"What beautiful feathers!"
Misty's eyes were filled with wonder as she saw the rainbow-colored feather in Lu Sheng's hand.
It was her first time seeing a feather that glowed with all the colors of the rainbow, and she felt a gentle warmth emanating from it. Her body felt slightly cozy, and all her fatigue vanished.
"It doesn't look like a Fearow's feather, does it?"
Hearing a click, Misty saw Lu Sheng taking a picture of the 'Shiny Fearow' above, and Pikachu also looked up, watching intently.
From a distance, it did indeed resemble a Fearow… After taking the photo, Lu Sheng explained to Misty:
"That's not a Fearow; it's the legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh."
?
Hearing that it was a legendary Pokémon, Misty's expression froze. She abruptly turned to look at Lu Sheng, her emotions surging like a tide.
Lu Sheng told Misty the legend of Ho-Oh, which truly astonished her.
She became even more curious about Lu Sheng. He and Pikachu had just defeated the flock of Spearow, and now he had seen Ho-Oh and received the Rainbow Wing, becoming a Rainbow Hero.
She hadn't even known about the legend of Ho-Oh and had been taught a lesson by Lu Sheng.
After Ho-Oh left, the two continued towards Viridian City. Along the way, whenever they saw Pokémon, Lu Sheng would let Pikachu train, teaching it moves like Iron Tail and Grass Knot.
Those moves were from Professor Oak. Pikachu is an Electric-type, and Electric-type moves are completely ineffective against Ground-type Pokémon, while Ground-type Pokémon's attacks deal double damage to Electric-type Pokémon.
They had to learn more moves as a precaution!
… "All residents of Viridian City, please pay attention:
There have been frequent Pokémon kidnapping incidents recently. Please be vigilant."
As soon as they arrived in Viridian City, Lu Sheng heard Officer Jenny's voice coming from a loudspeaker.
"Team Rocket?!"
Misty looked at the wanted poster on the signboard.
It showed two people wearing Team Rocket uniforms, but their faces were unclear. From their general outlines, it was evident they were a man and a woman.
"Team Rocket is an organized crime syndicate, mainly active in the Kanto, Johto, and Orange Islands regions. Their goal is to capture powerful and rare Pokémon, attempting to use them to rule the world."
Lu Sheng leaned in to take a look.
Isn't this… the Team Rocket trio?
They looked very cool and imposing in this wanted poster.
This was probably the only time they looked imposing. Later, when the Team Rocket trio encountered Pikachu, they would directly transform from top-ranked, well-trained Team Rocket members into comedic entertainers.
"Lu Sheng, Officer Jenny said that Team Rocket has been active in Viridian City recently. You need to be careful; those people specialize in stealing Pokémon."
Misty turned to look at Lu Sheng.
Pikachu hadn't even given them electrotherapy yet… Lu Sheng had no fear of the Team Rocket trio. In Team Rocket, only Giovanni was the true god.
Giovanni was once a passionate bug-catching youth. His Beedrill could easily defeat a Pidgeot and nearly fought Deoxys to a draw in a war of attrition.
Lu Sheng 'hmm'ed and also showed concern for Misty.
Hearing Lu Sheng's greeting, Misty slightly raised her head, crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her small chest, and lifted her delicate chin, looking arrogant: "I'm a trainer who's going to become a Water-type Pokémon Master! Dealing with those two is no problem at all!"
Don't squeeze them into little steamed buns… Lu Sheng nodded seriously. The Team Rocket trio's strength wasn't great; they could be easily defeated later.
"You don't believe me?"
"Of course I believe you! Why wouldn't I? You're the world's number one beautiful girl, the future Water-type Pokémon Master!"
It was fine when she said it herself, but hearing Lu Sheng say it, Misty always felt strange, as if he was mocking her.
"You… you'd better really believe it!" Misty raised her pink fist, somewhat gritting her teeth.
Lu Sheng quickly affirmed that he really believed her. 'Muscle Girl' Misty was not to be trifled with.
The two played and bickered along the way, finally arriving at the Pokémon Center.
Nurse Joy, in her nurse's uniform, stood at the front desk, her bright eyes looking at Lu Sheng and Misty. She softly asked, "Are the two of you here to check into the Pokémon Center?"
"Yes, please, Nurse Joy, help Pikachu recover."
Pikachu climbed onto the front desk, blinking its big eyes. Nurse Joy found Pikachu very cute and took it in to restore its health.
"Skarmory, Fearow, Starmie, Growlithe."
Lu Sheng looked at the rather abstract murals on the wall, and several suitable Pokémon images appeared in his mind.
"What the heck?"
Hearing Lu Sheng name the Pokémon in the murals, Misty corrected him irritably: "Those are Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, and Arcanine."
What Fearow, Starmie, that's just ridiculous!
She had just been chased by a flock of Fearow; no one would believe those were legendary Pokémon!
Officer Jenny has a baby legendary beast each. I wonder what it's like to ride an Arcanine… Lu Sheng had ridden many things, but never a Pokémon.
Ding!
The automatic door of the treatment room opened, and Nurse Joy and Chansey pushed Pikachu out.
"Ding! New mission triggered: defeat the Team Rocket trio in an unconventional way, protect the Pokémon Center, and leave a deep impression on them!"
"Mission Reward: One-star Good Citizen Title (as the number of stars increases, unexpected rewards will be obtained)"
Lu Sheng blinked. The Team Rocket trio was coming!
As soon as the system notification sounded, the alarm bell in the Pokémon Center suddenly rang.
"Pikapi!"
Pikachu immediately ran in front of Lu Sheng; it had smelled danger.
The skylight above the Pokémon Center shattered with a crash, and two Poké Balls fell down.
The Pokémon that emerged from the Poké Balls were Koffing and Arbok.
Koffing created thick smoke, covering their figures.
"Could it be Team Rocket?"
Misty thought of the Team Rocket wanted poster on the board. Could it be such a coincidence that they ran into them?
Nurse Joy looked worriedly at the smoke-shrouded area. She immediately called Officer Jenny.
"Since you asked so sincerely, we will tell you with great mercy!"
I can recite it backwards… Lu Sheng's mind automatically played the Team Rocket trio's entrance BGM.
"To protect the world from devastation, to unite all peoples within our nation, to denounce the evils of truth and love, to extend our reach to the stars above, Jessie, James!"
The smoke dissipated, and Jessie and James appeared before them.
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
Finally, Meowth jumped out:
"Meowth, that's right!"
It really was Team Rocket. This was troublesome… Seeing how well-trained the two Team Rocket members looked, Misty's expression became serious, and she pondered how to deal with Team Rocket.
Misty was planning how to deal with Team Rocket, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Lu Sheng looking excited, declaring that he wanted to join Team Rocket.
"Team Rocket!"
Lu Sheng took two steps forward, looking at Jessie and James with eyes full of admiration: "I finally found you!"
Giving Misty and Nurse Joy a look, Lu Sheng continued: "I'm your fan, and I've always wanted to join you. Can you give me a chance?"
"Kid, our Team Rocket isn't that easy to join!"
Seeing a fan here, the Team Rocket trio lowered their guard.
"Then you guys can give me an internal recommendation, right? I see how skilled you are; you must be Team Rocket elites, definitely holding executive-level positions at headquarters, so you should have a lot of say."
"Oh, you want to use my connections?"
Jessie flicked her red hair, a slight smile on her red lips, but she quickly reined it in.
Clearly, Lu Sheng's words had struck a chord with them.
"Can I?"
"Can I use your connections?"