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he knowes pokemon more than i know _Chapter_098_en
Chapter 98
Chapter 98: The Strategist's Depth
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
Above the 40th floor of the Silph Co. Building.
It wasn't some illusory 41st floor, but the building's top-floor rooftop. Ash's figure suddenly appeared there.
"Where is this?"
He looked around, completely bewildered. It was a space about half the size of a soccer field, and the ground was even marked with the special white lines of a battle arena.
It just seemed to have been abandoned for a long time; the white lines were faded, worn, and somewhat blurry.
The 40-story Silph Co. Building soared into the sky, and he could faintly see low-hanging clouds drifting past.
But looking out from the rooftop, he could still see four adjacent skyscrapers of comparable height, standing in a circle around them.
Looking into the distance, Ash could even see strange objects placed on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.
"Audience chairs...?"
He wasn't entirely sure, but the items on the other buildings looked very much like the terraced audience seating found at the edge of an arena.
However, they also appeared to have been derelict for a long time.
Strange, was there some kind of battle held on this building's rooftop that was worth watching?
He scratched his head, completely puzzled.
*Ting.*
The crisp sound of glass being tapped drew his attention. He was not alone on the rooftop.
Ash quickly took a deep breath to calm himself down. He figured any opponent who could appear here would be formidable, not like the fodder downstairs.
He saw a person sitting with their back to him at a white dining table.
He couldn't see their face clearly, only the back of a figure with short, cyan hair.
They were dressed in an elegant and noble white suit, swirling a silver spoon in their hand, gently tapping a wine glass as if deliberately trying to attract Ash's attention.
Ash: "..."
Pretentious yet noble, with the air of an upper-crust individual, and that garish cyan hair... he looked a little familiar.
Archer.
As Team Rocket's Number One Strategist, he had temporarily been resting in Saffron City after successfully completing the S.S. Anne team-building event, awaiting the next corporate activity to contribute to the future construction of Team Rocket.
He had nothing to do today and just so happened to be assigned by Giovanni to clean up the rats that had infiltrated the Rainbow Group.
Although, a moment's thought told him that the "Giovanni" who gave the order was definitely that wily old fox Lambda in disguise.
After all, Giovanni himself had announced in the Team Rocket executive work group a week ago that he would be taking his personal guard to the Unova Region for the next two weeks.
Ostensibly, it was to foster harmonious development with local enterprises, provide financial aid, and achieve international common prosperity.
In reality, it was to investigate the mysterious ruins in the Unova Region, with the goal of capturing the local legendary Three Legendary Beasts in the next five-year plan, bringing them back to the Kanto Region to be raised as Team Rocket's mascots.
But since he was idle anyway, Archer didn't expose Lambda's disguise on the spot. Instead, he played along.
Improving his record was an excellent move. This way, when he inherited Giovanni's position and became the king of Team Rocket in the future, he wouldn't be subject to gossip.
"A rat? Hehehe..."
Besides, he, Archer, also enjoyed nipping geniuses in the bud.
At this thought, he slowly rose to his feet, planning to reveal an elegant smile before finishing off the naive little rat behind him.
Perform the most refined actions, commit the most vicious deeds!
This was his magnanimity as Team Rocket's Number One Strategist!
He turned his head, and their gazes met at a single point.
However, Archer's eyes instantly widened. His elegant expression vanished into thin air, and in his panic, he even crushed the glass wine goblet in his hand.
"Ash... brother?"
His voice trembled slightly.
This was the legendary naive little rat?!
Damn it!
"Oh, it's you, Archer. But we're no brothers."
Recognizing the person, Ash immediately drew a clear line.
Setting aside Team Rocket's morality for a moment, he already had a big brother. Archer could either call him second brother, or he certainly wasn't going to be a second younger brother.
Hearing this, Archer came back to his senses. Although he frowned, his powerful composure settled in his heart.
He was only 15, yet his Houndoom could already contend with an Elite Four level trainer. With strength like that, who wasn't he worthy of calling a brother?
