Pokémon Link: Rise of the Syndicate

Chapter 1: Calm Before the Storm
The first rays of a new dawn had broken through the clouds at the facility simply known as The Field. To simply call this place a prison would in and of itself be a vast understatement-it was more like a fortress. Aside from having the usual fixtures one would expect in a place like this, tons of security features were added. From electrified gates standing about 15 feet in height, to guards and their Pokémon (Mightyena, Primeape, and any other generally threatening or intimidating ones were preferred) patrolling the areas around the clock, this place was heavily guarded to say the least. There was even a device situated at the center of the prison capable of disrupting poké ball functionality, just in case. Why would all this security be in place, one might ask? Simply put, this penitentiary housed the worst of the worst. Grunts, Admins, and Leaders from the most infamous criminal organizations that the world has to offer wound up doing time here after their schemes failed. Knowing all this, neither the guards nor the populace at large were very worried about the possibility of a breakout. After all, they had this place sealed airtight, right? Maybe they should have been...

"Mail call for a mister... Harmonia, Ghetsis," the security guard called, holding a medium-sized package.

"Over here, fool!"

The guard grumbled something unintelligible and walked over to the prisoner. "Yeah, got a package for you, bright eyes."

Getting a closer look at the elder Harmonia would likely evoke a feeling of disgust. The man formerly known as the cruel, manipulative leader of Team Plasma now looked as twisted physically as he was mentally; he had grayish-green unkempt hair that went down to his hips, a large, scraggly beard, and perhaps most shocking of all, no right arm to speak of. To top off this look, his face seemed to be perpetually twisted into a mixture between a growl and a scowl.

Before the guard handed it over though, he followed standard procedure and radioed a package inspector. After about five minutes, the inspector arrived and got to work.

"Let's see here...a whistle...an MP3 player...a blank CD...and... What do we have here?"

The inspector took out two black and white spheres with buttons at their centers. He studied them curiously for a moment before taking a look back at Ghetsis.

"Seriously, man?"

The would-be dictator looked at the inspector innocently. "Even I like to keep the mementos from my days as a trainer."

Both the guard and inspector gave him doubtful looks, but then just shrugged.

"Eh, I guess he might as well keep it," the inspector said to the guard. "It's not like he could actually use the things anyway."

He was right. At the center of the prison lay a device specifically designed to cancel out the type of frequencies that poké balls emit when functioning, effectively rendering them useless. Unfortunately, that meant that any creature unlucky enough to be in these "dead balls" would be in quite the predicament.
The inspector concluded his business, gave the package to Ghetsis, and promptly left. The guard shot one last suspicious look at the decrepit prisoner before also taking his leave.
Ghetsis looked through his package, a twisted smile forming on his face. This was it, the chance he'd been waiting for all this time. He would finally get his revenge on that boy, that girl, and that stupid, defective moron that thought he could talk to Pokémon. They would all pay, and he would rule Unova and then some! He just needed to wait until the time was right.


Meanwhile, Capt. Sonya Watters was wrapping up training with her three houndoom in a special area on the other side of the prison dedicated to such purposes.

"Good job, boys!"

The houndoom at the center responded with an indignant huff while the other two barked in affirmation. This did not go unnoticed. Capt. Watters rolled her eyes and petted the one in the center.

"Alright, fine. Good job, boys...and girl. That okay with you, Sarah?" The dog made the closest face it possibly could to a satisfied smirk.
The young captain smiled. "Ok, then. Why don't you three head off to the mess hall and get a good meal in your bellies?"

Sarah made a cheery-sounding noise and trotted off with the other two tagging along behind her.

Capt. Watters watched them go. Out of all the uncertainty in her life, she knew one thing for sure: she loved those three houndoom more than anything. Things just hadn't been the same since her mother passed away. After it happened, she spent many nights locked in her room, crying. Out of concern for her, one of her friends pulled some strings, and long story short, she found herself at a local orphanage. Ever since she picked out the three Dark/Fire types, she had loved them like they were here own children. She could even tell the differences in their personalities: Sarah was brash but honest. Ray (the one to the left) was quiet, but always willing to help in a pinch. Paulie (the one to the right) was the hardest working of the group, and at times, would fight with Sarah for the spotlight. Now, they, along with her work in The Field, was what she lived for.

As she left to fill out some paperwork, she couldn't shake this odd feeling of foreboding rolling around in the back of her mind.