Honestly, the timing of this encounter was pure coincidence.
How much of a coincidence? Well, it started with that familiar running joke about Xu Mu entering a Secret Realm...
Archie had been butting heads with Maxie in the Pokémon World. One disagreement, and their two groups would start fighting.
They kept making such a spectacle of themselves that, over time, they naturally became well-known organizations.
Team Aqua and Team Magma also caught Team Rocket's attention.
Was Giovanni going to put up with that?
You dare cause trouble on my turf? Do you have a death wish?
As an aside, Team Rocket currently had the Pokémon League on the ropes in the Pokémon World.
Mr. Goodshow and the rest of the League were struggling to resist Giovanni's relentless offensive. At this rate, they were nearly finished.
With things going that way, Team Rocket had time to spare. While making arrangements to invade the world of Post-Pokémon Civilization,
they also began clearing out rival villainous organizations.
Organizations like Team Aqua and Team Magma.
But neither group was stupid. Team Rocket was too powerful, so they would simply stay out of its way.
With so many Secret Realms available now, Team Aqua had set up a Teleportation Passage into several smaller worlds.
There, they could establish bases, rebuild their strength, and prepare for a comeback.
Rusturf Tunnel was one of them.
Team Aqua had only recently discovered this small Secret Realm. Archie had originally planned to set up a modest training outpost here for new recruits.
That was why Archie had come in person this time.
While making arrangements for the recruits, he could also inspect the local environment.
And there was the coincidence.
Running straight into Xu Mu was simply Archie's bad luck.
"Xu Mu, over here! There are lots of people