First Dr. Zishan, then Sister. One was the leader of the Hodgepodge organization, while the other was its founder. With two major criminals coming from within its ranks, the International Police's reputation suffered a devastating blow in the eyes of the various Pokémon Leagues.
Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, and Unova, all of which had been infiltrated by the Hodgepodge organization, had subtly expressed their dissatisfaction with the International Police.
After Alder and Unova's Elite Four finished investigating their own organization, he made a rare trip away from Unova.
Ulter got to experience Alder's infamous temper firsthand. Alder nearly flipped over Ulter's desk, and he came close to pointing at Ulter's nose and cursing him for being blind enough not to recognize what kind of person his own old partner was.
The Hoenn Pokémon League's leadership, headed by Wallace and Steven, chose to wait and see. After all, Sinnoh and Kalos, which had suffered the greatest damage, hadn't said anything yet.
Under Diantha's coordination, Kalos received a positive response.
Before negotiations with Sinnoh began, Ulter, who had met Luther once before, made a special trip to apologize. His purpose was to dispel the resentment Luther, as one of the people directly affected by the entire incident, might still harbor toward the International Police.
Luther's parents had died because of them. He had been forced to kill using extreme measures, threatened by Evergreen, and placed in life-threatening danger.
All of it had happened because the International Police had failed to recognize the people within their own ranks and had failed to discover the truth in time.
That guilt was precisely why Ulter couldn't even raise his head when Alder slammed his fist on the desk and called him blind.
"The International Police has existed for decades. We built it with our own hands, and through our cooperation with the Pokémon Leagues, it gradually grew into a force that could not be ignored."
"Its reach extends to every corner of the world. Countless people have climbed frozen mountains, crossed dangerous wilderness, and ventured into places where no one else would go, all to protect Pokémon and ordinary people."
"Now the International Police is facing a crisis of trust because some of us betrayed our original purpose and went down the wrong path. So the remaining eight of us have decided to give up every privilege we have to interfere in the International Police's affairs and completely withdraw from the organization."
Cynthia paused halfway through eating her ice cream and watched Ulter's back. She let out a quiet sigh.
"So what Diantha said was true after all."
For the International Police to continue existing, the era of the Nine Inspectors would have to become history.
When Luther first learned that Sister was Leader Zero, he had still harbored some resentment toward the other Inspectors. But now, seeing the sorrow on Ulter's aged face, the last trace of his anger finally disappeared.
Sister's mistakes were being paid for by eight men old enough to be his grandfathers. And one of them had been willing to bow his head before Luther for the sake of the International Police's future.
"The International Police needs to exist."
Ulter gratefully bowed again when he heard this. Then, overcome with emotion, he grabbed Luther by the shoulder and gave it a couple of hearty pats.
Cynthia nodded as well. She picked up her phone and sent the message she had already prepared to the Sinnoh League.
Luther felt as though he'd just been struck twice with a pair of rocks. The old man's strength was absurd for someone with a head full of white hair. The pats nearly knocked Luther off balance.
"That one sentence from you is enough. We old fossils aren't going to repay your kindness with nothing more than a simple apology."
"We owe you. Whenever you need a favor, just ask. If it's within our abilities, we'll definitely help you settle it. If it's beyond what we can do, we'll still do our best. I hope you'll understand."
Luther liked the sound of that.
In the adult world, favors were the most valuable currency, and the hardest debts to repay.
Luther's plan to buy the island remained unchanged. Once Cynthia understood that, she got up and left. She intended to take part in tonight's negotiations and, while she was there, help Luther explain the situation to the League.
Luther didn't return directly to the Contestant Village. Instead, he grabbed some food from the shopping district to take care of dinner, then made his way to the small woods behind the Contestant Village.
The Team Rocket Trio had just finished business for the day and were happily enjoying their dinner.
With the Lily of the Valley Conference over, they'd switched from selling commemorative merchandise to local snacks, refreshing cold drinks, and desserts.
According to Mai, business was still booming. Those three really could find a way to thrive no matter what circumstances they were in.
The Trio had actually known Luther was back for some time. But since he'd been constantly coming and going without a moment to spare, they could only wait until he had some free time and came looking for them himself.
With more money coming in, the quality of their meals had visibly improved. They were no longer surviving on dry sandwiches, and the carefully prepared spread made Luther hungry again despite having just eaten.
"Want some?" James asked.
Luther waved him off and sat down on the grass, holding back Azumarill, who was already eager to accept Espurr's invitation.
If Azumarill joined them, there was no way the Team Rocket Trio would get enough to eat tonight.
"Sorry it took me so long to get back to you."
"No worries. We actually made quite a bit of money while we were here." James continued chewing enthusiastically, answering with a slightly muffled laugh.
"Have you made up your mind?" Luther asked.
Jessie beat James to the question. "Can you really clear our criminal records?"
"It won't be easy, but I can do it. I just pulled someone else out of a hole, too. Unfortunately, I didn't bring them along to show you."
In reality, Luther had already seen the records that the Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh Pokémon Leagues had on the Trio. Considering Jessie, James, and Meowth's current records, even their cases were no harder to clean up than Mira's.
But if he wanted them to owe him a favor, Luther couldn't make it sound too easy.
"If you can take care of our records, what do you want us to do for you? We don't have that many useful skills. You don't need us to catch Pokémon for you, do you?" Meowth stared down at the rice ball in his hand, deep in thought.
Luther laughed. "You don't have that many skills?"
They could build machines, repair machines, spot market trends, find different ways to make money depending on the situation, disguise themselves, conduct counter-surveillance...
If that counted as "not having many skills," what were ordinary people with only one specialty supposed to do?
"I'll clear your records, and you help me make money. It's that simple." Luther looked at them. "I'm probably going to be very short on money in the near future, so I won't have much startup capital to give you. You'll have to start from scratch."
"That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
The Trio exchanged glances.
After a long silence, all three put down their food and wiped their hands clean.
James took the hand Luther offered. "I don't know why you think so highly of the three of us, but since you're willing to trust our abilities and recognize what we're capable of, we'll keep our word."
Jessie sighed and immediately followed up. "Just so we're clear, if you ever ask us to do something too unreasonable, or once we've repaid what we owe you, we're free to walk away whenever we want."
Luther and Jessie slapped their palms together. "As long as you don't go back to your old ways after you leave, that's fine with me."
The Trio always acted as a unit. Meowth couldn't reach Luther, so he patted Azumarill and shook her paw instead.
With a major burden that had been weighing on all of them finally settled, everyone relaxed a little. The Team Rocket Trio, meanwhile, were left in a brief daze.
Without their Team Rocket identities, what else could they actually do to make money and show what they were capable of?
Jessie suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "We made quite a bit of money during the Conference, and you won the tournament and got a pretty big prize too. I also heard you signed a major business deal. So how come you're already out of money?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just decided to buy an island." Luther said it as casually as if he were talking about buying lunch.
The Trio's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
All three stared intently at Luther's face.
(End of Chapter)
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