"Mr. Damian, I think we can have a proper chat."
Hearing these words from Rose, Damian could not help but let out a light laugh.
"So, I wonder if you have the time, Mr. Damian?"
"When the famous Chairman of the Galar League invites me, naturally, there is no reason to refuse."
Damian agreed, of course. Rather, he wasn't really surprised by Rose's invitation.
Because for a person like Rose... nothing he did was strange.
After agreeing on a meeting place, Damian hung up the phone.
He began to think about Rose's purpose for wanting to talk.
But after thinking it over, the biggest reason was likely because of that matter.
This was a good chance to see exactly how much determination Rose could show.
The next day arrived.
Hulbury was a port city located in the eastern part of the Galar region.
There were many shops and restaurants here, and it stayed busy at all hours.
The location Rose recommended was precisely The Captain's Table, a seafood restaurant in Hulbury.
After entering the seafood restaurant, Damian went to the private room Rose had booked.
Inside the room, Rose and Oleana were already waiting.
"Hehehe~ Mr. Damian, I have heard of your great name for a long time."
Seeing Damian and the others walk in, Rose stood up with a smile.
He walked over and reached out his hand.
Rose was a man with a lot of mature charm.
He wore an expensive silver-gray suit. His black hair was combed perfectly, with a single lock of hair falling sideways across his forehead.
"Chairman Rose is too kind. Your name is the one that is truly famous. People everywhere in the Galar region are praising you, Mr. Chairman."
Damian shook hands with Rose.
He looked closely at this legendary Chairman of the Galar League.
"That is just because everyone is being kind. Come, let's sit down first."
Rose gave a light laugh and invited Damian's group to sit.
"The seafood in this restaurant is the most authentic. It is caught fresh every day, you know. It is very delicious. It's a meal you must enjoy if you come to Hulbury."
"Look, I have already ordered the signature dishes. Mr. Damian, you can see if there is anything else you want. You don't need to be polite with me."
Rose spoke with a smile. His attitude was very friendly and gentle.
Damian nodded. If he remembered correctly, in the game's story, Rose had also invited the protagonist to this same seafood restaurant.
However, that didn't matter right now.
"The Chairman is the President of the Macro Cosmos group. Being too polite with you would be a sign of disrespect."
Damian took the menu and handed it to Caitlin, Platinum, and Serena.
"Hehehe~" Rose smiled.
"Even though I heard Leon mention it before, seeing you in person, Mr. Damian, still surprises me. You truly are a hero at such a young age~"
After the food was ordered, Rose placed both hands on the dining table.
He looked at Damian with wonder.
He was truly too young. After all, Damian was only seventeen years old right now.
Yet, he was already famous across the world. Even the Pokémon League could do nothing against him.
Rose felt very helpless that such a genius was not from the Galar region.
"Champion Leon? He is also an excellent Champion. And Mr. Rose, you are the one who is truly admirable. You went from being a runner-up in a tournament to becoming the Chairman of Galar."
Damian spoke slowly and calmly. He looked at Rose with a smile on his face.
Just as Damian said, Rose's life was actually very impressive.
Years ago, Rose was an excellent trainer who came in second place in the Champion Cup.
Using that fame, he rose to the top. Slowly, he became the League Chairman and the leader of a large corporate group.
He introduced Dynamax into Gym battles, making the Galar League famous worldwide.
According to some rumors, Rose had also worked in the mines.
If that was true, then Rose's story was truly inspiring.
He went from being a miner to becoming the respected Chairman of Galar.
"Many people have their own unique talents. They just need a little bit of luck. My luck has always been quite good, which is why I am who I am today."
Rose spoke with a smile. This was why he liked to support children who were struggling.
He believed everyone had their own talent.
And facts proved that his choice was correct.
Damian gave a light laugh and did not say much else.
In a way, Rose's words were not wrong.
After some simple small talk, Rose finally got to the main point.
"Mr. Damian, I really want to know, what exactly is the goal of your Team Rocket?"
Rose's deep eyes looked toward Damian. His calm, mature voice was very comfortable to hear.
"Our goal?" Damian raised an eyebrow when he heard this.
"Chairman Rose, the Pokémon League has been established for over a hundred years. As of now, basically the whole world is under the League's rule."
Damian spoke confidently.
"However, the League practices 'kind' politics. This means that even if a person makes a mistake, or even if they do something extremely evil, they don't receive real punishment. At most, they are just locked in a cell for a period of time."
Rose looked thoughtful upon hearing this.
It really was like that.
"The League believes that human nature is naturally good. But facts prove that Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and all the other regions have their own darkness."
