Chapter 3: Why Don't You Join Team Rocket?
Misty was so angry she nearly fainted. How could she have met such a bizarre person!
"You thief, you stole my Bicycle today!" she reprimanded, her voice filled with righteous indignation.
"You've got the wrong person."
Red just gave her an indifferent glance.
He then shook off her arm and continued walking forward on his own.
She was just some girl trying to stage a Faked Accident, that's all.
He remembered how, back in the day, many Trainers would send their Rattata to attack his Charizard. Before he even attacked, their Pokémon would slam its head into his Charizard's belly and instantly lose its ability to battle.
Then they would demand he pay for medical expenses.
Speaking of which, why did this girl look a bit like the second Gym Leader from his world?
Hmm, just a few years younger.
But Red was face-blind; if she wasn't wearing a Swimsuit, he really wouldn't recognize her.
However, he had forgotten that his current body was just that of a Newbie Trainer with a childish air, the type of person no one would bother trying to pull a Faked Accident on.
"You..."
Misty was so infuriated by Red she was speechless, her trembling finger pointing at his retreating back. Only after he had walked a fair distance did she snap back to her senses and hurriedly chase after him.
Report him!
Yes, report him to the authorities! This was completely lawless!
Besides, Officer Jenny was right next door!
Late at night, the Pokémon Center lobby had few Trainers.
Red arrived in the lobby and saw a scorched Bicycle still lying by the entrance.
"Who left this Salted Fish here?"
Red shook his head, stepped over it, and then turned his gaze to the Computer nearby. This was his true objective.
"Please!"
He murmured in a low voice, his calm tone belying a trace of excitement and prayer.
Beads of sweat had already formed on Red's forehead. He opened the Computer with a trembling hand and selected the option to access Pokémon.
"Ash's Computer."
"Red's Computer."
Upon seeing the second Signature, Red's entire being seemed to ascend.
He couldn't remember the last time he had been this excited.
Was it that time in the Champion's room at the Indigo Plateau, when he taught a lesson to Green, who had only been Champion for three minutes?
He clicked the option. When he saw his familiar Pokémon still listed in the Computer, Red almost screamed with excitement.
"..."
But he was emotionally withdrawn now, so he could only stare silently at the computer screen, his eyes already moist.
Although he knew he was just a game character, those Pokémon were his most precious partners.
Feelings could not be faked.
He could undergo this bizarre transmigration now, but if his Pokémon were to be forever lost and imprisoned in Another World, he would rather have never gone through it at all.
*Click!*
Without hesitation, Red quickly tried to select a Pokémon and place it in his Traveling Team.
*Bzzzt!*
As the Transfer Device's Electric Current flashed, a Poké Ball materialized in Red's hand.
Feeling the familiar Aura, he tremulously tossed it out.
"Come on out..."
The next moment, a Pokémon creature identical to the Pikachu on his shoulder appeared in the Pokémon Center lobby.
Except this one's fur was a much deeper color, and its round face had a different shape from a normal Pikachu. A powerful Aura faintly radiated from its body; one look was enough to tell this was a Veteran Actor-level Pokémon.
A Veteran Electric Mouse Pokémon!
The Round-faced Pikachu opened its eyes, curiously sizing up its surroundings as if adapting to this new environment.
"Pika?"
Seeing this, Ash's Pikachu jumped down, its eyes meeting those of the new Round-faced Pikachu.
The two Electric Mouse Pokémon mirrored each other's actions, turning their backs and touching their tails together.
"This is a very powerful senior..."
From that simple tail-touch, Ash's Pikachu knew that the one before it was a Top Player Pikachu.
"?"
Misty, arriving late, saw this scene in the lobby and couldn't help but rub her eyes.
Why was she seeing two Pikachus?
Had it already learned a High Level Move like Double Team?
Even so, that's no excuse for being a bike thief!
At this thought, Misty angrily strode over again, preparing to unleash a triple-combo of justice.
*Crash!*
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from above.
Three figures burst through the roof of the Pokémon Center, descending from the sky and striking a very cool pose upon landing.
