What remained was just a pile of miscellaneous items: a wallet, Pokédollars, and various cards.
Sieg examined each card one by one. Some contained only a few hundred to a thousand Pokédollars, with the highest holding as much as 300,000 Pokédollars.
Sieg's funds swelled once again, reaching approximately 4 million Pokédollars.
"Huh? This is..."
Just as he was checking the final card, he suddenly noticed an "R" printed on it.
Sieg stared in disbelief, muttering to himself, "No way... another Team Rocket member?"
Including the black market ambush from before, this was the second time he'd encountered Team Rocket operatives.
And both encounters had occurred so close together.
Had Team Rocket's infiltration of the Hoenn region really reached this extent?
Sieg couldn't make sense of it. He found a computer among the pile of items and inserted the card.
It actually worked, the psychic hadn't even set a password.
"Just as I thought! This card is similar to League ID cards, but it's proof of a Team Rocket membership!"
Sieg stared at the large "R" displayed on the computer screen. Instead of booting up like a normal computer, it connected directly to a mysterious private website.
As Sieg browsed through it, he was left speechless with amazement.
This was Team Rocket's internal private network. Besides the psychic's personal information, it contained something resembling a copy of the League's exchange catalog.
Various rare Pokémon hatchlings and precious items were available for exchange, though the currency was "Rocket Points" instead of League Points.
"Incredible, they even have pseudo-legendaries openly available!"
Sieg was once again shocked by Team Rocket's exchange catalog. His current card showed only squad leader rank, yet he could already view pseudo-legendary exchanges.
While the countless zeros in their prices made them unattainable, the fact that Team Rocket dared to list pseudo-legendaries was undoubtedly a display of their power.
Just as Sieg was browsing through the dazzling array of treasures, a message notification popped up.
Instinctively clicking on it, he discovered it was actually a chat room with only a dozen or so people, including his current identity.
[Fellow operatives, I assume you've all received this mission?]
A flash of confusion crossed Sieg's eyes as he opened another window to check the mission list.
"Special Mission: Infiltrate the Hoenn region. Track the movements of Team Magma and Team Aqua. Disrupt cooperation between the two organizations."
Now Sieg understood why the man had immediately mistaken him for a Team Aqua member and attacked on sight.
[Colleagues, I'm sure you're all still fumbling around blind. You probably don't know much about these two organizations?]
[What are you getting at?]
[Nothing in particular. I just have a proposal, how about we share information? To show good faith, I can start by releasing the intelligence I've gathered.]
[Agreed]
[I'm in]
[Sounds good to me]
After reading the chat room discussion, Sieg also quietly typed his agreement.
Soon after, a file folder appeared. When Sieg opened it, it contained detailed introductions to both organizations.
As Sieg read through it, most of the information was already familiar to him, such as both organizations' goals and their pursuit of legendary Pokémon like Kyogre and Groudon.
"However, while other criminal organizations pursue existing legendary Pokémon, only Team Rocket aims to create one. The difference in ambition is clear!" Sieg mentally compared the leading criminal organizations across different regions.
Still, the squad leader who had proposed information sharing did seem competent. Among the intelligence provided, quite a lot concerned members from both organizations.
There was even detailed Pokémon data for one of the executives.
Based on Sieg's analysis, anyone who could become an executive in Team Magma or Team Aqua would be at least Elite Four level, if not Champion caliber.
Their Pokémon would be at minimum level 50 or higher.
The group chat then became a flurry of various information exchanges, including some seemingly ridiculous rumors.
For instance, that a certain Team Magma sub-commander was apparently a total lightweight when it came to drinking.
"Even gossip like this gets shared... unbelievable..." Sieg chuckled and shook his head.
He also contributed some information, such as spotting Team Magma traces on Mt. Chimney.
Through this exchange, Sieg discovered that Team Rocket's information security was quite thorough. Even in their own private chat rooms, everyone remained anonymous.
After leaving the chat room, one of the squad leaders sent him a friend request. After some conversation, Sieg realized it was the same person who had proposed information sharing.
Sensing the other person's subtle attempt to establish leadership, Sieg gave a few noncommittal responses and quickly ended the conversation.
"Looks like internal power struggles are inevitable!"
After all, his current ID card showed squad leader permissions, and the other person was also a squad leader, theoretically equal in rank.
Sieg crouched by a stone ledge, examining the card in his hands. First, he set a password for the computer's website access and activated the built-in self-destruct mechanism.
Three consecutive wrong password attempts would instantly wipe all information.
Then he removed the "R" marking from the card.
He wouldn't be as careless as that psychic had been.
"A Team Rocket squad leader, huh... I guess I have three identities now?" Sieg looked up at the night sky with self-deprecating humor.
Private pirate, League registered trainer, Team Rocket squad leader.
Sieg decided to assume the Team Rocket identity, taking over the deceased psychic's squad leader position.
Team Rocket's internal hierarchy, from lowest to highest, was: External Contractors, Rocket Grunts, Squad Leaders, Unit Commanders, Battalion Commanders, and Executives.
Anything above that was beyond Sieg's current knowledge.
Through his earlier probing, he'd learned that all squad leaders on this mission were strangers to each other, probably for operational security.
Of course, other factors influenced his decision. If Team Rocket discovered the psychic's death, they would inevitably investigate. Rather than risk exposure, it was better to assume the identity and replace him as squad leader.
Besides, Team Rocket's internal network contained countless valuable resources. While he couldn't afford to exchange for them now, it provided another avenue for acquisition.
After all, even with his current League clearance, he couldn't access pseudo-legendary exchanges, yet Team Rocket offered them freely. This represented a valuable expansion of his network connections.
When Sieg emerged from the cave to continue his journey, dawn was already breaking. His next destination was Fallarbor Town.
It was the closest settlement to Route 113, and if he wanted to return to the coastal cities, he couldn't keep wandering through forests indefinitely.
Walking through the forest, Sieg made sure to find training opponents for Sandile. Perhaps due to the early morning hour, wild Pokémon seemed particularly abundant.