Carmine's attention was completely on his notebook. Numbers flew in his mind, as he quickly wrote them down.

He turned to the clock: it was 5:58 PM. He had only two minutes left to finish if he wanted to keep up with his schedule: thankfully, the math wasn't too hard to do.

So he placed his pen on the paper, ready to finish his work.

"Do your best, Nidorino! You can do it!"

"Hit him with all you've got, Gengar!"

And then he stopped, baring his teeth as rage built up inside him, while a cacophony of sounds and cries ensued outside his house.

He dropped his pen, rushed to the window, and opened it.

"I'm trying to study here!" Carmine yelled, glaring down.

The two kids stopped the match and turned up to him, as did Gengar and Nidorino. The two Pokémon raised their arms and paws, waving at him.

Carmine sighed. His mother really needed to stop letting kids borrow her Pokémon.

"Hello guys." Carmine groaned, sharpening his glare. "Now, can you go somewhere else?"

"Finally, here you are!"

He turned to the side, seeing a girl with a white hat, long brown hair and a black dress smiling at him. On her shoulder stood a Pikachu, more plump than usual.

Carmine sighed. "Aqua."

"Come on, stop wasting time on the books and play with us!" Aqua gestured to him, as the Pikachu did the same.

"You are still trying? I've told you already, I have much more important things to do." He stepped back and grabbed the windows. "So, bye."

He slammed it shut and returned to the desk. Carmine took a deep breath and looked at the clock. 6:02 PM. He clenched his fists.

Outside, Aqua looked down and sighed, as Pikachu patted the back of her head.

She smiled at him and rubbed his ear. "It's okay Sparky, I'm fine."

"I really don't know how you can be friend of that boring guy," one of the kid said, looking to the window.

"He wasn't always like that." Aqua shook her head. "He used to be much friendlier, before he became a stickler for time and his stupid schedul-"

She paused, a sudden thought crossing her mind. Aqua looked at her watch, and she and Sparky went pale.

The kids tilted their heads. "Aqua?"

"I'm late!" She bit her nails, took a deep breath and pointed to the two kids. "You keep playing guys! Once you are done, give the Balls back to Carmine's mom!"

She ran away right after, leaving the kids and the two Pokémon confused and alone.

***

"Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon Prof! This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon! For some people, Pokémon are pets. Other use them for fights. Myself… I study Pokémon as a profession."

Samuel Oak smiled as the video went on. Memories of many starters and young trainers flooded back to him; the memories he treasured the most out of his long career as regional Pokémon Professor.

"Still watching that, grandpa?"

Oak paused the video, turning to see his granddaughter carrying some folders.

"Oh, Daisy." He looked back to the paused video. "It feels like yesterday that I recorded this to promote Pokémon training. I can't believe it's been twenty years."

Daisy walked closer to her grandfather, smiling as well.

"I remember when Red and Blue started their journey." She looked to the ceiling. "And now they are the ones inspiring younger kids to become trainers."

Oak nodded. "It's good to know that even after all these years, people still like to spend time with their Pokémon."

He glanced at the clock, scratching his head. "About this, have you seen Aqua anywhere? I asked her to come here."

"Hm, I haven't seen h-"

The door was slammed open, and Oak and Daisy turned to see Aqua rushing towards them, stopping and catching up alongside Sparky. Then, she beamed and raised an arm.

"Oi, gramps! Sorry I'm late!" Aqua pumped her fists. "So, what's the mission?"

"Aqua! Have some respect!" Daisy glared at her. Aqua rubbed her neck and let out a nervous laugh.

"It's fine." Oak walked closer to Aqua, hand on his hips. "I'm glad to see you still have all this energy. And, about your 'mission'... you have heard that noise last night, right?"

"Sure I did!"

"Good." Oak grabbed some pictures and passed them to Aqua.

She took them and looked through the first ones, showing a medium-sized meteorite and a trail of dirt behind it from various angles.

"That noise was a meteor that fell on the outskirts of Pallet Town, near the entrance of Route 1," Oak said.

"Woah, cool!" Aqua smirked.

"And that's not all."

Oak gave Aqua another picture, this one showing a blurry, pink spot hiding beneath some meteorite shards.

Aqua squinted her eyes. "Uh, what's that?"

"According to the person that took this picture it was a small, pink creature."

"Small and pink." Aqua blinked, then winced. "Wait, gramps! Does that mean this is-"

Oak crossed his arms. "We can't be sure, but this might very well be a Mew."

Aqua and Sparky's jaws dropped. Oak smiled, and looked at a drawing of Mew on the wall.

