Hearing Meowth's words, Silas understood immediately that this was an important moment.
Jessie and James were still in shock, barely able to process the destruction around them, but they could hear everything. Their eyes moved between Meowth, Silas, Rex, and the remains of their fallen Pokémon with the hollow look of people who had just lost part of themselves.
Meowth, however, was fully present. He was still angry and grieving but eerily alert.
Silas looked toward Rex.
"We can let them live," Silas said calmly, "but only under two conditions."
Butch and Cassidy stiffened at these words.
Silas ignored them.
"One, they leave every valuable item on their bodies here. Two, Meowth gets to wound them both across the chest once."
His gaze sharpened.
"This is nonnegotiable. The only other option is battle."
Rex looked uncomfortable. For a moment, Silas saw it clearly on his friend's face that he realized the old Silas he had grown up with was gone.
Silas now carried a dangerous air around him, the kind that could only come from surviving life-or-death conflict and taking lives personally. Rex clearly understood that Silas had changed since leaving Pallet Town.
Still, after a moment, Rex nodded.
"Fair enough," Rex said quietly. "At least they'll live to fight another day."
Butch and Cassidy immediately tried to protest but Primeape moved first.
The fighting-type stripped them of their storage bags, cards, devices, and other valuables in several swift motions before tossing everything at Silas's feet. Then Primeape grabbed both Rocket members and held them firmly in place.
Meowth stepped forward.
Neither Butch nor Cassidy looked arrogant anymore. Meowth's claws gleamed as they extended.
The Slash was quick but painful. Two cuts opened across Butch and Cassidy's chests.
Not deep enough to kill but it was definitely enough to scar. Both collapsed backward, clutching their wounds while gritting their teeth in pain.
Meowth stared at them for several seconds before finally stepping away.
Rex glanced toward Silas.
"I wish I could stay, but I have to report on my mission."
Silas nodded.
"We'll talk another time."
Rex released Kadabra.
Before Silas could even scan it, psychic energy flashed across the clearing. Kadabra, Rex, Primeape, Butch, and Cassidy vanished instantly, leaving Silas alone with Jessie, James, and Meowth.
For a while, no one spoke.
The night wind moved quietly through the trees.
Jessie sat beside Arbok's remains with shaking hands. James knelt near Weezing and Weepinbell, staring as though waiting for them to somehow move again.
They didn't.
Silas understood enough to give them time. He recognize the pain from when he lost Tabgrowth.
Pokémon weren't tools, especially not to trainers who truly cared. Team Rocket members are trained to be ruthless but every powerful member including the boss had a profound bond with their team.
Arbok, Weezing, and Weepinbell had clearly meant everything to this rocket trio.
Eventually, Meowth lowered his head.
"Silas," he said hoarsely, "thank you."
Jessie and James looked toward him as well. They understood the situation clearly. Without Silas appearing when he did, all three of them would have died.
Silas crouched to near Meowth's level without missing a beat.
"Then repay it by living better."
Meowth looked up as Silas continued.
"What if I told you three that I wanted you to join my faction?"
Jessie blinked. James looked stunned. Meowth stared at him silently.
"It's called Spartan."
The name hung in the air for several seconds.
Silas didn't rush them. He understood this wasn't the kind of decision people should make lightly, especially not minutes after losing their partners.
But Jessie and James exchanged one look, and something passed silently between them.
Then Meowth nodded.
"We'll join."
Jessie wiped at her face quickly and straightened her back despite the grief in her eyes.
"If you saved us, then we owe you."
James's voice was quieter.
"And if you can help us become strong enough to never go through this again…"
He didn't finish the sentence, his voice thick with equal parts rage and pain.
He didn't need to.
Silas nodded once and just like that, Spartan was born.
"Then let's make camp."
They found an abandoned cave further up the mountain path, far enough from the clearing that the smell of blood and burnt flesh no longer clung to the air. Silas released his Pokémon and shared prepared rations with everyone while also feeding the Pokémon carefully.
No one ate much at first. Grief sat too heavily over the group.
Jessie and James remained quiet for a long while before slowly beginning to speak. The words came unevenly at first, then more naturally as the silence became too heavy to keep carrying alone.
Jessie spoke about wanting recognition.
Not pity.
Not charity.
Recognition.
She wanted to prove she was more than some abandoned girl scraping by on charm and stubbornness.
James spoke about freedom.
About escaping a suffocating family that cared more about status than happiness. He wanted enough strength that no one could ever drag him back into that world again.
Meowth spoke least.
