Crossing Over

Team Rocket Johto Special Training Facility.

Inside an enclosed gymnasium.

Heiduo stood among a neatly arranged formation of several hundred people, feeling somewhat at a loss.

He had never imagined that he would one day transmigrate, much less into the world of Pokémon.

What made it even harder to accept was that he had actually become a Team Rocket grunt.

And a probationary new recruit in the Johto region.

He knew very little about the world of Pokémon. His biggest memories from childhood were of the perpetually young boy—the "fool" Ash—and the Pokémon Adventures manga serialized in a comic magazine called Longman Youth Sunday.

His most recent impression, meanwhile, came from the game he had seen on all the major streaming platforms—[pokemon let's go].

That game had been popular for a long time. It was practically impossible to visit any platform's homepage without seeing it.

Heiduo had been interested too, but his circumstances did not allow it. He did not even have the money to replace his phone, so how could he afford a Switch and a game that cost hundreds?

So, Heiduo did not actually know all that much about this world.

He was neither a game fan nor an anime fan. At most, he was someone who had only watched from the sidelines.

He had watched the anime here and there, played modified and pirated versions of the games, and had not played anything since the 3DS era. Only the Adventures manga had he read in full.

But why had heaven played such a cruel joke on him, sending him into the world of Pokémon and making him a member of the villainous Team Rocket?

Just as he stood there with a miserable expression, a burly, bearded man at the front of the formation spoke. "After two weeks of basic training, I'm sure you've all gained a certain understanding of us... Now, I have an announcement—congratulations on passing our trust test. You have earned Team Rocket's trust and are now official members!"

The moment he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted throughout the gym. Heiduo glanced around him. Most of the people nearby wore fervent expressions, their spirits running high.

Heiduo clicked his tongue inwardly. Were people in the Pokémon world really this gullible?

He had attended the so-called two-week training as well. It had really just been ordinary brainwashing and cramming, a storm of indoctrination. Having experienced all sorts of health-product pitches and "Foot Fitness" advertisements in his previous life, he was long used to it.

He had not expected these people to actually swallow it. Had they even turned it into some kind of spiritual faith?

Tsk, tsk. Scary, scary.

With that thought, Heiduo began clapping as well. He was in a den of thieves right now, so he did not dare stand out.

Otherwise, that burly man—the Team Rocket squad captain—could strangle him to death with one hand!

Amid the continuing applause, the big man pressed his hand down, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "I'm not one for pointless chatter. Since you're all one of us now, let's get straight to the point!"

He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Someone nearby wheeled over a three-tiered cart.

Poké Balls were stacked neatly on the cart.

Heiduo's interest was piqued.

Honestly, in the nearly week since arriving in this world, apart from all sorts of video materials, he had seen very few actual Pokémon.

"Come up in order to collect your Pokémon and Blank Poké Ball. This is Team Rocket's show of sincerity toward you all. We hope you can join us in building a wonderful home!" The squad captain smiled slightly. With his face full of bulging flesh, the smile was exceptionally terrifying. Holding a sheet of paper, he began calling out numbers one by one.

A wonderful home, my ass.

Heiduo rolled his eyes. Team Rocket had never been a good organization. The fact that they stole other people's Pokémon alone made them despicable enough.

How were they any different from dog thieves?

Still, getting a free Pokémon was a good thing. There was no reason not to take it.

Before long, the squad captain called Heiduo's name. He stepped forward, putting on a fanatical expression. After receiving a Poké Ball and a Blank Poké Ball, he even saluted the captain, looking every bit like a diehard loyalist.

...Actually, he could not act, but copying what others did was simple enough.

After returning to the formation, Heiduo obediently stood in place, his right hand rubbing the Poké Ball containing his Pokémon.

"I won't waste words! Over the next ten days, your task is to build a good relationship with the Pokémon in your hands! Ten days from now, I'll inspect your results. Meeting adjourned! You have two hours to tame your Pokémon here! Return to the dorms in two hours and arrange your own time!"

The squad captain truly did not babble. Once he had explained everything clearly, he left on his own.

Once he left, the Team Rocket grunts distributing the Poké Balls followed after him. In an instant, only these newly promoted members remained in the gym.

They began whispering among themselves.

"Heiduo! What Pokémon did you get?"

A boy with short light-purple hair approached Heiduo, tossing the Poké Ball in his hand up and catching it over and over.

This was Yujiro. He had met Heiduo during the first five days of training. Their relationship was neither close nor distant; they barely counted as acquaintances.

"I don't know!" Heiduo froze for a moment, then raised the Poké Ball for a closer look.

Sure enough, a string of strange characters was engraved on the red-and-white Poké Ball. It was neither Chinese nor English, yet Heiduo could understand its meaning.

[Ekans]

That was what it said.

Wasn't this Jessie's Pokémon? Heiduo instantly recalled that pitiful villain with hair styled stiff using an entire bottle of hair gel—the true protagonist.

"Oh, it's an Ekans. I only just saw it. What about yours?" Heiduo looked toward the Poké Ball in Yujiro's hand.

