Leon, who was in the middle of special training in the wild, was completely stunned.
A moment ago, he had just been scrolling through social media to relax a little. Then he saw something he never expected.
The junior he valued most had actually publicly announced that she had joined Team Rocket.
She had even posted a photo of herself with Damian.
This...
How did things end up like this?
Leon could hardly believe it. He had always had very high expectations for Gloria.
He even believed Gloria was his best successor.
Her talent, her personality, and her passion for Pokémon battles all reminded Leon of his younger self.
To be honest, Leon even felt that Gloria was more impressive than he had been at the start of his own journey.
That was why Leon had personally given Gloria a recommendation letter.
In a way, that made him her mentor.
And now, the junior he thought so highly of had actually joined Team Rocket...
"Why did it turn out like this?"
Leon came back to his senses. His feelings were complicated and difficult to describe.
He could not understand why Gloria would join Team Rocket.
Yes, Team Rocket's public image under Damian had already improved a lot.
Even Leon himself had a neutral view of Damian now.
But that did not mean Leon was not cautious of Team Rocket.
After all, Leon understood very well that Damian was a dangerous man.
Toward Team Rocket, Leon had always kept his distance.
"Gloria..."
Looking at Gloria's bright smile in the photo, Leon could clearly feel how happy she was.
But because of that, his heart only felt heavier.
How could he describe it?
It felt like he had carefully raised a precious daughter, only for some flashy punk on a loud motorcycle to take her away.
It really felt awful!!
At that moment, dusk was approaching.
Reshiram and Yveltal landed outside Freezington.
Damian and the others entered the village. The first thing Damian did was have Aether Paradise send over a Nihilego for Gloria.
Gloria happily took the Poké Ball and ran outside. She planned to battle and catch the Nihilego right away.
The girl was in an excellent mood.
She had finally understood just how generous Team Rocket really was.
When she first saw the Pokémon available in that app, her eyes had gone wide.
So many Legendary Pokémon!!
She could hardly wait anymore. After leaving the Crown Tundra, she planned to start taking missions right away.
She wanted to save points. She wanted to exchange for a Legendary Pokémon.
Looking at Gloria's excited back as she left, Damian could not help smiling.
"Come to think of it, I've almost brought all the original female protagonists into Team Rocket."
After entering the guest house, Damian lazily dropped onto a bean bag chair and suddenly thought of that.
That was right. He had just realized that many of the original female protagonists had already been drawn into Team Rocket by him.
Among the ones he knew, the only one he still had not met was Nemona from Paldea.
As for May and Leaf, he had met them, but there was still no real connection there.
As for the others from the remaining regions, they had all been pulled into Team Rocket already.
"Damian, Damian~!"
Speak of the devil.
Damian glanced at his phone. It was a message from Rosa.
"What's wrong?" Damian replied.
"Hehe~ I've officially reached Champion level! I want a promotion!"
Even through the phone, Damian could picture Rosa's proud, giggling expression.
That girl really was just like that.
"Very good~ Then I'll raise your authority," Damian praised her.
"Hmph! Of course. Damian, Damian~ I worked so hard. Is there any reward?"
The girl with the twin buns sent a voice message. Her crisp, pleasant voice sounded clingy and spoiled.
Not far away, Caitlin let out a cold, unhappy laugh.
Just from the sound, she already knew it was Rosa.
Other than Rosa, no one would act that spoiled with Damian.
How annoying.
"What kind of reward do you want?" Damian asked with interest.
"Hehe Actually, I don't need much. Damian, send me a shirtless video. I miss you so much"
Rosa said it in a completely serious tone.
Beside her, Hilda's eyelids twitched.
This woman was getting more and more out of control.
"You can't be inappropriate, Rosa. We're a serious organization run by serious people." Damian was genuinely amused.
Rosa really had too much nerve.
She simply said whatever she wanted, without even pretending to be modest.
"Eh?! I only want a selfie video of you, Damian. Damian, Damian~ How can you be so stingy!"
Miss Rosa was extremely dissatisfied.
She just wanted to see Damian's abs. What was wrong with that?!
