What Lance said filled Grey with confidence.
This was the confidence the Kanto League gave him.
With such a solid backer behind him, then surely the group he had left in Kanto could do some good as planned.
"Tepig..."
(I... I still can't give up! N-no, don't go!)
Tepig was still having its nightmare.
Hearing that, Grey walked over and sat down on the floor beside it.
He did not say anything. He simply reached out and rubbed Tepig's head, using Aura to smooth out its emotions.
Tepig was still too young. If it kept having nightmares for too long, it would still affect both its body and mind.
"Annihilape."
(Boss, is there anything else we still need to do in Unova?)
Annihilape felt like time had passed so quickly. Since following Grey, it had witnessed all kinds of things.
"Not much left. I'll ask Sabrina how things are going on her end in the morning."
Sabrina was still filming. Grey had been in contact with her every day lately, so he knew her career was in a real upswing.
Even Rosa had to admit that Sabrina had real talent when it came to acting.
Especially while filming the Magic Kingdom movie series, the way she performed had amazed everyone.
The famous director Stu Deeoh had been full of praise, saying that while she might not be an old veteran actress, she was every bit as impressive as one.
All in all, even if she could not reach Diantha's level, there was no problem at all with her becoming a first-rate actress.
"Annihilape."
(Okay. I wonder how things are going back at the Fighting Dojo.)
Annihilape paced back and forth, deliberately softening its footsteps so it would not wake the sleeping Tepig.
"You should go to sleep too. You may be a Ghost-type Pokémon, but if you don't get enough rest, it'll still affect your health."
Grey yawned.
In just a few more minutes, he was going to sleep too.
"Annihilape."
(Mhm. Boss, you should get some rest too.)
After saying that, Annihilape slipped back into its Poké Ball.
...
...
The sun rose and the moon set.
The next day arrived as usual.
"Tepig!"
(It feels like endless power is surging out of my body!)
The moment it woke up that morning, Tepig was visibly excited.
This had only taken one night, yet its strength had already risen to such an extent.
Before this, when it had faced Tepig Number Three, the two of them had been about evenly matched. It had only lost by a single mistake, and that one mistake had cost it everything.
But now, it could completely overpower Tepig Number Three in a fight.
It was not exaggerating. Even if three copies of Tepig Number Three came at it together, they still would not be its match.
Sure enough, this human had not been lying to it at all.
[Pokémon: Tepig]
[Type: Fire]
[Level: 10]
[Ability: Reckless]
[Moves: Omitted.]
In a single night, Tepig had gained five levels.
No wonder it was reacting like this.
Not long ago, reaching level ten would have required steady training over time, probably around five days' worth, before it could get there.
Without a trainer, it was still far too hard for a wild Pokémon to raise its strength quickly.
And even with a trainer, if there was no systematic training plan, progress would only be fast in the early stages. The farther along things went, the slower it would become.
Maybe it could barely evolve into Emboar, but more likely, it would simply fade into the crowd.
Not everyone was a raising genius like Blue.
Tepig understood that too.
The human in front of it was clearly one of the good ones.
"Well? I didn't lie to you, right?"
Grey had woken up as well. Seeing Tepig so excited, he knew that Sleeping Arhat Fist had worked wonders.
"Tepig."
(That's right! Now I can pin that Tepig down and beat it! Let's go, I'm going to prove my strength!)
Two little streams of sparks burst from Tepig's nostrils. The scattered sparks hit the ground, but did not start a fire.
After that, it charged straight toward Tepig Number Three, determined to get its justice back.
"Take it easy."
Grey called out a reminder and followed after it, with no intention of interfering.
"Tepig."
(I know. Just stand there and watch. I'm going to beat that Tepig with my own strength!)
At that moment, Tepig felt like everything had come back to it.
...
...
Kanto Region, Saffron City.
While dawn was only just breaking over in Unova, night had already fallen in Saffron City across the sea.
Today was Friday, and Silph Co. had recently adopted a 9-to-5, five-days-a-week work schedule.
At this hour, aside from some security guards, there were almost no Silph Co. employees left inside the building.
Of course, that was referring to actual Silph Co. employees.
Not certain "impostors."
Silph Co., middle and upper floors.
