After a relaxing night, Silas and his Pokémon were fully refreshed.
Before setting out, however, Silas wanted to pay the Cerulean Base a visit.
Rather than flying directly there on Tropius and potentially drawing unnecessary attention, Silas walked the familiar path toward the hidden base.
When he arrived, the Team Rocket members stationed near the entrance initially watched him carefully.
Then they verified his credentials through his TR device.
Their attitudes immediately changed.
"Welcome, Elite Officer Odin."
Several members saluted.
Silas nodded in acknowledgment before walking inside.
His promotion had definitely changed the way ordinary members treated him.
Silas currently had around 118,000 Rocket Points remaining, but he was also technically 2 million points in debt.
That enormous debt wasn't something he could immediately pay off, but there was no reason to allow his usable balance to remain low.
He needed to start farming points again.
Naturally, his first destination was the mission board.
The mission board listed freelance assignments available to Rocket members.
Information gathering, captures, assassinations, resource collection, protection, etc.
Almost anything Team Rocket needed done could eventually appear there.
For ordinary members without powerful sponsors, these missions were one of the primary ways to accumulate Rocket Points and obtain resources.
Silas stood in front of the board and carefully reviewed the available assignments.
Most didn't interest him.
Either the reward was too low, the mission was too far away, or completing it would take more time than Silas was willing to spend.
A few caught his attention but only one stood above the rest.
The mission was based in the Kanto Underground passage connecting Cerulean and Vermilion.
Eliminate Ricky.
Silas opened the intelligence report.
Ricky was a gang leader who had managed to consolidate many of the biker gangs operating within the Underground.
That alone wasn't enough to earn Team Rocket's wrath.
The problem was that Ricky had severed their relationship with Team Rocket.
The gangs had once paid dues, shared information, and generally understood who truly controlled the criminal underworld.
Ricky apparently believed he no longer needed to.
Worse, he had started ruthlessly killing civilian trainers who refused to pay his passage fees.
Silas didn't particularly care that the man was extorting people.
Team Rocket engaged in enough criminal activity that condemning someone solely for that would be hypocritical.
The real problem was Ricky's stupidity.
He had murdered several trainers belonging to prominent Kanto families.
That brought unwanted attention causing police patrols to increase.
League investigators started asking more questions. People who normally ignored the Underground began looking at it much more closely.
Team Rocket's success depended heavily on its ability to hide in plain sight.
It could operate businesses, underground markets, criminal networks, laboratories, and bases because most of the public had no idea how extensive the organization truly was.
Reckless idiots like Ricky threatened that.
Silas continued reading.
His known Pokémon were Golem, Rhydon, and Onix.
All 3 were at or near the mid pseudo-advanced tier.
Silas almost laughed.
For an ordinary Rocket member, this would be a dangerous mission.
For him?
There was little pressure.
The reward was 50,000 Rocket Points mainly due to unknown factors. There was a possibility of him having a powerful partner at the pseudo elite tier.
"Good enough."
Silas accepted the mission.
Before heading underground, however, he wanted to make 1 more stop.
He headed toward the base's large laboratory section.
Scientists moved between workstations while machines hummed throughout the room.
Silas looked around. Something was missing. Or rather, someone.
Dr. Nery.
The eccentric scientist was nowhere to be found.
Silas approached one of the researchers.
The man looked up.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes. I'm Elite Officer Odin."
The scientist immediately straightened slightly.
Silas continued.
"I'm a friend of Dr. Nery. Can you tell me where he is?"
"He and his team were summoned to headquarters a few weeks ago."
Silas' eyes narrowed slightly.
"Headquarters?"
"Yes."
Once the man heard Silas' rank, he had no issue explaining everything he knew.
Nery hadn't been the only one.
Scientists from numerous Team Rocket bases had apparently been recalled to headquarters around the same time.
Research specialists, engineers, biologist, basically the brightest minds of the organization had been gathered.
Nobody at this base seemed to know exactly why.
Silas stored the information away.
Interesting.
Whatever Giovanni had planned, it apparently required a significant concentration of scientific manpower.
At his current level, he wasn't qualified to know so pondering it served no purpose.
With his business at the Cerulean Base complete, Silas left.
His next destination was the Underground.
The Underground passage connecting Cerulean and Vermilion was enormous.
Calling it a tunnel almost felt insufficient.
