Teacher Arno laughed after hearing that. "As expected of Eichi, I underestimated you."
"There are two reasons why I did this." Teacher Arno held up two fingers. "First, I wanted to verify your current strength. Yanagawa told me that your power stands head and shoulders above your peers at Silver Academy."
"Now it seems he was right. Your Beedrill truly continues to surprise people. If we had kept fighting just now, Magneton might really have been no match for you."
Eichi glanced at Beedrill. "You're exaggerating, Teacher Arno."
Teacher Arno shook his head. "No, no, not an exaggeration at all. I mean it. The second reason was to see if you have a sense of crisis."
"Eichi, you're going on a journey. If you don't have a sense of crisis out there, I won't feel at ease if something happens. Now it seems you are completely qualified."
Saying this, he withdrew Magneton. "Come on, let's go to my house. Tell me all about your situation at Silver Academy."
"Come back, Beedrill," Eichi said as he recalled Beedrill into its Poké Ball. "Alright."
Half an hour later, Teacher Arno opened the large iron gate and entered the living room. Mr. Mime ran out, calling out its name to welcome Eichi.
Teacher Arno said to Mr. Mime, "Go get some drinks and snacks." He then led Eichi to the sofa in the hall to sit down.
Teacher Arno's home hadn't changed at all; the environment and the building's layout were all familiar. Mr. Mime brought a tray with drinks and snacks.
Eichi took a drink and thanked it. "Thank you."
Mr. Mime danced around happily upon hearing the thanks. Eichi took a sip of his drink, and Teacher Arno began his inquiry.
"Eichi, I heard from Yanagawa that you won the Freshmen Tournament championship."
Eichi nodded. "Mhm, that's right."
Teacher Arno asked with great interest, "Can you tell me about it?"
"Of course, no problem," Eichi replied. He then told Teacher Arno about the events of the Freshmen Tournament.
Teacher Arno seemed extremely interested in his time at Silver Academy. He kept asking about his life at the school. Eichi didn't hide anything; except for a few things that had to remain secret, he shared everything he could.
The two continued like this—one talking, one listening—and time passed unnoticed. Finally, after finishing the story of his time at Silver Academy, Teacher Arno stopped asking. Instead, he suddenly asked, "Eichi, do you know about the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions?"
Eichi found it a bit strange that Teacher Arno would ask this, but he answered truthfully. "I do. Recently, the League's exchanges with these two regions have become increasingly frequent."
Teacher Arno nodded. "Correct. The League's exchanges with these two places are indeed becoming closer. In fact, in another year or two, the League will bring the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions into its sphere of influence."
Eichi remained silent.
"Teacher Arno, why are you telling me this?"
Teacher Arno replied, "Perhaps I'm just feeling emotional. I really shouldn't be telling you these things. Even if I tell you, it won't be of much use. Anyway, it's getting late, and you should head home."
"Alright, then I'm off," Eichi said.
After Eichi left, Teacher Arno's room returned to silence. He walked to the window and watched Eichi leave the villa.
He then muttered to himself, "Eichi, you must keep working hard! Your future is full of danger."
In the basement of a secluded villa—a place rarely found by outsiders—lay a hidden truth. Even if someone found the house, they wouldn't discover the black base situated deep underground.
On one of the underground levels, a dark room looked much like a standard office. However, unlike other offices, the decor here was high-tech, filled with an atmosphere of solemnity and darkness.
On the wall behind the desk, a giant red letter "R" was painted. A middle-aged man in a black uniform sat at the desk. Anyone familiar with Team Rocket would know that only Executives could wear this uniform.
The man had red hair and a sinister appearance, with a prominent hooked nose. No one who saw him would think he was a good person. He was thin and somewhat short, but his overall aura was not to be underestimated.
A Team Rocket Grunt knelt on one knee before him. The Grunt said to the Executive, "Sir, that boy Eichi has returned."
The sinister Executive said in a cold, rasping voice, "Since he's back, take this opportunity to pull him into Team Rocket."
Saying this, he picked up a folder on the edge of the desk and looked through it. Inside was Eichi's information. "A talent specializing in the Bug-type, and he even defeated Asen, one of our Team Rocket talents. It would be a pity if such a talent didn't join Team Rocket."
The kneeling Grunt then spoke. "But sir, Lord Arno won't let us get close to Eichi."
The sinister Executive found this strange. "Oh? Such a thing is happening? Shouldn't we pull him directly into Team Rocket? What on earth is that Arno thinking?"
The Grunt asked, "Then should we still contact Eichi?"
The Executive pondered for a while before saying, "Don't contact him for now. I'm afraid that fellow Arno will try to kill me if I do."
After saying this, the sinister Executive pulled out another document titled Regarding Team Rocket's Invasion Plan for the Hoenn Region.
He thought to himself: I've seen lately that we need a group of people to go to the Hoenn region and establish Team Rocket branches. This is a golden opportunity for me. There are too many Executives in the Kanto region, and the resources reaching my hands are too few. If I want my strength to progress further, going to Hoenn is my only path. No one can stop me; I'll kill anyone who tries.
As he finished this thought, his entire face became distorted with rage, and the document in his hand gradually twisted. The surrounding air was filled with killing intent. The kneeling subordinate's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Cold sweat poured down the subordinate's body. The Executive was too terrifying; he truly feared the man might kill him over a single disagreement. The Executive stood up and said to the Grunt, "Come with me to take care of something."
The Grunt stood up and said, "Yes, sir."
He followed the Executive out of the office and down the hallway. Along the way, they encountered other Team Rocket Grunts who stopped to salute.
The two took a black elevator straight up, eventually reaching a mountain not far from the villa. The mountain suddenly opened, and a huge landing pad emerged from below. On it sat a helicopter. The landing pad stopped, and the helicopter's rotors began to spin, carrying it into the distance.