"Seriously, Dad, keep it in check when you're outside!! I've told you that a million times already."
Veins popped on Peonia's forehead as she hissed her anger at Peony in a low voice.
"Don't call me that out here!"
"Hahaha~ don't sweat the small stuff, Shaku-chan. Don't you think that's adorable?"
"Only you would think that's adorable, bastard! I'm already grown up!"
Peonia got even angrier, especially when she saw the passengers around them giving her strange looks after hearing "Shaku-chan."
She felt completely mortified.
"Alright, alright, got it. Let's go to Freezington first."
But clearly, Peony didn't care at all about his daughter blowing up. He had plenty of experience.
Just brush it off.
It was such an adorable nickname, so why didn't his two daughters like it?
Peony was troubled.
The father and daughter were preparing to head to Freezington, the only small village inside the Crown Tundra.
If they were going to rest and stay somewhere, Freezington was the best place.
"Hey there, you two sure get along well."
Suddenly, a clear man's voice reached their ears.
Peony and Peonia turned around, and Peony immediately clicked his tongue.
It was a group of one man and three women, and no matter how you looked at it, all four of them had outstanding looks.
Peonia looked at the four of them with curiosity. She remembered them; she'd noticed them on the train.
After all, the four of them really stood out.
"Hello. Do you need something?"
Peony asked generously. The guy at the head of the group was clearly here for them.
"Yeah, I've got something important I'd like to discuss with you properly, Mr. Peony."
Damian said with a smile.
Peony's brows drew together. The other party knew who he was, which meant this probably wasn't just some ordinary matter.
"Let's talk in Freezington, then? This isn't a good place for a conversation."
Damian looked around. There wasn't exactly a good place to settle down on the Freezington snowfields.
"Fine."
Peony thought for a moment, then didn't refuse.
He didn't know what the other party wanted, but he was confident in himself. His strength was no joke.
Freezington was a village in the Crown Tundra, located between the Freezington Snowfields and the Icepeaks Snowfields.
There weren't actually many residents in Freezington. After all, with its year-round ice and snow, it really wasn't a great place to live.
So most of Freezington's villagers had moved away.
At the Frozen Inn, Damian and the others arrived at the inn. With the fireplace heating the place, warmth spread through the room, making it much more comfortable.
"Kid, what did you want to see me about?"
Peony took the initiative and asked Damian.
"Mr. Peony, you used to be the Gym Leader of the Steel-type Gym, and later became the Champion of the Galar League, right?"
Damian took a sip of hot tea and spoke to Peony.
Hearing that, Caitlin and the other two girls looked at the middle-aged man, whose shape resembled Rose but looked even rougher, with surprise. He had once served as Champion of the Galar Region.
Peonia looked at Damian, puzzled. This guy actually knew her dad's past?
"It's all old history. Just what are you trying to say?"
Peony said somewhat impatiently.
"Don't rush. Just from that alone, Mr. Peony, you're already very different from Chairman Rose."
Damian chuckled softly.
Although they were brothers, Peony and Rose had completely different personalities. Rose was mature, steady, meticulous, and patient, while Peony was very bad at listening to others and had a bold, rough manner.
"Kid, don't think that because you're young, you can just say whatever you want."
At the mention of Rose's name, Peony's expression changed, his tone growing darker along with his face.
"My fists aren't light."
Faced with Peony's outright threat, Damian didn't care.
"Don't get worked up. I'm actually pretty curious—why did you suddenly step down from the Champion's seat, a position everyone longs for and pursues, back then, Mr. Peony?"
Damian, holding a sleepy Jirachi, pretended to be curious as he asked Peony.
"What does that have to do with you?" Peony shot back without politeness.
Clearly, Peony was in a bad mood right now.
"Shaku-chan, let's go."
Peony had already lost the patience to keep talking, so he called out to Peonia and turned to leave.
Peonia answered, still giving Damian a curious look.
This guy...
"It's because of Chairman Rose, isn't it?"
But Damian's next words made Peony's expression turn ugly again, and his steps came to a halt.
"Not long after you became the Galar Region Champion, Rose also became chairman of the Galar League. That's what drove you to leave the Galar League in a fit of anger."
Damian looked at Peony's back at his leisure, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"How pathetic, Mr. Peony. Are you really that scared of your brother?"
