"Is this Pokémon exchange list real?"
Outside Glimwood Tangle, Bede looked at the app on his phone. His eyes widened.
He was especially drawn to the Fairy-type Enamorus on the list. Bede's heart skipped a beat.
Pink! That perfect, beautiful pink!
That was exactly the kind of Pokémon he should have.
"Of course it's real. These Pokémon live on the organization's farm. If you want one, you'll have to work hard to save up merit points," Damian said to Bede with a smile.
"Fine!!"
Bede was suddenly fired up. He would exchange his points for Enamorus, and then he would take it back to show that old witch what he could do!
Moreover, if he got Enamorus and became stronger, Chairman Rose would definitely see him in a new light.
"However, the organization doesn't have any large-scale operations right now. You'll have to do ordinary missions to earn points," Damian added.
Right now, there really weren't many big tasks. Most of the evil organizations in the various regions had already been defeated.
He could only wait for Team Rainbow Rocket to appear, though he didn't know when that would happen.
"Ordinary missions?"
Bede searched through the app. The ordinary missions involved things like destroying hunter organization bases or defeating rampaging Totem Pokémon in the wild.
Bede's expression turned strange. From the look of it, Team Rocket seemed to be a fairly decent organization.
"I really didn't expect your organization to be this decent."
"And what did you think it was?" Damian raised an eyebrow.
"I thought it was an illegal, evil organization," Bede said, not hiding his thoughts at all.
"After all... people like me are usually invited by people who aren't exactly good," Bede added with a self-mocking laugh. His tone sounded a little lonely.
In fact, ever since the Stow-on-Side incident, public opinion about him had been very negative.
Destroying ruins was the kind of act that naturally brought criticism and insults. Even though Rose had already punished him, it still did not stop the angry voices.
On top of that, Bede was arrogant and sharp-tongued. He didn't have many friends to begin with, and he had offended people one after another.
That was why he hadn't resisted much when Opal took him away.
When he was punished by the Rose he admired so much, Bede's whole world turned gray. He had no idea what to do next or where he belonged.
"People like you? Bede, it seems you have a huge misunderstanding about yourself," Damian scoffed.
Bede froze.
"You have talent that ordinary people can never reach. That is a natural gift. You are different from ordinary people, and you don't need to look at things from their perspective."
"You don't need to care about the voices outside. That is just the noise of incompetent fools."
"The reason I invited you to join the organization, Bede, is precisely because you are different. I recognize that you are very talented. Your ability is the only thing that matters."
Damian spoke slowly.
Bede stared blankly at Damian, his pupils trembling slightly.
"Otherwise, do you think just anyone is worthy of being personally invited by me?"
Damian smiled and looked at Bede with interest.
"So don't think so little of yourself. I don't care about your past. Now that you've joined the organization, you are our partner."
"You can hold your head high, because you already stand at a height those critics will never reach in their entire lives."
Damian knew all about Bede's past, but he truly didn't care.
No matter what, Bede had the potential to become a top executive. That was a fact, and for Damian, that was enough.
"Oh..."
Bede finally snapped out of it and lowered his head, giving a short reply.
But inside, he could not calm down for a long time. A familiar yet strange warmth was flowing through him.
He had felt that feeling once before.
It was when he was a child and Rose came to the orphanage, found him, comforted him, and gave him a Pokémon.
At that time, Rose had been like a beam of light shining into his dark world.
Now, that light had appeared again, but the person was not Rose.
"Damian..." Bede whispered the name. His left hand clenched instinctively.
Damian.
"Next, you should go to Wyndon and find Gladion. He will arrange work for you. Or, you can contact Peony," Damian told Bede.
"Okay," Bede nodded.
"Earning merit through ordinary missions is slow, but small amounts add up. As long as you work hard, you will eventually get what you need."
"Or, wait a while. There should be a large-scale mission coming up. I just don't know if you're willing to participate."
What Damian was referring to was, of course, the final battle with the Kanto League.
"I can do it!" Bede looked up, his eyes very serious.
"As long as it's not fighting Rose, I can participate!"
"Don't worry, it's not a fight with Rose. But with that mindset, you'll need to keep working hard."
Damian played with a bead in his hand and waved it toward Bede.
"You aren't at Champion level yet, so taking part in that battle would be a bit difficult. I don't expect you to reach Champion level before the big mission, but I do want you to have a few Champion-level main Pokémon by then."
"If you can reach that level, I will give you this Mawilite. With it, your main Mawile can Mega Evolve."
"As for what Mega Evolution is, you should know, right?"
Both Bede's Mawile and Gardevoir could Mega Evolve. Both Mega Evolutions were quite good.
However, considering that Bede's team focused more on special attacks, the Mawilite was more suitable. It could fix the team's weakness of lacking a physical attacker.
"Champion-level main Pokémon? I understand," Bede said in a low voice.
"I believe in you. Go now."
Damian laughed softly and watched Bede disappear into the distance.
"It feels like his attitude has changed a bit," Platinum said, tilting her head slightly. She could clearly feel the change in Bede.
"Lonely, sharp, and cold. A person like that definitely has some psychological issues. The outer toughness and thorns might just be a way to hide the fragility in his heart. He probably suffered some kind of mental trauma in the past," Caitlin said calmly.
"And Damian's words gained Bede's approval. Or rather, Damian's acceptance of him made him accept Damian immediately," Serena added.
"I see. Was it on purpose, Damian?" Platinum looked at Damian and asked curiously.
