and Blue had been sitting talking for a while now. They quietly made fun of the police officers, Blue talked about Pallet Town, and Sam talked about different pokémon he'd seen, but mostly they made fun of the police.

Sam's confidence and cheekiness had returned. "Well, looks like I'm walking now! And without handcuffs? Good thing too, I wouldn't want my wrists to be as chafed as my neck! Have you seen what you've done to my shirt?"

Taimon looked at him coldly.

The policewoman leaned closer to ensure he was being truthful, "Holy Miltank, Taimon what did you do to him? He's got a bruise all around his neck!"

"You forgot about my shirt collar, look at that! I'll have to replace this shirt, you know," Sam complained as he sighed wearily.

The policewoman looked at him unamused. The police need to get a sense of humor, Sam decided. Blue looked at him with a mixture awe and amusement. The officer walked over to Taimon and was apparently scolding him for being a naughty child. Sam stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. He was getting bored. His 'father'/mentor had always said that a bored thief is a dangerous thief.

Sam fidgeted and sighed. Then a sly smile came across his face, "Well, since you guys are busy... I'll just... Bye!"

The police officer's heads shot up.
________________________________________________
The old professor was still sitting in his office on the second floor. It vaguely registered that some commotion was going on outside. A few minutes later, the commotion had moved to inside his laboratory downstairs. Hardly another minute later, one of his aides ran upstairs.

"Sir, the police caught the thief. He's downstairs and he's... Well, -" the aide panted as he pushed his glasses up.

"Well, what?" the professor asked impatiently.

"Well, I... You should see this for yourself, sir."

Oak sighed and pulled himself out of his chair. He waved the aide off and after a quick look at the cage wondered if perhaps the Ditto had turned on the thief and tore him apart. The little thing was more than capable. Small wonder the aide was so shocked. He'd probably never seen a dead anything, much less another human being.

It was with this mindset that he went down the stairs. What he found was something else entirely. The thief, a youth of sixteen, was sitting in his office chair, very much alive. The Ditto was sitting in the boy's lap and the two were making faces at the officers' backs as they left and at each other. Professor Oak's mouth dropped and he looked at his aide, who simply pushed his glasses up again and shrugged helplessly.

When he looked back at the thief, the boy had seen him and sobered up. He was looking at the Ditto hopelessly. The police officers had left blood on the floor. Blue was sitting on the empty desk watching the thief. The Ditto was now trying to cheer the boy up. Ditto. The very same Ditto that laid waste to his laboratory, bitten him thirty times, and was speculated to be meaner than Mewtwo! He must have been looking at the boy like he had seven heads as he gave him a funny look. His grandson was looking at him too.

Professor Oak walked closer to the thief. The boy watched him warily and his face had turned cold. Ditto sensed the hostility in his master and looked at Professor Oak with even more evil intent than normal. Oak put his hands up in surrender and the thief looked at him suspiciously. "I'm not coming any closer. I'd like to keep my hands."

The boy looked at him sarcastically. "He won't bite unless he thinks I'm in danger," he stated.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've traveled all over Kanto and I've never seen a more hostile pokémon."

The boy's suspicious look deepened. "If it's so dangerous than why do you want it back?"

"I don't! But I just didn't the little monster to go on a rampage and hurt anyone!" Oak exclaimed.

The thief looked at him and then down at the growling pokémon in his lap and shook his head. That simple gesture was enough to get Ditto to stop growling. "So, what do intend to do with him then?" the thief was petting the Ditto affectionately.

"If you tell me how you tamed it and your name, I'll let you keep it!"

The boy brightened immediately, "My name's Sam and I have absolutely no idea how I tamed it. It just happens."

"It just happens?" Oak repeated flatly.

"Yep. I've never used a pokéball in my life and I've traveled all over Kanto and Johto too. Even in my earliest memories, pokémon just came to me on their own and would follow any command I gave them. When I do run into a pokémon in the wild that wants to hurt me, the ones that follow me will attack it to protect me." Sam smiled and Ditto smiled happily back at him.

"Its true, Gramps. I met him on Route 1 and there was a whole flock of pokémon following him," Blue added.

The professor scratched the back of his head. It was insane, but the proof was there. He'd never heard of anyone like that. Red had that kind of ability too, but not near so strong. Blue didn't have it at all.

"So? Ditto's mine now, right?"

The professor looked at him and smiled, "It's all yours. One more thing, you took a pokédex... Do you still have it?" Sam looked at him blankly. "The little red machine?"

"Oh, that. I tried to sell it but the clerk wouldn't take it," Sam made a face and had to pat all his pockets to find it. "This, right?"

"That's the one. Do you know how to use it?" Sam looked at it and then shook his head. "When you turn that pokédex on and point it at a pokémon, it will tell you the name of that pokémon and the 'stats', so to speak. It will also tell you the 'level' of the pokémon. A 'level' is like a ranking of how powerful a pokémon is, 100 being the highest. If the pokémon is yours, it will keep track of its level and what moves it knows. It's a very useful device. Without one, you would have to put your pokémon through a series of tests to determine its rank. Go ahead and try it."

Sam pointed it at Ditto and it's picture appeared on the screen. The electronic voice sounded, "Ditto. Owner: Sam. Level: 15. Type: Normal. Height: 1 inch. Weight: 8.8 pounds. A Ditto can freely recombine its own cellular structure to transform into other life forms. It is capable of copying a genetic code instantly to transform itself into a duplicate. A Ditto cannot be paralyzed due to its ability: limber."

"Level fifteen?" Blue and Professor Oak exclaimed together.

"I picked him up at level five, but he's a quick learner!" Sam smiled happily and Ditto, who knew he was being praised, smiled and clapped its 'hands' together. "Anything else? Or can I leave now?"

Professor Oak looked at him and then at Blue. "Blue, go outside."

"What? Why? C'mon, Gramps!"

"Blue, go," Blue grumpily got up and left the laboratory. When he'd left, the professor met Sam's eyes solemnly and said, "Your boss sent you?"

Sam flinched and stared at the professor in shock. "What?"

"No reason to play dumb with me. You're with the Guild aren't you." Sam nodded reluctantly. "And this has something to do with Team Rocket?" Sam nodded again. "I have a theory I want to pass along to your boss."

Sam nodded and listened closely so he could commit the words to memory.
______________________________________
AN: A more suspenseful and exciting chapter, no? A small piece of the overall picture.

 

[Soulmaster]

ok a few things

A large man walked a short path along the fence to the south but he was of no concern to an expert, such as Sam. He pressed his slim figure against the wall and turned to look in the windows. Inside was a girl, a redheaded boy impatiently tapping his foot, and two aides. The professor wasn't there at all. Bookshelves lined the white walls. There was a desk with little red machines and another that was empty save for one pokéball. In the center there were more bookshelves acting as walls separating the main office from the rest of the room. The aids were all distracted by their research. One of the aids looked up and started to turn his head to the window. Sam swiftly pulled back.

When spelling stuff try to keep it the same both of the ways are correct but try to just use one of them.

Uninterested, Sam stole a glance both directions and decided that the ghost was clear. Trainer battles could be so predictable. With the stolen goods heavy in his pockets, he strolled jauntily around the building as the door to the house next to him opened. Sam showed little interest on the outside while inside he berated himself for his arrogance. A girl around his age seemed genuinely surprised to see him.

The ghost was clear? Ghost should be coast.

And Pokémon is always capitalized.

But other then those things it is a good story and I'm wondering how it will play out.

 

[Noteleks]

Ha ha... Typos. I fixed them though. And, actually, whether 'pokemon' is capitalized or not is a matter of grammatical opinion. You wouldn't capitalize 'dog' or 'cat' if you were talking about a breed or the general creature itself. I believe that it shouldn't be capitalized, so I actually won't be fixing that one.

 

[Mumzy]

In the pokemon world they wouldn't be capatalized. 'Pokemon' would be like 'animals', just remember pokemon is a plural and singular. But in the real world it's a name, so you would say 'Pokemon', 'Pikachu', etc.

 

[Noteleks]

Chapter 3: Chapter 3
No copyright infringement intended.
_______________________________________
Blue waited impatiently outside his grandpa's laboratory. Sam was still inside. It wasn't fair; Sam was the first friend he'd ever had and Gramps was taking time away. Pallet Town had died long ago. Not even Gramps lived here anymore. He walked out everyday from Viridian City with this aids. It had been just him and Red, his sworn rival. As he waited, Red appeared beside him carrying a package.

"..." Red's customary silence was heavy with disgust.

"What!" Blue snapped. Red rolled his eyes and tried to open the door. Blue sniggered, "You can't go inside."

"Why?"

"Gramps is talking to Sam," Blue reported.

"Who?" Red asked stepping away from the locked doors.

"Sam," Blue answered smiling, "the thief."

Red stayed quiet and eyed the doors. Then he asked, "Dark skin, purple vest?"

"That's the one," Blue waited for a reaction but Red stayed quiet, "What? What's with that face?"

"I saw him at the Pokémart... ..." Red trailed off, "He's weird... Dangerous."

"What? He's nice and funny. I like him," Blue replied casually, "I don't know what you mean. He's not dangerous to anyone... Just steals their valuables." Blue chuckled.

Red maintained his silence. Sure, he seems nice now... But there's a hidden side of him... A dangerous side.

Blue opened his mouth to say something else when the door opened. "Sam!" he exclaimed instead.

Sam looked at him and then looked away. He seemed completely preoccupied by something else. His face just slightly paler with worry. "Blue, your grandfather wants you. You too, Red," was all he said before brushed past them.

Red ran inside to talk to Oak, but Blue was torn. He wanted to follow Sam but maybe Gramps had something for him.

"Ah, he'll still be here when I come back," Blue muttered before he ran inside after Red.
_______________________________________
Sam's head was still spinning. Not from the bloody cut on the side of his head but from everything Oak had said. Ditto, concerned, pulled at his collar and gave him a trusting look.

"Yeah, you're right. I have to think about this calmly."

"Ditto?" it asked confused.

"No, I know you can't really say anything, but pretending you can is a comforting thought," Sam started to rub at his temples and began pacing, "First, is what he said true? I need to know. No, that doesn't help. I can't just. No, that... Are they really doing something like that to pokémon? And for that reason? That's just... Its crazy... No, that doesn't help me either... For all I know, he could be lying to me! Team Rocket doesn't even have a reason to... Yes, they do... Nothing bad could... Oh, and now I'm lying to myself. Perfect."

"You're also talking to yourself." Sam jumped and turned around. It was Daisy. She was standing next to the door of her house trying to hide her smile and contain her giggling. "Oh, I'm sorry! You just look so serious and you're talking about complete nonsense!"

"I makes perfect sense to me! No... Wait, that's a lie. I have no idea what I'm saying either," Sam laughed.

"Ha ha! I'm not surprised. What happened to your head?" Daisy stepped closer to see it and Sam had to stoop a bit to match her height. "Geez! Here, you can come inside and I'll take care of it."

Sam looked at her with mock suspicion. "Why should I trust you? You're the one who turned me in!"

Daisy pretended in turn to be offended, "Excuse me for abiding by the law like a good citizen! At least I'm not a thief!"

"You wound me with your cruel words," Sam said with a perfectly straight face. "Actually, are you the one who drew that picture of me?"

Daisy's face went bright red, "You saw that! When did you see it?"

"Aw, you're blushing!"

"Shut up!"

"Ditto!"
_______________________________________
Blue looked at the Pokédex in his hands. Now he had one just like Sam! He felt like a child with a new toy. The last thing he would need is a map to get around and he knew that his sister, Daisy, had one. He would just have to make sure that Red didn't get one. As he approached the door he heard voices inside. He leaned against the door to hear better. His sister was talking and someone else was complaining... Sam? He opened the door. Sam was sitting on the floor and his sister was apparently trying to wrap a bandage around his head.

"Ow! Stop it! That hurts!" Sam complained unhappily.

"Oh, hold still! It does not hurt that much, ya baby!" Ditto was sitting on the table happily nibbling at a berry. Blue stood in the doorway not sure what to think.

Finally Daisy looked over and saw him, "Oh! Blue! Come here and help me with this!" Sam tried to look over at him but Daisy stopped him, "Face forward! For crying out loud, would it kill you stay still for five minutes?"

"Blue, can you do something about your sister? She's vicious! I'm surprised you lived this long," Sam complained.

"I am not mean!" Daisy returned as she finished wrapping the bandage,

"Blue grab the clips on the table." Blue closed the door and went to get the clips. They were on top of Sam's stocking hat and Ditto was sitting next to it. He handed the clips to his sister and took another look at Sam. He looked different without his hat.