"Mew is considered the ancestor of most known Pokémon. If he really came out of that meteor, that might confirm several theories about the origin of Pokémon." Oak faced Aqua again. "I'd like if you could-"

"Consider it done, gramps!" Aqua and Sparky did a military salute, then turned around and waved her arm. "See ya!"

They ran out of the laboratory right after, while Oak smiled and Daisy sighed.

***

Aqua ran all the way to the other side of the town, sharing a nod with Sparky. This mission was exactly what they needed.

She stopped in front of Carmine's house, knocking at the door several times. A woman in her thirties opened it.

"Hey, Aqua." The woman smiled. "Why did you leave in such a hurry?"

"You know, lab assistant stuff." Aqua peeked her head inside, turning left and right. "Is Carmine still boring himself to death?"

The woman pointed to the stairs with her thumb. "He's up."

"Thanks, miss!" Aqua entered, smiling. "I'm gonna make your son normal again!"

Carmine's mother tilted her head, as Aqua went up the stairs.

She ran across the second floor and barged in Carmine's room. "Hey, Carmine!"

Carmine winced and turned around, hand on his heart and breathing hard. Once he calmed down, he glared at Aqua.

"Would knocking on the door be too much for you?" Carmine asked.

"So you can forbid me from entering? Tough luck!" Aqua pointed to herself. "I came here because I need your help!"

Carmine raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Long story short: space meteorite, possible Mew, work for Oak!" Aqua said. "It's got the science-y stuff you like, and you know Oak is still alright with you becoming his assistant!"

"Ah." Carmine blinked, then turned back to the desk and started writing again. "Good luck with it."

Aqua's expression turned serious, as Sparky glared at him. "You really like to be a loser, do you?"

"I'm working on my future." Carmine kept writing. "Not that you can understand."

"I thought your future was to become a Pokémon trainer and then a Professor."

Carmine paused, clenching his fists. "Once, maybe."

"Come on, don't be ridiculous." Aqua rolled her eyes. "You are doing all of this just because you arrived late back then."

"I told you already." He turned back to Aqua. "They took all the good starters and left the garbage."

"Every starter is worth it!" Aqua shook a fist while Sparky nodded. She pointed her palm to the side. "Are you seriously throwing away your dream just for bad luck? You are supposed to fight for it!"

Carmine took the pen again and scribbled on the corner of the page, digging the tip on the paper. The excitement of that day and the delusion he got surged back at once. He shook his head and put those thoughts away from him.

"Pokémon training seems cool, but it's just the same thing over and over." Carmine clenched his fists.

"Come on. You don't really think that!" Aqua walked closer. Carmine sighed.

"I don't expect you to understand. Your starter is a fat Pikachu after all." Carmine started writing again.

Aqua stopped. Sparky glared at his cheeks let out static. Aqua bared her teeth, and grabbed Carmine's arm.

"You've crossed the line now!" She pulled him up, staring in his eyes. He gulped and said nothing.

Aqua turned around and walked out of the room, keeping an iron grip on Carmine's arm.

"You are coming with us now!" Aqua turned around and faced Carmine as they walked. "I'm gonna help you, whether you like it or not!"

Carmine planted his feet down. "Wait! I'm just about to finish my hom-"

"Silence!" Aqua pulled Carmine and made him trip down, without stopping.

She faced onward again as she speed up, walking towards Route 1 as Carmine struggled to keep up.

***

"And, here! This is the place!"

Aqua and Sparky looked over Route 1, mostly unchanged save from the medium-sized meteorite at her left and the large trail it left behind. At her side, Carmine put his hands on his knees and caught his breath.

He turned his head up and glared at Aqua. "Why the heck did you have to do this?"

"Because for this stuff I'm as dumb as a brick." Aqua pointed to him. "You are the science guy here!"

"Meh." Carmine rolled his eyes. "It's just a stupid space rock. Why should I care about-"

He saw the stupid space rock, and winced.

"Wait wait wait!" Carmine ran to the meteorite and passed a hand on its surface, observing the holes that littered it.

He turned to Aqua. "This looks like a vesicular fusion crust! Are you sure this is a meteorite?"

"Well, gramps said so," she said.

A big grin formed on Carmine's face, as he turned back to the meteorite, drooling over it.

"Incredible! This meteorite must be from the moon! You see, what distinguishes a lunar or martian meteorite from the most common kind is that, once they enter orbit, they..."

He heard chuckles, and frowned towards Aqua. "Wait, why are you laughing?"

