Pokémon: I’m Really Not a Team Rocket Spy

"Hey! Who do you think you are, treating Meowth so rudely?!"

Meowth, clearly upset about being dragged away by Maki, glared at him as he voiced his complaint.

James leaned down to whisper into Meowth's ear, "This is Maki, the son of Giovanni—the Rocket Boss himself!"

James quickly straightened up after speaking, mimicking Jessie's formal posture. Their stiff, awkward poses only made the situation more ridiculous.

"S-sir... I-I didn't mean anything by it, meow!" Meowth stammered, scrambling to explain, only for Maki to wave him off.

Rubbing his temples, Maki sighed. He already felt a headache coming on.

"Where are the Pokémon you stole from the Pokémon Center?"

The trio froze, exchanging nervous glances.

[The Boss must have heard of our success! He's here to reward us!]

[Promotion! A raise! It's finally happening!]

[Exactly, meow!]

James eagerly saluted and, with a smug grin, pulled out a heap of Poké Balls. "Here they are, sir! We were just about to send them back to HQ!"

"Return them."

"Y-yes, sir! Wait... what?"

James blinked in disbelief, his dreams of promotions and raises shattering instantly.

"We can't afford to escalate conflicts with the Joy family or the Pokémon League right now. Return the Pokémon immediately, and don't raid their facilities again," Maki instructed firmly.

"Ah… fine."

The trio deflated like popped balloons, their enthusiasm completely drained. Even Maki felt a twinge of sympathy for them. They had worked hard to pull off a successful heist, only to be told to undo it all.

"One more thing. I'm currently on a special assignment. If you see me in the future, pretend you don't know me. Don't mention anything about me to anyone. Understood?"

The trio nodded vigorously. Jessie hesitated, then rubbed her hands together nervously. "M-Maki, sir… how exactly should we return these Pokémon?"

"That's easy."

Maki smiled mischievously. Under the trio's curious gazes, he took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"HELP! THE POKÉMON THIEVES ARE RIGHT HERE!"

Watching the Rocket Trio being escorted into a police car, Maki scratched the back of his head guiltily. He couldn't think of a better way to handle the situation.

After all, it wasn't the first time these three idiots had been caught. A little effort from Team Rocket would likely spring them free soon enough.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a heavy hand clapped him on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

"Ha-ha-ha! Nicely done, kid!"

The hand belonged to none other than Officer Jenny of Viridian City.

"Thanks to you, we caught the culprits so easily. You've done us a huge favor! I'll make sure to file a report and have a commendation ready for you. Be sure to swing by and pick it up later!"

Officer Jenny was in an excellent mood, her sunny demeanor making her beam at Maki.

"Ah, no need for that. I don't really have a place for a commendation," Maki replied hastily, waving his hands. What would he do with a banner, anyway?

"No place for it, huh? Well, how about some League Points as a reward? Even if there's no official bounty yet, you've earned it!"

Maki's eyes lit up. League Points were invaluable, exchangeable for rare items and typically earned through arena rank-ups.

"That'd be great, thanks!"

"Leave it to me!" Officer Jenny declared confidently, giving Maki another hearty pat on the shoulder before marching off. "Pack it up! Take the suspects back to HQ!"

Maki silently apologized to the Rocket Trio once more. If my cover ever gets blown and I return to Team Rocket, I'll make sure you all get promotions and raises.

With the trio apprehended, the blockade around the Pokémon Center was lifted.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Maki resumed training his Charmander.

Three days passed in a flash.

"Charmander, use Fire Fang and pull it down!"

Charmander leaped into the air, flames erupting from its jaws as it latched onto Pidgeotto's wing.

"Pidgeooo!"

Three days of intensive training had paid off. Charmander had mostly mastered Fire Fang. While it wasn't yet as refined as its inherited Crunch, the same-type attack bonus (STAB) made it nearly as powerful.

Charmander held its grip on Pidgeotto, dragging it down with sheer force.

Pidgeotto flailed desperately, trying to regain balance, but with one wing disabled, it was futile.

For most Flying-types, the wings are their most critical feature. Once injured, their mobility is severely compromised—although exceptions like Doduo, who lacks wings altogether, defy this logic.

How can Dodrio learn Fly, anyway? If that thing can fly, then why can't my Groudon?! Maki thought bitterly.

"Pidgeotto! Take to the skies, quickly!"

Maki's opponent was clearly an inexperienced rookie. Though their Pokémon was the evolved form of Pidgey, Pidgeotto, they didn't understand how to take advantage of its flying capabilities.

"Charmander, use Crunch again!"

Maki left no room for the opponent to catch their breath. As Pidgeotto struggled to flap its injured wings, Charmander lunged forward and bit down again.

Under Maki's meticulous training, Charmander had come to understand the principle: "A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands."

After all, why bother with fists when teeth get the job done so much more efficiently?

In beginner-level battles, only one Pokémon could be used. This meant there was no opportunity to recall a Pokémon just before it fainted to exploit abilities like Regenerator. The fight continued until a Pokémon was either unable to battle or the Trainer surrendered.

Of course, while there was a "Poké Ball Beginner Tier," there were no intermediate or advanced tiers with similar names. This tier existed primarily to accommodate rookie Trainers, and among Trainers, it was nicknamed the "Beginner Class."

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle! Charmander wins!"

With the referee's announcement, Charmander's debut battle in the arena came to a perfect close.

Since this was only the first match, there were naturally no spectators. To minimize the workload for arena staff, each Trainer was limited to a maximum of three battles per day.

Once Trainers advanced to the Great Ball level, however, this restriction no longer applied. They could battle as much as they liked—assuming they met the tier's higher entry requirements. The number of participants in the Great Ball level was significantly smaller than in the Beginner level.

"Well done!" Maki praised.

"Charr!" Charmander responded enthusiastically.

Maki often wondered if Charmander had accidentally allocated all its stat points at birth into jaw-based skills—it seemed to have a natural talent for biting techniques.

As long as Charmander didn't start biting Maki, though, there was no problem.

Ruffling Charmander's head, Maki smiled as the little Pokémon leaned into the touch with a look of pure bliss. From a pocket, Maki retrieved a small cube of Pokéblock and handed it to Charmander.

"Do you want to walk outside or stay in your Poké Ball?" Maki asked, holding up the Poké Ball.

Charmander eagerly chomped down on the Pokéblock.

(ૢ˃ꌂ˂⁎)! Delicious!

Then, it gently nudged the Poké Ball with its head, signaling Maki to return it.

"That's fine for now, but remember, when we board the plane later, you'll have to stay in the Poké Ball, okay?"

That's right—according to Maki's schedule, they were heading to Saffron City this afternoon. Although Giovanni had given Maki a week to prepare, arriving early to assess the situation wouldn't hurt.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Maki packed up everything and made the final preparations.

Next stop: Saffron City, the largest metropolis in the Kanto region!

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