Join my p@treon for more chapters
p@treon.com/Tempest_29
"You actually know the names of our three Executives... Wait! You and that Charizard look familiar!"
The division captain was genuinely shocked, not only because Eddie had calmly recited the names of the three Executives, but also because he felt certain he had seen Eddie somewhere before.
"Hahaha, Green! Your rescue has arrived - the tables have turned!" Eddie called out confidently.
"Don't you dare doubt me! I may not know much about the other two, but regarding Lt. Surge, I personally witnessed this handsome guy beat Lt. Surge to a pulp aboard the S.S. Anne!" Green exclaimed joyfully upon seeing Eddie's arrival.
She quickly moved to Eddie's side, hugging his arm with intimate familiarity while slowly recounting Lt. Surge's humiliating defeat to the Team Rocket members standing before them.
"Nonsense! You just happened to know the names of our three Executives - don't make up elaborate stories!" the division captain immediately protested.
However, deep down, he knew Green was telling the truth. He had just carefully studied Eddie's appearance and finally remembered where he had encountered it before.
It was during a classified video conference two days earlier. As a division captain, he possessed the clearance necessary to attend such meetings.
During that briefing, Team Rocket's three Executives had discussed a particularly dangerous enemy of their organization.
The enemy's codename was Morning Sun, and his signature Pokemon were Charizard, Greninja, and Sceptile.
According to Executive Koga's painful testimony, this individual was calculating, devious, and cunning, with a particular tendency to target opponents' weak points through underhanded tactics.
Despite these questionable methods, he was extraordinarily powerful. Standard Team Rocket operatives were instructed to avoid direct confrontation and immediately report his presence to the three Executives, who would handle him personally.
The briefing emphasized that this person possessed extensive combat experience and maintained an impressive record of achieving victory against opponents of superior level and rank. Apart from the three Executives themselves, no other Team Rocket member could face him in single combat and expect to survive.
After delivering this warning, Koga had displayed a photograph on the screen, clearly showing Eddie riding Charizard during battle.
Originally, this information should have been disseminated to all Team Rocket personnel. However, the division captain had been too focused on hunting Green throughout Rainbow City during the past two days to properly brief his subordinates.
Now he found himself face-to-face with Eddie, this exceptionally dangerous individual, who was obviously allied with the thief they had been pursuing.
"Regardless of everything else, we've successfully recovered the disk. There's absolutely no need to engage such a dangerous opponent in combat - we should retreat immediately," the captain decided, his tactical mind already working toward escape.
The division captain had begun seriously considering withdrawal. After all, if Lord Koga had suffered serious injuries at Eddie's hands, he certainly couldn't expect to defeat someone who had bested one of Team Rocket's most elite operatives.
"Everyone, listen carefully! This man is Team Rocket's greatest enemy. Direct orders from headquarters state that only the three Executives are authorized to engage him in combat. We're retreating immediately!" the captain commanded.
He briefly explained Eddie's threat level to his remaining forces, then released his Weezing and commanded it to use Smokescreen for their escape.
The captain harbored no illusions about leaving with his entire team intact. He understood that Eddie possessed the strength necessary to prevent their safe withdrawal if he chose to pursue them.
Someone capable of injuring Lord Koga wouldn't simply watch enemy forces retreat without consequence.
For the other operatives, whether they could escape would depend entirely on their individual skill and fortune.
When the remaining Team Rocket members witnessed their captain's immediate flight and heard his explanation that Eddie was an enemy requiring all three Executives to handle, they were filled with terror. Each operative quickly released their own Pokemon and attempted to flee using various methods.
However, as the division captain had predicted, the question wasn't whether Team Rocket wanted to fight Eddie, but rather whether Eddie would permit Team Rocket to escape.
"Green, let's work together. We should capture as many as possible - we might end up fighting them again later," Eddie said softly to Green, who was still holding his arm.
With rather mischievous intent, he blew gently in Green's ear, causing her to shiver slightly.
He then released all his Pokemon and mounted Charizard, leading his team in pursuit of the fleeing Team Rocket operatives.
Green's face flushed bright red at Eddie's intimate gesture. Despite being incredibly intelligent and often called a little devil for her cunning, she was still just a young girl who hadn't fully matured yet.
Eddie's ambiguous behavior made her heart race wildly, especially considering he had just rescued her from Team Rocket - a genuine life-saving intervention.
She had called for Eddie's help earlier, but that had been mere self-deception. How could she have known his actual location? If Eddie had been far from this area, she would certainly have perished.
Initially, she had prepared herself to die fighting Team Rocket, particularly when Blastoise fell under hypnosis and the enemy's entire force rushed toward her position.
But in that moment of absolute desperation, Eddie had descended from the sky like a heavenly warrior, riding Charizard and not only repelling the Pokemon attacking her with overwhelming power, but also demonstrating such fearsome reputation that merely speaking the three Executives' names had sent Team Rocket into panicked retreat.
According to the division captain's testimony, Eddie was so formidable that no one in Team Rocket could defeat him except the three Executives themselves.
He was young, handsome, incredibly powerful, and treating her with remarkable kindness.
What girl wouldn't be attracted to such a man? Even without romantic feelings, anyone would develop strong positive impressions of him.
Green had no way of knowing that Eddie was only treating her well to improve his standing for mission-related purposes. She mistakenly believed his warmth and kindness were genuine personal gestures.
Of course, even if Green hadn't requested Eddie's assistance or triggered any mission requirements, Eddie would still have come to rescue her.
This wasn't solely because he and Team Rocket were natural enemies, but also because Green was destined to become a future Pokedex holder and happened to be a beautiful young woman. Building positive relationships with such individuals was simply good strategy.
Truth be told, even if someone other than Green had been under attack here, he would have intervened to help. After all, whatever Team Rocket wanted to accomplish, he was determined to prevent.
This followed the fundamental principle: 'We must stop whatever our enemies seek to achieve.'
However, these were Eddie's private thoughts. Green possessed no mind-reading abilities and remained unaware of his true motivations.
"Ding! Due to your words and actions, Green's favorability toward you has significantly increased! Current relationship status: 'Trust'!"
"Green is Green, after all. She wouldn't develop feelings so easily if she weren't that unpredictable little devil everyone knows her to be."
Eddie had anticipated this outcome from his actions. His judgment rarely proved incorrect.
This confidence stemmed from his advantages as both a time traveler and someone who had been reborn with knowledge of future events. Without such predictive abilities, he never could have achieved Elite Trainer status in such a remarkably short timeframe.
Many situations were far more complex than they initially appeared. Even individuals granted second chances through rebirth could easily fail again if they lacked the intelligence to navigate an altered timeline successfully.
The chase was about to begin, and Eddie felt confident in his ability to capture several Team Rocket operatives before they could escape completely.