"I thought I'd get to just sit back and watch for a while. Didn't expect someone to come knocking this fast."
Damian turned around, now facing the red‑eyed boy slowly walking toward him.
"Ara ara～ that look of yours… tsk~ this is pretty interesting."
The corners of Damian's mouth lifted, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
Light blue jeans, a red sleeveless jacket, a red‑and‑white baseball cap, a bag slung over his back.
Really familiar look, huh.
Wasn't this exactly the getup of Pokémon's first‑gen Champion, second‑gen Mt. Silver final boss, seventh‑gen battle legend—Red?
Heh heh heh heh…
"…"
Red noticed the boy's gaze getting hotter and hotter, and reflexively took a step back.
Those eyes were way too aggressive, making it hard not to overthink.
He wasn't interested in girls, but he definitely wasn't interested in guys either!
His heart belonged only to Pokémon!
"Don't get me wrong. My orientation's perfectly normal."
Damian raised a brow.
He didn't really have to explain, but he still did—he had no intention of being misunderstood by Red as some kind of perv.
Red: "…"
"Let me think… back on the S.S. Anne, the one who beat Archer and busted up his plans—that was you, right?"
Damian tilted his head slightly, smiling as he spoke to Red.
He'd chatted with Archer about it in his spare time and confirmed that the two boys who'd taken down Team Rocket back then were Ash and Red.
This world really was something: Red and Ash coexisted, and on top of that, they were actually twin brothers.
"…"
Red stayed silent, but his right hand clenched tight around a Poké Ball.
Under the brim of his cap, those red eyes stared intensely at the boy who was setting off every danger alarm in his mind.
There was something oddly familiar about him, but this should have been their first meeting.
"You're… Damian?"
After digging through his memories, the boy's slightly low voice finally came out of Red's mouth.
"Oh? You actually know who I am?"
"…"
Of course he did.
Unlike the somewhat thick‑skinned Ash, Red—meticulous and obsessed with reaching the peak as a Trainer—had naturally followed last year's Indigo Plateau Conference.
Damian's overwhelming performance back then had caught his attention for sure.
Red had even thought he might one day battle this powerful Damian.
He just hadn't expected that "one day" to come so soon—and under these circumstances.
And then there was…
Red's gaze slid past Damian to the beautiful Erika behind him, dressed in a bright floral kimono.
Erika looked back at Red as well, giving him a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of her head.
"Don't bother looking to Miss Erika. She isn't Team Rocket. She's my spoils of war right now."
Damian slipped an arm around Erika's waist and pulled her to his side, speaking with a light chuckle.
Pressed close against Damian, Erika gently bit her glossed, vividly red lips, her thin skin flushing once again.
Especially since there was someone else here.
She knew Red too—he'd just come to challenge her Celadon Gym yesterday.
Her slender hand braced against Damian's chest as she tried to break free—but as a delicate young woman, there was no way she could push him off.
Oh no… how was she ever supposed to get married after this?
Erika was on the verge of tears.
Mr. Damian, how could you do this?!
Taking advantage of her in private was bad enough, but now there was someone watching!
How was she ever going to find a husband after this?!
Red frowned slightly.
"Spoils of war"?
So Gym Leader Erika was a hostage?
"Let Gym Leader Erika go."
Red pressed the brim of his cap down, his voice low.
"Afraid I'll have to refuse."
Damian rejected him outright.
"If you want to save Erika, then try beating me first."
"…"
Red said nothing, but the Charizard behind him stepped forward, its steady gaze locking on Damian.
"If the info I saw was right, you only started your journey this year, yeah?"
A Ultra Ball expanded and opened at Damian's fingertip.
The island guardian deity from Poni Island—Tapu Fini—landed in front of him, staring calmly at Charizard.
"Pretty impressive.
Not even four months into the year and you've already gotten this strong."
Damian couldn't help but be impressed.
This was a monster‑level Trainer talent, no worse than Selene's.
Guys like this really didn't leave much hope for ordinary people.
…Well, he was a "monster" too, so that was fine.
"But your growth time's still too short.
Right now, you're nowhere near a proper match for me."
Red was strong.
At this point, he was already at Elite Four–level as a Trainer—after all, he'd beaten Archer and Ariana.
According to Ariana, he hadn't even struggled that much.
But with less than four months of "development" behind him and not yet at Champion‑tier, Red didn't really count as a proper opponent in Damian's eyes.
"Tapu Fini…"
Red stayed silent, only staring seriously at Tapu Fini, expression grave.
"So you do recognize Tapu Fini.
Yeah, it's one of Alola's island guardian deities.
But it's on my belt now."
Damian chuckled.
He wasn't that surprised Red could identify the Tapu Fini.
For a Trainer aiming to be the strongest, knowing the Pokédex by heart was a given.
You didn't need to memorize every detailed entry, but recognizing types and names was the bare minimum.
Red didn't know much about Tapu Fini, but he at least knew her name and that Tapu Fini was a Water/Fairy‑type.
"Pikachu!"
Red didn't dare underestimate him.
He threw another Poké Ball; with a flash of white, a Pikachu landed in front of him.
"Red's Pikachu, huh."
Damian looked over the Pikachu, its energy and presence both excellent.
It did seem a bit leaner than Ash's—though that might just be because Ash had been feeding his Pikachu a bit too well.
Among game players, Red's Pikachu was practically his signature Pokémon.
In the second‑gen games, Red was the hidden Mt. Silver boss.
When you wandered around Mt. Silver in HeartGold/SoulSilver and suddenly ran into Red, only for his level 88 Pikachu to jump out first…
It honestly broke people.
In a normal playthrough, players who'd just finished the Elite Four were usually only around the low 60s—
While Red's average team level was in the 80s.
"Come on then. As a little welcome gift for our first meeting, I'll let you make the first move."
Damian kept one arm wrapped around Erika's soft waist, in pretty good spirits.
Running into Red here was a pleasant surprise.
He hadn't been aiming to fight this version of Red specifically, but there was no chance Red would just walk away.
So he might as well humor him.
He just wondered…
Was there any way to talk Red into joining Team Rocket?
Damian weighed the odds of that particular idea in his mind.
~~~
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