"Hoenn's huge. It only needs Team Rocket. You understand me?"
Silence.
After Damian spoke, the entire Team Magma base went dead quiet.
"What… did you say?"
Courtney finally reacted. Her deep purple eyes shook—just a little—as if she wasn't sure she'd heard him right.
"Was that not plain enough?" Damian lifted a brow, studying her like she was an interesting specimen. The short purple hair caught his attention for a second—then he dismissed it.
"Let me put it simpler." His voice stayed light. "Team Rocket wants Hoenn. Team Magma and Team Aqua? You're a joke. Bad ideas, worse execution, and you don't even have the strength to back any of it up."
He didn't bother softening it. He genuinely looked down on them.
If you wanted to be polite, you could call them "evil teams." If you were being honest, they were extremist eco-gangs with stolen uniforms.
And their "ideals" weren't even clean.
They preached about expanding land and sea to "build a better world," but what did they actually do?
They stole other people's Pokémon. Hijacked subs. Broke into labs.
That was the whole playbook.
A loud, ugly joke.
"So tell me," Damian said, gaze sweeping the room, "why should anyone keep incompetent crews led by incompetent leaders?"
He leaned forward slightly, tone sharpening.
"And what makes you think you deserve to be called a real dark organization—like Team Rocket?"
Arrogant.
No—this was beyond arrogant.
The Magma grunts looked like they were about to explode. It felt like someone had spit in their faces and told them to thank him for it.
Lady Courtney—say something!
Courtney's anger spiked. Her face didn't change much, but her breathing did. Her chest rose and fell fast enough that no one could pretend she was calm.
"You've got a big mouth," she said, voice tight. "Calling Team Magma trash? Fine. Then show me what Team Rocket can actually do."
She couldn't accept it—couldn't accept her organization being dismissed like dirt.
Before Team Magma, Courtney had been a scientist. She cared about things that interested her, and nothing else.
Maxie's dream had caught her—more land, a reshaped world—and she'd followed him because it was the first thing in a long time that felt worth believing in. Her loyalty wasn't shallow.
But Damian wasn't just insulting their methods.
He was mocking the idea itself.
Courtney's temper finally slipped its leash.
"Tch." Damian clicked his tongue, unimpressed. He didn't even straighten up.
That casual posture—like he was watching a performance—made Courtney's eyes harden.
She snapped two Poké Balls forward.
Swellow and Ninetales appeared in front of her.
He didn't have many options. On Mount Chimney, May had already defeated his Camerupt and his Mightyena. He needed something fast and with control, something that could attack first.
But the moment Swellow and Ninetales materialized, a faint blue sheen wrapped them.
They struggled—hard—yet couldn't move an inch.
A psychic attack?
Since when?
Courtney's face went pale as she looked past Damian.
That armored Pokémon behind him.
Armored Mewtwo.
Mewtwo flicked a finger.
Swellow and Ninetales shot backward like they'd been thrown. They slammed into the wall and stuck there, pinned in place, unable even to drop.
"That's it?" Damian asked, brows raised.
"…!"
Courtney stared at her two Pokémon, stunned.
How is it that strong?
The grunts froze too. Watching their Admin get defeated in a single second left them blank-faced, like their brains were a beat behind their eyes
"And you call yourselves villains," Damian said, voice flat. "With this?"
Courtney bit her lip until it hurt. She wanted to spit back a reply, but reality stood in the way like a wall.
"Usually," Damian continued, "I'd throw the lot of you into a mine and work you until you forgot your own names."
Caitlin lifted a chair with psychic power and floated it over. Damian dropped into it, crossed his legs, and looked at them like a judge who'd already decided the sentence.
"But I'm in a generous mood."
His gaze moved across the room—dozens of Magma members, stiff and sweating.
"Stay with Team Magma and you'll hit a wall sooner or later. No future. What you want—money, safety, power—Team Rocket can give you that."
His eyes stopped on a girl with short black hair. Her outfit was different from the standard grunts. Damian's mouth tilted up slightly, as if he'd noticed something useful.
"Here's the deal," he said calmly. "Anyone who wants to join Team Rocket, stand to the left. Anyone who doesn't… stand to the right."
No one moved.
They stared at each other, caught between fear, shame, and survival.
Gladion's voice cut through it. "Did you not hear Damian? Or do you need me to 'help' you decide?"
His gaze was ice. Silvally and Umbreon stood there like they were waiting for permission.
That did it.
"Sir! I want to join Team Rocket!"
"I've been sick of Team Magma for ages!"
"Team Rocket's the real deal!"
"I was born for Team Rocket!"
Most of them rushed left.
They were grunts. Their loyalty wasn't deep. And as humiliating as it was to fold with Courtney standing right there, they liked breathing more than pride.
Also—Team Rocket looked terrifyingly competent.
"…."
Courtney watched it happen, eyes empty.
More than ninety percent of her people—gone, in minutes.
Time passed fast. Under Silvally and Umbreon's pressure, almost everyone ended up on the left.
Only one person stayed beside Courtney now: a girl in a cape, tight black top, and hot pants.
