Chapter 121: Chapter 121: No Turning Back
Chapter 121: No Turning Back
"This… what kind of kink is this?"
"Feeding play?"
Sabrina noticed their strange expressions and quickly explained, "It's just that…"
Before she could finish, Asahi interrupted, "No need to say it—I understand!"
With that, he pulled three more Pokéblocks from his bag and handed them to her.
Looking at his knowing expression and the Pokéblocks in his hand, Sabrina felt… unclean.
But she really just wanted to increase her psychic power!
Expressionless, she took the Pokéblocks without another word.
No point in arguing—whatever she said would only make it worse.
As she teleported away from the mansion, Asahi stretched and yawned.
"Mission complete. We stole a Rocket Executive, planted a mole, and essentially cut Team Rocket's manpower by two. That's a solid win."
"And with Lt. Surge already in custody, that means a third of Team Rocket is basically gone!"
"Kanto's League should be thanking me!"
Green gave him a skeptical look.
How the hell is he even doing this math?!
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By the time Sabrina returned to Saffron Gym, it was already evening.
The psychic apprentices in the gym exchanged glances when they noticed that their Gym Leader's expression seemed slightly different from usual.
Could their earlier suspicions be true?
Had their Gym Leader really gotten a boyfriend?
While the apprentices were busy gossiping, Sabrina returned to her room and placed Alakazam and her other Pokémon into a healing machine—something only large Pokémon Centers usually had.
After adjusting her mindset and expression back to normal, she followed Asahi's instructions and dialed Giovanni's number.
On the screen, Giovanni sat as usual in his chair, absentmindedly stroking his Persian.
"Boss Giovanni, I encountered that Asahi you mentioned today."
Hearing this, Giovanni didn't look surprised—he had already received news about this from Saturn.
"So, he came to Saffron Gym for his Gym assessment?"
"That's right. He's quite strong."
Sabrina selectively shared details, fabricating a story in which she had deliberately held back and lost to Asahi. Naturally, in the end, she did pass the Gym Leader evaluation.
As for her leaving the gym with Asahi afterward, she had already come up with an excuse.
"By the way, he seems to have taken an interest in me. After the challenge, he even invited me to dinner…"
Giovanni smiled when he heard this. Given Asahi's age, this was perfectly normal. In fact, it was a good thing...
"Asahi was entrusted by Lance to serve as a Gym Examiner. That's not something an ex-ranger alone could accomplish. Keep in touch with him and see if you can uncover any of his secrets..."
Giovanni continued speaking to himself, completely unaware that Sabrina was already under Asahi's influence.
By asking Sabrina to maintain contact with Asahi, he had actually made things more convenient for him.
Sabrina's expression remained unchanged as she simply nodded in acknowledgment when Giovanni finished speaking.
For now, the topic of Asahi was set aside. After all, in Giovanni's eyes, Asahi was just a promising young man whom Lance had taken a liking to—one who might be hiding some secrets.
Personally testing him, combined with Sabrina's close observation, should be enough.
For now, Team Rocket had more pressing matters to handle.
"There might be a mission requiring your involvement soon," Giovanni said.
Sabrina asked, "What mission?"
"Our people have spotted Articuno on the Seafoam Islands…"
"Sham got seriously injured this time and needs to recover in the Sevii Islands. Koga is closer to Seafoam, but you know he's also preparing for the upcoming Gym Examiner assessment."
"So, this mission will be yours."
"Once Articuno is captured, it will be at your disposal as well."
Giovanni knew how to command his subordinates. Simply preaching about Team Rocket's goal of world domination wasn't enough—he had to offer tangible benefits.
As expected, Sabrina showed no hesitation.
"I accept this mission."
"Good. I'll have you inform of the exact time later."
After ending the call, Sabrina let out a deep breath.
She took out the encrypted International Police communicator Asahi had given her. After a brief hesitation, she ultimately sent the entire conversation with Giovanni to Asahi.
After doing this, she felt as if all the strength had left her body and collapsed onto her bed.
Her hair spread out as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Taking out the special energy cube Asahi had given her, she gazed at the faintly glowing object in her hand and muttered,
"There's no turning back now…"
With that, she stuffed the energy cube into her mouth, feeling waves of warmth surging through her body.
This time, since she was inside her gym, she didn't need to hold back…
"Mm…"
…
While Sabrina was diligently training her psychic abilities, Asahi received her message.
[Articuno?]
Asahi hadn't expected Giovanni to make a move on the Legendary Birds already.
You haven't even created Mewtwo yet, and you're already going after Articuno? Giovanni, aren't you afraid of overextending yourself?
As he pondered this, the boy sitting across from him—Gary—looked at him with an exasperated expression.
Asahi had called him to Saffron City, saying he had a part-time job that could improve his battle skills.
But now, when Gary asked what the job was, Asahi was just staring at his phone in a daze. Was he messing with him?
Gary had even ditched his girlfriends to come here alone, thinking this was something serious.
But then again, this estate was quite nice. Maybe he should ask his dad if they could get one too.
Asahi quickly snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Gary. "Sorry, I got distracted. You were asking about the job, right?"
Gary nodded impatiently. He was curious about what kind of part-time job could improve his battle skills, pay well, and not interfere with his travels.
Asahi smiled slightly and looked at Green, who was sitting nearby.
At his signal, Green pulled out a pre-prepared confidentiality agreement.
"Sign this first."
"A confidentiality agreement? For a part-time job? Seriously?" Gary twitched his lips, feeling that Asahi was being way too dramatic.
What kind of part-time job required a confidentiality agreement?
But since he trusted Asahi, he skimmed through the document and signed his name without hesitation.
Handing the agreement back to Green, Gary said, "Now, can you tell me what this part-time job is?"
"Of course." Asahi smiled. "Now, let me formally introduce you to the International Police Kanto Division…"
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