"I want a Tyranitar! What do you think of Marnie? I'll introduce her to you!"
Hearing Piers' words, Damian didn't react right away. Instead, he looked at Marnie.
He saw that, at some point, this expressionless girl had already stood up. She had walked behind Piers.
A ruthless grip!
"Big brother, have I been too gentle with you lately?"
Marnie grabbed Piers' clothes. Her emotionless voice made Piers break into a cold sweat instantly.
"Ha~ it was just a joke. Marnie, don't take it to heart."
Piers swallowed hard. His expression changed instantly. He immediately sat back in his seat with a forced smile. He sat up straight, looking like a well-behaved student.
Marnie continued to stare at Piers without any expression. It wasn't until Piers began to nervously shake his leg that she let out a soft snort and turned her head away.
"You siblings have a great relationship."
Seeing this scene, Damian couldn't help but chuckle.
"Of course. Marnie is my most adorable younger sister, after all," Piers started praising her without any hesitation.
The corner of Marnie's mouth moved slightly in a subtle way, looking like a cold smile.
"I can tell. So, Mr. Piers, which Pokémon do you want?"
"I think I can consider Tyranitar."
Piers spoke very seriously. As a trainer who specialized in the Dark type, who could refuse a strong and boss-like Tyranitar?
And Piers was no exception. Tyranitar was simply the dream Pokémon for Dark-type trainers!
"Tyranitar? That one is a bit precious."
Damian pretended to think. His finger tapped his leg rhythmically.
After a moment of silence, and before Piers could speak, Damian spoke up again.
"How about this? Giving you a Tyranitar for free isn't very appropriate. Sign this contract, and all those things I just showed you will be considered my investment in Spikemuth Gym. How does that sound?"
Damian took out a contract and a silver badge. He placed them on the coffee table and pushed them toward Piers.
"The Z-Ring and Z-Crystal, the Tera Cluster and Tera Orb, the Mega Stone and Key Stone, and the Tyranitar you like, I can give them all to you."
"As long as you sign this contract and become a High Executive of our organization."
Damian said with a smile.
"Team Rocket?" Piers' brain cooled down quickly. He picked up the contract and began to look through it.
It was basically a set of rules about joining Team Rocket. However, the biggest difference in this contract Damian had custom-made for Piers was one thing.
Piers had to provide some land in Spikemuth to Team Rocket for free.
"I want to know, Mr. Damian, what do you plan to do with this land?"
After Piers finished reading it carefully, he handed the contract to Marnie, who also wanted to read it. He asked Damian seriously.
"Naturally, it will be used for investment and to set up businesses. I have reason to believe in the potential of Spikemuth. It is not impossible for it to develop into Spikemuth City in the future."
Damian replied with a smile.
"Mr. Piers, do you know why Team Rocket was able to develop into the giant it is today? Besides military power, financial power is also essential. Otherwise, how do you think our organization pays the salaries of so many members?"
"Please trust my investment vision. Although I came here today with a purpose, which is you two, making the declining Spikemuth rise again and develop into a major city in Galar is also one of my goals."
Damian spoke in a relaxed and comfortable manner.
"So, Mr. Piers, what do you say? Are you willing to sign this contract?"
Damian was very sure of Piers' choice. Because for Piers, signing this contract only brought benefits. There were no downsides.
Some land in Spikemuth? Its value wasn't even as high as a Tyranitar.
Furthermore, there were items like Mega Stones. For Piers, the only thing he needed to consider was the Galar League.
But did he even need to consider that?
He was just joining Team Rocket. He wasn't betraying the Galar League. What was the problem?
As long as he could make Spikemuth rise again, everything was worth it!
Piers glanced at Marnie. Marnie remained silent and didn't speak, but Piers already understood.
"I'll sign!"
Piers made up his mind and signed his name on the contract.
It was just a piece of paper, but Piers knew that after signing it, there was no way back. Otherwise, Team Rocket would definitely come to his door.
But Piers had no intention of breaking the contract in the first place.
"A wise choice. I will notify my subordinates to transfer a Tyranitar with excellent talent over here. However, when the time comes, Mr. Piers, you will have to capture it yourself."
Damian spoke with satisfaction.
"No problem!" Piers was very confident. And just thinking about Tyranitar made him feel very excited!
Think about the future: he would be on stage singing with passion, while his two guardians, Obstagoon and Tyranitar, would be shaking their heads and roaring to provide the "backup vocals" for him. That would be totally pumped!
"Then let's continue. We will use the Game Entertainment Center and the three power-up methods at the Spikemuth Gym to bring traffic to Spikemuth. As long as we are willing to spend money and get the advertisements out, we will definitely be able to attract a large number of tourists and trainers to Spikemuth."
