Kanto, Saffron City.
"Haah～ back again. Feels like a lifetime ago."
Stepping out of the airport, Damian looked up at the distant high‑rises and couldn't help sighing.
Walking behind him were Caitlin and Gladion.
Yep—this was the core team he planned to bring to the next region.
But there was no rush yet; this time he'd come back to Kanto to rest for a while.
"Saffron City, the economic center of Kanto."
Caitlin, in her lady's hat, glanced around.
It was actually her first time in Kanto.
Same for Gladion. But with his colder personality, he didn't say anything, just silently followed behind Damian like a stoic bodyguard.
"That's right. One of the strongest companies in the world—Silph Co—has its headquarters here."
Damian nodded.
When he mentioned Silph Co, his expression turned a little hard to read.
Kanto's Silph Co, together with Hoenn's Devon Corporation and Galar's Macro Cosmos, was one of the top mega‑corps in the world.
As a trailblazer that created the foundational tech of modern Poké Balls, the sheer size of Silph Co was obvious.
Yeah. A corporation this huge clearly ought to belong to Team Rocket.
Damian was very sure of that.
But unlike in the games, he couldn't just go in guns blazing.
In the games, even though Team Rocket did seize Silph Co, they'd ended up becoming public enemy number one over it.
Their methods were way too shady, and way, way too blatant.
No rush. Take it slow.
"Let's go."
Checking his phone, Damian led Caitlin and Gladion into a car.
The driver took them to a more remote corner of Saffron City, where the three got out.
As Kanto's premier metropolis, of course Team Rocket had a base here.
Its scale wasn't huge, though, since they already had a "hidden piece" in Saffron.
"Yo～ Sabrina, long time no see. You're getting prettier and prettier."
The moment they stepped into the underground base, Damian spotted the black‑haired girl waiting for them.
Her pale, doll‑like face was expressionless, exuding a frosty "keep away" aura.
She wore a red dress with a black sash cinched at the waist, outlining a waist so slim it seemed it could be encircled in one hand.
She was a very beautiful woman—both in looks and figure.
But whether it was her personality or something else, there was a lingering chill about her that refused to disperse.
Especially when those淡 red eyes swept over you… downright creepy.
"Got time today? Let me take you out to dinner tonight."
Damian clearly didn't mind her coldness at all.
She could look cold; what mattered was she'd be warm when he held her.
"Appreciate the thought, young master, but I still have work."
Sabrina's voice was flat.
"So cold, Sabrina. You weren't like this a few years ago."
"…"
A barely noticeable blush crept onto Sabrina's otherwise doll‑like, deadpan face as she shot Damian a cold glare.
Damian, however, had a skin thicker than armor and just looked back at her with an innocent expression.
Two years ago, Damian had been fourteen—no, wait, it should be three years now.
Back then, Damian had just been "brought into" Team Rocket by Giovanni.
Sabrina still remembered the timid, pure look in his eyes.
That harmless, adorable exterior had been way too deceptive, instantly triggering her budding girlish protectiveness.
And then…
That night, Sabrina had stayed over at the base—only to be tricked into bed by Damian.
Of course, it had only been in the literal sense of sharing a bed.
Nothing truly "happened" between them.
All he'd done was brazenly cling to her and cuddle through the night.
The ice‑cold beauty, Sabrina—
That was the consensus every Team Rocket executive had about her.
But it was worth noting that she treated Damian very differently from everyone else.
Then, some time last year, something had clearly happened between them, though outsiders had no idea what.
All they knew was that the way Sabrina treated Damian had changed in a very subtle way afterward.
According to Proton's very "reliable" gossip, Damian and Sabrina had had some kind of lovers' spat.
After all, Sabrina was only three years older than Damian.
As for what exactly had happened between them…
Whenever she thought of that night, Sabrina's face started to burn.
She'd almost lost herself in a daze and given everything away.
But the moment she remembered all the scandalous rumors about Damian afterward, her expression went instantly blank and the chill around her thickened.
Damian! You damn scumbag!!
"Boss is already waiting for you. This way."
Sabrina took a silent deep breath, shot Damian one last hidden, vicious glare, then turned and sashayed off, slim waist swaying as she led the way.
"Damian, she…"
Caitlin leaned closer, her eyes full of unspoken questions.
"Yeah. She's one of the organization's three Admins, known as the 'Psychic Girl' Sabrina.
Same as you, Caitlin—she's a girl born with extremely powerful psychic abilities."
Damian introduced her with a smile.
"Miss Sabrina is Saffron City's Gym Leader, right?"
Gladion was a little stunned.
Before coming to Kanto, he'd done a lot of research.
Saffron Gym was one of the Indigo League's official Gyms, and a famous one at that.
Sabrina's strength was highly praised online.
If not for Sabrina's own personality, Saffron Gym would definitely have been one of Kanto's most popular Gyms.
"That's right. And Sabrina also specializes in Psychic‑types.
Caitlin, you should pick her brain a bit on how to use psychic power."
Damian nodded.
In terms of raw strength, Caitlin was definitely stronger than Sabrina now.
But when it came to fine control over psychic power, Sabrina was still better than the current Caitlin.
Forget basic stuff like reinforcing Psychic‑type Pokémon with psychic boosts to increase their combat strength—that was just "entry‑level."
Damian had personally seen Sabrina use overwhelming psychic power to force a tiny Abra to evolve straight into a Kadabra.
Not to mention that utterly broken trick of using psychic power to turn humans into literal dolls.
Absolutely insane.
"I understand."
Caitlin's beautiful eyes lit up.
A kindred spirit!!
Soon, the group arrived at a door.
Sabrina knocked twice, then opened it directly.
It was a small conference room.
A middle‑aged man in a black trench coat and gentleman's hat was currently sipping tea at his leisure, one free hand gently scratching the head of the Persian lounging at his side.
Giovanni.
"Dad."
"You're back. Sit."
Giovanni set down his teacup, the shadows on his face softening into a faint smile as he gestured for them to take their seats.
Once they were seated, Damian reached over to scratch Persian under the chin.
Persian's mouth twitched, but under Damian's gaze, it immediately cooperated and put on a blissed‑out expression.
(Good kitty.jpg)
Yeah, it still remembered the time it'd gotten impatient and slapped Damian's hand away.
That afternoon, Damian had brought a doctor over and calmly said he wanted it neutered.
What kind of human does that?!
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