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A few minutes later, Tobias—currently disguised as a young aristocrat—took his leave. He walked away with a faint smile, and also with a file in hand.
"Hmph, I hope you succeed. This mission won't be an easy one."
Lady Chris watched Tobias leave the café. Then her eyes shifted to the thin folder still sitting on the table before her. After reading through it carefully one more time, she fell into thought.
The truth was, even Chris herself did not fully understand the faction she belonged to. It was immensely powerful, yet at the same time shrouded in mystery.
Years ago, Chris had been much like Tobias now—just an "outer member," recruited into the organization by one of its inner-circle operatives. Through years of work and effort, she gradually shed that status and finally became someone qualified to recruit outer members of her own.
The organization's structure resembled something like a pyramid scheme, or more accurately a spider's web. Through layer upon layer of recruitment, vast networks radiated outward from a hidden center. If even a single thread were disturbed, the whole web would immediately be alerted.
Tobias was one of the outer members she herself had brought in. Chris, in turn, was under the command of a higher-ranking inner member. And because the system operated strictly by "single-line" chains of command—no real names, no faces revealed, no personal information shared—Chris, after all these years, still knew only the superior who had once recruited her.
As for her own recruits, she had brought in eight in total. Only five remained; the other three had perished during their trial period. By the rules of the organization, she could recruit up to ten outer members at a time.
And if five of her recruits survived the trial period and advanced to inner status, Chris herself would rise in rank, gaining more slots for new members.
For any inner member, recruitment was everything. Benefits were directly tied to the success of their subordinates. By rule, each subordinate had to hand over ten percent of whatever profit they earned from missions to the superior who recruited them. Unless that superior died, the rule could never be broken.
Thus, inner members were desperate to find subordinates with true potential—people who could survive the trial and flourish. But such candidates were rare, requiring an exceptionally keen eye.
Tobias was one such talent in Chris's eyes. Based on his past missions and completion rates, if he handled this current task flawlessly, he would accumulate enough credit to earn a shot at the exam for inner status.
But now, Chris had discovered another candidate with extraordinary promise. The file before her contained his details—Sato.
Chris's attention had landed on him purely by accident, all because he had disrupted the mission originally assigned to Tobias.
That mission had been simple: defeat Daisy Oak and Clair of the Dragon Clan using cloned legendaries. Whatever benefit the organization sought from such victories, neither Chris nor Tobias had been told.
According to plan, Tobias was supposed to face Daisy in the semifinals, then Clair in the finals. But Sato appeared like a wild card—knocking Clair out early, and in doing so, derailing the organization's arrangement.
Worse, he had even ruined the manipulated match order the organization had bribed programmers to enforce. The head of Goldenrod Department Store, eager to stir hype, had gone along with it, letting the organization buy influence over the match schedule. But Sato's unexpected victories forced Tobias into an early showdown with Daisy.
In the end, the organization had no choice but to adjust: scrap the "defeat Clair" objective, and instead order Tobias to eliminate Sato, the newcomer who had upset their plans.
And so, whether she liked it or not, Chris had been forced to investigate him. What she found startled her.
The mysterious organization might not be widely known, but its reach was vast—after all, they were capable of cloning legendary Pokémon. They had eyes and ears everywhere: in the League, in Team Rocket, in every major power. Their operatives often held high-ranking positions, granting the organization access to valuable intelligence.
(After all, planting spies in rival groups was nothing new. Even Giovanni's methods were hardly original—though few organizations had ever succeeded in embedding agents at the League's very highest levels. [Koga truly earned his reputation as the "king of spies."])
By using her channels, Chris quickly secured a dossier on Sato. It covered his career to date, including his time in Team Rocket and his return from the mysterious island.
Of course, the most secret details—such as his direct connection to Giovanni, the Dratini egg in his possession, and his mission to infiltrate the League—were not in the file.
Even so, what was recorded was enough for Chris to draw a firm conclusion: Sato had enormous potential. With the right resources, his rise to Elite Four level was practically guaranteed—and perhaps even Champion level was within reach.
By regulation, she reported her findings to her superior, along with her intent to recruit him as an outer member. The response was clear: do everything possible to win him over. Even if recruitment failed, she was to secure a good relationship.
Thus, after her meeting with Tobias, Chris now turned her mind toward one question: how best to approach Sato?
The file described him as fiercely loyal and already highly valued by Rocket leadership, with abundant resources at his disposal. Ordinary incentives would not tempt him.
Yet Chris also knew one truth: absolute loyalty did not exist. Everything came down to price.
"This one is different from Tobias. His foundation is much stronger—he's already raised several formidable Pokémon, honed in that brutal island crucible. Those cloned legendaries, bound by control chips, won't impress him in the least."
"In fact, if several of his Pokémon are as terrifying as that Swampert he revealed in battle, Tobias' clones might not even be able to beat him."
"Haah… how am I supposed to recruit such a prize? This won't be easy."
Chris sighed, frowning at the file in her hands.