"I swear to Arceus, I'm gonna fucking kill him. How the fuck did he get a house...?" Howard grumbled as he stepped up to Shred's domicile. Remarkable. Judging from the smell coming from the house, Howard could guess how.

Fucking druggy.

He was wearing his hair in a ponytail, eyes groggy. He missed his hat. He elected to leave it at his apartment instead, as it was likely to blow off when flying. He didn't need it anyway, but he felt naked without it.

Howard knocked on the door, only to be met with a sight that would make the average degenerate from college sigh with envy. Howard looked over the clearly intoxicated Chue-e once, twice, then thrice. His eye flicked to the bottle behind the door.

"Wrong address. Sorry for waking you." Howard slammed the door in his face.

---

Chu-e Choi

"What the FUUUUUUCcccccccccccck???!" Howard shouted as he was dragged into the house. "SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" The door slammed shut, cutting off Howard's screams to Sootopolis. Not like it mattered, Team Rocket ran the city, and it didn't matter what happened out here at night.

This house was unfathomably lame. Even Howard wanted to bully this place's owner, and his house was a mixture of lame and history's greatest treasures. Why were there so many bottles on the floor? This sort of alcoholism was criminal!

Wake. criminal. Howard blinked.

Wait, he had been kidnapped.

"What the fuck? You're not Shred!" Howard pointed at Chue-e with his finger, before shrinking slightly under the glare of the Gardevoir. He swallowed nervously, before continuing. "I'm Rocket, you know! We RUN this city, and you have ZERO bit-

Wait. He knew who was this. He approached Chu-e nervously, as if approaching a pipe bomb that failed to detonate. He poked the man's cheek, before screaming internally. This was his old boss! This was Team Rocket's old underboss, Ching Who?

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck..." Howard swore as he backed away into the Gardevoir.

---

Chu-e Choi

"Shred got a new phone!" Howard snapped back, defensive. "He broke his old one! Besides, nobody lies over the internet!"

He actually looked honest while saying that. He genuinely believed that nobody would lie over the internet, least of all Chu-e. Bless his heart. He had absolute trust in Chu-e's honesty and the ex-underboss had betrayed it. Howard dusted off his shoulders and glared at the Gardevoir, before turning back to Chu-e.

"How could you lie to me like that? Shame on you" Howard pointed his finger angrily at Chu-e's chest, before turning away to hide his embarrassment. "Don't say that. Kill yourself."

He crossed his arms angrily, before reaching into his pocket. He threw the chocolate bar at Chu-e. It landed on his lap with a donk. "There. Can I go now?"

---

Chu-e Choi

"Yes. That is in fact the name I was born with." Howard's eye rolled as he reached for his hat, only to realize it was still at home. Dammit, he relied on that hat to give him any sense of authority. Without it, he just looked like a tired postgrad with hair in a messy ponytail.

"I..." Howard cocked his head.

This house was rancid, even if it was clean. It reeked of alcohol and sweat and shame. Chu-e was one of Team Rocket's finest members, and he was drowning himself late into the night. Calling him one of the 'finest' members might've been an understatement. Howard didn't see the appeal.

Why were Team Rocket higher ups all completely fucked? He would never end up like them.

"You're in no shape to ask me anything. Let me redirect the question." Howard leaned in, sneaking a glance at Prince as he did so. The stench of alcohol grew stronger. "Why do you hate yourself?"

---

Chu-e Choi

"I see. Yes, you are." Howard frowned and narrowed his eye. He had even forgone the patch that covered his eye when he traveled here. He didn't need it when it was this late. That patch was simply about the aesthetic. He didn't need people treating him differently just because he couldn't see in one eye.

"You disgust me."

Here, with this man? That did not matter. The words were harsh, but they weren't antagonistic. It was simply an analysis of a professional appraiser.

"That, however, does not make you inhuman. This weakness makes you infinitely more relatable than anyone else in this parade of an organization." Howard leaned forward and lifted Chu-e's chin, inspecting his former boss's face. "You look like an undergrad with no degree. Is your daughter biological?"

He ignored the last question pointedly. That answered that.

---

Chu-e Choi

"I'd rather not sleep my way up the ladder." Howard frowned as the Key Stone in his eye gleamed in the light. "I don't need fancy connections. I will not end up like you or ■■■." That man's voice blacked out of his mind.

He could kill this man. Chu-e was a monster to the League, and his crimes would likely go unpunished if nobody intervened. Howard inspected the knife, before tossing it aside. It landed on the floor with a clatter.

"History would remember me as a hero, true." Logically, this was the right decision. History would laud Chu-e's death as a great victory. The Pokémon League would be glad to see this man go. If his goal was to protect history, then shouldn't he ensure that this event goes written? Howard whispered as he leaned in close. "But this punishment seems apt. You're almost attractive. Almost. Shame your heart is missing."

Suddenly, Chu-e's throat was being gripped tightly. Not to the point of choking, but almost.

"Disgusting."

---

Chu-e Choi

"Pull is another word for power, and power is something that exists in the moment." Should an archaeologist say this? Didn't he believe in concepts that stretched across epochs that humanity couldn't understand with their limited lifespans? History remembered power, and that history stretched it out until it threatened to snap.

Howard took a final glance at Prince, before turning back to Chu-e.

"You had pull when you dragged me in here. Where has that gone?" Howard smiled softly. "It's evaporated, like a shadow on the wall. Now I have the pull. You could have that pull, if only you reached for it."

Despite Chu-e's attempts, Howard let go. He had seen enough when he glimpsed into Chu-e's eyes. This was a man who had nothing left but hedonism and hatred. This was one of Team Rocket's greatest assets? Was this what history did to the greatest of men?

Deplorable. He was best preserved as an ideal. That would be what history remembered.

"Pathetic. You actually wanted me to continue? Seriously? You're messed up." Howard looked down at the rag doll. Leaning down, he threw a fluffy pink blanket over the mass. "Fight on or die. Never call me again. Waste of my fucking time..."

Howard walked past Prince, giving the Gardevoir a chilling glare. This was the expression of someone both tired and fed up with an extremely distasteful duty. He put a hand on the knob. Another example of power at work. He had pull in this precise situation, even as the Gardevoir could destroy him with its mind. He looked back at Chu-e. He would not end up like him.

The door opened and shut.

---

Chu-e Choi