"Legendary giants, huh."
Damian thought it over. Unlike Dawn and the others, he knew the legends in the Crown Tundra were quite different.
Take the legendary bird and Legendary giants Peony had mentioned, for example—the bird trio in the Galar Region was very different from the bird trio in the Kanto Region.
More specifically, you could think of it as different regional forms.
For example, as for the bird trio, Kanto Region's Zapdos was, as the name suggested, the real Zapdos.
It was classified as an Electric Pokémon, and the Pokédex described it as: "It usually lives inside thunderclouds. When struck by lightning, power surges through its body."
But Galar Region's Zapdos was very different.
Well, Damian thought it was more accurate to call it a lightning-running chicken than Zapdos.
Still, the Galar bird trio was, after all, a regional form change, so it was perfectly normal for its typing and appearance to differ from the original bird trio.
And to be fair, the Galar bird trio was actually pretty strong, and each of them also had a signature move.
As for the Legendary giants in the Crown Tundra, there was even less need to mention them—they were Regieleki and the Legendary giants!
They were nothing like Regice, Regirock, and Registeel.
"Yeah, I can confirm there are sealed Legendary giants in the Crown Tundra. As for their exact location, I don't know."
Peony replied like that. In truth, not only did he not know the location of the Legendary giants, he also didn't know where the legendary bird was.
"That's fine. It's not like legends are that easy to find anyway."
Damian chuckled, but without a doubt, that only made Peony a little speechless.
He looked at the Victini, Diancie, Jirachi, and Tapu Fini beside Damian, as well as the Lugia Caitlin had used in battle.
Peony seriously doubted the truth of that statement.
"Oh, right. Peony, as a new Admin in the organization, pick one of these Ultra Beasts."
Damian never forgot the organization's benefits.
And Peony naturally didn't hesitate. Ultra Beasts were strong; of course he wasn't going to refuse.
Peony specialized in Steel types, and there were three Steel-type Ultra Beasts.
Kartana, Celesteela, and Stakataka.
After some hesitation, Peony still chose the Steel/Flying-type Celesteela, since he really needed a Pokémon that could fly.
Kartana could also fly, but like Scizor, Kartana was four times weak to Fire, which was a little rough.
"Next, go to Wyndon and contact Gladion. Take over the Galar branch company president's position, then lead your subordinates in taking over the entire Galar underworld."
Damian said to Peony. Peony was actually pretty similar to Guzma; his personality was bold and rough, so expecting him to manage business was pretty difficult.
But Damian didn't need him to do the managing. There were professionals for that. He only needed to take the position.
"Huh?"
Peony froze, and Peonia's expression also stiffened.
"Boss Damian... I don't have any experience managing a company." Peony hesitated for a moment, then replied like that.
"No need. I'm not asking you to actually manage it. You're the boss; all you need to learn is how to listen to your subordinates and delegate to capable people. Peonia can go around the company more often and learn the ropes."
This time Peony understood. He only needed to hang the title.
And the person Damian really wanted to train was Peonia.
"Got it!" Peony agreed readily this time.
"But if our organization wants to take over the Galar underworld, won't we clash with Rose's side?" Peony asked curiously.
"Rose won't get in our way. He isn't that stupid. Going against us won't benefit him at all."
Damian answered directly. Maybe Rose would even help them out a little.
"Team Rocket is stronger than you think, Peony. Just go ahead and do it."
"Okay~!"
Peony grinned. With Damian's assurance, he was naturally at ease.
And once he ruled over all the Galar underground forces, he'd be the uncrowned king of Galar's underworld. He still wouldn't be able to stand on equal footing with Rose, but he'd definitely be a major shot!
Peony left with Peonia in high spirits. They needed to take the train out of the Crown Tundra first, then head to Wyndon.
"That's one action-oriented guy."
Damian chuckled when he saw that. A motivated subordinate made Damian, as the boss, naturally very satisfied.
"There's a lot of potential in the Galar Region to dig into."
Damian thought to himself. Galar really did have plenty of talent, but actually digging it up was still pretty difficult.
Still, fortunately, Team Rocket wasn't exactly an evil organization anymore, or this would've been a bit troublesome.
Peony was probably the easiest of these people to recruit.
"No rush. We'll take it slow."
Damian shook his head.
After resting for the night in Freezington, the next day Damian and the other three packed their bags and headed deeper into the Crown Tundra.
Although Peony hadn't investigated the exact location of the "legendary bird" and the "giants," he had gathered a lot of info, especially about the "legendary bird."
So Damian set their first stop as Dyna Tree Hill.
Dyna Tree Hill was also part of the Crown Tundra area, but the environment there was actually pretty nice, and there was no snow.
Dyna Tree Hill as a whole was a peninsula, surrounded by the big lake at Ballimere Lake, with water on three sides. In the very center stood a huge red giant tree, very beautiful.
Damian and the other three sat under the tree and prepared to rest and eat for a bit, since they'd been traveling for quite a while.
"Mr. Damian, is this also part of the Crown Tundra area?"
Dawn looked at the sparkling lake in the distance, feeling the warm wind brushing against her face. She lazily yawned and asked Damian curiously.
Crown Tundra—she had thought the entire area was covered in heavy snow.
"Yeah, but this is the southernmost part of the Crown Tundra area."
Damian nodded. The Crown Tundra was actually very large, so about half the area didn't have that much snow.
"I just don't know how to find the legendary bird, and I don't even know what type of legendary bird it is."
Caitlin elegantly took a bite of a little cake.
