Leon trained in the training room until Ryan came to fetch him. The three of them then moved to a small private dining room for lunch.
Inside the room, two large portions and one smaller portion of food were laid out in front of the three Pokémon.
"Time to eat," Leon said, adding energy cubes and a few other treats to the spread.
He then turned back to the other two. "You're not letting your Pokémon out to eat?"
"They're still being treated," Ryan replied, gnawing on a huge chicken leg.
"Ah, got it." Leon set everything down and joined them at the table.
"Boss, that Torchic—you got it from chasing him down, right?" Ryan asked carefully.
"Yeah. That's all I managed to get," Leon said regretfully, picking up a piece of meat."The situation was unstable back then. Otherwise, I could've gotten more. That guy was absolutely loaded."
"True," Ryan grumbled. "Damn slippery bastard—he really got away. His companions were dirt poor, couldn't squeeze anything out of them. No starters either. Even if they had any, we'd have had to hand them in."
The three of them had been mixed into the capture teams afterward, taking down quite a few stragglers.
"Since the objective was the starters," Leon asked casually, "how many did we actually intercept?"
"Thirty-two," Ryan answered. "A few escaped. I heard there were fifty in total."
"Thirty-two is already huge," Leon nodded.If those thirty-two starters hit the market, they'd represent enormous wealth and influence—possibly even producing several high-level Trainers. Starters had high potential and growth ceilings, far superior to something like a Caterpie.
Ryan paused mid-bite and leaned in. "Hey—want to know what happened to that League Champion?"
"Spit it out," Noah cut in immediately.
"Yeah, stop building suspense," Leon added dryly.
"Heh, sorry, force of habit," Ryan scratched the back of his head."Alright. The League Champion didn't die."
"Didn't?" Noah frowned.
"Nope. But two of his Champion-level Pokémon—one died, the other was severely injured. They could've finished him off, but League reinforcements arrived in time and forced the retreat. The two Rocket leaders had no choice but to pull back."
"Survived even that?" Leon murmured."Figures. A veteran Champion isn't the same as someone who just stepped into that tier."
He thought of Muranami—brilliant and confident, yet dead on the spot. Same rank, very different outcomes.
"After taking a loss this big, the League won't let it slide," Ryan continued."They'll make a move. For appearances alone, they have to."
Leon and Noah both agreed.
The League was massive. Corrupt, fragmented, full of internal power struggles—but still the strongest force in the Pokémon world. When its prestige was challenged, it had to respond.
"Still," Ryan shrugged, "when the sky falls, tall people hold it up. We're just small fry. They won't bother targeting squads like ours."
"That's true," Leon said calmly.
From the League's perspective, hunting down low-level operatives wasn't worth the effort. Even wiping out a few squads wouldn't cripple Team Rocket. It was far more efficient to aim for captains or ministers.
Of course—if they ran into someone like them along the way, the League wouldn't hesitate.
Meanwhile, inside Celadon City's Investigation Headquarters…
Ethan Wolfe stumbled in, disheveled. His clothes were torn, riddled with cuts, stained with dirt—he looked utterly miserable.
With him were two middle-aged men, also battered but in better condition.
The three of them were the only survivors.
"This time, Celadon owes me an explanation," one of the men snarled."My old partner died on the spot. My Dragonite is critically injured—its foundation is damaged. Its future is ruined!"
He glared at the city's chief investigator.
The Celadon Chief—Mizuno—maintained a composed expression."The investigation is ongoing. We don't yet know the full details. Rest assured, Champion, you will receive an explanation."
"I expect one," the man said coldly.
"Chief Mizuno," Ethan Wolfe added, "we've suffered serious losses as well. We hope the city will compensate us."
Mizuno frowned instinctively, then relaxed when he saw their condition."Of course. Someone will contact you shortly."
They weren't Champions—he didn't need to handle them personally. The real problem was the man in front of him.
"I expect results within two days," the Champion said flatly."If not, I'll take this straight to the Council."
"Understood."
They turned and left.
Mizuno watched them go, then rubbed his temples wearily and picked up the phone.
On the way out, the Champion spoke again.
"Only you two made it out?"
"Yes," Ethan replied.
After a pause, he added, "Champion… I discovered something. One of the attackers was a psychic. Around elite level."
"A psychic?" The Champion's eyes narrowed."You have more details?"
"No. We only crossed paths because he intercepted me."
"I see," the Champion said after a moment."I'll include it in the report."
An elite-level psychic was worth noting.
Very much so.