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Cinnabar Island
After Blaine parted ways with Green at the Pokemon Center, he walked out of the building's automatic sliding doors. Before he could collect his thoughts about their recent conversation, his phone began ringing with an urgent tone.
When Blaine glanced at the caller ID displayed on his phone screen, his facial expression changed noticeably. His usual calm demeanor shifted to one of concern. After answering the call, he immediately left the Pokemon Center entrance and made his way back to his gym with quick, purposeful steps.
The Cinnabar Gym was built directly on the slopes of Cinnabar Volcano, which dominated the center of Cinnabar Island. The official battle arena was positioned near the volcano's entrance, where the natural heat and lava flows created the perfect environment for Fire-type Pokemon battles. The main gym building itself was also constructed close to the volcano's entrance, taking advantage of the geothermal energy.
When Blaine returned to his gym, he discovered that an elderly figure holding a walking cane was already sitting comfortably in the main hall. The visitor was drinking tea leisurely, acting as if this were their own private residence rather than someone else's gym.
"Still the same old habits - barging in without so much as a greeting!" Blaine commented as he observed the uninvited guest.
Blaine looked at the elderly person before him with a mixture of exasperation and familiarity. The two were similar in age, though the visitor had a more severe appearance. Blaine felt somewhat helpless when dealing with this particular individual, knowing from experience that they were not someone to be taken lightly.
"Is it possible that you have some secrets hidden here that you cannot let others know about?" The elderly person sitting before him was none other than Elite Four Agatha, one of the most powerful trainers in the Kanto region.
With her characteristically sharp personality and direct approach to handling situations, Agatha had rushed over immediately after learning about Ash's recent predicament with Team Rocket. However, she was known for having a confrontational attitude not only toward Professor Oak, but toward many people she encountered.
Of course, her reasons for being harsh with Blaine were not exactly the same as her complicated relationship with Professor Oak. The real reason for her stern demeanor was that Blaine shared a particular background that made her deeply suspicious of his motives.
Blaine was similar to Professor Oak in one crucial way: although he currently served as a gym leader, Blaine had previously worked as a research scientist. However, there was a much darker aspect to his scientific career that set him apart from the respected Professor Oak.
Due to Blaine's special and controversial background, he had indeed once been a scientist, but his research had been conducted while working directly for Team Rocket - the very criminal organization that was currently threatening the Pokemon League.
Yes, that was correct. Blaine had formerly been a research scientist employed by Team Rocket. He had only recently quit the organization and returned to his hometown of Cinnabar Island to work as a legitimate gym trainer for the Pokemon League.
The Pokemon League Alliance was fully aware of Blaine's questionable past, and naturally Agatha, who served as one of the Elite Four, also knew about his former allegiance. Elite Four Agatha had always maintained a strong hatred for criminal organizations and those who supported them.
Although Blaine had primarily conducted scientific research for Team Rocket and had not directly participated in their criminal activities, his research contributions had helped Team Rocket develop rapidly and expand their operations. It could be argued that he bore some responsibility for Team Rocket becoming such a powerful and dangerous criminal organization.
Later, after Blaine quit Team Rocket and sought to distance himself from his past, the Pokemon League Alliance initially valued his scientific talents. They also sympathized with his difficult situation, ultimately deciding not to prosecute him for his past associations.
Instead, the League appointed him as the official Gym Leader of Cinnabar Gym, giving him a chance to redeem himself through legitimate work. After leaving Team Rocket behind, Blaine had felt devastated and lost, unsure of his place in the world.
However, after becoming a Gym Leader, he began meeting all kinds of young, enthusiastic trainers on their Pokemon journeys. These encounters helped him find some peace and purpose again, and he gradually grew to love his new role as a Gym Leader who could guide and test aspiring trainers.
In fact, Agatha and Blaine had known each other for many years, because Blaine had been a very famous and respected scientist in his public life. However, none of his colleagues had known that he was secretly conducting research for Team Rocket during that same period.
But now, the reason why Agatha spoke to him in such a pointed manner was specifically because of Blaine's former involvement with Team Rocket. She deliberately made these comments to embarrass him and remind him of his past mistakes.