"But first, there is one urgent problem."
Damian held up one finger.
"Spikemuth's environment?" Marnie's thinking was very clear.
"Miss Marnie is very smart. Correct. Right now, Spikemuth is simply too messy and chaotic. This will leave a very bad first impression on new tourists. This is extremely bad for a Spikemuth that needs to redevelop."
"Repairing and cleaning are things that must be done quickly. We can keep some of Spikemuth's punk style, but it absolutely cannot be dirty, messy, or poor. I think Mr. Piers should be able to solve this, right?"
Damian looked at Piers.
"I can. I will talk with the mayor. I will also send out a notice to let everyone pay attention to hygiene issues."
Piers promised immediately.
Because Spikemuth had gradually declined, many people had started to give up on themselves. This caused Spikemuth's current environment to get worse and worse.
It was true. With a town like this, outsiders might feel disgusted the moment they entered. It had to be renovated.
"Yes, but the special style also needs to be kept," Damian reminded him.
"So, that's basically it. How do you two feel?"
Damian leaned back on the sofa again, looking at the siblings in front of him.
"Mr. Damian! You are great!" Piers was completely won over.
"Yes."
Marnie nodded coldly, keeping her words to a minimum.
"So, Miss Marnie, are you willing to join our organization?"
"I can."
Marnie nodded again. Then, her clean and beautiful eyes stared straight into Damian's eyes, and she reached her hand out to him.
"My big brother got so many things. Where are my badge and gift?"
The girl, who didn't want to lose, wasn't being polite at all.
And the way she referred to herself showed she was either in a good mood or feeling a bit defiant.
"Ha~ of course there is one."
Damian took an Ultra Ball out of his pocket and tossed it to Marnie.
Marnie caught it steadily. After turning it around a couple of times, she tilted her head and looked at Damian in confusion. She was just joking, yet he really gave her one?
"The Ultra Beast, Guzzlord. Dark- and Dragon-type. You are also a Dark-type trainer, right? This fits you perfectly."
"Ultra Beast?"
Playing with the Ultra Ball, Marnie softly repeated those two words.
Ultra Beasts were special Pokémon from the Alola region. In the Pokédex, all Ultra Beasts were marked with "Extremely Dangerous" in dark red letters.
"Correct. So, you will also need to battle and capture it. Otherwise, Guzzlord will not accept you as its trainer."
Damian reminded her.
"I understand. Thank you."
Marnie pursed her lips and thanked Damian in a soft voice.
"Since you've joined the organization, we are all partners now. There's no need to be polite."
Damian smiled very happily.
The goal of coming to Spikemuth was perfectly achieved.
After chatting for a while longer, Piers let Marnie continue to host Damian and the other three, while he went out to find the mayor.
"The Galar Champion Cup is starting soon. Marnie, do you have the confidence to win?"
After taking a sip of water, Damian looked at Marnie and asked with a smile.
One had to admit that Marnie's looks were truly outstanding. Especially since she had twin tails, though because her hair wasn't very long, they were more subtle.
Hearing this, Marnie was silent for a moment, then she shook her head.
"To be honest, I don't have confidence."
Marnie lowered her head slightly. Her voice also became a bit quieter without her realizing it.
"Gloria is really, really strong. And then there is Champion Leon, who is strong beyond imagination."
"I don't have the confidence to defeat them. But everyone has been cheering for me so hard. If I lose, they will be very sad, won't they?"
Marnie said in a low voice. Yes, since starting her journey, her Gym challenges had gone smoothly all the way. She had collected all the badges.
This made Piers very proud of her.
But Marnie understood that the battles coming next were the truly difficult ones.
Gloria...
This rival she met during her journey, Gloria's talent and strength truly made people feel despair.
"Is saying things like this... very weak of me?"
Marnie whispered to herself. It wasn't clear if she was asking Damian or asking herself.
That was right. The reason she didn't do special training today was because she thought of this again, to the point where her mood was incredibly frustrated.
No matter how hard she worked, she couldn't catch up to Gloria's figure. It was just like how she secretly practiced smiling because she wanted to respond to the fans who cheered for her, but she couldn't do it.
Gloria's existence was like a great mountain pressing down in front of her, making it hard for her to breathe.
"A person's talent and ability are inborn, but the height a person can reach is decided by themselves."
Damian gently petted the chin of Terapagos in his arms and spoke softly to Marnie.
"If your talent cannot match the opponent's, then give more sweat and time to becoming stronger. It isn't about surpassing a certain person, but about surpassing your own limits."
"Everyone has moments of weakness. But Marnie, do you know?"
Damian stared into the girl's beautiful eyes.
"Once a person accepts their own weakness, they truly have nothing to fear. Only then can they become truly invincible!"