Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

She pulled out a camera from somewhere.

The flash went off with a "click".

In the photo, Ash, Misty, and Brock are all smiling naturally, while Pikachu looks very dashing.

The three Rockets players, on the other hand, had contorted expressions, shifty eyes, and seemed unsure of what to do with their hands and feet.

They looked like suspicious individuals who had been temporarily brought in to fill a quota.

"This won't do at all!"

Officer Jenny looked at the camera screen and frowned as she commented.

"Don't look so stiff, relax. This is a commendable thing."

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you guys were really Team Rocket."

Upon hearing this, the three Rockets players trembled even more.

They really are!

Suppressing the urge to storm out, they cooperated and took a few more photos.

Kojiro felt his cheek muscles were about to spasm.

He seized an opportunity and asked in as calm a voice as possible.

"Um... excuse me, may we proceed now?"

"Huh? Are you leaving already?"

Officer Jenny, who was looking down at the photos, looked up, blinked her beautiful eyes, and showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

"But I still have something I haven't given you..."

"No need! Really, no need!"

"Serving the people without seeking anything in return!"

"We never leave our names when we do good deeds, meow! We don't actually need to give the banner to our meows!"

Seeing this, Xiaozhi and his two friends felt even less that they were bad people.

"Are you sure you don't want it?"

Officer Jenny tilted her head, looking somewhat confused, and then muttered to herself as if talking to herself.

"But... it seems like we still have a lot of budget left over from the funds approved for this month... This is a real headache."

She sighed softly, her tone carrying a sense of helplessness that only those within the system could understand.

After all, anyone who has worked in the system knows this.

Overspending is not a problem, but not spending it all is a big problem!

"If we don't spend it all, the budget for next quarter might be cut..."

"Funding?!" ×3

All six ears perked up at the same time, and their eyes flashed with a tangible, golden "¥" symbol.

These two words instantly touched them.

The feet that had been desperately trying to move away suddenly felt like they were nailed to the ground.

"Uh... well..."

Kojiro coughed lightly and straightened his collar.

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, assisting the police is the duty of every citizen."

Musashi flicked his hair and gave a "reserved" smile.

"And our 'urgent matter'... comes to think of it carefully, it doesn't seem so urgent, meow."

Meow rubbed its paws together, its tail wagging happily without its own urges.

......

Upon receiving the generous "citizen assistance reward," the three men's attitudes underwent a dramatic 180-degree reversal.

Not only does she have a radiant smile when taking photos, but it's also as bright as the rising sun.

When assisting with case documentation, they were always forthcoming and spoke without reservation.

"However, this is really all thanks to the program written by Kojiro."

Xiao Zhi said.

"Pikachu".

Pikachu nodded.

"That... I just did it casually, haha..."

"Just mess around with it?"

"Such a useful program can't be made casually!"

"...Is it possible to use surveillance footage to coordinate and locate suspects through a process?"

Officer Jenny looked thoughtful.

Here comes the place where you have to spend money!

......

Evergreen City, the secret headquarters of the Rockets.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing Sakaki's office in a dark gold hue.

He had just finished a remote meeting with several branch managers.

Rubbed his eyebrows.

He was the only one left in the huge office.

A rare moment of peace and quiet.

Sakaki closed his eyes to rest for a moment before slowly getting up.

He walked slowly to the classic standing mirror on one side of the office and straightened his impeccably tailored suit.

The man in the mirror exudes authority without any effort.

He subconsciously raised his hand, his fingertips lightly brushing the edge of his hairline.

It seems... these past few days have seen a decrease in the exciting reports that those three subordinates used to send back every now and then in all sorts of bizarre ways.

As a result, the amount of nameless anger that needed to be suppressed also decreased.

The area on his forehead was showing a subtle, obedient tendency, even shifting slightly downwards.

Before he could even finish admiring his receding hairline...

"Knock knock knock."

A knock sounded on the door.

"Enter."

Sakaki withdrew his hand, all the subtle expressions on his face instantly vanishing, returning to his usual deep and inscrutable demeanor.

I walked back to my large desk and sat down.

The person who entered was a mid-level manager in charge of intelligence gathering. He bowed respectfully.

They began to give a clear and organized report on the recent situation in various parts of Kanto, the alliance's movements, and some routine matters that required the leader's decision.

Sakaki lightly tapped the table with his fingertips, occasionally issuing short commands; everything seemed normal.

As the report drew to a close, the official closed the folder, but his posture was somewhat hesitant.

He did not immediately take his leave as usual.

"Is there anything else?"

Sakaki looked up.

"Yes... the leader."

The official's voice was lower than before, carrying an indescribable caution.

"There is a supplementary report on the whereabouts of your direct special operations team, namely Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyanko."

Sakaki's heart skipped a beat.

He had a vague sense of unease.

The official who came to report paused, seemingly choosing his words.

"It's just that the origin... is a bit special."

As he spoke, he pulled out a neatly folded, poorly printed newspaper from the very bottom of the folder—

That was a local evening newspaper that could be found everywhere on the street.

He added.

"It was intercepted from the latest batch of evening newspapers circulating in Yuhong City. I think... you might need to take a look at its contents yourself."

Sakaki frowned slightly.

What kind of big commotion could those three guys possibly cause to make the newspapers?

He carried a hint of the usual helplessness one feels when dealing with trouble.

He reached out and picked up the newspaper.

The first thing that catches the eye is a striking color photograph that occupies nearly a third of the social section.

The background of the photo is clearly the interior of a police station.

Center of the camera.

It consists of five people, one cat, and one mouse.

Two of them were unfamiliar faces, while the other, a young man with squinty eyes... looked somewhat familiar.