Looks like this world's got a few too many "protagonists."
Damian narrowed his eyes slightly. So far, he'd already run into Selene, Ash, Red—and now this May in front of him.
That made four. And every one of these Trainers was a complete monster.
In any other era, any one of them could've dominated an entire generation.
Just like over in Galar, when Leon had his meteoric rise and became Champion in his very first year on the road.
Damian took a careful look at May's Swampert. Just from its aura alone, he could tell it was seriously strong—probably already close to Champion‑tier.
Tch. Yeah, that was strong.
"Hey there～ are you guys here to beat up these evil teams too?"
May wasn't the shy type; she took the initiative to greet Damian's group of three.
"Yeah. We heard from Officer Jenny in Lavaridge Town that Team Magma and Team Aqua were fighting up here, so we came to check it out."
Damian answered with a smile.
"Then our goals line up. Those Team Magma jerks stole Professor Cozmo's Meteorite and want to use it to reactivate Mt. Chimney!"
"They're the worst!"
May fumed, glaring furiously at the expressionless Courtney.
Mt. Chimney was currently a dormant volcano. If it reactivated and erupted, the surrounding areas would be in huge trouble.
Forget anything farther out—Lavaridge Town at the foot of Mt. Chimney would definitely be hit.
"Little brat, you really don't understand our organization's ideology at all."
Courtney's lips curved into a cold, gorgeous smile.
"Today's operation did fail, but we'll definitely meet again."
Courtney took a few small steps back, and several Team Magma members released their Pokémon and rushed May at once.
"Trying to run? Where do you think you're going?"
Gladion let out a cold snort. They thought they were getting away?
He was just about to have Silvally attack when Damian raised a hand to stop him.
Gladion was puzzled, but didn't argue. He just had Silvally handle the scattered Team Magma grunts.
"There's a Team Magma base nearby. We'll just wipe it out in one go later." Damian replied lightly.
By now, Courtney had already reached the edge of the mountain. She released a Swellow, hopped on, and took to the skies.
"Damn it! I let her get away!"
Once they'd taken care of those Team Magma small fry, May stomped her feet in frustration. The one she most wanted to drag off in cuffs was still Courtney.
"No clue what kind of scheme they're cooking up either. It's such a pain."
May chewed on a finger, thoroughly annoyed. She just couldn't understand it—what was so bad about the Hoenn Region right now?
And yet these two evil teams, Team Magma and Team Aqua, were dead‑set on stirring up trouble—and such annoying trouble at that.
"Miss."
Damian looked over at May.
"Could I trouble you to take this guy to Officer Jenny? He says he's a Team Aqua Admin, so I'm guessing he's pretty important."
Damian pointed at the unconscious Amber.
"We've got other business to deal with next, and we probably won't be heading back to Lavaridge Town anytime soon."
"Eh? Sure, no problem, leave him to me!"
May thumped her chest in assurance. It wasn't exactly a hard job, and after fighting evil teams up here for so long, she'd been planning to go soak in Lavaridge's hot springs to relax anyway.
"Thanks." Damian thanked her with a smile.
"Hey, handsome, are you guys from Hoenn?"
May had Swampert heft Amber onto its back, then asked the three curiously, her gaze lingering on Silvally in particular.
"No. We're from the Kanto Region."
"No wonder. But I don't remember Kanto having a Pokémon like that. I moved here from Johto, you know."
May blinked her big eyes.
"This is Silvally, from the Alola Region. It's a very rare Pokémon—right now Gladion's the only one who has one."
Damian chuckled.
Yep, May had originally been from Johto.
Norman's whole family had lived in Johto before. Once Norman took the Petalburg City Gym Leader post in Hoenn, they'd all moved there for his job.
"Whoa～ it looks super strong. I really wanna battle it!"
May was itching to go. As expected, the moment she saw a new Pokémon, she wanted to test herself in a fight.
Definite battle maniac tendencies—but that tracked. There wasn't a single original‑series protagonist who wasn't battle‑obsessed.
Red, Selene, Ash—they were all like that. Maybe that was just one of the core "stats" you needed as a "protagonist."
"You'll get your chance." Damian replied with meaningful calm.
"Ha～ I hope so. I'm May. Nice to meet you guys!"
May narrowed her eyes in a bright smile and introduced herself with easy confidence.
"I'm Damian. Nice to meet you too."
"I'm Caitlin. A pleasure～"
"Gladion."
Compared to Damian and Caitlin, Gladion's tone was much cooler—but that was just his personality.
May didn't mind in the slightest. She'd met all kinds of people on her journey already; nothing surprised her anymore.
"Then I'll head back to Lavaridge Town first. I've gotta report all this to Officer Jenny."
"Sure. See you."
"See you～"
Waving, May headed down the mountain with Swampert.
Damian watched the girl and her Swampert disappear from view, looking thoughtful.
"That girl's really strong." Gladion said in a low voice.
That Swampert of hers was seriously powerful. If they really fought, Gladion didn't feel confident at all.
"Yeah. She looks like a rookie too. This year's new Trainers are all pretty fierce." Caitlin agreed.
"The liveliest golden age is about to begin. Now that's interesting～ Let's go. Mewtwo's got news for us."
Damian's lips curled high.
The messier things got, the more fun this world would be.
Jagged Pass—this was a steep path that connected down from Mt. Chimney's base.
Damian's trio arrived there. Armored Mewtwo was already waiting quietly.
"This the place?"
Damian looked at the rock wall ahead. Back when Courtney escaped, he'd had Armored Mewtwo tail her.
