Orange Islands Region.
Citrus Island.
After the Birth of Lugia event had concluded, life still had to go on.
The small, unique league competitions of the Orange Archipelago like the Victory Cup challenges would still continue.
This time, the chief trainer of the Orange League, Yongci, faced Xiaozhi from Pallet Town.
He was also the trainer recognized by Lugia during the Orange Archipelago incident.
Facing Xiaozhi, Yongci dared not to be careless, and at the moment, both sides were giving their all in a battle at the Citrus Sports Field.
"Kid, you gotta give it your all,"
"As long as the kid wins, it'll highlight our value even more, Meow."
"Pikachu, do your best...!"
As Xiaozhi battled, there were three part-time workers selling drinks in the audience stands, cheering for Xiaozhi below while working.
It was the Team Rocket Trio.
Though they had been rivals for a long time, the Team Rocket Trio's emotions towards Xiaozhi were quite complicated.
In particular, now that Team Rocket was said to have disbanded and they could no longer contact headquarters, their feelings were even more complex.
They no longer knew whether they should continue trying to catch Pikachu.
After this competition, they would have to make a decision.
"Despite being poachers, they still passionately cheer for their opponent, huh."
"A talking Meowth, no matter how many times I see it, it always seems so magical..."
What the Team Rocket Trio didn't know was that at this moment, a silvery figure in the sky had been observing them for a long time.
After taking over the Rainbow Rocket Team from Fang Yuan, Mewtwo began selecting the first batch of qualified members.
The Team Rocket Trio was among the candidates recommended by Fang Yuan to Mewtwo.
And naturally, Mewtwo came to assess them in person.
Without observing, you wouldn't know, but after careful observation, Mewtwo immediately understood why Fang Yuan saw potential in them.
That Meowth and those two humans ate at the same table, slept in the same bed, and even without a master-subordinate relationship, represented the purest relationship Mewtwo had ever seen between Pokémon and humans since its birth. In the Team Rocket Trio, Mewtwo saw what true "equality" looked like.
Although these three humans and Pokémon were not very kind-hearted, their bond impressed Mewtwo greatly after it observed them.
Who would have thought that such humans and Pokémon existed within Team Rocket...
Mewtwo suddenly admired Fang Yuan's foresight, realizing that Fang Yuan was not simply hands-off, but had been strategizing from behind the scenes all along.
Mewtwo slowly dropped an envelope and then turned to leave. At the same time, the envelope landed on Meowth's head. Meowth, startled, picked up the envelope in confusion.
"What's this, Meow... wait... hang on a second!"
As Meowth picked up the envelope, its pupils shrank—the insignia on it was none other than the personal seal of Giovanni, the Boss of Team Rocket.
[James, Jessie, and Meowth, congratulations! Due to your outstanding performance in the missions, you have been specially promoted to the special operations group of the Rainbow Rocket Team, with a status equivalent to the divisional executives of the original Team Rocket. Please wait for further missions.]
"Meowth, what is it?" Jessie and James looked over, curious.
But by now, Meowth was dumbfounded. So Team Rocket hadn't disbanded, it had just changed its name?! Only the core elites knew the new name?
"We're really getting promoted to executives, Meow..."
"We can continue to catch Pikachu, Meow!! Great, we'll catch Pikachu and present it to the Boss!!"
Mewtwo, after observing the Team Rocket Trio, was very satisfied with what it had found. However, as it left Citrus Island, a communication device Mewtwo carried from a different space suddenly rang.
Mewtwo frowned and took out the communication device to check... it was that guy, Fang Yuan...
"Mewtwo, Mewtwo, Mewtwo, after taking over Team Rocket, do you have any Master Balls? Send one over quickly, hurry hurry hurry."
Mewtwo: "? There are none."
"How could there be none? Didn't Team Rocket collaborate with Silph Co.? They should have a stash of Master Balls. Stop messing around, I know you have them."
Mewtwo: "What do you want the Master Ball for? That kind of Poké Ball that forcibly captures Pokémon through power should be destroyed."
"Relax, that's only regarding ordinary Pokémon. Think a Master Ball can 100% capture a Legendary Pokémon? Obviously not. What I'm interested in is the Master Ball's top-tier performance. It must be quite comfortable to live in, right?"
Mewtwo: "What are you planning to do???"
"You want to use the Master Ball to catch a Legendary Pokémon???"
"Which Legendary Pokémon did you swindle this time? The Three Divine Birds, Lugia, or the Three Sacred Beasts?"
