Tetsuya left Giovanni's hotel. Originally, he had wanted to recommend Jessie and James to join Team Rocket, but after thinking it over carefully, he realized he really couldn't…
In the future, Jessie and James would become the "backbone" of Team Rocket's intel department. If he revealed his relationship with them to Giovanni now, then cooperating with the two of them in the future would very quickly arouse Giovanni's suspicion.
His main mission in Kanto had now come to an end. Although there were still many things in Kanto that concerned him, such as searching the castle deep within the mountains and forests between Sunnytown and Stone Town for the Imite Family, eliminating Shadow Team was now the highest priority.
Moreover, the more places he appeared, the greater the chance that Shadow Team would discover him, and the more dangerous his situation would become.
---◓---
Tetsuya had already begun planning his return trip to the Johto Region.
By the time he returned to the Pokémon Center, it was already late at night. After a busy day, he was tired and went straight to sleep. As for Shadow Team, with so many bigshots involved, he only needed to play around the edges.
The next day, the Trainers departed Sunnytown one after another. Construction on the cross-river bridge resumed smoothly, and Giovanni made the headlines. Naturally, they were praising his achievements, because he had solved the League's "most" troublesome problem and brought enormous benefits to the League.
As for the missing Poké Balls, the League paid them little attention. In front of the Jenny Family, Giovanni even requested that League Headquarters conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. In the end, however, the League merely assigned a small team and placed Giovanni in charge of investigating it.
Everything remained under Giovanni's control, and he had no intention of taking that small team seriously. As long as he had one of the four Admins accompany them, it would ensure they discovered nothing. In the end, the matter would simply fade away unresolved.
Meanwhile, Giovanni had already begun planning his naval force. After hearing Tetsuya speak about Shadow Team's maritime power, he could not help becoming interested himself. The vast ocean truly made many operations much more convenient, and the research into extracting Mew's genes was already underway…
Because of this battle, Jessie and James had also firmly established their positions among the punks gang. As for Tetsuya, he once again planned to depart from Gringey City and sail to Ecruteak City.
Before leaving, Tetsuya still bid farewell to Jessie and James. James now genuinely respected him, while although Jessie was bound by her hair oath, she had at least accepted the promise she had made to do three things for him.
James was truly an honest person. After all, he had received a first-rate education in a prominent family and understood the importance of repaying favors. His character was absolutely trustworthy.
As for Jessie, she had always been fickle and untrustworthy. Although she had "unique" talents, her character was, well… difficult, to rely on.
That very day, he traveled directly to Gringey City. The earliest ship bound for Ecruteak City would not depart until the following morning, so Tetsuya bought an S.S. Ticket and found a hotel near the harbor for the night.
Now that his mission had been completed, it was time to report back to Pryce and Matsuba.
Before Tetsuya could even enter his room, his phone began ringing with a "Beep, beep." He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Matsuba. He quickly entered the room and answered the call.
[Tetsuya? Where are you right now!?] Matsuba asked anxiously, his expression filled with panic.
'…Hm?' "I'm in Gringey City. I bought an S.S. Ticket to Ecruteak City for tomorrow," Tetsuya said.
[Listen to me, Tetsuya. You've probably already been targeted by Shadow Team. I've already had Morty call Pryce and tell him to transfer all of your Pokémon to you immediately as a precaution,] Matsuba said.
"…What exactly is going on?" Tetsuya asked.
[We've been closely monitoring Shadow Team the whole time. This morning, our people discovered two disguised Shadows at the harbor in Ecruteak City. I captured them and brought them back to Ecruteak Gym for interrogation… sigh, I didn't expect those two to be so stubborn! They refused to reveal what mission they were carrying out. Left with no other choice, I used Gengar's Hypnosis.] Matsuba said.
[You drew far too much attention to yourself in Sunnytown. A Shadow Team executive named 'Yamamoto' recognized you. Shadow Team's higher-ups have always attached great importance to the destruction of their overseas base, they'll stop at nothing to capture you!]
[Yesterday, Shadow Team's vanguard had already flown to the city closest to Sunnytown. Fortunately, you left in time and made it to Gringey City. However, they'll definitely learn your itinerary through the ticketing records. There's a very good chance they've already locked onto your location by now.]
"Hahh… I didn't expect Shadow Team to move so quickly…" Tetsuya could not help smiling bitterly.
Right now, he still had no clear understanding of Shadow Team's true capacity. If someone like Raven appeared, he could still handle it. However, the strength of an executive like Yamamoto was unfathomable.
The only Pokémon he had seen Yamamoto use was Hypno. As for what other powerful Pokémon he had, Tetsuya had no way of knowing. Even more uncertain was just how many people like Yamamoto existed within Shadow Team.
[You kid, you still have the mood to laugh!? I won't be at ease until you're safely back at Ecruteak Gym. There's nothing Shadow Team wouldn't do now. Even hijacking ships at sea wouldn't be impossible. The voyage from Gringey City to Ecruteak City takes two days. No one can say what might happen during those two days!] Matsuba said, growing increasingly worried.
[Leader!]
At that moment, Ryuto came running over.
[Eh? Tetsuya, give me a moment. How's the matter I asked you to keep an eye on, Ryuto?] Matsuba asked.
[I've been monitoring ticket sales for the same passenger ship Tetsuya is taking. Just a moment ago, fifty tickets were booked in a single transaction at the same time and from the same location! We can't investigate the identity information, but all of them are listed as coming from the Johto Region. Could they be Shadow Team members in disguise?] Ryuto asked.
[Sigh… very likely. Tetsuya! You absolutely can't board that ship now! Having fifty people out to get you in the middle of the ocean is simply too dangerous!] Matsuba said.
"This ticket can be used to lure them…" Tetsuya murmured and then quickly said to Matsuba, "Have Ryuto book me the earliest flight from Gringey City to Ecruteak City. Since Shadow Team already knows I'll be taking the ship to Ecruteak City tomorrow morning, they'll all board the ship to search for me. But who would expect me to suddenly buy a plane ticket instead?" Tetsuya said.
[Eh…? Excellent plan! We'll do exactly that!] Matsuba clapped his hands. [Ryuto, quickly check the earliest flight from Gringey City to Ecruteak City and book one for Tetsuya.]
Ryuto was highly skilled with computers, so it only took him a few minutes.
[4:00 a.m. It's already booked!] Ryuto made an "OK" gesture.
"Thank you, Leader. That'll be all for now. Pryce is calling. As long as no bigshot shows up, I can handle things myself," Tetsuya said. Matsuba nodded.
Tetsuya then answered Pryce's call…