"Lady Courtney," the girl whispered, still smiling like this was fun. "This is bad. Let's pretend to surrender. Don't worry—I'm with you."
Courtney felt something stir in her chest.
Zinnia. That was her name. She hadn't joined long ago.
Courtney hadn't expected her to stay this steady.
She weighed it. Measured the room. Measured Mewtwo.
Then she raised a hand, face still unreadable.
"I surrender."
If she didn't bend here, she wouldn't walk out of this base.
And… she'd developed a real curiosity about the three in front of her.
Are there many like them in Team Rocket?
"Good," Damian said. He clapped once, satisfied. "Welcome, new colleagues. Smart choice."
He stood up.
"Believe me—Team Rocket rewards people. We don't sell fairy tales. We take territory, we make money, we live well, and we hold power."
That was the difference.
From Giovanni onward, Team Rocket's goal had always been practical: use Pokémon by any means necessary, build profit, then build control.
Damian's goal wasn't different—he'd just trimmed the ugliest edges.
Work in the shadows, sure. But don't become a mindless monster.
Even if his moral line wasn't exactly high, it existed.
Courtney listened without reacting, thoughts turning. Empty ideals…? Was Team Magma empty?
"Gladion," Damian said, "get them registered."
He pointed next.
"And you. And you." His finger landed on Courtney and Zinnia. "You're coming with me."
Damian led Caitlin out of the base first. The heat inside was unbearable—hot and stale in a way that made your skin crawl.
Courtney and Zinnia followed. Damian was clearly the one calling shots.
Outside, Damian exhaled long. "Yeah. That's better."
The air wasn't fresh, but it was still a relief.
"I honestly don't get you Magma people," he muttered. "An underground base next to a volcano? How do you not bake alive in there?"
Courtney said nothing.
Zinnia nodded slightly, as if she'd been wondering the same thing.
"Master… Damian," Courtney said at last, voice soft—carefully chosen. "Why did you bring us out here?"
Professional. Immediate. She even used "Master" without hesitation, making it clear she understood the new hierarchy.
"I want to talk," Damian said. "First, we eat. And you—change clothes."
He looked her up and down. "Zinnia's fine. You're not walking into town dressed like Team Magma."
Courtney paused, then nodded.
After she swapped coats, the four of them headed for Lavaridge Town.
With the Magma-Aqua clash over, security had loosened. Damian didn't even see Flannery or that lead Officer Jenny.
They found a restaurant and booked a private room. Damian sat down like he belonged there and started eating—he was actually hungry.
Once most of the food was gone, Damian leaned back and looked at the two women across from him.
Courtney barely touched her plate.
Zinnia, on the other hand, ate like she'd been starving—completely unbothered, oil at the corner of her mouth.
Courtney couldn't understand it. Damian and Caitlin were right there.
How was Zinnia this relaxed?
"Team Rocket just arrived in Hoenn," Damian said. "We're building from scratch here. Which means right now, we need people."
He tapped two fingers on the table, slow and steady, eyes on Courtney.
"I'm not going to hide it. You're both useful. I can give you real roles—positions that matter."
His gaze sharpened.
"And yeah, I look down on Team Magma and Team Aqua. Not only because your plans are ridiculous, but because you don't have the strength to make anything real."
"With Maxie's level," Damian added, "he's not even impressive among Elite Four-level trainers. What exactly does he think he's going to achieve?"
"Lord Maxie—" Courtney started, a flicker of emotion slipping into her face.
Damian cut her off with a wave. "Save it."
"Do you know what Team Rocket looks like?" he continued calmly. "We have more than ten high-level executives."
He let that sit for a beat.
"And the minimum requirement for that position is Elite Four level—bare minimum."
Courtney's eyes tightened.
Even Zinnia paused mid-bite for a second.
More than ten executives, and they're all Elite Four level or close?
Zinnia's gut did a small flip. That's insane.
Compared to that, Team Magma and Team Aqua really did look small.
"Stick with a loser like Maxie and you get nothing," Damian told Courtney. "Think it through. And just so we're clear—no, I'm not letting you walk away."
He didn't say it like a threat.
He said it like a fact.
Courtney fell quiet, mind spinning.
"And then there's you," Damian said, shifting his eyes to Zinnia.
Zinnia flashed him a bright, fearless grin—white teeth against sun-browned skin.
Caitlin watched her over a teacup, surprised. Courtney looked heavy with tension, but Zinnia acted like she was at a festival.
It wasn't normal.
"Does Master Damian have instructions?" Zinnia asked, almost cheerful.
Damian's mouth curved slightly. "I won't play games with you, Zinnia. Join Team Rocket—and you name your terms."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a gold badge, and tossed it to her.
Zinnia caught it and turned it over, curious.
It was finely made, patterns etched along the edges. In the center: a bold capital R.
Caitlin's eyes changed instantly. She stared at the badge, then at Zinnia—shock flickering across her face.
That badge was the identification for Team Rocket's highest-level executive.
In the entire organization, only Damian and Giovanni had one.
Which meant one thing.
Zinnia was a Champion-level trainer.
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