Rating: PG, it's kinda deep.

Other: Well, it looks like I can actually write some serious stuff. This one isn't the make fun of everything story that's my trademark, it's more of a deep thoughts thing. There's gonna be something like a sequel soon, kinda explains what I mean by "uncontrollable incident." Questions, comments? Maybe you're just mad at me for using too many periods? Send all letters to Jayhawkfan13@aol.com.

Dedicated to Brian, who taught me most of the things I know about Pokémon.

A young man sat behind a desk. He smiled at the group of 10 youths, who were paired in twos with a Pokémon each.

"Welcome to the first meeting of Team Rocket ever to take place. You all realize that this is a monumental moment in history..."

Giovanni lay on a hospital bed in Viridian City. The police had finally caught up with the notorious Boss. In a shootout Giovanni had been mortally wounded. He was dying.

Pumped full of every pain killer known to man, he awaited the arrival of the son he never knew. Giovanni reflected back on his years as Team Rocket's leader, and wondered what had gone wrong...

As a Pokémon Trainer, Giovanni had never been like the other teenagers. They all hoped to one day become a Pokémon Master, to be famous for a short time, then pass the title on to someone else. But Giovanni dreamed of being part of something much greater. Something that would live on after he was gone...

One day, when Giovanni was walking through Viridian City, he saw an opening for the Viridian City Gym Leader. It sounded like a good idea, so the 20-year-old tried out. After defeating other challengers, Giovanni became the leader of Viridian Gym and the keeper of the Earth Badge. This was the first step in a rapid chain of events that would make him what he was today...

The life as a gym leader was very time-filling, but he still found time for the finer things in life. Such as Delia McCormick, a pretty young woman just out of college. She had a job down at the local food mart, but knew she'd soon get her big break. Delia hoped one day to be an actress, and Giovanni supported her wholeheartedly. When Giovanni was 26 he asked her to marry him, and she accepted. They were wed right in Viridian Gym, amid loving relatives and friends...

Though he was overjoyed at his prosperous job and wonderful wife, Giovanni still knew there was something else out there for him. Five months after his 28th birthday Giovanni found out what it was.

Two Pokémon trainers, down on their luck, came into the gym one day and asked for a place to stay. This is when Giovanni got the idea for an organization where Pokémon trainers who had nowhere else to go could come and work for him. The members of this "team" would catch some rare Pokémon for him and in return the'd get paid. It all seemed so perfectly simple at the time...

"Team Rocket," as he named it, exploded into a major organization around the time Giovanni's son was born. He-and his members-became very wealthy and prosperous. Somewhere in the string of good fortune the team began twisting itself into a poaching and stealing service. Giovanni was too caught up in the wealth, fame and glory to notice...

Reality struck hard when Giovanni hit 32. The police caught on to the horrible deeds done by Team Rocket. Giovanni, turned greedy and corruptive, decided to continue the pokénapping rather than change it back into its old self. He became tricky, deceitful, and downright nasty. Everyone, from the members of his team to his wife, feared him. Giovanni should have known it was only a matter of time...

The 33-year-old came home to find suitcases piled on the front step and the red beetle started up. His wife appeared, their three-year-old son in her wake.

"Going on a vacation?" he asked gruffly.

She simply picked up the suitcases and threw them in the trunk. "An eternal one."

Giovanni grabbed her arm. "What are you talking about!?"

Delia smiled sadly, taking her wedding ring off and placing it into his hand. "And sorry it had to end this way Giovanni, I really am..."

She left, he thought dryly. Didn't even leave an address. I never even got to talk to my son...

The loss of his family was the last straw for Giovanni. He became cold, cruel, and secretive. Even his own team members didn't usually see his face or know his name. He was simply "the Boss." The years went by, seemingly unchanging for Giovanni. The organization was steadily plummeting, but new members were joining constantly, and most of them were street punks. Perfect for pokénapping...

Jessie and James were two such members. Unlike some of the others, though, they were total failures and a complete waste of space. Yet Giovanni had a soft spot for them. Looking back he supposed that it was because deep down he knew they really weren't meant for this place. The two weren't evil, not in the least. Their Pokémon, Meowth, was the same way...

Giovanni chuckled in his hospital bed. The two had been -- in a way -- like the child he never knew. He often wondered where they were now...

After an uncontrollable incident, the trio quit Team Rocket. It was after that that things got really bad. Police shootouts, members dying, it all became part of the routine. Team Rocket was disintegrating before his very eyes. It was only a matter of time...

Now, as Giovanni awaited the arrival of his son, the only thought he had was, What about the Team? Every organization needed a leader. Without him--

Knock Knock!

Two teenagers entered the room. Giovanni knew immediately that it was his son and girlfriend.

He took a good look at the 16-year-old. He was built well, tough-looking, spunky...

Giovanni propped himself up on an elbow. It took a strong man to run Team Rocket. An even tougher one to pull it out of a rut and -- maybe -- turn it around.

It was a wild hunch, but Giovanni knew this was the person who's save the only thing he had left in the world.

He smiled inwardly, "So you're Ash Ketchum, my kid..."