According to the information James had gathered, this fellow was from Cerulean City and loved fishing. He always carried a Fishing Rod with him. Even after coming here, he still went to the riverside every day to fish. Of course, all he had caught so far were ordinary fish. He had failed to catch even a single Water-type Pokémon.
He really was a complete loser!
Sure enough, that afternoon, the Trainer from Cerulean City appeared at the riverside with his rod, preparing to fish.
"Ugh… it's so hot today, and he's still in the mood to go fishing?" Jessie kept fanning herself.
"Boss James, what should we do now?"
James thought for a moment before saying, "The only way is to launch a surprise attack, knock him out, then take his Poké Balls."
"We have to be quick. It's noon, so there just happens to be no one around. If someone sees us, you won't have a chance to make a move," Tetsuya said.
James steadied himself, sent out Cacturne, and said, "Go! Knock that person out."
As soon as Cacturne came out, it charged toward the riverside at full speed. Its initial pace was indeed fast, but once it got close to the shore, the muddy ground trapped its feet. Cacturne's speed became slower and slower…
In the end, it was still discovered. The young Trainer from Cerulean City, who had been preparing to fish, turned around and saw a green Pokémon with both feet stuck in the muddy ground, unable to free itself.
"Haha~ I've never seen a Pokémon like this before. I'm definitely going to catch you. Go, Poliwag! Staryu!" After saying that, the Trainer sent out both Pokémon to deal with Cacturne.
"Naniii! What do we do? My Cacturne!" Seeing Cacturne trapped, James became visibly flustered.
"Those two Pokémon are definitely no match for Cacturne. It's just that Cacturne's feet are stuck, making it difficult to move. Let me give you a hand. But everyone, stay hidden. No one is to reveal themselves," Tetsuya reminded them once again before throwing a Poké Ball.
Tetsuya and the others remained hidden within the forest. Golurk's appearance directly forced apart two large trees.
"Pull Cacturne out of the mud," Tetsuya said.
At that moment, Cacturne was being attacked simultaneously by Poliwag and Staryu and could do nothing but defend passively.
Golurk descended from the sky, grabbed Cacturne, and pulled it free. Cacturne immediately launched a continuous assault, defeating Poliwag and Staryu one after another. Golurk then knocked the Trainer unconscious with a single punch.
The Trainer had been so focused on watching the dazzling~ Golurk that he never noticed Cacturne approaching him before he was knocked unconscious.
Seeing that the plan had "succeeded", Jessie rushed out with three of the minions. They recalled the incapacitated Poliwag and Staryu into their Poké Balls and quickly fled the scene.
Stealing someone else's Pokémon was what villains did best. Now, these punks all felt extremely excited and accomplished.
In truth, these Pokémon had very limited potential. However, these people's goal was never to raise powerful Pokémon. They only wanted them as symbols to show off. They would never raise them properly, so even giving them Pokémon with excellent potential would be an enormous waste.
"You should move on to the next target. It seems there aren't any particularly strong opponents around here anyway. Just be careful yourselves," Tetsuya said.
Now that James, Jessie, and the others had become "villains" for the first time, they all felt especially proud. Naturally, they intended to keep their winning streak going.
As for why Tetsuya stayed behind…
"Golurk, throw that guy into the river." After Tetsuya finished speaking, Golurk flew over, grabbed the Trainer from earlier, and threw him into the river.
Watching from deep within the forest as that fellow slowly sank into the river, Tetsuya finally felt at ease. His Pokémon were far too distinctive and could easily be recognized. He had no intention of leaving behind any evidence that could be used against him.
'These guys have only their bad luck to blame. Being the target of a couple of fools… and worse yet, having me there with that pair of fools…'
---◓---
In a single day, James's minions used all kinds of methods to rob and swindle six Pokémon, which was exactly the number they needed. There was no reason for them to take any more risks.
"I think you should head back to Sunnytown overnight. There's no need to stay here any longer," Tetsuya suggested.
"No way, no way! Things are finally going so smoothly. We have to keep it up and defeat all these Trainers!" Jessie said, still wanting more.
'…'
"Golurk, take her away."
Tetsuya could not be bothered arguing with her anymore. Golurk walked straight over, knocked Jessie unconscious with a single punch, hoisted her onto its shoulder, and followed Tetsuya and James back toward Sunnytown.
Back in Sunnytown, they naturally returned to their own "base". Since Tetsuya still needed to keep some distance from them while in the city, he went to the Pokémon Center by himself.
On the final day of registration at the Pokémon Center, Jessie and James also came to register.
"Please show me your Trainer Cards," Nurse Joy said.
"What do we need something like that for!? Isn't our determination to contribute to the river project enough?" Jessie said.
Nurse Joy could only smile apologetically. "I'm sorry. This operation is extremely dangerous. This requirement is also for the sake of your safety."
"We don't care! Hurry up and register us!"
As they continued talking, Jessie, James, and several of their minions began causing a huge commotion inside the Pokémon Center. It was completely improper, but since they had come in response to Giovanni's call, no one had any way to drive them out.
"…Then please wait a moment. I'll ask Leader Giovanni for instructions," Nurse Joy said.
The Pokémon Center finally became quiet for a while.
A short while later, Nurse Joy came back out. "Leader Giovanni said you may be exceptionally allowed to register. However, whether you can pass tomorrow's evaluation depends on your own abilities. If you fail, you still won't be allowed to participate."
"Y-You're saying Giovanni-sama has already agreed to let us register!?" Jessie became so excited that she let out a loud "Woohoo!" right inside the Pokémon Center. Although everyone there looked at her strangely, she did not care in the slightest. In the end, James dragged her away.
For the past two days, Tetsuya had been practically idle at the Pokémon Center. Even when training his Pokémon, he could only use the Pokémon Center's equipment. The equipment there was simply too limited. Golurk could even use a barbell like a stick, so training there was almost pointless.
Over the past two days, the Pokémon Center had also been extremely busy, making preparations for the evaluation.
At last, the day of the Trainers evaluation arrived.
Since Tetsuya no longer needed to go through that, and Giovanni had already witnessed his strength, he only intended to watch the excitement. Perhaps he could even choose his subordinates first.