Chapter 248 - Gary: I Don't Want to Be Champion Anymore
Gary swallowed hard and stared at Asahi.
Are you sure you're talking about Hoenn and not the actual apocalypse?
He had fought Mewtwo before, and by Asahi's definition, Mewtwo was also a Legendary Pokémon.
So why did the Legendary Pokémon in Hoenn have an entirely different vibe?
Tsunamis that could drown entire cities, earthquakes spanning multiple regions…
Wasn't that a bit too extreme?
Were they about to save the world or something?
But that wasn't even the main issue.
The main issue was that Asahi wanted to bring him along…
Sure, he was the Champion, but even a Champion couldn't handle this!
"I…"
Just as Gary opened his mouth, Asahi clapped his shoulder with a look of admiration.
"Gary, are you volunteering?"
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you! Becoming Champion really gave you the right mindset!"
"I—" Gary tried to protest.
But Asahi cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I get it. You just became Champion, and you want to contribute to the League. Don't worry, no matter what, you're definitely coming."
"I…"
"Enough with the 'I's! I know you're eager, but didn't I already agree?" Asahi looked at him in mock displeasure.
Gary fell silent.
Every sentence revolved around "Champion." Asahi had completely cornered him.
He wanted to refuse, but his pride wouldn't let him. And Asahi never even gave him the chance.
In the end…
"…I'll go!" Gary gritted his teeth.
Grandpa, I don't want to be Champion anymore!
---
After some discussion, Asahi finalized the initial roster for the Hoenn expedition.
Aside from himself and Gary, the team would include Green, Sabrina, and Mewtwo.
Green, as the Kanto Division's secretary, was indispensable for research and documentation. No one in the division handled paperwork better than her.
Mewtwo didn't need an explanation. The face of the Kanto Division—if nothing else, having Mewtwo ensured they could always retreat.
As for Sabrina…
Well, she was currently the strongest member aside from Asahi and Mewtwo.
Even if just for appearances, they had to bring her along.
Otherwise, if the Hoenn people saw how small their team was, they might think the Kanto Division had terrible working conditions.
While everyone accepted the lineup, Gary was busy looking something up on his phone.
Silver seemed disappointed—he wanted to join. But as a mere Indigo League quarterfinalist, he knew he wasn't strong enough.
Still… he suspected Asahi had left him behind for another reason.
"I get it! Leave Team Rocket to me!" Silver declared solemnly.
Asahi: "...Huh?"
Did I ever say that? I don't recall…
Oh well.
Asahi absentmindedly stroked Mew's head and turned to it.
"Mew, wanna come farm Hoenn's Legendaries with me? We'll farm Groudon and Kyogre for tons of loot."
His voice was full of temptation.
Mew blinked. "Mew?"
…
Goldenrod City Manor
After playing with them for a while, Asahi, feeling a little tired, handed Togepi and the Lapras he had obtained from Pryce over to Gardevoir for… "education."
Then, he made his way down to the underground prison.
Pryce, as always, was quiet—reading books and newspapers, having fully adapted to his new life there.
As for Matori…
Bang! Bang!
Matori slammed her fists heavily against the cell door.
"Asahi!"
Her voice was full of anger.
Although Asahi had indeed come to see her, he wasn't in a hurry.
He simply stood there with a smile, watching her outburst.
Only after Matori finally calmed down did Asahi speak, still smiling.
"Did you know that there's a traitor within Team Rocket?"
Matori's heart skipped a beat at the news.
However, she had already regained her composure. Acting anxious would be pointless, so she merely shot Asahi a cold glare without saying a word.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… I can't believe it. Sird turned out to be an undercover agent from Team Galactic…"
"Who would've thought that Team Rocket would one day have a spy planted so deeply within its core?"
Asahi's tone was full of mockery.
Sird… is a spy?
Matori's expression wavered.
Sird was a high-ranking Rocket Executive—how could that be possible…?
"I'm not lying… Of course, you're free to think I am," Asahi said with a smile.
Matori, who had initially doubted him, now found herself believing him a little.
After all, the last time Asahi told her something—about Silver—he hadn't lied. He had simply omitted the part where Silver had already escaped from Pryce's hands.
Could he be telling the truth this time too?
After a moment of silence, Matori couldn't hold back any longer.
"What do you want?"
Regardless of whether the information was true or not, she wanted to know what he was after.
As long as it didn't compromise the core interests of Team Rocket, she might be able to negotiate.
"Do you know the location of Team Rocket's Hoenn base?" Asahi asked casually.
"I'm planning to carry out a mission in Hoenn over the next few days, and I figured I could use your base as a temporary hideout."
Matori: "…..?"
A giant question mark popped up in her head.
You, the Head of Kanto's League Division, are going to Hoenn for a mission—fine. But why the hell do you need to use our base as your hideout?!
Something about this just felt wrong.
Seeing Matori's expression, Asahi didn't bother explaining that it was simply because Team Rocket's bases were well-hidden.
Instead, he simply said, "So, deal or no deal?"
"I'll let you report this intel to Giovanni. A high-ranking spy's identity in exchange for a non-core Rocket base location. Seems like a fair trade."
Asahi smiled.
The information was absolutely true.
…It was just that Giovanni already knew.
Asahi was simply exploiting the information gap.
Matori fell into deep thought, weighing her options.
If the information was false, it wouldn't matter. But if it was true, then having an enemy agent rise to the rank of Rocket Executive was a serious security risk.
She couldn't afford to gamble on this.
And in the grand scheme of things, a single Hoenn base location wasn't that important… She could at least forward the intel to Giovanni and let him decide its authenticity.
Having made up her mind, Matori spoke.
"The base location is… Hand me a tablet."
....
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