"Hey, sis? Do you still have that map of the Kanto region?"

"Oh sure! It should be on the shelves. Sam! Hold still!"

Blue grabbed the map and tucked it in his pocket. He looked at Sam, who was trying to put his hat on over his now bandaged head. He had returned to his cheerful self. Blue grabbed a potion from the shelf and walked back to the door.

Daisy looked at him quizzically, "Where are you going off to now?"

"Gramps needs me to catch all the pokémon in the world. I'm going to do that and I'll beat Red to it!" Daisy gaped at him but Sam nodded. Blue declared, "I'll beat the Elite Four and I'll beat Red!"

"Bye, then. I'll catch up to you no matter how fast you travel," Sam stated calmly as he smiled.

Blue grinned back and left.

Daisy punched Sam on the arm, "Why did you let him go! That kind of 'adventure' is dangerous! Oh, what am I going to do if he gets hurt or if he runs out of money! What if-"

"Daisy! Geez, relax!" Sam laughed. "He'll be fine. He's got his pokémon with him and Red will be right behind him the whole time to back him up if he needs it."

"Blue and Red have been rivals their entire lives! Why would Red help him?"

"Because he needs him. They both need each other. If Blue didn't have Red, he wouldn't even be going on this mission. If it weren't for Blue, Red wouldn't be so determined to leave. Each knows that if he falters the other will pass him. That's all it will take. Blue could learn a lot from this adventure." Daisy still looked unsure. "Plus, the old geezer as good as made me promise to watch over them. I won't let anything happen to Blue."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll just have to trust you..." Daisy admitted wearily.

"My dear lady and cruel nurse, I swear on my honor as thief that nothing will happen to Blue!" Sam said with bow.

Daisy threw a pillow at him. "You are such a goof! I'll show you what 'cruel' really feels like if Blue does get hurt in any way!"
_______________________________________
Red had seen Blue leave and felt like he'd been left behind. He was going to have to catch up to him, but he knew that Blue had a map. Blue knew where he was going, Red didn't. But he knew that Daisy would have one. She'd always been nice. Daisy would probably let him have it.

He approached the door and knocked.

Daisy looked up, "Who could that be? Hello?" Sam eyed the door warily. Daisy turned away from him for just a few moments, but when she turned back, he had disappeared along with Ditto.

"Its Red, ma'am. May I come in?"

"Sure," Daisy said while scanning the room for Sam at the same time.

Red walked in and Daisy was sitting at the table with a map in front of her. She seemed uneasy and she was looking for something. Red looked around the room and saw nothing, but the map on table.

"I-..."

"Grandpa asked you to run an errand?"

Red nodded, "I need a map."

"Oh, I'm sorry Blue took the only one I had," Daisy apologized.

"Ma'am-" Red pointed to the map on the table in front of her. Daisy looked down and saw that there was indeed a map there.

"Oh! I- I don't know where this came from! It isn't mine I-," Daisy said panicking.

"Can I have it?" Red asked taken aback by her strange behavior.

Daisy looked at him, frozen, and then down at the map, "It- Its not mine...," then she suddenly smiled at him. "It's yours now. Take it."

Red was confused and wary of the sudden change in behavior, but a map's a map. He needed one and he was going to take it. Red walked over to her eagerly and took it from her hands. He nodded his head in thanks and left. Once the door had closed behind him, he pulled out the map and let his eyes soak up every inch of it. It was well used. Did Daisy pull it out to look at it that much?

Then he noticed something he'd missed the first time; an inscription in the corner that read, '15 pokémon light the way - Thirsty guards are easy to please - The mansion has a back door - Music will not lull the beast - It'll all make sense later.' Advice? A riddle? Red bit his lip, he could always solve any mystery! He felt that someone, even more intelligent than he, was mocking him.
_______________________________________
Sam poked his head out from underneath the table, "He didn't see me, right?"

Daisy looked down at him laughing helplessly. "No, gosh, Sam, I didn't even see you there at first!" Sam climbed out from under it with his Ditto wrapped around his neck, "So you wanted him to have that map?"

"He's going to need it. That's why he came," Sam said as he shrugged.

"Well, yes, but that was yours... And why did you hide under the table?"

Sam looked at her blankly, then tapped her on the nose with his finger, "Daisy, Daisy... Do you really think he'd accept anything from the likes of me? He's too high and mighty for that. Which is why Blue will probably be ahead of him for a long time. Blue doesn't care where something comes from as long as he gets what he needs. Red will try to make it on his own because of his pride. He doesn't accept help from strangers very well. Once, or if, he learns how to swallow his pride, Blue will loose."

Daisy frowned at him, "That's not a very nice thing to say about Blue. He'll definitely beat Red!"

Sam crossed his arms and shook his head, "No, he won't. Blue... He's a good kid. Honestly. But he just doesn't have what it takes to be 'The Best'. What he does have is the potential to be a better pokémon professor than Oak himself. He just doesn't know it yet."

"Somehow, I don't see him sitting in a lab studying pokémon."

"He won't. He'll be a very active professor who will actively go out to find knowledge. He'll be 'The Best' in his own way."

Daisy looked at him, "And what about you? What will become of you?"

Sam shrugged, "Who knows. But I certainly won't be going down as famous in any textbook. I'm doomed to remain on the wanted list... But I better get going, I've got to baby sit those two after all!" He leaned over and gave Daisy a hug, "I promise Blue will be okay. I'll make sure he comes back," he reassured her softly. Then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and he left.

Daisy stared at the door for a while. The sad smile on his face when he said 'I'm doomed to remain on the wanted list' had pierced her to the core. Worse yet, he was right. The only mention he'd ever get was his name on the wanted list. There was no glory for him. The most he could hope for was to rot in a prison cell or never be caught. That would never change. It didn't matter what he did.

It would never matter.
_______________________________________
Sam stroked Ditto as he stood in entryway to Route 1. Last time he'd left Pallet Town, he'd been a furtive thief. Now, he had a different cause. He took a runner's stance and with the speed and grace of a true thief. He ran the length of Route 1, racing with the wild pokémon, leaping over the ledges, and weaving though the trees. His speed bypassed both Red and Blue. As he approached Viridian City he continued to one of the Thieves League's trusted supporters. The old man was still right where Sam had left him- lying on the ground in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Sam? Everything okay?"

Sam grinned, "Yep, you better get up. Some youngsters are coming this way and at least one of them won't appreciate a road block."

"Well, in that case," The old man put his hands behind his head and pushed off the sidewalk into a flip, landing on his feet. "I'm up!" He proclaimed spreading his arms out.

"You still got it after all these years," Sam laughed.

"You keep that up and you'll break your back one of these days," his young female aide sniffed disdainfully.

The old man made a face at her, "Oh, hush it. I don't need your help!" he ranted while shaking his fist at her. He turned back to Sam. "Now, Sammy, me boyo, tell me who these youngsters are."

"Two boys, one has a red cap and a Pikachu that trails behind him and the other has a bad attitude."

"And how'd you come across these boys?" the old man asked.

"I've been asked to watch over them in exchange for not being arrested," he admitted, rubbing his head ruefully. Ditto, who was still sitting on Sam's shoulder, wanted to be pet, so he grabbed Sam's hand and growled. Sam was surprised by the gesture. "Ha ha! Ditto, you're so needy!"

"What is that? A Ditto, you say?" the old man had put on his glasses and he was squinting to get a better look.

"Yep! I stole him from the professor and then he let me keep him too!" Sam chirped while petting Ditto.

"Well, I'll be! Ain't that somethin'!" the old man took his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt, a sure sign he was thinking about something, "That's quite a gift..." Sam waited expectantly. "Alright! I've decided! I'm going to help those two while they're here too!"

"You will! Great! I've got some business to attend to first, but just wait here. They'll be here soon!" Sam spoke rapidly before running off. Blue had finally arrived in the city.
_______________________________________
Blue had just walked out of the Pokémon Center when Sam came running up.

"Sam?" Blue exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Ditto!" the pokémon on his shoulders proclaimed.

Sam grinned, "No time for greetings, follow me!" He gestured him to follow and ran off to the left exit of town.

Blue followed as closely as he could, but Sam was fast. He led him down the path until they came to a three-foot-tall stonewall. Sam looked at it, Blue came up beside him panting. Sam grinned at him, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Already worn out?" He laughed. "Go around the wall and fight your way through the grass. I'll meet you on the other side!"

Blue nodded and ran around the wall and through the grass almost without incident. A spearow blocked his path for a moment, but he caught it with his only Pokéball. He looked over at the wall just in time to see Sam sprint towards it. Just when he thought Sam would just slam right into the wall, his foot came up and he ran right up the wall. His hands came above his head to grab the ledge, he flipped over it, and landed on his feet like the expert he was.

Sam looked over at him and laughed, "Put your eyes back in your skull, man!" On his shoulders, Ditto transformed into Blue's head and mocked his expression.

"How'd you DO that!"

"Practice, now come on. It's not much further," Sam chuckled as he motioned for him to follow again. They didn't walk far when Sam stopped.

"Now what?" Blue asked.

"Now you stand here and wait."

"What? Why?"

"This is where you will fight Red for the second time," Sam stated simply, "By the way, what levels are your pokémon at?"

"My Eevee is at level ten and this Spearow is at level six," Blue told him still confused, "I still don't understand. How do you know Red will even come here?"

Sam looked at him with a knowing smile. "Look west. What do you see?" Blue turned and saw what Sam was talking about. "Its the Pokémon League. Red will know that it's here. He won't be able to resist coming to look at it! Plus, there's different pokémon here. And as he's walking towards it, you can 'ambush' him. Try to get your spearow up to level nine before he gets here. Do your best! I've gotta run!" Sam called out as he and Ditto left, both with a cheerful wave.
_______________________________________
AN:

* Now you know why that random old man is just laying in the street and how Blue knew you were coming.

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.
______________________________________
Sam was jauntily walking down the path back to Viridian City. Ditto was growling happily in harmony with Sam as he hummed to himself. It seemed that finally things were going right. He turned the corner to follow a small path off the beaten road. At the end of it was a small bush that normal people would not be able to get past. An old man was standing in front of it with his back facing Sam. Sam approached it on light feet, but the old man's ears were still sharp.

"Nobody sneaks up on me, boyo," he cautioned with out even turning around to look.

Sam grinned. "I would never do such a thing... You might have a heart attack. Then who would I use to get past the police officers?" The old man grumbled a response. Sam climbed over the bush to nimbly land beside him. "Suppose I should notify the Thief Lord of this new update?"

"Only if you don't want to be a cripple," the old man snorted.

"Pfft. Yeah, I've heard stories about him. Never really met him myself," Sam shrugged cheerfully.

"Most of them aren't true. The mystery is finding out which are," the old man jested, "You know where I live. I have a secure line there that you can use. Hurry up, ya wee scoundrel." Sam saluted him mockingly and skipped off to the house. The door was locked but it was an easy lock to pick.

Sam entered and went to the phone. He looked out the windows to make sure no one was looking in and moved his collar so he could see the tattoo on his chest. The Thieves League gave registered thief operatives a number that was tattooed on their chest. The number was seven digits for a specialized phone number that would connect with the main office's secretaries. When a thief was caught, even if the police saw the tattoo, it didn't even look like numbers as it was upside down and in Unknown style. This being his first assignment, the number was unfamiliar to him. He memorized it briefly and punched in his number. It didn't take long for it to go through.

When someone finally picked up the phone, it was not who he expected.

"Sam? Has something gone wrong with your mission?" It was a man's voice, as opposed to the usual female secretary.

"Thief Lord? I- no nothing is wrong." Sam stood straighter as if he were right in front of him. Ditto looked up and mimicked Sam's straight posture.

"Then why are you calling? I trust that you know not to call unless it's important?"

"I know... It is somewhat important. I'm calling on an update. I succeeded in getting what you wanted. The pokédex right? I got," Sam took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "I got caught and was taken back to Oak's laboratory, but he said that I could keep the pokédex and pardoning me from jail if I kept two of his... apprentices safe."

"... So you got the pokédex. I was worried you'd forget... That's good; you'll need it for your assignment. I'm curious, did you also find an odd pokémon classified as a 'ditto'?"

"Yes sir. Professor Oak let me keep it as well," Sam quipped politely while he thought, How much does this guy know?

"Excellent. Now you said you were caught, how much attention did you raise? There must have been wanted posters."

"Its pretty much between myself, Oak, and two police officers who also agreed to keep their mouths shut about it."

"I suppose that's tolerable. So, about these apprentices?"

"In exchange for keeping me out of prison, he wants me to keep and eye on them. To make sure they're okay. Their names are Red and Blue," Sam reported, "Sir, they will be causing quite the stir soon. They both have the goal of becoming the best... I think they might end up on our side."

