Silph Co. is one of the biggest manufacturing companies in the Pokémon world. They developed many products, including Technical Machines (TMs), Potions, Sprays, and much more.
Of course, what truly made Silph Co. famous around the world was the development of the core technology behind modern Poké Balls.
In a world where Pokémon Trainers are everywhere, creating Poké Ball technology was enough to make Silph Co. one of the most important companies in existence.
Although Silph Co. mainly focuses on manufacturing, it still stands alongside companies like the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, the Macro Cosmos Group in Galar, and the Berlitz Corporation in Sinnoh.
The headquarters of Silph Co. was located in Saffron City, the largest city in the Kanto region.
Inside the top-floor office of the Silph Building, an old man in a suit sat quietly in the president's chair with a grim expression.
"President, the guests have arrived."
A few moments later, the office door opened. The secretary walked over and quietly informed the Silph President.
The Silph President nodded and looked toward the three people entering the office.
"Damian, the boss of Team Rocket. You really are something."
The Silph President slowly stood up and spoke first.
"You're giving me too much credit, President. Silph Co. is just as impressive."
Damian smiled lightly.
"Please, sit."
The Silph President gestured for everyone to take a seat before sitting down himself.
The secretary quickly walked over and poured tea for them.
"I've been too busy with company matters recently. I failed to discipline my son properly, and he caused trouble for Team Rocket. That is my responsibility."
The Silph President took out an envelope from inside his suit, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Damian.
"Please accept this as an apology from me personally. I hope Mr. Damian won't hold this matter against a foolish child."
"There's ten billion inside. Consider it a business investment into Team Rocket as well."
Then, the Silph President placed a bank card on the table too.
The Silph President truly never expected his son to be stupid enough to provoke Team Rocket.
Maybe Team Rocket's image had improved a lot in other regions, but in Kanto, people like him knew very clearly how dangerous Team Rocket really was.
Even a company as large as Silph Co. usually tried to avoid dealing with Team Rocket whenever possible.
Yet his idiot son had gone straight to them himself.
When the Silph President received Damian's call, his entire scalp went numb.
No wonder his son had disappeared recently. The brat had already ended up in Team Rocket's hands.
"President Silph, you're being too polite."
Damian chuckled as he picked up the envelope and the bank card.
As expected of the Silph President. He really was generous.
"Don't worry. Young Master Lawrence III is perfectly safe. Since the President is showing this much sincerity, it would make Team Rocket look unreasonable if we kept making things difficult for him."
Damian smiled calmly.
The Silph President secretly let out a sigh of relief.
If this problem could be solved with money, then that was the best possible outcome.
At his level, money was just money. What mattered more was avoiding trouble.
"However, I still need Silph Co.'s help with one small matter regarding the League."
Damian suddenly changed the subject and looked at the Silph President with a smile.
The Silph President instantly felt uneasy.
"Mr. Damian... the conflict between Team Rocket and the League should have nothing to do with Silph Co., correct?"
The Silph President carefully chose his words.
"Silph Co. is only a manufacturing company. What kind of help could we possibly provide?"
His attitude was extremely humble.
He truly could not afford to offend either side.
Silph Co. might have enormous wealth, but wealth alone could not protect them from groups like Team Rocket or the Pokémon League.
If he had someone like Steven Stone backing him up, things would be different.
Unfortunately, he didn't.
So when facing a massive group like Team Rocket, the Silph President could only lower his head.
Otherwise, nobody knew what Team Rocket might do.
"Relax, Mr. President. I only need to borrow your company building and your cooperation for a little while."
"I won't hurt you."
Damian smiled faintly.
The Silph President's face immediately became ugly.
This guy was targeting him directly.
Half an hour later.
"Do I really have to do this?"
Holding a phone, the president's secretary looked at Damian with teary eyes.
"I already told you. It's just a phone call. Nobody is going to hurt you."
Damian leaned back on the sofa with a relaxed expression.
"...Then I'm really calling?"
The secretary looked toward the Silph President for help.
Unfortunately, the Silph President already looked completely drained.
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
Damian still smiled, but the secretary instantly froze in fear.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and pressed the call button.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello, this is the Kanto League Headquarters at Indigo Plateau. How may I help you?"
Hearing the operator's voice, the secretary's expression kept changing nervously.
Finally, she spoke.
"I'm the secretary of the Silph Co. President! I want to report a crime!"
"Team Rocket! Damian, the boss of Team Rocket, kidnapped our company president! They're currently inside the Silph Building in Saffron City!"
Her voice was full of panic.
"What?!"
The operator was shocked.
But before she could ask more questions, the call suddenly ended.
At the same time, she heard hurried whispers from the other side.
"Hurry and hang up!"
"They're coming back!"
"Hide the phone!"
The operator immediately realized the situation was serious.
...
"Not bad. Your acting was pretty convincing."
Damian praised the secretary casually.
The secretary sat weakly on the floor with tears in her eyes.
"Mr. Damian... what exactly are you trying to do...?"
