Indigo Plateau
Inside a vast conference room, a closed-door meeting was underway.
There weren't many participants—besides Luo Yuan, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Agatha, there were only a few high-ranking officials from the Kanto League who were responsible for regional affairs.
Giovanni stood at the front of the conference table, hands braced against its surface. His gaze swept across the room, his expression grave.
"The threat posed by Team Rocket is imminent."
He spoke with deliberate weight.
"Based on the reports we've received, in just the past two years, Team Rocket's influence within Kanto alone has more than doubled."
"And not only that—using Kanto as their center, Team Rocket is rapidly expanding into other regions."
"Last year, during the Hoenn incident, they absorbed both Team Magma and Team Aqua. Two months ago, Team Galactic in Sinnoh fell under their control. And just a few days ago, sightings of Team Rocket appeared in Galar as well."
"In barely over a year, Team Rocket has expanded at lightning speed—and yet we've been unable to take any effective action against them."
"The problem of Team Rocket has reached a point where it must be addressed—immediately."
When Giovanni finished speaking, everyone present either genuinely frowned—or at least made a convincing show of it.
Because to them, Team Rocket had truly become an urgent crisis.
Once upon a time, Team Rocket had been an annoyance—a persistent, troublesome rash, perhaps, but nothing unmanageable.
Yet in just two short years, they had quietly grown into a force even the League couldn't easily uproot—becoming a malignant threat at the very heart of the system.
Originally, with the League Council's efforts, the Kanto and Galar Leagues had been poised to join forces against Team Rocket.
It was a perfect opportunity.
But just as preparations were underway, the "Darkest Day" incident struck Galar, derailing the League Council's carefully laid plans.
And now, with Team Rocket's sudden appearance in Galar...
Even though leaked footage from Rose had suggested Team Rocket wasn't directly responsible for the Darkest Day incident, none of the people present fully believed it.
They were convinced Team Rocket's shadow lurked somewhere behind it.
Giovanni turned to Luo Yuan.
"Luo Yuan, you've just returned from Galar. What's the situation over there? Do you think Galar has the ability to resolve their issues quickly?"
In the ears of everyone else present, it sounded like Giovanni was asking if Kanto still had a chance to cooperate with Galar.
But Luo Yuan, hearing the true meaning behind Giovanni's words, thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Galar's currently in complete disarray."
"Before, the Galar League was managed by Chairman Rose and his deputy Oleana. But after the Darkest Day incident, Rose disappeared, and Oleana resigned from the League to focus on running Macro Cosmos."
"Right now, the Galar League is being run by Leon."
"Leon..." Luo Yuan paused briefly. "He's strong in battle, but when it comes to governance, he's inexperienced. I expect the Galar League will be preoccupied with internal restructuring for a long time. They won't have the bandwidth to maintain external cooperation."
Luo Yuan wasn't lying.
Under Rose's regime, Leon had been groomed as a celebrity figure—a perfect idol for the masses.
In terms of charisma and combat ability, Leon was outstanding.
But in terms of actual administrative skill, he was barely better than the average Galar Gym Leader.
Moreover, before Luo Yuan had left Galar, he had specifically instructed Oleana to take many of Macro Cosmos's top talents with her, deliberately weakening the League's middle management.
Without capable leadership at the top and with a hollowed-out middle, the entire Galar region had fallen into chaos.
The others might not have known the full story, but Luo Yuan had just returned—his word carried weight.
Upon hearing that Galar was no longer a viable partner, everyone's expressions turned to regret.
Without Galar's support, their position felt considerably weaker.
After all, they had all seen the livestream footage—Team Rocket's Tech Hunters capturing Eternatus had been broadcast for the world to see.
As it stood, in all of Kanto, aside from Luo Yuan, only Lorelei had recently bonded with a Legendary Pokémon—Articuno, after her expedition to the Seafoam Islands.
Meanwhile, over in Johto, Lance, along with Will, Karen, and Koga, were still searching for the Three Beasts—Entei, Raikou, and Suicune—with little success so far.
With such limited power, it was obvious they were in no shape to confront Team Rocket head-on.
But letting Team Rocket continue to grow unchecked would only make things even harder down the line.
"I see," Giovanni said, his acting skills flawless as he wore a look of regret.
"In that case, it seems we'll have to request aid from the League Council."
At those words, the atmosphere in the room soured visibly.
In the Pokémon League's loose confederation of regions, local leagues enjoyed a great deal of autonomy.
Each regional league was almost like an independent country.
And because of that autonomy, the League Council had long been trying to tighten its grip on the regional leagues.
Until now, Kanto had been able to keep the Council at arm's length.
But if they voluntarily sought the Council's help now—
While it would indeed strengthen their hand against Team Rocket, it would also give the Council a perfect excuse to tighten control over Kanto.
For many of the people in the room, that prospect was far more terrifying than Team Rocket itself.
Even Lorelei, who normally wasn't particularly sensitive to political maneuvering, couldn't help but frown.