The dock area was in chaos.
Several police officers dragged a tattered fishing net ashore. Tangled in the net were two soaked, bruised, and battered individuals, along with a fainted Meowth.
At the other end of the net, several injured and weakly groaning Tentacools were also caught.
"Mayor! We've fished up two weirdos, a Meowth, and another fishing net full of injured Tentacools."
An officer reported loudly.
The mayor was already a bit frustrated about failing to keep Roy. Hearing this, his anger instantly flared.
He strode over and looked down.
Huh.
A red-haired woman with tattered clothes and bruises on her face from who-knows-what impact.
A blue-haired man, equally disheveled, shivering as he hugged his arms.
And that Meowth, with a patch of fur missing from its tail, lying belly-up.
Looking at the fishing net again, it was clearly a specially reinforced model. The injuries on the Tentacools inside were obviously from being scraped by the rough mesh during their struggle.
"It must be those hired by that Old Woman Jin to capture the Tentacools again!"
The mayor gritted his teeth.
Old Woman Jin had already been detained by Vermilion City authorities, but her lingering poison remained!
At a time like this, someone actually dared to act defiantly, continuing to harm Tentacools. They were practically walking right into his line of fire.
"Wake them up!" the mayor said coldly.
A bucket of seawater was splashed on them.
"Waaah!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Musashi and Kojiro jolted awake violently, and Meowth leaped up with a start.
"Who are you? What are you doing here? Were you hired by Old Woman Jin?" the mayor fired off a rapid series of questions, his imposing aura overwhelming.
Musashi was about to habitually shout "We're Team Rockets," but Kojiro hastily covered her mouth.
"No, no! We... we're just passersby! We accidentally fell into the sea!" Kojiro forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Passersby?" The mayor pointed at the specially made fishing net. "Passing by with this? And you just happened to fall right into the Tentacool habitat?"
"This... this is..." Musashi was at a loss for words.
Meowth's eyes darted around, trying to play cute to get away with it: "Meow~ We're environmentally conscious folks who love Water-type Pokemon~ We saw the Tentacools were hurt and wanted to rescue them for treatment, meow~"
"Treatment?" The mayor laughed in anger, pointing at the fresh rope burns on the Tentacools in the net. "'Treating' them with this kind of net?"
He couldn't be bothered to waste more words on these blatant liars.
"The evidence is conclusive! Illegally capturing and harming protected Pokemon, and during such a special period!" The mayor waved his hand and decisively ordered: "Take them, and that Meowth, and assign them to the labor reform team dismantling Paradise Resort!"
"Labor... reform?" Musashi was dumbfounded.
"Dismantle?" Kojiro was stunned.
"Paradise Resort?" Meowth was bewildered.
Weren't they here to get rich? How did they end up having to dismantle the very target of their get-rich scheme?
Several burly police officers immediately stepped forward and, without another word, fitted the trio with special bracelets that restricted movement but allowed for basic labor.
"Take them away!" the mayor commanded.
"Wait! We're innocent!"
"We really are just passersby!"
"Meow! Let me go, meow!"
No one listened to the trio's wails and excuses. They were directly dragged toward the now-ruined "Paradise Resort"... the Paradise Resort open space.
The once-luxurious seaside resort was now nothing but broken walls and rubble.
Large machinery rumbled as it operated on the periphery.
The finer demolition and waste sorting work inside was handled by the "labor reform" personnel.
Musashi, Kojiro, and Meowth, wearing matching orange vests and hard hats, were covered in dust as they carried broken bricks.
A supervisor with a dark complexion and stern eyes held a small notebook, watching them closely.
"Move faster! No slacking off!"
"Sort that pile of wood over there properly!"
"You there! Redhead! Stop spacing out!"
Musashi flinched from the scolding, nearly dropping the brick on her own foot.
She gritted her teeth as she picked up the brick, cursing Old Woman Jin ten thousand times in her heart.
