Chapter 320: I, Asahi, the Founder of the Original Team Rocket

Chapter 320: I, Asahi, the Founder of the Original Team Rocket

Hisui – Jubilife Village

Now that they had a place to stay, Asahi, Gardevoir, and Zinnia sat inside the house to rest.

Zinnia was glancing around nervously, clearly holding in a mountain of questions.

Asahi said, "You've got something to ask? Just ask already…"

As if she'd been waiting for this moment, Zinnia immediately fired off, "Where is this place? I heard someone call it Jubilife Village… is it related to Jubilife City in Sinnoh?"

"What's with that Team Galactic just now? And that Cyllene person?"

Asahi wasn't surprised by the questions and answered calmly.

"First question—this is the Hisui region. Hisui is the ancient name for Sinnoh. Jubilife Village is what Jubilife City was originally called…"

"?"

Zinnia froze, trying to process that.

Asahi continued, "Team Galactic is still Team Galactic. Just the ancient version. And Cyllene is the leader of Team Galactic in this era."

"Wait—ancient Team Galactic?" Zinnia finally caught on and blurted out, "You're saying… we traveled back in time?!"

Asahi gave her a weird look. "You're just figuring that out now? I thought you noticed already…"

How the heck would I notice!?

Zinnia's face was pure shock.

Sure, she saw lots of people in traditional clothes along the way, but she thought Asahi had just dragged her to some remote area…

She never expected to be in ancient Sinnoh.

"How did we even get here?" Zinnia asked.

Asahi's eyelid twitched. "You've got some nerve asking that…"

If Zinnia hadn't jumped out and startled him, he wouldn't have been yanked into Hisui unprepared.

At the very least, he would've brought Mewtwo!

Zinnia didn't hear the answer, but something about Asahi's look made her instinctively change the subject.

"Uh… can we go back? We're not stuck here forever, right? No way, I don't wanna live like an ancient person! And if I'm stuck, who's going to take care of Lord Rayquaza?!"

She started off normally, but by the time she mentioned Rayquaza, she was hugging her head and banging it against the wall.

Asahi glanced at the slowly progressing bar on his phone. "Relax, we can go back."

"Though honestly, I don't think Rayquaza needs you to survive."

Hearing they could return, Zinnia finally let out a sigh of relief.

But then she turned beet red and started ranting, muttering things like "You don't understand the Draconids," and "You're not Lord Rayquaza, how would you know he doesn't need me?"

The whole house quickly filled with chaotic but lively energy.

"Alright, time to sleep…"

After wandering around with Professor Laventon all day and chatting with Zinnia for ages, the sky had already darkened.

"Time to sleep!"

Zinnia was jolted by Asahi's words—she suddenly remembered that they had rented a single room.

And... there was only one bed inside.

Could it be...?

Something clicked in her mind. Her face instantly flushed red, and she looked away shyly.

"You're not thinking of... doing something to me, are you...?"

Asahi: "? What are you thinking? I meant that Gardevoir and I will sleep on the bed—you can sleep on the floor!"

Zinnia's face froze. She turned to look at Gardevoir.

"Can't Gardevoir sleep in a Poké Ball?"

Asahi: "She can, technically, but it's not very comfortable. And we've just arrived in a strange place—I need to stay alert... Gardevoir can protect me. Can you?"

Gardevoir smiled gently and handed Asahi a freshly brewed cup of tea.

"I..."

Zinnia opened her mouth, then puffed up her cheeks in frustration and started setting up her floor bedding.

Day one in Hisui—perfectly passed...

He just wasn't sure if everyone else would be worried about his sudden disappearance.

...

Meanwhile, at the Kanto branch of the International Police, a sudden emergency meeting was being held to discuss the disappearance of Asahi and Zinnia.

Inside the conference room, besides Green and Sabrina who were already on site, the others joined via newly installed holo-communication devices.

"Here's the situation," Green began. "At around 10:30 a.m., Asahi and Zinnia suddenly vanished. Yellow witnessed the entire event."

"I've already asked Dialga and Palkia—they said Asahi went to a special place. He's not in danger, but the time of return is unknown..."

"Wh...what the hell—cough, I mean, what exactly happened?" Gary asked, catching himself before forgetting this was a recorded departmental meeting.

"We're not sure of the exact cause, but I reviewed the surveillance footage," said Sabrina, projecting a clip.

In the video, Zinnia was seen tapping Asahi's back, and then a golden crack opened beneath them, swallowing them both.

"That... looks like some kind of move," Blaine muttered, stroking his beard.

"Something that powerful—it's gotta be a Legendary Pokémon," Ethan added.

Platinum said, "I'll ask my father to look into related data."

"Same here," Gary chimed in quickly.

He knew if he didn't contribute something, once Asahi came back and read the meeting logs—given how petty he could be—he'd never hear the end of it.

Everyone pitched in ideas, and soon the Kanto branch was running at full efficiency.

...

Hisui.

Asahi woke up early the next morning and instinctively reached for the head of the bed to grab his Eevee for a good cuddle—only to grab air. Then he remembered... he was in Hisui. Eevee wasn't here.

"This is unbearable!"

He decided it was time to actively look for a way to recharge the icons on his phone.

"Lord Rayquaza... Lord Rayquaza..."

Even in her sleep, Zinnia was mumbling about Rayquaza.

He ignored her.

Together with Gardevoir, he stepped outside. The Jubilife Village was already bustling at this early hour.

The moment he stepped out, he saw Professor Laventon holding a sweet potato mochi. "Morning, Asahi!"

He handed over a coin pouch.

