Jacob talked with Nina for a long time. He told her everything — how he had gradually become Giovanni, the inner workings of Team Rocket, and every member who served under him. He held almost nothing back.
Almost. He was careful enough not to mention the nature of his relationship with Raya.
Nina listened to all of it without interrupting. When he finished, her eyes were soft with something that looked like heartache. Others might have been impressed by Giovanni's strength or his influence, but none of that mattered to her. What she wanted was simple — a safe, quiet life with Jacob. Watching the sunrise together. Watching the sunset. She had never been one for grand ambitions. She only wanted to hold onto the small, warm happiness she had found.
"Jacob," Nina said, her expression calm but certain, "I want to join Team Rocket too." She looked at him steadily. "When you go to make the trade with Meyer, I'm coming with you."
Jacob looked at her for a moment, reading the resolve in her eyes. He didn't argue. He gave a slow nod. "You can. But first, you have to agree to something."
"What is it?"
Instead of answering right away, Jacob reached into his coat and set a Poké Ball on the table between them.
Nina looked at it, then at him. "What's this?"
"A Pokémon, for you," Jacob said. "The Crystal Metagross I mentioned earlier. It's at near-Champion level." He held her gaze. "I'm giving it to you. But you'll need to be patient with it — don't rush. Build trust with it first."
"Jacob—" Nina began, but he raised a hand.
"I'm not comfortable bringing you along if you don't have a strong Pokémon at your side," he said, his tone leaving little room for debate. "And as for the Crystal Metagross — it and my Giant Metagross don't get along. Since I've already bonded with the Giant one, the Crystal one needs to go to someone I trust." He paused. "That's you. Take it. And if you haven't built a real bond with it before we leave, you're staying here."
Nina held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I'll earn its trust as soon as I can."
She reached out and took the Poké Ball, holding it carefully. Then she stepped behind him and wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders. "You've been carrying a lot," she murmured. "From now on, I'll carry it with you."
"Nina…"
"Alright, that's enough." She stepped back with a small smile, the warmth in her eyes taking the edge off the teasing in her voice. "Go get some rest before dinner. You're still meeting Julia tonight, aren't you?"
Jacob opened his mouth.
Nina pressed her fingers lightly over it before he could speak.
She was quiet for a moment. Then, softly: "Jacob — if you ever stop loving me. If you ever grow tired of this. Promise me you'll tell me. Don't let me find out on my own."
The words landed somewhere in his chest and stayed there.
"Nina… I—"
"I'm teasing." The smile that followed was bright enough to cut through the cold. "Now — you mentioned Eleanor figured out who you are?"
Jacob exhaled. "Yes." He had brought it up briefly earlier — that Eleanor had pieced it together on her own, and that she had since used it to press him for a Gigantamax Pokémon. He explained the full situation now, detail by detail. Nina and Eleanor had been close for years; how Nina felt about it would shape everything.
Nina listened, her brow slowly knitting together. When he finished, she was quiet for a few seconds.
"Did you give her one?" she asked. "A Gigantamax Pokémon?"
"No," Jacob said. "There are only about twenty Gigantamax Pokémon in the entire world. I have three. I can't just hand one over."
"Has she told anyone else?"
"I don't think so." He had asked Sylvia to keep a quiet watch on Eleanor for a while, and nothing had come back. As far as he could tell, his identity was still safe.
Nina nodded slowly. "What Eleanor did was wrong," she said at last. "I won't pretend otherwise. But I've known her for a long time, and I know who she is."
She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Her father died when she was very young. My mother did too. That's part of why we became so close — we understood each other in a way most people didn't. She's always looked out for me, like an older sister. She has a sharp tongue, but her heart is in the right place."
Nina's voice remained gentle, measured. "What people say and what they actually do are different things. She threatened you, yes. But she didn't expose you. She didn't do anything to hurt you. That matters."
She met his eyes. "I'm not making excuses for her, Jacob. I want to be clear about that. This is just my honest view. Whatever you decide, it should be based on what you think is right." She held his gaze. "But Eleanor knowing your identity as Giovanni is still a risk. A real one."
"And you can't exactly have her silenced," she added quietly. "You know her situation. The Chi family alone makes that impossible — they're one of the oldest families in the Imperial City. Their reach is nothing like what you'd deal with back in the Southwest."
Jacob nodded. He had already run through the same reasoning himself.
"The safest answer," Nina continued, "is to bring her in. She wants to be part of this trade anyway — let her come with me. If Eleanor is inside Team Rocket, she has no reason to betray us. And every reason not to."
Jacob considered it. It wasn't a bad solution. Eleanor was a problem he couldn't remove and couldn't ignore. Bringing her closer was, in a strange way, the cleanest option available.
He nodded again.
The sun dipped below the rooftops, and the city settled into the blue-grey of early evening. Neon signs flickered to life along the street outside a small barbecue restaurant, warm light spilling onto the pavement.
Inside, Amira and Kyle sat across from each other, practically glowing. They hadn't put a name to what was between them yet, but nobody at the table needed them to. The way they looked at each other said everything — a little too long, a little too warm to be just friendship. That uncertain space between closeness and something more was its own kind of sweetness.
Julia had dressed up for the evening. Her outfit was carefully chosen, her makeup light and neat, and the smile she wore when she saw Jacob arrive was genuine and unguarded.
Jacob managed to smile back. But it cost him something.
He could see it — Julia's feelings were written plainly enough, if you knew where to look. Under any other circumstance, it might have been easier to pretend he hadn't noticed. But he already had Nina. He already had the complicated, painful mess with Raya. Adding Julia to that tangle wasn't something he was willing to do, and more than that — it wasn't fair to her.
There was also the simple fact of Raya and Julia's relationship. Whatever else might be said, a future between him and Julia was never going to be possible. And if he let things drift on without saying so, it would only make things worse when they finally came to a head.
Tonight, he decided. He would say something tonight.
It would hurt her. He knew that. But allowing feelings with no future to quietly take root — that caused a different kind of hurt, and a longer one.