"Come on, tell me, how exactly do you people get anything done? You couldn't even catch one Eevee back? That thing ran all the way from the city center to the suburbs. Speak! Did you slack off halfway through?!"
Inside a room that was obviously some kind of laboratory, an old man in a white researcher's coat was furiously berating the only Team Rocket member who had made it back. He had a bald patch on top, and his eyebrows, beard, and even the hair sticking up at the back of his head were all pink.
"Dr. Namba, that Eevee was too cunning! If I hadn't used my 'shed-my-shell trick,' I might not have made it back alive to see you!"
That Team Rocket member was shivering, his voice trembling with fear.
Just thinking about being surrounded by those two giant bruiser Pokémon, Machamp and Conkeldurr, was terrifying enough.
"Worthless fool. Team Rocket doesn't feed you for free! Do you even deserve the resources Team Rocket gives you?!"
Dr. Namba was so angry that his beard trembled. He jabbed a finger right at the man's nose and launched into a nonstop tirade.
"Look at Team Plasma over in Unova. That organization may not be especially strong, but at least they carry out their tasks properly."
"Don't think about what Team Rocket can do for you. We're the ones who took you in. So what you should be thinking about is what you can do for Team Rocket!"
The Team Rocket grunt: ?
How did this old man spend every single day either gaslighting people or getting ready to gaslight people?
He had only lost one crippled Eevee. Did he really have to go this far over it?
Tap, tap...
"B-BOSS!"
Dr. Namba had been about to keep going, but the moment he caught sight of the middle-aged man walking in, the sharpness in his eyes immediately faded.
"Namba, I've said before that Team Rocket is one family. How is it that after just two months without seeing you, you're already treating your own subordinates like this?"
The newcomer was a friendly-looking middle-aged man with a round belly.
Just judging from his well-fed appearance, he looked like some upper-level executive.
And in fact, that was exactly what he was.
Though he was in disguise, this man was Giovanni, the true power behind Team Rocket in Kanto.
Giovanni's sixth sense had been bothering him today, which was why he had come to Silph Co. in person.
And sure enough, the moment he arrived, he found Dr. Namba yelling at a subordinate.
A string of web novels Giovanni had read recently flashed through his mind.
In those stories, upper management was always scolding and abusing employees, while the employees endured it silently, only to go home and discover that an "old grandpa" trainer now lived inside their heads.
With the old grandpa's help, the employee's Pokémon battling skill improved at incredible speed, and every now and then he would also concoct things like Rare Candies, Exp. Candies, or various power-boosting items that could raise a Pokémon's strength.
In the end, he would become Champion and wipe out all the villain organizations across every region.
That was exactly the kind of outcome Giovanni did not want to see.
Besides, Team Rocket had always treated its own people with a human touch. Taking care of your own people was supposed to be the path forward.
"Kid, this one is Namba's fault. To make it up to you, go to the lab later and pick out a Pokémon you like. Consider it compensation."
Giovanni patted the Team Rocket grunt on the shoulder, and then his gaze turned cold.
"Namba. Apologize."
"Yes, BOSS!"
Dr. Namba stiffened instantly and hurriedly apologized to the grunt.
"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
"Well? Are you satisfied with that?"
Giovanni turned back, his expression warm again.
"Yes! Thank you, Boss! I will defend Team Rocket's glory forever! I will become Team Rocket's blade!"
Giovanni had handled that beautifully. One look and it was obvious he was an old master capitalist. On the surface, it looked like he was pressuring upper management to preserve the dignity of the lower ranks.
In reality, it was also a way of winning hearts.
After the young Team Rocket recruit left, Giovanni began pacing back and forth, his tone dropping.
"Namba, head to the Orange Islands. Things in Saffron City haven't been peaceful lately. It's time to start moving the data out step by step."
Just like how he had previously transferred the files from the Celadon Game Corner, Giovanni felt it was time to abandon Silph Co. as well.
He still had not fully obtained the Master Ball data, but some of the key information was already under his control.
At that point, even if he had not fully gotten it, he essentially had.
"BOSS, is it because I haven't done well enough?"
Dr. Namba's eyes widened in shock. Sending him to the Orange Islands, those barren island chains, was basically the same as exiling him.
To him, this meant Giovanni was dissatisfied with him.
