"We just thought it was presumptuous to interrupt, so we were planning to leave," James explained politely.
"Didn't you say you don't want us here? Fine, we're leaving now!" Jessie retorted, her tone a bit sharp.
"That's right, meow~" Meowth chimed in.
"Stay put." Carl couldn't be bothered with more words and, with a wave of his hand, sent them over to Lorelei. "This redhead is Jessie. She's someone Grandma Agatha has her eyes on. Before you deal with her, ask Grandma's opinion."
"Is it really her?" Lorelei looked Jessie over with interest. "You said she has the potential to be a champion-level trainer, a top coordinator, and even a movie star?"
"Yes," Carl nodded.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Jessie.
She was utterly bewildered, wondering if she had heard correctly. All her life, she had been the least confident member of the trio.
James was mild-mannered, handsome, competent in battles, and came from a wealthy background. Had he not joined Team Rocket, he would likely have been a top-tier trainer already.
Meowth, though seemingly unreliable, could talk and invent things, making him invaluable.
And her? An orphan who dropped out of medical school, feeling like the weakest link in Team Rocket, masking her insecurities with bursts of temper.
Yet here was Lorelei, saying that the enigmatic Carl had given her such high praise?
She was stunned.
James and Meowth, however, remained calm. If what Lorelei said was true, Jessie, favored by Grandma Agatha, might just get through this unscathed.
Nobody wanted things to go wrong at this critical moment. The atmosphere turned quiet.
Carl glanced at Lorelei and then said to Hoopa, "Bring Lugia over. I want to have a chat."
"Hoopa, let's go~"
With permission granted, Hoopa immediately opened its spatial ring.
On the other side, Lugia sensed the spatial ripple and nodded, giving a stern warning to the giant Tentacruel with its eyes.
The Tentacruel reluctantly promised, "Alright, I won't go anywhere or do anything until you return."
Satisfied, Lugia flew through the portal.
With a "whoosh~," the massive Lugia appeared before everyone. Serena, Cynthia, and others were relatively calm, having grown accustomed to the divine creatures that Carl kept around.
But for May, Touko, and Ash, it was a different story—they were visibly excited.
"It's Lugia! A flying and psychic-type Pokémon," Ash exclaimed, barely containing his excitement.
His words left everyone in a daze, even Lugia looked puzzled.
"Roar~ (Human, did you say you've captured one of my kind?)" Lugia asked, eyeing Ash.
It sensed a familiar power from Ash and recognized him as the Rainbow Warrior chosen by Ho-Oh. But capturing a Lugia? That didn't seem right.
"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Misty quickly explained, pulling out a game console. "He was talking about the game. Last night, he played Pokémon SoulSilver and, after much effort, used the Silver Feather to catch Lugia."
She then gave Ash a firm pat on the back, "Apologize quickly, don't let Lugia misunderstand."
"Sorry, I meant in the game," Ash immediately clarified, holding up his console.
"Game?" Lugia was bewildered.
It didn't understand much about human gadgets. But from the sound of it, Ash hadn't captured one of its kind?
"Lugia, you're so out of touch! Let Hoopa show you," Hoopa teased, waving a game console around.
Having mastered the game itself, it had chosen a character named Hoopa, a female trainer, and had already completed the LeafGreen version, capturing several legendary birds and beasts.
Recently, it was playing the upgraded SoulSilver, able to carry over previous save data. Hoopa chose to continue with its old team, uninterested in repeating gym battles, just collecting full Pokédex entries.
"You play human games?" Lugia cast a disdainful glance.
It knew of games and sometimes played with its young ones. But what was so engaging about human games?
"This game is super fun!" Hoopa was irked by its attitude.
"Don't knock it till you've tried it!"
"I'm not interested," Lugia shook its head resolutely.
"You're making me mad!" Hoopa puffed its cheeks. "I'm going to catch Ho-Oh in the game, then beat you."
"Hold on," an uninterested Lugia suddenly perked up. "Can this game catch Ho-Oh?"
"Duh! If it can catch you, it can catch Ho-Oh."
"That makes sense... Is it hard to catch?"
"Piece of cake. I've already got the Rainbow Wing. Catching it today for sure," Hoopa grinned.
With the portal off-limits for summoning beasts, it could at least enjoy the thrill in the game.
Lugia tilted its head, observing the console with casual interest, "How does this work? I'll try it for Hoopa's sake."
Hoopa beamed, immediately conjuring an XY game cartridge. "Here, here, I'll teach you! It's super fun!"
It enthusiastically guided through the steps, "Newcomers should start with a new map and then tackle old challenges once familiar."
"In LeafGreen and FireRed, you can catch your three sisters and the mythical Mewtwo."
"HeartGold and SoulSilver have Ho-Oh and yourself, plus the Ho-Oh Guardians and Celebi."
Lugia mused, "The territory allocation is quite similar to the Pokémon world."
"Of course! The developer is an old acquaintance of Hoopa's!" Hoopa proudly gave a thumbs-up.
Unbeknownst to it, the developer was Carl, but Hoopa was just bragging.
Lugia, taking it at face value, decided, "I'll play HeartGold and catch Ho-Oh."
"Alright, Hoopa will set it up for you." Hoopa eagerly got things ready.
Everyone watched, dumbfounded.
Misty facepalmed, "Who will remind them of the real issue?"
Brock, ever the optimist, adjusted his glasses with a smile, "As expected of a gaming enthusiast, Ash."
Ash had already joined in, "Playing HeartGold? Perfect, we can trade Pokédex entries."
May was completely lost, "Wait, weren't we here to discuss the Silver Companion Beast? How did this turn into a gaming convention?"
Lugia's reaction was both amusing and exasperating. Initially indifferent to Hoopa, its attitude flipped at the mention of catching Ho-Oh, completely sidelining the Silver Companion Beast discussion. Such a quick change!
Serena turned to May, "Haven't you tried a game console? Even though we just met, I feel like we really connect."
May shook her head helplessly, "I've been too busy running for my life, no time for games, hadn't even heard of them."
"Running for your life? Why?" Serena asked, puzzled.
Cynthia interjected, "Probably escaping from Team Plasma's pursuit."
"Team Plasma?" Everyone's interest piqued.
Lusamine's expression was serious, "I recall Team Plasma being the largest private organization in the region, advocating for the liberation of Pokémon. They aim to stop trainers from using Pokémon for battles."
She had no fondness for Team Plasma. The Aether Foundation's investments in the region were frequently obstructed by them, and they were notoriously unwelcoming of outsiders.