"So they will be challenging our captains soon? Interesting... And you say that they might be on our side? How is that?"

"Neither one of them will ever cooperate formally with the Thieves League, but they can be useful to our mission. When they hear about Team Rocket, they will no doubt start to hunt them down. Red especially."

"Ah... So things are working in our favor. Sam, I want you to watch them as well. Lead them by the nose to Team Rocket and let them take care of it." The line was silent for awhile. "Sam, you said you were caught... Did you get hurt?'

At the mention of it, his head started to throb a bit. "Bruises, sir. Nothing too bad."

"Good. Be sure to report to Viridian City's captain, Giovanni. Tell him only what he needs to know. I can't risk any information getting into the wrong hands. We have to find Team Rocket's mole first. Hurry up, then."

"Actually... I have one more thing I need to tell you... Professor Oak has a theory on the motives of Team Rocket that he specifically told me to tell you."

"Professor Oak is a wise man... What is it?"
______________________________________
Sam slumped to the floor wearily. Ditto sat on his chest and appeared to have curled up there as Sam stroked it gently. The Thief Lord was deeply concerned with Oak's theory. It actually was plausible and it was perhaps the world's worst nightmare. Sam fingered his bandage. The true burden of his mission was starting to set in now.

He felt under qualified, but he knew that he was the best candidate. There was a mole from Team Rocket in the Guild and only someone that could be trusted could be sent on a mission like this. Not only trusted, but very capable. Sam fit both of these ideals.

Being abandoned by his true parents before he was even a year old, Sam had grown up with a Guild supporter. Eventually, he'd been recruited in by the Captain General, who'd become the closest person to a father Sam had ever had, for his already impressive skills as a thief. Sam had been essentially raised by the Guild and would never betray them. The Thief Lord knew that and had decided that Sam was the one of the few he could trust.

The door to the modest house opened and the old man turned on the light. "Sam? What are you doing?" he asked with concern and sympathy on his old wrinkled features.

Sam looked up at him. "I'm just really tired I guess."

"You can stay here if you need to. You're always welcome here," he offered gently.

"Naw, I've got work to do. I take it Red and Blue already left?"

"I saw them into the forest, but they should be running back to the pokémon center soon. They weren't very well prepared.

"Ah, well. I have to stay ahead of them. Now it's the Thief Lord's order as well. First, I have to talk to Giovanni," Sam reported with a wry face. He walked to the door and tried to pass, but the old man stopped him.

"You really should rest soon. You look bloody awful"

"I will when I get to Pewter City," Sam said with fake cheerfulness. The old man let him pass silently.

Once outside, Sam walked up to the doors of the Viridian Gym, the suit man beside it looked at him.

"The doors are locked," was all the man said.

"The keys are in the left, back pocket of your jeans," Sam said while pretending to be disappointed for anyone watching.

The man looked didn't look at Sam even though he had jumped slightly with surprise. He reached in his back left pocket and pulled out the keys and tossed them to Sam wordlessly. Sam caught the keys deftly and opened the doors for himself. The gym was a massive maze that was ridiculously complicated to navigate for challengers. Sam strolled through it without any trouble. As he got closer to Giovanni, Ditto began to growl and Sam had to pet him to soothe him. Giovanni was in his little room at the back of the gym wearing his customary black suit. Sam had never really liked the man. And even now, Sam's instincts wanted to peg Giovanni as the mole right there... But personal reasons weren't good enough for something as serious as this.

"Ah, Sam. What brings you here?" Giovanni welcomed warmly with a curious look at Ditto.

"Just a report. I've caused a bit of a stir in town. I made a mistake and got caught... I would just ignore the rumors for awhile, they're all just going to be about me," Sam shrugged disdainfully.

"I see..." Giovanni shrugged it off and dismissed Sam.

"Oh, by the way," Sam pretended to remember as he turned his back to leave. "There are two boys that are new upcoming trainers. They plan on defeating the Elite Four and will crush Team Rocket as they come by. I'd watch out... The Thief Lord wouldn't be too happy if you lost to them. Make sure they don't win, hm?" Sam turned to look at Giovanni and caught a faint look of worry on his face. He made a mental note of his suspicions and smiled to himself as he sauntered out.

Outside the gym, Sam watched as Red walked to the Pokémon Center. He looked weary and beat-up but he seemed stronger. Soon after, Blue walked by ruggedly triumphant. The old man was right; they were under prepared last time. Sam smiled and Ditto raised a fist in a cheer for them. With them no longer a problem, Sam jogged out to Viridian Forest.
______________________________________
Every time he went through the ancient forest, Sam felt more at peace than anywhere else. This place was more like home to him. He hadn't been born in Kanto; he'd traveled here because his mission needed it. No other reason.

Back where he was from, almost every town was neatly nestled somewhere in the great forests that engulfed the region. He could tell that there simply weren't many trees in Kanto to begin with. The Kanto region was a great rolling plain for the most part.

For some reason, there were monstrous trees here. At the bases of some the largest trees Sam had ever seen were the stumps of bygone giants held up all sorts of vegetation and some were the resting places of pokémon. The tops of the trees were shrouded in their own greenery. The floor was covered in moss where there wasn't grass. Flowers and other green finery draped over the trees. Sunlight dappled the ground in between the large green leaves. The natural canopy insulated the rays of the sun, warming the inhabitants under it. Butterflies danced around through the fragrant air of their soft wings. According to folklore, the ancient pokémon Mew lived here years ago. No real evidence of this could be found, but everyone found the beauty of the forest irresistible.

Sam drank in the scene with hooded eyes. He reached behind him and pulled Ditto off his shoulders and set him on the soft ground.

"Ditto?" it said with a tilt of its head.

"Go on, Ditto. Go ahead and explore, but try to stay within range of me, okay?"

Ditto immediately transformed into an eevee, gave him a toothy grin, and took off to explore. It ran into the tall grass and some pidgey took flight.

Sam laughed as Ditto tried to leap in time to catch them. Sam walked in after it. He watched as Ditto roamed around trying to hunt down some elusive pokémon. Sam followed it to a dead end, northwest of the entrance.

He watched with amusement as his Ditto engaged his prey, a metapod, in a one-sided battle. Sam knew from past experience that there were many poisonous pokémon here and he had several potions and antidotes in his pockets. He reached inside for one of them and felt instead something round.

He pulled it out. It was a pokéball. He looked at it with disgust and confusion, "How did you get in my pocket?" He shrugged and tossed it on the ground. Red and Blue could use it. He wouldn't.

He left his Ditto tearing at the metapod, apparently trying to figure out what was inside, and continued meandering through the trees. He dropped an antidote on the left side of the tree in front of the entrance and then used his shoe to cover it with some dirt. He followed a path of his choosing to a northeast area and then dropped a potion. He backtracked a bit to look at an old weathered sign. He pulled out a marker from one of his pockets and a note from Professor Oak from another and copied Oak's message onto the sign. Having finished, he stepped back to admire his work and then continued on. The forest didn't let in much light, but he could still tell that the first sun was setting. He knew his Ditto was still right behind him, but that was all he cared to note. He came to a grassless dead end and dropped another potion before moving on. Sam was strolling through the last grass patch when he was suddenly stopped by one of the many bug catchers.

"Hey! You're a trainer! Let's battle!"

"What?" Sam looked at him in surprise but there was no stopping the kid. He pulled out a pokéball and sent out his level ten caterpie. Sam sighed. Of course. "Ditto! Let's go!" He called. Ditto came leaping out as an Eevee. It looked at the bug and Sam noticed a glint of evil intelligence in its eyes.

Then Ditto transformed into a pidgeotto and let out its war cry. Sam stared at Ditto with surprise. He pulled out his pokédex and pointed it at Ditto.

'Ditto. Owner: Sam. Level: 20. Battle-mode. Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, and Gust.'

At the mention of 'Gust', Ditto turned around to look at him with fierce, confident eyes. Sam smiled and nodded, "Ditto, use Gust." Ditto shrieked a war cry again and lifted into the sky. Using the powerful wings of a real pidgeotto, Ditto created a small tornado that hit the caterpie with full force.

Ditto circled around and hovered behind Sam's shoulders. The caterpie wasn't getting up. The battle was over as soon as it had begun. The boy looked at Sam with a mixture of awe and respect. He reached into his pocket and gave Sam $100. Sam looked at it and winked at the kid as he walked away. It'd been a long time since he'd engaged in a pokémon battle... It's almost like stealing he thought with a smirk.
______________________________________
Pewter City was a dying town. The grass was short and a dead brown color. The city was a slightly glorified Pallet Town. Its only saving grace was the museum that the thieves owned. It had been a source of decent income and the thief/scientists who worked there charged $50 to just get in. Now the first sun had disappeared underneath the horizon and the second sun had revealed itself completely. Kanto and where he'd lived were the only areas that had the second sun. The other regions had night and day. Kanto had sun and second sun, though second sun was considered night because it wasn't as bright. Sam hopped the ledge and went inside the museum. The aides turned around to look at him, but turned away after recognizing a comrade. Sam opened the secret door in the far right corner of the room, revealing a staircase and causing Ditto to gasp in surprise.

The secret room had been a base for a long time. It was like a fancy apartment room that had sunken into the ground. The only difference was the giant statue of a nidoking in the center. Anywhere the Thieves League held sway had at least one statue like it. It had been that way since the first Thief Lord, whose leading pokémon was a nidoking. Ditto was in absolute awe of the statue and spent the next hour trying (and failing) to transform into it. Finally, the very frustrated creature went to the bed in the back corner and waited for its master.

Sam walked by and saw the deep scowl on its face and laughed, "Did you give up, Ditto?" Ditto growled at him. Sam laughed and curled up beside the irked Ditto. He fell asleep to the sound of the museum's janitor cleaning the floor above him.
______________________________________
The following morning-

Sam was leaning on the wall of the museum with Ditto curled up around his feet sleeping. Sam looked at his watch, 4:30. His irritated expression deepened. Brock, the Thief Captain here, had learned of his presence and had called at an ungodly hour to tell Sam to meet him immediately. Sam, like most people, didn't put a whole lot of effort into his appearance that early in the day. He had on his cargo pants and white shirt. He'd taken his bandage off this morning and left his hat off. The bump had gone down and it seemed to have healed nicely, so he just wasn't going to worry about it. Finally, Brock ran up.

"Sammy!" He yelled as he picked up Sam in a bear hug. Ditto woke up with a start. It transformed into an Eevee, its favorite disguise, arched its back, snarled and begun growling menacingly. Brock and Sam both froze.

"Umm... What should I do?" Brock inquired while trying not to make any sudden movements. He was looking at the snarling pokémon with wide-eyes.

"Put me down... Slowly and gently." Sam responded. Brock slowly put him down and Ditto started to relax a bit. Sam went over to it and scratched it's head gently. "Its alright, Ditto. He's a... friend." Ditto glared at Brock sullenly. It walked over and sniffed him and then curled back up to sleep with one last deep, throaty, warning growl at Brock. Sam laughed but Brock looked absolutely terrified of the little creature.

Brock looked at Sam incredulously. "What kind of pokémon is that? I thought it was going to rip my head off!"

Between laughing Sam managed to say, "You've got a giant rock snake pokémon, ten times your size, and you're afraid of my foot-tall blob of a pokémon?"

Sam kept laughing till tears ran down his face as Brock stiffened and looked at the now sleeping creature with distrust.

"You done?" Brock sniffed. Sensing he'd hurt his friend's feelings, Sam wiped his eyes and forced himself to stop laughing. He nodded, trying really hard to keep a straight face.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about? And why was it so important that you had to wake me up so early," Sam said as seriously as possible.

"I heard that Professor Oak has sent two new trainers out. He has an impeccable eye for trainer talent... Have you met them yet?"

"Oh yeah. If you're wondering if you're going to lose... You are. To both of them. No offense or anything!" Sam added quickly.

"None taken. It's been a long time since I've lost a battle... I'm looking forward to it," Brock smiled. Sam looked at him blankly.

"So let me get this straight... You woke me up and made me come outside... To confirm to you that you would lose?"

"That's not okay?"

"Oh its fi-OF COURSE ITS NOT OKAY!," Sam exploded, "You know what? You deserve to have your head bitten off by Ditto!"

Brock put his hands up in mock surrender, "I am so sorry... You can go back to sleep now."

Sam ran his hand through his hair and looked at Brock, "What's the point in that? I'll just have to move along. You call me when you've lost, alright?"

