Mr. Telephone Man

You know, she was pretty damn surprised at how much she actually got along with the boss of Team Rocket. Honestly, she expected to be ridiculed every day, all the time, and that the two of them would be constantly bickering and at each other’s throats.

That…wasn’t the case.

Aside from the fact he could get really egotistical and arrogant, he wasn’t a bad person to talk to. His constant stream of sarcasm was actually kind of funny to her, and he really did adore his Persian (she couldn’t express just how much she enjoyed the fact a man like him was such a huge cat person, even if it was only Persian). And surprisingly, despite her assumptions he treated all pokémon horribly, his own pokémon were taken cared of and groomed to perfection.

She also couldn’t complain about having a ride. It wasn’t the usual thing for her on a journey through a region, but she couldn’t say she missed the blaring heat while walking, the long walks from place to place, or getting lost. Oh Arceus, she had to say how much she loved his air conditioning.

“Your hair is going to get eaten up,” Giovanni said wryly.

Ash hummed something, ignoring him as she plastered her head right next to the AC vent. She definitely enjoyed this part of traveling in a car, even if it was with Giovanni Rocketto.

It made her want to be a rich bitch like the bastard next to her.

“We passed by Santalune Forest awhile ago, so we should be coming up on Santalune City pretty soon. Ready for your match?”

At that, Ash shot straight up, slamming her back against her seat as she stared at him wide-eyed.

The bad thing about going around in a car? The lack of time and opportunities to catch pokémon, and she technically only had Pikachu to battle with. She scrambled around her chair to face Pikachu in the back.

“Pikachu! I’m not ready! How am I only going to battle with you? I haven’t caught any other pokémon!” she was starting to hyperventilate.

Giovanni stared at her from his side. He sighed and parked the car, and tapped her shoulder.

“You know, technically my pokémon are currently your pokémon at the moment. Why don’t you use them?” he asked her, inwardly rolling his eyes.

She hesitated. “I just…Usually, I go to each region and start new, with just Pikachu. I catch pokémon from each region, and start from the ground up.”

Giovanni hmmed, going over that heavily in thought. “That’s actually rather impressive, since you practically start on a blank slate each time and go as far as you do with a new party of pokémon each time. Most trainers don’t bother with replacing an entire party, and usually keep most if not all of their pokémon. And that’s if they go on to another region. The truth is, not many do and stick to their own.”

Ash watched him, tilting her head as she listened closely. Criminal or not, he had been a Kanto gym leader, and he knew a lot of things, especially being so smart in general. Even being the Rocket Boss, she realized she should listen to what he said (and honestly, being the Rocket Boss meant he would definitely know a lot more about pokémon and everything else).

He shrugged. “Why don’t you just go for it? Don’t you want to win a league for once? My pokémon are willing to fight for you in the gyms, so go ahead. Don’t worry so much about the schematics. And catch as many Kalosian pokémon as you want afterwards.”

She bit her lip, but she really, really wanted to win. She was tired of being so close, but losing out just as she was almost there. And looking at Giovanni’s face practically egging her on, she felt herself crumbling.

“You are such a bad influence on me,” Ash mumbled.

Giovanni smirked, just as Persian jumped from the back and around her seat to nuzzle her cheek.

“You’re going to help me with my first badge, aren’t you?” Ash scratched behind his ear, grinning at Persian’s purring. “Yes, yes you will, my darling Persian.”

Giovanni outwardly rolled his eyes this time, starting the car again. “Cat burglar,” he muttered as he shifted the gear to ‘drive.’

“I’m kinda disappointed we didn’t get to walk through Santalune Forest though. I bet there must’ve been a ton of pokémon,” Ash mused aloud, ignoring his comment.

“Want me to drive back and drop you off at the entrance? You can walk through it all by yourself, while I drive around and meet you on the other side,” Giovanni retorted.

“…Never mind.”

“Thought so,” Giovanni smugly grinned.

Ash twitched and decided that she really would steal his Persian from him after all this was over. Served him right.

They were quick to reach Santalune City after that, and Giovanni parked his car over by the Pokémon Center, to which she insisted they stay there. Despite his misgivings, he let her have this one and they got a room. A single room.

Unfortunately, Ash was used to traveling with Brock (and then even with Cilan), and they’d always shared a room, along with Misty, May, Dawn, and then Iris. But this time she was rooming with Giovanni, and she hadn’t exactly thought of that when she booked a room.

