Chapter 31: This Team Rocket Boss Seat Looks Pretty Comfortable to Me!
Lately, Kukui hadn't been sleeping well. Originally, with Mitsuki's sudden, meteoric debut, his spirits had been high.
A prodigy "monster" like Mitsuki was exactly the sign Alola needed — proof that the region was on the rise!
He was planning to head to Kanto again before long to reapply for the establishment of an Alola League. Whether he could pull it off was uncertain, but he had to try.
But some subtle discoveries recently had made him aware of the undercurrents stirring beneath Alola's calm surface.
Team Skull's sudden dissolution. Guzma opening a Game Corner. These two events had left Kukui completely unable to make sense of them.
It was just off. But now, finally, he understood.
"So it's confirmed? It really is the Kanto region's Team Rocket?"
Kukui's brow was furrowed tight. He was currently on a video call — a multi-person conference.
The other three participants were Melemele's Island Kahuna Hala, Ula'ula's Island Kahuna Nanu, and Akala's Island Queen Olivia.
It was, bluntly, the highest concentration of power and authority the Alola region currently possessed.
"Mm. I interrogated them personally. Black uniforms. A capital 'R' on the chest. It's Team Rocket, no question about it."
Hala's voice was low and grave.
His subordinates had coincidentally captured a few disheveled Pokémon Hunters. Under interrogation, they'd learned that the hunters' bases had been cleaned out — they themselves were currently hiding in scattered corners, getting chased around like rats.
And the group that had wiped out the Pokémon Hunter bases? The dark organization Team Rocket.
This…
Hala had been stunned at the time. He wasn't overly familiar with Team Rocket, but he'd at least heard of them in passing. The issue was—
"Wasn't Team Rocket only active in the Kanto region? Why would they show up on our doorstep?" Olivia asked, genuinely confused.
The distance between Kanto and Alola was enormous.
"Hah~ troubled times indeed." Nanu pressed a hand to his forehead, letting out a sigh.
"Territorial expansion, I'd wager. For an evil organization like Team Rocket, there wouldn't be any other reason." Kukui said helplessly.
"If that's the case, Team Skull's dissolution is almost certainly tangled up with Team Rocket as well. Which means Team Rocket is currently mopping up the last of the dark forces on Melemele."
Kukui's guess was a reasonable one. If Team Rocket had come to Alola, the first thing they'd do was go after Team Skull.
And the outcome had already proven it out: Team Skull was gone, and Guzma himself… had probably joined Team Rocket.
"Their intentions aren't peaceful. This is a man-eating tiger." Hala's voice was heavy.
Nanu sighed again.
"Is it really that dire?" Olivia felt the three of them were blowing things out of proportion.
"Team Rocket may be tough, but this is our Alola." Olivia planted a hand on her hip, her tone utterly casual.
Team Rocket's roots were still in Kanto. Even if they were expanding outward, there was no way they'd send every one of their operatives.
And Alola and Kanto were separated by a vast ocean. Travel took time — reinforcements even more so.
"Rather than sitting here worrying pointlessly, we just need to send people to investigate and locate Team Rocket's base. Then the four of us move in together and handle them."
Olivia tossed her hair back and flashed a charming, confident smile.
"Let Team Rocket get a taste of Alola's strength. Honestly — of all the regions they could have picked, they picked ours? What exactly is that supposed to mean? Are they looking down on us?"
As the current youngest Island Queen, Olivia had every right to her pride — and she genuinely didn't think the Team Rocket branch here would be particularly hard to handle.
Please. Sure, Alola didn't have its own League yet, and no Elite Four or regional Champion. But was Alola weak?
All three Island Kahunas were Elite-Four-tier trainers, and Kukui himself was Champion-tier!
Then there was Kukui's close friend Molayne, Nanu's hand-picked successor Acerola, and the previous Island Challenge champion Kahili — currently traveling the world — all of them Elite-Four-tier. (Molayne and Kahili are members of the Alola Elite Four in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.)
Did they really think Alola was an easy target?! Bastards!!
Olivia was convinced she could handle this Alola Team Rocket branch on her own. After all, she was the Island Queen of Akala, yo!
"Olivia makes a fair point. Let's send people to investigate first. Whatever happens, we can't let Team Rocket operate freely in Alola." Hala, as the senior-most Island Kahuna, spoke up in his low, grave voice.
Team Rocket was an evil organization. It went without saying that they hadn't come with good intentions.
"If we locate Team Rocket's movements, don't act rashly."
"Agreed. We'll proceed this way for now."
"We also need to keep a close eye on Guzma. I suspect he's already joined Team Rocket at this point."
Kukui added. His instincts had always been sharp.
After another brief discussion, the group ended the video call. Kukui gazed out at the ocean beyond his research lab, his expression heavy and deep.
A Team Rocket that had grown to its current scale right under the nose of the Kanto League was absolutely not to be underestimated — especially for a region like theirs, which hadn't even established its own League yet.
The only consolation was that Team Rocket definitely wouldn't deploy all their forces. He just didn't know exactly how many high-level operatives they'd sent to Alola this time.
Inside the Melemele villa.
"Boss, I'm afraid Hala has likely already detected our presence."
Lance lowered his head, speaking respectfully to Mammon — who had Domino sitting in his lap.
"According to reports from my men, some of the fleeing Pokémon Hunters have been captured by Hala's subordinates."
"It's fine. It was only a matter of time."
Mammon's arm was wrapped around Domino's soft, slender waist. He answered dismissively.
If anything, it was actually a little slow for the Island Kahunas to only be noticing Team Rocket's presence now.
Though it wasn't surprising. Aside from clearing out the Pokémon Hunter bases, all of Team Rocket's other activities had been conducted in careful secrecy.
"Continue the sweeping operations. Have Guzma and Caitlin work together to completely purge Melemele's underworld." Mammon instructed.
"Understood. I'll notify Caitlin and Guzma."
Lance nodded. Melemele's cleanup operation had been under Caitlin's supervision all along.
"Boss, if we're running operations this aggressively in the short term, won't that put Hala further on alert?" Domino asked curiously.
"I have to extend them some sort of greeting, don't I? We're all going to be 'friends' developing in the same region from here on out."
Mammon's mouth slowly curved upward. He'd been wanting to meet Hala and company face-to-face for a while now.
"Boss — you're planning to step out personally? But what about the Boss over there?"
Lance was a little concerned. After all, the fact that Mammon was Giovanni's son was not something they'd hidden from anyone externally.
If Mammon became a senior Team Rocket executive, the moment the Kanto League cross-referenced names with Hala's people, wouldn't the investigation circle back to Giovanni himself as Mammon's father?
"Don't worry about it. I've thought it through already — I'll have the old man publicly cut ties with me when the time comes."
"Huh?" Lance blinked.
"A true man born between heaven and earth — how can he linger forever beneath another's shadow? When the moment is right, that cheapskate old man should rightfully abdicate the throne to me and go back to being a nice little Gym Leader."
"I, Mammon, am the one destined to lead Team Rocket to its true ascension, yo! This Boss seat — I'll be sitting in it!"
Mammon broke into a wide, unrestrained grin, radiating a swagger that defied description.
Lance: (⊙.⊙)
Domino: (°—°)