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In contrast to Jessie, James was much more rational and fully aware of the limitations of their rushed production process, which was constrained by budget. They had chosen cheaper, less effective materials as substitutes, so the criticism was perfectly justified.
"I know all that," James said. "It's just the way things are when you're short on funds. If you're here to gloat or sneer, say your piece and leave."
Team Rocket had no interest in Luther's Pokémon. In their eyes, he belonged to a completely different world, someone beyond their reach.
"If you're running a business, you shouldn't drive away customers," Luther said while picking up a Marill plush toy. "Who made these?"
"I did," Jessie said impatiently. "Go ahead and mock it if you want."
"I'll take the Marill one. Can you make me a Milcery one right now? High quality, if possible?"
Setting aside his perception of Team Rocket as 'villains,' Luther had to admit that their craftsmanship was surprisingly impressive.
Team Rocket never turned down business. Jessie and James glanced at the phone Luther handed them, confirmed the appearance of the Milcery, and immediately pulled out their tools to get to work.
Luther briefly stepped away to buy cotton candy for Altaria and Joltik from a nearby stall. By the time he returned, James had already tossed the finished Milcery plush toy to him.
The grinning plush Milcery looked remarkably lifelike and utterly adorable.
After seeing Luther pay the agreed amount, James excitedly instructed Jessie to make several more Milcery plush toys and stack them at the front of their stall.
"Are you guys short on funds?" Luther asked after learning the prices of their goods.
"Always. Ever since the Main Tournament started, getting supplies has been a real problem," James replied quickly, his mood buoyed by the payment.
"Then I'll sponsor you."
Luther's words momentarily took James by surprise; he had been busy arranging their merchandise.
'Is Luther all right in the head?'
He knows that we're from Team Rocket; we've robbed Ash and his friends before, after all. If he's such good friends with Ash, there's no way he doesn't know about our history.
James wasn't the only one who was confused; Meowth and Jessie were equally bewildered, staring warily at Luther as if they were afraid he had some ulterior motive.
"Wake up," Luther said flatly. "If I wanted to take you down, you'd already be drinking tea with Officer Jenny at the Pokémon League. Do you really think I'd wait until now?"
Naturally aware of Team Rocket's concerns, Luther cut straight to the point.
"James, your family runs a business, so let's talk business. I'll cover your expenses during the tournament. In return, you'll give me a quarter of your profits. Does that sound fair?"
The moment the word 'business' was mentioned, Team Rocket perked up immediately.
It was a remarkably straightforward proposal, devoid of hidden clauses; it could be summarized in a single sentence.
James scrutinized the proposal, then questioned Luther about several key points that could potentially be exploited. He found no evidence of Luther trying to deceive them.
Jessie tugged at James's sleeve and glanced at Luther with a smile. Luther immediately understood and turned back to join Altaria and the others in enjoying their candy floss.
Jessie asked urgently, "James, what are you doing? Are you really going to make a deal with him?'
Meowth added hesitantly, "I still feel like this isn't right. He's backed by the Sinnoh League, but he's not official. He can't offer any real guarantees..."
James stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But don't you see? We could actually make more this way."
"Think about it carefully. We might be able to scrape together enough money before the main tournament to compete for a business slot with the Pokémon League, but we have no competitive advantage. The most likely outcome is that we'd be relegated to an obscure corner and left to wither."
Jessie and Meowth nodded, signaling for James to continue.
"As Luther mentioned earlier, the quality of our merchandise isn't great due to budget constraints. Tourists who come to watch the matches always want to buy souvenirs or gifts. If the quality is poor, we'll likely have no repeat customers, which means we won't qualify for better booth locations in future."
"So, his willingness to sponsor part of our funding is actually a great deal. Giving up a quarter of the profits is nothing compared to what we'll gain. Besides..."
James grinned mischievously. "Once Luther sponsors us, we can market items related to him with the slogan 'Even Luther endorses this!'" If he performs well at the tournament, we can capitalize on his fan base."
Jessie and Meowth's jaws dropped. After hearing this, they immediately shouted, "Encore!"
"As expected of James!"
"But he'll definitely be suspicious about the profit sharing, right?" Jessie remained concerned after the encore. 'He'll definitely impose restrictions on us or have us monitored. That's not the Team Rocket way.'
James shared her concern and decided to speak frankly with Luther.
Collaboration was acceptable, but forced interference would not be tolerated.
Team Rocket didn't hold out much hope. After all, in any partnership, everyone wants clear accounting. If Luther refused to involve others, he would undoubtedly remain uneasy.
"No problem at all," Luther assured them. "I'll just have someone keep an eye on things. You're free to do as you please. I'm willing to trust in your 'luck' on this."
Luther was sincere. Although the trio was opposed to Ash, they weren't irredeemable villains.
Moreover, the abilities of Team Rocket's trio were plain to see. In the business world, Luther genuinely believed that they were geniuses and true professionals.
Already short on funds, he knew that collaborating with them and securing a portion of the profits was a viable strategy.
Furthermore, the trio had a sense of pride. By publicly expressing his trust in them, Luther made it difficult for them to save face by swindling him, running off with the profits, or shortchanging him during the collaboration.
"Let us consider it," James said, turning to whisper with Jessie and Meowth.
Luther didn't eavesdrop on their hushed discussion. The fact that they said they would 'consider it' indicated that the deal was practically done.
Sure enough, James turned back to Luther and cleared his throat. "All right, we'll do it your way. But let's be clear from the outset: if any unforeseen circumstances prevent us from recouping our initial investment..."
"We'll share the burden together. I understand."
Luther's words completely reassured James.
Earlier, Luther had transferred the compensation that Hayata had given him to a new account on his phone, keeping only a small reserve.
As he handed the account over to Team Rocket, he whispered, 'This was the money I was saving to buy a house for a girl. Now it's yours.'
Jessie's hand trembled slightly.
"Trust... sometimes you only get one chance. Let's hope we can all live up to it."
Having finished speaking calmly, Luther clasped James's outstretched hand.
(End Of This Chapter)