"Waaah～ you're amazing. Ariana wasn't even your match."
The chestnut‑haired girl looked genuinely stunned as she stared at the red‑eyed boy in front of her, along with his Charizard and Pikachu.
She'd only meant to get this random passerby to stall Ariana for her so she could run.
She never imagined this boy—who looked about her age—would actually flatten Ariana.
If Ariana hadn't realized how bad things were and bailed in time, she probably would've been left bleeding on the pavement.
"…"
The red‑eyed boy tugged the brim of his cap down over his eyes in an aloof, "too cool to talk" kind of silence.
Playing cold and distant, huh?
The girl analyzed him in her head.
She was well aware this boy wasn't mute—he'd been giving plenty of commands during his battle with Ariana.
But that was fine.
She happened to be a social terrorist herself!
A boy this strong at such a young age would definitely be useful someday.
"Thanks a ton for helping me out.
If you hadn't, who knows what kind of horrible things might've happened to me."
A sweet smile spread over her otherwise ordinary face as she thanked the boy.
"I'm Green. You can just call me Green.
Can I ask your name?"
Green blinked her bright, shining eyes, her sweet voice dripping with girlish charm.
"…"
The boy pulled his cap even lower.
But Green didn't give up.
She just kept looking at him with that hopeful gaze.
"…Red."
The boy's low voice finally reached her ears.
"Red, right? You're really amazing. Those Evil Team Rocket guys—oh, right! I almost forgot."
Green quickly pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
"Hello hello? Officer Jenny? Yeah, I wanna report a crime!
In the south district of the city, there's a really large Team Rocket base!"
"That's right, I'm absolutely serious!
I just escaped from there.
As far as I know, there are at least two Team Rocket executives in that base!"
"Okay, don't worry, I won't do anything reckless.
My name? Emmm… I'm just a warm‑hearted passerby."
"If you have to write something down, you can just put the name Red."
Green rattled everything off at high speed, then finished in a modest tone.
Red: (⊙ｏ⊙)
"Hehe～ sorry for using your name without asking.
I, Green, don't really like being in the spotlight."
Hanging up, Green mischievously stuck out her tongue, tapping her head with her gloved hand in a cutesy gesture.
Of course she didn't like getting famous.
If her former coworkers saw this, they'd definitely chase her all the way to Celadon City.
Green pressed her lips together as a fleeting shadow passed through her clear, beautiful eyes.
Even though she'd already escaped, the shadow of that organization still clung to her, never really letting her go.
Red stayed quiet.
He might've been shy and introverted, but he was very sensitive to other people's emotions.
He could pick up on the fact that this girl's heart wasn't nearly as bright and outgoing as her appearance.
Of course, what Red cared about more was something else entirely.
There was a large Team Rocket base here?
He turned his head, looking in the direction Ariana had run.
He had zero goodwill toward Team Rocket.
Back on the S.S. Anne, they'd even tried to snatch away their Pokémon.
Anyone who could casually tear apart the bonds and futures between Pokémon and their Trainers like that…
Was unforgivable.
Red loved Pokémon battles.
His goal was to become the strongest Trainer in the world.
At the same time, though, he genuinely wished for a better world.
He wanted these skies to stay clear and blue forever.
An evil organization like Team Rocket—one that didn't care about anyone's feelings and only spread pain—had no place in that world.
So now that he'd learned about Team Rocket's presence here, then…
...
Indigo Plateau.
"A large base discovered in Celadon City, is it?"
Goodshow frowned, his graying brows knitting as he listened to the report from the Officer Jenny in charge.
"Yes.
If it's just the Celadon City police, they probably won't be able to wipe it out.
And we haven't been able to contact Gym Leader Erika."
The Officer Jenny in charge spoke with a grave expression.
A large Team Rocket base had to have Team Rocket executives stationed there.
And Team Rocket Admins were basically at Elite Four–level strength.
Even the weaker ones among them were far beyond what ordinary Trainers could handle.
On top of that, they couldn't get hold of Celadon's Gym Leader Erika right now.
Though the Officer Jenny in charge didn't think too much of that part.
After all, just this morning, Erika had been perfectly fine at her Gym.
"Should we send Lorelei and the others, Mr. Chairman?"
The Officer Jenny in charge asked Goodshow.
If they wanted to be absolutely sure about wiping out that Team Rocket base, sending out Kanto's Elite Four was the best move.
"That's Celadon City we're talking about."
Goodshow replied with a weary look.
The Officer Jenny fell silent.
Within the Kanto Elite Four, Agatha was already quite old, with deep seniority and a formidable reputation.
Barring a true last resort, she was not someone they could casually deploy.
Bruno, while having the lowest presence among the Elite Four and spending most of his time either training or pumping iron, was undeniably powerful.
But given his personality, Bruno was fine as blunt force—
Not so great as a leader of an operation.
Then there was Lance and Lorelei…
Those two took the eradication of Team Rocket more seriously than anyone else.
But that was exactly the problem giving Goodshow such a headache.
Their attitude toward Team Rocket was Way Too Extreme, and they never held back when striking at them.
Statistics showed that out of every ten Team Rocket members Lorelei captured, eight ended up with severe frostbite.
Even after being thawed, they often suffered lasting side effects.
Lance was even more straightforward:
Only those who survived his Pokémon's attacks were considered "qualified" to be taken into League custody.
But that flew in the face of the Pokémon League's humanitarian ideology, and it troubled Goodshow deeply.
He'd spoken with both Lance and Lorelei about it more than once—
But their hatred for Team Rocket ran far too deep.
And people's ideologies weren't exactly easy to change.
"Lorelei, come to my office."
After thinking it over for a while, Goodshow sighed and contacted Lorelei.
No matter what, that Team Rocket base would have to be dealt with.
Before long, Lorelei arrived at his office.
"Mr. Chairman."
"Lorelei, a large Team Rocket base has been discovered in Celadon City.
You and Bruno will head over there."
"Celadon City, huh? Understood."
Lorelei's cold, beautiful face didn't so much as twitch.
She simply pushed her glasses up and answered calmly.
But both the Officer Jenny in charge and Goodshow could feel it—
The chill radiating from her had gotten even sharper.
Goodshow opened his mouth, then closed it again, finally letting out a helpless sigh in his heart.
In his eyes, Lorelei had once been a very kind child.
When she was young, she'd watched a Seel slowly wither on the brink of death due to industrial water pollution.
The sorrow and pain in that dying Seel's eyes had carved themselves deep into her soul, something she could never forget.
To create a better future for nature and Pokémon alike, Lorelei had joined the Indigo League and become one of the Elite Four.
But little by little, that original passion had turned into something else—
A biting, bone‑deep coldness.
"I'm counting on you, Lorelei."
"Don't worry, Mr. Chairman."
Lorelei turned and left, a cold smile tugging at her lips.
"I'll freeze every last one of those filthy, evil pieces of trash into ice sculptures."
Watching her back as she walked away, Goodshow felt a deep, heavy worry take root in his heart.
Kanto's future…
~~~
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