"Whoa. You're insanely strong. Even Ariana couldn't handle you."
The girl with long chestnut hair stared at the crimson-eyed boy, then at the Charizard and Pikachu behind him. She was still a little stunned.
Her plan had been simple: grab a random passerby, have him stall Ariana for a few seconds, and use the gap to run.
She hadn't expected this guy—who looked about her age—to beat Ariana so cleanly. If Ariana hadn't noticed things were going bad and pulled out in time, she would've been caught on the spot.
"..." The crimson-eyed boy tugged the brim of his hat down, hiding his eyes, and stayed quiet.
Cold type. Maybe arrogant, too?
Green sized him up. She knew he wasn't mute—he'd been issuing commands the whole fight. He just didn't feel like talking.
That didn't bother her. She wasn't the kind of person who got intimidated by silence. A young trainer this strong was worth knowing.
"Thanks for stepping in," she said, smiling. Her face was plain, but the smile made her look brighter. "If you hadn't, I don't even want to think about what could've happened."
She extended a hand like they were already friends. "I'm Green. Just call me Green. What's your name?"
Her eyes were wide and eager, and her voice came out sweet in that effortless, friendly way.
"..." The boy pulled his hat even lower.
Green didn't back off. She kept watching him, waiting him out.
"...Red." The answer finally came, quiet and low.
"Red," Green repeated, pleased. "Got it. And yeah—you were incredible. Team Rocket's really— Oh! Wait. I almost forgot."
She yanked out her phone and started dialing.
"Hello? Hello? Officer Jenny?" Green spoke fast, not giving the line time to breathe. "Yes, I want to report a crime. There's a massive Team Rocket base here in the southern district of Celadon City. Yes, I'm sure. I just got out of it. And there are at least two high-ranking executives inside right now, from what I saw."
She paused only to listen for half a second, then kept going.
"Yes, don't worry. I'm not going to do anything reckless. My name?" She hummed like she was thinking. "I'm just a citizen passing by. If you need a name for the report, register it as 'Red.'"
She ended the call cleanly.
Red: (⊙ｏ⊙)
Green turned to him with a playful grin. "Sorry. I used your name without asking. I don't like being in the spotlight."
She stuck out her tongue and tapped her own head with her gloved hand, like she was trying to look cute on purpose.
Of course she didn't want attention.
If her "former colleagues" saw her name, they'd chase her all the way to Celadon City. Green bit her lip. For a moment, something dark crossed her eyes. She'd escaped, but the shadow of that organization still followed her.
Red stayed quiet. He was shy and withdrawn, but he picked up on people's moods. He could tell her cheerful act didn't match what was going on inside.
Still, his mind snagged on something else.
A large Team Rocket base… here?
Red turned toward the direction Ariana had fled. He had no warm feelings for Team Rocket. Those people had tried to steal Pokémon on the St. Anne. They didn't just steal property—they tore apart bonds, and they didn't care what it did to trainers or Pokémon.
That was unforgivable.
Red loved battling. He wanted to become the strongest trainer in the world. But he also wanted this world to be better. He wanted the sky to stay clear. An organization like Team Rocket, one that ignored other people and left misery behind, didn't belong here.
And now he had a lead.
...
Indigo Plateau.
"A large base was discovered in Celadon City?"
Charles Goodshow frowned as he listened to the head of the Jenny task force. His white eyebrows pulled together.
"Yes," the Jenny official said. "If we rely only on the Celadon City police, we likely won't be able to take them out. And we still can't reach Gym Leader Erika."
A base that large would be guarded by executives. Team Rocket executives were usually around Elite Four level. Even the weaker ones hit far above what normal trainers could handle.
And it happened at the exact moment they couldn't contact Erika. The Jenny official didn't linger on it, though—Erika had been at her Gym safely that morning.
"Chairman," the Jenny official asked, "should we send Lorelei and the others?"
If they wanted the raid to be safe and decisive, mobilizing the Kanto Elite Four was the clean answer.
Goodshow rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Mio. That's Celadon City."
The Jenny official fell silent.
Among the Elite Four, Agatha was old, and she carried too much seniority to be deployed unless it was unavoidable. Bruno was strong—no question—but he was better as the hammer than the one running the plan.
That left Lance and Lorelei.
They were the most devoted to crushing Team Rocket. And that was exactly the problem.
Their methods went too far.
By the League's own numbers, out of ten Team Rocket members Lorelei arrested, eight suffered severe frostbite. Even after treatment, many would be left with lasting damage.
Lance was worse in a simpler way: in his view, only the ones who survived his Pokémon's attacks were "fit" to be arrested.
That clashed with the League's stated humanitarian standards, and it weighed on Goodshow. He had spoken to both of them more than once, but their hatred for Team Rocket ran deep. Convictions like that didn't bend easily.
Goodshow sat with it for a moment, then made his decision.
"Lorelei," he said into his communicator, "come to my office."
A short while later, Lorelei arrived.
"Chairman."
"Lorelei," Goodshow said, "a large Team Rocket base has been found in Celadon City. I want you and Bruno to go."
"Celadon City?" Lorelei's face didn't change. "Understood."
She pushed her glasses up with one finger.
The Jenny official and Goodshow both felt it: the air around her grew colder.
Goodshow opened his mouth like he wanted to add a warning, then stopped himself. He only sighed, quietly, in his own head.
In his eyes, Lorelei had once been a kind child.
When she was young, she had seen a Seel gasping for breath in water ruined by industrial pollution. The look in that dying Seel's eyes had carved itself into her memory. She'd never been able to forget it.
She joined the Kanto League because she wanted a better future for nature and Pokémon.
Somewhere along the way, that passion had cooled into something else.
Not calm. Not discipline.
Indifference. The kind that made your skin prickle.
"I'm counting on you," Goodshow said.
"Rest easy, Chairman," Lorelei replied, already turning to leave. A cold sneer cut across her face. "That filthy trash… I'll freeze them into ice sculptures."
Goodshow watched her go, and worry settled in his chest.
The future of Kanto…