After ending his call with Giovanni, Lu Ye stepped out of the room.
The Rocket Trio immediately gathered around him eagerly.

Even though they were currently under Lu Ye’s command, Giovanni was still the boss of Team Rocket.
The trio wanted to leave a good impression.

"Did Boss Giovanni praise us, meow?" Meowth’s eyes sparkled.

"He must’ve been stunned by our amazing plan! Ohohoho~" Jessie covered her mouth, laughing.

"Wait, did we… actually have a plan?" James looked embarrassed.

"Don’t say it out loud, dummy!" Jessie and Meowth shouted in unison.

Watching their comedy routine, Lu Ye nodded solemnly:
"Boss Giovanni commended you as Team Rocket’s elite. He hopes you keep up the good work!"

The trio giggled, then quickly snapped to attention with a salute:
"Understood!"

Looking at them, Lu Ye smiled helplessly.
Across all generations, this trio had broken up and reunited over and over—yet always returned to being a team.

This was no longer just camaraderie or even love—this was something like family.

If possible… Lu Ye wanted to prevent them from being blasted off too often.

Of course, even if they were, it was no big deal.
The trio’s physical durability could rival Ash himself.

"Your current mission is to earn funding."
Lu Ye handed Meowth a business card. "I live near True Sand Town."

Meowth accepted it like a sacred relic.

Lu Ye: "If anything comes up, come find me."

The trio blinked, then clenched their fists, eyes glistening with tears:
"Thank you, Executive! ﾍ(;´Д｀ﾍ)"

At the darkest moments, the executive always appeared.

The three of them wiped their eyes.
Even if they couldn’t catch Pikachu or become true villains of Team Rocket—

As long as their mentor was there,
That was reason enough to walk this road together!

Watching his silhouette disappear,
They composed themselves and huddled up to whisper.

"Seems like the Executive gets along with that twerp Ash… Should we try to cozy up to the kid too?"

"Idiot James!"

Meowth smacked the back of James’ head.
"Even if the Executive doesn’t need Pikachu, if we catch it ourselves, we can prove our worth, meow!"

"But… isn’t the organization banned from stealing Pokémon now?" James asked softly.

"Idiot!" Jessie snapped.
"Just give it back after we catch it. The key is to earn the Executive’s attention—got it?"

"Ohh, I get it!" James lit up. "Then we’ll stand out from the rest of the Executive’s underlings!"

They looked skyward, brain full of headcanon:

【A shadowy hand patted Meowth. A deep voice spoke:
James, you're now in charge of designing the latest card expansion; Jessie, you're cast as the female lead in a major Hollywood film—start immediately!】

They all grinned like fools.

"Such a beautiful dream~"
"Ssssnnnahhh!"

…

Lu Ye left the estate and looked up at the sky.

Why was he so invested in the Rocket Trio?

Aside from their loyalty and surprisingly good earnings—

The real reason was…
They were practically the only operatives he had!

"What’s the difference between me and a lone commander with no troops?"
Lu Ye rubbed his chin.

At least Proton was a half-decent secretary.

And after talking to Giovanni, Lu Ye now had regional authority over Sinnoh’s Rocket operations.

If a big storyline dropped, it might come in handy.

The sun dipped low. A flock of Starly flew across the forest canopy.

The forest between Twinleaf and True Sand—technically part of James’ family estate.

Lu Ye felt a pang in his heart.

Suggest title change: “Couldn’t Catch Pikachu, So I Went Home to Inherit the Family Fortune.”

"Gengar!"
Lu Ye called, "Bring out the Rotom Bike. Let’s ride back in style!"

"Gengarr~!" Gengar pulled the foldable bike out of his pocket and stood beside Lu Ye, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"You should try assembling it yourself next time."
Lu Ye said casually while working. "It’s pretty simple."

"Gengarr!" Gengar grinned and nodded eagerly.

The forest echoed with the cries of Murkrow.

Then birds burst into flight as—

"Rotom engine, ignition!"
"Bzzt… Acceleration mode, Roto!"

A Bidoof holding a berry watched in shock as the bike vanished into the distance, taillights flashing like lightning and fire.
The berry dropped from its paw with a plop.

…

In the group chat—

"Who are the Pokédex holders in Sinnoh?" Gold asked curiously.

"I heard Professor Oak mention them once."
Green, still respectful toward his grandfather, thought for a moment and said,
"Seems like they’re Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum… Why?"

"No big reason." Gold wiped his nose.
"I think I left a hatched Munchlax with one of them."