Seeing Asahi's puzzled expression, Professor Laventon explained, "This is what's left after paying for the room—we made quite a bit selling those Evolution Stones."

"Asahi, now that you've decided to stay in Jubilife Village for a while, do you have any plans?" he asked.

The look on his face practically screamed, "I've got a mission for you!"

"Well, now that you mention it... I actually do have a plan," Asahi said with a grin.

"You don't have—wait, what? You do?!"

Professor Laventon was caught off guard.

Asahi smiled. "That's right!"

"I have a dream—to uphold truth and justice!"

"But through my journey, I realized I can't achieve this dream alone. After seeing Team Galactic and their leader Kamado, I've been truly inspired."

"I've decided to form an organization—just like Team Galactic! With everyone's help, we'll make this dream come true!"

"And the name... will be Team Rocket!"

Gardevoir: "..."

She was used to Asahi's random declarations by now, but still... what does Team Rocket have to do with truth and justice?

Luckily, Professor Laventon had no idea what "Team Rocket" implied.

He simply admired Asahi's lofty ambitions.

Truth and peace—what a noble vision! Compared to that, his own mission to ask for help investigating Pokémon felt a little... trivial.

Sensing the hesitation, Asahi offered, "Of course, our organization is still in its early stages. If you have any missions you want to entrust to us, Professor, feel free."

Laventon's eyes lit up. "Really? You're amazing!"

...

Zinnia was awakened by the sound of hammers banging.

Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled outside groggily.

She saw Asahi directing two Machamp as they hung a signboard on their temporary house.

That wasn't surprising—Asahi was always doing weird stuff. Everyone at the Kanto branch was used to it.

But the sign...

Zinnia stared blankly at the words:

"Team Rocket Origins - Hisui Branch"

She turned to look at Asahi, who stood there with his arms crossed, visibly satisfied.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Asahi handed the Machamp their pay and replied, "I figured we're isolated here in Hisui, so to get back to Kanto faster, I founded an organization."

"But..."

Why Team Rocket?

Aren't we part of the International Police?

Asahi explained cheerfully, "There's not even an international concept yet—'International Police' just sounds weird and unclear. But Team Rocket? Easy to understand, just like Team Galactic."

"And imagine—one day I meet Giovanni. I pull out the title 'Original Team Rocket Leader from the Ancient Era.' That smug look will vanish from his face forever."

Just imagining Giovanni's face looking like he swallowed a pile of Muk made Asahi feel delighted.

"You're really something else..." Zinnia muttered.

But after saying that, she had a sudden realization.

If Asahi could claim the Team Rocket name, couldn't she preemptively claim the title of Rayquaza's chosen one?

If she found Lord Rayquaza and got its recognition first, wouldn't she outrank Asahi in Rayquaza's eyes forever?

The idea was electrifying.

Still, she kept calm.

"Can't let Asahi find out!"

...

Asahi used the leftover money from selling Evolution Stones to print a batch of flyers, making sure everyone in Jubilife Village knew about the newly founded Team Rocket Origins.

But just starting an organization wasn't enough to attract attention.

The key? The group claimed to have mastered a revolutionary Pokémon treat called Pokéblocks!

Portable, delicious, easy to digest—even Steven Stone gave it his seal of approval!

No one in the village knew who Steven was, but the flyer descriptions were pretty compelling.

Of course, there were skeptics.

Can something made from Berries really be that amazing?

So before noon, a large crowd had gathered outside Team Rocket's newly set-up booth.

On a makeshift platform, Asahi stood beside a portable Pokéblock-making machine, facing the curious crowd.

"Today marks the first day of Team Rocket Origins—thank you all for coming!"

"Cut the speech—we came to see the Pokéblocks!" someone shouted.

Unbothered, Asahi calmly had Gardevoir take note of the heckler's face.

Then he smiled and said, "Since everyone's so eager, I won't keep you in suspense."

"To prove the authenticity of our recipe, I'll be making Pokéblocks live. I just need a few volunteers to provide some Berries. Any takers?"

The crowd glanced at each other. After a brief silence, someone stepped forward.

"I have three Pamtre Berries."

A silver-haired woman in a Team Galactic uniform emerged from the crowd.

The moment Zinnia saw her, she shouted:

"Cyrus?!"

"Hm?" The woman frowned. "I'm Moon, head of Team Galactic's survey unit. Who's Cyrus?"

Being mistaken for someone else wasn't flattering.

"Ahem... sorry, my subordinate suffers from sleep-talk syndrome. Says a lot of weird stuff—please don't mind her," Asahi said, taking the Berries from her.

He then looked at the crowd again.

With Moon taking the lead, other Team Galactic members started pitching in.

He took a Pecha Berry from a man.

Then two Bluk Berries from a girl.

Skilled and precise, Asahi washed and processed the ingredients, feeding them into the Pokéblock maker.

After a flurry of dazzling moves...

Ding!

The machine chimed.

Asahi opened it.

A burst of sweet, fragrant aroma filled the air—instantly stirring up the crowd.

"Whoa! That... actually smells legit!"

...

"I've never smelled anything so wonderful."

"My Scyther has been refusing food for days, and now even it is interested!"

As the crowd below began to stir noisily, Asahi handed over the Pokéblocks in his hand to the Team Galactic trainers like Moon, who had provided the ingredients.

Moon looked at the Pokéblock in her hand, sniffed it lightly, then tasted a little herself. After confirming it was safe, she handed it to her Abra.

Attracted by the scent, Abra couldn't wait and gobbled the Pokéblock down.

The next second, under everyone's gaze, a bright light began to glow from Abra's body.