“If you wanted a little privacy with me, you could have just said so –” Giovanni managed to say before Ash whirled around to face him and smacked her hand onto his mouth, shutting him up as she kept her hand there.

“Not another word,” she deadpanned.

And he didn’t say anything else. He just licked her hand, causing her to shriek and rapidly take her hand away, wiping it on her jeans.

“You-you –you just –!”

He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking as always. Ohh, she wished she’d hit his mouth a little harder now.

“You’re horrible,” she muttered, and she left him behind to take a shower and get ready for her gym battle.

Turns out though, that single rooms were rare anyway. It was usually two to three people a room in a Pokémon Center, to avoid anyone being left out and unable to have a place to stay while traveling. Still, at the moment, there were a few singles available, and she wished she’d thought of it earlier and snatched two of them up so that she didn’t have to be stuck with Giovanni in a room.

When they headed out to look for the gym, Giovanni was on his phone, fingers rapidly moving across buttons. She was curious about what he was doing, but didn’t ask. She assumed it had something to do with Team Rocket business stuff.

“Where is it?” she grumbled, looking around. Giovanni was no help, still stuck on his phone. Glaring at him, at least Pikachu was cooing into her ear as he perched on her shoulder, while Persian traveled close to her feet, rubbing his head against her leg every time her frustration with being lost and Giovanni’s inattentiveness flared up.

“I’m hungry,” she pouted, holding her stomach.

“You’re always hungry,” he snorted, still focused on his phone.

She glared at him. But then both Pikachu and Persian became super sweet and she softened up, reaching down to caress Persian’s head as she lifted her head and rubbed her cheek against Pikachu’s.

“Aaaaand –stay like that!” a flash went off, and Ash opened her eyes in surprise, looking to see who had caused that flash.

A blonde woman grinned widely at her, while holding a camera. “You and your Pikachu and Persian are wonderful together. It was a great shot!”

She blinked in surprise, and glanced at Giovanni. However, her irritation rose when she saw he was still on his phone.

“Thanks,” she turned to the woman, giving a strained smile. What was he doing?

Whatever. This was her chance! She had to focus. She was going to be a billionaire too. Ash would get rich, have her own fancy smancy red car, have his Persian for her own, and be a kickass boss.

“I’m glad you think so!” Ash pushed more cheer into her voice. “Pikachu and I are partners, and have been together like forever! And Persian is my darling,” she ducked down and swept the feline into her arms, glaring daggers at Giovanni with her eyes while still smiling. “He’s a new acquisition, but he’ll be mine forever and ever.”

Her smile turned dark. Giovanni drew his eyes away from his phone slowly, staring at her. Then he blinked and looked at her in confusion, and she could practically see a question mark over his head.

Id. I. Ot.

Ash grumbled under her breath and ignored him, turning back to the woman, who looked between her and him in amusement.

“Well, for a new acquisition, he’s well trained and seems to adore you already,” she noted.

Ash beamed happily at her. “Persian is awesome.”

Pikachu shocked her a little, and Ash chuckled lightly. “You are too, Pikachu. Don’t get jealous.”

“This is just a guess, but if you’re looking for the gym, take a right at the corner,” she told Ash, who lit up like a light bulb.

“Thanks a lot,” Ash practically squealed, rushing over to Giovanni and snatching one of his hands, before rushing off like a madwoman to the gym.

It didn’t take too long, and soon they were in front of the Santalune Gym.

“About time,” Giovanni snarked, before going back to being on his phone.

“No thanks to you,” Ash huffed, tossing a glare his way.

All of a sudden, the doors to the gym opened and a familiar Helioptile rushed through them and jumped onto her, causing her to fall backwards and land on her backside as it happily snuggled into her. However, Persian growled and snapped his teeth protectively at it, and Ash had to move Helioptile away from the feline.

“It’s okay, Persian! I know this Helioptile,” she explained, and Persian reluctantly backed down. Still, he glared at it in jealousy.

She inwardly sighed, even as Pikachu clambered back onto her back and lightly head butt the newcomer away from her. Pikachu and Persian –what jealous little punks.

“I see you finally made it here,” another familiar figure came through the doors, and Ash grinned up at Alexa, happy to see her journalist friend after having suddenly been forced to leave her back at Lumiose City.

Ash stood up and practically skipped over. “Yeah, I got…sidetracked.”

Alexa gave her a bemused look. “A very long and odd sidetrack, since you were suddenly gone without a word and I only saw you now.”

Ash rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “It was…complicated.”