"Hmph, who is this big brother of yours? I'd like to see if he's even qualified to be your big brother!"
Archer spoke with a hint of rage and indignation.
"Oh, I don't really know the details, but I heard that he once took out someone's ace in one move while the opponent was striking a pose. Uh, I think that person's name was... Lance?" Ash answered truthfully.
Archer: "!"
Champion Lance!?
Although he didn't know the actual circumstances, on the surface, the current Lance was definitely the most powerful trainer in the Kanto Region, bar none.
And someone took him out while he wasn't paying attention?
Ridiculous. How could someone with such terrifying strength possibly be caught off guard by a sucker punch?
"Hiss... taken out in one move..."
If what the other party said was true, Archer couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
But how come he had never heard of such a peerless powerhouse appearing in the Kanto Region?
Could it be that Lance was too embarrassed to announce it?
Or was this person from another region?
Was that why the Pokémon League of the Kanto Region didn't dare to let this information spread?
Although the Pokémon Leagues of each region seemed friendly, they were all secretly competing with one another.
Archer's mind raced, his brain operating at high speed. An answer gradually formed, and the way he looked at Ash changed once again.
"No! I have to test him one last time!"
Archer's gaze suddenly sharpened. He pulled a familiar pair of glasses from his pocket, placed them on his head, and looked at Ash.
A combat power detector.
Although it still wasn't the latest version, he had run countless tests with it before. This time, the detector absolutely could not be wrong.
After all these days, no matter how he thought about it, the youth before him acted too much like a newbie trainer. Cautious as he was, he had to perform one final confirmation!
"First, let's check this Electric Mouse!"
He aimed it at Pikachu. Soon, the detector produced its data—another set of bizarre figures.
"5" and "4000".
Last time it was "10" and "3000". Did this mean its upper and lower limits had become even more absurd?
Archer took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Ash's own body.
"???"
The detector didn't display the standard human combat power data of "5." Instead, it showed three question marks.
Ash: "?"
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Archer's expression was a little flustered. This time, he finally looked at Ash's waist, scanning the data within the Poké Balls.
*Vzzzzzzzt!!*
Instantly, the detector's CPU began to whir frantically, and the numbers on its lens skyrocketed.
*BOOM!*
Another familiar, fleeting six-digit number, and then it violently exploded.
Archer: "..."
Ash: "?"
Are all the glasses shops in Saffron City scams now?
Archer quickly wiped the black dust from his face. His heart now settled, he put on a broad smile and invited Ash to join him for afternoon tea.
From this moment on, he would no longer suspect the person before him of being some naive rookie. He was a true grand master who had descended into the mortal world!
This was the depth of a strategist; once a decision was made, there would be no hesitation or doubt.
Seeing the other's mood change so quickly, Ash was a bit baffled.
However, seeing his eager expression, Ash thought of something. He held out a hand to stop Archer, his expression extremely serious.
"Is the Rainbow Group's Eevee related to you?"
His purpose this time wasn't to play around. Ash just wanted to get justice for Eevee and drive everyone who had bullied it out of Saffron City.
Archer was stunned at first. He was the one who had brought the Eevee prize voucher to the S.S. Anne.
Seeing Ash's unfriendly gaze, Archer chose not to lie and told the truth instead.
In front of a master whose realm had already reached that of descending into the mortal world, all disguise was futile. It was better to be sincere. In the future, this person could become a solid external supporter when he took control of Team Rocket.
"That Eevee was the product of Dr. Xilanu's research. He deemed it a failed product."
Ash frowned. "Dr. Xilanu? Not Dr. Saiban?"
"Dr. Saiban is an employee of Silph Co.; he doesn't actually have much to do with us in Team Rocket," Archer explained.
Silph Co. had only two major technologies: manufacturing Poké Balls and the spatial teleportation device.
Dr. Saiban was the creator of the spatial teleportation device. Since the latter insisted on not submitting to Team Rocket, they couldn't force him and could only let him continue to stay here.