"Oh, nothing." Aqua grinned. "I knew space stuff would have gotten you interested!"

"G-gh!" Carmine blushed and turned away. "Y-you understand nothing! It's just a rare sight, I don't care for these things!"

"Then why were you fawning over that thing just a second ago?"

"Err..." Carmine coughed and looked around. "So, you said a Mew was here?"

Aqua suppressed a laugh as she nodded and turned left and right. "Something small and pink, yes. Mew fits the bill."

"That'd support the Pokémon coming from space idea." Carmine stroked his chin. "Though I don't think they'd come from the moon."

"Hey, you can't be sure. For all we know, Pokémon could be able to live on the sun as well!" Aqua pointed skyward.

"Impossible, the sun is too hot to sustain any kind of life, and even Pokémon that have the most heated bodies couldn't be able to live there. Plus, they'd have no way to arrive on our planet."

Aqua crossed her arms and pouted. "Oh, come on!"

She then jumped on her feet, pointing onward. "Wait! What's that?"

Carmine turned to her, seeing something pink hiding behind the meteorite.

He winced. "It must be Mew!"

He instantly grabbed a Poké Ball from Aqua's belt and enlarged it, throwing it towards the meteorite without a word.

The Poké Ball hit something. Aqua and Carmine kept looking on. After a few seconds, the ball clicked, and both kids smiled.

"Yes!" Carmine punched the sky.

He and Aqua ran towards the Poké Ball, as Carmine grabbed it and looked at it.

"I can't believe it!" Carmine held the Ball high. "I caught a Mew!"

Aqua crossed her arms, smirking. "Look at you, mister 'I don't care for Pokémon'."

"Hey, it's an historical moment." Carmine lowered his arm, before looking at the Ball once again.

He threw the Poké Ball right after. "Let's see him! Go, Mew!"

The Ball hit the ground, and Carmine rubbed his hands together while his smile widened.

Then the Pokémon came out of the Ball, and Carmine's smile died as he looked at a pink, stubby, and angry-looking Pokémon with a curl on his head and brown-tipped ears.

"What?" Carmine raised an eyebrow. "That's not a Mew!"

"It's a Clefairy." Aqua tilted her head. "And it's small and pink."

Carmine widened his eyes. "You don't mean that-"

Aqua nodded. "He's probably our 'Mew', yeah."

Carmine observed the Clefairy again, then slapped an hand on his forehead.

"You've got to be kidding me." He shook his eyes and glared at Clefairy. "This is what I got all worked up for? A weak Pokémon I'd never use!"

Clefairy glared at him, jumping and giving him two hard slaps on both cheeks before crossing his arms.

"Ow! Hey!" He rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?"

Clefairy laughed, blowing a raspberry towards Carmine. He clenched his fists and jumped on him.

Clefairy disappeared instantly, and Carmine fell face first on the ground. He reappeared again at his back, jiggling.

"Wow, it has Double Slap and Minimize. Neat stuff!" Aqua said.

Carmine grinded his teeth as he got back on his feet. "That's enough!"

Clefairy and Carmine glared at each other again, and were ready to jump at each other. Right before they could, a voice was heard.

"You two, freeze and give me that Clefairy!"

Behind them, a man dressed in black with a huge 'R' on his shirt arrived, holding a whip in his hand. Clefairy froze, and rushed behind Carmine.

Carmine looked at Clefairy, and then at the man. "Who are you?"

The man smirked. "I'm a member of the invincible Team Rocket! Now, give me that Pokémon, and nobody will have to get hurt."

"Yeah. How about no?" Aqua narrowed her eyes. "Team Rocket has been disbanded for seventeen years, by the way, so drop the act."

"That was the old, foolish Team Rocket! I'm part of the Neo Team Rocket! We will protect the world from devastation, and unite all people within our nation!"

Aqua shook her head. "Nice motto. But our answer is still no."

The grunt stared down Aqua, grabbing some Poké Balls. "You asked for it."

Aqua matched his stare, as Sparky jumped off her shoulder and took a fighting stance.

She inched towards Carmine. "Keep an eye on the Clefairy. I've got this."

Carmine nodded, and Aqua turned back to the grunt.

The grunt threw two Poké Balls. "Go, Koffing! Ekans!"

The two Poison-types appeared, glaring at Sparky.

"Hey!" Aqua frowned. "Two against one isn't fair!"

"Breaking news: I don't care for fairness." The grunt pointed onward. "Koffing, Tackle!"

"Sparky, Quick Attack!"