"Hahaha! If you can find anything incriminating, feel free to arrest me! You are welcome to search for evidence at any time," Blaine responded with a laugh, showing that he wasn't bothered by her accusations.
Blaine himself no longer dwelled much on his complicated past life and the mistakes he had made. Watching young trainers like Green come and go in pursuit of their dreams and goals, he could feel that there was still some meaning to his existence. He only showed genuine enthusiasm occasionally now. In truth, he had become just an old man quietly waiting for his final days.
Whether others misunderstood his motivations or judged him harshly for his past actions no longer mattered much to Blaine. He had made peace with his choices and their consequences.
"Hmph! I don't want to spend any more time in a place as unbearably hot as this!" Agatha snorted coldly, though her tone had become somewhat less hostile than before.
In fact, even though Agatha harbored strong negative feelings toward people who had worked with criminal organizations, she also felt some sympathy for Blaine's current situation and his efforts to make amends.
"So then, Elite Four Agatha, what brings you to my gym today?" Blaine asked as he sat down across from her and poured himself a cup of tea from the pot she had been using.
Blaine didn't feel uncomfortable with the intense heat of his volcanic gym environment. Perhaps because he had grown up on Cinnabar Island, he had become accustomed to the high temperatures. The heat seemed to keep the remaining passion in his heart from being completely extinguished by despair.
"Team Rocket has been unusually active recently!" Agatha picked up her teacup, took a small sip of the hot tea, and spoke in a calm but serious tone.
Blaine's hand holding his teacup paused slightly when he heard this statement, and then he responded carefully to her observation.
"I've already told the League everything I know about their operations. As for any other information you might be seeking, I'm afraid I can't be of much help," Blaine replied when he heard Agatha's comment.
He assumed that Agatha had come to question him about Team Rocket's current activities and plans, which had happened several times before since he had defected from the organization.
But in reality, although Blaine had been a member of Team Rocket for several years, he had always worked exclusively in their research department. His role had been primarily focused on helping Team Rocket conduct various scientific experiments and studies. He had concentrated solely on research work and had little interest in their criminal operations.
The truth was that Blaine had been a fanatical scientist above all else. He had joined Team Rocket for no other reason than to have an organization that would fully support and fund his research without the ethical restrictions that limited his work elsewhere.
After all, under the strict supervision and regulations of the Pokemon League Alliance, many types of scientific research could not be conducted openly or legally. However, Team Rocket didn't care about such ethical concerns and had been willing to fully support his experimental work without asking questions.
Because of this single-minded focus on research, Blaine had never paid attention to anything else related to Team Rocket's operations. It was precisely because of this narrow focus that although he had held a high status within Team Rocket as their chief researcher, he actually knew very little about their other activities, plans, or organizational structure beyond the research division.
"I don't expect you to provide any particularly useful intelligence about their current operations, but... they have recently been making very public attempts to capture the three legendary birds. Do you have any idea what their ultimate purpose might be?" Agatha asked, leaning forward with increased interest.
Blaine paused noticeably after hearing this specific question. He frowned slightly and stopped drinking his tea, setting the cup down on the table. Agatha caught this reaction immediately with her keen observational skills, but she remained silent, waiting patiently for Blaine to organize his thoughts and respond.
After several long moments of contemplation, Blaine slowly placed his teacup back on the table. Following an extended period of silence, he leaned back in his chair and tilted his head upward slightly, as if he was trying to recall something from his distant past.
"I remember... that was right when I had first been promoted to the position of Team Rocket's head researcher," Blaine began slowly, his voice taking on a more serious tone.
There was another long silence before Blaine started to elaborate on his memories, and Agatha listened with unusual patience to his words, recognizing the importance of what he might reveal.
"At that time, I was assigned to work on a top-secret research project within Team Rocket's organization. From this initial project, another experimental program was developed - something they called 'genetic fusion,'" Blaine explained, his expression growing more troubled.
"Genetic fusion??" Agatha's eyebrows furrowed deeply upon hearing this ominous term, and her voice carried a note of alarm.
"That's correct," Blaine confirmed with a grave nod.
"What exactly did this research involve?" Agatha asked immediately, sensing that something was very wrong with this line of experimentation. Her instincts told her that this information might be crucial to understanding Team Rocket's current goals.