Chapter 2: Recruit 17
A young man woke up in a small room with only a single door, a bed, and a mirror. He tried to remember where he was and how he got there, but quickly found that he couldn’t. In fact the young man couldn’t remember anything, not even his own name. He got up from the bed and walked to the mirror. He could see from his reflection that he was in his early twenties. He had spiked red hair and brown eyes. The cloths he was wearing were of course very strange to him. His outfit was all black, and included black army boots and leather gloves. There was one part of the outfit that wasn’t black though, and that was the large red letter R on the front of his shirt.
The door to the room suddenly opened, and in walked another man wearing the same outfit as he was; only it included a black cap.
“Good to see you’re on your feet Recruit 17.” The stranger said to the young man. “It’s time to fall in. Let’s go.”
Recruit 17 followed the stranger out of the room. As he did he tried to remember his name but couldn’t. And he felt certain that the stranger leading him down the hallway wasn’t going to tell him his real name. Moments later Recruit 17 and his escort arrived in a large room with several other people wearing the type of uniform. All of them were beginning to line up in rows.
“Okay, now get into rank.” The escort commanded.
Recruit 17 decided he had no other choice but to get in line with the others. He looked around the room again at his fellow recruits. They all looked to be around his age. Many of them were men but a few were woman. All of them were standing at attention. Recruit 17 wondered if any of them remembered who they were. His thoughts were interrupted though when another man entered the room. This man looked to be in his mid-thirties and was very muscular. Like everyone else he was wearing a black uniform with a large red R on the shirt, only his outfit included a dark-grey vest.
“Okay you maggots, listen up!” the large man bellowed. “As of today you are all a part of Team Rocket! You can all forget about the lives you lived before, because they meant nothing. Your new lives start now! And it all starts with your training, which I’ll be handling. You may address me as Sergeant Carson. Call me anything else and I’ll bash you into the ground. Now before we can begin your training each of you will be issued three Pokemon. After receiving these Pokemon you will be given a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with them.”
At this point the man who escorted Recruit 17 into the room began calling the other recruits by their assigned numbers one by one. And one by one each recruit stepped up and received three Pokemon. Very soon Recruit 17 was called up and received three Pokemon of his own. Those who had already gotten their Pokemon had called them out to find out what they had gotten. Recruit 17 decided that he should do the same.
Recruit 17 threw out the first ball. The Pokemon that came out was a small rodent-like creature with a long snout, a dark-blue back, and a cream-colored underside. It stood on its hind legs and had four red spots on its back. Recruit 17 recognized the Pokemon as a Cyndaquil, though how he didn’t know. He couldn’t even remember his own name, yet he knew what species of Pokemon he had gotten.
Recruit 17 shrugged it off and called out the second Pokemon. This one was a small four-legged creature with stubby legs and large blue eyes. Much of the little Pokemon’s body was covered in armor. The one large plate on its back had a spike in the middle and two holes in the sides. Recruit 17 recognized this Pokemon as an Aron.
He then called out the third Pokemon. This one was mostly red and had a fairly humanoid shape to it. The top of its head was lumpy, and it had a yellow snout. Its belly was also yellow and it had a lizard-like tale. Around its neck was a collar that looked like a black shackle. Recruit 17 recognized the Pokemon as a Magby.
“Okay, so you guys are the three Pokemon I get, huh?” Recruit 17 said to the three, getting their attention. “I guess you don’t know why you guys are here either.”
The three Pokemon all gave Recruit 17 a confused look.
“Well, I guess we should all just play along for now. Hey, why I don’t I give you guy’s names?” Recruit 17 suggested to the three. He then turned to the Cyndaquil. “Let’s see… why don’t I just call you Quill?”
The Cyndaquil squeaked happily and shot quick bursts of flames from the spots on its back a few times. It seemed clear that it liked the name Recruit 17 had given it. Recruit 17 then turned to the Aron.
“I think I’ll call you… Ironhide.” Recruit 17 told it. “How’s that sound?”
The little Aron growled and ran around in a circle three times. It seemed to approve of the name. Recruit 17 at last turned to the Magby.
“I’ll call you… Cinder.” Recruit 17 said to the little Fire Pokemon. “That seems to fit, don’t you think?”
Magby raised its head and breathed out a short blast of flames. Like its two comrades it seemed to approve of its nickname.