Sparky dashed first. Koffing was thrown away.

"Thundershock!"

The electric discharge hit Koffing, and he fell to the ground.

Aqua smiled. "Great!"

Sparky turned around and pointed skyward. He didn't see Ekans tackling him to the ground.

Aqua winced. "Sparky!"

"Never get distracted in a battle, kid." The grunt said. "Ekans, Wrap!"

Ekans wrapped his coils against Sparky, tightening his grip. Sparky thrashed and screamed.

Aqua bared her teeth. "Sparky, Thundershock, again!"

Sparky threw a spark at Ekans. He yelled as Sparky slipped free.

"Koffing, Tackle! Ekans, Wrap again!"

Sparky jumped over Koffing, but Ekans grabbed him and threw him on the ground.

Aqua gulped. "Sparky, Quick Attack! Now!"

Sparky dashed towards Koffing. Ekans jumped between them, and Sparky was thrown back.

"Again!"

Sparky got back on its feet and dashed towards Ekans, jumping ontop of him.

"Once more!"

Using Ekans's head as a spring, Sparky thrust himself forward, ready to hit Koffing.

The grunt grinned. "Koffing, Smog!"

Just as Sparky hit Koffing, he released a thick violet cloud around them. Both crashed down.

"Sparky! You okay?" Aqua asked.

Sparky got back up and nodded. Then he threw his head down and coughed, his body becoming slightly purple.

Aqua clenched her fists. "Damn."

"With your Pokémon poisoned, there's not much you can do." The grunt crossed his arms. "But you can still give up."

"Not a chance!" Aqua smiled, pointing onward. "Sparky, get back to it! Thundershock!"

Sparky charged the spark. Ekans grabbed him and sent him flying. Koffing tackled him down. Sparky crashed on the meteorite.

"Sparky!" Aqua rushed to his side, grabbing him.

"Still thinking you can make it?" The grunt asked, grinning again with Ekans and Koffing.

Aqua observed Sparky and took a deep breath. She turned to the grunt and gave him a cocky smirk.

"Definitely!" Aqua said, as Sparky took his battle stance again.

Carmine tilted his head. How could she be so confident despite the odds?

The Rocket blinked, then shook his head. "Umpf. Let's wipe that grin off your face!"

The two went at it again. Sparky did his best despite the poison, as Ekans and Koffing pulled every dirty trick to try to defeat him.

Carmine gulped as he kept following the match. Sparky was starting to move slower with every second, and the Ekans and Koffing were still mostly unscratched. All the while, the poison whittled away Sparky's health.

He glanced at the Clefairy, seeing that he was observing the battle as well. He clenched his fists. Carmine said that he was a weak Pokémon. Something he'd never use.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Hey." Clefairy turned to him, scratching his head. Carmine smirked. "Want to wreak some havoc?"

Clefairy smirked back, and Carmine pointed his palm forward. "Let's see what we can do!"

Clefairy rushed on the battlefield and kicked Ekans away, before he could grab Sparky again. The grunt and Aqua turned to him.

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Carmine?"

"Focus on the battle, Aqua!" Carmine said.

Aqua smiled and nodded. "Right!"

The Rocket grunt scratched his head, sighing. "Doesn't matter. You will both be defeated."

He sharpened his glare. "Ekans, deal with that Clefairy! Koffing, the Pikachu is yours!"

Both Pokémon went on the offensive again. Aqua, Carmine and their Pokémon got ready.

"Wrap!"

Ekans caught Clefairy in his coils.

"Minimize!"

Clefairy disappeared. Ekans winced and turned left and right.

"Double Slap!"

Clefairy grew large again behind Ekans, dealing him two hard slaps. Ekans fell to the ground.

"Gh!" The grunt clenched his fists. "Try again! Faster!"

"Jump and Double Slap!"

Clefairy jumped over Ekans, slapping him on the way down. The ground cracked when Ekans hit it.

"You brat!" The grunt grinded his teeth. "I will show you!"

Ekans and Clefairy clashed again, over and over.

Carmine and the grunt did their best. Ekans hit Clefairy a few times, but Clefairy retaliated after each attack.

As the match went on, Carmine and Clefairy got more and more in-sync. He got a better grasp of Clefairy's skills, and Clefairy was faster to react to his orders.

Carmine smiled. This was what he wanted to do. What made him strive to be a trainer in the first place.

Sparky, Clefairy, Ekans and Koffing were all getting tired. The match wouldn't go on much longer.

The grunt hit the ground with his whip. "Smog!"