"Rosa, our organization picked up another newcomer in Galar today. Her talent is very good. I think she might become your rival in the future."
Damian changed the subject very smoothly.
"Tch~ I'm not scared. If she has the skill, let her come and face me. If I lose, I'll wash up and warm Damian's bed tonight!"
Rosa made a very confident declaration, though the meaning behind it was a bit scandalous.
Damian was amused.
Fine, fine, fine. That really was a very high-stakes bet.
"As long as you're happy," Damian could only reply like that.
"Damian, when are we going to fight the evil organizations in Galar?" Rosa asked expectantly.
As long as they started fighting evil organizations, she could rush over to Galar.
She planned to grab this chance. She absolutely had to make Damian hers!
"Then I'll have to disappoint you. There are no large-scale evil organizations in Galar."
"Huh? No way. Is Galar really that bad?"
"What are you saying? How does not having an evil organization make a place bad?"
"...That's true."
Rosa paused for a moment, then thought it over.
If there were no evil organizations, that could only mean the upper levels of the Galar League had done a very good job managing the region.
It obviously was not because the region was too poor for evil organizations to bother with.
That was impossible.
"However, there might be a big operation soon. I just don't know whether you'd be willing to take part, Rosa," Damian said with a smile.
"Ha~ Any operation is fine! As long as it's with you, Damian, I'll even fight the Pokémon League without hesitation!"
Rosa hummed and made a very bold declaration.
That was right. In front of her love, even if the Pokémon League stood in her way, she would not hesitate for even a second!
"You actually guessed correctly. We really might end up going to war with the League."
"Huh??"
Rosa was shocked when she heard that.
Are we really fighting the League?
Nearby, Hilda was also stunned.
"Damian, why? Our organization shouldn't have any conflict with the League."
Hilda hurriedly leaned closer and asked in confusion. This was no small matter.
Fighting the League? Wasn't that basically fighting the side that maintained order?
"It's the League that wants to fight us. The organization's goal is something the League is unwilling to accept."
Damian briefly explained the current point of conflict between Team Rocket and the League.
If neither side was willing to back down, then a fight was going to become necessary.
"So this battle will probably be unavoidable. No matter what, I'm not willing to retreat. Team Rocket needs absolute control over the underworld. Otherwise, everything the organization has done so far will go to waste."
So that was how it was...
Hilda and Rosa both understood Damian's meaning.
Damian wanted Team Rocket to have absolute control over the underworld, using that control to keep the entire underworld stable.
The Pokémon League acknowledged Team Rocket's existence, but they were also worried that Team Rocket might lose control in the future because of how much power it held.
They wanted Team Rocket to give up part of that power.
"I definitely stand on your side, Damian! When the time comes, I'll help you deal with those League Champions!"
After understanding the situation, Rosa immediately declared her support without hesitation. Her eyes were full of excitement.
This was incredible!
Just thinking about getting the chance to fight League Champions from the opposite side of the battlefield made Rosa thrilled.
"The League..."
Hilda did not state her position directly. She only sighed inwardly.
In truth, her feelings were complicated. It was hard to say who was right and who was wrong.
But perhaps because she trusted Damian deep down, Hilda did not really believe Team Rocket would lose control because of power.
After all, the person at the top of Team Rocket was Damian alone.
And would Damian ever become greedy for the world itself?
Hilda did not think so.
As long as Damian had no such ambition, Hilda felt Team Rocket would never truly spiral out of control.
However, the League was clearly unwilling to compromise.
They had far too many things to consider.
Since that was the case, letting both sides fight to decide who had the final say really did seem like the most direct solution.
"Then I'll be looking forward to your performance, Rosa," Damian said with a small laugh and a smile.
"Hehe~ Then if I defeat a League Champion, can you promise me one thing, Damian? Just treat it as granting my little wish."
Rosa's voice became sweet and clingy again without her even noticing.
"Tell me what it is first."
"I want to have your baby, Damian!"
Rosa said it shyly, in a sweet and spoiled tone.
If she could get pregnant with Damian's child, would she still need to worry about Damian slipping away?
Hearing Rosa's words, Hilda froze.
Wait? How can you be this bold?