"If you don't want me to call the police, then hand over some money," Tetsuya said bluntly.
The managers looked at one another, seemingly having some difficulty they could not speak of.
Tetsuya sneered. "If you can't even make a decision about something like this… then I'll let Officer Jenny deal with you."
Just as the managers were about to speak, someone suddenly walked over. "My, my… you guys really have a death wish. You even dare provoke Tetsuya."
Tetsuya immediately became vigilant. Anyone who could directly call out his name and and delivering such a cliché line must know about his capacities. For this person to still show himself meant he must have some way of dealing with him.
"Tetsuya, there's no need to be alarmed. I'm Archer." Once the man drew closer, Tetsuya saw that it was indeed Team Rocket Admin Archer.
"So it's you, Archer… It's been more than a year since we last met, and you haven't changed a bit." Tetsuya now understood. That Black Market had already been completely taken over by Team Rocket. No wonder the prices were monopolized as well!
"So you're a friend of Archer-sama…" The other eight managers, now Team Rocket members, hurriedly greeted him, their expressions fawning.
Archer merely waved his hand and directly sent them away.
"Archer, I doubt you appeared at this time just to get me out of trouble," Tetsuya said.
"I already knew about what happened to you in the market. From now on, if you have any Pokémon you want to sell, just come directly to me. How about I buy all six Scyther for 200k?" Archer said.
Tetsuya glanced at Archer and said, "That's quite a bit higher than the market price for all of them…"
"Of course. Giovanni[1]¹ also has something he needs your help with, and it's something you'll definitely agree to help with," Archer said confidently.
"Oh? Something I'll definitely help with? Let's hear it." Tetsuya was also quite curious. Of course, Archer's own insight was not enough for him to say something like this. It had definitely been something Giovanni instructed him to handle.
"Aoi Maiko. You have a grudge against her, don't you, Tetsuya~?" Archer said.
"…What happened to her? Wasn't she doing quite well in Team Rocket?" Tetsuya said.
"Hmph! In any case, she's already seriously disrupted Team Rocket's management, and she completely disregards Team Rocket's rules. Giovanni has no choice but to get rid of her.
Both of her main Pokémon are already dead, but she fled into the Safari Zone's jurisdiction. We can't send a large number of Rockets in there at all, so I'd like to ask you, Tetsuya, to help us get rid of her." Archer said.
'…' "Aoi Maiko… It is time for her to die." Tetsuya muttered. Archer had no reason to deceive him. Maiko had already lost both of her main Pokémon and had fled hastily into the Safari Zone. Tetsuya was completely confident that he could defeat her.
Of the three people who had harmed him back then, the only one he now had a chance to deal with was Aoi Maiko.
"I'll take care of it… But make sure the people you have following her stay close! Don't lose the target," Tetsuya said.
"Don't worry about that. We'll stay in contact at all times. There'll definitely be news within a week. Also, the 200k will be transferred to your card shortly. I assume I can take those six Scyther with me now…?" Archer said.
"Mm, I heard Team Rocket has been recruiting recently?" Tetsuya asked.
"What, are you interested?"
"Archer, you can recommend the two leaders of Sunnytown's… ugh, punk gang. Jessie and James," Tetsuya said.
"They're already under consideration," Archer said.
Tetsuya nodded. Thinking about it, those two really did have their own exceptional "qualities".
Tetsuya then handed the six Scyther directly over to Archer. All he needed to do now was wait for the money to arrive.
"I'll be waiting for the news, Archer."
---◓---
By the time he returned to the Pokémon Center, the money had already arrived in his account. Next, he needed to prepare to hunt down Aoi Maiko in the Safari Zone. The entire area was under the League's control, and Rangers or Investigators could appear at any time.
The reason Aoi Maiko had fled into a place like that was because she knew Team Rocket would not dare enter the Safari Zone in force. At most, they could send one or two disguised grunts, and Rockets like that were no match for Aoi Maiko at all!
Meanwhile, Aoi Maiko now possessed many of Team Rocket's secrets…
That was why Giovanni was so anxious to get rid of her. However, Maiko was, after all, at the Elite Four level, and even after a massive effort, they had only managed to eliminate two of her Pokémon.
There were not many Trainers in Team Rocket who could currently contend with Maiko in a one-on-one fight. Now that she had lost her main Pokémon, Tetsuya was perfectly suited to make a move. Giovanni had long known about the grudge between Tetsuya and Aoi Maiko. Otherwise, he would not have felt comfortable entrusting this matter to Tetsuya…
After learning about Tetsuya's deeds, Nurse Joy naturally gave Mamoswine, Ditto, and Miltank the best possible care, and within three days, they had completely recovered.
Now all Tetsuya needed to do was wait for news from Archer.
Another two days passed before Archer sent Tetsuya a message. Aoi Maiko was near Laramie Ranch and was very likely planning to steal the Laramie Family's Pokémon to help her escape.
Laramie Ranch was vast. The Laramie Family specialized in raising Pokémon skilled at rapid movement for the League, and this was not limited to Pokémon that traveled on land, but also included those that flew through the sky.
Every year, the Laramie Family selected outstanding Pokémon to hand over to the League. These Pokémon were also essential in battle.
Investigators would generally train to coordinate with these Pokémon during their training, such as Rapidash for galloping across the ground and Pidgeot for flying through the sky. They were indispensable for both pursuit and retreat.
After receiving Archer's message, Tetsuya packed his things, replenished his supplies, and headed toward Laramie Ranch.
---◓---
Flying through the air on Golurk was indeed far too conspicuous, but Tetsuya had plenty of means of transportation. With Ditto Transforming into Rapidash, as long as the road was clear, its speed was not something an average Rapidash could match.
In just one day, he had already reached the forested area in front of Laramie Ranch. The Pokémon here were all protected as well. Walking along the main road, he would encounter Ranger outposts where they might even check his identity. Maiko certainly would not travel along a road like this.
Night fell just as Tetsuya reached the vicinity of an outpost, where lights were still shining. However, Tetsuya did not want to have too much contact with these Rangers, so he simply set up his tent some distance away.
After an exhausting day, what Ditto needed most was a cup of Miltank's milk. Once everyone had eaten dinner, they settled down to rest.
Early the next morning, Tetsuya heard the commotion from the Rangers. It was probably their morning training. Tetsuya got up as well, packed away his tent, and looked into the distance.
The large group of Rangers began dispersing in every direction. It seemed they had received some kind of mission.
Tetsuya sent out all of his Pokémon and prepared to eat breakfast, but one Ranger came running directly toward him…
•.
•.
¹. I hadn't noticed it before, but when I looked into it, well, at least in the games, Archer addresses Giovanni only by his name, at most, he occasionally adds "boss" or "sir".
[1] I hadn’t noticed it before, but when I looked into it, well, at least in the games, Archer addresses Giovanni only by his name, at most, he occasionally adds "boss" or "sir".