"Sage Zinzolin, he's just an outsourced temp worker. Please don't take it too seriously."
As the words fell, a tall man wearing a half golden mask strode over at an unhurried pace.
His bronze skin looked even darker in the back alley. The striking brown cockscomb of hair on his head swayed slightly with each step.
His bright red jacket hung open in the wind, revealing the bold "R" emblem on the tight suit underneath.
This man was a Team Rocket executive—Vicious.
Standing at Vicious's side was an old man in a purple sage's robe.
He wore an exaggerated pointed hat, and his narrow eyes were squinted into thin slits.
This man was one of Team Plasma's Seven Sages—Zinzolin.
If Grey were here and saw Team Rocket and Team Plasma standing together, he'd only find it hard to watch.
After all, Team Rocket hunted and trafficked Pokémon, while Team Plasma's current "public image" was about liberating Pokémon.
In other words, sending Pokémon back into the wild.
In a situation like this, if someone recorded the scene of Team Plasma hooking up with Team Rocket and posted it online…
If Trainers in the Unova region found out, who knew what kind of reaction it would cause.
But right now, whether it was Vicious or Zinzolin, Silver felt like he couldn't beat either of them.
He could sense it from their presence alone.
At the very least, they were as strong as an ordinary Gym Leader—possibly around Erika's level.
And that old man, Zinzolin… the Pokémon he had on him didn't look simple either…
What now? Look for a chance to escape and bring reinforcements?
Silver swept his eyes around, but he couldn't see any way out.
They called it a back alley, but it was really a dumping ground.
One entrance, one exit—everything else looked like a dead end.
A complete trap. A true cul-de-sac.
"Yo, brat. Weren't you pretty cocky just now? Why aren't you making a move now?"
Vicious bared his white teeth. Looking at Silver standing there doing nothing, he burst into a cold laugh.
"Or what—do you think those two unevolved baby Pokémon of yours can find a chance to sneak attack me?"
Vicious had clearly noticed Silver's Pokémon.
Whether it was Murkrow, Sneasel, or that slightly pudgy Croconaw, to him they were nothing more than targets his own Pokémon could smash in a few punches.
Even if they rushed him together, it would probably still be over in a single Stone Edge.
"Vicious, this is Team Rocket's turf, but attacking a Trainer this young is still inappropriate."
Zinzolin's cane slammed heavily against the ground. His narrowed eyes locked tightly onto Silver.
Dealing with rookies like this was the most annoying thing.
Even if the kid mouthed off, you still had to leave some room.
Because if you just went straight for violence and then some elder came knocking later…
If it was someone weak, fine. But if the kid called in something truly nasty, it wouldn't be worth it.
Team Plasma had already had a similar idea before—once, they considered making a move on a boy who had a Larvesta.
And what happened?
He was Alder's grandson…
And back then, Alder's ace Volcarona hadn't been lost yet.
For a while after that, Team Plasma's days were miserable.
Back to Silver.
Zinzolin could keenly sense something unusual about this boy's aura.
If they went for the kill, it wouldn't just cause endless problems—it might also create an unexpected blood feud…
Not to mention, whether they could even succeed was another question.
This was Saffron City, after all—home turf of the famously powerful Psychic Gym Leader, Sabrina.
If this boy had any connection to Sabrina, and he ended up calling her over…
Then the cooperation Team Plasma had worked so hard to secure might go straight down the drain.
"Ohhh? So Team Plasma, who acts so high and mighty in Unova, is scared now?"
Vicious snorted. "You stood there in front of Team Rocket swearing up and down you'd have a chance to take Kanto, and now you've turned into a cowardly Squirtle hiding in its shell."
Vicious had always hated old men who acted self-important.
Team Rocket already had an old man like that—now that he was dealing with Team Plasma, he still had to deal with the same type?
Vicious felt like he was showing insane restraint and politeness just by not punching this guy in the face.
"Our king didn't come with us this time. It's better not to stir up unnecessary trouble."
Zinzolin kept a different stance on how to handle Silver.
Let him go. Even if he called the police, they'd have time to disappear.
"Tch. Team Plasma always does everything timidly and cautiously."
Vicious pulled a Poké Ball from inside his jacket, impatient, and tossed it to the ground.
"Relax. This will be over fast."
A blinding red flash erupted—and a massive, dark-green monster slammed into view.
Its tiny forearms contrasted sharply with its enormous body. Its vicious head was covered in spikes, and along its thick tail and spine ran sharp green protrusions like blades.
It was the infamous Tyranitar.
Silver: ?
Since when did Team Rocket executives upgrade this hard?
Back when he ran into the high-ranking core guys, their Pokémon were usually stuff like Weezing, Golbat, Arbok, Houndoom—pretty ordinary.
Even Team Rocket's boss used Persian and Beedrill.
And you—just a "normal" executive—were using Tyranitar, Johto's late-blooming powerhouse Pokémon?!
The jump was so insane that Silver's brain nearly short-circuited.
So Team Rocket's ranks are backwards now?
The weaker your Pokémon's base stats, the stronger you are?
But Tyranitar's strength was absolutely real.
At minimum, it was strong-Gym level—about the same as Erika's main team.
Silver tensed like he was facing a deadly enemy. Against something this terrifying, he had to manage the fight perfectly.
In a battle this lopsided, even getting grazed would hurt badly…
"Sneasel, Murkrow, Croconaw—battle positions!"
Silver barked the order.
Faced with Tyranitar's pressure, Silver's three Pokémon didn't retreat an inch.
"Heh. You've got some backbone."
Vicious raised an eyebrow, then let out a disdainful snort.
"Too bad. You're just trying to stop a car with your bare hands."
"Tyranitar—Stone Edge!"
"Tyranitar!"
Tyranitar stomped the ground hard, and the entire alley shook violently!
Countless jagged stone pillars burst from the earth, surrounding Silver and his Pokémon from all sides!
The cold-glinting spikes kept tightening the circle, ready to turn them into pincushions!
"Whoa—Sabrina, your teleport game is terrible. Why is it pitch-black here, and why is there Rock-type energy…? Wait. No—something's wrong!"
Before Grey even finished speaking, the Poké Ball on his belt suddenly shook violently.
"Riolu!"
Riolu sprang out first, agile and sharp. Both palms gathered a bright blue crackling force, and it slammed a Force Palm into the surrounding stone pillars.
With a burst of energy, the sharp spikes instantly shattered into rubble!
Only then could they finally see what was outside.
Giovanni's shadowy gaze cut out—and met Vicious's eyes in the distance.
"???"
My boss is standing with the League and wants to kill me—what do I do? I'm online. Need help. Urgent!
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