"Will do!" Brock said with a salute, "Actually, I'll send my zubat with the message." Sam nodded and went back in the museum to get the rest of his things.
______________________________________
Sam was deep inside Mt. Moon when Brock's zubat came through the darkness with the note attached to it. Sam smiled at first as he read it, then the smile turned to a much darker expression. He ran up the ladder to last floor and skid to a stop. Brock's words echoed in his head, "Watch out, Intel has said that Team Rocket might be at Mt. Moon." Might be? Sam thought with despair. The place was crawling with Team Rocket operatives.
______________________________________
AN:

* Team Rocket has taken over Mt. Moon and Sam is going to need some help...
Ha ha... Oh dear. I went through this chapter to catch those pesky typos and realized that I was still capitalizing pokemon species. D: Let me clarify something- I didn't have anyone to look over my story for errors (an editor, but I call her my 'beta') until Chapter 7. The quality is much better at that point and on.

 

[Soulmaster]

again a few typos

"Blue grab the clips on the table." Blue closed the door and went to get the clips. They were on top of Sam's stocking hat and Ditto was sitting next to it. He handed the clips to his sister and took another look at Sam. He looked different without his hat.

the bolded mark right there you left out.

Daisy threw a pillow at him. "You are such a goof! I'll show you what 'cruel' really feels like if Blue does get hurt in any way!"

To me it seems like the bolded if should be there because you left it out it just doesn't seem to flow well without it there.

that is all I found but here is the note on Bulbapedia about capitalizing and so on.

Spoiler

The word Pokémon is always capitalized, as well as the names of Pokémon species. So are nouns starting with "Poké", such as Pokéblock, PokéNav and Poké Flute. Note, however, that there is no one common trend for spelling of words beginning with "Poké" - they can be written as a compound word, with the second part of the word capitalized or uncapitalized, or as two words with the second word capitalized. Also note that this applies to many nouns starting with "Pokémon", such as with Pokémon Trainer.
Items and all words in them are always capitalized; they are considered proper nouns for the purposes of Bulbapedia. "Leftovers", "Escape Rope", or "Water Stone" are all correct as written; a page would not be titled "Water stone". Case should match that of the game text, such as the DeepSeaTooth.
Locations should also be capitalized in a manner consistent with English grammar; Ruins of Alph has the A in Alph always capitalized, while numbered routes, such as Route 101, Route 217, and so on, are proper nouns and must have the R capitalized.
Specific terminology is different; leveling up and legendary Pokémon have a lowercase L, as "starter Pokémon" would have a lowercase "s" (but, of course, a capital P in Pokémon).
Specific types are called "the Water type" and "the Rock type" when used as nouns and "Water-type" and "Rock-type" when used as adjectives, while their subject pages are Water (type) and Rock (type), respectively. Squirtle is a "Water-type" is not correct; Squirtle is a Water type and Squirtle is a Water-type Pokémon are. When linking as an adjective, it is preferred that {{type|Water}} is used rather than {{t|Water}}-type.
The plural of "Pokémon" is "Pokémon", as is the plural of every Pokémon species the same as the singular, much like moose or sheep.
Evolutionary levels should be designated as "unevolved", "first evolution", and "second evolution" for Pokémon that have undergone zero, one, and two evolutions respectively during their development. TCG terminology of "basic Pokémon", "stage 1 Pokémon" and "stage 2 Pokémon" should not spill over into other media, as Pikachu and several other Pokémon are considered basic in the TCG sense, yet are Pokémon that have undergone one evolution in their lifetimes, making them first-evolution Pokémon, more akin to Charmeleon than unevolved Pokémon, which their pre-evolutions are.

 

[Noteleks]

... Oh boy... I guess if it's in the rules (how did I miss that?), I won't argue. Though, honestly, such capitalization makes it sound far really game-ish... Ah, food for thought. Rules are rules... I'll fix it all... ... Hopefully later today.

Umm... Does that mean that 'Map' should be capitalized? They do in the game... Though that may be a little... Overkill as well as silly.

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.

Blue remembered when he first saw Mt. Moon. He had looked up at it and saw nothing but the prospect of adventure. It was said to be an endless dark maze that people were constantly getting lost in and had Pokémon from space. He'd taken it all as rumors in his arrogance and had declared that it would be no problem for him. The shiny badge in his bag had given him confidence, but perhaps way too much.
________________________________________
He had roamed every inch of this mountain as far as he knew and could not find the dang exit anywhere. He'd picked up some items at first, but now he left them as they let him know if he'd passed it before or not. He'd hoped to find a rock snake like Brock had, but all he was running into were pink fluff-balls known as Clefairy. Both he and his Pokémon were exhausted, but he doubted he could even find his way back to the entrance now, so he just kept going.

Blue had not stopped to rest much like Red had. He was always on the move, telling himself that every hour he slept was an hour Red gained on him. He hadn't seen Red in awhile so he figured that this strategy was working. He hadn't seen Sam for a while either and wondered where he was.

"Sam would know his way around here like a pro," Blue sighed wearily. He was so engrossed in this thought that he was no longer paying attention where he was going. The result being that he fell right through one of the holes in the ground. He landed ungracefully on his face.

Blue got up quickly and brushed himself off, playing at being cool even though no one was watching. It was a small preservation of dignity. He looked up through the hole. The ladder was gone.

"What kind of moron runs off with the ladder?" Blue fumed to himself. He'd seen the hole before and had avoided it, not that it made a difference now.

He made it all of about seven steps before the finding out where the ladder had gone. He tripped over the fallen ladder and barely managed to catch himself. In the darkness, he heard something growl and someone else coming closer. He picked himself up and grabbed one of his Pokéballs warily. Out of the darkness came an Eevee. He looked at it, down at the Pokéball with Eevee in it, and back at the creature in front of him now. It had stopped growling, sat down, and gave him a pet-me-or-else look. Blue hesitantly took a few steps towards it and pet its head gently. The other set footsteps he heard stopped in front of him. He could see the faint outline of someone and their shoes: dirty, black converse.

"Blue?"

"Sam?" Blue asked stupidly, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, let's see... I can't go over, under, or around the mountain... So I must go through it." Even though Blue couldn't see his face, he knew Sam was smiling.

"Yeah, that makes sense... I just wish it wasn't quite so dark here."

"You don't have very good night vision, do you," Sam sounded exasperated.

"Its dark in this tunnel! The other tunnels aren't like this! They had lights" Blue defended.

"You should eat more carrots. I'll turn the lights back on for you. But only for a few seconds. We're in deep trouble." Sam walked away after that and a minute later the cheap florescent lights illuminated the tunnel. Blue got up and Ditto ran over to Sam, transformed into a Pidgey, and flew onto Sam's shoulders. Sam put a finger his lips as a sign to be quiet and motioned Blue to come over to him. When Blue got there he looked at Sam quizzically. Sam pointed up, "Climb up the ladder, quietly. Don't make any noise and don't go all the way up. Just enough that you can see," Sam whispered. Blue did as Sam told him. There were several ledges and craters and all of them had men in black costumes with red R's on them. He climbed back down. "Who are those people?"

"Team Rocket," Sam muttered with a dark scowl, "they're a band of thieves and cut-throats led by some mysterious evil leader. They ransack people's homes... Corrupt young children with their falsified sense of 'justice' in order to feed their masses. And worst of all... They steal other people's pokémon and then torture them to get something or just kill them. They've dedicated a whole floor in the tower in Lavender Town as burial site to all pokémon killed at the hands of Team Rocket." Sam's face was the picture of fury and had only grown darker as he spoke quietly.

Blue looked at him and remembered the men above. "How can we stop them?"

Sam looked at him and laughed dryly. "We can't. Not completely. But if we can find the man in charge... We can deal a major blow... Would you like to assist me in taking most of them down with me?"

"Just 'most' of them?"

"We'll leave some for Red. After all, he needs to know about them too." Sam said with a wry smile. Blue smiled back and nodded.
________________________________________
Two hours later:

Red and his Pikachu climbed down the ladder, which Sam and Blue replaced earlier, and looked about the tunnel. The Pikachu had grown friendlier and was showing more signs of affection towards him. He looked back at it and smiled. We haven't been here yet! This must be the way out! He wasn't worried at all. He'd found several useful items along the way and his pokémon were still strong. He climbed the ladder and found more trainers.

These trainers were oddly dressed in black. There were only five and not one of them was really paying attention. Had Red been a little more observant, he would have seen that something had wreaked absolute havoc here. As he stepped closer to one of the men, he noticed the red R on his shirt. He'd heard rumors of some group named Team Rocket and some of the terrible stuff that they did. If that's who they were... One of them turned around, saw him, and ran over quickly.

Red stared at him from underneath his hat. "What do you think you're doing here? This is no place for a little kid like you," the man said as he pulled out a Pokéball. Stung by the insult to his pride, Red was speechless with rage. He was going to bring justice down on their heads like a rockslide.

[A short while later...]

Red brushed the dust off himself and straightened his baseball cap. He turned to Pikachu and grinned. Pikachu shared in its master's good mood. Behind him, the electrocuted bodies of the Team Rocket men and their Pokémon laid sprawled out. Red and his Pikachu had shown them no mercy. Only two of his victims had lived to tell the tale. A strange couple and their Meowth. Red climbed up the ladder to give chase but they had vanished into thin air. He looked out along the ridge and saw two fighters arguing. Red approached them cautiously in case they were trainers as well. As it turned out, they were fighting over what was better; a punch or a kick. Red told them both what they wanted to hear and in return Pikachu learned both Mega Punch and Mega Kick.
________________________________________
Meanwhile, in Cerulean City:

Blue and Sam sat across from each other at the Pokémon Center with Ditto sitting on the table happily munching on a berry. Blue stared at the Ditto as he tried to figure out how he felt about the little creature. Part of him was very fond of the odd blob. Another was absolutely terrified of it. Sam was apparently unbothered by the Ditto's insane performance in the cave. Blue had little to do with their victory. Ditto was so enraged by the sight of Team Rocket's mistreated pokémon that it went absolutely berserk and transformed into a huge geodude. It used its oversized fists to smash the men and then threw them into the far reaches of the cave. Just thinking back at the memory made Blue blanch visibly. Sam stroked his Ditto lovingly as it finished the last of the berry.

Then Sam stood and picked Ditto up. "I have some business to take care of here. You should go to the Nugget Bridge and then visit Bill." Blue stared at him with a 'why?' look. "The Nugget Bridge to train and you should visit Bill to help with your 'catch 'em all' quest. I have some important business here, so we can meet in Vermillion City later," Sam said with his customary smile.

Blue looked at him and slowly nodded.

"Guess I'll see you later then," Blue said with a wave.

Sam turned away and started walking towards the door. "By the way, Red should be coming this way soon. Perhaps a nice little ambush at the entrance of the bridge wouldn't be such a bad idea, hm?"

Blue smiled as he watched his friend disappear behind the door. Sam had a habit of coming and going. Sometimes Blue would even wonder if he would ever see his friend again. Since they'd met back up, he promised himself that he wouldn't let him run off. But go ambush Red? Now that was something worth parting ways for.
________________________________________
Sam strolled around town with a jaunty air. Long practice had taught him to shake off any following eyes. Weave this way and that, double back, blend into crowd groups, turn sharp corners and increasing pace, all tactics that he'd used so often that he didn't even have to think about it anymore.

Unfortunately for him, such tactics worked best in cities not a ghost town such as this. By the time he'd walked a rather ridiculous route around the town, no one saw him ghost inside the gym doors. He was not looking forward to a visit with Misty. She was close to his least favorite of all the captains of this region. She was loud, preppy, and most of all-

*SPLASH*

She was insanely good at sneak attacks from water. Sam's head broke the surface after hers. She giggled and squirted water in his face from her mouth. "Do you really have to do that every time I come here? I mean, for cryin' out loud!" Sam complained as he pulled himself out of the water. Misty giggled and pulled him back in by his belt. She pulled him towards her for a hug.

"Oh come on, Sammy! You know how much I just LOVE you!" she whined as she cuddled into him. Sam struggled in her watery embrace, but couldn't get the upper hand. The only way he was getting out of the water was if he hugged her back. With a sigh of exasperation into the water, he hugged her back.

"Thank you, Sammy!" she squealed in delight and let him go. Being free of his captor, Sam swam back to the edge before she changed her mind. Ditto watched his master pull himself out of the water completely soaked. Ditto apparently didn't appreciate the thought of getting wet and had leapt off his master's shoulder at the first sign of trouble. Misty sprung out of the water as though she had a spring and landed on the bridge masterfully. The suit-man grabbed towels for them both before retuning to his post by the door.

Sam started to vigorously dry himself off. Misty just wrapped the towel around her small frame as she left her feet in the water. "So why have you come to visit me this time, Sammy?" Misty hummed to him.