After all, in this era, high-intellect talents were a corporation's most valuable asset.
Hearing this, Ash nodded. No wonder Dr. Saiban ignored the glares of those few small fry and still insisted he was a Silph Co. man.
"As for this Dr. Xilanu, he's a fanatical researcher of evolutionary waves. After his experiments on Eevee in the Kanto region failed, he's already gone to the Johto region, to a place called Mahogany Town, to start research on a new project."
Archer was a veteran mole and divulged Team Rocket's information in full detail.
He had already decided to join forces with Ash to seize the position of Team Rocket's boss in the future.
With a peerless expert as an ally, plus a strategist like himself, their future potential was limitless!
Realizing the main culprit wasn't nearby, Ash felt a surge of anger and immediately turned his gaze to Archer.
The latter waved his hands and shrugged innocently.
"I don't know anything else. I was at headquarters recently planning the S.S. Anne's corporate 'team-building' activity. You know, the *hijacking* part. Even that Eevee prize voucher was delivered to me by courier."
Ash rubbed his head. It seemed Archer had no intention of fighting him, and he couldn't just start a brawl. So, he decided to leave the rooftop and go downstairs to help Blue and the others.
"It's no use. There's no way down from here, only the teleportation device."
Archer smiled, guiding Ash to the seat opposite him at the table and pouring him a cup of cappuccino.
"And I can't leave on my own initiative either. This place is equipped with a device that automatically detects the result of a battle. Until we've determined an outcome, no exit will appear."
Seeing Ash was about to say something, he added, "Of course, to ensure the battle is enjoyed to the fullest, even after an outcome is decided, the exit won't open until half an hour has passed."
Ash: "..."
At this, he could only sigh. He put his hands together, striking a starting pose for Planetary Devastation.
"I hope Blue is okay..."
After speaking, he picked up the coffee cup and took a light sip.
"Mr. Archer, the quality of your Team Rocket underlings is quite worrying..."
"You have a point. I will be sure to strengthen their character education in the future," Archer replied with a smile.
The two of them looked like they were in a friendly meeting—
(end of chapter)
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
Above the 40th floor of the Silph Co. Building.
It wasn't some illusory 41st floor, but the building's top-floor rooftop. Ash's figure suddenly appeared there.
"Where is this?"
He looked around, completely bewildered. It was a space about half the size of a soccer field, and the ground was even marked with the special white lines of a battle arena.
It just seemed to have been abandoned for a long time; the white lines were faded, worn, and somewhat blurry.
The 40-story Silph Co. Building soared into the sky, and he could faintly see low-hanging clouds drifting past.
But looking out from the rooftop, he could still see four adjacent skyscrapers of comparable height, standing in a circle around them.
Looking into the distance, Ash could even see strange objects placed on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.
"Audience chairs...?"
He wasn't entirely sure, but the items on the other buildings looked very much like the terraced audience seating found at the edge of an arena.
However, they also appeared to have been derelict for a long time.
Strange, was there some kind of battle held on this building's rooftop that was worth watching?
He scratched his head, completely puzzled.
*Ting.*
The crisp sound of glass being tapped drew his attention. He was not alone on the rooftop.
Ash quickly took a deep breath to calm himself down. He figured any opponent who could appear here would be formidable, not like the fodder downstairs.
He saw a person sitting with their back to him at a white dining table.
He couldn't see their face clearly, only the back of a figure with short, cyan hair.
They were dressed in an elegant and noble white suit, swirling a silver spoon in their hand, gently tapping a wine glass as if deliberately trying to attract Ash's attention.
Ash: "..."
Pretentious yet noble, with the air of an upper-crust individual, and that garish cyan hair... he looked a little familiar.
Archer.
As Team Rocket's Number One Strategist, he had temporarily been resting in Saffron City after successfully completing the S.S. Anne team-building event, awaiting the next corporate activity to contribute to the future construction of Team Rocket.
He had nothing to do today and just so happened to be assigned by Giovanni to clean up the rats that had infiltrated the Rainbow Group.