"Shut up!"
Peony whirled around and barked at Damian in anger.
His emotions were so intense that his chest was rising and falling hard, showing just how furious he was.
"Keep your voice down. And what's the point of getting mad at me here anyway?"
Damian tilted his head slightly, meeting Peony's angry eyes.
In truth, Peony really was a prodigy. Becoming the Champion of the Galar Region proved that much already.
But why had he ended up on such bad terms with his own brother, Rose?
In Damian's view, it was really just Peony's own vulnerable, stubborn pride causing it all.
Peony and Rose were biological brothers, and the two had grown up together. But as they grew, Peony was constantly compared to the outstanding Rose.
The judgment and scrutiny of outsiders became unbearable to Peony, and his personality gradually grew rebellious.
Later, Peony finally ran away from home, but he was recognized by a benefactor and became a Gym Leader.
After that, Peony even became Champion. But even so, his brother's shadow still loomed over him.
After learning that Rose had become League chairman, Peony left the Galar League for good and became an ordinary person who adventured everywhere.
How should that be described? All one could say was: as expected of Rose.
"Don't bring up that name in front of me!"
Peony panted hard, staring fixedly at Damian as he spoke each word one by one, his hoarse voice like a beast's growl.
Peonia stood carefully behind Peony. It was the first time she'd ever seen her dad this angry.
"Oh? So that's how you ran away?"
Damian said this as if he hadn't seen Peony's expression at all.
Peony's breathing quickened even more.
"Because you couldn't beat Rose, you ran far away, buried that name, and acted like he never existed in your life."
Damian went on speaking to himself.
"Mr. Peony, a Champion-tier Steel-type Trainer, affectionately known as 'Steel Peony'—if those fans found out their idol was nothing more than a weakling who only knows how to run away, I wonder what kind of faces they'd make."
Damian kept smiling as he mocked him.
Dawn and Serena watched Peony nervously, their hands already gripping their Poké Balls tightly, afraid Peony might suddenly lash out.
Anyone could tell Peony's anger had reached a breaking point, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
Peony was indeed about to explode!
For so many years, he had done everything he could to draw a line between himself and that man, to forget him completely.
But now, this idiot had brought up that name again and again in front of him.
Did he really think Peony was made of clay?
Peonia quietly stepped back two paces, afraid the blood would splash onto her when things got violent.
But after reaching the peak of his rage, Peony actually calmed down a little.
"My business with him isn't for an outsider to judge." Peony took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"Hm? Tsk. I thought you'd hit me. You actually held back?"
Damian propped up his chin, looking quite surprised at Peony.
Peony laughed in fury when he heard that. This guy!
"I do want to teach you a lesson, but this is an inn. And then..."
Peony's expression darkened.
Although this guy's words were unpleasant, Peony also knew he wasn't wrong. No matter how you dressed it up, he really had been running away.
Because Peony knew very well that his talent couldn't compare to Brother Rose's. From how prosperous Galar was now, it was clear that Rose becoming League chairman was the right call.
"Anyway, I can't be bothered to waste any more breath on you. If you only came here to mock me, then you've already achieved your purpose."
Peony said flatly, preparing to leave with Peonia.
Clap, clap, clap—
Sudden applause rang out. Damian slowly stood up, smiling as he watched Peony.
"Do I look like I've got that much free time?"
"This time I specifically came to you, Mr. Peony, not just to provoke you a little, but because I have something serious to discuss."
Damian took a gold badge from his pocket and tossed it to Peony.
Peony caught it at once and opened his palm to look. It was a finely made badge with an "R" on it.
Peony's brows knit tightly. He seemed to vaguely understand.
"Now, in my identity as Team Rocket's boss, I sincerely invite you, Mr. Peony, to join Team Rocket and take on the role of top-tier Admin."
Damian said with a smile.
"Mr. Peony, please believe me. Your talent and value are no worse than your brother's, and I can give you a stage where you can show your true worth."
"Team Rocket..."
Peony was sure of it. It really was Team Rocket.
Although he'd stayed in the Crown Tundra lately to search for legendary Pokémon, he had occasionally seen news about Team Rocket online before.
And now, Team Rocket had actually made it to the Galar Region.
But a mere underground organization—talking about letting him show value beyond Rose? Had underground organizations gotten this arrogant already?
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