The older female snickered. “Yeah, sure. I was worried, you know. At least, after my deadline, I figured you’d head here sooner or later. I came here and decided to wait for you.”

She and Pikachu laughed sheepishly, and tried to forget the fact it was all the fault of the man behind her.

“So I take it you’re here to challenge my sister for a badge?” Alexa crossed her arms and smirked knowingly at her.

“You bet! I’m ready to take her on,” Ash was determined. And if she had Giovanni’s pokémon at her disposal, for real, they were going to steal badges practically through the region like a merry band of pirates.

“Er, Ash?”

Too late, Ash realized that she’d started cackling outside of her head a bit there. She blushed, even more so when she realized everyone there was staring at her –even Giovanni had taken time away from his phone to stare at her weirdly.

“I was, uh, lost in my head for a sec.” Really, Ash wished she wouldn’t end up imitating her strange thoughts in real life so much. There was some things that should just stay in her head (like how oddly soft Giovanni’s lips were and how she’d like to kis –she firmly put a stop on that train).

“I like her. She’s kooky.”

Ash looked around for the owner of the voice, only to see it was that blonde woman from before. She gave a tiny wave and then took a picture, and Ash remembered she was still surrounded by pokémon on the ground.

“Yeah, she’s a crazy kid. But she’s an awesome crazy kid, Viola,” Alexa winked at her.

Ash just grinned shamelessly back, before recalling what Alexa called the other woman. If she remembered right from what Alexa told her, Viola was…

“You’re Alexa’s sister and the gym leader of this place!” Ash jumped up and pointed at her.

“Hm, you look kind of heroic in that pose. Don’t move!” and Viola took another picture, while Ash sweatdropped. “And yep, that’s me.”

“Well, then I challenge you to a match,” Ash’s excitement was barely contained, and she felt like she was going to scream in happiness. Of course, she monitored herself so that that wouldn’t actually happen though.

“I accept!” Viola laughed cheerfully. “But I warn you –I won’t be easy to beat!”

“Why don’t we go inside then?” Alexa suggested. “You two can battle it out right now.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ash said, while Viola echoed her agreement.

The group, even Giovanni with his phone, trekked into the building, where Viola showed off a lot of pictures to Ash in a gallery that was between them and the gym’s battle arena. Then they were in the battle arena, where they took opposite sides to each other.

“You ready?” Viola smirked. “Because I’m not going to take it easy on you.”

“I’m so down with this,” Ash picked a pokéball from her belt, though as she glanced to her side and saw Giovanni still messing with his stupid phone, her grin faltered and she lightly glared at the unnoticing man. “Nidoqueen, go!”

Alexa stared in surprise. “Since when did you get a Nidoqueen, Ash? Or a Persian for that matter?”

“…Recent acquisitions,” Ash cleared her throat awkwardly.

And so the battle began.

Only Ash couldn’t concentrate for some reason. She kept looking over at Giovanni, and her aggravation kept growing the more the battle went on and she kept looking and seeing him distracted by his phone. Her face kept morphing into an unhappy look, until she looked plain pissed and worrying both sisters. So she snapped.

“That’s it! I quit!” she screamed, recalling Nidoqueen and stomping out of there.

The three that were left stared at the exit Ash had angrily torn through.

Alexa tutted and gave Giovanni an exasperated look. “You know that was your fault, right?”

His eyebrows rose. “What did I do?”

Viola snickered, while Alexa rolled her eyes and plucked the phone out of his hands. She held it up and waved it a little.

“I think she would have preferred you were paying attention to her, rather than this thing.”

Giovanni looked sheepish (as sheepish as someone like him could).

“Ah…would it help if I said it was important business matters?”

Both sisters gave bland looks.

“Concerning her?”

Now that just made them curious.

Ash didn’t exactly know where she was going. She just knew she had to get away from there and that irritating man. Geez! What was so important on that phone anyway? Was he talking to a woman or something?

She gave a pause at that, and for some reason grew even more agitated.

“That –that man!”Ash screamed, not aware that she was in the middle of a crowded plaza. “Ohh, he irritates me so much!”

She looked around and face palmed, realizing that she was again at the center of attention and being stared at. Angrily, she stomped off to the Pokémon Center, where she started to grab the little of the stuff she’d taken out of her pack, and started to repack them. When she was done, she’d hefted it onto her shoulder, before being pounced on by the very large cat she’d forgotten had been following her. Persian heavily lay on top of her form, keeping her on her bed, while Pikachu plopped himself onto her head, grinning at her.

