"Put me in jail?"
Damian laughed when he heard Wallace say this.
"You have great courage, Wallace. I will look forward to that. However, you will probably never be able to do it in your whole life."
"It is getting late. Goodbye until next time, you two."
Damian wanted to see what people on the internet thought after he uploaded the photos.
Purple light shone in the eyes of Armored Mewtwo. It flew into the sky with Damian and the others. Then they disappeared far away.
"Damn it! He is so proud!"
Wallace was very angry. He felt that Damian did not respect him at all. It was too much!
"This is really a big problem."
Steven watched where Damian and the others went away. He put his hand to his head because he had a headache. He thought that Hoenn would become very busy and chaotic now. This evil leader did not follow rules and had strange ideas.
However, Team Rocket had taken over Team Magma and Team Aqua. So, Steven thought Team Rocket might not do anything big for a while.
"Wallace, let's go back to Ever Grande City first. We need to talk well and make a plan to fight Team Rocket," Steven said seriously.
"Okay!"
Caitlin's House in Lilycove City
"This is very strange."
After they landed, Zinnia looked at Damian. She looked confused.
"What is it?" Damian asked.
"Damian, aren't we an evil organization?" Zinnia asked the question she had in her mind.
"Since we caught Wallace and Steven, why did we let them go again?"
Zinnia thought this was strange. They were the evil Team Rocket. They should act like an evil organization. This was the second time Damian had let Wallace go. This time, Steven was there too.
Even though they were caught, Steven and Wallace were very strong. They were Champion-level trainers. Steven was especially powerful. Letting them leave made Team Rocket less safe.
"So, what is your idea, Zinnia? Should we kill them? Or should we lock them up?"
Damian smiled and asked Zinnia a question.
"Emmm..." Zinnia started thinking.
Zinnia did not want to kill Steven and Wallace. That was too much. But should they lock them up?
"The Pokémon League is our enemy. Usually, we should make their high-level strength weaker," Damian said as he walked into the house.
Caitlin and Zinnia followed him. Zinnia kept nodding her head. That was exactly what she thought.
"But killing these two Champions would only make the Pokémon League very angry. They would use all their strength to hunt us. Then, our enemy would be the entire world."
This was true. The Pokémon League had existed for more than a hundred years. It started in Kanto and now it was everywhere in the world. Even the Alola region wanted to join the Pokémon League, but the League said no.
The Pokémon League kept the world safe and followed the rules. They actually did things to help. People respected and supported this.
What is the dream of most children today?
"I want to go on a journey, challenge the League, and become the Champion!"
That is the dream of most children. No one would say the Pokémon League is bad because everyone respects it.
Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, Alder, Diantha, Leon, and Geeta are all different. But they all want humans and Pokémon to live in peace. They want a better world and they work hard for it.
The Pokémon League even removed the death penalty from their laws. They did this to help people be good.
If the world heard that Team Rocket killed Steven and Wallace, everyone would be angry. Everyone would want to attack them. The Pokémon League would call every strong fighter to hunt Team Rocket.
Damian was very strong. But he was only one top Champion. His Dark Mewtwo was not fully grown yet. Kyogre was in a Poké Ball, but it did not listen to him yet.
In a fair fight, Damian could beat Lance or Leon. But if many people attacked him at once, it would be hard.
Lance and Leon together would be a problem. There were other Champions too. Also, the League might have special technology to surprise Damian. The technology in the Pokémon world is very good.
Also, Damian did not really like killing people.
"That is true," Zinnia said. She agreed with Damian.
"As for locking them up, it is not worth the trouble. If Steven and Wallace disappeared, the Hoenn League would not ignore it. They might even borrow Champions from other regions," Damian explained.
Locking up Steven and Wallace was not useful. It would only cause a lot of trouble.
"Instead of letting the Hoenn League search for them and get in our way, it is better to keep things as they are now."
"I see now," Zinnia said.
"And there is one more important point. Zinnia, what kind of organization do you think Team Rocket is?"
Damian sat on the sofa. He asked Zinnia the question.
Zinnia thought about it. Team Rocket was an evil organization. But their plan in Hoenn was very different from what she imagined.
In the last few days, Hoenn Team Rocket had bought many factories and shops. They had started many companies. But Team Rocket was not a normal or legal organization. They were an evil organization wanted by the Pokémon League. Their way of doing things was not legal.
"Zinnia, at this stage, our main goal is to make money," Damian said with a smile.
Zinnia's face looked very strange.
"Using Pokémon to make a lot of money was the original reason Team Rocket was created. It is also our main job."
"What about now?"
Zinnia saw that Damian said "the original reason."
"Now... we will develop first. We will put the flag of Team Rocket in every region first."
Damian smiled. He did not give a clear answer. Zinnia rolled her eyes, but she did not ask more.
The Pokémon League Building in Ever Grande City
Steven and Wallace finally returned to Ever Grande City. Then they went straight to the meeting room.
The Hoenn Elite Four and Officer Jenny were already waiting.
"Champion Wallace, is there something urgent?"
Officer Jenny asked. She was confused. It was very rare for Wallace to call a meeting so quickly.
"Just now, Steven and I met Damian from Team Rocket in Lilycove City. We fought him. I think it is necessary for us to discuss our plan for fighting Team Rocket," Wallace said.
Officer Jenny and the others looked worried.
"You met them? What was the result of the battle?" Sidney asked. This was important.
"Sadly, even with Steven and me, we were not a match for Team Rocket." Wallace shook his head.
Steven sat there and said nothing.
"Even the two of you together—the Champion and Mr. Steven—could not do it?"
"Team Rocket is actually that strong... this is going to be difficult."
"Did they have a lot of people? With the strength of both Champion Wallace and Mr. Steven, you shouldn't have lost, right?"
Officer Jenny and the others were very shocked. These were the current and former Champions of Hoenn.
"There were only three people on the other side. But we made a mistake and did not know how strong the leaders of Team Rocket were. And the Champion-level fighters in Hoenn's Team Rocket are not just Damian and Caitlin," Steven said.
"There is also a black-haired girl named Zinnia. Her strength is also very great. Her main Pokémon is a Salamence. We need to study her. I think she was a trainer from our Hoenn region."
Steven spoke seriously. The way Zinnia looked at him was strange. Steven had never met Zinnia, but Zinnia knew who he was.
In the Team Rocket files from Kanto, there was no information about Zinnia. This meant Team Rocket found Zinnia after they arrived in Hoenn.
It was unbelievable. Champion-level trainers are very rare. But Team Rocket found and hired one quickly. Why would Zinnia join Team Rocket? The Hoenn League had a better future than Team Rocket.
"Three Champion-level fighters... this..."
Officer Jenny's face became very pale. This was more strength than an evil organization should have. The Hoenn region only had three Champion-level fighters. And Brandon was away at some ruins. They could not find him.
"The strength of Team Rocket is truly unexpected." Drake was worried.
"It doesn't matter. While coming here, I already talked with Steven. We cannot stop searching for Team Rocket!" Wallace said.
"On this land of Hoenn, we do not need any dark organizations. Team Rocket is evil and shameless. We must destroy them and kick them all out!"
Wallace's voice was firm. Officer Jenny and the others felt his sense of justice.
"So, Champion Wallace, do you have a plan?" Officer Jenny asked.
She knew that if Steven and Wallace could not win, it would be hard. Even if they found them, they could not win the fight!
"Ask other regions for help!" Wallace said. He waited a moment before he gave that answer.
He and Steven could not beat Damian and the others. But they could borrow people from the Leagues in other regions. For example, Kanto or Sinnoh. Wouldn't it be enough to just borrow a few Champions?
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