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Kai picked up Larvitar's Poké Ball from the ground.
Originally, he had been planning to send Gyarados back to Professor Cerise's lab so it could rest and recover at Cerise Park.
Although sending away both Blastoise and Gyarados in succession would leave him without any Water-type Pokémon, making his lineup less complete, Gyarados's power level was simply over the top.
Even in the Pokémon League, it would be considered MVP-tier. Using it in Gym battles or street fights would just be overkill!
Rather than letting it take up a valuable slot, he figured it was better to send it back for now and focus on training his other Pokémon, giving the rest of his team more chances to shine!
However…
Kai changed his mind. After all, a major battle with Team Rocket was looming, and the three Legendary birds couldn't be revealed casually.
Forget it. He decided to wait until after they cleared out the Team Rocket base to send it back…
With that thought, Kai chose to transmit his Venusaur, who hadn't seen much action lately and was part of his second lineup, back to Cerise's lab.
Counting Blastoise, both of the Kanto starters he sent back had gentle personalities, so they'd likely get along well in Cerise Park and take care of each other.
Sigh, the six-Pokémon carry limit really felt restrictive sometimes...
Shaking his head, Kai took out his phone and messaged Chloe.
Kai: "I just sent Venusaur back. Help me take care of it, okay?"
Chloe replied almost instantly.
Chloe: "Don't worry! Leave it to me. I'll head to the lab after school and bring it to the park!"
She even added three stickers at the end: (Mission Accomplished.jpg) (Salute.jpg) (Cute.jpg)
That girl...
Her lightning-fast reply made Kai suspect she had set his contact to priority notifications. Otherwise, knowing her, there's no way she'd be checking her phone during class.
...
Cianwood is a tense and uneasy place.
Once outside the bounds of the City, the road ahead levelled out, and the mountain ranges fell behind them.
Since the agreed-upon time was still a day or two away, Kai called Looker to inform him he had arrived early.
But the moment Looker heard Kai intended to challenge the Gym first, he quickly urged him to stop.
"Hold on," Looker said, his voice filled with hesitation. "Team Rocket's been running operations in Cianwood for who knows how many years. They've got informants everywhere. You're a sensitive target public enemy number one in their eyes. If you show your face in town now, they'll be on high alert!"
Public enemy number one?
Kai was puzzled. "Aren't you guys Interpol and the Elite Four higher on the list? Why would they target me first?"
Looker chuckled, though there was a clear hint of schadenfreude in his tone. "Why wouldn't they? I mean, we're official forces, and the Elite Four are elusive. But you? Sure, you've earned a champion title, but you're still a rookie. Your foundation isn't solid yet. From their perspective, cutting you down now would be the smart play."
Makes sense logically… but being labeled their top enemy? Guess Team Rocket was giving him more credit than he thought...
"In that case, I'll just hang around outside town. But…"
Kai then told him about the battle in the Dragon's Sacred Domain and how he and Lance had taken down Iron Mask together.
"What!? Lance was in Blackthorn City? And the two of you defeated one of their top Executives together!?"
After Kai confirmed it again, Looker's tone changed drastically.
"This complicates everything… Lance and you showing up in the same place? Team Rocket's not going to see that as a coincidence. They'll assume you're after them! Damn… No wonder they've been clearing out their base these past two days they're getting ready to retreat!"
Looks like a real chain reaction had been triggered...
Before Kai could say anything, Looker continued, "We'll need to adjust our plans. I'll send you some coordinates. Head over and rendezvous with me ASAP!"
After hanging up, Looker quickly sent him a location pin.
Kai glanced at Sabrina, and they both gave a helpless smile before changing course.
Following the map, they circled around Cianwood and entered a nameless forest just outside the town.
As they entered the seemingly ordinary forest, even without Sabrina's warning, Kai could already feel it many people were watching them from the shadows.
No doubt. Those had to be Interpol agents guarding the perimeter.
The two of them stopped talking, and a heavy silence settled in. After walking for several minutes deeper into the woods, they arrived at the marked location,. Sure enough; there was an Interpol camp waiting for them.
Just like before, the agents had set up a temporary base of operations. Officers patrolled the area, and perhaps due to prior notice, none of them stopped Kai and Sabrina. After confirming their identities, they were granted entry.
Before entering, Kai donned his Gengar mask.
"Heh… finally, it's that time again."
The moment the mask settled on his face, a wave of chuuni energy washed over him his whole aura shifted!
Even though the mask was now meaningless in front of Team Rocket, they all knew his identity. It was still a ritual he refused to skip.
Under the guidance of an officer, they entered the largest tent in the camp.
Inside, Kai reunited with Looker and also met the bald commander known by the codename "Zero."
At the sight of him, Kai couldn't help but recall Bruno, though after scanning the tent, he didn't see Bruno anywhere, as he wanted to meet him.
Upon seeing Kai and Sabrina, Zero was the first to approach and extend his hand.
"We meet again. First off, welcome to the operation. On behalf of Interpol, I want to sincerely thank you both for your long-standing support."
"You're too kind." Kai smiled and shook his hand. With the mask filtering his voice, he sounded like a different person. "Team Rocket's evil is well-known worldwide. They've been nothing but trouble for me. And I'm good friends with Looker, so whether it's personal or official, I wouldn't sit back and do nothing."
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