Chapter 229: Isn’t an Office Romance Enough for You Anymore?

Chapter 229: Isn't an Office Romance Enough for You Anymore?

Rocket Team Base, Fuchsia City

Sird stood in her office, her Banette silently floating at her side.

"…Understood."

"I got it. I'll make an attempt to sabotage the cooperation."

Hanging up the phone, Sird stared at the Kanto map Giovanni often gazed at, the usual smile on her face now long gone.

"This is such a hassle…"

As Team Galactic's mole within Team Rocket, Sird had never been activated before — her job had simply been to pass on intelligence about Team Rocket to Team Galactic on a regular basis.

With Team Rocket heavily weakened, Sird thought she'd remain dormant for a while longer. She hadn't expected to be deployed now of all times.

And the task assigned by their leader, Cyrus, gave her a headache — disrupt the alliance between the Sinnoh and Kanto Leagues.

Emotionally, Sird understood the rationale. If Sinnoh and Kanto truly joined forces, it would be disastrous for Team Galactic.

Logically, though? Sabotaging this cooperation was practically an impossible task.

Not only was Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, personally overseeing the collaboration — a formidable opponent in her own right — but there was also the matter of the man in charge of the Indigo League's security…

Asahi.

The man who had crushed Team Rocket's Mewtwo project, severely injured Giovanni, outmaneuvered Team Rocket in Johto by pitting factions against each other, and destroyed the Masked Man's forces.

If Sird took action, she would inevitably have to face Asahi head-on.

Standing in her office, eyes fixed on the map on the wall, Sird sank into deep thought.

…

Alliance Headquarters

Conference Room

On one side of the table sat Lance and Agatha, representing the Kanto League. On the other side, Cynthia represented Sinnoh. Meanwhile, Asahi and Sabrina… were slacking off in a corner.

While Lance and Agatha discussed the cooperation plans with Cynthia, Sabrina glanced at Asahi — who was lounging with Eevee in his lap, watching a livestream through his headphones — and spoke to him via telepathy.

[Shouldn't you be participating?]

[GardevoirIsTheBest: Participating in what?]

[The Kanto-Sinnoh collaboration…]

[GardevoirIsTheBest: Nah. I've got my hands full with Hoenn already…]

The thrill of battling alongside Lugia against Pryce had been incredible — but now the mere thought of facing Groudon and Kyogre at the same time gave Asahi a headache.

Unlike Pryce, he couldn't create clones of himself. He simply didn't have the energy to deal with Sinnoh's issues too.

But some matters had a way of finding him, whether he wanted to be involved or not.

Mid-discussion, Lance, Agatha, and Cynthia suddenly turned to Asahi.

"Asahi, do you have any suggestions?" Lance asked.

Sabrina poked Asahi.

Removing his headphones, Asahi blinked. "Huh? I'm busy…"

Sabrina buried her face in her hands.

Cynthia, puzzled, tilted her head. "I heard from Lance that you orchestrated both battles against Team Rocket, weakening them considerably. Given your expertise, we'd like your input on this collaboration."

There was a certain charm to Cynthia's serious demeanor.

Oh, so they weren't asking him to do anything — just to give advice.

That was fine. He really didn't have the time to get too involved.

Instead of answering immediately, Asahi asked, "What plans have you discussed so far?"

Lance, clearly aware Asahi had been slacking off, gave a brief summary. "The initial plan is to have Lorelei lead a group of Kanto trainers to support Sinnoh. What do you think?"

Asahi thought for a moment. "Just Lorelei? That might not be enough."

While Asahi didn't think much of Cyrus personally, if you added Team Galactic's commanders and their entire organization to the mix… Lorelei alone wouldn't cut it.

Lance frowned. "So you suggest…?"

Of Kanto's Elite Four, Agatha was too old for long journeys, Bruno was still handling the aftermath in Johto, and Lance himself needed to stay put to guard against Team Rocket. That left only Lorelei available.

"What about Koga? He's still locked up, right? Let's give him a chance to redeem himself," Asahi said.

It wasn't unheard of for former Team Rocket member to switch sides —Sabrina was a prime example. With the League short on manpower, Koga deserved a shot.

Lance hesitated. "Koga… Are you sure?"

After all, Asahi was the one who had personally arrested him.

"The League Council has been talking about releasing him for a while now. Honestly, you've been holding off their pressure long enough. This would lighten your load," Asahi said, with a I'm doing this for you expression.

Kanto's Fuchsia Gym still lacked a proper leader. Though the Indigo League had already started, they couldn't leave the gym vacant forever.

As for why he suggested Koga but not Lt. Surge…

Well, Koga's crimes were less severe — and Asahi hadn't forgotten that time Lt. Surge tried to blow him up with a Voltorb.

Lance seemed swayed. Koga had been a friend once. If he genuinely reformed, Lance would gain an ally when he eventually became Champion.

Still, Lance wanted to run it by the League Council first.

Sharing a look with Agatha, he turned to Cynthia. "Miss Cynthia, we need some time to discuss this further."

Cynthia understood. As the Sinnoh League's representative, she naturally wanted the strongest possible support from Kanto.

Just as Asahi thought the meeting was finally over, Lance added, "In the meantime, Asahi, why don't you show Miss Cynthia around the Indigo League grounds?"

Cynthia smiled warmly at him. "I'd appreciate that."

Asahi: "?"

…

Indigo League Preliminary Arena

"Nidoking, use Earthquake!"

With a fierce expression, Nidoking stomped the ground, sending shockwaves rippling outward. Rocks burst from the floor, slamming into the opposing Vulpix — a small, helpless, and rather unfortunate target.

"Vulpix is unable to battle. The winner is Gary from Pallet Town!" the referee announced.

Gary let out a breath of relief.

Sure, using Earthquake against a Vulpix might've been overkill… but he was playing it safe.

All because he wanted to prove something to Asahi —

He, Gary Oak, would not lose in the preliminaries.

Before the match, Asahi had teased him about flopping early — no way was Gary going to let that happen.

Gary's gaze drifted to the VIP section.

Sure enough, he spotted Asahi.

But then his eyes widened.

Not only was Asahi there — he was chatting and laughing with a beautiful woman.

…?

Gary's face scrunched in confusion.

Had Asahi grown bored of his "office romances" with Green and Sabrina?

Wait — hold on!

That woman… wasn't she… the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia?!

…

VIP Viewing Area

Meeting Gary's stunned expression, Asahi simply smiled and gave him a friendly wave.

Beside him, Cynthia tilted her head. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah," Asahi replied. "That's Gary — he's with the International Police too. Don't let his clueless look fool you — he's actually Professor Oak's grandson."

"Professor Oak's grandson?" Cynthia gave Gary another glance.

At that moment, Gary was mercilessly commanding Nidoking to pummel his opponent's Flareon.

…