"I'm not here to play. It's a formal custom to let you know that I'm here and likely to stir up trouble. The usual." Sam waved a hand dismissively.

It was his mission to probe all the Gym Leaders for the mole, but Misty? On the side of Team Rocket? Ridiculous. The mole was obviously very clever if the Thief Lord himself couldn't find them. Misty was many things, overly bright was not one of them. She was too carefree and innocent all the time.

He hadn't really questioned Brock either, but Brock was also not the brightest. Plus he never really left his gym. He had no way of obtaining the information that the mole was leaking. As of now, Giovanni was his prime suspect, but that had a lot to with the fact that Sam just plain didn't like the guy.

"Hmm... Well, can I get into trouble with you?" Misty inquired playfully. Sam gave her a look of complete despair. "What? It's been soo boring lately! No one comes to challenge me anymore!" she whined.

"Well, if that's your problem than you'll have two visitors very soon!" Sam countered quickly,

Misty looked at him genuinely surprised. "Really? How do you know that? Ooh! Are they friends of yours, Sammy?"

"Yeah... Well, sorta."

"Ooh! I'm soo excited! I-Ooh! Are they my age? Are they cute? Not as cute as you I'm sure."

Sam gave her a look of complete disinterest, "They're your age. That's all I'm qualified to say," Misty was already fantasizing. Sam smiled to himself in relief, as for now she had someone else to crush on.

"Ooh, but I would never leave my Sammy! I will show them the pride of my family's Gym! I will never let anyone come between us!" Misty promised sincerely to the despairing Sam.

Ditto understood the gist of the conversation and seemed to be amused by it all more than anything.
________________________________________
Relieved to have finally escaped the watery clutches of 'The Mermaid', Sam slid out the doors of the gym and sighed. Now to make his report. There were several places under the influence of thieves in this area. Along with the Gym, there was the bike shop that brought in a large profit and two houses owned by thief families. Wanting nothing more than to escape Misty he decided that that house was best. The most secure safe house anywhere.

No real windows, no door... It was an impenetrable fortress of a particularly grouchy old woman. Even better, she hated everyone but Sam.

"My dear sweet Ditto, you are going to meet some new friends." Ditto made a face at him. "But don't worry, you'll fit right in," Sam chuckled.

The house in question was located on the north side of town. Sam walked to the first house on the left. The man who owned the house was kind enough to accommodate the needs of his rather odd neighbor by leaving his front and back doors unlocked. Sam waved politely at the man and stepped out into the yard. Knowing the possibility that someone could still see him, he crouched low and ghosted his way across the yard to where there was a small square of dirt. Much to Ditto's immense amazement, it was actually a secret door! Poor Ditto, he would never get used to this.

Inside the house, the old woman rocked back and forth on her rocking chair. A monotonous labor that put both her and her 'cats' to sleep. Despite her old age and lack of eyesight, her hearing was as good as ever and she heard the back door to her house open. The lack of footsteps sounding meant it could only be one person- Young Samuel. Soon enough the trap door in her floor opened.

Exactly as I left it, Sam thought to himself as closed the trapdoor. The old woman continued to rock in her chair without even looking back at him. And exactly where I left you, he thought with a dry chuckle.

"Madame Widow, so great to see you! You're looking as strong as ever!" Sam exclaimed happily and bowed as he moved to her side.

"Young Samuel, I da known et be you. Na body a'steps on along dat tunnel withoot a'makin' a ruckus somthin' turrible. In mah day, der wahs no holler'n aboot as ye done yer duty. Yeashir, ye'd be silent as a butterflah or ye thrown wit dem fishes," she ranted, shaking her fist for extra emphasis.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam saluted as Ditto stared at the old woman like she'd grown another head.

"Dos thieven men a come doon 'ere ala time... Tink'n demselves be quiet. I cuda 'eard dem a'comin frem a mile away! Dey tinkin Iz av a trashah mape fah dem, but ah'd naevah gib et tah one o' der kiend."

"Of course you wouldn't, ma'am. Actually, I must say that your, um, 'cat' collection has... expanded," Sam politely pointed out. He had brought her an abra years ago because hers got away. Now there were ten of them. "Did Mister Fluffykins return?" he asked, trying to remember if the one he got her was a female or not.

"I 'ad one, an den I 'ad two! An dey been a'comin' moar evah sance," she declared as she squinted at the abra, or 'cat' to her crazed mind, in her lap.

"Would you like them to stop coming? I could... Take a few off your hands for you?" Sam suggested carefully as he looked around.

Madame Widow squinted around the room again and then her eyes almost bugged out of her head, "Look! Der be anodder one! Dey jus a'keep on a'comin! Ye kin nay look away fer a secin afore dey be a'sproutn' like weeds!"

Sam was startled and then realized that this new 'abra' was really just Ditto being Ditto. Instead of trying to explain to the old woman what a Ditto was, Sam just kept his mouth shut. The Madame kept rocking in her chair and then suddenly picked up the Abra in her lap and pushed it over to Sam, who stared at it blankly. "Naow, you go on anda take dis one then. Dat'll take care o dat uder one ovah der."

So much for that, Sam thought sadly. The young Abra was looking at him solemnly. Sam sighed and put it down on the floor. Ditto was quite enough trouble. Who knows what kind of personality defect this little thing had after living with Madame Widow. He loved the old woman, but she was absolutely raving mad. He looked around the room again. Someone is definitely going have to keep an eye on the population here.

AN:

* Madame Widow! I love her... It's so much fun to write the way she talks... But it really messes with your head. I had to force myself not to mimic her speech for a couple days.
Sorry for any typos- ran out of time when I posted this- I'll try and get to it quickly soon

 

[Soulmaster]

I didn't see any typos really the only thing was here

"I 'ad one, an den I 'ad two! An dey been a'comin' moar evah sance," she declared as she squinted at the abra, or 'cat' to her crazed mind, in her lap.

Abra isn't capitalized.
But that was it good job

 

[pokemonpal7]

This is a great fanfic! It explains a lot, XD. I like your writing style! I don't get how the Abras keep appearing though. And Misty has a funny reaction to Sam.

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.
_________________________________________
It was early the next morning when Sam left Madame Widow's house. He'd eventually made a phone call to the Thief Lord to tell him where he was. The conversation had consisted of: "I'm at Madame Widow's house" and "Oh, then we will have to talk later."

Madame Widow was well known among the thieves for her various different oddities. First and for most, the way she talked. Second was the fact that she slept in her rocking chair and continues to rock even in her sleep, and third; she sleeps with one eye open. Literally. It was almost impossible to tell if she was sleeping or not.

"Since I'm here... I'll have- ugh... I'll have to visit Misty again and see if Red and Blue have beat her yet." Sam sighed sadly; he was going to get wet again. Ditto, sensing its master's depression, cuddled into his face.

The young abra toddled along behind Sam and would occasionally pull on his pants to get his attention. She was a sweet little Pokémon, but Sam was dreading the day when her no doubt twisted personality started shining through. Right now, she was endearingly like a small child wanting her father to pick her up. Sam was already contemplating a nickname for her. She's only at level five... She will have to be trained.

"Ditto, why don't you take our new friend here and go fight stuff. Make sure nothing happens to her," Sam commanded sternly. Ditto puffed out its chest and saluted solemnly before leaping off Sam's shoulders. The abra stared at Ditto and looked at Sam with a confused look on her face. "Abra, you follow Ditto. If something happens, teleport back here." Slowly, the abra actually nodded at him and then ran off to follow Ditto.

Sam stared after them blankly. Why can't I have a simple, normal Pokémon? Is that really too much to ask for? He sighed wearily, either way he still had to face Misty today.

He found Misty sitting quietly in the back of her Gym. Both challengers had come like Sam had predicted and both walked away with a badge. It had been an attack on her pride and the pride of her family. The fight was hard and eventually they both managed to gain the upper hand. She was still sitting there, lost in her thoughts, when Sam silently approached her.

Sam had heard from the suit that Misty had lost twice yesterday but figured he'd ask Misty herself how it went. After being so prepared to get wet, it was almost disappointing when nothing happened. She was just sitting there.

He stood there and looked at her for a while until an idea glimmered in his mind. As quiet as mouse, he crept just a little closer and... Kicked her off the walkway and into the water.

"Kyaa~! What? What!" Sam was staring down at her with his usual happy smile on his face.

"Did you get a little wet?"

"Sammy!... That was mean!" Misty exclaimed completely shocked.

"Serves you right for all the times you've pulled me into the water," he returned with a shrug. "I heard you lost to my two little friends. How badly did you lose?"

"It was an even match! I... I lost fair and square," Misty pouted.

Sam simply shrugged. "Then why are you so upset about it? It was a fair match that was hard on both sides... Did you pout in front of them?"

"No... I pretended to be a strong leader that couldn't be shaken by something so small," she said as she blew bubbles into the water.

"Well, why don't you act that way now? You are still the Leader of this Gym. Brock lost to them both too. And I highly doubt that any of the captains from this region can defeat them. You've got nothing to be ashamed of," Sam assured her with a comforting smile.

"Really?" Misty brightened up immediately "Ooh! Did they beat you too?"

"No. Neither one of them has challenged me yet," Sam shrugged as he laughed.

"You should challenge them! I don't know why you aren't one of the captains! You could totally run your own Gym."

Sam stared down at her quietly. "I don't want to be a captain. I don't like pokémon battles that much. It's just not my thing. I steal and pickpocket and play errand boy because that's what I want to do... Speaking of errands, I have to go. Don't drown," he said as he left with a wave.

Now to find Ditto and Abra... Sam thought to himself. It was hard to tell where Ditto would have run off to. Finally, after a searching around a little, Sam decided to just wait where he told Abra to teleport.

Two hours later, Sam was still sitting there. Still waiting. "This is ridiculous! Where did they go!" Suddenly, a nurse walked out of the building he was sitting next to.

"Are you alright?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. Just... Waiting for someone to come back," Sam replied back.

"Are you interested in a pokémon?" she asked looking at him hopefully. In fact, she seemed so desperate it was creepy. Sam stared back at her and shook his head slowly.

"Oh, but please! Bulbasaur needs a home. I've tried to send him off with two other trainers but they wouldn't take him! I've asked everyone in town and every trainer I've found... But every time, they just return him back to me saying that he's useless!" Tears started pouring down her face.

Sam hated the sight of tears, but was somewhat determined not to give in to this woman. That determination didn't last long... He broke and berated himself for it as the woman fell into sobs shamelessly.

"Okay! I guess I'll take it!" he gave in reluctantly. She brightened up immediately and went inside for the Pokémon.
_________________________________________
Sam stared at the Bulbasaur. Its eyes were closed and it had a peaceful expression. Someone had gone to the effort of raising it to level ten. It just sat there... Uselessly. It's totally useless. Why did I agree to this? But... Maybe it's just a normal Pokémon. I think it'd be nice to have just one Pokémon that isn't weird in some way. I guess if I talk to it and it doesn't respond then it must be normal... Right?

"So... Bulbasaur... Not very useful, are you. Nope. Can't do anything. You just sit there." Bulbasaur didn't even move its eyes were still closed. No response.

"I don't have any normal Pokémon right now... You seem normal. No nodding your head. No speaking. No hitting me and being obnoxious... Nothing. You are totally normal." No response. Sam brightened up immediately. It's totally normal! "Now, you can help me go find Abra and Ditto."

Sam walked to grass on the west side of town. He stood there and searched for the duo. Suddenly, a Sandshrew ran past him to attack Bulbasaur, who was now in its territory. Bulbasaur was grass type so Sam assumed that this match didn't require any attention from him... Until he turned around and Bulbasaur was cowering as the Sandshrew attacked him.

"Bulbasaur! Use Vine Whip!" Sam yelled out. Slowly vines snaked out of the flower bud on its back and picked the Sandshrew up... And gently set it on the ground just further away. What the- "Bulbasaur, VINE WHIP. You know, you hit the thing with your vines?" Bulbasaur saw its master's frustration on used the vines to lightly slap the opposing creature.

"Bulbasaur, do it again! Harder!" This time it was more of a real vine whip; but it missed.

"Vine whip!" Miss.

"Vine whip! Miss. At this point, Bulbasaur was near fainting so Sam took the matter into his own hands. Literally. He grabbed on of the vines and used it like a whip to hit the Sandshrew with all the frustration and furious energy he had. The Sandshrew fainted immediately.

