Azumarill That Steals Heads

The morning of the Indigo Plateau Conference 8 to 4 tournament.

Team Rainbow Rocket's base in Viridian City, Kanto.

Inside the highest floor of the boss's office in a clean office building, Giovanni, dressed in a sharp suit, sat in front of his desk, reviewing the documents on the desk.

These documents are all, without exception, all the contracts that he and his admins have been working on during this period of time.

Inside the pile of documents, there was the Kanto region sales cooperation program for the 'Beautiful Degree' Pokéblock that Instructor Ai had left to him, the seafarer recruitment contract that Lt. Surge had managed to secure after a lot of hassle, a large number of security guards from Indigo Plateau and various large corporations including Silph Co. as well as business contracts for commonplace services such as delivery and courier services.

Giovanni read the contracts without expression and signed his name.

Once these contracts were signed, Team Rainbow Rocket's white goods business was bound to grow even more rapidly.

It is believed that in a short time, Team Rainbow Rocket, whose business has penetrated into people's daily lives, will be able to rely on its excellent professionalism and work ethic to gain everyone's recognition, and further change the old Team Rocket's bad impression in people's hearts.

In addition... There were a couple of "Summoning" on his desk.

Lance had sent him on a mission.

The idea was that Giovanni would send the high-level trainers of Team Rainbow Rocket to take down a small criminal organization.

The League's trainers weren't very good at dealing with these devious, cunning, ruthless criminals.

Team Rainbow Rocket, on the other hand, is the perfect match...

We're all former gangsters. Who's afraid?

"Hey."

Giovanni was amused by these orders.

After all, once upon a time the old Team Rocket were the League's number one enemy, the old Team Rocket under his leadership, the League did not know how long the headache.

Now, he has taken the old Team Rocket to accept the League's recruitment, transformed into a white organization with a formal establishment.

This is really...

"Mixed emotions."

Giovanni smiled helplessly and shook his head.

However, when he thought about how close he had gotten to Silver during this period of time, the helpless smile on Giovanni's face was colored with a touch of genuine joy.

Instructor Ai was right...

The reason he started the old Team Rocket was to find Silver.

Now that Silver had returned, it wouldn't be a bad thing for the old Team Rocket to transform in order to gain Silver's approval.

Let's just say... The transformation of the vile old Team Rocket into Team Rainbow Rocket has increased the motivation of those below them to do their jobs.

That's not an exaggeration.

Giovanni was a good leader, and it was not uncommon for him to see the work of his staff on the ground.

He could feel that the old Team Rocket had become Team Rainbow Rocket, and that the staff was more motivated by the title of "good guy."

There was a lot of business, a lot of manual labor, a lot of sweat, a lot of hard work and a lot of money.

Giovanni was very impressed.

After all... Who wants to be the bad guy if they have a choice?

Many of the old Team Rocket were desperate to join Team Rocket.

Now, the transformation of the old Team Rocket has given these not-so-bad people a chance to be good, to become good people.

Naturally, they seized this opportunity and worked their asses off to become a "good guy".

"Is this the picture you want to see...?"

After putting down the "Summoning", Giovanni remembered Aisha, who was leaning against the window in the hospital room, telling him about the grand plan of Team Rainbow Rocket.

Now, the new Team Rainbow Rocket was really moving steadily in the direction he had described to him.

Giovanni couldn't help but admire Aisha.

He was also truly grateful to Aisha.

If Aisha hadn't suggested the Team Rainbow Rocket project to him, he and Silver would have been estranged from each other for a long time.

After thinking about the way Silver called for his help last night, the smile on Giovanni's face couldn't help but widen a bit.

See, when my son is in trouble, the first thing he does is to ask his father for help!

See, am I an awesome father?

I'm a bit like an old caring father at the moment...

"Hey."

Smiling and shaking his head, Giovanni habitually picked up the Kanto region's daily newspaper in his hand.

When he opened the newspaper, his expression instantly changed into a wonderful one.

There was no other reason, because the front page of this issue of Kanto Daily was the report of Aisha's even more "arrogant" answer under the reporters' sharp questions after the three-on-three match of the sixteen-eight rounds of the tournament.

The newspaper drew a large area with a picture of Aisha looking at the camera with a calm and relaxed demeanor.

As if to create a topic of conversation, the journalists even posted Aisha's record in the Indigo Plateau Conference underneath his words.

"This guy..."

Looking at the newspaper report, Giovanni unconsciously raised the corner of his mouth.

He had no problem with Aisha's arrogance.

Giovanni believed in the principle that the winner is the king.