But when he did, Silas listened carefully.
The small Pokémon simply wanted belonging and respect.
A place where being different wasn't treated like a crime.
Silas understood them far better than he expected.
Despite being younger than Jessie and James, he could feel their perception of him shifting. Earlier, he had been a strong trainer who saved them.
Now, slowly, he was becoming something more stable in their minds.
A figure to follow.
However this came with responsibility. Silas eventually shared part of his own plan. Not everything but enough to show he had a real plan in mind.
He explained that Spartan would exist inside Team Rocket, but it would not operate like the usual reckless internal factions. Discipline mattered. Loyalty mattered. Competence mattered. Members would be expected to grow, train properly, and support one another.
No pointless cruelty, wasteful infighting, or betraying comrades for petty benefits.
"If we become strong," Silas said quietly, "we don't need to crawl for scraps. We can claim resources properly and protect what belongs to us."
Jessie and James listened seriously. The conditions were appealing.
In truth, both felt as though they had finally found a sturdy leg to cling to before drowning completely.
Silas made his next decision before dawn.
Jessie and James had lost all their Pokémon because of Butch and Cassidy's setup. If they were to become useful members of Spartan, they needed partners immediately.
Silas released several Pokéballs.
"Zubat. Nidoran."
Zubat fluttered nearby while the male Nidoran appeared cautiously beside him.
Silas gestured toward James.
"This man will be your trainer from now on."
Zubat looked annoyed at first. James was clearly weaker than Silas. That much was obvious.
But Zubat had witnessed the despair on James's face when his Pokémon were slaughtered. It understood grief. More importantly, it understood Silas was not discarding it carelessly.
"You'll be treated well," Silas said. "And I'll still help guide your training."
Zubat relaxed slightly afterward.
The male Nidoran looked uncertain but did not resist. Then Silas released Teddiursa and the female Nidoran.
"Teddiursa. Nidoran. This woman will be your trainer."
The Teddiursa with Quick Feet immediately toddled toward Jessie and greeted her cutely.
Jessie stared at it for half a second then hugged it tightly. The Teddiursa squeaked in surprise before happily settling against her.
Only the two Nidoran reacted poorly.
Both began crying the moment they realized they were being assigned to different trainers.
Silas quickly understood the issue.
They were siblings.
He crouched immediately.
"You won't be separated," he explained gently. "Jessie and James travel together. You'll still see each other every day."
He looked toward Jessie and James.
"Promise them."
Jessie and James both nodded immediately.
"We promise," James said softly.
Jessie gently placed one hand over her chest.
"We won't separate you."
The two young Pokémon calmed almost instantly, their innocent trust restored by a few sincere words.
Silas then took out several Moon Stones he had gathered.
He allowed Jessie and James to take two mid-grade Moon Stones and gave them all the low-grade stones collected during the mission. That left Silas with four mid-grade stones for himself.
The gift stunned them since Moon Stones were valuable. To beginner Rocket grunts, they were almost unimaginably valuable but Silas viewed it differently.
Resources sitting unused had limited value. Resources placed into loyal hands could multiply in value later.
Jessie and James spent the rest of the night getting acquainted with their new partners. Their grief didn't disappear. It couldn't. But amid the sadness, small sparks of hope slowly appeared.
That mattered.
With alternating guard shifts, everyone managed roughly two hours of sleep before resuming the fossil search mission.
They searched for another half hour before every TR device vibrated simultaneously.
Mission terminated. Proceed to extraction point immediately. If unable to arrive within forty-five minutes, escape independently.
Silas's expression sharpened.
Something had happened.
The group quickly retraced their path through Mount Moon. By the time they reached the extraction point, three large helicopters were already waiting in a concealed clearing.
A dozen Rocket grunts stood nearby. Nine more were still unaccounted for. Silas immediately noticed tension among the gathered recruits.
One red-haired grunt repeatedly tried speaking to Officer Frank, who seemed increasingly irritated.
"So," Frank said dryly, "someone defeated several of you with only a Pikachu and Machop?"
Silas's attention sharpened instantly.
A powerful Pikachu.
The red-haired girl nodded fiercely.
"I'm telling you, sir. That Pikachu was abnormal."
She quickly described the trainer.
Black hair, young, energetic, and unreasonable reckless with a powerful Pikachu that always rides on his shoulder.
Silas immediately recognized the description.
Ash Ketchum.
He had wondered several times why he kept encountering Gary but had never crossed paths with Ash.
Apparently, Ash had been busy causing chaos elsewhere.
