Chapter 155: Team Rocket Really Are All Completely Unhinged
Two days later.
The training grounds behind the League building in Lilycove City.
"Ahh~ I lost again. You're so incredible, Leon."
Nemona looked at the composed, one-hand-on-hip Charizard on the field, then looked at her own Baxcalibur, down and out. She let her shoulders droop and made a face.
Either way, Leon was just that strong. And this wasn't even his ace.
Nemona had a decent amount of confidence in her own abilities — she was, after all, the newly-crowned Champion of Paldea's League, achieved just last year.
But recently she'd come to a genuine understanding. There were a lot of truly powerful Trainers in this world.
"Ha ha ha~ You're actually great, Nemona! At your age, I'm not sure my strength was any better than yours."
Leon laughed openly with his arms folded, his eyes full of honest appreciation.
In front of him, Nemona's strength wasn't particularly imposing — but she was only seventeen. Leon was quite confident she was heading somewhere exceptional.
More than anything, it was Nemona's heart for Pokémon battles — her genuine, unconditional love for them — that he admired.
She loved Pokémon. She loved battling. Even after a crushing loss, she never spiraled into self-doubt or moped. She cared about results, but she cared far more about the process, and she threw herself into it with everything she had.
That mindset alone told Leon that Nemona's future was going to be something remarkable.
His only regret was that Nemona was someone else's.
He found himself wondering — was there anyone in Galar this year with her combination of natural talent and work ethic?
He thought of his younger brother, and of the girl who had set out on her journey at the same time. He genuinely hoped those two would one day stand in front of him.
Beep beep beep—
His phone rang. Leon pulled it out, and his expression grew conflicted.
He thought it over, then answered.
"Hello? Chairman."
"Leon. How are things going over there?"
Rose's smooth, measured voice came through.
"Steven's group still hasn't located Team Rocket." Leon said, resigned.
"Still nothing? Leon, you've been in Hoenn for over two weeks now. Galar needs you back."
Rose sighed. He was, in effect, signaling that Leon could start making his farewells to the Hoenn League.
Leon was Galar's Champion. Galar needed him there. Rose could handle most day-to-day matters, but there were things that required the Champion's presence.
"I understand, Chairman. I'll be back in three days."
Leon's brow furrowed slightly. He kept his voice even. He knew Rose wasn't rushing him — Rose had already absorbed a great deal of the pressure on his behalf.
Still, Leon felt genuinely embarrassed about this trip. He'd come to help and had, as far as he could tell, accomplished nothing at all.
The Rustboro battle — he'd arrived late because he'd gotten lost. The whole stay had been covered by the Hoenn League's expenses. Steven had even found a Mega Stone for Charizard, which had actually boosted his strength.
He'd eaten their food, used their accommodations, and hadn't contributed one useful thing. Leon was a normal human being with a normal sense of shame. This was genuinely mortifying.
But if the Hoenn League couldn't find Team Rocket, what was he supposed to do? There was nothing.
"Is that Chairman Rose, Leon?"
Nemona had walked over, curious at the look on his face.
"Ah, yes — there are a few things in Galar that need me to be there in person." Leon said, resigned.
Nothing to hide. Honestly, he'd stayed in Hoenn far too long already. Over two weeks. That was longer than most vacations.
"Hmm… I heard Cynthia has the same kind of situation this morning. And apparently hers is even more complicated."
Nemona said it quietly, sidling up.
She herself had no such pressure. She was just a student at Naranja Academy. She had a "Champion" title technically, but it was an honorary one with no real authority attached — no responsibilities came with it.
So Nemona could stay in Hoenn as long as she wanted.
"Oh?" Leon blinked — then understood. His expression went slightly strange.
The Sinnoh League would naturally be even more anxious than Galar's. Not only had their Champion been stationed in Hoenn this whole time — the bigger problem was that Cynthia had been generating tabloid headlines nonstop lately.
The couples photos with Mammon, specifically.
As Sinnoh's top Champion — flawless poise, flawless looks, exceptional strength — Cynthia's fame and popularity were unrivaled in Sinnoh, with fans and admirers spilling into every other region as well.
Those couples photos had hit the Sinnoh public like a geological event.
Inside the Champion's office.
Steven sat behind his desk, frowning at reports — though his mind was nowhere near the papers in front of him.
Still no confirmed sighting of Team Rocket. Or more precisely, no confirmed sighting of Mammon specifically.
Finding Team Rocket wasn't the issue. There were small fry everywhere — members actively recruiting in towns and out in the wild, apparently offering quite decent benefits packages, by all accounts.
What Steven needed was Mammon himself.
