"You certainly talk big."
Peony couldn't help but feel amused.
"Do you know Rose's current status?"
Even though Peony rarely paid attention to the Galar League anymore, he still knew how high Rose's status in Galar was today.
To say that Rose was the most outstanding League Chairman in the history of the Galar region would not be an exaggeration at all.
Furthermore, Macro Cosmos now held a monopoly over almost every market.
Surpass Rose on this land of Galar?
To put it simply, that was basically a fantasy.
"So what?" Damian asked in return.
"Even if Rose is the absolute ruler of the Galar region, in the end, he is only the ruler of this one place."
The corners of Damian's mouth slowly curled upward.
"But, Peony, do you understand Team Rocket?"
"Starting from Kanto, then Alola, Hoenn, Unova, Sinnoh, and Kalos, the flags of Team Rocket are planted across all these regions."
"Leagues and Champions cannot stop Team Rocket's growth. Sooner or later, Team Rocket will become an organization that stands against the League, or even surpasses it."
Damian's tone was not heavy. He even sounded a little casual.
But because of that, the confidence in his words made Peony's pupils shrink slightly.
"That's impossible!"
Peony cried out in disbelief.
Yes, it should be impossible!
The Pokémon League had ruled the world for over a hundred years. It covered almost every region.
Even if an underground organization could grow, it should not be hard for the League to crush it.
"Why is it impossible? Peony, your understanding is too shallow."
Damian tilted his head and stared at Peony.
"It's just like when you became the Champion of Galar. That was such a great opportunity. You proved your ability. You became the person standing at the very top of the region."
Peony's broad face darkened again.
"But what happened next? After Rose became Chairman, what did you do?"
"You didn't think about using your status as Champion to continue proving yourself to everyone. Instead, because you didn't want to work with Rose, you resigned from the position and ran away from the Galar League."
"Do you know why you have always been inferior to Rose? It's because your perspective is too narrow."
Damian spoke without any mercy.
"You brat!" Peony clenched his fists and glared at Damian.
However, Damian did not care at all. Although his body was not as bulky as Peony's, it had been blessed by Arceus.
If they really fought with their fists, even though Peony had spent years adventuring outside, he still would not be Damian's match.
Besides, were the Gengar and Marshadow in Damian's shadow just there for decoration?
"Even for Rose, he was only the runner-up when he took part in the Champion Cup. But you actually became the Champion of Galar. At that time, didn't you already have something stronger than Rose?"
"If you hadn't left the Galar League back then and had instead worked hard as Champion, the people would have been proud of you. In that case, how would you have been worse than Rose?"
Damian's question made Peony freeze.
Yes. The moment he became the Champion of Galar, he had already surpassed Rose in that regard, hadn't he?
But because of his grudge against Rose, he had given up that glory with his own hands.
Looking at her father, who had suddenly fallen silent, Peonia bit her lip but still said nothing.
Actually, she did not really understand the conflict between Peony and her uncle Rose.
But she respected her father's choice.
"A person's life has many opportunities, but many people miss them for all kinds of reasons."
Damian continued speaking.
"Peony, you were the one who threw away that opportunity. Since then, you have kept running away. And now, the gap between you and Rose has only grown bigger and bigger."
Damian did not want to say too much about the conflict between Peony and Rose.
After all, that was a matter between two brothers. It was meaningless for an outsider to argue about who was right or wrong.
Furthermore, it was precisely because of Peony's dislike for Rose that it was easier to recruit him.
"Look at yourself now. A former Champion of Galar, yet how many people in Galar still remember you?"
Damian said with a smile.
He wasn't just saying this at random. Although Peony had once been the Champion of Galar, he had held the position for far too short a time.
Although he did have some fans, by now, most people in Galar only remembered the current undefeated Champion, Leon.
As for Peony, hardly anyone remembered him anymore.
Forget Peony, even the Champion from two generations ago, Mustard, was more famous than he was.
After all, although Mustard retired even earlier, at least when he was young, he had been unmatched in the world.
Even now, he still held a record that no one had broken.
Eighteen years without a single defeat!
That was Mustard's undefeated record. No Champion had broken it to this day.
Moreover, Mustard was the only known Trainer in the world with an Urshifu.
Urshifu was a Legendary Pokémon.
So, among the three Champions of Galar, Peony had the weakest reputation.
"So what?" Peony said flatly.
"I don't care about that empty title."
"You don't care, but are you really willing to stay hidden like this? Even when there is a clear opportunity right in front of you?"
Damian asked him directly.
Peony's breathing grew heavy again.
"You already missed out once, and now I can give you another chance, Peony."
"As long as you accept this badge and join Team Rocket, I will give you the resources and the backing to take another shot."
