In the game: I stole Groudon at the start.

Lance completely ignored the disdainful looks from his colleagues, after all, Bakura was now their superior.

Lance, a master of workplace etiquette, didn't think it was shameful for his boss to overhear his casual remarks.

Lance's rise to a high-ranking position on the Rockets wasn't solely due to his pretty-boy looks and abilities.

"Alright, stop being so cheeky. Have you started working on what I asked you to do?" Bakura rolled his eyes and asked Apollo and the other man.

"Of course, but there's still no news about Celebi."

“We were previously active in the Kanto region, and Chakra and the others didn’t gather much information about Celebi after they came to Johto.”

"We are now doing our best to gather clues about Celebi, and we are confident that we will satisfy you."

Apollo brewed tea for Bakura and the other two, and said to Bakura in a deep voice.

"Okay, keep a close watch on your movements and notify me immediately if you get any news."

Bakura nodded. After all, he had only contacted Apollo two days ago. Even the Rockets couldn't possibly have found out anything in just two days.

The traces of legends cannot be found overnight, and Bakura understood this very well.

Although Bakura was initially troubled by the whereabouts of Celebi and Shaymin, he quickly realized the truth.

He has a hoop...

Therefore, Bakura is not in a hurry at all. His main purpose in coming to Kanto is to recruit some talents to bring back to Alola.

Coming to Johto to find Celebi was just a side trip. While searching for talent and legends, he occasionally caused some trouble for the League, which kept Bakura from getting bored and restless for the next six months.

With six months left until the end of the year, if Apollo and his team still cannot obtain accurate clues about Celebi during this time...

Bakura would naturally choose to have Hoopa summon Celebi and Shaymin.

"Yes, and also..."

Apollo nodded solemnly, then hesitated, unsure whether he should speak.

Searching for Celebi's whereabouts was the first task Bakura had entrusted to them, so Apollo naturally took it very seriously.

Giovanni has now joined the Alora League, which has not yet been formed. Strictly speaking, his Rockets team is now also an organization within the Alora League.

Although the Rockets seem to have lost some of their prestige compared to their past goal of unifying the world.

However, having experienced the Battle of Goldenrod City, Apollo now has a deeper understanding of the Pokémon League.

The 'grand' ideal of unifying the world is really just an ideal...

"What's wrong?" Bakura asked, intrigued by Apollo's hesitant expression.

After all, it was extremely rare for Apollo to show such an expression, given his abilities.

"Well, although we haven't found any clues about Celebi, there have been rumors of Suicune appearing near Asagi City recently," Lance replied to Bakura.

"Suiki..."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. It should be the original three legendary beasts, Suicune. Come to think of it, Bakura hadn't seen them since he made a deal with Ho-Oh and released the three legendary beasts.

"Is the information about Suicune accurate?" Campfire asked Apollo and the other two, intrigued by the question.

She also thought of the somewhat arrogant Suicune that Bakura had back then.

"This information was obtained by my subordinates, so it should be accurate. Moreover, it's not just this; Bishas has already gone to Asagi City on his own."

Apollo's face was somewhat gloomy. He and Lance Athena parachuted directly into Team Rocket in Johto and took over control from the Beastmen.

In reality, Chakra, with his violent and dictatorial personality, was extremely dissatisfied with this, since there was no distinction between superiors and subordinates among the high-ranking members of Team Rocket.

Even if we were to rank them, the three beast warriors and the four generals would be at the same level. Only the three executives, Natsumi, Akimoto, and Shishi, who were highly regarded by Sakaki, would be slightly above them, but strictly speaking, they would also be at the same level.

What's more, the Johto Rockets were built up by Chakra! This was the result of his hard work for more than half a year, and now it has been completely taken over by Apollo.

····Requesting flowers·····

It would be truly strange if chakra could be used willingly. Team Rocket is a dark organization, and there's no such thing as members being loving and affectionate towards each other.

Even Apollo and Athena, who were both generals, couldn't stand each other, let alone their chakra.

"Just two days ago, Bishas left his post without a word and went to Asagi City. We can't contact him at all."

Apollo's eyes held a hint of gloom; Bishas's actions showed that he was completely disregarding him!

Although Chakra was unhappy about the transfer of power, he did not disobey the order, but only made some sarcastic remarks to Apollo.

After all, this was Sakaki's order, and even if the chakra resisted, it couldn't disobey.

However, Bishas's actions truly embarrassed Apollo.

...............

Lance noticed his colleague's mood, shrugged, and said nothing.

"Who is Bishas? Is he also an executive?"

Lillie blinked her clear, beautiful eyes and asked Lance, who seemed indifferent, with curiosity.

It seems that Apollo, while thoroughly disliking Bishas, ​​also harbors some fear of him?

“Bishas is an independent high-ranking officer, and his strength is so-so,” Lance replied nonchalantly, resting his chin on his hand.

"However, he has a ruthless and decisive personality. The boss thought highly of him before and even entrusted him with the Dark Ball project. He should still have some finished products on him."

Lance then recalled that he actually looked down on Bishas.

This world isn't a place where you can thrive just by being ruthless. Bishars's ruthlessness far surpasses that of ordinary people, but he is also arrogant and conceited, with rumors circulating that he is the Rockets' strongest executive.

