Time skips ahead to the next morning.
Indigo Plateau, in the conference room.
Goodshow sits at the head of the table.
The Kanto Elite Four sit off to the side, and Jenny Mio stands in front of the projector screen.
Lance, with his crimson hair and cold features, has his arms folded.
Lorelei rests her left leg over her right, arms folded too, expression cool.
Agatha is still flipping through an ancient text.
Bruno props his chin up, looking bored.
"They're all here, Mio. Start."
Goodshow speaks to Jenny Mio.
"Yes. According to the report from the Sinnoh League yesterday, they've finished their talks and decided to endorse the legitimacy of Team Rocket's enterprises in Sinnoh."
Jenny Mio's face is solemn; her tone is quite heavy.
"That makes four whole regions that have legalized Team Rocket's enterprises."
"Four?" Lorelei's brows knit.
"Yeah. Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Alola—the first one."
"Alola's the region where Team Rocket's local branch has grown the most. The Alola League is brand new and never could really pressure Team Rocket to begin with."
"Supposedly, the Arceus Entertainment Complex that Team Rocket founded has basically become the signature attraction on Melemele Island."
Jenny Mio speaks in a low voice.
"Heh~ Damian really is something."
Lorelei lets out a cold little laugh.
She doesn't deny it.
"So what exactly are we trying to discuss in today's meeting? Going to war with Team Rocket?"
Agatha finally lifts her gaze from the ancient text and speaks in a raspy voice.
Lance's face stays blank.
You can't read what he's thinking at all.
"Earlier, the chairman and I went to see Damian. The talk didn't go well."
"Oh? What does Damian want?"
Agatha shows a spark of interest.
To be honest, she's extremely curious about Damian.
This young man… really is impressive.
He's just a Gym Leader's son, joined Team Rocket from nothing, and used his own ability to keep growing.
In the end, once his wings were fully grown, he took down Team Rocket's original boss and claimed the whole thing, becoming the head of one of this world's major powers.
If you ignore what Team Rocket used to be, it's straight‑up inspirational.
"Team Rocket can promise not to do evil, but they want management rights over the underworld. The Pokémon League is not allowed to intervene."
Jenny Mio sums it up plainly.
"Hehe~ So he wants our League and his organization to split the light and dark sides of the world. Quite the ambitious boy."
Agatha's lips curl up; her aged features make that smile a bit chilling.
"But with a kid this greedy, isn't he maybe rushing things a bit?"
"Not surprising. The guy's definitely arrogant."
Lorelei snorts softly.
In truth, she doesn't exactly hate Damian.
Yeah, Damian's arrogant—but he really does things.
And he actually restrains Team Rocket's members, banning stuff like snatching other people's Pokémon, hurting Pokémon, and so on.
Just on that point alone, Lorelei's hatred toward the new Team Rocket isn't that deep.
Back then, she loathed the old Team Rocket because they never treated Pokémon as living beings—only as tools, as test subjects.
Damian, though, treats Pokémon with respect.
"Team Rocket wants to rule the underworld and sit outside League jurisdiction. Letting Team Rocket completely slip out of the League's control is absolutely unacceptable."
Jenny Mio's voice is stern.
"We have no way to guarantee Team Rocket will always stay as stable as they are now. If we can't restrain them, that means they're out of control."
"And if Team Rocket gets even more ambitious in the future?"
Hearing Jenny Mio's words, everyone at the table falls into thought.
For over a hundred years now, the Pokémon League has gradually become the one and only top power in this world.
Under the League's management, even though evil organizations and hunter outfits still exist, they're ultimately just a small minority.
The world is, by and large, still harmonious and stable.
And now Team Rocket has risen and wants to stand on equal footing with the League, even carving off management rights over the underworld.
Naturally, that worries people.
But what Goodshow and Jenny Mio are worried about isn't the League's authority shrinking.
They're worried about Team Rocket as an unstable safety risk.
At the end of the day, a unified order is the best way to preserve harmony and stability.
Once there's a force that can't be controlled, that stability becomes fragile as glass.
Especially since Team Rocket wants to manage the underworld on its own and demands that the League not interfere.
That's even more unsettling.
"So what does the Mr.chairman think?"
Agatha chuckles low and looks over at Goodshow.
"I can't accept Damian's terms. No matter what, giving Team Rocket that broad a set of powers is not a good thing."
Goodshow shakes his head.
"Mr. Chairman's being rare and tough for once."
Agatha chuckles as she teases him.
Goodshow lets out a small laugh.
He knows Agatha is needling him about some of his past handling of things.
But the two of them have been partners for years; a bit of banter is nothing.
"I agree with that view. Even though Damian now leads Team Rocket and has turned it from an evil organization into a disciplined, structured one, letting Team Rocket run the underworld is a huge risk."
Agatha leans on her cane and thinks it over.
"To put it bluntly, once we open that door, the League's prestige is inevitably going to take a hit. Long‑term, that can't be good for stability."
"And we'd still have no way to rein Team Rocket in."
"So talks have broken down?"
Agatha asks Goodshow and Jenny Mio.
"Damian's stance is very hardline."
Jenny Mio shakes her head.
"That makes things difficult. If we actually go to war with Team Rocket, the losses might be beyond measure."
Agatha muses aloud.
"Team Rocket's confidence basically all comes from Damian, personally. If there were some way to beat Damian, we'd have the initiative in negotiations."
Lorelei speaks mildly.
