I wondered the other day what would happen if Red said yes to that Rocket Grunt on the Nugget Bridge. Naturally, this made me want to read some stories.

I'd like to read some fics where Red (or Ash if it follows the anime) joins Team Rocket.

Does anyone know some?

 

That sounds awesome. xD

 

Well one of the stipulations would have to be that Red is a retard, because the sales pitch given to him was basically "Hey, we're evil, want to join? Come on, please?"

You could always make that Rocket grunt more persuasive I guess.

 

Well I didn't say that the POD has to be at that exact moment, just that the moment made me wonder about the idea.

Red joining Team Rocket may happen in variety of other situations.

 

I'm not familiar with the manga at all, so bear that in mind with what I've framed, but it would likely need changing.

Red, confident in his abilities, charges from Viridian forest to the Pewter gym. His pokemon have all been awesome on the way through, and hyped up on feelings of immortality, challenges Brock.

As a gym leader, it is up to Brock to help ensure that trainers are capable, and that their teams are strong. There are several ways of doing so, ranging from written tests and modular examinations, to service for the community, or for winning a series of battles.

Brock offers Red a choice:
- Do the normal youngster route - beat two gym trainers, then face Brock. Normal battle rules.
- Spend a few months studying, working hard, and then use the knowledge to go for fast-track applications at each gym, as a lot of the learning carries over from one to the next.
- A 'feral' battle, showing how well you've trained your pokemon.

Red, full of himself after his winning streak from Pallet, goes for option C.

A 'feral' battle is actually quite simple. Release however many pokemon you want, and then they fight.
With no trainer intervention.

Turns out Red wasn't quite as good as he thought he was.
His pokemon have no sense of working together, and are annihilated.

He leaves the gym in tears, with no pokeballs, and only $100 in his pocket - the cost of the challenge wiped him out.
Brock escorts him to the hotel, and pays to cover the weekend for Red. It also gives Brock the chance to make sure Red's out of the gym, and not causing any problems - angry trainers don't always quietly seethe.

On the way back, Brock encounters a dirty, rangy looking man. And, quite furiously, orders him out of the city - "I've told you, I don't want any of your kind in here!"

The man frowns, but heads off.

Red goes chasing after him.

Anyone Brock hates has to be a decent person.

After all, Brock's the villain in this case, killing all of Red's pokemon.

Right?

 

I don't think we need to go as far as a Gym Leader killing a Trainer's Pokemon, unless you're doing yet another dark 'n edgy Pokemon universe (because those are so cool, rite?)

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be interested in reading a story with this premise anyway, so meh.

 

It doesn't have to be dark and edgy, no.

But he needs to be brought into TR quite early, and he needs a strong reason to look past the first few minor 'problems'.

He needs to be hooked in - "Well you set the gym on fire. So if you don't steal this kid's pokemon, we'll give you to the league. What's that, you DO want to beat up Youngster Joey for his top-percentage Rattata? Cool!" works fine after he's committed a crime they can blackmail him with. But he needs a reason to do a crime in the first place.

Hell, you could make the death really unusual. Which is why Brock seems so cold afterwards - he's literally never killed a trainer's pokemon before, and he feels like complete shit for things getting that far out of his control.

 

That does sound better. Especially since it's Brock, you know. Him just straight-up killing Ash/Red's Pokemon would be very jarring.

You could also tie this story premise in with the idea that Giovanni was Ash's father that someone came up with at some point.

 

I thought that was going to be the case back when I first watched it as a kid.

 

Couldn't you just have Lance/other Elite 4 member/Gym Leader turn up and ask Red (or Ash) whichever you prefer to infiltrate Team Rocket using the Nugget Bridge Grunt? Say they've heard Team Rocket are in the area recruiting young trainers and wanted to gather information on what they're up to.

Could try and link it with Mewtwo (maybe the Pokemon League discovered the Cinnabar Lab where Mewtwo was created) as a valid reason to use Red/Ash and gain information on Team Rocket.

 

I'd go the opposite way. Red joins Team Rocket with good intentions, possibly not knowing what he's getting in to. He gets gradually suckered into committing crimes for Team Rocket to the point where he can no longer back out. Then, at some indiscriminate point in the future, Lance finds him, beats the tar out of him with Dragonite, and recruits him as a spy in the operation.

 

So Ashe is Snape and Lance is Dumbledore?

 

Misty something something true wuv

 

So I just saw this theory. I would definitely read a Team Rocket Red story with this kind of premise.

 

That's going in my sig.

 

Yes. Someone make this a fic. Now. Right fucking now.