This made Bishas very socially awkward and unsociable, and he had virtually no relationship with these senior Rockets executives.

"Dark Ball?" Bakura's lips curled slightly upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that Team Rocket would also be involved in the Dark Ball project in this world.

Interesting. This is the Dark Sphere that even Celebi could forcibly capture and control in the movie.

Bakura stroked his chin, the Dark Sphere and Bishas, ​​those were truly familiar memories.

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(Please give me flowers, votes, and subscriptions! I have plans tonight, and I don't know what time I'll be back, cough cough.) Mountain.

Chapter 34 A Chance Encounter and Reunion: You're Really Rich (Seeking Full Subscription)

This world is one where humans and Pokémon coexist. Humans are inherently weaker, while Pokémon are different; most are strong and capable of using various magical abilities. At some point, the name "Pokémon" came to refer to these magical creatures, and humans discovered that Pokémon could be tamed.

And that's how the Poké Ball came about.

However, you cannot directly capture Pokémon using a Poké Ball! This is an important point to emphasize!

Aside from some extremely weak Pokémon with almost zero combat power and very low intelligence, even a high-performance Ultra Ball cannot directly capture a Pokémon in perfect condition.

The Master Ball developed by Silph Company can be said to be the pinnacle of Poké Ball technology to date, but it is completely different from the game. Even the Master Ball cannot directly and forcibly capture powerful Pokémon, let alone legendary Pokémon.

Why is that?

Because elves possess intelligence! Some highly intelligent elves are even no less intelligent than humans.

This world is not like a game, composed of simple data; there is no such thing as a 100% success rate.

It's not that just because you put a Pokémon in a Poké Ball, it will immediately obey your commands. Otherwise, the little devil wouldn't have been burned by Charizard or electrocuted by Pikachu.

Because Pokémon possess thoughts and wisdom, which is also the meaning and value of life, the relationship between Pokémon and their trainers has never been a simple master-servant or subordinate relationship.

Trainers need to work hard to gain the recognition and following of Pokémon, not rely on better Poké Balls.

Therefore, even the Master Ball, representing the pinnacle of Poké Ball technology, cannot directly change a Pokémon's will and make it unconditionally obey its master's commands.

The only difference is that the Master Ball is made of more precious materials. In other words, the Master Ball is more durable and harder for Pokémon to break free from, making it easier for trainers to capture Pokémon.

But the Dark Sphere is different!

What is the Dark Sphere?

Lillie asked out her question out of curiosity about the so-called Dark Sphere project.

“The Dark Sphere…” Lance hesitated and felt embarrassed, unsure how to explain it to this innocent girl.

After all, the Dark Sphere involves many unknown dark aspects, and Lance, who spent a few days in the Ether Paradise, also knows that Lillie is the biggest in the Ether Paradise.

However, Lillie is quite naive, completely different from Bakura.

"The Dark Ball is a special Poké Ball developed by Team Rocket for specific purposes, combining scientific research and technology."

Bakura noticed Lance's gaze, chuckled, and explained to Lillie.

"As is well known, the most common way for trainers to capture wild Pokémon is to defeat and subdue them and then capture them with a Poké Ball."

"But the Dark Ball skips the battle step and directly forces the capture of the Pokémon."

Bakura's lips curled up slightly. This idea was actually quite good, but putting it into practice was not so simple.

Pokémon aren't just data in a game. Once you capture them, they won't obey you. Skipping the battle process, even if you trap a Pokémon in a Poké Ball, why should it obey you?

"Huh? Isn't that amazing?" Lillie was taken aback when she heard this, and then asked with slight surprise.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to capture your favorite spirit directly?

“It’s different, Lillie. Although this doesn’t fit our Team Rocket theme, the will of a Pokémon cannot be subdued by brute force.”

Apollo shook his head and reminded Lillie, as a high-ranking officer of Team Rocket.

Apollo was not a kind and benevolent person; he was in charge of many of the Rockets' inhumane genetic experiments conducted behind the scenes.

However, Apollo considered the Dark Sphere project to be a complete failure because it had a very serious flaw.

"The reason why Dark Balls are different from ordinary Poké Balls is that they are specially equipped with an electromagnetic wave that can erase the Pokémon's consciousness. This is why Dark Balls can capture Pokémon directly, because Pokémon captured by Dark Balls lose their will to resist."

"But this radio wave has extremely serious aftereffects. When an elf loses its independent consciousness, it loses all its potential for growth. The Dark Sphere is a failure."

Since Bakura didn't seem to care, Lance proceeded to give Lillie a detailed explanation of the Dark Sphere.

It can be said that the Pokémon captured by the Dark Ball become complete puppets of the Dark Ball's owner.

What use is such a spirit?

In high-level Pokémon battles, unless there is a significant power imbalance, the importance of teamwork between the Pokémon and its trainer is self-evident.

Because commands need to be conveyed through verbal communication, and the stronger the elf, the fewer gaps there are in the command process.

This requires even more tacit understanding and the spirit's independent consciousness, because tacit understanding allows the spirit to understand the meaning you want to express through your brief words, gestures, or eye contact.