“Alright maggots, meet and greet time is over!” Carson called to the recruits. “Time to start your training! Each of you will pair off and start battling. Now get to it!”
“Well guys, I guess we’re on.” Recruit 17 said to his three Pokemon.
* * *
A few hours later Carson headed down a hallway to a large office with the facility. The electric door to the office opened to allow Carson entrance. Sitting at the deck was a man with slicked-back brown hair who was wearing an orange suit, yellow shirt, green vest, and red tie. This was none other than the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. Also in the room was another man who looked to be in his mid-fifties. This man had a shaved head and grey beard, and wore a lab coat.
“Ah Carson, Dr. Trask here and I were just talking about the little project you’ve been assigned to.” Giovanni said after noticing Carson’s arrival. “How’s it going?”
“The first day of training has gone quite well sir.” Carson replied. “But if I may speak freely sir, I’m still pretty skeptical about this whole thing. It seems like too many things can go wrong with these brainwashed recruits.”
“Nothing can go wrong with this Mr. Carson, I assure you.” Dr. Trask cut in. “The conditioning of these young people is perfect. Using a combination of Pokemon Hypnosis and a few techniques of my own invention, I have completely blocked out their memories. As a result they are the perfect clay to be molded into the newest generation of Team Rocket soldiers.”
“That’s all good in theory doc, but what if these punks regain their memories?” Carson pointed out.
“That is totally impossible.” Dr. Trask assured him. “There is absolutely no chance of our new recruits regaining their memories. Your only concern Mr. Carson is to train them.”
“I believe Carson understand his responsibilities Dr.” Giovanni interrupted. “Don’t you Carson?”
“Yes Boss.” Carson replied. “If that will be all I’d prefer to return to our duties.”
“Of course, but first I would like to ask you about one of the Dr.’s recruits, Recruit 17.” Giovanni asked. “How has he progressed so far?”
“Recruit 17? He actually shows some promise.” Carson answered. “But if I may ask sir, what’s so special about that recruit?”
“He’s been brought into Dr. Trask’s program at the request of a friend.” Giovanni replied. “This friend of mine wanted Recruit 17 out of the way, and this seemed the best use of him. Be sure to give him special attention.”
“With pleasure sir.” Carson said with a sinister grin, and with that he turned and left the room.
* * *
Days passed and Carson had put the recruits through grueling training. When they weren’t going up against each other in Pokemon battles, they were being put through rigorous calisthenics and trained to infiltrate buildings. All the while though, Recruit 17 kept trying to remember who he was and why he was working for Team Rocket. One day after about four weeks of training, Recruit 17 was about to be pitted against a young man with plum colored hair, which he knew only as Recruit 30. Giovanni and Dr. Trask had come personally to see the battle.
Recruit 17 had already sent out Quill, Ironhide, and Ciner for triple battle. Recruit 30’s Pokemon had already been sent out as well. The first was a floating purple ball with eyes and a mouth, and a white skull and crossbones type symbol beneath its face. This was the Poison-type Pokmon known as Koffing. The second member of Recruit 30’s Pokemon team was a small purple blob with eyes and a mouth known as a Grimer. The third Pokemon was a large purple fur ball with large red insect eyes, a pair of pincers for a mouth, two antennas on what could be considered a forehead, two large peach colored feet and two small hands. This was the Insect Pokemon known as Venonat. The battle was about to begin.
“Koffing, hit that little Aron with Sludge Bomb!” Recruit 30 commanded.
From its mouth Koffing hurled a large ball of dark-brown sludge Ironhide. The projectile hit dead on, but Ironhide was completely unfazed.
“Ironhide, hit that Koffing with Iron Head!” Recruit 17 commanded.
The armor plating covering Ironhide’s head began glowing with a white light. The little armored Pokemon then charged forward at top speed and with an incredible leap rammed the Koffing into the high ceiling. Koffing dropped back down to the ground, and it was clear that it was no longer able to do battle.
“Damn it!” Recruit 30 exclaimed in a frustrated tone. “Grimer, hit that Magby with Poison Gas!”
The Grimer released a small cloud of purple gas that was sent towards Cinder. But Cinder easily got out of the way of it.
“Cinder, fight back with Fire Punch!” Recruit 17 commanded.
Cinder charged forward and hit Grimer with a flame-covered fist. Grimer was thrown back a few feet by the impact.