The Silph President could no longer understand Damian's plan.
"Silph Co. is the biggest company in Kanto and one of the most famous companies in the world."
Damian spoke calmly.
"So tell me, Mr. President... what do you think the Kanto League will do after learning that Team Rocket kidnapped the Silph President?"
"They absolutely won't ignore it. And Team Rocket kidnapping the president of a civilian company is also crossing a line set by the League."
The Silph President answered in a heavy voice.
So he was certain.
The Kanto League would retaliate hard.
In other words, Team Rocket and the Kanto League were about to go to war.
In the past, this wouldn't have surprised the Silph President at all. After all, Team Rocket had always been the biggest threat in Kanto's underworld. A battle with the League was inevitable sooner or later.
But now things were different.
Especially because Damian had deliberately exposed the kidnapping himself.
No matter how he looked at it, Damian was intentionally dragging the League to Saffron City.
"The Kanto League will send people to rescue me."
"And if Team Rocket refuses to hand me over, then a direct conflict becomes unavoidable."
The Silph President looked at Damian.
Damian smiled.
"Exactly."
"So, Mr. President, you've become the trigger for the war between Team Rocket and the League."
The Silph President stared at Damian with wide eyes.
He didn't feel honored at all.
He felt terrified.
He was just a businessman!
Why was he suddenly stuck in the middle of a war between Team Rocket and the Pokémon League?
"Now then, Mr. President, I'll need your cooperation one more time."
Damian smiled gently.
"Please announce that Silph Co. employees will receive a paid vacation for the next few days. Have them leave the building immediately."
"I need the space for Team Rocket."
The Silph President silently followed the instructions.
Soon, the Silph employees began cheering excitedly in the company chat after hearing about the sudden paid vacation.
Looking at the messages, the Silph President could only smile bitterly.
...
Indigo Plateau.
"I understand. You may leave for now. Do not spread this information."
Charles Goodshow spoke seriously.
"Call Giovanni and the others here immediately for a meeting."
Inside the conference room.
"The operator received a report earlier. According to the Silph Co. secretary, Damian has kidnapped the Silph President."
Charles Goodshow looked around the room seriously.
"What do you all think?"
"Damian kidnapped the Silph President? That feels strange."
Lorelei was the first to question it.
"I heard Silph Co. recently completed a new Poké Ball called the Master Ball."
Giovanni spoke after thinking for a moment, though he quickly shook his head.
"But that still doesn't fully explain it."
"Exactly. A single Poké Ball isn't enough reason for Damian to personally make a move."
Lorelei frowned.
"And the secretary managed to report it too easily."
"Heh... maybe Damian wanted us to know from the start."
Agatha laughed quietly.
"He intentionally kidnapped the Silph President and intentionally allowed the report to reach us."
"He wants to force the League to respond."
The conference room became silent.
No one there was stupid.
Everyone quickly understood what Damian was doing.
"He's forcing the League into a direct confrontation in Saffron City."
Agatha narrowed her eyes.
"This battle... Damian clearly wants to make it official."
"Regardless of Damian's true goal, we cannot ignore this matter."
Charles Goodshow's expression became serious.
"Silph Co. is the face of Kanto's business world. If we ignore this, the League's reputation will suffer badly."
"Mio, issue an emergency evacuation order for Saffron City."
"Yes, sir!"
Officer Jenny Mio immediately stood up.
"I'll also contact the other regional Leagues and request reinforcements."
Charles Goodshow slowly looked around the room.
"This will be the largest battle since the Pokémon League was founded."
The room fell silent.
Everyone understood what this battle meant.
If the League won, Team Rocket would be heavily crippled.
If they lost, then from now on, the underground world would officially belong to Team Rocket.
The balance of power in the world would completely change.
Lorelei pushed up her glasses quietly.
She honestly wasn't optimistic.
But the League had no choice except to fight.
Otherwise, countless people inside the League would become dissatisfied.
Would the League really just sit back and allow Team Rocket to take control of part of the world's order?
Besides, the battle hadn't even started yet.
Why assume they would lose already?
Orders quickly spread throughout every region.
Hoenn.
Sinnoh.
Unova.
Kalos.
Galar.
Paldea.
Every region received the news.
Including Kanto itself.
"A battle with Team Rocket..."
The red-eyed young man lowered the brim of his cap after ending the call with Professor Oak.
He subconsciously remembered the Team Rocket Executive he had met in Celadon City earlier that year.
Red pursed his lips and dialed his younger brother's number.
Professor Oak still needed to contact Blue, so he asked Red to notify Ash instead.
Naturally, both of them assumed Ash would participate.
After all, Ash had never been the type to stay away from major events.
"Hello? Ash? Professor Oak wants us to join the Kanto League in the battle against Team Rocket."
"...Yeah. I'll participate too."
Red paused slightly after hearing Ash's answer.
For some reason, Ash sounded strangely unconfident.
Still, Red didn't think too much about it.
At that moment, he was already imagining the two brothers fighting side by side against Team Rocket.