Chapter 352: Once Team Rocket, Always Team Rocket

The camera slowly pulled away from the frozen image of the award ceremony at Indigo Plateau.

Then the scene changed again.

[One month after Aurelia became Champion of the Kanto League.]

Indigo Plateau, Pokémon League Headquarters.

At the end of the corridor, the office that had originally belonged to Lance now bore a new nameplate: Champion · Aurelia

Someone had secretly added a smaller line beneath it with a marker: (Please, we’re begging you. Take a vacation.)

Nobody knew who had written it.

But everyone tacitly pretended not to notice.

Because over the past month, it had become the League staff’s only source of emotional comfort.

Aurelia’s working hours were from six in the morning until two after midnight.

That’s right.

A full twenty hours.

The three members of her secretarial staff had to work in shifts just to keep reporting to her.

The first secretary would finish their report and go rest.

Then the second would take over.

When the second finally went off duty, the third would step in.

By the time the third could no longer endure it the first secretary had already slept for four hours and was ready to start reporting again.

With this utterly insane workload, Aurelia needed only a single month to completely clear out three years’ worth of accumulated paperwork in the Kanto League.

The League’s internal forum exploded that very same day.

The number-one trending thread was titled—Is Our New Champion Actually Human?

1F: Can any of you understand how I feel? I’ve worked here for three years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen every shelf in the archive room completely empty.

2F: I suspect the Champion has psychic powers. Otherwise, how the hell can she approve budget reports from eight departments at the same time?

3F: You’re right. She actually does.

4F: Then never mind.

5F: Even if she doesn’t need rest, a lot of League operations still require funding. Where is the Finance Department getting all this money?

6F: I work in Finance. Another ten billion League Coins arrived this month. It came from the Sun-Moon Group, and the memo said—"Big Sis’s allowance. Don’t bother saving it. Spend whatever you want."

7F: ???

8F: ???

9F: The Sun-Moon Group? I heard that CEO makes money faster than Elite Four Lance’s Dragonite can fly.

10F: Then this isn’t strange anymore. Yeah. This isn’t strange anymore.

11F: The Kanto League has officially been renamed the Sun-Moon Group Kanto Branch. Meeting adjourned.

Aurelia herself knew absolutely nothing about these posts.

Because she never used the forums.

The League Secretary-General sitting across from her handed over the next document.

"Champion, this is the latest investigation report."

Aurelia accepted it and flipped through two pages.

"Over the past three months, the clearance rate for illegal Pokémon trafficking cases has risen by forty percent?"

The Secretary-General nodded.

"Yes."

"Thanks to you personally taking part in several cross-regional operations, those underground trafficking groups now flee the moment they hear your name."

"Running won’t help."

Aurelia signed the document.

"Notify every department."

"Next week, we’re launching a full-scale sweep."

The Secretary-General paused.

"Champion, you’re planning to...?"

"If they refuse to follow the rules..."

"Then we’ll uproot them completely."

Over the following month—

Criminal organizations throughout Kanto were subjected to a storm-like purge.

Aurelia personally led operations that wiped out seven underground Team Rocket hideouts across the region.

One Team Rocket recruit burst into tears directly in front of the cameras when his hideout was raided.

"Wait, I literally just joined and I’m already getting arrested?!"

"Can my luck seriously be this bad?!"

Officer Jenny snapped handcuffs around his wrists.

"If you’ve got something to say, you can say it back at the station."

"U-Um..."

"Officer, since I’ve only been in Team Rocket for a few days, could you maybe reduce my sentence?"

"What are you whining about?"

"Team Rocket for a day, Team Rocket for life!"

"Cuff him!"

"Take him away!"

...

Meanwhile—

Team Rocket Headquarters.

Top-floor conference room.

A computer on the table was playing footage from the latest news report.

Giovanni stared at Aurelia’s cold, expressionless face on the screen.

The coffee cup in his hand remained suspended halfway to his mouth for a long time.

He suddenly remembered another expressionless face from many years ago.

Someone who had casually torn apart plans he’d spent years painstakingly arranging.

"She really was carved from the same mold as her father."

Giovanni finally raised his coffee and took a sip.

For some reason today’s coffee tasted especially bitter.

Matori stood beside him.

"Boss, should we readjust our deployment throughout Kanto?"

"Mm."

Giovanni looked away from the screen.

"Have our people withdraw from Kanto for now."

"Let the heat die down."

"Understood."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Raihan]: Hold on. What kind of workload is that?! Six in the morning until two after midnight?! My liver hurts just reading about it.

[Alder]: I’m getting too old to look at things like this.

[Koga]: All I can say is... Even Lance didn’t work this hard when he was Champion.

[Bruno]: You’re focusing on the wrong thing! Aurelia wiped out seven Team Rocket hideouts in one month! That’s the truly terrifying part! Lance used to be doing well if he took out three in an entire year!

[Leon]: Lance is probably feeling proud and heartbroken at the same time. Proud because someone finally gave Team Rocket a proper beating. Heartbroken because he’s been completely and utterly surpassed.

[Steven]: I don’t think so. If Lance could see Giovanni looking like this, his first reaction would definitely be pure satisfaction.

[Lance]: ...

The video continued playing.

A line of text appeared on the screen: [Meanwhile—Over on Selene’s Side.]

Johto, Ecruteak City.

Selene sat aboard a private helicopter belonging to the Sun-Moon Group.

Standing behind her were Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"Everyone!"

"Today—"

"The Sun-Moon Group’s Ecruteak City Branch is officially established!"

Selene raised a megaphone to her mouth.

"Within three months, we’re going to put the Sun-Moon Group logo on every street in Ecruteak City!"

"And every citizen will be using Sun-Moon Group products!"

Jessie and James shouted in unison:

"SUN-MOON GROUP!"

"NUMBER ONE IN THE UNIVERSE!"

Meowth raised a pair of binoculars.

"Boss, looks like somebody’s already waitin’ for us down there, meow!"

The helicopter slowly descended.

The moment Selene stepped out, she saw a young man dressed in pale purple standing outside the Gym.

It was none other than Morty, the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City.

"Miss Selene."

Morty gave a slight bow.

"I’ve heard a great deal about you."

"The Sun-Moon Group’s reputation has already spread throughout the entire Kanto region."

"Gym Leader Morty, you’re too kind!"

Selene immediately pulled a business card from her clothes and handed it toward him.

"With your looks and your aura, you’re basically a living advertisement for Ecruteak City!"

"Why not buy in for a share?"

"Think of it as making a new friend!"

Morty maintained his smile.

But he made no move to accept the business card.

"Miss Selene."

"I’ve already received the League’s notice regarding the Sun-Moon Group’s proposed commercial cooperation with Ecruteak City."

"Then you mean...?"

Morty slowly shook his head.

"I’m afraid I can’t accept."

"Why?"

"The Bell Tower is one of the most important historical sites in the legends of Ho-Oh."

"Every brick and every tile here carries the weight of history."

Morty’s voice remained calm.

"I can’t hand that legacy over to a commercial corporation and allow it to be turned into a product."

"The legend of Ho-Oh..."

"Doesn’t belong on a T-shirt."