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Why is she here?
When they saw the young woman slowly walking up behind them, Ash and the others were startled.
She wore a maple leaf patterned kimono, her face was pure and fair, and she wore a red hairband, walking with elegant and ladylike steps.
"Gym Leader Erika?"
Ash was astonished. How could Gym Leader Erika appear here?
One must know that the area they were in was located in the northern part of the Kanto region, quite far from Celadon City.
Green's eyes slowly narrowed as she glanced at the Landorus, which had stopped attacking.
"Please wait."
Erika smiled slightly at Ash and the others, then walked in front of them and looked up at the Landorus.
"I apologize. They are all my friends. I've disturbed you, and I will persuade them not to enter the World Tree."
Erika gracefully bowed slightly to the Landorus and said with a smile.
"Tu~"
The Landorus nodded, glanced at Ash and the others, and then turned to leave.
Seeing this, everyone felt puzzled.
"Phew~ Thankfully, it was Landorus. If it were Thundurus or Tornadus, who are harder to communicate with, they probably wouldn't listen even to me."
Erika patted her chest, relieved, and then looked at Ash and the others.
"Ash, why did you come to World Tree Paradise?"
"World Tree Paradise?"
"Ah~ You don't know? That's the name of this ranch."
Erika tilted her head, her slender fingers touching her lips.
"Speaking of which, it's really strange. Outsiders are not allowed in here. Did you sneak in?"
"..."
Ash awkwardly turned his head away, looking into the distance, and even whistled to cover his guilty conscience.
Seeing Ash's expression, Erika chuckled.
"It seems I need to have a good talk with them. Such carelessness is not good."
"Also, Ash, it's better for you to leave quickly. There are many powerful Pokémon in this paradise, and some of them have quite rough tempers. I'm fine, but as outsiders, they might not show you mercy."
Erika reminded Ash, as she had a very good impression of him.
This young man was passionate, kind, and full of a sense of justice, a child who easily made people feel good about him.
"Gym Leader Erika, may I ask why you are here? And from your tone, you seem very familiar with this place."
Green asked, feigning confusion.
"Ah~ Strictly speaking, I am the administrator of World Tree Paradise."
"What?"
"Administrator? Are you a high-level manager of this ranch?"
"But isn't this..."
Ash, Misty, and Brock were startled upon hearing this.
"That's right. Because normally, besides dealing with Gym challengers, I come here to train when I have nothing to do. The Pokémon here are all very powerful and excellent, making them great training partners."
Erika replied with a smile.
"But Gym Leader Erika, isn't this... Team Rockets' ranch?"
Ash's face wrinkled as he hesitated for a moment, then asked Erika.
Upon hearing this, Erika's pretty face changed slightly, but then quickly returned to normal.
Seeing this, the quick-witted Green took Silver and moved slightly away from Erika. From the moment Erika appeared, she felt something was off.
This Gym Leader of Celadon Gym definitely had a close relationship with Team Rocket.
It was truly shocking. Celadon Gym was an official Gym, yet it had an unclear relationship with Team Rocket.
"So, Ash, you knew? Yes, World Tree Paradise indeed belongs to Team Rockets."
Erika sighed softly.
"Then you..."
"Ash, do you remember that time I was with Mr. Mammon?"
Erika regained her poised and reserved smile.
Silver's expression changed upon hearing this. Is this Erika related to his brother?
"I remember."
Ash frowned deeply. Of course, he remembered. The evil Mammon had kidnapped Erika.
"Perhaps Mr. Mammon's words caused a bit of a misunderstanding that time. He is always a bit mischievous. In fact, I was not kidnapped by Mr. Mammon."
Erika lowered her head slightly in embarrassment, her right hand stroking the black hair on her forehead.
"At that time, Mr. Mammon and I were on a date."
Silence.
After Erika's words, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Ash and Misty stared dumbfounded at the shy Erika, who looked like a little girl, and Brock's eye twitched. Green was also incredibly shocked. A date? Is this right?
Silver's thoughts were completely different from the other four. First, he was surprised, and then he looked at Erika thoughtfully.
If she were dating his brother, should he call her sister-in-law?
Silver pondered. His brother actually found a girlfriend. This was good news. Should he inform their father?
Wait, speaking of which, when they were in the Johto region, didn't his brother have several girls with him? And their relationships seemed unusual.
In that case...
Could his brother be the legendary scumbag?
Silver's eyes were a little blank. No, no, his brother wasn't that kind of person. Maybe his brother was just more emotional and romantic.
Hmm, that must be it.
"But... but Mammon is the leader of Team Rockets."
Finally, Ash recovered, and even his tone was quite complex now.
"Ash, the current Team Rockets is completely different from the past Team Rockets. Also, I have something to tell you."
Erika shook her head.
"My relationship with Mr. Mammon has been approved by President Charles Goodshow."
