"First question—what's the password for this suitcase?" Nozomi asked.
"The password is…" The Rocket executive obediently recited it without hesitation, not daring to hide anything.
Nozomi opened the case. Inside lay a single Poké Ball and a hard drive.
"What kind of Pokémon is in here?"
He examined the black Poké Ball marked with a bold red "R"—a Rocket-issued ball.
"It's a Larvitar's Poké Ball. It was supposed to be delivered to Boss Giovanni."
Larvitar—a Pokémon native to Johto.
Its final evolution was Tyranitar, a pseudo-legendary with a base stat total of 600.
"For Giovanni? What does he want with that?" Nozomi asked curiously.
"Boss Giovanni lost several Pokémon during the battle in Saffron City. He needs replacements. This Larvitar was chosen specifically for him," the Rocket executive explained.
At the mention of Saffron City, the man's gaze flicked toward Nozomi—after all, wasn't the person responsible for Giovanni's losses standing right in front of him?
"I see."
Nozomi immediately understood.
Back in Saffron City, Giovanni had lost two Pokémon—his Golem and his Rhyperior. This Larvitar was meant to fill that gap.
And the fact that Giovanni had chosen a Pokémon that could evolve into the pseudo-legendary Tyranitar made perfect sense—after witnessing the overwhelming strength of Nozomi's Dragonite and Metagross, he must have realized just how much advantage pseudo-legendaries held over ordinary Pokémon.
Unfortunately for him, the Poké Ball hadn't even reached him before falling into Nozomi's hands.
Sometimes, Nozomi couldn't help but think—Giovanni was truly pitiful.
Not only had his subordinates been captured one after another, and his plans repeatedly foiled, but now even the Pokémon he wanted to obtain had been intercepted.
At this point, Giovanni could easily win the "Most Miserable Man in Kanto" contest—Champion level, without a doubt.
Of course, even if he felt a hint of pity, Nozomi had no intention of returning the Larvitar.
They were enemies. Supporting the enemy was something foolish people might do—but Nozomi definitely wasn't one of them.
"What about this hard drive? What's inside?"
"Just… some data." The Rocket executive's eyes flickered—clearly, he wasn't telling the whole truth.
Nozomi casually lifted him into the air with telekinesis and smiled. "You sure you want to hide it from me?"
Seeing that smile, the Rocket executive shivered. Memories of Nozomi's terrifying power flashed through his mind. He quickly shook his head.
He decided there was no point lying—after all, even if he refused to talk, Nozomi could easily decrypt the data with time. Better to confess than risk hypnosis.
"It's an accounting ledger," he said weakly.
"A ledger? Of what?" Nozomi was intrigued.
What kind of records would Team Rocket's ledger contain? Pokémon trafficking? Extortion profits from Trainers? Those hardly seemed like top-secret matters.
"It contains financial transactions between Team Rocket and various corporations, institutions, and organizations connected to us," the executive admitted in despair.
He knew full well—if this ledger reached the League's hands, there would be no way back for Team Rocket.
Such a massive breach would enrage Giovanni enough to want him dead.
Nozomi hadn't expected that.
"Tsk… and you didn't destroy it?" he said incredulously.
He stared at the man in disbelief. "I've stormed into your base myself, and you still didn't destroy the evidence? What are you, a League mole in disguise?"
The Rocket executive nearly cursed aloud.
Did he think I didn't want to destroy it?!He had tried—but just as he was about to, a Steelix had burst through the floor. In the chaos, he'd hastily stuffed everything into the suitcase and shoved it under the table.
He had hoped to bluff his way out—but Nozomi found it anyway.
Nozomi pocketed the Poké Ball, closed the suitcase with the hard drive inside, and patted the despairing Rocket executive on the shoulder.
"Don't be so down. Since you've been so cooperative, I'll ask the League to show you leniency."
Nozomi actually felt like he was being kind.
Given the man's cooperation, recommending a lighter sentence was well within League procedure.
The Rocket executive nodded weakly—grateful, if only for the hollow comfort.
By the time Officer Jenny arrived to handle the situation at the Celadon Game Corner, it was already nightfall.
"Mr. Nozomi, we can't thank you enough! Without your help, we'd never have discovered a Rocket base hidden beneath the Game Corner!" she said earnestly.
She was genuinely grateful to him.
He'd already helped them locate missing children earlier—and now, he had exposed Team Rocket's underground base in Celadon City.
With the entire base taken down, the city's crime rate was bound to plummet—turning one of Kanto's most dangerous cities into one of its safest.
And that was all thanks to Nozomi.
"It's nothing," he said modestly. "Just doing my part."
"…"
Jenny glanced at the massive hole that ran straight through the underground facility and twitched.
If that was "just doing his part," then what had the Celadon Police been doing all these years?
"Right, according to the suspect, there's supposed to be some evidence…" Jenny continued.
Clearly, she had heard about the ledger from the captured Rocket executive.
"I'll personally handle this and coordinate with Lance," Nozomi said firmly.
This matter was too sensitive to trust to anyone else. At the moment, the only people he trusted with something this serious were Professor Oak, Lorelei, and Lance.
Jenny nodded, relieved.
Thank goodness she didn't have to take over this mess—any company or group financially tied to Team Rocket was bound to be powerful and dangerous.
She might be part of the Jenny family, but even she would've been in over her head.
"Will you be continuing your journey soon, Mr. Nozomi?" she asked, switching to small talk after the tension eased.
"Of course—but not tonight. I've been at this all day. I need some rest first." Nozomi stretched and yawned.
Even with his exceptional endurance, he felt drained. He decided to return to his hotel for a well-deserved rest—and maybe, while he was at it, use those reward draws from wiping out Team Rocket's base.