With the operation a bust, Courtney would most likely fall back to the nearest base. Perfect opportunity.
"Gladion."
"Got it."
Gladion had Silvally step forward. Silvally opened its jaws, and flames, ice, and lightning intertwined into a triangle, slamming into the rock wall.
A Normal‑type Tri Attack.
Boom!
Tri Attack exploded violently, thick smoke and dust billowing outward, revealing a deep, dark cave mouth.
This was Team Magma's base.
"Let's go pay our 'neighbors' a visit."
Damian strolled straight inside like he owned the place.
Being built into Mt. Chimney's base, the temperature inside the Team Magma base was understandably high.
At the very least, Damian found it pretty stifling.
How did these Team Magma guys even stand this? Were they all just heat‑resistant freaks?
"Freeze! Who are you people?"
They hadn't been walking long when a man and a woman in Team Magma uniforms jumped out and blocked their path.
"Honestly, your response is kinda slow. We literally 'knocked' on the door already, and you just now show up? For an evil team, you're not very professional."
Damian clicked his tongue as he looked the pair over.
He'd half expected a wave of Team Magma members to swarm them the second they stepped through.
Silvally's blast hadn't exactly been subtle—and yet they'd walked quite a ways before anyone showed up.
"Big talk! You've got guts barging in here. You have any idea whose turf this is?"
The male Team Magma grunt was furious.
Since when were intruders this cocky? It was one thing to smash open the front door and walk in; now this brat was calling them unprofessional as an evil team?
"Team Magma's, sure. We came specifically to pay you a visit. Could you go let your Admin know?
"Kanto's Team Rocket is here to talk business with your Team Magma."
Damian smiled pleasantly, all good manners on the surface.
"Team Rocket, my ass. Get the hell out, or we'll stop being nice real fast!"
The male grunt snapped back, already on edge.
He'd heard the news: Lord Courtney's operation had just failed. Her mood definitely wouldn't be great right now, and the last thing he wanted was to get caught up in that.
"Brain‑dead moron."
Damian shook his head, already losing interest in talking. He gestured for Gladion to handle it.
"Who the hell are you calling brain‑dead?!"
The grunt clearly heard that, glaring daggers at Damian. Guy had a serious temper.
"If Lord Damian says you're an idiot, then you'd better sit there and take it. Any problem with that?"
Gladion looked at the grunt coldly. Silvally stepped forward, its aura growing sharper and more dangerous by the second.
Two pieces of trash like this, daring to show disrespect? They were begging for a beating.
Inside the Team Magma base—
"Apologies, Lord Maxie. The plan failed."
Courtney's expression was as blank as ever as she reported to Maxie.
"A very strong brat got in our way—and later three more Trainers showed up. They also captured Amber. They're probably from the League."
"If unexpected variables showed up, that can't be helped. In that case, Courtney, remain at the base."
On the screen, Maxie calmly adjusted his glasses.
"I've already sent Tabitha and the others to look for the Red Orb. We've got some leads."
"Yes, Lord Maxie. On my end—" Courtney nodded and started to continue.
"Bad news, Lord Courtney!!"
A disheveled Team Magma grunt suddenly burst in, howling in panic at Courtney.
"?"
Courtney turned, her cold gaze landing on him.
"Team Rocket! Team Rocket stormed the base! The guys can't stop them at all—tons of people are already hurt!"
"What did you say?"
Courtney, usually so composed, actually blurted out in surprise.
On the video call, Maxie's brows also drew tight.
Team Rocket? Kanto's Team Rocket???
Maxie didn't get it at all. What the hell was Kanto's Team Rocket doing in Hoenn—and why were they attacking a Team Magma base?
"Courtney, go take a look. If things look bad, pull out immediately."
"Yes."
Courtney nodded, then followed the grunt out of the office and headed for the base's central area.
When she arrived, she saw most of her subordinates all huddled together, shaking like leaves and trying not to make a sound.
Silvally and Umbreon stood in front of them, staring them down like a pair of wolves watching sheep.
Courtney: "…"
She was speechless.
They'd lost the entire base in this short a time?
"Lord Courtney!! You're finally here!"
"Lord Courtney, hurry up and take them out!"
"Uu, Lord Courtney, I think I broke my arm when I fell…"
"I wanna go home. I don't want to play anymore, waaah—"
The terrified Team Magma members immediately swarmed Courtney like she was the messiah, all begging her to save them.
Courtney's scalp tingled.
She looked past them at the three people across the way, her brows creasing.
It was the same trio from Mt. Chimney.
"Yo～ there you are. Nice to see you again."
Damian even gave Courtney a friendly little wave.
But Courtney's expression was anything but good.
She could clearly see that the smile on this boy's face was dangerous and malicious—completely different from the polite warmth he'd shown on Mt. Chimney.
"Team Rocket, you're getting a bit full of yourselves." Courtney said coolly.
"We were actually going to pay Team Magma a proper, polite visit. But your guys didn't seem all that welcoming, so we had no choice but to get a little rough."
Damian replied lazily.
"So it's our poor hospitality, is it. What brings you here?"
Courtney's tone stayed even, but inside she was practically screaming.
You've almost wiped out everyone in my base and you call that 'a little rough'?
Still—might made right.
For the moment, she had no choice but to swallow it.
"Here's the deal. Team Rocket's planning to expand properly in Hoenn.
"But Team Magma and Team Aqua are kind of in the way."
Damian's smile turned sharp.
"So we'd like to ask Team Magma to disband and merge into Team Rocket.
"Hoenn's a big region—but it only needs one evil organization. That'd be better for everyone."
"I've said my piece. What do you think?"
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