He thought that Aisha had every right to say such a thing.

At the same time, as one of the few people who knew that Aisha had Rayquaza in his hands, he even felt that Aisha had already given face to the journalists and the contestants by saying so.

If it were Giovanni, his words would have been even more outrageous than Aisha's...

"Heh..."

Closing the newspaper, Giovanni smiled happily.

"You should be glad that he didn't take out Rayquaza to play Indigo Plateau Conference."

Unbeknownst to Boss Giovanni, Instructor Ai had already decided to send Caterpie to the finals.

...

Dayan Region, Dayan League.

Inside a spacious, antique-decorated office, a white-haired but energetic old man is leisurely carrying a kettle and scissors, pruning the greenery he has carefully planted.

After some pruning, the bad buds that drew nutrients fell all over the pot, waiting for the nutrients as soil and roots, nourishing the green plants to grow.

He put down the scissors and took a sip of the steaming, fragrant tea.

"Heh heh heh."

The old man smiled as he opened the Dayan Daily, and the front page headline that caught his eye made the smile on his face grow even wider.

"Not bad, not bad... Worthy of being my Dayan's junior, really winning for his hometown."

Looking at the newspaper's description of Aisha's performance, the old man smiled and stroked his white beard.

The old man's name was Cuthbert Gray, and he was one of Dayan's Elite Four, known as the God of the Earth because he specialized in Ground-type Pokémon.

This old man has already submitted his application for retirement to the Dayan League.

Now, although the League has not been able to choose a successor for him, he is still in the position of Elite Four.

As it happens, he has a lot of work piled up in his hands.

It would take at least a few months to complete these tasks...

That's enough time for Dayan to choose a new Elite Four.

Mr. Cuthbert is also waiting to retire and go home.

But it would be a mistake to underestimate him!

Outsiders, including fellow members of the Elite Four, thought that the old man had lost his strength and spirit after his prime.

In fact, even though Master Cuthbert has passed his prime, his and his Pokémon's strength has not declined with the passage of time.

On the contrary, as a powerful trainer who became famous at a young age and took the throne of Elite Four at the age of 20, his strength, after half a century, has improved with the years compared to his physical peak.

His ace Pokémon, Garchomp, was nurtured by him and developed the unique power of the Ground Attribute.

Not only Garchomp, but also his other Pokémon have the unique strength of the Ground Attribute, with its unparalleled attack power and calm, impenetrable and unparalleled defense power.

It can be said to be as immobile as a mountain, moving like a thunderbolt.

The decline in strength is just a pretense, he wants to retire, but also just because he thinks that he is an old man, has left the stage of the times, should not continue to occupy the position of the four heavenly kings do not let go.

The world is a young man's world, and the position of Elite Four should be given to a new young man with more talent, more courage, and more strength.

That's why Mr. Cuthbert pays close attention to Dayan's youth.

Although he doesn't like to attend large events, he likes to go out into the dangerous wilderness.

If he met any talented or hard-trained juniors in these places, he would never hesitate to instruct them.

He knew very well that young people were the future of a region...

That's why he paid so much attention to Aisha.

"Let's see..."

Holding the paper in his hand, Mr. Cuthbert smiled from ear to ear.

"Ralts won the first two qualifiers in a series of 1v3, Rotom won the Water Field qualifier in a series of 1v3, Larvitar beat a snow weather team on the Ice Field, and then, yesterday morning, beat one of the dancers from Ecruteak Dance Theater in a series of 1v3 with an Umbreon."

"Well, well, well!" Putting down the paper, Mr. Cuthbert said three times in a row.

That says a lot about his mood.

Happy, very happy.

Seeing his own juniors winning good results in other regions' League tournaments, Master Cuthbert's heart couldn't be more beautiful.

As for Aisha's "arrogant" words...

Mr. Cuthbert didn't care.

Although he was gentle in nature, he had the same blood and pride in his bones.

In his opinion, if young people are not energetic, can they still be called young people?

Young people with strength and talent should be vigorous!

It is the attitude of today's young people who want to become stronger.

"This kid, maybe he can really take over my position."

Mr. Cuthbert's eyes flashed with a flash of brilliance.

He didn't recognize Aisha because of his recent performance at the Indigo Plateau Conference.

He knew Aisha from earlier, after he submitted his resignation to the Dayan League, the League urgently held a meeting of the "Elite Four's Successor", when everyone was discussing who should be chosen as their successor to become the new Elite Four, Summer recommended Aisha as the new Elite Four.

At that time, Summer's recommendation created a storm within the Dayan League.

