"Boss, why don't we just join Team Rocket in that town directly?"
One of the less sharp members blurted out the question.
"Are you stupid?! After what we did there, do you think the local Team Rocket would dare take us in?!"
Hearing this, the pockmarked-faced Trainer slapped him.
"But aren't Team Rocket even worse than us? I heard they even conduct human experiments."
The simple-minded man stubbornly continued.
"That was before. Now they either don't do it openly, or they hide it so well no one knows.
Unlike us… we wiped out two families in that town."
When he said this, the pockmarked man gave a crude laugh, clearly recalling something he shouldn't.
"Enough. Don't bring that up again."
Hirano's expression darkened.
"What's done is done. Our only option now is to find Team Rocket's base here before the League catches up to us.
Damn it… I heard the base here is newly established and highly secretive. Even our informant doesn't know the exact location!"
"Got it, Boss! We'll keep following you."
"Yeah, Boss, we trust you!"
"Wherever you go, we'll go!"
The group quickly voiced their loyalty.
They had no place in the League anymore. Joining Team Rocket was their only path forward.
"Don't worry. With my Elite-level strength, I'll at least be a squad leader there. When that happens, you'll all be under me."
Hirano nodded, satisfied.
"Haha~ Thank you, Boss!"
The others echoed their gratitude, as if nothing had happened earlier.
"Alright. Rest's over. Split into pairs and search the area. Mark places with dense Pokémon activity. Regroup here in two hours."
"Yes, Boss!"
Soon, the group split up and left the tree hollow.
On the other side, the League's search team had reached the inner forest.
Icarus's group, unsurprisingly, was assigned the least dense area.
They were clearly meant to fill numbers rather than compete for merit.
"Sigh… forget it. I was only aiming for the minimum merits anyway. Icarus, you three go left. I'll take the other two to the right."
Brother Teng sighed and walked off.
"Let's go too. Move steadily—we don't need to rush."
Icarus led Airi and Stone to the left.
As expected, the area was relatively safe—sparse trees, low grass, and good visibility. It was also close to the marked safe path.
But that meant fewer and weaker Pokémon.
"Sigh… what a waste. If Team Rocket's capture mission was still active, we could've turned these into contribution points."
Icarus tossed an Arbok fang into his bag.
"Brother Icarus, are we really not going to look for the fugitives?" Airi asked, glancing at her communicator.
"It says two have already been taken down—only four left now!"
"Cough… don't force it," Icarus replied calmly.
"With our strength, if we run into them, it's unclear who would defeat whom.
Even the weakest among them has three mid-stage Ordinary Pokémon. If we encounter them, we'll likely just call for backup—and someone else will take the reward."
"So our goal is experience, not heroics."
"Oh… I see." Airi looked down at her over-prepared backpack, a bit disappointed.
"It's fine. You'll use those items eventually."
Then she turned to Stone.
"Did you prepare anything extra?"
"Uh… no. Brother Icarus didn't mention it, so I didn't think of it," Stone replied awkwardly.
"…So I'm the only one who wasted money…" she muttered sadly.
"Not wasted," Icarus said with a small laugh. "Just early preparation."
After a few hours of slow exploration—
"Help! Help!"
A faint voice echoed from nearby.
"Brother Icarus, someone's calling for help—a woman!"
"Acknowledged. Pidgeotto, scout ahead. Stay hidden."
Then he immediately added:
"We move back first. Don't get involved without knowing the situation."
They retreated and hid in dense bushes.
Soon, Pidgeotto returned.
"A woman is fleeing—it's the one we saw at the Pokémon Center before."
"…Luna?" (Ning Hui → Luna)
Icarus frowned slightly, recalling her situation.
"Continue."
"There's a dead male Trainer… and defeated Pidgeotto and Raticate. A pockmarked man is chasing her with a Tangela."
"And her Rattata is trying to hold them off—but it's barely holding on."
Icarus quickly pieced it together.
"Pockmarked face… Tangela… that matches one of the fugitives."
He paused.
"Did you see any other Pokémon?"
Pidgeotto shook its head.
That was enough.
"If he's alone and injured… we might have a chance."
He turned to the others.
"There's an injured fugitive ahead, chasing that woman."
"Then we can't let him go!" Airi said immediately.
"I agree," Icarus nodded. "He's one of the weaker ones. His other Pokémon are likely badly injured. If we act carefully, we can take him down."
"What about you, Stone?"
"No objections."
"Good. We wait here. Use binoculars."
Soon, they spotted him.
The fugitive dragged the captured woman through the grass, scanning the area cautiously.
"This place is too open… better move deeper."
"He's coming this way," Stone whispered.
"No rush," Icarus said quietly.
"We wait for the right moment. When someone drops their guard—that's when we act."
"Okay…"Airi nodded, gripping her binoculars tighter.