Mewtwo was speechless.
Fang Yuan: "None of them. Groudon has decided to travel with me for a while, the very Groudon from the Mythical Era that, legend says, created the land and has lived for hundreds of millions of years. Impressive, right?"
"When I'm free, I'll let it be your sparring partner. No need to thank me."
Mewtwo: ???????
Meowth: ?????
.........
In the western part of the Area of Fragrant Fate, one of the large cities, Kanaz City.
Known as "the city that seeks the fusion of nature and science," it is bordered by Meteor Falls to the north, the Orange Blooming Forest to the south, and Verde Tunnel to the east. The city itself is also the headquarters of Devon Corporation.
Today, Fang Yuan had arrived here. Unlike before, Fang Yuan had an additional purple Poké Ball on his belt.
This was the Master Ball, Silph Co.'s top-of-the-line Poké Ball, claimed to have a 100% catch rate on Pokémon.
The luxury inside the Master Ball, as well as the various benefits it provided for Pokémon, were nearly hundreds of times that of an ordinary Poké Ball.
And each Master Ball was almost priceless since even Silph Co. produced them in limited quantities.
But even so, Fang Yuan had managed to get hold of one; Team Rocket just happened to have one in stock.
Even if Team Rocket hadn't had one, he could have asked Dr. Oak for it. Anyway, Groudon was now comfortably sleeping in the Master Ball
It was a different feeling than sleeping in magma. Right after its fight with Kyogre, Groudon wanted to Rest and asked Fang Yuan to wake it only after finding the Z Pure Crystal, also warning Fang Yuan not to go looking for Kyogre.
Of course, Fang Yuan readily agreed, deciding not to look for now. He'd come up with a plan later to motivate Groudon to want to "shear wool" off Kyogre too, then they could all go look for it together, right?
"Speaking of which, is the Master Ball really that comfortable? Too bad I can't experience it myself."
"Never mind, I'll get a few more Master Balls later and have Mewtwo decode them. I'll strive to give one to each of my Pokémon!"
"Do you want a Master Ball, Eevee?"
"Bwoo! (No way! When will they create a Poké Ball that can capture electronics and Substitutes!!)"
Eevee was furiously shaking its head on Fang Yuan's shoulder, finding the Master Ball far less comfortable than a soft, big bed - a comfort Groudon would never experience.
"Getting to it, getting to it, I'll go exchange techniques with Devon Corporation right away."
Fang Yuan headed straight for the Devon Headquarters building.
However, just as Fang Yuan was about to enter, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Fang Yuan?"
Behind Fang Yuan stood a quiet-looking girl in a black skirt suit with bun-styled twin pigtails, asking the question.
Fang Yuan turned around to look at the girl.
She looked familiar.
The Gym Leader of Kanaz City, "The High Achiever Besotted with Rock!" Duanjuan?
"I am." Fang Yuan nodded and said.
"Really? Hello, I am Duanjuan, a Dojo Trainer from the Kanaz Gym. I've heard Erika mention Mr. Fang Yuan before, and I've also watched your battle video with Lt. Surge..." Duanjuan introduced herself enthusiastically.
Erika... Does she know Erika well?
Fang Yuan immediately understood and smiled as well: "Hello."
"Mr. Fang Yuan, are you planning to visit Devon Corporation?"
"Yes, I have some business with Mr. Diantha, the Champion."
"Oh, what a coincidence, I'm also here to see Mr. Diantha," said Duanjuan.
These days, Diantha happens to be at Devon Headquarters.
"Oh???" Fang Yuan showed a surprised expression and looked at Duanjuan. Speaking of which, Duanjuan is a Rock-type Trainer, and Diantha is so fond of stones. Their companies and Gyms are in the same city. Although there wasn't much of a connection between the two in the games or anime, Fang Yuan suddenly got curious in real life.
I wonder who will be lucky enough to win over such a rich and handsome bachelor like Diantha…
"Uh…" Seeing Fang Yuan's thoughtful expression, Duanjuan was at her wit's end, wondering what Mr. Fang Yuan was thinking.
She quickly explained, "Mr. Diantha gave me a Beldum a few days ago, and I ran into some problems while raising it, so I was planning to ask for his advice."
"I see." Fang Yuan was slightly taken aback. Another Beldum? Diantha had given one to him as well, and that was no problem—although that was in the game.
It made him wonder, does Diantha raise an entire mountain of Beldum, giving them away to just about anyone? Oh man, he better not show up with dozens of Beldum to give away... He really didn't want that—