Everyone knew Summer's character, her seriousness about her work, and her tendency to not take things personally.

In fact, the Dayan League has several candidates for the new Elite Four, all of whom are excellent trainers with Elite Four-level strength.

These people just lacked the popularity and achievements to become the Elite Four.

In theory, they are the best choice for the successor of Elite Four after Cuthbert's retirement.

However, as the head of Elite Four, Summer's strong recommendation is something we can't ignore...

For this reason, the Dayan League paid great attention to this young man named Aisha.

The more attention they paid, the more alarmed the League became.

Aisha's fame on the Internet aside, his arrest against Carr, one of the Three Beasts of the old Team Rocket, and the capture of Proton, one of the four admins of the old Team Rocket, made the Dayan League certain that this young man possessed at least the strength of an upper Elite Four.

This could not help but alarm people...

Because, according to their investigation, Aisha's profile was very clean, there was nothing suspicious at all.

It was written on his profile that he had been a student since he was a child, and had no time to become a trainer at all, and that he had only gotten his initial Pokémon this year, and had become a newbie trainer.

This gave some people within the League a reason to question Summer.

They questioned Aisha's lack of strength to become a Elite Four, and questioned Summer's motives for recommending Aisha.

Then... Summer immediately pulled out the support of Johto Champion Lance, the leader of the Kanto Elite Four, Hoenn's former Champion Steven Stone, and the current Champion Wallace. These three heavyweights also supported Aisha to become one of the Dayan's new Elite Four, and Lance guaranteed on his own that all of Aisha's accomplishments as a Search Officer were all true.

It's a move that shatters all those people's doubts.

How can you say that?

Summer may have lied on her own, but she's got three champions lying with her?

Especially Lance with his sense of justice... He couldn't possibly perjure himself.

In the end, the Dayan League came to the conclusion that Aisha's information was wrong, and that this person must be hiding something even more secretive.

This was the most reasonable explanation.

After all, it's impossible for a student to be proficient in so many tactics, and it's also impossible for him to be able to defeat Misty, Iono, Caitlin, and other Gym Leaders and Elite Four.

Even... After some investigation, the League was surprised to find out that Aisha was friends with the two champions of the Kanto region, Red and Blue, and that Cynthia, the champion of the Sinnoh region, had even traveled with him for a while.

Strength, sponsorship, popularity, all of these necessary conditions to become an Elite Four, Aisha does not lack one of them.

Nowadays, the only thing he lacks is enough merit.

If Aisha was willing, he could patiently do a few large-scale missions, save up his merits, and when the Elite Four Tournament started, once he got the top score, he could become the new Dayan's Elite Four, the youngest Elite Four in Dayan.

"It's true that a hero is made out of young man..."

After recalling some memories, Mr. Cuthbert smiled and shook his head.

He didn't care about those complicated things.

He only knew that Dayan had produced an outstanding junior, and that was Aisha.

After all, the Pokémon that Aisha used at the Indigo Plateau Conference were all documented to be less than a year old.

Even if we don't consider Aisha's hidden strength, according to the speed at which he breeds Pokémon, Mr. Cuthbert can also assure us that it's only a matter of time before Aisha's newly-bred team has the strength of an Elite Four.

"I'm really looking forward to the grandeur of this year's Elite Four Tournament."

Leaning on the recliner, the old man remembered the Elite Four Tournament.

Counting the time, when the Elite Four Tournament was held, he was still too busy to finish the work at hand.

At that time, he was still one of Dayan's Elite Four, and still had the qualification to participate in the Elite Four Tournament.

"Before retiring, let me this old bones fight against a hot blooded one, teach today's generation, the power of Elite Four should be what good!"

It's also a perfect ending to his journey as a trainer.

...

Kanto region, Indigo Plateau.

The festival plaza was packed today, and those who hadn't been there the last few days had arrived at the Indigo Plateau Conference, ready to watch the final days of the tournament.

The quarterfinals, the semifinals, the finals... These are the last three days of the tournament, and they're getting heavier and heavier.

Those who couldn't afford to stay at Indigo Plateau for the entire tournament chose to watch the most crucial matches live.

"Indigo Plateau, this is it."

In front of the sparring arena, there stood a dark-haired man with a strong muscular body.

At his side was an old woman with a cane.

"Where's Lorelei?"

Granny Agatha looked up at Bruno, who was three times her height, and said, "I thought she was coming to watch the fight?"

"I wonder what she did?"

Bruno shook his head.

Agatha, on the other hand, sighed and said, "Young people, really... Never mind, let's go in first."

"Okay."