"Or you can keep living as an unknown adventurer. You can take your strength and spend the rest of your life quietly with your daughter, forever running away from your own brother."
Damian's tone was very calm.
As Damian finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Peony looked down at the gold badge in his hand. His expression kept shifting.
Clearly, his thoughts were in turmoil.
If he joined Team Rocket, then his current peaceful life would naturally come to an end.
But if he refused, Damian's words had already struck deep.
Was he willing?
How could he be willing?
If he had truly let it go, then how could he have reacted so strongly just from hearing the name Rose?
He was still deeply unwilling!
Why?
Why did he have to live in the shadow of Rose's name for his whole life?!
Peonia could not help but grab her father's hand, silently giving him support.
Peony glanced at his daughter. Peonia nodded at him, making it clear that no matter what decision he made, she would support him.
"And why should I believe that you can actually help me?"
Peony took a deep breath and spoke to Damian in a heavy voice.
"Why? Because my name is Damian!"
The corners of Damian's mouth curled up. He lifted his head slightly, and his proud voice entered the ears of Peony and his daughter.
He was so arrogant!!
"In this world, there is nothing I cannot do. There is no place Team Rocket cannot reach!"
"You really talk big. In that case, as long as you can defeat me, I will join Team Rocket."
Peony's deep eyes stared at Damian. Although his intuition told him this boy was very strong,
no matter what, trying to convince Peony with words alone was far too naive.
"That's fine with me." Damian shrugged.
A battle definitely had to happen. After all, he had to show Peony some real strength so he could join with confidence.
"Damian, let me handle the battle with Mr. Peony."
Suddenly, Caitlin spoke to Damian with a faint smile.
"We can treat it as welcoming a new colleague."
She really wanted to see the level of a former Champion of Galar.
"I don't have a problem with that."
Damian raised an eyebrow and looked at Peony.
Originally, he had planned to use a Legendary Pokémon to show off his strength, but letting Caitlin do it was fine too.
Peony furrowed his brows slightly. He looked Caitlin up and down with a judging gaze.
She looked elegant and beautiful, but a Trainer's strength was not decided by appearances.
"I am Caitlin, one of the six top executives of the organization. I would like to ask for your guidance, Mr. Peony."
Caitlin did not care about Peony's impolite gaze. She gave an elegant bow.
"Fine." Peony could not say much else after hearing that.
A top executive?
So that meant Champion-level?
Good. He would also get to see the level of Team Rocket's other top executives.
Everyone came to a place near a Power Spot outside Freezington.
As long as there was a Power Spot, they would be able to Dynamax their Pokémon.
"Mr. Peony specializes in Steel types, right? It's a bit of a disadvantage for Caitlin to fight him."
Platinum looked at Peony and Caitlin, who were already prepared. She was still a little worried for Caitlin.
After all, Caitlin specialized in Psychic types, while Peony was an expert in Steel types.
Although Steel is not super effective against Psychic, it does resist Psychic.
After all, Steel was truly a ridiculous type.
How ridiculous was it?
It resisted a total of ten types, and it was also immune to Poison.
There were only eighteen types in total. Ten were resisted, Poison did nothing to it, and only Ground, Fighting, and Fire were super effective against it.
It was simply terrifying.
"You're Caitlin, right? Sorry, but I won't hold back just because you're a woman."
Peony took out a Poké Ball and spoke to Caitlin in a heavy voice.
"Please don't worry, Mr. Peony. I am not some weak, fragile girl."
Caitlin still maintained that elegant and composed attitude. Her tone remained slow and steady.
"Also, you don't need to hold back. Please use your full strength. Otherwise, you might lose quite badly."
Caitlin said slowly with a faint smile.
How could she be so elegant and so arrogant at the same time?!
Peonia looked at Caitlin with shining eyes. This was just too beautiful!
"Oh? You're really confident. It's been a long time since I've met such an interesting opponent."
Peony grinned when he heard that. The blood in his body seemed to heat up at that moment.
How many years had it been?
Ever since he resigned as Champion of Galar, he had never fought with his full strength again.
But today, it seemed he finally could.
"Wahahaha~ You better not disappoint me too much!"
Peony laughed loudly and forcefully threw his first Poké Ball.
"Perrserker!"
The Poké Ball opened. A flash of white light appeared, and a Pokémon standing on two legs with a mostly gray body landed in front of Peony.
It was a Perrserker, evolved from Galarian Meowth. It was a pure Steel type.
"Come on, then let me see exactly what the level of a Team Rocket top executive is!"
"I have high expectations!"
Peony looked at the beautiful and elegant Caitlin across from him, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
He hoped this Team Rocket executive would not let him down.
The Pokémon Trainer Peony has come to challenge you!