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Team Rockets' disbandment originated from Ash's battle wager with Giovanni, and in fact, Giovanni brought it upon himself.
But when Ash heard Giovanni's proposal, he agreed without hesitation, because in his opinion, if Kanto didn't have Team Rockets, the entire Kanto region would become peaceful and quiet.
For this, Ash gambled on battling Giovanni and ultimately won.
Initially, the results were indeed good; Kanto became much calmer after Team Rockets' absence. Such a large organization suddenly falling apart made all the evil organizations in Kanto feel precarious, fearing that the League had done it and they would be next.
But later... other organizations caught on and began to establish themselves in Kanto, using Team Rockets' disbandment as a foundation.
Before, with Team Rockets in Kanto, it was very difficult for them to get a foothold, let alone establish bases in various Leagues like Team Rockets did; they couldn't even Ingrain themselves in other Leagues.
Team Rockets was able to do such things because they made deals with the League. Why should other evil organizations be able to? Did they really think the League was just sitting idle?
But now, the situation has slipped out of the League's control. Team Rockets' disbandment also gave other organizations an opportunity. They used Team Rockets' disbandment to develop and grow in other places, especially in Kanto.
Team Galactic, as mentioned by Cynthia, was the first they heard of, but it was by no means the last to invade Kanto, and it might not even have been the first.
Team Rockets' disbandment actually brought harm to the entire League... this was something Ash had never expected.
He couldn't help but recall what the big shots in the group had said: that disbanding Team Rockets might not necessarily be a good thing. However, at that time, the arrow was already on the string, and he had no choice; he couldn't deliberately lose to the opponent, could he?
At that time, Ash didn't understand what the big shots meant, why winning against Giovanni and disbanding Team Rockets wasn't a good thing. If something that benefited the entire League wasn't considered a good thing, then what was?
Now he finally understood. It turned out that things that looked good on the surface weren't necessarily good, and could even make the outcome worse.
Originally, the League could control Team Rockets, and even knew them inside out. Although Team Rockets gradually got out of control, creating terrifying existences like Mewtwo, compared to other organizations, they still had a certain degree of control.
The newly influxed organizations, however, were completely hidden in the dark. The enemy was hidden, and the League was in the open, which was very disadvantageous for the League.
Everything Little Lugia suffered was just the beginning; there might be many hidden things they hadn't discovered.
"...I heard that Team Magma and Team Aqua from the Hoenn League have also come, including Team Plasma from the Unova region, and Team Flare from the Kalos region."
Ash and the others: ...Isn't this every evil organization from every region?! The Johto region, like Kanto, was Team Rockets' territory, so no other evil organizations came to Johto. But apart from Johto, people from all other regions came!
Although Ash didn't recognize any of them, the fact that Cynthia singled them out meant that all these evil organizations were on the same level as Team Galactic.
It seemed they all saw Team Rockets disband and came to snatch this prize!
On one hand, they could absorb Team Rockets' power to strengthen their own organizations. On the other hand, this was the best opportunity to Ingrain themselves in Kanto and Johto. If they succeeded, then Kanto and Johto would become the most chaotic regions among all the Leagues!
This time, it was truly a case of good intentions leading to utterly bad results, the worst kind of bad.
They originally wanted Kanto and Johto to become the most peaceful League regions, but now it seems they are destined to become the regions with the worst order—if those guys manage to Ingrain themselves there.
"Misty, Brock... Did I do something wrong?" Ash's eyes revealed confusion. If he hadn't blindly agreed to Giovanni's terms back then, would this not have happened? Or would it have been better if he had lost that time... "No, Ash. Lorelei has already told me about Team Rockets. You did nothing wrong." Cynthia shook her head, immediately dismissing Ash's thoughts before Brock and Misty could.
"If it weren't for you, the League wouldn't have discovered Team Rockets' wolfish ambitions. To be frank, a controlled God Domain Level is more dangerous than all the harm caused by those evil organizations combined. Don't let Team Galactic's talk of capturing the God of the Sea fool you; if they actually encountered the God of the Sea, the latter could wipe them out with a single breath. There's no need to worry about that."
What made Team Rockets more terrifying than other organizations was their personnel spread across all regions, and their research capabilities. They could even create God Domain Level Pokémon, and even those Poké Balls that could forcibly capture other people's Pokémon. If these things were mass-produced and distributed to all members of the organization, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.
So, Ash and Giovanni making a wager to disband Team Rockets was not a problem. In the long run, Team Rockets posed a greater threat than all other organizations combined.
The problem wasn't Ash; it was the League's subsequent handling. The League failed to round up Team Rockets' important high-ranking members in time when they disbanded, which led to high-ranking Team Rockets members joining other organizations.
However, the League couldn't be entirely blamed either. After all, the League didn't have enough manpower, especially the Kanto League. They almost shared their Elite Four with Johto, meaning they only had two high-end combatants: Lorelei and Agatha.
The other two were both Kanto's and Johto's Champion and Elite. In total, the two Leagues only had five Elite and one Champion—in terms of duties.
In terms of actual strength, there were probably four Champions and two Elite, making them extremely powerful in high-end combat, but they were stretched thin.
They could have dealt with Team Rockets' high-ranking members, but those high-ranking members remained hidden. By the time Lance and others were entangled with Team Rockets' minor characters, the League's informants only discovered the high-ranking members. By then, Lance and others were too late to rush over.
The League's handling had significant problems, which led to such a bad situation. If Ash's actions were considered problematic, then there would be no problem-free actions in the world.
Justice is never wrong. If justice itself is denied, would anyone in the world still do what is right?
Under Cynthia's comfort, Ash finally recovered somewhat from the blow to his heart, but he still didn't believe that the current situation had nothing to do with him.