"No. You've done very well, which is exactly why I'm putting you in charge of the Orange Islands project. You know as well as I do that legendary Pokémon are said to live there. We don't have many researchers left in Team Rocket that we can really use. It's because I think highly of you that I'm transferring you there."
Giovanni laid it out plainly.
That made Dr. Namba snap to attention.
"Understood, BOSS!"
Dr. Namba was about to start packing.
But Giovanni threw out a Poké Ball instead.
"You're leaving now."
Thunk.
The Poké Ball hit the ground, and a mole Pokémon with three identical brown heads poked up out of the floor and blinked.
Dugtrio.
One of Giovanni's main team members.
There was no time to worry about anything else right now. Giovanni had Dugtrio take Dr. Namba away, while he personally prepared to destroy some of the data himself.
Team Rocket could not afford to leave any more evidence behind.
"Grey's still in Unova. Nothing should go wrong, right?"
Giovanni thought it over, but then the image of Annihilape sweeping Bruno flashed through his mind, and the whole thing immediately started feeling ominous again.
"This is the first time I've seen a trainer raise a Pokémon to the point where it can function so independently. That kid Grey isn't someone ordinary trainers can even begin to compare themselves to..."
Giovanni sighed inwardly. Only after Dugtrio had sent Dr. Namba into the underground passage did he start searching floor by floor.
Just in case there were any "little Rattata" hiding around.
Meanwhile...
Outside Silph Co.
"Meloetta?"
(So this is the place you were talking about? It looks pretty tall. Kind of like Castelia City.)
Invisible Meloetta was maintaining invisibility for the whole group.
Not many Pokémon had come along on this mission. Aside from Meloetta and Victini, there were only Machamp, Conkeldurr, Metagross, Gallade, and Terrakion.
And of course, there was also Reshiram waiting inside a Cherish Ball.
That was the trump card. It could not be sent out casually.
As for Cobalion and Virizion, the two of them had stayed behind at the Fighting Dojo, just in case Team Rocket noticed something and tried to attack the dojo from behind.
"Metagross."
(That's right. This is Silph Co. I think there are a lot of ways to get inside. We could break in by force, or go around through the back entrance.)
Metagross spoke up and gave them two choices.
Come to think of it, it had specifically been brought along to unlock doors.
And it could also use magnetic control to scramble surveillance systems.
A truly essential Pokémon for daily life.
"Machamp."
(Let's go through the back. We shouldn't alert them. We came here to rescue Pokémon.)
Machamp had not forgotten the purpose of this mission.
They were here to rescue the Pokémon trapped in the labs.
Those damned Team Rocket scumbags were doing this to Pokémon for their own selfish gain.
Back when Machamp had still been a Machop, Team Rocket had caught it once before. If Grey had not shown up in time to save it, then the Pokémon lying in those labs right now might have included it too.
That was why Machamp felt they absolutely could not alert the enemy.
They had to rescue every Pokémon in those laboratories both safely and quickly.
"Victini."
(Okay, then let's go through the back. Does anyone know where the back entrance is? Hurry up and lead the way!)
This was Victini's first time doing something like this. It rubbed its little hands together, itching to get inside and cause some serious trouble.
"Gallade."
(I know the way.)
Gallade was extremely familiar with this place. Back when it had been captured and sold, it had already seen people going in and out through Silph Co.
It was obvious that the black market connected directly to the back entrance.
That was also why Team Rocket had managed to infiltrate the place so quickly.
There was no way there was not an inside man.
The group of Pokémon made their way through the narrow alleys toward the back entrance in a grand procession.
Along the way, the rumbling noise woke up many nearby residents.
But when they saw no one there, they just assumed some construction was going on somewhere and decided not to bother with it.
They put in earplugs and went right back to sleep.
At last, after a long ten minutes, they reached the rear entrance.
"Metagross."
(I'll handle it. Unlocking things is what I do best.)
The back door was secured with an electronic lock, and Metagross was more than capable of cracking that sort of thing.
The other Pokémon backed away to give it room.
But just as Metagross was about to open the door, the rear entrance opened by itself.
And a friendly-looking middle-aged man's face appeared in front of them.
Beside him stood a large yellow-and-black wasp Pokémon.
Giovanni and Beedrill!
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