Team Rocket's Plan

Although the market price of Mystic Water cannot be compared with Dragon Fang, it is still quite tempting for many trainers. No one will refuse the chance to take away the prize.

The sudden announcement about the tournament put a stop to the upcoming battle between Hisoka and Blaise.

Blaise adjusted his tux and turned toward Hisoka, saying, "A gentleman isn't supposed to settle his grievances in a private fight. Since the S.S. Anne management had decided to hold a competition, why don't we settle our fight in the competition later? By the way, I'll have you know that the winner will always be me!" he finished proudly.

"I don't care!" Hisoka shrugged, "I'm just worried about you. Though it would be funny if you somehow got eliminated earlier," Hisoka mocked.

"Humph! Then we'll wait and see!" After saying that, the gentleman Blaise turned around, took his girlfriend's hand, and left the place.

After seeing that the couple decided to leave, Ash and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't want Hisoka and the couple to cause a scene in the dining hall because of them.

"Thank you. If it wasn't for your reminder just now, I might already trade my Butterfree," Ash stood in front of Hisoka while rubbing his head embarrassedly.

Hisoka rolled his eyes at Ash and instead looked at the orange-haired girl who had been peeking at him. Then, he smiled at her and said, "Are you Misty from Cerulean City?"

"Yes!" Misty nodded in excitement after seeing a handsome guy asking her a question.

'Wait for a second. How did he know my name?' she thought.

Misty's doubt didn't last long as Hisoka then continued, "My name is Hisoka. I used to be a temporary Gym Leader at Cerulean City."

"Ah! I remember it now!" Misty shouted.

"You're the guy my sisters were talking about back at the Gym," she added.

"Then, you must be the guy who defeated Gary in Cerulean Gym!" Ash suddenly pointed his hand at Hisoka.

He clenched his fist in excitement and said, "Let's have a Pokemon battle! I want to prove to Gary-"

But before Ash could finish his word, he was pushed aside by Misty.

"I'm not finished yet!"

Then, she turned toward Hisoka and asked, "I want to ask about the Feebas you took. Is it okay? Please don't misunderstand. I didn't have any idea to take it back."

"She's just fine," Hisoka smiled, seeing her worried expression.

He then took a Pokeball from his belt and asked, "Would you like to see her? After all, you're the one who saved it back then."

"Yeah!" Misty replied happily.

"Come out, Feebas," Hisoka called, throwing the Pokeball in the air.

Feebas appeared in a flash of red, and before it could fall to the ground, Hisoka caught her in his arms.

"Feebas!" she let out a happy cry after seeing Misty.

"Eh? What is this Pokemon? Why does it look so ugly?" Ash said while taking out his Pokedex.

"You're being rude, Ash!" Misty scolded.

She is a person who likes Water-type Pokemon the most. It is her dream to become a Water-type Pokemon master. Naturally, she was a little angry when she heard Ash talking about Feebas's appearance.

Beep!

"There is no information about this Pokemon," a mechanical voice came from the Pokedex.

"Is this broken?" Ash looked at his Pokedex in confusion.

"Come over here," Hisoka beckoned to Ash.

Ash didn't know what Hisoka wanted to do with him, but he still walked to Hisoka and stood in front of him.

After that, Hisoka held Feebas in front of Ash's face.

Feebas, who was happily blowing bubbles, suddenly frowned after seeing Ash's face. She then slammed her head to his head.

Bang!

"It hurts!" Ash cried, holding his forehead with his hands.

"Hahaha!" Misty couldn't hold back her laughter after seeing Ash getting punished by the Fish Pokemon.

"That's what you deserve for calling someone ugly."

"Misty is right!" Brock said in agreement.

What Ash said just now was really rude, in Brock's opinion. You can't really call a Pokemon ugly in front of its trainer, even if the Pokemon in question looked a bit unsightly.

Then, Misty gently stroked the smooth and clean scales of Feebas and said, "You really do care about her. I think it is much better for her to stay with you."

Feebas had recognized her way earlier. When Misty was caressing her, she didn't reject her touch. Instead, she rubbed her head on Misty's hand to express her gratitude for saving her at the beach that day.

Misty tactfully didn't ask why Hisoka wanted to take Feebas. Everyone had their secrets, after all. Moreover, she preferred Pokemon that were much cuter and prettier than Feebas, even if she is a Water-type Pokemon lover.

...

S.S. Anne, Bottom Deck,

Storage Area,

"Hey, when are you going to start? Looks like they are going to hold some kind of tournament. It is obvious that they are trying to gather the trainers on the ship. I don't think your lackeys will be able to handle them all."