Regardless of what the future of not investigating Team Rockets would have been, what had happened now was already a fact, and he could say he indirectly caused it, so he also had to take responsibility for it.
At the very least, both emotionally and rationally, he had to heal Little Lugia. Little Lugia's life was connected to a series of events, especially if the God of the Sea found out about this situation, the God of the Sea might not give the League a chance to explain.
This was also why the League wanted to find the God of the Sea first. Finding the God of the Sea and the God of the Sea discovering Little Lugia's situation and then coming to find them were completely different scenarios.
After discussing recent international events with Cynthia, Cynthia temporarily bid farewell to them. Due to Team Galactic, she also had many things to deal with there. She also agreed with them to return early tomorrow morning to help Ash heal Little Lugia.
After Cynthia left, the smile on Ash's face also faded somewhat. Misty noticed the unrest in Ash's heart. She reached out her small hand and patted Ash's shoulder, saying, "Don't think so much, Ash. Didn't Ms. Cynthia say? If it weren't for you, the situation would be worse. It's not your fault this happened."
'What they both said is correct. If you think stopping Giovanni was wrong, then... was saving me also wrong?' Mewtwo, who had been listening quietly nearby, suddenly spoke.
She was actually a bit embarrassed to say the latter part, but to spare Ash from unnecessary torment, she still spoke her mind.
Putting aside the good or bad impact on the League and the world order, saving her was a concrete fact. If she had continued to stay with Team Rockets, who knew how far she would have fallen?
To be frank, the influence of her single Pokémon alone could outweigh the combined impact of all other evil organizations.
Those evil organizations were still in the invasion phase of Kanto and Johto regions, and the League would send people to stop them. This kind of confrontation could still be called a game of chess.
But if she, after reaching God Domain Level, had joined Giovanni in doing evil, that wouldn't be a game of chess; it would be a one-sided crushing!
Without a God Domain Level to stop her, the entire Kanto region would fall!
Moreover, for Ash, this wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was pulling her out of the quagmire, which was what Ash cared about most. This was her understanding of Ash after spending this time with him.
Upon hearing Mewtwo's comfort, Ash finally looked up, his eyes sparkling with a certain light: "Thank you, Mewtwo, Misty, Brock. I've recovered. I'll go think of a way to heal Little Lugia now. I'll leave dinner to you guys."
Ash said the last sentence to Misty and Brock. After a battle and a long conversation, it was already almost evening without them realizing it.
Ash needed to find a way to help Little Lugia recover, so cooking could only be left to Brock and the others for now.
As for how Ash would find a method, that was Ash's own business. If it was Ash, he would definitely solve it—that's what Misty and the others all thought.
Mewtwo watched Ash and Pikachu enter the room, and her figure gradually disappeared.
Ash was working hard, and she wouldn't be idle either. If anyone among Ash's current companions was most likely to find the God of the Sea, it would naturally be her. She was going to the Orange Islands!
...Back in the room, Ash sat on the bed and, after telling Pikachu not to disturb him, closed his eyes.
Pikachu tilted his head, not asking why Ash had to go into the room to close his eyes and think, but quietly lay down beside Ash, closing his eyes and dozing off.
Ash closed his eyes, naturally entering the chat group. Speaking of which, since the Indigo Plateau Conference started recently, his frequency of entering the chat group had decreased.
On one hand, it was because he was also gradually growing and wouldn't rely on the big shots in the chat group forever. He had gradually forged his own path, and all that remained was to digest and absorb the knowledge taught by the big shots. Then he would become the complete Ash, embodying the strength of all parallel world Ashs!
However, today's battle made Ash realize that he was still far from being a top Trainer and needed to continue learning.
Of course, he didn't come into the chat group to lament how sad he was about losing the match, but because of Little Lugia's situation.
With Ash's call, the various big shots in the group popped up, and Ash also sent Little Lugia's condition and the entire backstory into the group.
[Champion Ash: I didn't expect such a thing to happen after Team Rockets disbanded, but this was actually foreseeable. Where there is light, there will inevitably be darkness. Even if Team Rockets disbanded, other evil organizations would emerge to replace them. We've already told you this before. Your actions in crushing Team Rockets were not wrong; you don't need to dwell on it.]
[Newbie Ash: Mmm, thank you for the comfort, Big Shot. But Mewtwo and Misty have already helped me understand, and I've let go of this matter. What I'm more concerned about now is how to resolve Little Lugia's situation. Has any Big Shot encountered this kind of situation before?]
[Champion Ash: Oh? Mewtwo, that un-frank fellow, actually comforted someone? That's really rare. It seems the bond between you and her has successfully formed... As for Little Lugia's situation, that guy should know something @Ash, the friend of legendary Pokémon.]
[Ash, the friend of legendary Pokémon: Hi hi~ I've already looked over the general situation. It's actually not a big deal. It's just that Little Lugia still has Psychic-type power within it, and Dark-type is the mortal enemy of Psychic-type. What you need to do is completely remove the Psychic-type power from Little Lugia, and its life safety can be guaranteed.]
Ash, the friend of legendary Pokémon... This was a big shot with a prefix name Ash had never seen before. Ash had been in the chat group for so long, and this was the first time he had seen him pop up.
However, the fact that Champion Ash @-ed him was enough to prove his reliability. In the entire group, Ash felt that Champion Ash was the most reliable.
The big shot he introduced shouldn't be too bad either.
And the method Ash, the friend of legendary Pokémon described didn't seem too difficult. If removing the Psychic-type could save Little Lugia, then once his power recovered, doing such a thing would be a mere flick of a finger.
[Ash, the friend of legendary Pokémon: However...]