Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

deficit.

deficit.

It's still in the red.

Staring at the glaring negative numbers on each page, Sakaki remained silent for the entire morning.

He sighed.

He stretched out his hand and slowly traced it from the center of his forehead to the top of his head, measuring the area of ​​the gradually expanding "barren land".

Sure enough, these past few days of reflection have pushed it up quite a bit.

Moreover, he had a bad feeling from early this morning.

Although as the Rockets' top leader, he is known for his calm, rationality, and strategic planning, and is not the type to rely on intuition—

The key issue is that recently, nothing, big or small, in the organization has gone his way!

First, the Saint Anne, which was about to break even, was swiftly attacked by the Dragon Crossing and taken away in its entirety.

Then, because of three idiots in the organization, the alliance's monitoring system underwent a major upgrade.

Although he made a timely decision and used the legal resources at hand, those clean companies that had no written connection with the Rockets quickly established a surveillance equipment supply company, turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

Strategically speaking, he could even be said to have won.

But the good days didn't last long before the company was embroiled in a scandal, accused of violating privacy.

Public opinion was in an uproar for a while.

Sales were halved.

It's truly pitiful that he paid such a large sum of tax, so earnestly, just to lull the alliance into a false sense of security!

Although the company was recognized as a "Three Good Enterprise" by the alliance due to its timely and reliable tax payment, no further investigation was conducted.

But if we keep losing money like this, forget about growing and expanding... I'm afraid we won't even be able to pay the organization's salaries this month!

He can't exactly tell his teammates, "Everyone, bear with it. We'll pay half this month and use the rest to offset the difference," can he?

After all, most of the players on the Rockets team didn't come here with ideals.

Sakaki's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, making a dull "tap-tap" sound.

His gaze slowly shifted to the drawer of his desk.

That place contains advanced technologies developed by the Rockets in recent years, each of which is a real, high-value achievement.

If they disassemble, repackage, and disguise it as "independently developed by a certain private laboratory," and then sell it to the alliance through that "good company," they could make a lot of money.

That's enough money for the Rockets to operate normally for several months.

but--

But it's the Rockets!

They're organized crime!

Disguising one's core technology as a legitimate business and then selling it to an alliance is itself not a malicious act!

But the current situation is that either we will aid the enemy, or the organization's funding will be cut off.

To sell or not to sell?

This is a problem!

Sakamoto has grown up!

When he was elected as the leader of the Rockets, I never heard that these criminal gangs had to make money first. It must be so difficult!

......

Changqing City Street.

Ash and his friends, having officially arrived, are heading towards the Pokémon Center.

After all, if you want to challenge a dojo, you need to get yourself in the right state first.

I was planning to get back into shape before heading to the dojo.

The plan can't keep up with the changes.

After being warmly received by Ash and Pikachu's aunt, the three of them had a meal first before heading to the Viridian Gym.

The Evergreen Gym is located in the northeast of the city, not far from the Pokémon Center.

After all, injuries are inevitable in gym challenges, so the location is naturally chosen based on the principle of "whatever is most convenient".

I walked along the main road for about ten minutes.

Changqing Martial Arts Academy came into view of the three.

This gym isn't as flamboyant as the gyms Ash has challenged.

There are no fancy signs, no exaggerated neon lights, and not even a conspicuous storefront.

Only a few white stone pillars support the triangular portico, some of which have yellowed in places, as if they have not been thoroughly cleaned in a long time.

Beyond the porch were two heavy wooden doors, the brass door knockers of which had lost their luster and were faintly covered with a layer of dark green patina.

Xiaoxia stopped and looked at the building in front of her, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"As expected of Gym Leader Sakaki, who is known for his low profile, even his dojo is so low-key."

If I hadn't known about this gym, which is one of the strongest gyms...

She thought the dojo didn't have the money to renovate!

Xiao Zhi didn't care about any of that. He stepped forward and pushed open the heavy wooden door with both hands.

The wooden door creaked softly as it slowly slid open to the sides.

The entire dojo was almost empty.

There were no seats, no decorations, and no lights.

Only sunlight streamed in at an angle through the glass roof, casting a bright patch of light in the very center of the battlefield.

That patch of light was the only bright spot in the entire dojo.

Beyond the light spots lay shadows so thick they seemed impenetrable.

The battlefield itself was of standard specifications—about twenty meters long and wide, with compacted red soil on the ground, which was very clean and free of any debris.

The four side lines of the field were marked with white paint, and although the paint was somewhat mottled, it was still clearly visible.

Ash's gaze swept across the entire field.

"Huh? Nobody here?"

Xiaoxia peeked out from behind, looking at the empty dojo.

"Another failed attempt?"

"How about we go to the Pokémon Center to rest for the night? We can come back tomorrow; maybe the Gym Leader will be there tomorrow..."

Xiao Zhi was about to agree.

Suddenly, he froze, his heart pounding faster than ever.

It was an inexplicable intuition—

It was as if something was watching him from the darkness, powerful, cold, yet perfectly restrained.

Intuition made him subconsciously look towards the deepest part of the dojo, where the shadows were heaviest.

There was a spiral staircase there, which spiraled upwards and disappeared into the darkness on the second floor.

"Who? There?!"

"Boom!"

A heavy footstep sounded.

"Boom!"

Calm and unhurried, each step on the wooden steps of the spiral staircase made a sound.

Xiao Zhi's pupils suddenly contracted.

In his eyes, a tall figure emerged from the shadows at the corner of the stairs.

It was as if it had grown out of nowhere from the darkness.

It appeared out of thin air.

He wore a silver and purple layered suit jacket, meticulously tailored with clean lines.

Emerging from the shadows, I descended the stairs step by step, my face gradually exposed to the sunlight streaming in from the high windows.

It was the face of a middle-aged man.

He has a strong facial structure, a high hairline, and slightly sunken eye sockets.

But what's most striking is his eyes.

Those eyes gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the dim light, the color of their pupils indistinguishable, like a bottomless pool of water.

His eyes swept across the battlefield, over the dappled light and shadows, and finally landed on the three people at the door.

To be precise, it fell on Ash.

Xiao Zhi's mind was shaken.

It's a feeling of oppression!

He was surprised to feel a sense of oppression from a person, something he hadn't experienced in a long time!

This person... is very strong!

200. What a terrible ghost!

It's not just Xiao Zhi.

Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia, standing behind him, also felt the oppressive aura emanating from him.