Lisa blew a smoke ring into the air as she leaned her back on a crate.

"I really don't know how you are going to attack with just you and your lackeys," she looked at a figure standing in the shadow.

A man slowly emerged from the shadow. He was bald-headed with a cross tattoo on his neck, the mid-rank member of Team Rocket, Dwayne.

He glared at the woman and said, "Just take the money and do your job. Don't ask too many questions."

"Fine," she raised her two hands.

"But you have to tell me when our support will arrive," she threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out with her boot.

"They'll arrive in two days!" Dwayne replied.

Then, he continued, "We are still quite close to Vermilion City. If we start the attack now, the League can still reach us in a short time. It'll be much better if we wait until two days later. Tyson will personally lead the attack."

"Oh, it turned out to be Tyson," Realization dawned on Lisa as she smiled like a cat that ate the canary.

"I wonder if boss Giovanni knows about this attack you guys are planning," she said with a playful expression.

His heart stopped beating for a second after hearing her words. Then, before Lisa could detect the change in his expression, he quickly recovered and calmly said, "There's no need for you to concern yourself with this matter. I'm sure Tyson already told the boss about our action this time."

Lisa stared at his face for a couple of seconds, looking for any signs of lies, before giving up.

"Hmph! Boring," she snorted.

After saying that, she turned around and started to walk toward the stair that led to the upper deck.

Meanwhile, Dwayne was coldly staring at her disappearing figure.

'Boss Tyson is right. This noisy woman needs to go soon,' he thought, planning to make this woman disappear after this mission.

After all, she had already cooperated with Team Rockets too many times. On top of that, she still knew a lot of Team Rocket's secrets. It'd be bad if she got caught by the League someday. She would likely reveal all of their secrets to the League just to save her own skin.

After the bald man left the area, the storage room was silent again.

Suddenly, a purple figure emerged from the shadow of the crates.

"Kuku!"

It let out a chilling laugh that brought fear into the depth of the soul just by hearing it.

It has a pair of red eyes, a roundish body and a wide mouth that is usually curled into a sinister grin, and pointed ears. On its back are numerous spikes and a stubby tail.

It looked like a normal Gengar, but with a closer look, it had a much lighter shade of purple.

Gengar had the ability to hide perfectly in the shadow of any object, granting it exceptional stealth.

When Lisa was talking to Dwayne earlier, the Gengar used its inborn talent to eavesdrop on their conversation without them noticing its presence.

......

Inside the meeting room,

Matthias was leisurely sitting on a chair, spinning the pen in his hands as he stared into space, deep in thought.

Suddenly, a Gengar appeared in the room, causing the temperature to drop by a few degrees. It had just passed through several layers of wall to reach this room.

Matthias wasn't surprised by the presence of this Gengar as he kept spinning the pen in his hands. Seeing that there was no one else around the room except for the silver-haired man, Gengar flew next to Matthias. Then, it whispered something gibberish into his ears.

"So, they're going to start the attack in two days, huh?" Matthias straightened his back and began to write something down.

"Gengar!" It nodded with an evil grin.

"Well done!"

Matthias praised his Pokemon after placing the pen down on the table.

Then, he raised the paper and said, "It appears that Team Rocket has been in a predicament recently. I wonder what they are doing that they even need to rob the S.S. Anne for money. Even Tyson, a high-ranking member, is going to personally supervise the attack."

After thinking for a few minutes, he shook his head in puzzlement, "Forget it."

"Nice job Gengar. You can go ahead and take some rest first," After that, Matthias took out a custom-made Pokeball and recalled it.

This mission is quite important to him. If he managed to thwart the Team Rocket's action this time, there wouldn't be anyone else questioning his position anymore. Even he had to admit that being able to become the Chief Officer of Kanto League at his age, a large part of it was thanks to his aunt.

The world doesn't lack geniuses or prodigies, let alone the League that has mastered an entire continent's resources. For the League, a genius is nothing. They only cared about the contribution that a genius could bring to the League.

There were a lot of younger trainers in the League comparable to him. Heck, there were even a few who were much stronger than him. In the end, he was the one chosen to become the Chief Officer. Although he wanted to brag that it was all due to his ability, he knew the League chose him because of his aunt. And no, his aunt didn't pressure the League, if that's what you are thinking of.

After all, as an Elite Four, she had to set an example for other people. Moreover, the other three Elite Four wouldn't just idly sit by to watch her abuse her powers wildly.

The League simply picked him because he was descended from a strong trainer. Moreover, his record wasn't truly that bad. In fact, he might say it was one of the best.

So right now, he only needed to wait in patience. He was looking forward to the showdown with the Team Rocket two days later.

...

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