Although, a moment's thought told him that the "Giovanni" who gave the order was definitely that wily old fox Lambda in disguise.
After all, Giovanni himself had announced in the Team Rocket executive work group a week ago that he would be taking his personal guard to the Unova Region for the next two weeks.
Ostensibly, it was to foster harmonious development with local enterprises, provide financial aid, and achieve international common prosperity.
In reality, it was to investigate the mysterious ruins in the Unova Region, with the goal of capturing the local legendary Three Legendary Beasts in the next five-year plan, bringing them back to the Kanto Region to be raised as Team Rocket's mascots.
But since he was idle anyway, Archer didn't expose Lambda's disguise on the spot. Instead, he played along.
Improving his record was an excellent move. This way, when he inherited Giovanni's position and became the king of Team Rocket in the future, he wouldn't be subject to gossip.
"A rat? Hehehe..."
Besides, he, Archer, also enjoyed nipping geniuses in the bud.
At this thought, he slowly rose to his feet, planning to reveal an elegant smile before finishing off the naive little rat behind him.
Perform the most refined actions, commit the most vicious deeds!
This was his magnanimity as Team Rocket's Number One Strategist!
He turned his head, and their gazes met at a single point.
However, Archer's eyes instantly widened. His elegant expression vanished into thin air, and in his panic, he even crushed the glass wine goblet in his hand.
"Ash... brother?"
His voice trembled slightly.
This was the legendary naive little rat?!
Damn it!
"Oh, it's you, Archer. But we're no brothers."
Recognizing the person, Ash immediately drew a clear line.
Setting aside Team Rocket's morality for a moment, he already had a big brother. Archer could either call him second brother, or he certainly wasn't going to be a second younger brother.
Hearing this, Archer came back to his senses. Although he frowned, his powerful composure settled in his heart.
He was only 15, yet his Houndoom could already contend with an Elite Four level trainer. With strength like that, who wasn't he worthy of calling a brother?
"Hmph, who is this big brother of yours? I'd like to see if he's even qualified to be your big brother!"
Archer spoke with a hint of rage and indignation.
"Oh, I don't really know the details, but I heard that he once took out someone's ace in one move while the opponent was striking a pose. Uh, I think that person's name was... Lance?" Ash answered truthfully.
Archer: "!"
Champion Lance!?
Although he didn't know the actual circumstances, on the surface, the current Lance was definitely the most powerful trainer in the Kanto Region, bar none.
And someone took him out while he wasn't paying attention?
Ridiculous. How could someone with such terrifying strength possibly be caught off guard by a sucker punch?
"Hiss... taken out in one move..."
If what the other party said was true, Archer couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
But how come he had never heard of such a peerless powerhouse appearing in the Kanto Region?
Could it be that Lance was too embarrassed to announce it?
Or was this person from another region?
Was that why the Pokémon League of the Kanto Region didn't dare to let this information spread?
Although the Pokémon Leagues of each region seemed friendly, they were all secretly competing with one another.
Archer's mind raced, his brain operating at high speed. An answer gradually formed, and the way he looked at Ash changed once again.
"No! I have to test him one last time!"
Archer's gaze suddenly sharpened. He pulled a familiar pair of glasses from his pocket, placed them on his head, and looked at Ash.
A combat power detector.
Although it still wasn't the latest version, he had run countless tests with it before. This time, the detector absolutely could not be wrong.
After all these days, no matter how he thought about it, the youth before him acted too much like a newbie trainer. Cautious as he was, he had to perform one final confirmation!
"First, let's check this Electric Mouse!"
He aimed it at Pikachu. Soon, the detector produced its data—another set of bizarre figures.
"5" and "4000".
Last time it was "10" and "3000". Did this mean its upper and lower limits had become even more absurd?
Archer took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Ash's own body.
"???"
The detector didn't display the standard human combat power data of "5." Instead, it showed three question marks.
Ash: "?"
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Archer's expression was a little flustered. This time, he finally looked at Ash's waist, scanning the data within the Poké Balls.
