"Do me a favor and notify your boss, Guzma. Tell him Kanto's Team Rocket is here to pay a visit, okay?"
Damian smiled at the two Team Skull members, looking like a harmless boy.
"You guys…"
The skinny grunt stared at them in shock and anger.
Sure, Team Skull often wrecked stuff and mugged Trainers for their Pokémon—but breaking a guy's arm on the spot…
"Didn't you hear the young master? Do I need to say please?" Proton said coldly.
Hearing the grim reaper speak, the skinny one flinched, hurriedly hauled up the fat one from elsewhere, and the two of them headed into the manor.
"Damian, are you planning to absorb Team Skull?" Caitlin seemed to get his idea.
Otherwise, why not just force their way in?
"Exactly. Most of Team Skull are thugs, but with a little re-education, they're usable." Damian replied with a faint smile.
"We just arrived in Alola and we're short on manpower. Folding Team Skull in fills a lot of gaps."
"And if they refuse to submit?" Caitlin tilted her head slightly.
In her view, trying to absorb a bunch of punks wouldn't be easy—and their quality was… questionable.
Take them all in, and it might drag Team Rocket's standards down.
"They don't get a say."
Damian grinned and stepped toward the manor.
"Let's go. It's about time."
...
Inside the suspicious manor.
"Big Sis!"
The manor's front doors flew open, a tear-choked wail ringing loud.
A fat and a skinny figure stumbled in, nearly face-planting in their rush.
A woman with heavy eye shadow and a cold expression saw this and instantly frowned.
"What happened?"
The one called "Big Sis" was Plumeria—Team Skull's only admin.
Guzma usually didn't handle things, so most of the time, Plumeria ran the show. Team Skull members adored her.
"Big Sis, my arm… they broke my arm."
The fat grunt sobbed, pain wracking his body.
"Who did it?!"
Plumeria's face went cold. She was fiercely protective. She wouldn't tolerate her people getting bullied.
"From what they said… Kanto's Team Rocket. Big Sis, you've gotta get revenge for me!"
The fat grunt's face was deathly pale as he pleaded with the all-capable Plumeria in his heart.
Plumeria's brows knit tight, her expression stormy. Kanto's Team Rocket??
Kanto's evil team. Unlike Alola, which barely had a League, Kanto was home to the Pokémon League's headquarters.
An evil organization that grew under the Indigo League's nose wasn't simple.
But weren't they active only in Kanto? Since when were they in Alola?
"Go get treatment first. You two, take him to the hospital," Plumeria told a pair of grunts nearby.
"Got it, Big Sis."
They scrambled to carry the fat one away.
Bang!
Right then, the manor's main doors were blasted open, a few Pokémon—like Alolan Raticate and Salandit—mixed in with the intruders.
Plumeria's eyes narrowed.
"Big Sis!"
"Damn it! Big Sis, someone's here to crash our turf!"
"Big Sis, we couldn't stop them!"
Three bedraggled grunts ran in, whining to Plumeria.
Plumeria's chest heaved as she stared at the shattered doors, anger roaring to life.
"Seriously, we said we were here to visit—and they still want to throw hands."
A lazy voice drifted in. Plumeria looked forward as several figures walked inside.
The speaker was the boy in the lead.
"Sorry about that. Looks like Proton hit too hard and took your doors off their hinges."
The boy scanned the room and finally fixed his gaze on Plumeria, mouthing an apology.
But anyone could hear it—the offhand tone held zero remorse.
So… arrogant!!
"You folks from Team Rocket really don't take Team Skull seriously," Plumeria said, forcing her temper down.
"Don't misunderstand. We respect Team Skull a lot. Relax—door repairs and medical bills are on us."
Damian still wore an easy smile, tone casual.
Plumeria stared, unresponsive.
A Team Rocket subordinate, quick on the uptake, fetched a stool from the corner, wiped it down, and set it behind Damian.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Damian from Kanto's Team Rocket. I came today to pay your organization a formal visit."
Damian sat, crossed one leg over the other, and looked entirely at ease—ignoring the death glares from the Team Skull crowd.
Proton's gaze swept the room, cold. Caitlin stood with hands folded before her, elegant in a pink-and-white gown—completely out of place with the surroundings.
Not that she minded—she found negotiations with an evil team quite interesting.
"This is how you pay a visit?"
Plumeria's face soured. From the moment he entered, he'd had that superior air. Visit? He injured her underling and smashed their doors!
"Just saying hello, that's all. I told you, we'll compensate—no need to dwell on it."
Damian waved it off, gesturing for Plumeria to let it go.
Easy for you not to dwell on it—those were our doors!
Plumeria actually let out a laugh of rage, and the surrounding grunts bristled.
"We came here with sincerity. So, miss, could you please notify Sir Guzma? I'd like a proper chat."
Damian's words remained very polite—he even used "please."
"The boss isn't at the base. Whatever you've got to say, say it to me. I can decide."
Plumeria's tone was cool. If not for Team Rocket's reputation, she would've swung first.
Team Rocket showing up in Alola out of nowhere wasn't a good sign. If she could avoid it, Plumeria didn't want to make an enemy of them.
Guzma was actually upstairs, but Plumeria knew his temper was all wrong for this talk.
"I see. In that case, I'll get to the point."
Damian raised a brow.
"Team Rocket's expanding lately. We're quite fond of the Alolan islands."
A grin spread across his face as he swept his gaze over Team Skull's members, malice thickening.
"But you guys are an eyesore. So would you be so kind as to merge Team Skull into Team Rocket?"
The boy's words carried clearly through the manor.
Silence!
The first floor fell dead quiet. Plumeria's face turned truly ugly as she glared at Damian.
Even Caitlin stared at Damian in shock.
Oh my god. That was insanely brazen.