With multiple grunts corroborating the story, Frank finally accepted it as truth.
The Pikachu trainer had defeated six Rocket grunts and taken both fossils discovered during the mission. Worse, authorities from Pewter City were already mobilizing, making continued operations impossible.
The red-haired recruit, Andra, had at least discovered several low-grade Moon Stones.
Frank praised her publicly.
"Good work, recruit. We need more grunts who show initiative."
Then Frank's gaze shifted toward Jessie and James. His expression immediately soured but before he could speak, Silas stepped forward.
"This group is with me now, sir."
The statement landed clearly. Frank understood the meaning immediately. Jessie and James were now Silas's subordinates.
Since Silas had been personally recruited by an Admin, Frank clearly chose not to antagonize him unnecessarily. By extension, Jessie and James now stood under a degree of protection.
Normally, hiding the connection might have been wiser. Silas had chosen otherwise.
Open association carried risks, but it also offered advantages. Other Rocket members would respect him more for acquiring subordinates, and those subordinates would benefit from the shadow of Archer's backing.
To Frank's surprise, Jessie and James had made sizable contributions in Moon Stones, second only to Silas. The discovery clearly improved their standing.
Once the time limit expired, the group boarded the helicopters and lifted away from Mount Moon under cover of night.
During the ride, the grunts quietly exchanged stories about what they encountered inside the mountain.
One recruit described a Parasect colony that nearly wiped out his squad using Sleep Powder and Poison Powder in combination. He kept eating Pecha Berry after Pecha Berry even while speaking, clearly still paranoid about lingering toxins.
Silas listened quietly while reviewing everything that happened then Frank approached and handed him a phone.
Silas accepted it and placed it against his ear.
"I heard your new squad performed well."
The smooth voice on the other end belonged to Archer.
Silas straightened up.
"You will be rewarded according to your contribution."
"Thank you, sir."
Silas maintained an even tone.
Archer was one of the few people in Team Rocket he respected genuinely.
"I see success hasn't gone to your head," Archer said. "Good."
A brief pause followed.
"I'll be quick. You earned an opportunity to prove yourself with the next mission."
Silas listened carefully.
"North of Cerulean City lives a young man named Bill. He is a genius in teleportation technology and has successfully created a long-range teleportation device."
Archer's voice remained calm.
"We want you to steal the blueprints, steal the device itself, or, if possible, bring Bill into the fold."
Silas's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Further details will be on your device."
Archer hung up without waiting for a response.
Silas opened the TR device immediately. A more detailed mission breakdown appeared.
Team Rocket already had assets operating within Cerulean City. Silas's role was to use the chaos they stirred up to steal from Bill or befriend him, depending on which route seemed more practical.
If Silas believed Bill could be recruited, he could arrange a meeting with a higher-ranking officer.
There was also mention of an underground market auction scheduled in roughly one month. Rumors claimed rare Pokémon from other regions and valuable resources would appear there.
Bill, as a known Pokémaniac, would almost certainly be tempted by the opportunity.
Silas had to admit it, Team Rocket was thorough.
The helicopter eventually landed in a clearing south of Cerulean City beneath the cover of night. From there, the remaining grunts walked half a mile to a seemingly ordinary building.
A Pokémon Daycare.
Silas quickly realized it was a front. Behind the harmless exterior, the facility belonged to Team Rocket.
The operation itself was morally gray in a way that made Silas uncomfortable but not surprised. Pokémon left at certain daycares were treated well, fed properly, and even strengthened through controlled care but quality Pokémon were also quietly used for breeding.
Targeted pairings.
Selective egg production.
Occasionally, aphrodisiacs mixed into food to encourage specific matches.
To Team Rocket, it was efficient resource generation.
To Silas, it was another reminder that the organization operated in shades of gray dark enough to swallow weaker consciences.
Still, this was one of the major ways Team Rocket produced quality Pokémon at scale.
There were daycares scattered throughout Kanto and Johto. Roughly a third belonged to Team Rocket.
Jessie and James didn't seem to mind staying there for the night, especially after everything that happened. Silas didn't object either. He intended to train them and build them into useful subordinates, not have them live under him constantly.
They agreed to meet in the facility's training area the next morning.
Silas, however, still possessed an official trainer identity that allowed him to leave without issue.
Later that night, he checked into the Pokémon Center Trainer Inn in Cerulean City.
The building felt safe in a way the daycare did not. There was always a powerful Jenny guarding Pokémon Centers in towns with gyms.
Silas slept comfortably that night. For once, under legitimate protection.