"I’ve heard Pokédex holders are drawn to each other~"
Blue smiled slyly. "Lu-sensei’s in Sinnoh, right? He might’ve already met them."

"I’m in Sinnoh too!"

Ash grinned. "I’ve just visited Professor Sakuragi and am heading to my first Gym!"

"Closest to True Sand is Oreburgh Gym."

Brock’s babysitter trait activated:

"The Leader Roark specializes in Rock-types—shouldn’t be too hard if you counter him."

"No worries!" Ash clenched his fists, eyes blazing.
"Pikachu and I will take down Oreburgh Gym for sure!"

Green facepalmed and sighed silently.
Using Pikachu in a Rock-type Gym again…
Just praised him, and here we are.

"Say hi to Roark for me."

Steven smiled. "I picked up some rare fossils from him last time."

Ash: "Will do!"

The chat buzzed with new messages.

Lu Ye stopped his bike and glanced at the feed, blinking.

Ah, classic—Pikachu vs. Rock Gym!

Let me testify: that’s not even type disadvantage. Ash’s Pikachu’s Thunderbolt super effective against Rock-types!

Lu-sensei: "@Ash, you already reached True Sand?"

"Uh, I’m near the forest by True Sand, but…"

Ash hoisted Pikachu on his shoulder, glanced around the quiet woods, and gave a sheepish laugh:
"I think I’m lost."

…

In the woods.

The blue-vested boy strolled through with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Better find a way out before night falls."

Ash muttered, then snapped his fingers.
"Right! I’ll have my newly caught Starly scout for the exit!"

"Go, Starly!" Ash threw a Poké Ball.

"Staa!"

The moment it took flight—
A Thunderbolt blasted from the forest, KO’ing it on the spot.

"Starly!"

Ash cried out, reaching for another Poké Ball.
“D*mn it, an ambush?!”

"So it wasn’t wild after all..."

A silver-haired boy stepped out of the shadows, eyes cold as he glanced at Starly.

"But to catch a Starly with such poor potential... You’ve got a bad eye for Pokémon, don’t you."

"What did you just say?!"

"Calm down."

The boy—Paul—stepped back, waving dismissively.
"Let me explain."

"Even within the same species, Pokémon have stat differences. No amount of training can change that."

"So," Paul narrowed his eyes,
"To be a strong trainer, first you need good judgment when selecting Pokémon."

"As for the weak ones…"

He paused, hands in his pockets.
"Release them. Keeping them is a waste of space and resources."

"You can’t just judge life by numbers!"

Ash clenched his fists, shouting,
"Pokémon are more than stats!"

"Oh?"

Paul smirked. "In that case…"

He tossed a Poké Ball—another Starly appeared.

"How about a 3v3 battle between our newly caught Starly?"

Ash bit his lip, steeled himself, then said:
"I… refuse!"

"Huh?"

"Even though I do want to fight…"

Ash’s eyes burned as he shouted,
"My Starly’s already hurt. I won’t force it to battle!"

"Staa…"

Starly, wings scorched, lay on the ground—but looked up at Ash, eyes gleaming.

Paul frowned. "You’re kidding me…"

He really didn’t take the fight.
This guy might be more troublesome than I thought.

"It’s just a small injury. Use a potion and it can fight again."

Paul exhaled and tossed something at Ash:
"Here!"

Ash caught it:
"A Super Potion?"

"A trainer should always carry recovery items."

Paul said coldly.
"Use it on your Starly—it’ll be battle-ready again."

Ash walked over. Starly nodded and flapped its wings. "Staa!"

"Maybe I was wrong…?"

Paul muttered,
"No—its stats are mediocre. I will win this."

"Go, Starly!" Ash shouted.
"Use Wing Attack!"

"Hmph. Counter with Aerial Ace!"

Paul looked up—then froze.
"Wha…"

Just one turn.

Ash’s Starly, wings glowing white, slammed his into the ground in an instant KO!

…

"Gengar, did you hear a battle just now?"

As the sun set, the Rotom bike switched to tandem mode.

Lu Ye pedaled while Gengar sat behind him, and Togepi rode up front.

They cruised through a forest carpeted with fallen petals, leaves crunching under the tires.

"Gengarr!"

Gengar’s short arms hugged Lu Ye’s waist as he nodded.

"Chagi Dooyi~！ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ"

Togepi pointed toward the distance.

"Oh, that way?"

Lu Ye pedaled along. "It’s the way out anyway… Let’s swing by for a look!"

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read