"Minimize!"

Clefairy disappeared as the poison cloud reached him, slipping out of it.

Aqua smiled before she turned to Sparky. He was breathing hard and his paws were trembling. She took a deep breath.

"Sparky, let's close this!" Aqua said. "Use Thundershock! Maximum power!"

Sparky nodded as he avoided Koffing, his cheeks bursting with electricity.

He charged up more and more, sparks flying around his body.

Then he released all of it. Ekans and Koffing were struck by the electricity and fell down.

Sparky did the victory sign before joining them on the ground.

The Rocket grunt sweated and bit his lip. Then Ekans and Koffing got back up, and he grinned.

"Heh heh!" The grunt gloated. "You have no chance to win now!"

He hit the ground with the whip again. "Go! Destroy that Clefairy!"

Carmine clenched his fist. Clefairy breathed heavily.

Ekans and Koffing went against Clefairy. Then crashed down before they could reach him.

The grunt widened his eyes. "What...?"

He saw static going through his Pokémon's bodies, and turned to a cackling Aqua. He gulped.

Aqua tilted her head to Carmine. "You can have the honor of finishing this!"

"Alright then!" Carmine took a deep breath, smirking. "Clefairy, Metronome!"

Clefairy smirked as well, moving his fingers left and right.

He opened his mouth and fired a white beam towards Ekans and Koffing. The two were blown several feet away, unconscious and defeated.

The Rocket grunt's jaw dropped, shaking his head and recalling his Pokémon right after. He glared at Carmine and Aqua.

"This isn't the end!" The grunt pointed his finger to them. "Team Rocket will rise again, mark my words!"

He turned around and ran away. Aqua, Carmine and their Pokémon shared puzzled looks right after.

"What a sore loser." Carmine scratched his head. "What did he want, anyway?"

"I dunno." Aqua shrugged. "I think after Team Rocket made all that ruckus, Team whatevers have become far too common."

"Should we follow him?"

Aqua shook her head. "Nah, he seems harmless."

She smiled, putting her hands behind her neck. "Though, hey, nice one! You and that Clefairy were, like, totally in-sync!"

"Yeah." Carmine turned to Clefairy. "It's more thanks to him, though. He was pretty fantastic."

He gave Clefairy a thumbs up. Clefairy raised an eyebrow, only to smirk and reply with a thumbs up of his own.

Carmine chuckled, then shook his head and took a deep breath. He turned towards Aqua, scratching his arm.

"Look, I..." He paused, narrowing his eyes and turning the other way. "I'm sorry for what happened. I was just trying to act cool, but-"

"Oh, knock it off!" Aqua hit him lightly on the arm. "You don't need to give me a speech. Just having you back to normal is enough."

Carmine tilted his head, before smiling towards Aqua. She smiled back at him as she fetched Sparky in her arms, looking at the meteorite and sighing.

"What a bummer, though. In the end, no Mew." She puffed her cheeks. "We could've made the discovery of the century!"

"True," Carmine said, stretching his limbs. "Though, I didn't mind this little adventure."

"Same here!" Aqua nodded, before looking down. "I'm just sad that gramps will gain nothing useful now."

Carmine smiled. "I don't think so."

"Uhm?" Aqua turned to Carmine, tilting her head.

***

Oak heard the door open, and saw Aqua and Sparky enter the lab.

"Sorry gramps." Aqua shook her head. "No luck. There was no Mew, only a Clefairy."

"Oh." Oak crossed his arms and sighed. "I thought it was the case. It seemed to be too convenient."

Aqua smiled and extended her arms. "Don't be upset! I've got even better news than that!"

She moved out of the way and pointed her arms to where she was, just as Carmine and Clefairy walked inside: the first rubbing his neck and forcing a smile, the second smirking and looking around.

Oak blinked. "Carmine?"

"Hi, Professor." Carmine paused, turning to his Clefairy. He took a deep breath and looked back to Oak. "I heard you were looking for another assistant."

He let out a brief laugh, pointing to himself. "Well, here I am."

Oak remained silent for a moment. He looked at Carmine before closing his eyes, hand behind his back.

"If you want to help, you arrived just at the right moment," he said.

Oak turned towards his desk, taking a couple of red devices from it and presenting them to Carmine and Aqua with a smile.

"I just have the right assignment for the two of you."

The two widened their eyes, turning to each other. They both smiled, turned to Oak, and nodded vigorously.

Nobody noticed the pink, cat-like Pokémon observing the scene from behind a window, before flying away from Pallet Town and into the unknown.