Don't look behind the poster, they said. Don't touch the switch, he was told. You're just a kid, they jeered. You're a monster, they whimpered.
It's been years since he removed the vermin from underneath the casino- The poster still hangs there, but no one seems to notice it. There is no man guarding it. No one even looks up from their mind-numbing games in their vain attempts to win that elusive rare pokemon or TM. Red shakes his head. A disappointment.
The young man, his faithful companion calm on his shoulder, walked right up to the poster, and like the time before, defiantly went to push the switch behind it. He was lurched out of his memories by the harsh reality that the index finger he once used to activate the switch no longer existed. He simply used his other hand.
The Rocket hideout under the casino, as far as Red knew, was empty all this time that he was away on Mt. Silver. In that time, it became a habitat for a select typing of pokemon, and the young man had every intention of spending time alone in their company. Well, their company, and his new team's company- it was a good place to train, while not losing sight of his original goals. A way of remembering the past without dwelling.
The boy was too occupied with his nostalgia, however, he didn't hear the other approach. If he did, there might have been bloodshed.