“Finish it with Ember!” Recruit 17 commanded.
Cinder fired a barrage of bullet-like flames from its mouth. The attack hit Grimer dead on, and it moments the purple blob was knocked out.
“Venonat, hit the Cyndaquil with Psybeam!” Recruit 30 commanded.
Venonat began firing a multicolored beam of light from its antenna. The beam hit Quill, and the little Fire Pokemon was having trouble enduring the continuous blast.
“Don’t give up Quill! Fight back with Ember!” Recruit 17 commanded.
Quill managed to lift its head and fire a barrage of fiery bullets at Venonat. The Bug Pokemon’s attack ended, and it became very clear that it could no longer continue fighting. With the battle over, Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder all began glowing with a white light. The shape of their bodies began to grow and change. When the light faded, Quill had taken on a larger more weasel-like appearance, gaining pointed ears and dropping down on all fours. The red spots that were flame vents had changed position on Quill’s body. Two had moved to its forehead in a vertical alignment, while three had moved to its rear. Quill had evolved into a Quilava.
Ironhide’s transformation was a little more drastic. It had grown much larger than before, and developed a tail. A row of segmented metal plates with spikes covered its back, and the plate on its face had gained a more skull-like appearance. Its mouth was also far more visible. Ironhide had evolved into a Lairon.
As for Cinder, it had grown taller and the two lumps that remained on its forehead had gained flames. The lower half of Cinder’s body had become yellow and gained a flame-like pattern. Its shoulders had also turned yellow, while its red arms had gained scales. In addition to the black shackle still around its neck, Cinder had gained two more around its ankles. A row on long spikes went down Cinder’s back, and its yellow tail ended in a flame. Cinder had evolved into a Magmar.
“Impressive.” Giovanni commented to Carson. “All three of his Pokemon evolved at once. And they won that battle very quickly.”
“Yeah, Recruit 17 trained those Pokemon pretty well, unlike that wimp Recruit 30.” Carson agreed. “I’m gonna have to be way harder on him. Anyway, the one weird thing about 17 is that he’s nicknamed all his Pokemon. I’ve had a few of the other recruits doing that too.”
“I don’t think that’s anything to worry about.” Dr. Trask commented. “As long as they remain loyal a little individuality is tolerable.”
“You don’t think it’s a sign they might be regaining their memories?” Giovanni asked.
“Not at all.” Dr. Trask replied. “People with amnesia have been known to retain elements of their personality.”
“Well in that case I think it’s time we test out a few of our new soldiers in the field.” Giovanni suggested. “Are there any other Recruits at Number 17’s level?”
“Just one.” Carson answered. “What kind of mission do you have in mind Boss?”
“Something small, but worth the effort.” Giovanni replied.
* * *
The next night, Recruit 17 was out with Carson and one of his fellow recruits, a girl shoulder-length white hair he knew only as Recruit 53. The three had arrived at the outskirts of Saffron City.
“Okay, we’ll infiltrate from here.” Carson told the two. “Remember the mission, we’re to break into the Sliph Company warehouse and try and retrieve a Master Ball that’s reported to be in there. Now let’s move! Go Steelix!”
With that, Carson threw a Pokeball that sent out a large serpent made out of metal boulders. Two of the boulders in its midsection had long spikes on the sides.
“Dig us a tunnel Steelix!” Carson commanded the serpent. Steelix began burrowing into the ground, creating a huge tunnel in its wake. “Okay you maggots, let’s go!”
Recruits 17 and 53 followed Carson into the tunnel. During the long walk through the underground path that was being dug, Recruit 17 tried a few times to talk to Recruit 53, but the female recruit seemed rather unapproachable. In the darkness he could see that she had a stern expression on her face. Recruit 17 wondered if 53 had given up on trying to figure out who she once was. Soon the tunnel ended and the three emerged from the ground into a warehouse filled with wooden crates.
“Okay you two, send out your Pokemon and start looking for that Master Ball!” Carson commanded.
Recruit 17 sent out Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder. Meanwhile Recruit 53 sent out her three Pokemon. The first was a blue robotic-looking creature with red eyes, and had a saucer-like body with two long arms with three grey claws on each one. This Pokemon was known as Metang. The second of Recruit 53’s Pokemon was humanoid in shape and had a white torso with flaps on its waist that resembled a tutu. Its legs were green and thin like those of a dancer. It had a head of green hair that covered most of its face. On top of its head were two red horns that looked like hairpins that held its two long pigtails in place. This was the Psychic Pokemon Kirlia.
