Changpan City.
The Rocket Team secret base beneath the Changpan Dojo.
"Go investigate this person, as detailed as possible." Giovanni, sitting on the chair, said calmly while petting his cat.
"Yes!" A voice came from the shadows in the corner.
"I need to know everything and accurate information about him. You're allowed to use some special relationships in the Alliance, even if it will expose a few people."
The shadow in the corner seemed somewhat stunned.
It was unexpected that Giovanni was willing to pay such a high cost.
But he didn't ask any questions, he just became a bit more earnest.
"Yes!"
Once the person in the shadow seemed to have left, Giovanni's face slowly revealed a smile.
"Is this the person that Nancy said is very much like me... Indeed, a bit."
...
...
A certain restaurant in the black market.
A restaurant in the black market is not a simple place.
Because some of its dishes use materials that are Pokémon!
For example, the "Charcoal-roasted Scallion Duck," which is exorbitantly priced and always out of stock, is one of the restaurant's specialties.
There are also dishes like "Steamed Stunned Beast Tail," "Fried Carp King," and so on.
Natsuhiko didn't order these, he only ordered a few vegetable dishes, waiting quietly.
The Hydreigon had already been put away by him.
But just from the aura he displayed earlier, even if he ordered no dishes, no one dared to say anything.
Natsuhiko did not have to wait long.
A ripple of psychic energy.
A little girl with a playful expression appeared before Natsuhiko.
Nancy!
But the people around couldn't see Nancy's appearance clearly, they could only barely make out her silhouette.
Nancy sat on a chair, swinging her legs nimbly, tilting her head and blinking, as if wanting to reintroduce herself to Natsuhiko.
"What's up?" Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing, just saw someone whose psychic frequency was a bit like yours earlier."
Natsuhiko couldn't help but smile.
Then he took out two specially made small boxes from his pocket.
"You're here for the items, right? They're all here."
Seeing Natsuhiko didn't react much, Nancy found it boring and pursed her lips.
Yet she still wrapped the two boxes with her psychic powers, handling them rather carefully.
"Did you meet Boss Sakaki?"
Nancy did not shy away, directly mentioning Giovanni's name.
Although this is no longer a particularly big secret among the current upper echelons of the Alliance.
Giovanni is still the Gym Leader of Changpan City, and Rocket Team has even made Changpan City their stronghold.
This shows that there is still some kind of understanding between the Alliance and Rocket Team that ordinary people cannot fathom.
Recently, Rocket Team has been making less moves, and perhaps the Alliance is hoping for this tranquility.
Even if it's just a brief peace.
And perhaps beneath the serene surface of the lake, there lurks some unforeseeable outcome.
Natsuhiko shrugged, responding noncommittally to this.
"What do you think? Boss Sakaki is really powerful, right?" Nancy's eyes sparkled with admiration, much like a young fan.
"I suppose."
"What do you mean by 'I suppose'?" Nancy pouted, clearly dissatisfied with Natsuhiko's answer.
Natsuhiko paused his fork.
"He invited me to join Rocket Team and promised the highest executive position."
Nancy's eyes instantly brightened, showing a hint of hope.
"Did you agree?"
"I said I'd consider it."
Upon hearing this, Nancy's eyes widened, and she stood on the chair with a posture of wanting to hit Natsuhiko on the head, her face flushed.
But in the end, she didn't.
"Hmph!"
With a grunt, Nancy disappeared from her seat.
Looking at the empty chair, Natsuhiko couldn't help but chuckle.
He shook his head.
After Nancy left, Natsuhiko didn't eat any food and quickly left the black market, left Goldenrod City, and headed to Withered Leaf City.
If it weren't for the matters entrusted by Agatha, he wouldn't have traveled between two cities in one night.
...
...
By the time he returned to the guest room at Sakuragi Laboratory in Withered Leaf City, the sky was already turning light.
He pushed open the room door.
The letter on the floor was still there.
With a casual glance, the fragile paper was wrapped in his psychic powers and transformed into fine powder.
The content of the letter was simple.
It didn't explicitly mention Rocket Team, just stated there was a good project and asked if Natsuhiko was interested.
And it vaguely hinted at something the Alliance wouldn't fully allow.
Regarding this letter, Natsuhiko naturally didn't take it to heart.
Only.
When he was about to stretch and get some sleep, the door next to him suddenly opened.
"Natsuhiko, up so early?"
Lo and behold.
Hilona, in her pajamas, gently rubbing her eye corners, her golden hair tied neatly in a cute hairband cascading behind, without a hint of disarray.
Presumably, he hadn't concealed his movements when returning, plus it was the time many early risers get up.
"Pfft—"
While Hilona wondered why Natsuhiko wasn't responding, she suddenly heard his stifled laughter.
Following his gaze downward.
Her black pajamas had a cute, mischievous Clefairy printed in the middle, causing her face to flush red.
No longer caring about Natsuhiko's reaction, she hurried back to her room.
Previously staying at Dr. Yamanashi's lab, now at Dr. Sakuragi's lab due to habits, she opened the door reflexively.