“I expected this from Persian, being his pokémon, but et tu, Pikachu? How could you!” Ash glared at her faithful (or so she thought) companion.

“Pika. Pika Pikapi.”

Ash grumbled, turning away from them. From her belt, Nidoqueen released herself and stood guard at the door, while Rhyperior released himself and stood by the bed, staring her down.

“This is so not fair.”

All of them gave her amused looks, while Pikachu patted her cheek in comfort (Ash refused to belief it was anything but mocking, the traitor). Ash sighed and settled herself for a long wait, until she could escape and run off. Ash started giggling and then laughing full out maniacally as she thought about it.

Pikachu tugged on her hair harshly, snapping her out of it.

She looked at him sheepishly, before remembering his backstabbing and then turned her nose at him, glaring off to the side. She stared at the clock and yawned, eyes slowly drifting close. She didn’t even realize she’d fallen asleep.

When she awoke later, she immediately saw the time and winced as she realized it was two hours later. But then she no longer felt either Persian’s heavy body on her or Pikachu’s lighter one on her head. And it was quiet.

Letting out a triumphant laugh, she quickly jumped off the bed and rushed to the door, only to be grabbed around the waist and lifted up into the air.

“Oh no you don’t,” Giovanni’s familiar annoying voice said.

She growled and flipped over his head, landing gracefully on her feet like a Persian herself, and then whirled around him, heading towards the door again. He managed to tackle her to the ground, causing her to grunt in annoyance. She wiggled out of his hold and then threw herself forward, hand inching towards the door and trying to reach it. He just grabbed her ankle and yanked her back, actually putting her in a submission hold.

“What the hell?! Are you a freakin’ wrestler?” she yelled out, still struggling.

“How about you?! Are you a freakin’ Aipom? Forget that –with all your wriggling, right now you’re more like a stupid Caterpie!” he finally aggressively held her down, pushing all of his weight on her. “Damn, I’d like to see you writhing and underneath me, preferably eventually submitting to me, but not like this!”

“Idiot pervert!” she threw her head back to try to head butt him, but missed.

Without warning, he picked her up and held her tightly, keeping her limbs locked up in his hold. Despite that, she still tried to get out of his arms, without much success. He made it to her bed, dumping her on it, and before she could get up, had her blanket on top of her tucking her in, making a makeshift straightjacket. He made it even worse as he sat on the bed beside her, and then used the weight of his torso to hold her down further.

“Okay, Miss Houdini,” he said in heavy sarcasm. “Why don’t we talk first, before you go off and try to make off an amazing escape?”

She glared at him, but calmed down enough and reluctantly heard him out. Like she had a choice though…

“Look, I’m sorry I was paying too much attention to my phone,” he gruffly apologized, though she was caught off guard that he did. Then her face turned red and she halfheartedly glared to the side.

It wasn’t like she knew why she was so angry and irritable that he was paying more attention to his stupid phone than her, and especially when she was about to battle. She had no idea why she was so frustrated at his lack of attention or why it bothered her, when he’s a stupid criminal boss that she disliked and shouldn’t care one iota what his opinion was or if he was paying attention to her. At all.

“It’s not like I care or anything,” she stubbornly said. “You were probably busy with a woman or something, and being a stupid pervert.”

“Jealous?” he asked in amusement.

“As if!” she haughtily lifted her nose. “I told you I don’t care!”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I was.” She so knew it. “And a man too.”

She blinked and then stared at him, before he smirked.

“Honestly, I was holding a conversation with your mother and Professor Oak.”

“Wait, what? Why?”” she gaped at him.

“None of your business.”

She refrained from the urge to try to head butt him again.

“I won’t do it anymore, ignoring you. I promise.”

She looked at him in wide-eyed confusion, but he just looked at her seriously.

“Besides, those two sisters were pretty clear that I should be lavishing my attention on you, and that even in normal circumstances, females hate it when their guys don’t pay attention to them and ignore them, especially for something as insignificant as a phone and especially for a long time. And especially in an important time when they’re battling, like definitely in your case.”

“F-first of all, you are not my ‘guy,’” she stuttered, refusing the thought. “Two, I don’t care! But…you know, fine. That’d be nice. E-especially when I’m battling,” her face was turning red again. “Y-you know, just to see what I’m doing right or wrong, what I can improve on…” she muttered, averting her eyes. “‘Cause you know…even if you are an evil overlord, you are pretty smart and a really good battler…”

He stayed quiet, letting her have that one and avoiding embarrassing her further (he was still very tempted to), but his amusement was quite visible on his face. He rummaged into his pocket for a second and then took out a small box-like something. He flipped it open to reveal a huge, fancy diamond ring that she gaped at.