"It was intentional, but it was also the truth. Bede is a very contradictory person, but he's not a bad guy."
Damian laughed as he said this. He had indeed said those things on purpose to gain Bede's trust and approval.
After all, it wasn't a good thing for the kid to keep thinking about Rose all the time.
Now, with just a bit of talking, he had made this troubled young man become loyal. Why not?
"Let's go. Next, we are going to Spikemuth."
Damian stretched his arms.
Spikemuth is a town located in the southeastern part of the Galar region.
The most famous thing about this town is that it is far away from any Power Spots. This means that Dynamaxing is impossible within the town.
In Galar, where Dynamaxing was becoming more and more important, being unable to Dynamax was naturally seen as a weakness.
Because of this, the popularity of Spikemuth kept dropping, and many people slowly moved away.
Piers, the Spikemuth Gym Leader, tried every way he could to bring back the town's popularity. However, even if he sang until his throat was ruined, it was still useless.
That's right, Piers was also a singer-songwriter and a fairly popular one at that. But it didn't help.
"This town... has very few people."
Stepping into Spikemuth and looking at the streets ahead, Platinum's clean face wrinkled slightly as she gave a polite comment.
Actually, what she really wanted to say was that the town looked a bit run-down.
Shabby shops stood open along the streets. People in sloppy clothes sat on the roadside steps.
It gave off the vibe of a gang hideout. What normal person would want to come to a town like this?
Caitlin frowned slightly. This place even reminded her of Po Town in the Alola region, the headquarters of Team Skull.
The difference was that Spikemuth at least had people, and it was a real town.
"It can't be helped. Spikemuth Gym used to be a famous Gym. But after Dynamaxing became popular, this place slowly fell into ruin," Damian said.
He walked forward with his hands in his pockets, his shoes stepping on the uncleaned ground.
"Is it because of Dynamaxing?"
"Yes. There are no Power Spots in the Spikemuth area. The popularity of Dynamaxing made the people of Galar fall in love with big, flashy battles. Spikemuth became an outcast in Galar's Dynamax era."
"The residents are fewer and fewer, and no adventurers come here. The popularity of Spikemuth is getting worse. Even though the Gym Leader is desperately trying to show his talent, the results are limited."
"The only good thing is that the remaining residents of Spikemuth are very united."
As Damian commented, he walked straight toward the square ahead.
Yes, the remaining people in Spikemuth were very united.
Team Yell was made up of the residents and trainers of Spikemuth. They were all fans of Marnie. Their goal was to make Marnie the new Champion.
To do this, they would take over hotels and steal transportation. What they did most was cheer loudly for Marnie and boo her opponents.
So, Team Yell couldn't even be called an evil organization. They really were just Marnie's fan club.
As they got closer, the sound of rock music and singing became louder.
In the square ahead, a large crowd could be seen gathered around a stage.
In the center of the stage was a young man with a unique look, holding a microphone and singing his heart out.
How should one put it? Damian didn't really appreciate it. Perhaps he just wasn't into rock music enough.
It was the same reason he couldn't appreciate Piers's fashion style.
But that didn't stop Piers from being called "The Melancholy Piers" by his fans.
When the song ended, a lot of applause broke out. Piers pushed the microphone away and looked into the distance, as if thinking about something.
When the applause stopped, Piers sighed and turned around, preparing to go back to the Gym.
Clap... clap... clap...
The sudden sound of clapping made Piers stop.
"Piers of the Spikemuth Gym, the person actually in charge of Spikemuth, right?"
Team Yell slowly opened a path. Damian, wearing a black coat, walked slowly toward the stage with a smile.
Caitlin and the other two girls followed behind Damian. The combination of handsome men and beautiful women caused quite a bit of whispering among the crowd.
Man, this guy really looks like he has everything in life!
Damn him!
Several chubby members of Team Yell bit their fingers, their eyes tearing up.
"?" Piers stayed cold. He only looked silently at Damian walking onto the stage and said nothing.
"A challenger?"
Finally, when Damian got close, Piers asked in a low voice.
But he hadn't heard of any new Gym challengers lately.
"No, I am not."
Damian smiled and gave a very gentlemanly bow.
"Nice to meet you. I am Damian, the leader of Team Rocket."
"I came to Spikemuth today to talk to you, Piers, about a very important matter: the future of Spikemuth."
Damian's tone was steady and full of confidence.
"The future of Spikemuth?" Piers couldn't help but laugh. It was a cold smile that barely lifted his lips.
"Of course. Right now, you are troubled, aren't you? No matter how hard you work, no matter how much you risk, no matter what you try to do to revive Spikemuth, it's all useless. You are lost, aren't you?"
"But I have a way. I have a way to make Spikemuth popular again and restore its former glory."
Damian's smile was still as bright as before.
"What did you say?"
Piers's expression changed. He looked at Damian with expectation.
Is there really a way?
"I said, I have a way to bring back Spikemuth's former glory. But Piers, you know, right? There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world."
"Say it!" Piers said in a low voice.
"As long as it succeeds, no matter what it is, I can give it to you!"
Although his personality was a bit rough, Piers was a trainer who loved his hometown and his partners.
To stop Spikemuth from declining, he had desperately tried to maintain the Gym that he loved and that was so closely tied to his home, but with very little success.
"What a strong resolve. My request is actually just one thing."
The corners of Damian's mouth slowly curled up. In Piers's shrinking pupils, those soft words were full of malice.
"I heard you have a sister named Marnie, right? Can you hand her over to me?"