Sam spun around to see the little Bulbasaur cowering with fear and tears in its eyes as it saw the fainted Pokémon. ... Don't tell me... "You're a pacifist... Aren't you." The little creature looked at him quietly. *face palm*
_________________________________________
Sam went back to sitting and waiting for Abra and Ditto to return. Bulbasaur laid next to him silently. As irritated as he was, Sam couldn't help but to have a little compassion for the kind-hearted creature. He probably thinks I'm mad at him now, as many owners as have taken him back angry. Sam reached a hand out and pet it gently. It looked up happily and cuddled closer. Must have had a rough life... So different from Ditto who will become a complete beast when sent into battle. And heaven only knows what Madame Widow taught my Abra. This little guy just doesn't like fighting... Sam smiled at the Bulbasaur warmly. Bulbasaur hadn't ever had a trainer be so nice to him. Even the nurse would get frustrated with him.

After a while, the pair fell asleep.
_________________________________________
Sam woke up with Ditto sitting proudly on his chest.

"...Ditto? Where have you two been, huh? I was getting worried."

"Weel, der wahz naw need fer worrin'. Cat ullus come back to Maester."

Sam's eyes snapped open. "What?" he looked around trying to figure out who was talking like Madame Widow. No one was there, it was just him and his Pokemon.

"Master? Itsah me, Cat!" Sam looked his Abra, who was waving at him, with pure horror.

"Abra! Stop talking in my head!"

"I not an Abrae I is Cat" she pouted.

"Okay, fine! Cat, no talking in my head that's not cool!" Oh dear sweet- I'm going to be hearing her voice no matter where I go! What if I start talking just like her? Sam held his head in his hands miserably and Cat cocked her head to the side as she tried to understand his thoughts.

Sam pulled out his Pokédex and pulled up the list of his current Pokémon. Ditto was at level 25 and Cat was at 15. He pulled up Cat's list of attacks. This can't be right. All of her moves were all fighting. Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Fire Punch, Thunderpunch, and Ice Punch.

"Cat! You're supposed to be a psychic Pokémon!" Cat looked at him took up a proud martial arts stance.

I seriously need professional help... Professor Oak! Why aren't you here when I need you!
_________________________________________
After gaining her newfound ability to talk to her master, Cat wouldn't shut up. She was just like a two-year old that just learned how to talk. Her little voice was constantly shooting into his thoughts and with Madame Widow's insane speech impediment. While they walked, Sam recalled his mentor's favorite quote; "Parents spend the first part of your live teaching you to talk and walk and the rest of it telling you to sit down and shut up." Sam now understood the feeling. Yes, the walk to Vermillion City was a long one.
_________________________________________
AN:

* Bulbasaur has a Buddha face! Shorter than normal, but there's not much I can add to it.
Ha ha, sorry this is a little late. I'll try to be earlier tomorrow.

 

[Noteleks]

Thank you! Oh- well, if you put two Abra in the daycare (male and female) you get.... ... Another Abra! That's why they keep appearing, but Madame Widow just thinks that it's magic. T_T Crazy old woman, though I do love her.

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.

After using her telekinetic powers to talk too much, Cat suddenly collapsed asleep. Sam had carried her the rest of the way to Vermilion City. Now he was dropping her off at the Pokémon Center.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center! We heal your Pokémon back to perfect health!"

"Ah, yes. My cat, I mean, Abra needs to be healed," Sam said as he handed Cat over. All that talking in his head was messing with how he talked. After a quick wait, the nurse returned.

"Thank you! Your Pokémon is fighting fit!" she quipped as she handed the now wide-awake Cat back to him. "We hope to see you again!" As they left, Cat started up her steady stream of words. Once the door behind them closed Sam turned left and walked all the way over to the beach where no one could hear him talking to his Pokémon.

"Cat, listen to me. Listen!" Cat finally stopped talking in his head, "I need you to stop talking to me. Its nothing personal, if you want to tell me something that's okay. I just can't think like this! This non-stop stream of thoughts is too distracting. Think to yourself or you can talk to Bulbasaur. But I can't take this anymore!"

Cat stared at him innocently and put a paw up to her mouth, then she replied, "Aye, I unnerstain naow, maester Samuel. Nay moar talkin'." The cheerful air in her voice indicated that there were no hard feelings. Sam nodded and hugged her gratefully.

"Now, to make a little money!" Sam chuckled as he sent a devious glance at the SS Anne in the harbor.

Getting there wasn't as tough as one would imagine. Sam dove underwater and swam past the sailor/guard before hauling himself silently out of the water. Ditto used a quick gust to dry him off before they went inside.

The ship's lavish inside hinted greatly at the riches here just waiting to be taken. Shining oak floors, white walls, and blue steel doors. There were sailors here and there patrolling the hallways. Sam had to be careful that they didn't notice him too much. Ditto had transformed into a smaller version of the sailors, Cat skipped along, and Bulbasaur followed slowly. Sam strolled down to the first door on the right like it was his. It wasn't like any of the crew would ever notice or care. They were used to the flimsy ways of the rich. The passengers, once they came aboard, could pick any available room. Sam was one of the first few 'passengers' aboard so one could assume he was looking for the room he wanted.

In the first room, a very nice silver pocket watch was laying the table. The second room was fruitless. By this time, Cat had caught on to the scheme and was trying to figure out where to hide the piece of paper it had 'stolen' from the trash. In the end, she shoved it down Bulbasaur's bulb. This freaked out Bulbasaur but there was no way for him to get it back out so he just put up with it.

The third had a couple very small pearls. The fifth and the sixth were empty and the seventh had two big mushrooms in a display box. All the aforementioned treasures found homes in the many pockets Sam had. He casually ambled out of the seventh room and waved at one of the sailors with a polite smile. Behind him, more real passengers started filing in and it got a little busier aboard the cruise liner.

The kitchen turned out to be a bit of a gold mine. Pearls for decorating, Bottles of expensive calcium and protein supplements, shards... And the occasional piece of expertly grilled lobster made its way to Sam's mouth.

Outside the kitchens was an ornate staircase and it seemed the most logical place to go next. It led to a hallway with three more rooms with some more beautiful treasures in them. He waltzed right in the first one and found a very expensive looking chest with a solid gold lock. Sam circled it like a vulture, sizing it up. It likely held some trophy wife's clothes, but it was always fun to liberate those. Sam grabbed the lock and turned it over in his hand.A Pin Tumbler? With four pins? Made of gold? Ha! These people were asking to be robbed!

He pulled out his pick and torque, the basic tools of all lock picking. He stuck the tools it the lock and started lifting the pins, listening intently. If he lifted one pin too far or not far enough, then the lock wouldn't turn. Cat and Ditto watched as he worked at it. Just a little more torque and... The lock fell open and undamaged into his hands. He put it in his pocket. Gold is gold, even if its shaped like a lock.

The chest was filled to the brim with fancy dresses, hats, scarves, and ribbons. Apparently, jewelry was kept elsewhere. As tempting as it was, he resisted the urge to pull any sort of pranks with the clothes. He put them all back as they were before and left the room.

The second was filled with ornate furniture, priceless books and silk sheets. Nothing there was small enough to carry out with him except for a silver ring. He did see a mannequin in the corner. The prankster streak in him won out. He took sheets from the head and a hat from the closet and made it look like that classical bed sheet ghost. Childish, yes, but at first glance, it could make most people double-take.

He opened the third door and slipped inside as he heard a lot of people milling around downstairs. A quick glance of the room revealed a gold pocket watch, a golden picture frame, and a black fedora hat with a purple ribbon.

"Ooh! Score!" he went for the thing that caught his eye the most, the hat. His brown stocking hat was taken off and he put the fedora on slightly crooked. Sam grinned at himself in the mirror.
"Maester lookes verry good!" Cat said happily as she clapped her hands.

"I do, don't I," Sam laughed. Ditto adjusted his transformation to look like a mini Sam with the hat and grinned at Sam.

Bulbasaur had started rocking back and forth and staring at the door imploringly. Clearly, he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the whole stealing thing. Sam could hear people arguing downstairs, somebody would be coming soon. He quickly pocketed the watch and looked at the picture frame. There was no way he'd be able to walk out with it but there were little round gold plates in the corners that could be easily removed. Sam took out some grease and a knife from his belt. He put the grease into the corners of the gold plates so they would part with the frame quicker. Using the knife, he wiggled and pulled at each one till it came out in his hand. With all of them in his hands, he just wiped off the grease with a rag from his pocket and threw it away when he was done.

Sam began to leave the room, but his reflection in the mirror caught his eye. He took the hat off and spun it around his fingers and pulled various different hat tricks with it. Then the door opened.

"Prepare to fight, trainer!" Blue yelled as he leapt dramatically in the room. Sam stared at him blankly. He did a hat trick and smiled at Blue, "Like my new hat?"

"Sam? What are you doing here?" Blue asked, though he should have known.

"Me? Well, I'm just you know... Wandering about. Not breaking any laws, of course. I bought this hat," Sam lied with an innocent smile.

Blue raised his eyebrows and smirked knowingly. "Oh? Where'd you buy it from?"

"From that table, right there. It was on clearance and on sale. Actually, it was free!" Sam replied with a devious smile.

"You're terrible!" Blue laughed.

"A man's gotta make his living somehow," Sam shrugged. Ditto, still as Sam, and Cat crossed their arms and nodded at Blue. Bulbasaur had decided he was just going to sit and pretend that he didn't know anything.

Sam and Blue walked out of the room just in time to not get caught. The passengers had just started walking up the stairs.

"So, Sam... How did you manage to get aboard?" Blue asked.

Sam stopped and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Then he looked at Blue with a completely serious expression and stated, "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Of course not," Blue said sarcastically. "You stole somebody's pass. Didn't you."

"No. I didn't steal anyone's pass. That's ridiculous! Would I rob someone of their chance to go on a luxury cruise liner that they rightfully paid for?"

"I'm thinking yes. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you just slipped past the guard," Blue sent a mock accusing glance at Sam, who was whistling as he looked away. "So where were you planning on 'visiting' next?"

"The Captain's cabin. Wanna help? Come on, you and me... Partners in crime?" Sam said as he put a friendly arm around Blue's shoulders.

Blue pushed Sam away and laughed. "You're terrible! No, I won't be your accomplice!" Sam made a face at him as they approached the stairs and proceeded to go up them to the captain's cabin. They were welcomed with a most unpleasant and ironic surprise; the captain was seasick. Sam immediately turned on his heel and went straight back down the stairs.

"Hey! Sam where are you going now?" Blue called after him.

"I have a weak stomach. Seeing other people vomit make me want to. He's your problem. Maybe he'll give you something nice for your trouble." Sam waved goodbye and hurried down the hallway. As he reached the stairs to go back down he heard someone coming up that he recognized; Red. Sam turned around and ran to the stairs that went up on the other end of the hall.

Just as Sam disappeared at the top and out of sight, Red walked up the stairs. Sam started to creep back down the stairs as Red walked past him. The second Red opened the first door and went in, Sam shot back down the stairs and over to the flight Red had just come out of. He took the stairs two at a time.

When he reached the bottom he sat on the floor wearily. "Well, that was close. Red would turn me in to the police in a heartbeat," he sighed as he pet Ditto, now an Eevee. He stood up and looked around. He knew there was one last hallway and he wasn't going to let those treasures go to waste if he could get to them. He heard the battle of Blue vs. Red above him. Sam vaguely wondered who was winning, but it didn't concern him much.

Sam went down the stairs at on the other side of the ship. He could hear people inside each room. He was too late. Then he saw a nugget of gold on the floor. As he bent to pick it up, he saw another one. There was a small trail of them. Thinking it likely a trap, he took three of the five and left the other two where they lay. He strolled back up the stairs in time to hear Blue storm out.

"Looks like Blue lost, huh?" Ditto nodded and Cat clapped happily to show her amusement. Bulbasaur didn't take joy out of other people's negative emotions and generally frowned on the whole thing. Knowing that Red would be coming soon, Sam decided to wait for him to go first. Soon enough Red came down and walked out the door. Sam got up to follow when the ship started moving.

Wasting no time, he ran up to the top deck where the sailors were. He slipped past them and dove skillfully off the railing and into the sea. Ditto followed as a Staryu and Cat teleported herself and Bulbasaur to the Pokémon Center to wait for their master.

Sam and Ditto resurfaced on the south side of town by the Vermilion gym. Sam pulled himself out of the water and lay on his back in the warm sand. Ditto shook itself off and laid beside him. "Well, that was fun, huh? Jump off a luxury cruise liner into the sea?" Sam laughed as Ditto gave him a 'not-fun' look. He caught a glimpse of the gym and sighed. "Oh yes... Back to work then. Dry me off a little, please."

