Pokémon League Headquarters – Cafeteria

  August, Gardevoir, Dratini, and Bagon sat together at a small table.

  However, August, Gardevoir, and Dratini weren't eating.

  All three of them were silently watching as Bagon devoured its food at an arming rate.

  For a full ten minutes, they observed as it finished off the st bite of its Pokéblock dessert, finally letting out a satisfied burp.

  Only then did Bagon look up—only to find all three of them staring at it.

  Its face instantly turned red.

  August frowned. "Wait… didn't you say yesterday that you weren't hungry anymore?"

  "Bagon! Bagon!"

  August processed its response. "So… you're saying you just like eating?"

  Huh.

  According to Bagon, even though it wasn't physically hungry anymore, it still had the urge to eat whenever it saw food.

  That said, now that its energy needs were met, it didn't need to eat as often and no longer had to spend excessive time digesting. Training wouldn't be affected anymore.

  August: "…"

  Damn it.

  He had thought using the [Dragon Crystal] would completely resolve Bagon's insatiable hunger—meaning he could pocket that 100,000 Pokédolr monthly subsidy instead.

  But nope—even fully energized, his Bagon was still a glutton.

  That money was definitely going to end up in Bagon's food budget.

  From August's perspective, not making money = losing money.

  So, fourth-grade math told him he had just lost a hundred million Pokédolrs.

  Dratini and Bagon exchanged confused looks, unable to understand why August looked so devastated.

  Gardevoir, however, understood perfectly.

  With their telepathic link, she could clearly sense his thoughts.

  She rolled her eyes and continued daintily picking at her sad, completely ignoring her shameless trainer, who was seriously considering withholding his Pokémon's meal allowance.

  Dratini, though clueless, saw that Gardevoir wasn't concerned and decided to start eating as well.

  August didn't stay depressed for long.

  Since there was no changing Bagon's eating habits, and he wasn't heartless enough to starve it, he had no choice but to accept reality.

  So, he did the only thing he could—eat his feelings.

  This was going to be his st free meal at the League headquarters for a long time. The more he ate, the less of a loss he took.

  Seeing everyone eating so enthusiastically, Bagon couldn't resist—it ended up scarfing down three more bowls of food.

  ---

  August finally departed, armed with:

  10 million Pokédolrs in mission funding, personally approved by Lance.

  A League-certified "Official Researcher" ID, completely legitimate and verifiable from any database.

  Seated in a taxi, August gazed out the window at the passing ndscape, watching as young, energetic trainers battled their Pokémon on the roadside.

  "So full of life…" he sighed.

  Had this been two years ago, when he first got Ralts, he definitely would have gotten out of the car and battled them—draining their st bit of pocket money.

  "But as, I'm a big deal now."

  A big deal couldn't go around bullying newbie trainers.

  …Well, he could, but he'd have to do it discreetly—maybe wear a mask, or use the disguise techniques from the International Police training manual.

  As he was contempting whether to use a mask or makeup techniques for his future Youngster bullying sessions—

  The taxi driver, overhearing his mumbling, chuckled and spoke up.

  "Didn't expect you to be a big deal, huh?"

  Though the sentence could have sounded sarcastic, the man's tone was purely curious.

  August wasn't the socially anxious type, so he ughed. "That's right! A future big deal."

  To emphasize his words, he casually pulled out his Official Researcher ID and fshed it in the rearview mirror.

  Seeing the ID, the driver's expression immediately shifted to one of genuine admiration.

  "An Official League Researcher? That's no small feat! At your age, that's seriously impressive!"

  "Of course!" August grinned. "And I'm about to close a major business deal."

  "A business deal? Mind sharing?"

  The driver seemed intrigued, but quickly realized something.

  "Ah—wait. If it's confidential, never mind. I don't want to pry."

  August waved dismissively, pretending to be humble.

  "Oh, this? Not a secret at all. I'm about to sell my research to Devon Corporation in Hoenn. That's why I was staying at Indigo Pteau for the past month—to finalize the deal."

  The driver's admiration grew even stronger.

  "Devon Corporation? That's a massive company! That's incredible!"

  And so, the rest of the ride was spent in casual conversation.

  By the time they reached Viridian City, the driver was so impressed that he refused to accept payment.

  "Just give me your autograph instead!"

  But was August that kind of person?

  His signature wasn't worth anything!

  So, he forced the driver to take the money before heading into a luxury hotel nearby.

  The driver watched August's figure disappear into the revolving doors of the hotel.

  Then—

  The warm smile vanished from his face, repced by an emotionless expression.

  He reached down, grabbed a radio communicator, and spoke.

  "Crobat, this is Zubat Unit 13. I have encountered B-rank target 'Ranger Specter' August. Departed from Indigo Pteau, currently staying at Silph Luxury Hotel in Viridian City."

  "Confirmed reason for resigning as a Ranger: transition to a researcher role. Successfully obtained an Official League Researcher identity."

  "Acquired intelligence during conversation—target cims to be a 'future big deal' and appears to have major research results. Has allegedly secured a business deal with Devon Corporation. Suggest continued surveilnce."

  A brief pause.

  [Received. Maintain covert monitoring.]

  "Understood."

  With just two words, the driver pocketed the radio, shifted gears, and drove off into the night.

  ---

  After checking in, August smiled at the receptionist, followed the concierge to his luxury suite, and stepped inside.

  The moment the door shut, he dropped the act.

  "Fuck. That was way too close."

  After tossing his luggage aside, he released Gardevoir and had her scan the room.

  Once confirming there were no listening devices, he ordered her to set up a [Light Screen] barrier to block any potential eavesdropping.

  Only then did he fully rex.

  Sitting on the bed, August let out a long sigh.

  "I seriously ran into a Rocket agent in a freaking taxi."

  What were the chances of that?!

  If he wasn't already trained for this kind of situation, he might've given away far too much information.

  Anyone else would've walked away thinking they'd just made a new best friend… while getting completely drained for intel.

  "The Kanto League is beyond saving. Rocket agents are lurking right outside their damn doorstep, and no one even notices."

  Pulling out his encrypted International Police phone, he quickly sent a report to Lance, advising him to review and monitor every League staff member August had interacted with in the past few days.

  He also urged Lance to speed up his meeting with Steven Stone to legitimize his researcher identity as soon as possible.

  It didn't take long for Lance to respond.

  [Got it.]

  Only two words.

  But after spending the past few days working with him, August could feel the simmering rage behind them.

  ---

  T/N: jeez what team rocket version is this? Luo Yuan's? holy