Chapter 40: The Trio — Mascots in Disguise

Outside, perched on the branches of a large tree, the Team Rocket Trio huddled under raincoats as the storm poured down.

Meowth squinted toward the Pokémon Center in the distance.

"Meowth: Looks like there are lots of injured Pokémon in there, nya."

James adjusted his hood.

"Yeah, Meowth… Wait—those twerps are there too!"

Jessie narrowed her eyes.

"Is Natsume around? Is that researcher in the Pokémon Center?"

"Probably not," came a voice behind them.

"Great! That means we can—wait…"

Their voices trailed off as all three slowly turned around, stiff as boards.

"Hi."

Natsume smiled, holding an umbrella while sitting calmly atop his floating Poké Ball Rotom.

He hovered gently in the air, completely dry.

"Why do you always show up like a ghost!?"

The three shrieked, tumbling out of the tree and faceplanting into the mud below.

As Natsume guided Rotom downward to meet them, the trio scrambled into a defensive stance, ready to draw their Poké Balls.

"Want to boost your numbers?" Natsume asked casually, producing a tray filled with dozens of Poké Balls.

"All of these—I'm offering them to you."

"They're empty?"

James eyed him warily.

"Let me check, nya."

Meowth pulled out a scanner and waved it over the tray.

"Full of Pokémon, nya!"

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Wait… what's the catch?" Jessie and James took a cautious step back.

"I'll explain," came another voice.

They turned and saw a girl under a parasol—elegant, porcelain-skinned, and doll-like in appearance.

"Another twerp…" James instinctively backed off a bit.

For some reason, her presence felt strangely familiar.

The girl—Jiaozi—cleared her throat, eager to take this chance to showcase her summary skills in front of Natsume.

She laid out the situation.

After she finished, the Rocket Trio nodded seriously.

"That's horrible, nya! Even Meowth wouldn't stoop that low!"

"Yeah, those Pokémon would be better off with us!" James added.

Carefully, he reached out and accepted the tray from Natsume's hands.

At once, the trio's eyes lit up like stars.

"Finally… finally, nya!"

"We're back in business!"

"It's been too long!"

The three collapsed to their knees, weeping with joy.

"Mr. Natsume…"

Jiaozi tugged gently on Natsume's sleeve, as if she had something to say.

"Go on," he said, looking over.

"I think we should release the Pokémon instead. Selling them to Team Rocket doesn't feel right… Some of their industries are shady."

She hesitated. The very first book Natsume gave her had emphasized the ethical code of a Pokémon researcher.

But now, she was realizing Natsume's interpretation of that code seemed… flexible.

"What if we release them, and some of them—like Charmander—loyally run back to that scumbag trainer?" Natsume asked calmly.

Jiaozi hesitated, then nodded.

"…So what would you do in that case?"

Natsume tossed the question back to her, testing her thinking.

After a moment of hesitation, Jiaozi stepped forward.

"I'll buy them!"

She pulled out a black card with a Master Ball logo and handed it to the Rocket Trio.

"Hold on, nya."

Meowth pulled out a specialized ledger device.

"We need to process this through Team Rocket's official account. Gotta make sure it counts toward our sales metrics, nya."

Swipe card, exchange Poké Balls.

Flawless transaction.

"…You gave us too much, nya."

"MEOWTH! Don't say that!" Jessie's fist came crashing down on Meowth's head.

"But if the numbers don't match up, the Boss'll question it!"

Meowth raised the ledger with exaggerated seriousness.

"Whoa, it's a full million extra," James said, rubbing his chin with the fakest look of surprise.

Though in the rainy dark, no one could tell how insincere it was.

"I want that extra money to go toward teaching that trainer a lesson," Jiaozi said firmly, raising her chin.

"As Team Rocket, I assume you're good at that kind of thing?"

"No problem!" the trio chorused.

"Meowth's mad, nya! I've been dying to beat that guy up!"

"Hahaha! Jackpot!"

Like they'd just been injected with caffeine, the Rocket Trio bolted into the rain, chasing in the direction Jiaozi pointed.

Jiaozi turned to Natsume, eyes glowing with hope.

"Mr. Natsume, how did I do?"

Natsume didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked in the direction the Rocket Trio had gone.

"Do you know why I was willing to give those Pokémon to them?"

"Why?" Jiaozi blinked.

"Because Team Rocket has plenty of clean industries—like pet stores and such."

Jiaozi nodded. That actually made sense.

Compared to letting abandoned Pokémon roam aimlessly, placing them in pet stores meant trainers would likely be better prepared and less likely to abandon them again.

Still better than letting them fall back into that scumbag's hands.

"But how can you be sure those three will send the Pokémon to Rocket's clean businesses?"

Natsume smiled.

"The blue-haired guy—James—he's the son of one of Rocket's major shareholders."

"And the red-haired woman—Jessie—is the daughter of Giovanni's mom's best friend."

In fact, Jessie's mother co-founded Team Rocket alongside Giovanni's mother.

Their original goal? Just to make money.

But under Giovanni—who played both sides of the law—Team Rocket had become a true cross-regional power.

Jiaozi's pupils widened.

She now understood the weight of those two names in Giovanni's world.

"Giovanni would never let the two of them near Rocket's darkest operations," Natsume said, watching them disappear into the distance.

Because of their unique backgrounds, Jessie and James weren't treated like ordinary Rocket grunts.

Instead, Giovanni had created an elaborate fantasy for them—a little villain's playground.

Their "black market work" rarely went beyond Pokémon theft and resale.

In reality, the three were closer to mascots of the Rocket brand—so much so that their direct superior was Giovanni himself.

"So when I say those Pokémon will end up in Rocket's clean operations… I mean it."

Jiaozi stared silently for a moment. Then she lifted the empty tray in her hand, her meaning clear.

"You could've said all that earlier, Mr. Natsume."

"I'll send those ones back to Professor Oak's lab," he said, patting her head.

Honestly, after watching how she handled things—her reasoning, empathy, and action—Natsume's impression of Jiaozi had improved quite a bit.

Still… she was a lot of work.

"You contact Professor Oak. I'm going to find Ash and the others."

He handed her his phone.

"Got it!" Jiaozi's eyes sparkled.

Does this mean… I get to meet his mentor?

Natsume-sensei just acknowledged me again!

"Rotom, let's go!"

Natsume called out as he flew off on Poké Ball Rotom, heading toward Route 24—and the abandoned Charmander.

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