Erika said with a smile.
"???"
Green was shocked again.
No, is Charles Goodshow out of his mind?
The official Gym Leader of his own region is dating the boss of Team Rockets, and you actually approve??
Are you really not afraid that Erika will be abducted by Mammon and join Team Rockets?
Ash's mind was spinning again at this moment.
"In short, Mammon and the current Team Rockets are not what you imagine them to be. You will gradually understand later."
"For now, I'll take you out of the paradise."
Erika saw that the few of them were still processing the information and couldn't help but chuckle as she spoke.
"Wait! Gym Leader Erika, I have something I need to do inside that World Tree."
Ash quickly said.
"Enter the World Tree? Humans cannot enter the World Tree's interior."
Erika tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh?" Ash was stunned.
"The World Tree is not a real tree; it is actually an alternative form of life. It has a unique defense mechanism. Pokémon can enter, but humans cannot. Once you enter the World Tree, you will be devoured by it."
Erika explained in detail.
"Even Mr. Mammon cannot enter it."
"But..."
Ash's head immediately grew a size larger upon hearing this. How could such a thing exist?
Of course, he believed Erika's words, after all, Gym Leader Erika had no reason to deceive him.
"And even if I didn't stop you, you wouldn't be able to get in. The current World Tree has many Pokémon guardians. The Landorus you just encountered is just one of them. There are also Tornadus, Thundurus, Zapdos, and so on."
"There is also the strongest guardian, even more powerful than Landorus and the others, sleeping underground in the area around the World Tree. If you continue to approach the World Tree, you will awaken it, and that would truly be very dangerous."
Erika's tone was very calm as she described the dangers of the World Tree.
And the strongest guardian Erika mentioned was Regigigas.
Besides Regigigas, there was also a homebody Mew inside the World Tree. So, trying to force your way into the World Tree?
Aside from Mammon and that old monster in Johto, it was simply impossible.
"Hiss~" Green couldn't help but gasp.
Goodness, no wonder!
She had always had a question: this area, as Team Rockets' largest ranch in Kanto, was such an important place, yet the security outside, while strict, still seemed insufficient to match the significance of World Tree Paradise in Green's eyes.
It turned out that the security outside was just for show; the real 'security' was actually inside the ranch.
"..."
Ash was speechless.
"This..."
Silver spoke for the first time, not knowing how to address Erika for a moment.
"What's wrong, sir?" Erika cast a puzzled glance at Silver.
"...Sister-in-law, I want to know where my brother is now."
"?"
Erika looked at Silver in astonishment, then her eyebrows furrowed, and her expression became a little displeased.
Who are you calling sister-in-law?
"Sir, even if it's me, if you joke like this, I will get angry."
"No, this is a misunderstanding, Gym Leader Erika, Silver is Mr. Mammon's younger brother, his biological brother," Green hurriedly explained.
Mr. Mammon's biological brother?
Erika was a little surprised. That's not right, she had never heard that Mr. Mammon had a younger brother.
"Silver was kidnapped when he was young, and he only recently reconnected with Mr. Mammon and Gym Leader Giovanni, so you don't know yet."
Green probably understood why Erika had such an expression.
"..."
Erika suddenly realized, but she still sent a message to Giovanni to confirm. They were both official Gym Leaders, so Erika had Giovanni's contact information.
And Giovanni quickly gave her a positive answer.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of that."
Erika blushed a little. After all, Silver had just called her 'sister-in-law'!
"It's okay, sister-in-law, I want to know where my brother is."
Silver repeated himself again.
"Don't you have Mr. Mammon's contact information?" Erika asked, quite puzzled.
"Ever since I learned he joined Team Rockets, my brother... hasn't replied to my messages for a long time," Silver said in a low voice.
"I understand."
Erika sighed inwardly. So it was similar to Gym Leader Giovanni, but it seemed Silver valued his family relationship with Mr. Mammon very much.
"Mr. Mammon will be returning to Kanto soon, but I don't know his exact location," Erika replied.
In fact, Mr. Mammon would return to Kanto today.
But Erika deliberately said that. Since Mr. Mammon was intentionally avoiding Silver, she certainly wouldn't reveal his whereabouts.
Silver was silent.
Then Ash and the others were sent out of World Tree Paradise by Erika.
"I can't believe it, is Gym Leader Erika really that close to Team Rockets?"
Misty turned her head and saw Erika standing in front of several muscular men, seemingly lecturing them.
Erika was petite, but those strong men didn't even dare to raise their heads, probably having been scolded severely by Erika.
"The most important thing is that the League's current attitude towards Team Rockets is indeed very subtle," Brock mused, having paid attention to this point.
"Because the leader is different now, the current Team Rockets seems to have a tendency to turn over a new leaf."
Green held a lollipop in her mouth, then looked at Silver.