"Don't worry. Let's walk around first. If there's no clue, there's another way."
The method Damian mentioned was actually to have Shadow Mewtwo use psychic power to explore the surrounding area.
With Shadow Mewtwo's powerful psychic power, it could easily cover a certain range, then use that psychic power to scan for the strength of Pokémon.
That way, they'd naturally be able to find the Galar bird trio.
However…
"Chiu~"
At that moment, a sharp, ear-piercing cry came from far away and drew closer.
A flash of orange silhouette shot toward them like lightning. Its running speed was so absurd it was almost unbelievable. The gravel kicked up by its charge flew into the air, leaving a thick trail of dust behind it.
"What is that?"
The three girls, including Caitlin, were all a bit stunned.
"Chiu~!!"
The orange silhouette rushing toward them stopped in front of the giant tree on Dyna Tree Hill. Its extremely sharp bird eyes locked onto the four of them under the tree, then settled on Tapu Fini, and let out another shrill cry.
Its feathers were orange, with black feathers around its eyes, a long black pointed beak, and relatively short wings. The inner sides of its wings, the outer sides of its tail, and its back all had black spike-like feathers. Its two thighs were extremely powerful, and its sharp claws were especially striking.
"This Pokémon…"
Serena sized up the Pokémon from head to toe. She had never seen one before.
But just from its aggressive and ferocious presence, this Pokémon definitely wasn't weak.
"Galarian Zapdos, Fighting/Flying type, Strong Legs Pokémon."
Damian looked at this orange running chicken and smiled as he said its name.
"This is Zapdos?" Dawn was shocked.
That can't be right, can it?
"To be precise, it's Zapdos in its Galar form. Because its feathers make a crackling sound like electricity when they rub against each other, people see it as the legendary Zapdos."
Although that reason was actually pretty bizarre, there was nothing that could be done about it. That was just how it was.
And it had to be said, you really could still see a lot of Zapdos's traits in Galarian Zapdos.
That was just the difference of regional forms, so it wasn't strange.
"Chiu~"
Another loud, hoarse cry rang out. In the western sky, a black-and-red bird Pokémon rapidly spread its wings and flew over.
Its wings, head, and tail feathers seemed to be burning like flames. Its entire body was black and red, and it looked extremely sinister.
The black-and-red evil bird stopped in front of the red giant tree. Its extremely oppressive, malevolent gaze fell on the four of them below, and its slight head tilt looked as if it were puzzled—why were there humans here?
"Mr. Damian, what Pokémon is this?"
This time, Dawn seemed to have some guess, but she still didn't dare be sure.
After all, the "flames" burning on this black-and-red evil bird's body gave off a very strong sense of déjà vu.
"Galar Moltres, Dark/Flying type, an Malevolent Pokémon. It was named Moltres because it can burn up an evil aura like a blazing fire."
Damian touched his chin and sized up this Galarian Moltres from top to bottom, nodding with satisfaction.
It had to be said, Galarian Moltres really looked like a villain at first glance. Pretty good. Damian was quite interested.
Its shape really was burning with flames, but that sinister aura and gaze were simply completely different from Moltres, okay?
Dawn and Serena really wanted to complain. Instead, they were now curious about the last Articuno.
Where was Galarian Articuno?
"Chiu~"
Another shrill cry sounded, but unlike Galarian Zapdos's ruggedness and Galarian Moltres's hoarseness, this cry carried a proud, cold tone.
A bird Pokémon flew in from the east. It was a light-purple bird, with a crown on its head made of three purple wavy feathers. On both sides were black feathers like a mask, and its long tail feathers fluttered behind it.
Elegant, mysterious, aloof.
"Articuno?"
Seeing this purple "Articuno," Dawn spoke uncertainly.
Because this purple bird had many of Articuno's traits, such as those gorgeous tail feathers and the crown on its head.
"That's right. This is Galarian Articuno." Damian nodded.
"Galarian Articuno, Psychic/Flying type, a Cruel Pokémon. The beams it fires can freeze its opponent's body and rob it of freedom."
Hearing Damian's words, Caitlin immediately became interested, her beautiful eyes carefully examining this Psychic-type Pokémon called Articuno.
"Looks like our luck is pretty good. We've run straight into a 'gathering' of the Galar bird trio."
Damian looked at the three Galarian legendary birds gathered around Dyna Tree Hill, and the corners of his lips lifted.
"This is fate given to us by heaven, Caitlin. I'll leave that Galarian Articuno to you, how about it?"
Damian decisively began assigning ownership of the three Galarian legendary birds.
"I like it."
Caitlin naturally wouldn't refuse. Although it was different from Kanto Articuno, Galarian Articuno was still a legendary Pokémon.
Besides, she also quite liked the Psychic/Flying typing.
"As for Galarian Moltres, I personally like it a lot, so I'll catch it myself."
"As for Galarian Zapdos, Dawn, you and Serena can work it out yourselves. There are still special giants later, and they won't be any worse than this Galarian Zapdos."
Damian said to Dawn and Serena.
Since everyone who saw them got a share, and Regidrago and Regieleki—no matter which one—wouldn't be worse than Galarian Zapdos.
Mainly, Galarian Moltres really suited Damian's taste. Otherwise, these three legendary birds would've been just enough for Caitlin and the other two girls to be assigned.
"Emmm..."
Dawn looked at Galarian Zapdos, then exchanged eye contact with Serena, and could also see the excitement in Serena's eyes.
"Why don't we rock-paper-scissors?"
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