The old man and the young man walked into the sparring arena, and entered the staff corridor while the crowd was still small.

They weren't the only heavyweights gathered here.

Bathed in the rays of the morning sun, a foot stepped on top of the steps as if it was covered in a layer of golden light.

"Whew!"

Standing in front of the gate of Indigo Plateau, the brown-haired young man with the spiky head spread his arms wide and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"It's been a long time since I've been here."

Beside Blue, Red pressed the brim of his hat.

"Where is Instructor Ai fighting?" He asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Really, all you think about is Instructor Ai."

Blue shook his head.

"Today's game is still played in separated arena, and tomorrow's game will be moved to the main venue. However, due to the explosive topic of the semi-finals, these four games will no longer be played at the same time like the previous games, but in sequence. It is held in the largest battle sub-venue, with two games in the morning and two games in the afternoon. The audience can watch eight to four battles in one day. Ai-kun's battle is the second one today, so you can have lunch after watching it."

The chatty Blue said a lot.

"So, who is Instructor Ai's opponent for this match?"

"Gary."

"Huh?"

Red looked at Blue with a bit of surprise.

Gary was Blue's younger brother, so naturally he knew the kid.

However, the thing that Red couldn't accept was that even Gary had jumped ahead of him to fight Instructor Ai.

"Uh..."

Red's expression changed, filled with envy.

At the same time, a bold thought appeared in his heart.

"What are you thinking?"

At that moment, Blue, who knew Red very well, immediately realized that Red was probably thinking about something, so he asked.

Red: "..." After a moment, he spoke out his thoughts, saying, "I'm regretting that I didn't participate in this Indigo Plateau Conference."

Blue: "..."

"Asshole, do you know what you're saying?"

Blue rubbed his brow, with a headache on his face, and said, "You, the League Champion of the Kanto region, in order to find Instructor Ai for a sparring match, you say you want to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference?"

"Have you considered the feelings of the other participants?"

Red: "..."

Red turned his head away from Blue.

His point was clear.

No he didn't!

"Anyway, this Indigo Plateau Conference is going to be won by Instructor Ai in the end, and no one else can win with or without me, so why don't you just give me a spot and let me and Instructor Ai fight it out in the finals..." Red began to whisper.

"You're so full of shit!"

Blue looks exasperated.

"I'm just kidding."

"You better be kidding!"

Red: "..."

Red wisely fell silent, not responding to Blue's words.

Blue continued to output a few more words, but after getting no response, he closed his mouth in frustration.

"But... Ash lost to Gary in yesterday's match."

Blue was full of emotion as he walked away.

"It seems that Gary has been working really hard this time."

"Who let you only give Ash Earth Badge, not to Gary." Red glanced at Blue, said: "You are not unaware of Gary and Ash's relationship, only Ash got Earth Badge, of course Gary will not be happy."

"No way."

Blue shook his head.

"Although Gary is smarter than Ash since he was a child, and his way of taking care of Pokémon is much more mature than Ash's, there is something in Ash that he doesn't have... In contrast, if Gary is unable to realize the right way to treat Pokémon, it's only a matter of time before he's surpassed by Ash, and I didn't give him Earth Badge so that he could calm down and think carefully about his future."

"Exactly." Blue spread his hands.

"Now that he's met Ai-kun, let Ai-kun teach that kid what's most important as a Pokémon trainer!"

"Uh..."

Red nodded.

He knew what Blue meant.

Gary was always smart, but he had the same problem as Blue when he was young, that is, he was too rational when breeding Pokémon.

Ash is a lot like a young Red, with a passion for Pokémon and a lot of love...

Something Gary doesn't have.

He can hold Ash down for a while, but he can't hold Ash down for the rest of his life.

It was Ash's sincere love for Pokémon that was returned by Pokémon, so when he challenged Blue's Viridian gym, the Pokémon exploded with a strength that was beyond Blue's expectations. Although Ash lost to Blue in the end, Blue saw Red's shadow in him, and granted him Earth Badge.

Gary, on the other hand, doesn't have the power of the heart...

On the other hand, Instructor Ai's love for Pokémon is as strong as anyone's. If he were to fight against him, he'd be able to do it with the help of a Pokémon.

If he fights with him, Gary might actually learn to "love" his Pokémon.

"Okay, it's not too late, let's go eat first, I'm starving!"

"Where to eat?"

"I heard that Green guy is working with the others at the festival plaza... Why don't we go there and take a look."

"Okay."

Putting on their masks and sunglasses, the two of them walked to the festival plaza together.

The tourists at the Plaza were surprised to see these two legends walking by their side.