"Silver, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to find my brother. No matter what, I want to ask him some things face to face," Silver said in a deep voice.
"Alright, alright, then I can only help you."
Green spread her hands helplessly.
Ash, at this moment, also had a headache. He couldn't enter the World Tree, so how could he help Lucario understand the whole story of what happened back then?
Originally, Ash had thought of helping Lucario fulfill this obsession, and then he could catch it.
After all, he really liked this cool Lucario.
"Then that's all for now, Ash, Misty, Brock, bye-bye, we're going to Tokiwa City first."
Green waved goodbye to Ash's trio.
"Goodbye."
They watched Green and Silver disappear from sight.
"Mr. Mammon's younger brother, he seems like a formidable opponent, Ash."
Brock reminded Ash that Silver's strength was definitely extremely strong, but he didn't know if he would participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference.
"Hmm~ But I won't lose to him!"
Ash was very confident in himself. He was determined to win the Indigo Plateau Conference this time!
Even Red, he would definitely defeat him! Let alone this Silver.
Just right, he couldn't defeat Mr. Mammon right now, but could he really not defeat Mr. Mammon's younger brother?
"Oh? You seem very confident, Ash."
Suddenly, a smiling voice sounded behind Ash's trio.
"Of course... Wait, that voice, Mr. Mammon?!!!"
Ash subconsciously replied, then realized that this voice was neither Misty nor Brock.
He turned his head and saw, indeed!
"Yo~ It's been a while, Ash, and Misty and Brock, you all look pretty good."
Mr. Mammon grinned, smiling as he looked at Ash.
Behind Mr. Mammon were Caitlin, Platinum, and Paul.
"Mr. Mammon! When did you get here?"
Ash was very wary. He couldn't fully relax around Mr. Mammon, especially after what happened last time.
Although Erika said it was her date with Mr. Mammon, didn't that just make it even more infuriating?
Mr. Mammon had completely tricked him back then! Damn it!
"Probably when you just came out, I saw you with Silver."
"Then why didn't you come out? Your brother has been looking for you."
Ash couldn't help but frown.
"It's not time yet," Mr. Mammon chuckled.
He wasn't ready to meet Silver yet. The timing wasn't right, so when he saw Ash and the others, he didn't show up.
"Speaking of which, Ash, you were very impolite today, barging into my ranch without permission, isn't that bad?"
Then Mr. Mammon's lips curved slightly. Erika had just sent him a message.
"I didn't do it on purpose. When we went in, we didn't see anyone."
Ash's face instantly flushed with embarrassment. For a simple person like him, this indeed made him a little awkward.
Especially since this was Mr. Mammon's ranch.
"Besides, if it wasn't to help Lucario find the truth of what happened back then, I wouldn't have come to this place."
"Oh?" Mr. Mammon raised an eyebrow.
"That Lucario from Orulean Castle?"
"How did you know?"
Ash looked at Mr. Mammon in confusion.
"I happened to see records about it. After all, this place isn't very far from Rota Street."
The plot had completely changed. Logically, the plot of the Aura Heart Guardian movie should have been after Ash returned from his Hoenn journey.
But these were all irrelevant matters.
"Ash, I can help you once. You must be very troubled, right?"
Mr. Mammon pondered for a moment, then smiled at Ash.
He suddenly had a good idea.
"What kind of scheme do you have now?"
However, Ash had learned his lesson this time and looked at Mr. Mammon warily.
"Tsk~ You really are something. Do I look like a bad guy?" Mr. Mammon couldn't help but click his tongue.
If you're not a bad guy, are you a good guy?
Misty couldn't help but retort when she heard this, but she only dared to do so in her mind.
Ash remained silent, and this deafening silence undoubtedly showed Ash's thoughts.
"Don't worry, I never lie. But if you want my help, you have to pass a test first."
"What test?"
Perhaps Erika's words earlier had caused a subtle change in Ash's mindset. His resistance to Mr. Mammon was actually not very strong now.
"These two are Platinum and Paul." Mr. Mammon grinned, introducing the girl and boy behind him to Ash.
Platinum looked at Ash's trio curiously, nodding to them in a friendly manner, while Paul was expressionless.
"They are both from Sinnoh, new members of Team Rockets, and new Trainers the same age as you."
"They are both very talented newcomers, Ash."
Mr. Mammon smiled and held up a finger.
"You pick one of them as an opponent for a friendly battle. If you can win, I'll help you out."
"But I like fairness, so if you lose, you have to promise me one thing, how about that?"
That's right, whether it was Platinum or Paul, seeing Ash battle them would be very interesting.
And no matter win or lose, there was no loss for Mr. Mammon.
Upon hearing this, Ash looked at Platinum and Paul and fell into thought.
Should he agree? Or rather, who should he pick as an opponent?