"Damn it, how come there were such huge Tentacools in that sea? That nasty old woman didn't even tell us!" Musashi complained while working, sweat streaming down her cheeks, mixing with dust to create dirty streaks.
"Ah! We were so close! We could have been rich!" Kojiro wailed, picking up a broken decorative column, feeling his life was utterly bleak: "And now we're doing hard labor here! We're Team Rockets!!"
"Meow~ Why did it turn out like this? Shouldn't we be rich by now, meow?" Meowth struggled to push a small cart with a broken wheel, its tail drooping weakly. "It's all that Old Woman Jin's fault for giving us inaccurate intel, meow!"
Thinking of Roy and his majestic Pidgeot made the trio even angrier.
If it weren't for him, they might have succeeded!
"What a terrible feeling!" ×3
The trio lamented in unison, not daring to stop their work... The sun rose to its zenith.
The supervisor blew a whistle.
"Lunch break! Time to eat!"
The Team Rockets trio, who moments ago seemed on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, instantly lit up. With unbelievable speed, they dropped their tools and charged toward the lunchbox distribution point.
Their agility and nimbleness even made the supervisor pause for a moment.
After getting their lunchboxes, the trio found a shady corner and eagerly opened them.
"Wow!"
Musashi's eyes widened.
In the lunchbox, a mountain of white rice was topped with a thick, glistening layer of braised pork, along with green vegetables and half a soy-marinated egg.
A small side compartment held pickled vegetables, and there was even a separate small packet of fried small fish.
This food... was far better than their usual hand-to-mouth existence, often relying on trickery and theft for meals.
"Let's eat!" ×3
Forgetting all about appearances, the trio grabbed their chopsticks and shoveled food into their mouths.
"Mmm... delicious! This meat is stewed until it falls apart!" Musashi's cheeks were puffed out like a hamster's.
"Rice! Fragrant white rice! And it's still warm!" Kojiro was moved almost to tears.
"Meow~ Fish! Crispy little fish, meow!" Meowth held the small fish with both paws, happily crunching away, squinting its eyes with bliss.
After devouring their lunchboxes like a whirlwind, even mixing the leftover pickled vegetable juice into the last of the rice, the trio leaned against a broken wall, patting their full bellies contentedly.
"Meow~ Gotta say, it's tough work, but the food here is really good, meow~ And there's fish!" Meowth licked the grease off its paws, still craving more.
"Yeah, yeah," Kojiro let out a satisfied burp, a silly smile appearing on his face. "Who would have thought we'd get stable meals under these circumstances!"
Getting a hot meal on time every day, even if the work was hard, meant no worries, no scheming about the next meal... This "stability" gave these long-term, destitute, bottom-tier Team Rockets members a bizarre sense of comfort.
"You two good-for-nothings!"
Musashi smacked Kojiro on the back of the head and glared at Meowth.
"After this meal, we still need to muster our Team Rockets spirit!" She tried to puff out her chest, attempting to regain her former imposing aura. "We're going to become the elite right-hand men of Boss Giovanni! How can we be bought off by one meal!"
"Yes, yes, yes..." Kojiro agreed, rubbing his head.
"Musashi is right, meow..." Meowth chimed in softly.
Satisfied, Musashi nodded, about to say a few more motivational words, when her stomach inconveniently let out a loud "gurgle."
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
She looked at the empty lunchbox, reminiscing about the melt-in-your-mouth braised pork and the crispy texture of the small fish... "But..." Musashi's voice lowered, her gaze drifting a bit. "...this food really is..."
Kojiro and Meowth also licked their lips, chiming in unison:
"What a delicious feeling!" ×3!
That's what they said, but all three pairs of eyes couldn't help glancing toward where the lunchboxes were being packed up, wondering if there would be fish again in the evening.
The supervisor's cold voice shattered their daydreams: "Break's over! Get back to work!"
"Yes..." the trio replied weakly, dragging their seemingly much-heavier bodies back toward the pile of rubble.