I Lost.
Brock admitted quietly to himself.
But surprisingly, he didn't feel resentful.
After all, Nozomi had defeated him with sheer dominance during their battle.
He lost fairly and squarely.
"Your Leafeon and Onix are both remarkable… this is the Pewter City Badge."
Brock recalled his fallen Onix from the battlefield and took a small box from his pocket. From it, he retrieved the badge and handed it to Nozomi.
Nozomi accepted it without hesitation, pinning it neatly to his chest.
Watching the motion, Brock hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, "May I ask… did you catch your Onix in the caves of Mt. Moon?"
"Yes," Nozomi nodded without any attempt to hide the truth.
"Then I wish you an outstanding performance at the Indigo League Conference."
Having gotten the answer he sought, Brock couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
He had a strong feeling that Nozomi would shine brilliantly at this year's League.
"Thank you," Nozomi replied with a polite smile. "Farewell."
Without lingering any longer at Pewter Gym, Nozomi waved to Brock and departed.
Brock and the gym staff were left standing on the battlefield, surveying the mess. Their eyes met, and both recognized the despair reflected in the other's gaze.
How long would it take to repair a field in this state?
…
Outside Pewter Gym, the first thing Nozomi noticed was a group of challengers peeking around at the entrance.
What puzzled him was that their numbers had shrunk by at least ninety percent compared to before he had entered.
"What's going on? Why did so many people suddenly leave?"
Nozomi grabbed a nearby trainer and asked.
The trainer, unbothered by the sudden attention, cautiously glanced at the badge pinned to Nozomi's chest, then at the direction of the gym.
"They all ran off because of the battle between you and Brock."
"Ran off?"
Nozomi raised an eyebrow.
Seeing his expression, the trainer immediately grew nervous. "The tremors earlier… many were afraid the gym would collapse, so they left."
"So, in a way, I actually helped Brock out too?" Nozomi thought, releasing the trainer.
But he didn't dwell on it. His mission had been to claim the Pewter City Badge, and now that it was in his possession, helping Brock a little along the way wasn't a bad thing.
With that in mind, Nozomi waved to the remaining trainers.
"The battle field of Pewter Gym is currently damaged and under repair. If you wish to challenge the gym, please come back tomorrow!"
"Ah?"
The waiting trainers were momentarily stunned by his words.
"Damaged… the battlefield?"
Some wanted to question him, but recalling the earlier commotion inside the gym, they realized Nozomi's explanation made sense.
One by one, they sighed at having arrived at the wrong time and left the gym.
Watching the gym entrance empty out, Nozomi waved to the staff member who had just come out. With gratitude in the staff's eyes, he gradually disappeared from view.
…
Nozomi had originally intended to head to the Pokémon Center to contact Professor Oak before leaving Pewter City for Cerulean City.
But halfway there, he abandoned the plan.
"Not coming out? You've been following me this whole time."
Standing on a tree-lined path, Nozomi called over his shoulder.
He felt exasperated. How many times had this happened now? Why did villains always enjoy tailing him? And yet, their tracking skills were laughably poor!
"Hmph, so you caught us!"
A woman in a Team Rocket uniform leaped from the bushes.
"Hmph! Even if you've noticed us, you won't escape today! Trying to sabotage our plan? Kid, you're in serious trouble!"
A man, also in a Team Rocket uniform, emerged from another patch of bushes.
The two flanked him, standing like mirrored sentinels.
"Team Rocket?"
Nozomi raised an eyebrow. "Didn't last time teach you a lesson? You still dare to mess with me?"
He had assumed that after their previous encounter, Giovanni would recognize his strength and not send troublemakers after him. Yet, less than two days later, here they were.
"What do you mean, 'last time'! Kid, you disrupted our mission, and now you dare question us?"
The green-haired male shouted.
"…Hmm."
Nozomi studied the man and felt a vague sense of familiarity. The last time he had felt this was with James.
Thinking of James, he finally remembered who these two were.
"Cassidy and Butch?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know our names? Has our reputation grown that much?"
Hearing their names spoken, Cassidy and Butch forgot their earlier anger, exchanging glances with expressions of delight.
"…So it really is these two oddballs."
Cassidy and Butch were the rivals of the original Team Rocket trio—James, Jessie, and Meowth. Compared to the often-failing trio, they were more trusted by Giovanni.
Of course, in terms of quirks, they were about on par with the original Team Rocket.
Knowing who they were, Nozomi relaxed slightly. He didn't believe Giovanni's intelligence would warrant sending these two against him.
However, they had claimed that he had disrupted their mission.
Today, Nozomi had only visited Pewter Gym.
Which meant… the leak of Brock's trainer data from Pewter Gym was orchestrated by these two.
But why? What benefit would it bring them?
With questions lingering, Nozomi looked up at the self-absorbed Cassidy and Butch.
If there were questions, he'd ask them directly.
Feeling Nozomi's gaze, Cassidy and Butch tensed, wary.
"Hey, what's with that look? Don't think that just because you ruined our mission, praising us a little will let you off easy," Cassidy shouted.
"When have I ever praised you?"
Nozomi couldn't help but retort, though he immediately stopped himself.
If he engaged them on their level, he'd only lower his own intelligence to match theirs.
Thinking this, Nozomi decisively pulled out a Poké Ball from his belt.
Since he wanted to know their purpose, he could simply knock them unconscious first and ask later. After all, as villains in this world, Team Rocket had very few rights anyway.