In the first quarterfinal match, Wally and the contestant who specializes in Water-type Pokémon in his profile were paired up.

In an all-out six-on-six battle, Wally used the four Pokémon he had revealed earlier, and won the match at the cost of a Delcatty.

The second match was between Aisha and Gary.

In the sparring arena, the applause and cheers from the crowd were endless.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

Capitalizing on Aisha's popularity, the commentator brought the atmosphere to a climax.

"And now, let's bring out the two contestants!"

Following the camera's lens, the handsome young man slowly appeared on the stage.

On the big screen, Instructor Ai's iconic smile appeared, and the cheers rose again.

"This smile, I'm dead1!"

"I'm going to be buried in mass graves2!"

"Bad, the last time Instructor Ai smiled like this, was it when he tortured Caitlin during the live broadcast?"

"Now the opposite side is going to be miserable, Instructor Ai will not be six against six and also zero seal the opposite side, right?"

"Instructor Ai, kill me!"

The fans were cheering, but some were worried about Gary's safety.

Of course, Instructor Ai's fans were not the only ones in the audience.

"Gary Gary go fighting, Gary Gary is the best!"

In the stands, a team of cheerleaders dressed in cool clothes were holding colorful balls to cheer for Gary.

They are undoubtedly Gary's fan group.

Although Gary's fan group is small compared to the number of Instructor Ai's fans.

However, the cheerleaders, who were all beautiful girls, formed a beautiful sight in the stands.

Blaze and the others got anxious.

You have cheerleaders?

"I'm Instructor Ai's dog!"

When the elite dogs immediately began to output.

The two waves of cheerleaders continued to face each other until Gary appeared.

"..."

Gary stood across from Instructor Ai, and for the first time in his life, he looked nervous.

After losing to Blue, Gary knew exactly what kind of a tough guy Instructor Ai was, who was able to defeat the serious Blue.

"Gulp."

At that moment, the smiling Instructor Ai was no less than his elder brother in Gary's eyes.

After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Gary still revealed a smile and said, "Instructor Ai, please teach me more!"

"You too."

Aisha smiled flatly.

Gary felt a surge of admiration for him.

In any case, Instructor Ai's easygoing attitude like this was always nice to see.

"Hmm..."

Looking at Instructor Ai's smiling face, Gary was deep in thought.

When he thought about it, Instructor Ai was hardly ever arrogant or overbearing, except when dealing with reporters.

The same could be said for his own brother.

Perhaps he should learn to change his temperament and become a bit more calm?

"Uh-huh."

Gary dismissed the out-of-place thoughts in his head and took out a Pokémon ball.

At the beginning of the Final Four, the field of battle was no longer a choice of ice, water, rock, or earth, but a composite field.

The compound field had a flat ground and a river-like surface for Water-type Pokémon to move around, making it suitable for all Pokémon to fight.

"The battle begins!"

At the same time the referee waved the small flag, Gary threw his Poké ball.

In order to deal with Instructor Ai, he brought out his strongest lineup.

At the same time, the Pokémon that started the game were also carefully selected to start the game.

"Woof!"

A well-developed Arcanine landed on the field and let out a loud cry.

Opposite him was Instructor Ai's shiny Haunter.

Unfortunately, Intimidate was in vain...

"Tsk." Gary smacked his lips and frowned.

"Oh?"

Aisha cocked his head.

Arcanine again?

I've met three Arcanine-loving trainers so far.

Blaine, Blue, and Gary.

Naturally, he knew a lot about how to deal with Arcanine.

"Uh..."

Gary's expression was very ugly.

He had studied Instructor Ai's actual battle video all night last night, and knew the power of this different-colored Haunter.

His Arcanine was good at straight forward fighting, but with Instructor Ai's command, he would be at a disadvantage with this mysterious Haunter.

So...

"Arcanine, Roar!"

Gary was hoping that Arcanine's Roar would yell out a Pokémon that he could handle.

Besides... it could count as that he had forced Instructor Ai's second Pokémon out.

"Woof!"

Arcanine yelled, and a bewildered Haunter returned to Instructor Ai's Poké Ball.

Aisha: "?"

With a question mark, a Poké ball on Instructor Ai's waist opened up.

A sleepy-eyed Azumarill appeared on the field.

Gary: "?"

Haunter: "You're stealing heads?"

"Pfft."

Hidden in the stands, Bruno bursts out laughing.

Naturally, he could see Gary's intention.

That's why Bruno, who knew Azumarill's toughness, couldn't help himself.

"I respect this kid as a man."