Yujiro grinned and pressed his thumb onto the round button in the middle of the Poké Ball.

Bang!

With a flash of light, a blue balloon-like creature with a vacant expression and gray mist leaking from the holes in its body popped out.

A white cross and circle were drawn on its chest. When it saw Yujiro and the Poké Ball in his hand, its expression changed.

It sprayed a cloud of dust straight at Yujiro's face.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Caught off guard, Yujiro began coughing.

Heiduo stepped aside. Why was this guy releasing a Pokémon for no reason? Did he think he was the chosen one, that Pokémon would immediately bow to him?

Though Team Rocket would not give them exceptionally savage Pokémon, if a Pokémon had not been caught by its trainer, it needed time to communicate and build trust.

As he backed away, Heiduo was surprised to discover that there were many blockheads like Yujiro. They rashly released the Pokémon from their Poké Balls, only to have no idea what to do afterward.

For a while, the gym was in complete chaos, filled with noise and commotion. Most of those who had released Pokémon were utterly helpless, having no clue what to do. They frantically chased after their Pokémon, and some even mistook one Pokémon for another because they were the same species, fighting each other over them.

Heiduo retreated into a corner and watched coldly from the side.

He gave the Pokémon released in the gym a rough once-over. There were only seven or eight species in total.

A temperamental little bird covered in scruffy feathers, with fiery-red wings—Spearow.

A thick, giant python with dark-purple skin and the appearance of a rattlesnake—Ekans.

Koffing, releasing poisonous gas everywhere.

A giant-toothed rat with light-purple fur—Rattata.

A pig-nosed monkey with white fur, no body, and limbs growing from its head—Mankey.

A large rock with a human face and hands—Geodude.

A blue bat with no eyes, a pitch-black mouth, and two fangs—Zubat.

Why were they all Pokémon from Kanto?

Still, it did not matter. Since they had been given Blank Poké Balls, that meant the squad captain had granted them permission to catch wild Pokémon.

If he wanted Pokémon from Johto, he could just catch them himself.

The only regret was that Heiduo had not received a Zubat. Among these seven species, when it came to growth potential—that is, base stats—Zubat, with its three-stage evolution line, was definitely first. Geodude should have been next.

After that, Heiduo was not sure. He was not a veteran player, but he felt the rest were probably about the same.

Oh right, there was a famous saying in the Pokémon community. What was it again?

—There were only useless trainers, never useless Pokémon.

Hopefully, that was true in reality as well.

Heiduo leaned against the wall, his thoughts in disarray.

A figure approached Heiduo and stopped beside him.

Heiduo turned his head and discovered a silver-haired girl wearing a black beret. Her appearance was cold and striking, and he was stunned.

Of course, he was not stunned by the girl's beauty. It was because perched on her shoulder, acting like a delicate little bird, was a Zubat.

He had never expected Pokémon to make such humanlike expressions. There were simps in the Pokémon world too. Just look at that Zubat's shameless demeanor—it was exactly like one of his friends, as if they had been made from the same mold!

"Why... are you staring at me?"

The silver-haired girl frowned and reached out to rub Zubat's belly.

Zubat immediately wore an expression of bliss. Its smug, sleazy look sent waves of chills down Heiduo's spine.

Heiduo shook his head. "It's nothing."

If Ekans had a personality anything like this guy's, Heiduo was sure to have a headache.

"Oh!" The silver-haired girl leaned against the wall.

Heiduo could not stand looking at that Zubat anymore and prepared to leave.

The silver-haired girl called after him. "Wait, Heiduo!"

She had actually called out Heiduo's name at once, and she had even gotten it right. People who did not know him usually called him "Heize."

Heiduo stopped and asked doubtfully, "Do we know each other?"

He had no memories from before five days ago, but during these past five days, Heiduo had definitely had no contact with this silver-haired girl. He had barely interacted with anyone around him; only two or three people even knew his name.

Upon hearing that, the silver-haired girl held out her hand to Heiduo. "Hello, my name is Serea."

That name!

Heiduo reached out and lightly shook Serea's fingertips. She was probably not from Johto. She should be from Hoenn or Kalos.

"My name is Heiduo. Nice to meet you. May I ask what you need?"

"I hope to team up with you." Serea got straight to the point. "Ten days from now, the squad captain will have us form pairs for group battles. When that happens, I hope you'll be my partner."

Inside information? Someone with connections? Did this girl have backing?

Heiduo glanced at her. "Why do you want to team up with me? We should be complete strangers."

Seeing the distrust written across Heiduo's face, Serea said, "Because out of everyone here, you're one of the more normal ones."

More normal...

Heiduo's mouth twitched slightly. He looked toward the center of the gym at those people chasing after their Pokémon. She was right; they were a bunch of oddballs.

No wonder such a huge villain organization had been brought down by three little brats barely over ten years old.

"Let's talk about it later. If things really are as you say in ten days, I can consider it." Heiduo had not been working for long, but he was not about to trust someone blindly just because she was pretty.