The man-made structure was approximately 60 feet tall and 40 feet wide, large enough for huge numbers of people and Pokémon to travel through it without difficulty.
The primary passage was only part of the structure.
Numerous side tunnels branched away from the main path.
Basically every illegal organization you could think of could be found here from prostitution to Pokémon smuggling.
This was a place where people conducted activities they preferred to keep away from sunlight.
Of course, ordinary travelers would never see most of it.
You needed to know the right people.
To the average trainer, the Underground was simply a convenient shortcut between Cerulean and Vermilion.
Silas knew better.
Before entering, he changed his appearance.
Neither Silas Cross nor Odin would be walking into the Underground.
Today, he would use another identity.
Joe.
Silas nearly laughed at the simplicity of it.
Joe was common and forgettable, exactly what he wanted.
He adjusted his clothing and appearance until there was little about him that would attract attention then he entered.
Silas slowly made his way through the Underground.
People passed him constantly.
Trainers, merchants, guards, etc.
Suspicious-looking individuals who clearly weren't interested in legitimate business.
Voices echoed from the nearby stalls.
One merchant was particularly loud.
"Come one, come all and try your luck!"
Silas glanced toward him.
"Egg Roulette is a game anyone can win!"
A crowd had formed around a large stall containing dozens of Pokémon eggs.
"Perhaps you'll get a pseudo-legendary!"
The merchant dramatically raised his arms.
"Maybe even a regional starter!"
Several younger trainers immediately looked excited.
"But beware!"
His voice dropped theatrically.
"You could also get the common Rattata!"
People laughed.
"The fun is in the unexpected and unknown!"
Silas smirked.
"And the profits too."
He remembered something similar from when he had first started his journey and visited the Viridian Underground.
Cerulean didn't possess a true underground market on the same level, but this was probably the closest thing.
His interest was piqued.
Silas joined the crowd.
The rules were simple.
You had to pay 20,000 Pokédollars to choose any egg.
Whatever eventually hatched from it belonged to you.
There were no refunds or exchanges. All sales were final.
Silas knew exactly how the scam worked.
The possibility of receiving a pseudo-legendary or regional starter was mainly bait.
Technically, maybe such an egg had appeared here once.
That was enough for the merchant to advertise the possibility forever.
In reality, pseudo-legendary eggs almost never ended up at stalls like this.
Anyone capable of reliably identifying one would sell it for dramatically more than 20,000 Pokédollars.
Playing Egg Roulette was arguably worse than gambling at a casino.
Unless, of course, you had Silas' advantage.
His eyes moved across the eggs.
Scan.
Information rapidly appeared.
Pidgey, Caterpie, Weedle, Spearow, Magikarp, & Rattata.
Exactly what Silas expected.
Most were extremely common Pokémon with mediocre potential.
Silas didn't immediately act. That would been suspicious.
Instead, he waited patiently while other trainers selected eggs.
Every few moments, Silas rescanned portions of the collection.
Eventually, 4 eggs stood out.
2 Magikarp, 1 Pidgey, and 1 Machop.
All possessed C potential.
Silas' interest focused particularly on the Magikarp.
According to the information Team Rocket had accumulated over decades of research, Magikarp possessed a fascinating characteristic.
Their potential naturally increased by a full grade when they successfully evolved into Gyarados.
With additional resources, that improvement could potentially be even greater.
However, not every Magikarp could successfully reach that point.
Generally, only Magikarp with at least C-grade talent possessed the natural foundation required to evolve.
Those with worse potential often remained Magikarp their entire lives unless extraordinary circumstances intervened.
That was one reason Gyarados were so feared.
There effectively weren't ordinary weak Gyarados walking around everywhere.
A successful evolution already filtered out much of the species.
B potential was essentially the minimum natural standard for Gyarados.
Silas looked at the 2 eggs again.
Finding 2 C-potential Magikarp in the same batch was genuinely impressive.
And if properly raised before evolving?
They could become excellent Pokémon.
Gyarados were famous throughout the Pokémon world for another reason, their fierce temperament.
Wild Gyarados were notoriously violent. Once enraged, they could become extremely difficult to control.
But that problem became far more manageable when the Pokémon was raised with affection and discipline from infancy.
Silas already knew what he wanted to do with these.
The orphanage.
He intended to send the eggs to Madam.