“So for the last hour and a half, I’ve been hunting down a nice ring and getting things ready, so we can have the perfect alibi –we’re gonna be married,” he told her nonchalantly.

She stared dumbly at him. “Say that again?”

“It’s not real, of course,” he continued on blithely. “But I thought you might like a real ring, and a nice one at that. I have the marriage certificate all done and everything, with our signatures,” –when did she sign something like that? – “And it’s authenticated and all, so we’ll pass inspection from everyone, though it won’t be official since it won’t actually be sent in to be processed.”

Ash blinked at him. “I refuse.”

Giovanni scowled and glared down at her. “What? What do you mean, you refuse! Just wear the stupid ring!”

He found her left hand under the blanket and pulled it out, struggling to put on the ring on the now struggling (again) girl.

“I won’t be forced into marriage!”

“I told you it’s fake!”

“Ahhh, help! Someone! I’m going to be forced into marriage with this pervert jerk!”

“You brat! I said it wasn’t real!”

Well, it’s been long decided that the rooms in the Pokémon Center would be soundproof for the sake of the Nurse Joys (and the patients, of course). Therefore, this marital argument and domestic dispute was wholly unheard by anyone, even by hearing distance.

Let it be said that the two struggled and argued long into the night, while a certain Persian and Pikachu watched in amusement to the side and lamented together about their owners.

Ash held out her hand and couldn’t stop smiling. It was a nice ring. And it was so shiny. It made rainbows!

Giovanni didn’t know whether to scowl at her, sigh in exasperation, or smugly smirk. Scowl because now she wanted the ring and was enjoying it, sigh at her turnaround, or smugly smirk that he found a good ring and at her ecstatic reaction to it.

“It’s shiny,” she grinned widely.

He grumbled under his breath. “What are you? ADD?”

She didn’t care what anyone said about the rings one got for the occasion. A nice ring was a nice ring, and Giovanni had good taste. Plus, what female wouldn’t like getting a pretty, shiny diamond rock, like the one that was on her finger?

“It’s so shiny and pretty,” she sighed, turning it and then watching the colors it reflected. “Oh! Giovanni, look! It became shinier! And watch all the pretty colors!”

Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course she’d be part of the group of individuals that were easily distracted by shiny things.

“Are you ready for your gym battle now?”

Instead of answering him, too busy admiring her ring and the shininess, Persian and Pikachu answered him with their separate agreements. So Giovanni flicked her cheek to get her attention.

“Hey!” she gave a look that he returned. But then it softened just a bit.

“Come on, aren’t you ready to grab your first Kalos badge already?”

Her face split into a huge grin.

“Yeah! You’re totally right, Giovanni!”

He smirked. “Aren’t I always?”

She didn’t give him a response, back to being excited about her battle and a badge. She got ready quickly, before hesitantly waiting at the door and looking at him nervously.

“So, um, y-you coming?”

He got up and followed after her. “We can have breakfast after your win.”

“And I’ll definitely win!” she exclaimed confidently.

Together, the two headed out to the Santalune Gym once again. Persian trailed behind them, with Pikachu hitching a ride on his head.

When the battle commenced this time, with Ash choosing Persian against Sunskrit in a switch from last time for the first battle, Ash utilized Persian’s superior speed that was combined by his even better power to win that match, and then the next one. Geez, what the hell did Giovanni do with his Persian to make the feline some awesome, super-powered pokémon? That’s it, when this whole Team Flare business was all over, Ash was going to do everything she could to convince Persian to dump Giovanni and come with her. She was going to steal Persian away from him if it was the last thing she did.

Ash laughed gleefully at the end of the battle, jumping onto Giovanni in celebration in a tight glomp as she cheered. Pikachu congratulated Persian beside them, making the feline preen.

“I won, I won! Giovanni, I did it! You owe me breakfast now!”

Alexa and Viola traded entertained looks.

“That girl is so tsundere towards the poor guy,” Viola snickered with her sister.

Alexa shrugged though. “He looks like he can definitely handle her.”

“About as much as she can handle him,” Viola noted too. “He seems a handful himself.”

“Ah. A match made in Heaven. Or Hell.”

It probably depended on the day of the week.

“Um…the boss handed this to us. Do you remember if we were supposed to send it?”

James, Jessie and Meowth looked at each other and then all three shrugged.

“I guess the boss is getting married.”