The third Pokemon that Recruit 53 sent out looked similar to an origami crane that was made from various geometric shapes. Recruit 17 knew this Pokemon as a Porygon, though this particular Porygon was a little different from most. Most Porygon were usually pink with blue beaks, tails, wings, and bellies. But Recruit 53’s Porygon was electric-blue with a light-blue beak, tail, belly, and wings. Like Metang, Recruit 53’s Porygon hovered in the air.
“Fan out!” Carson commanded, and immediately the group split up to look for the item they came for.
As they began their search, Cinder spotted an item on the ground that looked like a small red cube with a black top. The object intrigued Cinder so much that it picked it up. The mission meanwhile was bothering Recruit 17. After all, they were essentially going to steal something. But it seemed to him that there wasn’t much he could do about it. Suddenly, Steelix began glowing with a blue aura and was thrown against the wall with a loud crash. The giant metal serpent was out cold.
“What the hell?” Carson exclaimed.
Before Carson could do anything, he too suddenly began glowing with a blue aura and was suddenly hurled against Steelix by the same force. He too had been knocked out as a result. The two recruits looked around and quickly saw two glowing blue eyes in the darkness.
“Tron, attack whatever that is with Psybeam!” Recruit 53 commanded her Porygon.
The Porygon known as Tron fired beams on multicolored light from its eyes, but the beams hit what looked like an invisible wall. Suddenly Recruit 53, Metang, Kirlia, and Tron began glowing with a blue aura and were hurled into Carson and Steelix.
“Who are you?” Recruit 17 demanded to know. “Show yourself!”
The eyes of the thing had stopped glowing and it soon stepped out of the shadows. It was humanoid and stood about six feet tall. Its head was off-white and like that of a cat. A tattered brown cloak shrouded the rest of its body. Cinder panicked at the appearance to the creature and fired off an Ember attack. But like Tron’s Psybeam, the attack hit an invisible wall that suddenly appeared. The creature responded by raising it arm, which ended in a hand with three ball-tipped fingers, and threw a ball of black and purple energy. The ball hit cinder hard, so much so that the impact hurled him into a crate.
“What are you?” Recruit 17 asked in a slightly terrified tone. “Are you… a Pokemon?”
“I am… Mewtwo.” A voice suddenly spoke in Recruit 17’s head. Right away Recruit 17 knew that it was the Pokemon that was speaking to him. “Tell me, why do you serve Team Rocket?”
“I… don’t know.” Recruit 17 answered.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Mewtwo asked.
“I just don’t, okay?” Recruit 17 replied. “I’ve been trying to figure that out but I can’t!”
“This is getting tiresome.” Mewtwo said in a slightly annoyed tone. “It seems that I’m going to have to be a little more direct in finding the answers I seek.”
Suddenly Mewtwo’s eyes began glowing blue again, and Recruit 17 felt something burrowing into his mind. It felt like his head was going to explode. Soon Recruit 17’s mind was flooded with names and faces that he felt he knew, but it was all coming so hard and so fast. He couldn’t take it anymore and screamed in pain. After that he fell to the ground, blood trickling down his nose. Quill and Ironhide began growling at Mewtwo.
“Do not worry, he should live.” Mewtwo said somewhat indifferently. “Though I suppose he’ll need help to recover…. How interesting, it seems that some humans will not only enslave Pokemon, but other humans as well. I wonder what sort of person this human truly is?”
* * *
Recruit 17 woke up to find a woman with long dark-green hair staring down at him. A very serious expression was on her face. He tried to sit up, but the splitting headache that came over him prevented him from doing so.
“Try not to move.” The woman told him. “You experienced a great trauma and require rest. Do not worry about your Pokemon. They are fine. Though your Magmar had to be taken to the Pokemon Center.”
“Who… are you?” Recruit 17 asked weakly.
“I am Sabrina, leader of the Saffron City Gym.” The woman replied. “Do you remember your name?”
“My name?” Recruit 17 asked back. He was about to tell Sabrina that he couldn’t remember what his name was, but it suddenly came to him as clear as day. “I’m… Alex Blaze.”
