"Platinum actually joined Team Rocket?"
Cynthia found it difficult to believe. A child as kind and sophisticated as Platinum had really joined Team Rocket.
This...
"Yes, it is all because of me. If it were not for my sake, Platinum would never have made such a decision."
Mr. Berlitz covered his face in agony. He truly did not know what to do anymore. Platinum was clearly a child with a limitless future.
"Champion Cynthia, I beg of you. Please, rescue Platinum and bring her back. I will give anything, no matter the cost."
Mr. Berlitz pleaded with Cynthia again. At this moment, his heart was filled with intense self-blame. If it had not been for his own situation, this would never have happened.
"I understand. I will do my best."
Cynthia's expression was complex. At this point, she probably understood what had happened; she could guess the general idea. Cynthia sighed internally. She truly had not expected something like this to occur.
Caitlin and Platinum—one was her best friend, and the other was a junior she had high expectations for. Both of them had actually joined Team Rocket. Cynthia's mood was incredibly miserable at this moment.
"Professor Rowan, which member of Team Rocket kidnapped you?"
Cynthia gathered her emotions and asked Professor Rowan. Professor Rowan had remained silent, perhaps because he was also blaming himself.
"Damian. He called himself Damian, and he is the leader of Team Rocket. There were two girls with him. One was Caitlin, and the other should be Zinnia."
Before Professor Rowan could answer, Mr. Berlitz answered eagerly.
"It really was Damian and the others..."
Cynthia's expression grew somber. After Alola, Hoenn, and Unova, Team Rocket had finally targeted the Sinnoh region.
In fact, Cynthia had expected this. After the events in Hoenn and Unova, she understood that opposing Damian was truly not a sensible choice. As long as Damian did not cause chaos in the Sinnoh region, she could ignore Team Rocket opening companies there.
After all, Cynthia knew very well that Damian's strength was immense.
"Mr. Berlitz, I will do my best to bring Platinum back. For now, please both of you get some rest."
Cynthia was thinking rapidly as she comforted Mr. Berlitz. But could she really bring Platinum back? Cynthia did not have much confidence.
"Thank you. Thank you very much. I leave everything to you, Champion Cynthia."
Jubilife City is known as the city of happiness where people gather.
In the entire Sinnoh region, Jubilife City could be called the most modern and developed city. The streets were crowded and vibrant. At the same time, Jubilife City was the largest city in Sinnoh, with roads leading in every direction.
Damian and his group of four arrived in Jubilife City and walked into a high-end, imposing building.
"Lord Damian, the members have mostly finished gathering."
"You did well, Gladion. Next, send people to investigate the location of Team Galactic's base," Damian ordered Gladion as he sat in the CEO's chair.
"We are newcomers, so we should still greet our local 'colleagues' properly," Damian said with a significant smile.
In reality, Team Galactic was not that powerful. At most, only Cyrus was Champion-level. Furthermore, Damian had a reason to act. What did Team Galactic mean by planting a spy in Team Rocket?
"Yes." Gladion nodded. Then, he glanced at the girl standing by the side of the desk, looking a bit confused.
"By the way, this is Senior Executive Platinum. She is our new colleague and a trainer with exceptional talent," Damian introduced her to Gladion upon seeing this.
A Senior Executive? That would mean she is an Elite Four-level trainer.
Gladion was a bit startled, but he also felt it was logical. Although recruiting such a talented girl right after arriving in Sinnoh was surprising, it was not strange since it was Lord Damian.
"Platinum, this is Gladion. Like you, he is Elite Four-level. If you both have time, you can spar with each other frequently," Damian introduced Gladion to Platinum.
"Hello," Gladion took the initiative to greet Platinum.
"Hello. Please take care of me."
Platinum was clearly anxious and uneasy. She even bowed formally to return Gladion's greeting. But this was natural. She completely did not expect the internal environment of Team Rocket to be like this. And this place—was Team Rocket going to open a company? Platinum was shocked. This was completely different from the malicious image of Team Rocket in her mind.
"Platinum."
"Present!" Platinum responded almost like a reflex.
"There is no need to be so anxious. There aren't many rules in Team Rocket. Just be natural," Damian said, raising an eyebrow.
"..."
Platinum bit her lip. He said that, but how could she be certain it was really true? Besides, in the end, she still did not like Team Rocket. She did not like Damian, who had forced her to join.
Damian naturally understood this, but he did not take it to heart. Fixed opinions were not that easy to change, but it was not a massive problem.
"Is your journey through Sinnoh finished?"
"Yes, I have already obtained eight badges."
Platinum nodded. For her, getting badges was not very challenging. Although there were gym leaders in Sinnoh with good strength—such as Volkner of the Sunyshore Gym—Platinum could still succeed. Volkner was an Elite Four-level trainer, but setting aside the fact that he usually did not use his full power against challengers, even if he went all out, Platinum could still defeat him.
But now, having the badges was useless. Platinum's face was still a bit miserable. Since she was now a member of Team Rocket, it was impossible for her to participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
"During your journey, did you ever meet the Commanders of Team Galactic?"
"I have," Platinum recalled. "I met the Team Galactic Commander, Saturn, at Lake Valor before."
Damian became contemplative upon hearing this. It seemed Team Galactic's movements were not that rapid yet. Team Galactic's capture of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf was divided into three parts. Commanders Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn would lead teams to the three lakes to capture them.
