Chapter 273

【Steven: Come to think of it, it's actually possible. Kyogre is a species; although the one possessing the divine office has been sleeping and certainly cannot be fished up, other members of the same species might truly be catchable!】

【Archie: Heh, how low. Steven, I never thought a noble son of Hoenn like you would use such despicable means to stigmatize our God of the Sea. Just you wait! Once Lord Kyogre awakens, the first thing it will do is submerge the Hoenn region!】

【Acerola: Is this guy always this brave?】

【Archie: Just kidding, my boss is the God of the Sea, Kyogre! I'm super brave, alright!】

【Cassidy: Our boss said that if Mr. Steven intends to deal with Team Aqua, our Team Rocket is willing to contribute. After all, our Team Rocket is a legitimate company that considers the development of the Alliance.】

【Gold: With the way you say that, I almost believed it!】

Hoenn, Team Aqua base.

Upon seeing the last few lines of the screen, Archie suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body.

It was as if he were being watched by something.

Could it be Groudon?

That's not right, Groudon can't fly!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Neighbor, open the door. We're from the community, here to deliver some warmth."

Archie: Do you take me for a fool!

……

On the screen—

Baiting the hook, a clean cast.

The hook, dangling the Kyogre bait, was cast into the lake by Ash!

Compared to Ash's swiftness, Koharu, fishing for the first time, was clearly clumsy.

It took several casts before she finally managed to get the hook out.

Seeing the bait hit the water, Koharu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ash, I didn't expect you to be so good at fishing."

Seeing Ash's practiced movements, Koharu spoke up.

"Can't help it. Back when I was participating in the Island Challenge in Alola, one of the tasks was for us to catch the Totem Pokémon by the sea."

"So amazing. Then, Ash, I'll definitely be able to catch one too, right?"

"It's mostly because Lana is amazing. I learned everything from her."

Lana—this name was mentioned by Ash once again.

"Lana must be very amazing."

"Lana is very amazing; she's a fishing expert! My bait was a gift from Lana. Misty also gave me a piece of bait once, but that one was too precious, so I left it at home."

Misty?

No need to think too hard; this is definitely another girl.

……

Guandong, Silver Town.

Upon seeing the content on the light screen.

Misty's eyes curved into crescents.

She hadn't expected that the blockhead had actually kept the item she gave him so carefully.

Consequently, Misty hugged Togepi and quickly headed outside the venue, wanting to give Ash a surprise.

Bait—she had a specially customized, Misty-exclusive one!

But just as Misty was walking toward Ash with the bait.

That blonde older sister, who was acting intimately with Ash, gently wiped the ice cream from the corner of Ash's mouth with her hand.

Misty: ……

The loser turns out to be me!

……

On the screen—

During the time spent waiting for a bite.

Ash and Koharu chatted quietly just like that.

Most of the time, Ash was the one talking, while Koharu was a suitable listener.

And through Ash's storytelling, Koharu also learned some stories about Misty and Lana.

One was a companion from his first journey, the other a classmate he learned from.

This!

A major crisis!

"Koharu, your fishing rod is moving! Pull the rod, quickly!"

Ash, who had been observing the lake surface, spoke up immediately.

"Oh, oh! Coming!"

Koharu could only set aside the little thoughts in her heart for now, focusing intently on wrestling with the fish in the lake.

At the same time.

The members of Team Rocket also arrived at the lakeside as a matter of course.

During their earlier communication with Ash, they had learned that there was a Totem-level Water-type Pokémon here.

As a fishing enthusiast, James had to at least come and cast a line or two.

Unfortunately, they arrived too late.

The edge of the lake was almost entirely surrounded by groups of fishing enthusiasts.

Just like that, the members of Team Rocket unexpectedly ended up in the area behind Ash.

Meanwhile.

In a secluded corner.

A woman in professional OL attire with short purple hair was issuing orders.

"Recently, we have attracted a large number of Trainers by spreading rumors that there are Totem Pokémon in the scenic area. These Trainers who have traveled from afar are quite capable, and their Pokémon are as well."

"To realize Boss Giovanni's ideal of creating a new order, our goal this time is to take these powerful Pokémon and add bricks and tiles to Team Rocket's cause!"

"Don't worry about this operation, everyone; those three pieces of trash have already been sent off on vacation. There is absolutely no possibility of failure this time!"

"Everyone! Do you have confidence?"

"Team Rocket will prevail!"

"Very good, very spirited!"

"Move out!"

Hearing the spirited slogans of the members, Cassidy crossed her arms and adjusted her glasses.

This operation did not include those three guys with a 100% failure rate.

It was absolutely stable!

Thinking of the aftermath of various past operations.

Cassidy felt a surge of anger!

Every time the Team Rocket trio messed things up, she was the one who had to clean up the mess!

Anyone in her position would be full of resentment!

This time, not only were those three not participating, but Cassidy had specifically pulled in Team Rocket elites stationed in the Sinnoh region!

If this were a game of Fight the Landlord, her hand would be full of bombs!

With seventeen cards, Cassidy didn't even know how she could lose!

But thinking of the success of this mission and Boss Giovanni's praise.

A smile appeared on Cassidy's face involuntarily!

【Jessie:???】

【Looker: I didn't expect that even evil organizations are hard to work in these days; there's even this practice of squeezing out colleagues.】

【Lance: Exactly. Since they don't welcome you, why not abandon the darkness and join the light... ptooey! Abandon the darkness and join the light by joining our Alliance!】

【Bruno: You've exposed yourself. I remember Lance also went undercover in Team Rocket for a while. It's said that if he had waited any longer to close the net, he would have been sitting in the top chair of the Johto region!】

【Lance: *Cough, cough*, old history, not worth mentioning!】

【Diantha: So, join our Kalos Alliance. I will definitely make you, Jessie, a big star no less than myself!】 ===== CHAPTER 274 =====