Mammon was the one running Team Rocket's Hoenn operation. Without finding him, nothing they did was going to hit the critical point.
And most urgently — the longer this dragged on, the closer Cynthia and the others got to having to return home.
They couldn't stay in Hoenn indefinitely.
"Steven!"
The office door banged open. Wallace came rushing in.
"Steven, look at this!"
Wallace slapped a photograph onto the desk.
"That's—"
Steven looked at it, and his expression changed. In the photo: a lean, sharp-faced middle-aged man, glasses, utterly cold demeanor.
"Maxie?"
"Exactly! That's Maxie!"
Wallace confirmed it with certainty.
"Maxie joined Team Rocket too."
Steven's brow furrowed. The man in the photo was wearing black — not the standard Team Rocket uniform, but the "R" emblem on the chest said everything.
Maxie, just like Archie, had joined Team Rocket.
"That Mammon — whatever he said to those two, it worked. Both evil organization bosses signed on."
Wallace genuinely thought Mammon was something unnatural.
Wallace had his own opinions about Maxie and Archie, but they had both been the heads of major criminal organizations. They should have had some pride.
Team Rocket absorbed Team Magma and Team Aqua. Their leaders — rather than holding a grudge — had joined the victors?
Was it calculated patience? Waiting for the right moment?
"Where was this taken?" Steven focused on the practical immediately.
From the outfit, Maxie was no ordinary Team Rocket grunt. This was executive-level. If they could get their hands on Maxie, they might be able to force information about Mammon's location out of him.
"Near Mauville! There's a large Team Rocket base on a small island northeast of Mauville City!"
Wallace said it quickly.
"And I'm fairly certain Maxie isn't the only executive in that base. Mammon might be there too!"
He said it seriously.
"Remember, Steven — we ran into Mammon's group in Mauville before."
Steven remembered. That "coincidental meeting" in Mauville was how he and Wallace had ended up in couples portraits.
"Let's move. Get word to Cynthia and the others — assemble everyone. Mauville City."
Steven made the call on the spot, standing up.
Whether or not Mammon was personally at that base, it needed to be taken down. A base with a senior Team Rocket executive in residence was reason enough. And Maxie himself was capable — leaving him free was a liability.
If they could capture Maxie, they could pressure Mammon to reveal himself, or squeeze information about where Mammon and Kagura were hiding.
"Got it. Should we bring Drake's people along?"
"Yes. This is a large base — there'll be significant numbers."
Steven nodded.
"Right." Wallace went to organize the response.
That afternoon.
The Team Rocket base northeast of Mauville City.
Maxie sat in his office, expression icily composed, reviewing a document.
Since joining Team Rocket, he had to admit — his skills had found better application here than anywhere he'd worked before.
He had always been the strategic, administrative type. And Mammon had, without hesitation, handed him management of a major enterprise and a portion of Team Rocket's internal Hoenn operations.
As it turned out, Maxie was quite good at this.
An urgent knock at the door.
"Come in."
He didn't look up.
"Lord Maxie, we have a problem!"
"Panic accomplishes nothing. If you burst in like this again, don't bother coming back."
Maxie's sharp brow furrowed. He looked up and fixed the subordinate with a cold stare.
This one was almost certainly ex-Aqua. Only that muscle-headed idiot could have trained a subordinate this sloppy — even after Team Rocket conditioning, the impulsiveness hadn't been drilled out.
"I… my sincere apologies." The grunt swallowed hard and bowed quickly.
"Report."
Maxie adjusted his glasses.
"It's the Hoenn League, sir. Drake is leading League personnel — they're attacking!"
The grunt announced it urgently.
"Did Wallace and Steven not come?" Maxie's expression didn't ease.
"They didn't, sir."
Still holding back. I personally act as bait and they still won't bite. Is the bait not tempting enough?
"Have that muscle-headed idiot take people out to meet them." Maxie said flatly. "Then contact Executive Gladion. Tell him to come."
"What?!" The grunt blinked.
The Hoenn Elite Four had just come through the front door — and they weren't running, they were engaging?
"Still standing there?"
Maxie's arctic stare sent a shiver through the grunt.
"Sir!"
Maxie watched the door close, and pushed his glasses up one more time. A small ripple crossed the depths of his eyes.
"Almost exactly as Lord Mammon predicted. Heh."
A cold, quiet laugh.
"Going head-to-head with the Hoenn League… Team Rocket really are all completely unhinged."
Though when it came down to it — Drake, the head of Hoenn's Elite Four, had just breached the front gate. And here Maxie sat, perfectly composed.
I suppose I've gone a little unhinged as well.
(End of chapter)
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