After a moment's thought, Caster decided to hold off on calling the police and dial a different number first.
The call connected quickly, and the screen showed a sharp-looking young woman with light blue hair.
"Caster, why are you suddenly calling me? Did something happen?"
Clair sounded genuinely surprised.
The two of them were close, but they didn't usually reach out without a reason. Clair was obsessed with training, and Caster was obsessed with fishing. They each had their own thing.
"Clair, Team Rocket just attacked me," Caster said, keeping his voice low. "They tried to steal my Dratini."
"Team Rocket? Those bastards again!"
Her expression darkened, and the questions came fast: "Where are you? What's the situation? Do you need backup?"
"I'm on the outskirts of Pallet Town, in the Kanto region. Things have settled down for now. I already took care of the Rocket members, so backup isn't necessary. I just don't know how to handle what comes next."
At Caster's signal, his phone Rotom swiveled the camera to show Clair the scene: the scorched ground, the wreckage, and the unconscious, badly charred figure lying in the middle of it all.
"Before he passed out, that guy said his name was Clem. He's apparently a special-class Rocket member and the captain of something called the R-Plan Execution Unit."
"A special-class Team Rocket member?"
Clair's eyes went wide.
Team Rocket's rank and file were a mixed bag, but anyone who climbed to special-class was no joke. Executives were a different level entirely, capable of giving even Gym Leaders serious trouble in a straight fight. And this man was the captain of an execution unit, a title like that put him on the same level as most Executives, if not above them.
She had plenty of questions about how Caster had possibly beaten someone like that, but this wasn't the moment. "Let me make a call," she said. "Give me a few minutes."
She hung up.
Caster exhaled slowly. Just knowing Clair could actually do something about this made him feel a lot calmer.
If she hadn't been able to help, his next call would have been to Elite Four Bruno, though he wasn't entirely sure he had that kind of pull with the man.
He glanced at the bodies of Clem's Pokémon scattered across the field, thought it over for a second, then had Pikachu shock Clem once more for good measure.
No reaction. The man was completely out.
Only then did Caster carefully step forward and collect all of Clem's Poké Balls, recalling each of his Pokémon and locking every last ball.
That done, he finally let himself breathe.
But just as he started to relax, the large pack strapped to Clem's back popped open on its own, and out rolled an egg roughly the size of a football, covered in unusual markings.
"Is that... a Pokémon Egg?"
Caster's curiosity spiked immediately.
The fact that Clem had been carrying it on his back, rather than storing it anywhere else, made it clear this was no ordinary egg.
He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly picked it up and looked it over.
Unfortunately, he knew almost nothing about Pokémon Eggs and couldn't make anything of it.
Beep beep beep.
Right on cue, his phone Rotom chimed. Clair calling back. He answered right away.
"Stay where you are. The person I reached out to should be there in about five minutes. Just follow his lead when he shows up."
The corners of Clair's mouth had curved into a small smile. She was clearly pleased with herself.
Caster caught the look and felt a sudden instinct kick in. "Clair... the person you called wouldn't happen to be Champion Lance, would it?"
"Got it in one."
She smiled wider. "You got lucky, actually. Lance was already at the Vermilion Gym talking things over with Lt. Surge. At Dragonite's speed, a few minutes is nothing."
Caster couldn't help a brief thought about Lt. Surge, and what he knew about the man's future. He let it pass. That kind of League knowledge wasn't something to let slip carelessly.
He chatted with Clair for a few more minutes before a sharp whooshing sound cut through the sky overhead.
A large, powerfully built Pokémon covered in orange came streaking through the air, its wings driving it powerfully forward as it came in to land.
Dragonite. One of Kanto's pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Riding on its back was a young man in a sweeping red cape, his hair the same vivid red, his expression composed and serious.
Lance.
Dragonite spotted Caster from a distance and touched down swiftly.
"You're Caster?"
Lance dropped from Dragonite's back in one smooth motion, his red cape catching the wind behind him.
"Champion Lance! Yes, that's me."
Caster stepped forward and greeted him with genuine respect.
Lance was one of the best trainers in the world. In terms of name recognition alone, even Iono couldn't come close.
Lance looked Caster over for a moment, then turned his attention to the Gyarados, something reflective passing across his face. "The flying Gyarados mentioned in our clan's old texts. I read those passages once and always figured it was some ancestor getting carried away. Seeing it with my own eyes... it's a reminder that I've had my head down too long. There's always more out there than you think." He paused. "Pokémon never stop surprising you."
"You're too kind, Champion Lance," Caster said, keeping his tone modest.
Lance didn't dwell on it. His gaze dropped to the figure on the ground, still twitching faintly, scorched from head to toe. Even through the charring, the face was recognizable enough. Lance placed him immediately.
"That's Clem. Special-class Team Rocket, no question."
As a Pokémon Inspector, Lance had spent the better part of his career going after criminal organizations. He had files on most of Team Rocket's key people.
Still, he was quietly surprised.
Clem was genuinely dangerous. At minimum, he matched a regional tournament champion. Even a seasoned Gym Leader could struggle against him in a real fight. So how had a brand-new rookie trainer managed to beat him out here in an open field?
Is this kid hiding his strength?
Lance glanced at Caster from the side, keeping his expression neutral.
It wasn't impossible.
Most new trainers spent their entire first year just scraping together eight badges, and making it to the League Conference was already an accomplishment. But there were always exceptions. Some people just defied the normal curve.
The obvious example was Red, who had become World Champion in a timeframe that made almost everyone else look slow. Measured against something like that, even Lance's own rise seemed unremarkable.
Though by any normal standard, Lance was very much the exception himself.
"Your situation, Clair already walked me through it. I'll handle Clem personally and file the arrest under my own name. Your name won't appear anywhere in the report, which means Team Rocket won't have any reason to come looking for you."
Lance smiled, a dry edge to his voice. "If anything, you're doing me a favor. You're handing me credit I didn't earn."
"Please, you've already done more than enough just by coming out here," Caster said sincerely. "I'm genuinely grateful."
"Catching a special-class Rocket member in the field is no small thing," Lance said, shaking his head. "An Executive? That's almost impossible. They're too careful, too quick to disappear."
Since becoming a Pokémon Inspector, Lance had gone up against Team Rocket more times than he could count. He'd caught plenty of low-level operatives, but the ones who actually mattered always seemed to slip away.
Looking at the calm, easygoing young man in front of him, someone who had taken down Clem alone in a real, unpredictable fight, Lance felt his opinion of the kid shift upward. The difference between an official battle and a real fight was enormous. The fact that Caster had handled the latter said a lot about his instincts.
"Caster," Lance said, his tone carrying more weight than before. "What are your plans after the Indigo Conference?"
He let it sit for a beat before continuing, "Have you ever thought about joining the Indigo League as a Pokémon Inspector?"
Then, after a pause: "One who reports directly to me, and only to me."
He had already made up his mind. He saw something in Caster worth backing.