As expected of Team Rocket.
Yozora sighed inwardly, marveling at their shamelessness.
They rig the system beforehand, sell, reclaim;
Sell again, reclaim again—
An endless cycle, an infinite money-making loop!
And even without talking about the "infinite loop," just reclaiming once was already a colossal profit!
One unit at 100,000. A hundred units is ten million. A thousand? A hundred million!
Celadon City, one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Kanto, has how many residents? Countless!
Tsk, tsk. Truly outrageous!
The money was simply too easy.
"Beautiful lady—uh, I mean, lovely miss! Please, spare us. We're just lowly grunts, only following orders… Besides, we've already handed over all the Porygon to you!" The two bound Team Rocket members pleaded desperately with Erika.
"Silence, you scum!"
Erika snapped angrily. "If not for ignorant people like you, how would Team Rocket have risen to such prominence? Go reflect on your sins in prison!"
She was furious.
She remembered when Team Rocket first skulked only in the darkest alleys. But now, after rapid expansion, they had grown bolder and bolder—mugging on the streets, robbing in broad daylight, and even staging massive commercial scams like today's.
They acted with the arrogance of tyrants, as if they were above all law.
Yet Erika didn't realize that what she had seen was merely the surface. Team Rocket's true core was far darker than she could imagine.
Viridian City's Gym Leader—Giovanni.
Vermilion City's Gym Leader—Lt. Surge.
Saffron's Gym Leader—Sabrina.
Fuchsia City's Gym Leader—Koga.
Cinnabar Island's Gym Leader—Blaine.
These five, every one of them was a leader and high-ranking executive of Team Rocket!
And how many Gyms are there in Kanto?
Over twenty in total. Even those unmentioned in the original records may very well be under Team Rocket's influence.
Of the canonical eight Gyms, five were tied to Team Rocket.
So in this world, with over twenty Gyms, even if not all, surely at least half were compromised.
The extent of Team Rocket's infiltration was terrifying—enough to chill one's spine.
"Yozora, with your strength, you could deal serious blows to Team Rocket. Please, help the citizens of Celadon City. Once this incident is resolved, I'm sure the Mayor and Officer Jenny will reward your efforts," Erika pleaded, her eyes carrying a trace of desperation.
"Of course. Even if there were no reward, such things are my duty," Yozora said firmly.
Erika nodded approvingly. "I'll handle this street. Yozora, head to the other blocks—or stake out an alley. Those rats from Team Rocket love sneaking through the shadows."
Yozora nodded and left. Soon, he was crouched in a narrow alley. Within ten minutes, a group of six Team Rocket members came running.
All clad in black uniforms, with generic, disposable faces. Their auras, tense and erratic, told Yozora they were nothing but grunts—the lowest rung of Team Rocket.
Seeing Yozora block their path, they startled at first, but upon noticing his young age, they glanced at one another and smirked.
"Damn brat. Playing hero? Been watching too much TV?"
The leader, burly and snarling, barked threats before hurling out a Raticate. The other five followed suit, summoning their own.
"Kid, you'd better run now while you can, or we won't hold back!"
"Oh? I'd like to see how exactly you 'won't hold back.' Aegislash!" Yozora called, sending out his Aegislash with pride.
"Huh? What's that? Never seen such a rare Pokémon before!"
"Hell yeah! If we capture that Aegislash and hand it over to our commanders or supervisors, we'll be set for life!"
"Promotion and fortune, baby!"
Their eyes turned blood-red with greed as they stared at Aegislash.
Little did they know, that same Aegislash was a nightmare far beyond their reach.
"Raticate, rush it—tear that thing apart!" they all commanded at once. Six Raticate bared their fangs, lunging together toward Aegislash.
"King's Shield."
Yozora spoke lightly. The moment the Raticate made contact, a massive shockwave erupted from Aegislash's body, blasting all six away. They crashed to the ground in a heap.
And worse—they were struck with lowered defenses, their armor shattered.
Not that it mattered. Against Aegislash's might, even doubled defenses would not save them.
"Huh? King's Shield? A move that reflects attacks?!"
A few of the grunts, too dim-witted, even grinned greedily, thinking Aegislash was now more precious.
"Sacred Sword!"
With a sweeping gesture from Yozora, Aegislash unsheathed itself. A massive emerald blade of energy cleaved through the air, knocking out every last grunt and Raticate.
The battlefield fell silent.
With a metallic clang, Aegislash sheathed itself once more, while Yozora strode forward, searching the grunts' storage items.
His goal was to retrieve the Poké Balls containing Porygon. But upon finding other valuables—ores, resources—he quietly pocketed them as well.
After all, as the saying goes: No one grows rich without windfalls; no horse fattens without night grass.
Strength was essential. And money was critical for gaining strength quickly.
These men were evil Team Rocket members. By sparing their lives, Yozora had already shown mercy. Taking their ill-gotten goods caused him no guilt at all.
Besides, he did need money. To hit his "small goal" of earning one hundred million and truly soar, this was a step he couldn't skip.
With that thought, he plundered without hesitation.
Unfortunately, these were only bottom-tier grunts. Their possessions were meager—some rare Berries, a few substandard ores.
All told, worth maybe a million.
Of course, he also recovered fifteen Poké Balls containing Porygon. But those he would never keep for himself. That was a line he would not cross—otherwise, what made him any different from Team Rocket?
"There are also these account cards… what a pity," Yozora muttered.
League account cards carried smart chips, bound to their owners, with built-in transfer systems.
But to operate them required the owner's own voice and fingerprint.
Not being the owner, Yozora couldn't withdraw a cent.
"If only I had Hypnosis…" Yozora thought. With Hypnosis and some suggestion, he could make these fools transfer their funds themselves while in a daze.
That would make wealth collection so much easier—and his day of soaring would come sooner.
Speaking of Hypnosis, Yozora immediately thought of Gengar.
While Alakazam might excel at Hypnosis overall, Gengar had the advantage of invisibility—perfect for slipping close to humans unseen, then putting them under.
And against humans instead of Pokémon? Child's play.
"What a shame… I should have captured a Gengar skilled in Hypnosis back at the Land of Battle Souls." Yozora sighed with regret.
At that time, after capturing Honedge and obtaining the Battle Soul Cloak, he had felt satisfied, never considering future needs like now.
"Never mind. I'll surely encounter Gengar again in the journey ahead." Shaking his head, Yozora tied the six grunts together with rope.
Unlike Bai, whose aura was irredeemably black and had to be eliminated, these six weren't beyond redemption.
He wasn't one to kill needlessly, nor did he hold the authority to take lives on a whim. If he could avoid it, he preferred not to kill.
Better to bind them and hand them over to Officer Jenny.
Moments later, the six Raticate stirred awake—their strong vitality aiding their recovery.
"Chuuuu!"
Upon awakening, they abandoned their fainted trainers and fled.
Yozora smirked with disdain.
As the saying goes: what kind of trainer raises what kind of Pokémon.
With trainers this rotten, could their Pokémon truly be noble?
He resumed his watch.
About half an hour later, a battered figure stumbled into the alley.
Yozora froze, sensing a familiar aura. Looking closer, he realized—
It was Bill!
…
…
(End of Chapter)