Ditto transformed into a Pidgeotto and obliged with a gust of wind. Sam put his fedora back on and Ditto perched on his shoulder as a Pidgey, "Let's go."
_________________________________________
To a stranger walking into the gym for the first time, they might think that it was the easiest gym they'd ever walked into. These people always found that they were dead wrong. Those three rows of trashcans were a nightmare and a half. You either had to be extremely lucky or have a third eye to get through on the first try. Luckily for Sam, he had a much faster way. He walked over to the wall on the right side of the doors and slipped his Thief ID card into the secret slot in the wall. The steel doors opened instantly. Ditto started preening its feathers trying to regain its dignity after letting that scare him.

"Ten-hut! Sam! What happened to that pint-sized bandit I used to know? How've ya been?" Lt. Surge greeted warmly as he grabbed Sam in a bone-crushing bear hug.

"I'd be better if you let me go," Sam managed.

Lt. Surge put him down with a laugh, "Now, what brings you out here? Don't you live... Far away?"

"Yes, I live far away. But even way out there, rumors of a very nice luxury cruise liner being docked at Vermilion City reached my very sharp ears," Sam lied with a devious smile.

Lt. Surge folded his brawny arms across his wide chest, "So you came all this way just to cause me trouble, eh? Ya little weasel," he said.

"Would I do that? ...Okay, yes. I would," Sam shrugged and then paused, choosing his words carefully, "Speaking of troublemakers, have you had any trouble with Team Rocket?"

"Who?"

"Team Rocket," Sam repeated giving him an 'are-you-serious-look,' "black uniforms, giant red R's, steal peoples Pokémon... Nothing? You've never heard of them," he asked incredulously.

"Hmm... Red R's... Oh! I heard that some guy mugged somebody out at Cerulean City... Took that TM, Dig? They say he was from a Team of sorts," Lt. Surge said with a shrug. "I haven't seen them at all. I bet they're scared of me! I fought in the war, you know. Electric Pokémon saved my life-"

"Yes, yes. I know," Sam cut him off quickly, "Look, I'm just going to go now."

"Okay. I'll see you later," Lt. Surge shrugged.

"Yeah... Maybe," Sam smiled and left the Gym. Once the doors closed behind him, Lt. Surge leaned against the wall silently. His old war-buddy came in.

"You lied to him. Why? He's seemed like a nice boy to me," the gentleman asked.

"Thief Lord hasn't said anything yet but... I know that there's something going on. Sam lied to me about the SS Anne. And he's supposed to be back home or in Johto... We were never told that he here... Which means he's disobeying orders."

"What do you think is happening?"

"I think that there's a mole among the thieves and they're leaking information to Team Rocket," Lt. Surge said as he clenched his hands into fists.

"A serious allegation," then suddenly the gentleman looked startled, "and you think it's that boy, Sam?"

"Giovanni called me the other day and told me that if I saw Sam to have him followed. I think Giovanni thinks that Sam is the mole. And who would know better? Giovanni's clever and he's the one that's closest to the Thief Lord. If somebody would be sent out to search for a mole, it'd be Giovanni," Lt. Surge stared hard at the doors.

"So you intend to send someone to follow him..." the gentleman inferred.

"No. Sam might be young and small... But he's way too good at being a thief to let someone follow him. He would know, and if he is the mole, I can't let him know that we're on to him."
_________________________________________
Sam picked up Cat and Bulbasaur from the Pokémon Center. Both Pokémon had expressed concern about Sam's extended absence. There were only three thief safe houses in Vermilion City, but Sam was partial to the fancier ones.

He went inside the Pokémon Fan club, the head master and his band of thieves all nodded knowingly at each other. The statue of Nidoking, the thief standard, was the centerpiece of the room. Sam slid his ID card into the hidden slot in the Fearow's beak and the secret door shot down into the floor. As soon as Sam had crossed the threshold, the door snapped back into place. Ditto jumped when the door opened and when it shut.

The room was exactly like the one under the museum in Pewter City. Sam hung his hat on the rack next to him and shrugged off his vest. Cat and Bulbasaur went over to the couch and fell asleep.

Sam smiled at them. "Is worrying about me that tiring?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed, Ditto curled up beside him in its natural squishy form. He stared at the ceiling awhile thinking over his conversation with Lt. Surge. The question now was, 'Was he playing dumb or did he actually not know? And was that even possible as infamous as Team Rocket is?' Seeing the telephone on the table beside the bed, he decided that the Thief Lord would know.

He picked up the phone and started to dial the number then he hung up and called Misty instead.

"Hi... Oh, hi there! Sam? What's up? I've gotten stronger since we last spoke-"

"Misty... What do you know about Team Rocket? Tell me everything."

"Okay... They're a band of cut-throat thieves that steal other people's Pokémon for black market and experiments?" She responded obviously confused. "I guess that's it. Is that all you wanted?"

"Yeah... Thanks, Misty."

"Oh, sure? Hey, call more often, Kay? And not for some random business whatever it is you're doing. You don't come see me enough!" Misty then proceeded to make him promise to call more often. After he hung up, he called Brock.

"Dude, Sam... Its too late for phone calls."

"I know. Just tell me everything you know about Team Rocket."

"... They're a group of nut-jobs that need to be eliminated from the world. They hurt Pokémon and blah, blah, blah. You know the rest. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Sam laughed, "Yes, you can." He hung up. He considered calling Giovanni, but even with just those two, the chances that Lt. Surge didn't know anything about Team Rocket was non-existent. He picked up the phone again and called the Thief Lord this time.

"Sam... It's been awhile since you've updated me."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Well, never mind. Let's start where you left off. Tell everything, starting with Brock."

"I spoke with him. Brock wouldn't do anything to aid Team Rocket. After that, I went through Mt. Moon. There I encountered Team Rocket trying to take fossils so they could resurrect rare Pokémon and sell them. Between Blue, Red, and myself we stopped them and sent them on their way. I spoke with Misty when I got to Cerulean and she was her usual cheerful self. She wouldn't help Team Rocket either. After that I paid the SS Anne a 'visit' before going to Lt. Surge."

"Was this visit to the SS Anne profitable?" There was a hint of amusement in his boss's voice.

"Ah... Yes, very."

"Hmm. Well, go on."

"Anyway, I asked him if he'd had any brushes with Team Rocket lately. He said he'd never heard of them. After I looked at him in disbelief he changed his tune to say that he'd heard of one incident up by Cerulean. That's it."

"Never heard of Team Rocket? I don't know that that's even possible."

"I called Brock and Misty before this and asked them to tell me everything they knew about Team Rocket. They told me essentially everything I know. There's no way he can be that ignorant."

"So he played dumb... I wonder why... Thank you, Sam. I'll find out what he's been up to lately." click

Sam put the phone down.

"Ditto?" the little blob asked from the bed.

"Everything's fine, I guess. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We'll have to go out to Lavender Town. That's through a giant dark tunnel... Well, goodnight."

"Ditto..." was all the little creature said before falling asleep. Sam smiled to himself. Who said Pokémon couldn't talk back?
_________________________________________
AN:

Thanks to my Beta DarkAngelTorchic!

* Sam being Sam... He stole all the good stuff from the SS Anne before you could get there. D: He does that a lot.
But seriously, that always annoyed me in the game. A bunch of rich people should have had a lot more gold! There were not near enough Nuggets on that ship.

 

[Soulmaster]

ok again good but here are a few typos I saw

"Ah, yes. My cat, I mean, abra needs healed," Sam said as he handed Cat over. All that talking in his head was messing with how he talked. After a quick wait, the nurse returned.

Abra needs to be capitalized.
and the underline just say that to yourself "Abra needs healed." It just sounds wrong it could be "Abra needs to be healed" or "Abra needs healing" either one would work.

Sam smiled at them. "Is worrying about your me that tiring?"

Your me? I don't think the your should be in there.

That was all I saw so good job.

 

[Noteleks]

Ha ha... Oh silly me. The 'your me' used to say 'your master' but I tried to change it to 'me.' I have a bad habit of deleting only part of phrases...

Anyway- thanks for catching all these typos for me (in all the chapter thus far.)

 

[Noteleks]

No copyright infringement intended.
_______________________________________________
The young girl stood outside of Rock Tunnel singing to herself. Snatches of a song floating here and there as she hummed. She had been in the small town of Lavender forever. She liked Rock Tunnel despite the lack of cute pink Pokémon with floral patterns. Suddenly, someone came out of the tunnel. He was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. He was hurt, and it seemed bad. He winced and swayed on his feet but didn't fall. She jumped back as the earth under her feet rumbled. The boy turned around to get nailed to the wall by a large purple snake. She backed against the wall out of shock. He slumped to the ground, but was still somewhat conscious.

Shortly following, three men in black uniforms with red R's on their chests ran up to the entrance and more came from in the tunnel. They looked absolutely awful but the boy on the ground was clearly in worse shape.

"You had this much trouble? Its just one boy!" one man sneered.

The men from the tunnel were torn up and dirty themselves and most were too tired to say anything. One of them answered in a whining tone, "Don't judge! This boy's fast and he can see well in the dark. We had to take his Pokémon first and then we had to chase him down. It was a mess down there!"

"We'll see how fast he runs when the boss is through with him! He'll be dead!" the man sneered again. He signaled at the two men with him and they grabbed the boy and started to drag him in between them. Terrified, she ran off to go get help from the mayor, Mr. Fuji.
_______________________________________________
Hours before:

Lt. Surge had just gotten off the phone with Giovanni. It had not been like he'd expected. Giovanni had pressed for Lt. Surge to send someone to follow Sam. Giovanni was his superior so he didn't argue. What could possibly go wrong? He didn't see much harm in it. It wouldn't be his head. He'd been challenged by two pint-sized cans of iron-nerves. He had other things to worry about. He sent a coded dispatch over a number that Giovanni had given him. Apparently, Giovanni had men in the area and that code would send them after Sam.

Whatever happened now, it wasn't his problem.
_______________________________________________
Sam started to come to minutes later to the cries of Pokémon. His eyes snapped open. He was in a misty room surrounded by gravestones. He tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. His vision was blurred, but he could see Team Rocket grunts pulling the bone masks off Cubone. With every pull the Cubone would cry out in pain and terror.

Suddenly movement caught his eye; a Pokéball was shuddering and bucking wildly. The Pokéball would start to open and then snap shut. Ditto was raging inside of it. Sam wanted to open it, but it was too far away. Then he saw a dead de-masked Cubone next to him. His vision started to go black around the edges and the darkness took over again.

The air near him started to haze. Cat, who had fled when Ditto had been caught, had returned. She tried to read his mind, but saw nothing but darkness. The tough little Pokémon was panicking now, "Maester? Maester!" She looked around and saw the bucking Pokéball.

"Ditto?" The Pokéball stopped bucking, "Maester won't ansah me! What shood I do?" She grabbed the Pokéball with Ditto inside with her small hands and sat down. She wanted to help her master, but couldn't figure out how.

Using her telekinetic powers, she located Bulbasaur and grabbed that Pokéball too. With her two friends in her hands and no way to help them either, Cat curled up into a ball.

"Now, now, little one. Is that your master?" An old man's voice said from behind her. She whirled around to face an old man and nodded. One of the Rocket grunts also turned around, the old man picked up her master from the floor and started to drag him towards the exit of the room. "Stop them from following and I will help your him."

Cat nodded and turned to face the grunts running towards her. "You little! You think you can take us on?" Unfortunately for them, Cat was less of a psychic and more of a martial arts master. The first grunt got Mega Kick to the stomach. The second one tried to stop, but couldn't because he had too much momentum. Cat leapt off the first grunt's shoulder and Mega Punched the second in the face. The third had stopped and was going for a Pokéball, Cat pounced from the ground and dealt a Thunderpunch, leaving the third bruised and paralyzed.

It was a job well done. Cat turned and grabbed Ditto and Bulbasaur in their Pokéballs and ran after the man with her master. She followed him down to the fifth floor. The old man continued walking to a square of odd tiles in the middle of the room. Cat grabbed onto his pant leg, like she did with Sam and watched as the old man set her master down on the funny ground. The ground shivered a little and then its bright, white magic erupted from the stones. The light blocked her from seeing what had happened. When the light was gone her master's injuries were healed and the bloodstains on his clothes had disappeared.

"There, he'll be okay now. Just wait," the old man assured her as he rubbed her head. She looked at her master but he hadn't opened his eyes yet. Since she was told to wait, that's what she did.
_______________________________________________
Blue had finally escaped Rock Tunnel. He was directionally challenged and the whole cave looked the same. How was he supposed to know he'd climbed down the same ladder ten times? After healing his Pokémon, he knew that Pokémon Tower was where he would go next. He also knew there'd be Pokémon there, but all he saw were ghostly forms that his Pokémon were too afraid too attack. There were plenty of psycho women there willing to fight him though, so it wasn't a complete waste. On the fifth floor, through the tombstones, he saw funny looking tiles. As he approached the tiles, he saw that someone was sitting there.

