"I have to get to the bottom of this!"
Terrance thought for a moment and immediately came up with a plan.
As for how to investigate, there was no doubt that using Mismagius's illusion skill Hypnosis was the best choice.
At the right moment, he could discreetly use it to make the three spill the truth, and whether it was a coincidence or a deliberate approach, the truth would come out right away.
Thinking of this, Terrance said aloud, "There's no need to thank me, that's too formal. But actually, there is something that's been giving me a headache lately…"
"No problem, just leave it to us." James's eyes lit up, and he patted his chest.
He hadn't expected things to go even more smoothly than planned. Terrance had played right into their script from the very start.
"It's a bit complicated to explain… How about you go join your companions first? I'll go pick up something I left at the Pokémon Center and then find you all," Terrance said, looking at James in his casual clothes.
"Alright." James nodded, already itching to bring this good news back to Jessie and Meowth.
While Terrance made an excuse to head back to the Pokémon Center, James ran back to Jessie and Meowth.
Jessie and James were both in their prearranged casual clothes instead of their Team Rocket uniforms. Even Meowth was dressed up like a human, wearing an outfit that made him look quite presentable…
When James returned, Jessie and Meowth immediately showed sly grins and whispered, "Did it go smoothly?"
"Mission accomplished." James smiled. "I told you using the Acapulco incident as an opening was a great idea… This way, not only can we portray ourselves as good people who understand gratitude, but we can also increase Terrance's favorability toward us by repaying the kindness..."
"So that means we succeeded, right, meow?" Meowth flexed his claws and licked his lips. "What do we do next?"
"Yeah, what's next?" Jessie added.
"Terrance seems to have run into a trouble lately. If we help him solve his problem, we should be able to complete this stage of the mission Boss Giovanni gave us…" James said.
"Ohhh…" Jessie and Meowth nodded in understanding, though James, worried they still didn't get it, explained again.
"To put it in gaming terms, the main quest Boss Giovanni gave us is to raise Terrance's approval rating, and to do that, we need to clear the side quests Terrance gives us." James drew on his childhood gaming experience and felt pretty clever.
"So that's how it is, meow!" Meowth clapped his paws. "We really shouldn't have doubted you before."
"The young master's way of thinking…" Jessie turned her face away.
...
...
By the time James and the others were waiting for Terrance, a lot of time had passed, mainly because it took a while for Terrance to transfer Mismagius over.
Arriving at the agreed-upon spot, Terrance immediately spotted the Team Rocket trio. Their features were just too distinct. James was passable, but with Jessie's hair and Meowth's height, it was impossible not to recognize them.
As Terrance walked over, he saw Jessie forcibly squeeze out two tears, put her hands together in a praying gesture, and murmur, "Benefactor, I finally see you again…"
"Yes, meow…" Meowth mimicked the same action.
James, standing to the side and watching all this, was stunned and thought to himself, "Didn't expect Jessie to be this good… Maybe she really does want to be a famous actress."
None of this was a problem in theory, but for Terrance, who knew exactly what these three were really like, it was just awkward.
They weren't even following the same script; their acting seemed embarrassing to Terrance.
"Um… hello, everyone," Terrance said.
"Terrance, you're finally here! Let me introduce you, these are my companions I met while traveling, Jessie and Meowth," James said enthusiastically.
Intentionally seeking contact with Team Rocket, Terrance followed James's introduction and greeted them, striking up a conversation with Jessie and Meowth. Judging from the conversation, it seemed like the four of them were getting along quite well.
This smooth progress made the Team Rocket trio secretly delighted… Yes, this was exactly the feeling they wanted.
Soon after thinking they had gotten familiar with Terrance, Jessie "chummily" threw an arm around Terrance's neck and said, "I heard from James that you've been having some trouble. Don't worry, leave it to big sis here, everything will be solved in no time!"
"???" Terrance was a bit stunned. What a thug-like move…
But on the surface, Terrance continued to play along with the three of them. By this point, he was almost certain their intentions weren't as simple as just repaying a favor. While the trio sometimes did silly good deeds, most of the time they were still bad guys.
Bad guys with rather unique methods.
They could be moved by small things, help others, even save the world, but could just as easily snatch away Pokémon others regarded as partners or family without a care.
That was what left Terrance speechless. Maybe it was nostalgia, but he actually liked these three. Although they are bad guys, they have their own special qualities, especially James. That encounter six years ago was actually a pretty fond memory for Terrance… So he gave up on the idea of turning them in to Officer Jenny.
Besides, even if he did, the three of them would definitely escape… They'd survived being chased by the Elite Four, after all.
"These three villains who never succeed at being bad guys actually set their sights on me. I'll have to teach them a little lesson." This wasn't the first time Terrance had tricked Team Rocket. Back in Kalos he'd made them scapegoats… As for now, Terrance had an even better idea.
Quickly pushing Jessie's arm away, Terrance laughed and said, "It's a bit complicated. How about this, let's go to that restaurant over there and sit down to talk."
Hearing Terrance's suggestion, James, Jessie, and Meowth nodded eagerly, just waiting for Terrance to give them a task.
On the way to the restaurant, Terrance deliberately led the three of them on a roundabout route. During this time… under Mismagius's Hypnosis, Terrance had already gotten the information he wanted.
"So it really was Giovanni's order. But instead of revenge, Giovanni sent someone to approach me. What is he planning?" Terrance thought to himself. Agatha had guessed right. Giovanni truly has an extraordinary breadth of mind.
After a while, in a rather upscale restaurant, Terrance explained his "troubles" to the trio in detail.
"I still need to participate in the upcoming Pokémon Contest, so I have to focus on special training, but my Pokémon's development has run into some problems and I urgently need a batch of special materials," Terrance said with a worried look.
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