One was a woman with long red hair, held perfectly in place with a ton of hairspray.
The other was a man with blue, kelp-like hair. Both wore a Uniform with the letter "R" on it, looking like outstanding employees of some large multinational corporation.
And with them was an Abnormal Variant Meowth, which even walked upright, its expression as cunning and changeable as a Human's.
"Who are you!?" Misty blurted out instinctively.
This question seemed to flip some kind of mechanical Switch, instantly activating the trio.
A barrage of flashy lines shot out like bullets from a loaded gun. "Dadada."
"Since you've asked so sincerely!"
"***"
"@@@"
"¥¥¥"
"###"
"%%%"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Meowth, that's who!"
"***"
"***"
"That's right, meow~"
For a moment, the entire Pokémon Center was stunned into awkward silence by this speech, as if the very Air had frozen solid.
*Clap, clap, clap!*
But just as everyone fell silent, Red suddenly began to applaud, shattering the awkwardness.
So this is what real humans in this World are like?
They greet people with a performance art piece?
Perhaps he should also follow the local customs and design his own entrance monologue.
Otherwise, what if someone exposed his identity one day, revealing him to be just a foolish outsider?
Red thought to himself.
"You've got good taste, kid!"
"Why don't you join us in Team Rocket?"
Jessie and James's impression of the Youth before them instantly soared.
Team Rocket?
Hearing this, Red began to ponder.
In his game world, Team Rocket was an Evil Organization he had single-handedly toppled with just himself and one Mouse Pokémon.
Even their Boss, Giovanni, was just another one of his defeated opponents.
He didn't expect Team Rocket to exist in this World too.
Have Team Rocket's Operations expanded across worlds?
"So it's you! You're the thieves who specialize in stealing other people's Pokémon."
At that moment, Misty interjected with righteous fury.
A Wanted Poster of the three was posted right at the Pokémon Center entrance. After speaking, she added another sentence, tinged with a bit of passive aggression:
"That's even more detestable than a little thief who steals a Bicycle! Don't you agree, Trainer with the Pikachu?"
Red: "???"
If your Bicycle was stolen, go find Jenny. What was the point of constantly trying to stage a Faked Accident with a bystander like him?
Could it be? Has my identity as an outsider been exposed?
Before Red could speak, Team Rocket took up the conversation.
Jessie tilted her head back, her nose in the air, and said proudly, "Hey, little girl, don't you dare compare us, Team Rocket, to some Small Fry thieves."
James also rubbed his well-built chest muscles and teased, "Tsk tsk, the little blonde girl isn't even fully developed yet, and she dares to insult the great Team Rocket!"
Meowth extended its claws, its expression fierce, taking a Taunt-ing posture as if ready to Scratch someone.
"Don't look down on us, meow, little girl!"
"You... you people..."
Misty's pretty face flushed red with anger again, rendering her speechless.
When it came to a Literary Battle, she was slightly inferior.
But was that guy named James a pervert? What was the deal with him constantly rubbing his own chest?
"Shoo, shoo, don't interrupt us adults' work."
"There must be a lot of Pokémon here. We'll catch them all to contribute to the great cause of Team Rocket!"
The Team Rocket trio was already looking around, searching for where the Pokémon storage was.
Misty quickly pushed Red to the front.
"Trainer with the Pikachu, hurry up and defeat them!"
Red: "?"
He was just a Neutral Bystander, using someone else's body. The most appropriate thing for him to do was to watch from the sidelines.
"Oh, the kid with good taste wants to interfere?"
"Although we admire you, if you insist on getting involved, don't blame us for not being polite."
"With just those two dime-a-dozen Electric Mouse Pokémon, meow? Meowth has to laugh. What can an Electric Mouse Pokémon even do?"
"!"
Red had originally planned to stay out of it, but he never expected them to dare badmouth Pikachu.
His brow furrowed instantly, and his temper began to flare.
Red was an old fan of Electric Mouse Pokémon.
Well then, might as well test out what a Battle in this World is like.
Alright. Just this once