Exactly.
When you get down to it, the only reason Team Rocket's so brazen and tough right now is that Damian thinks Team Rocket is stronger than the League.
If the League could beat Team Rocket, Damian wouldn't be this arrogant.
Damian definitely doesn't want a mutual‑destruction outcome with the League either; there's nothing in that for him.
His Team Rocket isn't trying to rule the whole world.
"Team Rocket's strength right now isn't just Damian alone, but yeah—Damian's the most important factor."
Goodshow sighs.
He never thought a day would come when they'd be this tangled up over Team Rocket.
"The real issue is Legendary Pokémon. If Lance could get a Legendary Pokémon too, we wouldn't have to tiptoe around Team Rocket like this."
Jenny Mio sounds helpless.
Lance stays silent, only his sword‑straight brows pulling tight.
He's a proud man, and he does believe his dragon army is second to none.
But Damian's record is terrifying.
"There is a way. Legendary Pokémon—we can get one too."
At this point, Agatha grins, her expression turning eerie.
"??!"
Everyone else in the conference room freezes at that.
"I found a way to obtain a Legendary Pokémon in this ancient text. I think we can try it—let Lance become the Trainer of that Legendary Pokémon."
Agatha says slowly.
"Nice work, Agatha!"
Goodshow brightens.
"Is that info reliable?" Lorelei's skeptical.
"It shouldn't be wrong. But we'll need to prepare a few other Items—the eight special Badges from the first generation."
Agatha sounds sure.
"Got it. I'll notify Gym Leader Giovanni and the others to send over the original set of Badges."
Goodshow trusts Agatha very much.
"If Lance gets a Legendary Pokémon, plus Gym Leader Giovanni's Primal Groudon, and then we call in combat power from other regions…"
"We can go to war with Team Rocket!"
Jenny Mio runs the odds of war in her head.
Team Rocket is insanely strong—but the League still has a shot.
This won't be a fight to the death; this is a brawl over "authority."
If the League can suppress Team Rocket in this clash, they'll have the backbone to refuse Team Rocket's demands.
Otherwise, they'll have no choice but to accept whatever even more excessive demands Team Rocket makes down the line.
"If we can talk, that'd be best…"
Goodshow hesitates.
"Mr. Chairman, there's nothing left to negotiate. We have to show Team Rocket our military strength. Otherwise, they'll only get tougher and tougher."
Jenny Mio reminds him seriously.
Given how things are now, wiping out Team Rocket is basically impossible.
But the League must preserve its say‑so and its prestige in front of Team Rocket.
Otherwise, today they want underworld management rights, and tomorrow they'll want the Pokémon League renamed Rocket League.
Power is the only hard currency.
As long as the League can crush Team Rocket's current momentum and talent‑wise overpower them—
"Fine."
Goodshow sighs inwardly.
If he could, he'd still want to solve this peacefully.
But in this situation, Damian definitely won't back down.
And the League can't back down either.
So that leaves only one path: a real, honest fight.
Whoever wins gets what they want.
...
Near the Tree of Beginning.
"Whoa~ The Pokémon around here feel crazy strong."
The boy in the baseball cap stares in wonder at the Kangaskhan that's trading heavy blows with his Dragonite.
His Dragonite only just evolved, and he hasn't had it long, but its strength is solid.
And that Kangaskhan is a wild one.
"Yeah. The Wild Pokémon levels are generally pretty high here. Hard to believe we never noticed this place before."
Brock is amazed too.
After beating the wild Kangaskhan, Ash and the other two keep going.
The environment here is excellent.
Fruit trees are everywhere; you can tell the resources are rich.
"So sweet~"
"Pikachu!"
Ash plucks a big apple, wipes it on his shirt, takes a bite—and his eyes light up instantly.
Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, is cradling an apple of its own, happily munching away.
Just then, loud battle sounds ring out ahead, mixed with voices.
"Huh? There are people up ahead?"
Ash's trio all freeze, then rush toward the source of the sound.
They reach a clearing, and Ash immediately sees two figures.
One is a chestnut‑haired girl in a black dress.
The other is a red‑haired boy.
Right now, the one battling is the redhead; he's commanding an Ursaring.
And his opponent is…
"That's… Regirock?!"
Brock stares, shocked, at the rock‑bodied Pokémon across the way.
Isn't that one of the Legendary giants?
"Huh? Somebody else snuck in here too. Eh? Red? No, you're not Red."
The girl in the black dress turns her head; her bright eyes sweep over the trio as she smiles sweetly.
Then, when she looks at Ash, she tilts her head in puzzlement.
Because the two of them look too alike.
"You know my big brother?"
Ash's eyes sparkle.
"Oh my, so you're Red's little brother. I'm Green, Red's friend."
Green beams at them and waves.
"And that's Silver, my little brother. He's in the middle of a capture battle right now, though."
Green points at Silver.
"Oh, oh."
Ash blinks, watching the red‑haired boy who's commanding Ursaring and absolutely pounding on Regirock.
That Ursaring is so strong!
And why does this Silver guy's profile look kinda familiar somehow?
Ash scratches his head, baffled.
The guy looks cold too, not exactly easy to get along with.
"By the way, how did you three get in here?"
Green asks curiously.
"Huh? You can't just walk in?"
Ash looks genuinely confused.
"Eh~ You didn't run into Security?"
Green looks even more baffled.
"Nope."
"…"
~~
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