Celadon City was the most advanced city, and the absolute capital of commerce in Kanto, a place where millions of Pokedollars changed hands every minute.
And where there was that much money flowing, the shadows were always filled with sharks.
Green stood on the second-story balcony of a high-end shopping arcade, her white gloves resting lightly on the railing as her eyes scanned the bustling open-air market below.
She wore a innocent, bright sundress and a wide-brimmed straw hat - the perfect costume for a wealthy tourist girl spending her parents' inheritance.
But beneath the hat, her sharp eyes were locked onto a specific stall.
The merchant below, a greasy man with a gold tooth and a scarred face, was currently whispering to a nervous-looking young trainer. He was holding open a velvet-lined case containing a brilliant, fiery orange stone.
'A counterfeit Fire Stone made from compressed sulfur and low-grade volcanic glass,' Green thought, a highly amused, wicked smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
'He's trying to scam that poor kid out of a few hundred thousand Pokedollars. How utterly crude.'
Green glided down the staircase, her movements fluid and entirely silent. As she approached the stall, she intentionally bumped into a massive display of local perfume bottles right next to him, causing a massive, clattering crash.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!"
Green squeaked, her voice instantly shifting into a pitch-perfect imitation of a clumsy, panicked high-school girl. She immediately dropped to her knees, frantically trying to 'clean' her mess.
"You've ruined all of them!"
The merchant rebuked her as he frantically salvaged the unbroken bottles, giving Green a distraction to work with.
Her hand quietly shot forward. In a single, blurred motion of absolute sleight of hand, she reached into the open case beneath the merchant's counter. She didn't just swipe the fake Fire Stone to ruin his scam, but also stole a TM Case from him, all without him knowing.
"All clean! So sorry again!" Green giggled, dusting off her dress as she stood up. She spun on her heel and casually walked into the dense crowd, disappearing into the sea of shoppers before the merchant even turned back around.
Once she reached a quiet, shaded alleyway behind the grand department store, Green let out a low, triumphant laugh. She pulled the stolen TM from her dress pocket.
"Let's see... TM 24, Thunder. Wow, someone was running a serious black-market smuggling ring," Green chirped to herself, tossing the high-value disk in the air and catching it effortlessly.
"This will fetch at least three million in the black market"
"You've got incredibly fast hands, kid. I'll give you that."
Green's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't heard a single footstep, hadn't sensed a single shred of killing intent, yet someone was standing less than five feet behind her.
She spun around, her innocent persona instantly vanishing, replaced by the cold, calculating posture of a street-bred survivor. Her fingers dropped directly to the Poké Balls resting in the hidden lining of her skirt.
Leaning casually against a brick wall was a woman who looked like she had walked straight out of a heavy-metal concert.
She wore a spiked black leather jacket over a crimson crop top, torn denim shorts, and dark cat-eye sunglasses that completely obscured her eyes. She was slowly chewing a piece of pink bubblegum, a playful expression on her face.
"And who might you be?" Green asked, her voice dropping into a sharp, icy tone. "A cop?"
"Do I look like a cop to you, sweetie?"
Blaire laughed, popping a large bubble with a loud snap.
"I'm just someone who likes observing people. I just coincidentally saw you. It was pretty impressive."
Green's eyes narrowed to slits. She didn't like being perceived. "If you're not a cop then get lost, or things will get ugly."
"Oh, please make it ugly," Blaire purred, her eyes flashing with a wild, dangerous excitement behind her sunglasses. She reached down and unclipped an ultra ball from her belt, tossing it into the air.
"Let's see what Kanto's little stray cat can actually do when she's cornered."
"Don't regret this! Blastoise, drown her!" Green shouted, throwing her Poké Ball forward.
The massive, heavily armored Water-type materialized with a thunderous crash, its twin steel cannons instantly locking onto Blaire, water pressure building within its tanks with a terrifying hiss.
Blaire didn't even flinch.
With a deafening roar that caused the very foundations of the brick alleyway to tremble, an imposing Charizard appeared.
Instantly, a suffocating, crushing pressure descended upon the alley. The temperature around Charizard rose several degrees, leaving only Blaire unaffected.
The heat around Blastoise was so intense that it vaporized the moisture in Blastoise's cannons before it could even be fired.
This Charizard was at the Pseudo-King level.
Green's breath caught in her throat. Her mind raced through the calculations at lightning speed. Blastoise had the type advantage, but the sheer level gap was astronomical.
The tactical evaluation took less than half a second.
Green instantly recalled Blastoise in a beam of red light, dropped her hands to her sides, and let out a dramatic, exaggerated sigh. She puffed out her cheeks and pouted, her eyes tearing up with practiced precision.
"Oh, wow. A giant, scary dragon against a fragile, defenseless girl," Green whined, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. "How can you be so cruel to bully a little girl?!"
Blaire stared at her for a second, then burst into a loud, genuine laugh. She recalled her Charizard, the oppressive heat vanishing from the alley in an instant.
"Hahaha! You are something, kid!"
Blaire wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Besides, I just came to say hi. I wasn't going to turn you in or anything."
Green blinked, her fake tears disappearing instantly. "So... you're not an enemy?"
"Nah," Blaire said, reaching into her leather jacket.
She pulled out a sleek, black envelope sealed with an intricate, golden wax stamp. With a lazy flick of her wrist, the envelope flew through the air. Green caught it cleanly between two fingers.
"What's this? A court summons?" Green asked, inspecting the gold seal.
"An invitation," Blaire smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "The Williams Estate. Next month. It's a grand gathering for all up and coming prodigies in Kanto, alongside a few aristocratic brats, and young masters."
Green's eyes flickered, her expression complex.
"And why are you giving this to me?" Green asked, assessing.
"Because I like a little chaos," Blaire winked, turning around and walking back toward the main street.
"I like to throw a few wild cards into the deck to see how things go. Besides, judging from that Blastoise, you are a prodigy in your own rights."
Blaire's experienced eyes could tell how well that Blastoise was raised.
Green looked down at the black envelope, a slow, wicked grin spreading across her face.
"Well... it would be terribly rude of me to decline such a heartfelt invite."
'I wonder if Red would be there...'
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Thanks for reading. Giovanni has finally made an appearance!
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