"Chairman Rose, under your and Leon's management, Galar is indeed quite peaceful. But can you really guarantee that there are no evil people in Galar?"
Damian looked at Rose.
"No, even I cannot guarantee that. The human heart is too complex. There are even many people who do the wrong thing while trying to be helpful."
Rose gave a sigh. He still remembered the incident in Stow-on-Side very clearly.
Bede had destroyed the ruins in that town just to find Wishing Stars for him.
But that was definitely not the result Rose wanted.
"Pokémon hunters, local thugs who push people around... actually, Galar is only better than other regions in one way: no large-scale dark organizations have formed here."
Damian said calmly. It was actually very hard for a large evil organization to form in Galar because the entire region was under Rose's management.
If anything really happened, the news would quickly reach Rose's ears, and he could send people to handle it.
So, trying to be a criminal in Galar was truly too difficult.
"So, what is it that you want to do, Mr. Damian?" Rose did not say yes or no, but asked Damian again.
"The Team Rocket I lead has always had only one purpose: to cleanse the underworld," Damian replied.
Cleanse the underworld, and then rule the underworld, right?
Rose understood. No wonder the Kanto League could never reach an agreement with Team Rocket.
How could they possibly compromise?
Before, even though dark organizations couldn't be wiped out, they were at least scattered.
They weren't a very big threat.
But with Team Rocket being the only power left, the scale would be no joke. Especially since the leader of Team Rocket was a trainer like Damian.
Plus, there were powerful Champion-level trainers like Caitlin and Zinnia.
The threat of Team Rocket was simply too big.
Even if it was just like Damian said, that Team Rocket's goal was only the underworld, could that really be trusted?
What if one day Damian became more ambitious?
"I see." Rose thought for a moment.
"The Galar region does not object to Team Rocket moving in. Furthermore, Team Rocket will be protecting the peace of Galar in the future. This truly touches my heart."
"Mr. Damian, this is a small token of my appreciation on behalf of the Galar region for the members of your organization. Please accept it."
Rose spoke with sincere words.
He pushed a bank card toward Damian.
"Oh?"
Damian raised an eyebrow. He looked at this card from Macro Cosmos Bank.
He didn't even need to think to know the amount Rose gave would definitely not be low.
"Chairman Rose, aren't you being a bit too polite?"
"It is only right. Personally, I think what you said makes quite a lot of sense, Mr. Damian. The League's methods are indeed too soft many times."
"If Team Rocket is there to help out from below, it's a win-win situation, right?"
Rose gave a meaningful smile.
"That's right. Chairman Rose is truly a sensible person."
Damian made a sound of approval. He raised his glass to Rose.
"The Galar region is still very beautiful. Mr. Damian, you can take a good look around this land next."
"Naturally."
The meal ended with both host and guest satisfied.
It had to be said that Rose was witty and humorous, yet mature and rational.
He brought up one topic after another, and there was never a boring moment.
When the dinner ended, Damian said goodbye to Rose.
"What do you girls think of Chairman Rose?"
Damian asked Caitlin, Platinum, and Serena.
"He is very friendly, but perhaps too friendly."
Caitlin was brief and to the point. She really felt Rose was being a bit too nice.
If he felt that Team Rocket was too much trouble to deal with, he could have just not shown up, just like what happened in Kalos.
But Rose not only appeared in person, he also didn't object at all to Team Rocket moving in.
He even gave them funds, saying it was a gift for the members.
Damian checked it. There were 10 billion PokéDollars on this card.
This was not a small amount.
"If someone didn't know the truth, they might think Chairman Rose supports Team Rocket." Platinum also added a comment.
Then she looked at the Dynamax Band on her wrist.
However, Rose supporting Team Rocket... that should be impossible.
After all, the Galar League was a member of the Pokémon League.
As for the Dynamax Bands, those were gifts from Rose.
With these bands, they could Dynamax their Pokémon in places with Power Spots.
"That guy Rose thinks very deeply. He wants to avoid offending either side, and he is also placing his bets." Damian laughed lightly.
"But this is good. Developing things in Galar will be very smooth from now on. If anything isn't smooth, we can just ask Rose to help smooth it over."
Regarding Rose's attitude, Damian felt it was actually quite logical.
After all, for Rose, the Galar region itself was the most important thing.
He loved this land very deeply.
On the other side.
"Chairman, are you not going to ask him to handle that matter?"
Oleana followed behind Rose.
She asked him with confusion.
"There is no hurry. This counts as a good start, doesn't it?" Rose spoke with a faint smile.
"Damian has ambition, and he is very smart. He will understand what we mean."
"We don't need to get involved in the conflict between the Kanto League and Team Rocket. Next, you should go to the Energy Plant and check on Eternatus's condition again."