He walked closer and realized that it was Sam, slumped against a gravestone with an anxious Abra sitting next to him holding two Pokéballs.

"Sam? Sam!" he called out. Sam didn't move, "Sam?" He got closer and knelt beside him. Suddenly the Abra clutched his arm. "Ditto? Is that you?" Blue asked it confused. It shook its head and held out the two Pokéballs. Not sure what to do, he pressed the release buttons and let the pokémon inside out. Ditto and Bulbasaur came out of the Pokéballs. Ditto was ready to battle with the fangs of an oversized Eevee. Upon seeing Blue it stopped snarling and settled down. Bulbasaur was clearly traumatized by whatever had happened.

Feeling a little anxious now, he tried waking Sam again, "Sam? Sam, wake up!" Blue said again as he gave him a shake. Finally, Sam opened his eyes,

"Sam! Are you okay? What are you doing here?

He stared at Blue completely dazed. He took a quick look at his surroundings and tried to remember, "I can't-," suddenly the image of the dead de-masked Cubone flashed in his head along with the rest of his memories.

What he couldn't remember was where that nightmarish room was. If they're still taking those Cubone's masks... I have to stop them. He glanced at the three Pokémon beside him. They were hurt, tired, and Bulbasaur was shivering. If I want to take Team Rocket on again, I need a strong, healthy Pokémon. His mind was functioning on battle tactics only and forgetting his own problems.

"Sam? Are you-"

"Look, Blue. Its okay. Just help me up, I need to leave," he brushed him off.

Blue grabbed his hand pulled Sam up, "Where do you need to go? Let me help!"

"No. Blue, you have to stay out of this. This is my problem, not yours," Sam gritted out. He wasn't bleeding anymore, but he still hurt. Blue gave him a concerned look, but stayed silent. Ditto transformed into a Pidgey and perched on Sam's shoulder. Bulbasaur and Cat followed him as he left.
_______________________________________________
Red was absolutely fine. The small rhyme written on his map was actually very helpful! He'd found the aide with Flash and going through Rock Tunnel had been a breeze. He saw Pokémon Tower in the distance, but someone had already told him that he would need a Silph Scope first. And so, with a tip of his hat, he saluted the tower respectfully and left Lavender Town.

Upon arriving in Celadon City, Red visited the Pokémon Center. He heard two men talking about a casino through which rare Pokémon could be obtained.

"We should go check it out, Pikachu," he told the little yellow mouse.

"Pika!" it responded cheerfully with a clench of its little fist.

Red went in the casino, but the first thing he saw was a Rocket grunt in the back. Just seeing Team Rocket infuriated Red and he instantly challenged the Rocket. The battle was won so easily it's not even worth mentioning. The Rocket Grunt fled the scene and Red examined the poster he'd been guarding. A hidden staircase appeared down the hall from the poster.

"Pikachu... I think we've found their hide out!" Red exclaimed excitedly. His inner child released by the prospect of fighting bad guys.

Immediately down the stairs was another flight of stairs going down. Red decided to take that one. He took the stairs two at a time excitedly. At the bottom of the staircase was a hallway lined with fake plants on the left side. He followed it till he found another Rocket grunt. The battle ended with his Charmeleon charring both the grunt and his weak Pokémon.

The rest of the room was dedicated to a giant maze of propulsion tiles. Red took the uppermost one and was pushed till he hit a stopping tile. He then took the next one, which took him up and far to the left. He went down from that stopping block till he found one with a short path that went right and down. By this time, Red and Pikachu were so dizzy that they were tripping over themselves. One unintentional step on a tile took him right and down a little further. The dizzy pair sat on floor waiting for the world to stop spinning. Then he took a tile that led left and down.

He walked down the tight hallway and there were two more blocks. Red took the uppermost one and then took the only one left before he reached another staircase. Up those stairs was a room with two more grunts in it.

Red engaged the first one by standing in his line of sight.

"Why did you come here?" the grunt asked angrily as the battle began. This grunt wants to fight? Red thought with an amused smirk on his face. The grunt sent out a Rattata and Red sent out Charmeleon. The Rattata managed to get a quick hyper fang in before Charmeleon's deadly flames scorched it.

The grunt quickly threw out a Raticate while Charmeleon flexed its claws patiently. The Pokémon attempted to attack Charmeleon but failed. Another bout of flames erupted from the powerful Pokemon's mouth. Two down.

"You want to change Pokémon, kid? Now's your chance," the grunt called out angrily. You wish.

Another Raticate was sent out. This time, the hyper fang attack worked and Charmeleon lost some blood, but gamely threw out another ember. Once again, the Raticate fainted. Red's Pokédex beeped, Charmeleon had gained another rank, 36. As the grunt withdrew his Pokémon, Red took out Charmeleon and sent out Pikachu. The Rocket grunt laughed in relief too early. The next Pokémon was another Rattata. Pikachu, undoubtedly stronger, made deep-fried mince meat out of it with a thunderbolt.

Right after the battle, Charmeleon evolved into Charizard. Red was almost dancing with joy of having such a cool Pokémon. Now he just needed Wartortle to evolve and he was set! He looked at the other grunt across the room. This will be easy. The second grunt was weak, two Koffing and a grimer were like candy to Pikachu. All that was in the guarded room was a hyper potion, much to Red's disappointment.

Back down the stairs, he went and he found another staircase at the north end of the room. He went down them and fought a grunt that told him that he'd need a card, or key, to use the elevator. A huge section of the room was dedicated to another maze. Red first took the one on the far left. When he reached the stop block, he decided to get off to the left and go down. He took the first tile he found, which took him right and down into the sight of another weak grunt. Red beat down the criminal and took the stairs down to the fourth floor. There he found a grunt with a card key in his belt.

Bingo.
_______________________________________________
Red slipped the key into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the fourth floor. Taking the card from that grunt was as easy as taking candy from a baby. He gave his Pokémon each one potion in preparation for this battle with the boss of Team Rocket, whose name was apparently Giovanni.

The elevator doors opened and he walked up to the doors of the office. Until he was stopped by the odd couple from Mt. Moon. Red hid his disgust as the redhead chick and her purple-haired partner challenged him to battle, once again. He used thunderbolt on each of their three Pokémon, a Koffing, ekans, and a Meowth. Once they were out of the way, he opened the doors to the office.

A man in a black suit was standing at a desk. Red approached him silently defiant.

"So! I must say, I am impressed you got here!" Giovanni smirked at the eleven-year old. Thus, the battle began.

It was Wartortle's turn to fight. With the type advantage, the huge onyx went down immediately. The second battle with Rhyhorn was won quickly using the similar tactic of one powerful wave. His last Pokémon was a little more difficult. A smirking persian. When it moved Red could see the sinewy muscle under its glossy fur.

Wartortle looked at the giant cat warily. The first move it used was piercing yowl. Red's his ears rang and he called out to Wartortle. Wartortle was frozen with shock, its ears ringing so badly it couldn't hear. It was handicap, but it was the only one this persian was going to get. Wartortle leapt forward and bite the persian violently. The persian scratched at Wartortle's face and rolled over. The rest of the battle was a rolling mass as the two Pokémon returned bite for bite until Wartortle finally triumphed.

"What! This cannot be!" Giovanni exclaimed as he handed over a handful of cash to the smirking boy. "I see that you raise Pokémon with utmost care. A child like you would never understand what I hope to achieve. I shall step aside this time! I hope we meet again..." With a quick flash, Giovanni disappeared leaving a Silph Scope behind.

Red grabbed the Scope with a triumphant smirk on his face.
_______________________________________________
Red went through the doors of Pokémon Tower confidently. He hadn't gotten far when Blue appeared and challenged him to another fight. When will he ever learn that he can't beat me?
_______________________________________________
The people at the Pokémon Center stared at Sam curiously as he went on the computer. The curious onlookers watched as he plugged in a compact disk into the computer. Within seconds the computer was showing a different screen and a video of Pokémon in a grassy field. Sam quickly blocked the people's view and selected the strongest Pokémon he had.

Before he'd left home, he put one of his most loyal and strongest Pokémon into the elaborate computer system just in case he needed it. A safety blanket when things got rough. The computer finished compiling his request and a Pokéball came out of the machine for him. Sam put the Pokéball in his pockets; it wasn't a good idea to expose it to this new world. He would only use it if worst came to worst.

Still completely exhausted, Sam went back into the proverbial lion's den. He walked in just as Blue and Red wrapped up a battle. Blue had lost again and Red celebrated his win in smug silence. Blue tried to play it cool, like he didn't care, but he was clearly frustrated. Sam quickly hid behind some grave stones as Blue stormed out of the tower.

Red... Maybe I can just let him handle this. Sam crept after him slowly.

Taking great pains to ensure that the boy wouldn't see him, he followed silently. As it took Sam longer to travel than Red, the boy had gone up the seventh flight of stairs before he could get there. Sam waited at the bottom till his sharp ears heard the sound of a Pokémon battle above him. Quickly and quietly, Sam went up the stairs. There wasn't anywhere to hide here but he decided to watch the battle until it was over.

He had expected to see the three grunts from earlier, but in their place were two Rockets dressed in white instead of black. The two were fighting a losing battle against Red. Sam watched the trainer silently. Red's Pokémon were deeply attached to him and they took strength from their quiet master. The scene reminded him of himself, only Sam was a lot louder than Red. If Sam won a battle, that random guy with the scarf was going to hear about it. The bond between Red and his Pikachu were especially nostalgic. He touched the Pokéball-of-last-resort in his pocket. It was the first Pokémon he'd ever had.

Soon the battle finally ended, the lack of battling noises jerked Sam back from his reminiscing and he disappeared back down the stairs keeping an open ear for what was happening upstairs. An old man thanked Red for his help and for 'calming the spirit of Cubone's mother.' Once they'd both left, Sam stood up and went upstairs.

After wandering the room, he saw where the three Rockets had gone: there was a back room. It was designed much like the Thief Guild's doors. He approached it cautiously and opened it, inside were the three grunts and the stolen bone masks. They immediately released their Pokémon for battle.

Sam gave Ditto a nod to attack. The brutal Pokémon transformed into it's new battle favorite; an Onix.

Sam looked on as Ditto crushed them violently. Waves of pure anger were emanating from the Pokémon. Beside him, Cat was cheering Ditto on by punching and kicking the air. Bulbasaur looked at Sam, who was still doing nothing, with shock. He looked down at Bulbasaur, "Just don't watch."

It wasn't necessarily because Sam didn't care if they died or not, he just wasn't going to interfere with a Pokémon that raging mad. Finally, Ditto transformed into an Eevee and started cleaning its fur with a smug look.

"You finished?" Sam asked it dryly. It nodded happily. Sam nodded and walked in the room and stole from their cold dead hands all the Cubone masks they had stolen. A channeler appeared and took the skulls, "I will bury the Cubone with their masks... As it should be."

"If things were as they should be, the masks never would have been removed," Sam commented sadly. A part of him blamed himself for this tragedy. He looked at the blood staining the walls hidden room as he closed the door. He didn't like Team Rocket from the start, but this wasn't his home and it really wasn't his problem... Now it was getting personal.
_______________________________________________
AN:

Thanks to my Beta DarkAngelTorchic!

A lead up into a conspiracy that will blow your minds... (Unless you've heard of it before... In which case you can probably guess.)

 

[Soulmaster]

Again a few things I saw.

Red went in the casino, but the first thing he saw was a Rocket grunt in the back. Just seeing Team Rocket infuriated Red and he instantly challenged the Rocket. The battle was won so easily it's not even worth mentioning. The Rocket fled the scene and Red examined the poster he'd been guarding. A hidden staircase appeared down the hall from the poster.

The Rocket? It could be said like that but to me The Rocket Grunt flows better.

Immediately down the stairs was another flight of stairs going down. Red decided to take that one. He took the stairs two at a time excitedly. At the bottom of the staircase was a hallway lined with fake plants on the left side. He followed it till he found another Rocket grunt. Charmeleon charred the grunt and his Pokémon.

Him having that Charmeleon is really random, you don't even say whose it is. It is fine just really random.

Sam gave Ditto a nod to attack. The brutal Pokémon transformed into it's new battle favorite; an onix.

Capital again.

That is all for this chapter. The only other things is from my memory the things in Red/Blue didn't happen like that(Red didn't meet Giovanni til the Gym battle if my memory serves me correctly) But this is a great story and I can't wait for more.