*Vzzzzzzzt!!*
Instantly, the detector's CPU began to whir frantically, and the numbers on its lens skyrocketed.
*BOOM!*
Another familiar, fleeting six-digit number, and then it violently exploded.
Archer: "..."
Ash: "?"
Are all the glasses shops in Saffron City scams now?
Archer quickly wiped the black dust from his face. His heart now settled, he put on a broad smile and invited Ash to join him for afternoon tea.
From this moment on, he would no longer suspect the person before him of being some naive rookie. He was a true grand master who had descended into the mortal world!
This was the depth of a strategist; once a decision was made, there would be no hesitation or doubt.
Seeing the other's mood change so quickly, Ash was a bit baffled.
However, seeing his eager expression, Ash thought of something. He held out a hand to stop Archer, his expression extremely serious.
"Is the Rainbow Group's Eevee related to you?"
His purpose this time wasn't to play around. Ash just wanted to get justice for Eevee and drive everyone who had bullied it out of Saffron City.
Archer was stunned at first. He was the one who had brought the Eevee prize voucher to the S.S. Anne.
Seeing Ash's unfriendly gaze, Archer chose not to lie and told the truth instead.
In front of a master whose realm had already reached that of descending into the mortal world, all disguise was futile. It was better to be sincere. In the future, this person could become a solid external supporter when he took control of Team Rocket.
"That Eevee was the product of Dr. Xilanu's research. He deemed it a failed product."
Ash frowned. "Dr. Xilanu? Not Dr. Saiban?"
"Dr. Saiban is an employee of Silph Co.; he doesn't actually have much to do with us in Team Rocket," Archer explained.
Silph Co. had only two major technologies: manufacturing Poké Balls and the spatial teleportation device.
Dr. Saiban was the creator of the spatial teleportation device. Since the latter insisted on not submitting to Team Rocket, they couldn't force him and could only let him continue to stay here.
After all, in this era, high-intellect talents were a corporation's most valuable asset.
Hearing this, Ash nodded. No wonder Dr. Saiban ignored the glares of those few small fry and still insisted he was a Silph Co. man.
"As for this Dr. Xilanu, he's a fanatical researcher of evolutionary waves. After his experiments on Eevee in the Kanto region failed, he's already gone to the Johto region, to a place called Mahogany Town, to start research on a new project."
Archer was a veteran mole and divulged Team Rocket's information in full detail.
He had already decided to join forces with Ash to seize the position of Team Rocket's boss in the future.
With a peerless expert as an ally, plus a strategist like himself, their future potential was limitless!
Realizing the main culprit wasn't nearby, Ash felt a surge of anger and immediately turned his gaze to Archer.
The latter waved his hands and shrugged innocently.
"I don't know anything else. I was at headquarters recently planning the S.S. Anne's corporate 'team-building' activity. You know, the *hijacking* part. Even that Eevee prize voucher was delivered to me by courier."
Ash rubbed his head. It seemed Archer had no intention of fighting him, and he couldn't just start a brawl. So, he decided to leave the rooftop and go downstairs to help Blue and the others.
"It's no use. There's no way down from here, only the teleportation device."
Archer smiled, guiding Ash to the seat opposite him at the table and pouring him a cup of cappuccino.
"And I can't leave on my own initiative either. This place is equipped with a device that automatically detects the result of a battle. Until we've determined an outcome, no exit will appear."
Seeing Ash was about to say something, he added, "Of course, to ensure the battle is enjoyed to the fullest, even after an outcome is decided, the exit won't open until half an hour has passed."
Ash: "..."
At this, he could only sigh. He put his hands together, striking a starting pose for Planetary Devastation.
"I hope Blue is okay..."
After speaking, he picked up the coffee cup and took a light sip.
"Mr. Archer, the quality of your Team Rocket underlings is quite worrying..."
"You have a point. I will be sure to strengthen their character education in the future," Archer replied with a smile.
The two of them looked like they were in a friendly meeting—
(end of chapter)