The Pidgey and Machop would also make excellent partners for the children eventually.
Madam would understand what needed to be done with the Magikarp.
They would need to be handled carefully once they evolved, but Silas wasn't particularly concerned.
Madam possessed a powerful Jolteon.
If a newly evolved Gyarados decided to lose its mind, Jolteon could correct that attitude very quickly.
Silas patiently waited.
Several people selected eggs but none chose the 4 he wanted.
Eventually, his turn arrived.
Silas casually pointed.
"That one. That one too."
He deliberately took his time choosing the remaining 2 so it didn't appear like he knew exactly what he was buying.
20,000 each so 80,000 Pokédollars total.
The clerk happily accepted the money.
Silas released Zangoose and one of his Poliwrath.
Each Pokémon carefully carried 2 incubated eggs.
Silas confidently left the Underground.
Once he reached an isolated area where nobody was nearby, he removed the Joe disguise before returning to Cerulean.
He needed to send the eggs away before beginning his mission.
Silas found a reputable Pokémon courier company.
Their entire business revolved around transporting valuable goods and Pokémon safely between cities.
The eggs already came with incubators, so they would remain stable throughout the trip.
Then Silas heard the price.
"150,000 Pokédollars."
Silas stared at the employee.
"For delivery?"
The man remained completely professional.
"For guaranteed high-security delivery."
He explained that the courier assigned to the job would be an advanced tier trainer.
The eggs would be personally guarded for the entire journey.
Loss, theft, or damage was unlikely.
Silas understood.
The man was charging that much because his service was genuinely valuable.
"Fine."
Silas paid.
Madam and the children receiving the eggs safely mattered more than saving money.
He sent Madam a message immediately afterward.
Expect a delivery within the next few days. 4 Pokémon eggs. They're for the orphanage. I'll explain the details later.
With that handled, Silas was finally ready to begin the actual mission.
He once again changed identities.
Joe disappeared and Odin took his place.
The clothing, demeanor, and overall presence changed.
This time, Silas entered the Underground for a very different reason.
He wasn't shopping, he was hunting.
What Silas failed to notice was the man hidden among the trees outside.
Tall and muscular with blond had. He wore dark sunglasses while he watched Silas disappear into the Underground.
"So that's the famous new Elite Officer Odin."
His tone carried obvious disdain.
"He doesn't seem like much."
The man frowned.
"How did Hun have so much trouble with him?"
Another figure emerged nearby.
This man had an average build and black hair.
"Sir, let me handle it."
The blond man looked toward him.
"You can't act directly because Archer might notice."
The black-haired man smiled.
"But I can."
The blond man considered his words for several seconds.
"Alright."
He nodded.
"I'll leave it to you."
His expression became serious.
"Recover all of his resources and Pokémon too."
The black-haired man grinned.
The blond man continued.
"Keep in mind, he's no weakling."
His eyes narrowed behind the sunglasses.
"He survived fighting my Salamence."
The other man laughed.
"Boss, your Salamence was suppressed."
He shook his head.
"There's no way he can pull something like that off now in the real world."
Then he noticed the blond man's expression.
"I'll be cautious, though."
His smile widened.
"A lion strikes with full force regardless of the prey."
Although he said the correct words, it was obvious that he didn't think much of Odin.
The blond man noticed too.
"I know he's supposed to be in Saffron City soon."
He stepped closer.
"Make your move before then."
His voice became colder.
"And make sure you leave no traces."
The black-haired man nodded.
"You know the consequences of failure."
"Hahaha, don't worry, boss."
He made a cutting motion across his throat.
"His head will be separated from his body soon enough."
The blond man stared at him.
"Kenny. Don't take this task lightly. You have a bad habit of doing that. If it happens now, you will pay dearly."
Kenny became serious.
"I understand."
The blond man released a Pokémon.
Salamence emerged in a flash of light.
He climbed onto its back.
With several powerful wingbeats, Salamence rose into the sky and disappeared into the distance.
Kenny watched him leave.
Then his attention shifted back toward the Underground entrance.
"He thinks far too highly of this Odin."
Kenny smirked.
"I'll make sure his rise ends here."
Silas knew nothing about the threat gathering behind him.
While the conversation took place outside, he was already deep inside the Underground, calmly browsing the other stalls before beginning his hunt for Ricky.