Platinum hesitated for a moment.
"What do you want to say?" Damian noticed Platinum's expression.
"Team Galactic seems to have some kind of conspiracy. They are capturing Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. It seems Azelf has already been taken by them."
"Also, that Saturn said his accomplices were at Lake Verity. It's likely they are there to capture Mesprit."
Platinum said anxiously. It was mainly because Saturn had said some very strange things back then about a brand-new universe being born. This naturally made Platinum a bit concerned.
"Don't worry. That Team Galactic trash will not succeed. Once we find the location of their base, we can go and cause trouble for them," Damian signaled for Platinum to relax.
Platinum felt a sense of relief in her heart. Although she did not like Team Rocket, it would be a good thing if Team Rocket could deal with Team Galactic.
"Also, Platinum, you really don't need to have any psychological burden about joining Team Rocket," Damian glanced at Platinum. "You might have heard of Team Rocket's bad reputation. However, what I can tell you is that I am the one leading Team Rocket now. Team Rocket will not do those kinds of low-class, offensive evil acts."
No, it is exactly because you are the one leading that I am worried about my future! And didn't your words just fail to deny that Team Rocket does evil?
Platinum sighed in her heart. The scene at Professor Rowan's lab, where Damian used her father to threaten her, was still fresh in her mind. How could Platinum not be concerned?
"Gladion, send people to monitor Lake Acuity. If anyone from Team Galactic is discovered, report it immediately," Damian pondered for a moment.
In short, he still had to guard against Team Galactic. If Cyrus really managed to summon and control Dialga and Palkia, it would be no joke. These villain teams individually didn't have much skill, but it had to be said that their ability to cause trouble was truly remarkable.
"Yes," Gladion continued sending commands to his subordinates.
After briefly assigning the tasks for the near future, Damian and the others left the building. They walked toward the villa that had already been purchased. They would be staying in Sinnoh for a period of time, so they naturally needed a place to leave their bags and rest.
In reality, Caitlin naturally had a private villa in Sinnoh. However, that villa was completely exposed to the Sinnoh League's view. It was better to buy a new one.
But while passing a training field, Damian seemed to see something, and his footsteps paused slightly.
Inside the training field, a young boy wearing a long-sleeved jacket and long pants was conducting special training for his Pokémon. He had purple hair and a mature, cold face.
"Interesting."
Damian raised an eyebrow. He looked at the purple-haired boy with quite a bit of surprise. Because he was exactly Paul, Ash's rival from the Sinnoh arc of the anime! He was the founder of that classic phrase, "You're useless."
"He isn't traveling in the Kanto region? It seems there have been some changes."
Damian watched Paul's special training in the field with interest. When Paul met Ash in the anime, he was actually not a rookie trainer. His older brother, Reggie, had revealed that the first region Paul traveled through was Kanto. By the time he was traveling in Sinnoh, Paul was no longer a newcomer.
However, during the Sinnoh travel stage, aside from the veteran Torterra, Paul had built a brand-new main team centered around Electivire.
Ash had many rivals, but it had to be said that, aside from the childhood friend Gary, Paul was definitely an extremely brilliant and memorable rival. Not only was he powerful, but throughout the early and middle stages of the Sinnoh arc, his personality was so cold and strict that it made people feel extremely frustrated.
But that was Paul. Because his brother Reggie's spirit had been broken after being defeated by Brandon, he eventually gave up on being a trainer. Paul became a trainer who only pursued power; in other words, he was a player who valued strength above everything else.
He even caught Pokémon just to check their talent with a Pokédex, choosing only the most excellent ones to train. The rest were all released. He was a classic example of letting strength decide a Pokémon's place on his main team.
Ash was different. He did not care about the talent or strength of the Pokémon itself, but rather focused more on the bonds and feelings between him and the Pokémon. Therefore, the confrontation between Ash and Paul was inevitable, because their core philosophies for raising Pokémon completely conflicted.
However, through constant contact with Ash, Paul was clearly influenced by Ash in the middle and late stages. He gradually began to value the connection with his Pokémon. Even in the quarter-finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference, during the final match against Ash, his Electivire was defeated by an explosive Infernape. He comforted Electivire and acknowledged Infernape's power.
One could see Paul's change. There was no doubt that viewers who finished the entire Sinnoh arc would truly feel a sense of emotion upon seeing that moment from Paul. It must be said that the character of Paul truly made people feel his charm.
And in Pokémon Journeys, Paul even went out of his way to catch three specific Pokémon to find Ash and give him special training under the guise of a battle. This was Paul's affection for Ash.
Damian thought for a moment and walked toward Paul inside the training field. At this moment, Paul had also finished the special training for Mamoswine. No, it would be more accurate to say that Mamoswine had not held out.
"Come back, you useless thing."
Paul said expressionlessly as he recalled Mamoswine. He then looked at the Poké Ball in his hand. It seemed this Mamoswine was not suitable for him. It couldn't even hold out through this level of special training, and this had happened several times already.
Since he had decided to train it from the start, Paul wouldn't give up just because of a slight dissatisfaction; he would also try his best to provide special training. But after failing to complete the training several times in a row, he could not accept it.
"You seem quite troubled? Is it because that Pokémon didn't satisfy you?"
The sudden voice made Paul's brow furrow. He turned his head to look at the approaching boy.
"Who are you?"
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