One hour later, Grey and Giovanni appeared at the entrance to Celadon City.
The thin morning mist hadn't fully cleared yet, and the air carried Celadon's signature floral scent.
They walked along the main road, the refined landscaping on both sides showing off the city's wealth and elegance.
Stepping into the city again, even Grey couldn't help feeling a quiet, indescribable comfort.
Unfortunately, neither Grey nor Giovanni had the spare time to stop and admire the bright blossoms.
Meanwhile, in a high-end café in the city center, Sabrina and Caitlin were already seated by the window, leisurely enjoying tea and breakfast.
With Teleport, the two psychics had arrived long before Grey and Giovanni even set out.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, their gazes occasionally drifted toward the direction of the city entrance, waiting for those two to show up.
...
...
Grey and Giovanni headed straight to the ruins of the Celadon Game Corner. The sight in front of them made both men stop without meaning to.
The once glittering, lively arcade was now nothing but broken walls and rubble. Shattered slot machines lay scattered among the debris, and a few faded playing cards flipped softly in the morning breeze.
Only the hidden entrance to Team Rocket's base remained intact—still standing in the middle of the wreckage, casting a long shadow under the rising sun.
"What a mess…"
"An absolute wreck…"
Grey and Giovanni spoke almost at the same time, their voices ringing clearly through the empty ruins.
Giovanni reached out, fingertips brushing lightly across a collapsed wall, as if lost in thought.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, let's go."
Grey looked down into the elevator shaft and sent out a calm, steady, fox-faced Pokémon.
A Psychic-type Pokémon—Alakazam!
Seeing Grey bring out Alakazam, Giovanni raised an eyebrow.
He didn't expect Grey to have a Psychic-type Pokémon…
No—wait. This was probably Sabrina's.
Giovanni arrived at that conclusion almost instantly.
And he was right.
Gallade's psychic power leaned more toward offense. It wasn't the same as Alakazam—who was practically born for techniques like Teleport.
With that in mind, Grey had borrowed Alakazam from Sabrina.
"Alakazam, sorry to trouble you. Use Teleport and send us down."
"Alakazam." (No problem.)
Alakazam gripped its silver spoons, its eyes filling with psychic power.
But then…
"Alakazam?" (That's strange—why are there two powerful forces?)
Alakazam froze, confused.
Teleporting a Trainer was easy.
A Trainer could restrain their own presence, but bringing Pokémon along created a different level of strain depending on the Pokémon's strength.
And at that moment, Alakazam clearly felt two powerful forces colliding somewhere nearby. The shockwave from that clash hit at exactly the wrong time—shattering its psychic focus on the spot.
Alakazam was stunned.
Grey immediately understood what was happening.
His eyes flicked to the little Riolu at his feet.
At the same time, Giovanni's gaze shifted into the distance.
A purple-haired man was leaning against a tree.
The little Riolu and the purple-haired man both withdrew their pressure, and Alakazam instantly felt the weight lift off its mind.
Then—
Flash!
The two of them successfully arrived at the bottom.
"Not going to lie, the League cleaned this place up pretty well."
Grey looked around, raising an eyebrow.
Unlike the ruins of the Game Corner above, the wreckage of Team Rocket's base underground looked almost… pristine.
The structure had clearly been damaged too, yet there wasn't a single loose stone or chunk of debris on the ground. Even the broken edges of the walls were unnaturally smooth, like they'd been carefully "trimmed" by some invisible force.
Compared to the shattered machines and torn decorations above, this area was clean to an eerie degree.
Giovanni stared at the unnaturally tidy ruins, his brow slowly tightening. "The League did send people to investigate, but they wouldn't clean it this thoroughly."
Tap. Tap. Tap…
He walked through the wreckage at an unhurried pace, his dress shoes clicking crisply against the smooth floor.
As someone who'd been here before, he remembered exactly what the site looked like during the investigation.
Scattered documents, broken lab equipment, and device fragments that hadn't been moved yet—everything had been left in its original post-battle state…
"Cleaning during evidence collection completely violates procedure," Giovanni said in a low, controlled voice. "Unless… someone deliberately wanted to erase something."
As he spoke, his eyes swept across every inch of the ground, searching for traces behind that abnormal cleanliness.
"Let's check the lower main control room first."
Grey recalled the layout of Team Rocket's base. "The core materials Lance mentioned should be there. If Team Plasma is looking for something, that would be the first target."
"Fine. We'll do it your way."
Giovanni agreed, seeing the logic.
They moved down the dark corridor. Because of the earlier battle, the paths were no longer what they used to be.
The twisted route made even Giovanni—who knew the base well—take a few wrong turns.
When they finally reached the control room door, what they saw made both men frown.
Through the half-open metal door, they could clearly see a tall, slender figure rummaging at the console.
The man wore a knee-length, pure white lab coat that stood out sharply in the dim room.
Most striking of all was his signature blond forelock.
It started at his left temple, curled down, and wound around his right eye—swaying slightly with every movement.
Grey recognized him immediately.
Team Plasma's scientist—Colress!
Colress didn't seem to care in the slightest about being discovered. He brazenly operated the console as if he owned the place.
As though this weren't an enemy's secret base at all—just his personal laboratory.
It was insanely illegal.
Grey couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
This scientist's way of doing things practically had "I don't care" written across his face.
Even if this place was already in ruins, stealing data this openly was both an insult to the Kanto League and a direct provocation toward Team Rocket.
Of course, if Grey and Giovanni hadn't come here, it probably wouldn't have been discovered at all.
Grey and Giovanni exchanged a look—and both saw the same hint of absurd amusement in each other's eyes.
Being forced to watch someone loot your house right in front of you was so ridiculous that it almost made the tension feel darkly funny.
The corner of Giovanni's mouth even lifted into an intrigued curve, like he'd found an interesting experimental specimen.
The sheer professionalism and nerve this mad scientist displayed made Giovanni quietly reevaluate the man's value.
"Interesting."
Giovanni rubbed his chin lightly, a bold idea slowly taking shape in his mind.
If someone like this could be put to work for him, Team Rocket's research strength would leap forward by an entire level.
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