"Yes, sir."
Oleana nodded.
Rose looked at the sea not far away. He felt very helpless in his heart.
Because Damian had appeared out of nowhere, Rose actually had reason to believe Leon would not be too against using Eternatus.
But because of the terrifying battle power of Damian's Legendary Pokémon, Rose was now more worried about something else: did Leon have the ability to catch Eternatus?
Originally, Rose was so confident because he firmly believed the "Unbeatable Champion" Leon could catch Eternatus, which would fulfill his wish.
He wanted to make it so this land of Galar would never have to worry about energy ever again.
But the performance of Damian's Legendary Pokémon made it so Rose could no longer believe in Leon's power with absolute certainty.
If... if he woke up Eternatus, but Leon could not catch it, things would truly become a disaster.
Therefore, making friends with Damian was the best choice.
As for Team Rocket moving into Galar, that was something that couldn't be stopped anyway.
If Team Rocket wanted to control Galar's underground world, that didn't matter.
"Leon~"
Rose sighed softly in his heart. He hoped Leon would not let him down.
"Oleana, do not 'feed' too much energy to Eternatus. Just try to ensure it maintains its life signs."
Rose thought for a moment and added more instructions for Oleana.
"I understand."
Oleana was surprised for a second, then she nodded.
Eternatus was a Pokémon that needed energy to maintain its life.
If energy was lacking, Eternatus's battle power would naturally be affected.
Through this method, they could slightly control Eternatus's strength so it wouldn't become too overwhelming.
After that, Damian and the others played in Hulbury for another day.
Then, they took a train toward the Crown Tundra.
The Crown Tundra was the most famous wilderness area in the Galar region.
It was a frozen land where steep, snowy mountains towered high. People lived in small villages, relying on each other.
"Phew~ the temperature has dropped quite a bit."
Looking at the scenery outside the train slowly being covered by ice and snow, a look of novelty appeared in Serena's eyes.
This was the most dangerous wilderness area in Galar.
Furthermore, it was said that Legendary Pokémon lived inside the Crown Tundra.
From that alone, one could tell that coming here for an adventure would definitely be very interesting.
"Yeah. Put on your winter clothes in a bit. Don't catch a cold."
As he spoke, Damian looked toward a young girl sitting not far away, flipping through a book.
She was wearing a school uniform, and she even had black tights on her legs. She acted as if she didn't care about the drop in temperature at all.
She's basically a superhuman!
Damian couldn't help but be amazed.
But he also recognized her. This girl was Peonia.
Peonia was the eldest daughter of Peony. She was truly resistant to the cold.
He wondered if she had some kind of special physical trait.
As for Damian himself, because he had received Arceus's blessing, his body was completely different from a normal person's.
He wasn't very afraid of the cold.
The train soon arrived at the station.
Damian led Caitlin and the other two girls, all wearing winter clothes, off the train.
"The snow scenery is truly beautiful."
Damian looked around. This place was the starting point of the Crown Tundra, the Slippery Slope.
However, Damian's attention was soon caught by two people nearby.
"Nia-Nia! You've finally arrived!"
A tall, muscular middle-aged man wearing an orange-and-yellow hiking suit ran toward Peonia.
The corners of Peonia's eyes twitched. She really wanted to kick her father in the face.
"Eh? This man."
Platinum was also attracted by the commotion over there.
When she saw the middle-aged man's face, she was stunned.
Because he looked so much like Rose!
"Peony. The previous Champion of the Galar region, and Rose's younger brother."
The corners of Damian's mouth slowly curled up. He looked at Peony's figure and spoke in a soft voice.
That's right. This strange middle-aged man who called Peonia "Nia-Nia" was Rose's own younger brother, the previous Champion of the Galar region, Peony!
Yes! Rose's own brother!
However, the relationship between Peony and Rose was quite bad.
The two brothers had not contacted each other for many years.
The reason Peony stopped being the Champion was because Rose became the Chairman of the Galar League.
So, Peony stepped down.
Of course, for Damian, this was actually a good thing.
"Another excellent executive. And..."
Damian slowly walked toward Peony. A person like this could definitely be brought into the organization, couldn't they?
Furthermore, even though Peony's eldest daughter, Peonia, didn't have much talent as a trainer, Peony's second daughter was not simple at all.
Penny, the hacker from the protagonist's team in Scarlet and Violet, was Peony's second daughter.
She was also a girl with excellent talent. Although she wasn't as good as a protagonist or Nemona, Penny's strength was still very strong.
As long as Peony joined Team Rocket, he didn't have to worry about Penny running away