Today is the opening ceremony of the Quartz Conference. Yesterday was the passing of the Holy Fire, and today it will be taken to the kindling altar to ignite a huge Holy Fire.
The Holy Fire is passed ceremonially, one by one, and the last two people who received the fire seemed somewhat peculiar to Ash. Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, he had a sense of familiarity.
If he could feel familiar without seeing their faces, it must be someone he knows, but among those he knows, no one should be passing the Holy Fire.
Ash thought for a while, but ultimately couldn't remember who those familiar figures were. However, he finally remembered he still has Aura Power!
Even if he couldn't see their faces, the aura's wave patterns wouldn't change. As long as he used Aura Power to scan, he could find out who was at the kindling altar.
An invisible blue wave swept over, and Ash's expression changed drastically: "Everyone! Stop those two, they're from Team Rocket!!"
Ash's shout immediately shocked everyone. They didn't recognize Ash at first, but hearing Team Rocket's name, everyone instinctively became tense.
Even though Team Rocket is now in decline, they are still the largest villainous organization in Kanto. For the league, Team Rocket isn't much now, but for the Trainers who have been traveling for less than two years, Team Rocket is still a formidable foe.
But soon they remembered, this is their territory now!
Now they are in the Quartz Arena, and today is the opening ceremony, surrounded by the Celestial King Champions, with even other Champions visiting to witness the occasion. In such a situation, how dare Team Rocket target the Holy Fire? Are they tired of living?
As Ash's words fell, the two who received the Holy Fire stopped pretending, revealing their true faces!
Blue hair, red hair, a man and a woman—who else could it be but two of Team Rocket's trio?
Ash couldn't recall the last time he saw Team Rocket. It seemed like it was before his battle with Giovanni, which means they hadn't come looking for him for about two months.
Ash thought Team Rocket had disbanded, which indirectly led to the separation of Team Rocket's trio. But he didn't expect them to make such a big move, causing a scene at the opening ceremony of the Quartz Conference!
Wow, how dare they! If Giovanni came, that'd be one thing, but why did you three small fry dare to cause a ruckus at the Quartz Conference? Did you really think the watching Elite Four and Champions are just for show?
Today, besides the Elite Four of Kanto, Cynthia from Sinnoh, Steven from Hoenn, and Leon from Galar are also visiting!
The three Champions were all coming, just delayed due to the long journey. In this case, Team Rocket's trio dared to make trouble here?! Ten lives wouldn't be enough for them to die!
Ash was utterly puzzled.
"Kid, your eyes are as sharp as ever. We were disguised like this and you still recognized us?!" James looked puzzled. They not only covered themselves entirely but also wore masks and hats, leaving only their eyes exposed.
They didn't even make eye contact with Ash, avoiding showing their faces to him because every time they showed up, Ash always recognized them. So, this time, they didn't even let him see their eyes.
Yet Ash still recognized them. Does he have some special ability that makes him always identify them?!
"It's just that your disguise is too poor. After all this time, you still dare to cause trouble at the Quartz Arena? Are you tired of living? Besides, your boss is already down, why are you still loyal to Team Rocket?"
Of course, Ash wouldn't reveal his special ability to see through their disguises, just blaming their poor disguises.
But what puzzled Ash the most was that Giovanni was missing, and Team Rocket was mostly disbanded. Why did these three still want to cause trouble? Shouldn't they be reforming with Team Rocket's dissolution?
As Ash's words fell, a giant robot descended from the sky, landing behind James and Jessie. The robot opened, revealing Meowth inside as the operator.
At this moment, Meowth's face was full of anger: "Don't talk nonsense. Boss Giovanni hasn't fallen! He's just temporarily recovering, nya! In the near future, he'll definitely lead us to rise again, nya!"
"Exactly! How could you fathom our boss's intentions? He disbanded Team Rocket for sure has some secret plan!"
"Before that, we're going to present the Holy Fire to the boss to earn his recognition and join his plan!"
Jessie and James spoke alternately, full of admiration for Giovanni. They believed his disbanding of Team Rocket had a hidden reason, not just because he lost hope!
The current disbandment is merely groundwork for future world domination!
"Stop wasting time with the kid, Jessie, James, get up here quickly, let's take the Holy Fire away!"
James nodded, then directly threw the torch he was holding onto the Holy Fire Altar, igniting the huge altar. Then the two immediately jumped into the Meowth-made robot with hands and legs.