"You need a full stomach to have the strength to run." Lin Hao took a long drink of cola.
May watched Lin Hao swallow his last chicken nugget, then slammed her hand on the table with a bang. "That's Team Rocket's Mewtwo Project!" she growled through gritted teeth. "The biggest criminal organization in all of Kanto is about to tear you apart, and you're still in the mood for cola?!"
Lin Hao burped, pulled out a napkin, and wiped his mouth. "Ordinary people are less likely to panic on a full stomach." He stretched. "Come on. Let's pay."
Meanwhile, in Team Rocket's underground headquarters in Kanto, dim light filled a spacious metal hall. Their leader, Giovanni, sat behind a broad, leather-covered desk, swirling a glass of expensive red wine as he watched a holographic screen.
The screen showed surveillance footage of Lin Hao leisurely eating a burger in the fast-food restaurant.
"Boss, this is the man." Apollo, a senior Team Rocket executive, stood with his head bowed. "Our elite pursuit squad at Fuchsia City's beach was completely wiped out."
Giovanni sipped his wine without a word.
"According to readings of the residual energy at the scene, the Pikachu and Charizard with him have astonishing energy levels." Apollo kept his head lowered, avoiding Giovanni's gaze. "The troublesome part is that he also caught the Greninja carrying the encrypted hard drive for the Mewtwo Project."
Giovanni narrowed his eyes slightly. "There's nothing on him in the League's database?" he asked.
"Nothing. His background is a complete blank. He appeared out of nowhere," Apollo replied.
Giovanni chuckled. "Interesting." He set down his glass, all amusement vanishing from his eyes. "He managed to embarrass that woman Lorelei and wipe out my pursuit squad to boot. Send three of our highest-tier elite squads to Fuchsia City."
"Should we kill him outright?" Apollo asked.
"No." Giovanni lowered his gaze and tapped the desk. "Keep him under covert surveillance first. If he can be useful to me, offer him the highest price to recruit him. If he refuses to appreciate the offer..." Giovanni crushed the wineglass in his hand, red wine dripping down his fingers.
"Then let him sink to the bottom of the sea along with that hard drive." Giovanni waved a hand. "Get it done."
"Yes, sir!"
Back in downtown Fuchsia City, Lin Hao and May emerged from the fast-food restaurant. People bustled along the streets beneath pleasant sunshine. With his hands in his pockets, Lin Hao strolled casually through the streets and alleys. May, however, held her back rigidly straight, scanning their surroundings with a wary expression.
"Twelve o'clock, that man reading the newspaper!" May leaned nervously toward Lin Hao's ear and whispered, "Three o'clock, that vendor pushing the balloon cart! And the smoker at nine o'clock! They're all Team Rocket!"
"You're not completely blind as an Investigator." Lin Hao gave an idle yawn.
"You already noticed?" May froze. "Then why aren't we running?!"
"Why run?" Lin Hao rounded a street corner and strode into a secluded dead-end alley. "Running is exhausting. Ordinary people hate strenuous exercise." May stamped her feet and followed him inside.
They had barely gone ten meters into the alley when six men blocked the entrance behind them. The man with the newspaper tore off his coat, revealing a striking blood-red Team Rocket emblem on his chest.
"Lin Hao, right?" The scarred man leading them snorted and swung out an alloy stun baton. "Hand over the hard drive. Our boss admires your strength. As long as you surrender it and swear allegiance to Team Rocket, wealth and luxury-"
"No time." Lin Hao waved a hand, cutting him off. "I still have to earn money challenging a Gym. You're getting in the way of my income."
"You want to do this the hard way?!" the scarred man roared. "Go! Mightyena! Houndoom!"
Bang, bang, bang! Six flashes of red light appeared, and six massive, vicious-looking Dark-type Pokémon sealed off the alley. Drool dripped from their sharp fangs as they fixed their eyes on Lin Hao.
May went pale and reached for the Poké Ball at her waist. Lin Hao stopped her hand, then looked at the new Poké Ball he had just clipped to his belt. "Hey, newcomer." His tone was flat, no different from someone addressing a tenant. "You ate my biscuits for free and drank my Full Restore earlier. Isn't it time you paid a little rent?"
Bang! Without Lin Hao even pressing the button, the Poké Ball popped open on its own. A slender, dark-blue figure appeared in the middle of the alley. Greninja knelt on one knee, one hand pressed against the ground, eyes somber. Across the alley stood the enemies who had caused the death of Greninja's previous trainer.
"Gren!" Greninja swiftly brought both hands together before its chest. Two sharp Water Shuriken, glowing an eerie blue, formed in its palms.
Whoosh! Two streaks of blue tore through the air with a whistle, too fast for anyone to make out even their afterimages.
The two Mightyena and one Houndoom charging at the front let out agonized howls together. The brutal force of the Water Shuriken hurled them backward into the alley's brick wall, embedding them in it and knocking them out on the spot.
The six Team Rocket elites stared in disbelief. "What... what the hell kind of speed is that?!" Sweat broke out on the scarred man's forehead, and the hand gripping his stun baton shook uncontrollably.
Greninja gave them no time to breathe. It pushed off with both legs, leaving a blurred afterimage in midair. Aerial Ace!
Bang, bang, bang, bang! A series of heavy impacts rang out. The remaining three Pokémon were kicked away before they could even unleash a move. Greninja twisted and followed through with a sweeping kick, sending all six Team Rocket elites flying out of the alley. They crashed beside the trash cans on the street outside, their eyes rolling back as they lost consciousness.
The battle ended in less than ten seconds. Greninja landed steadily and turned to look at Lin Hao, its eyes practically pleading, Praise me! Its pledge of allegiance had been delivered flawlessly.
"Not bad." Lin Hao gave a slight nod. "Your speed just barely passes. From now on, you can handle errands and picking up takeout."
Greninja nearly stumbled. So my speed and strength, enough to rival an Elite Four-level opponent, just make me the ultimate delivery worker in your eyes?
Inside System Space, Mewtwo snorted. "(A mere frog thinks it deserves to show off its speed in front of Master? Master is just sparing your dignity.)"
Groudon nodded repeatedly. "(Roar! Exactly! If you've got the guts, compete with me in strength!)"
Ho-Oh shot a sidelong glance over. "(Shut up, you flightless bumpkin!)"
Lin Hao rolled his eyes, unwilling to bother with this bunch of clowns.
In the real world, May looked at the Team Rocket elites sprawled across the ground, then at the helpless-looking Greninja. "That Greninja of yours..." Her throat tightened, and she patted her chest. "It must be at the peak of Gym Leader level, right on the threshold of Elite Four level!"
"Just an ordinary frog." Lin Hao casually took out the Poké Ball and recalled Greninja. He walked out of the alley and clapped his hands. Not far ahead, an old-fashioned Gym building came into view.
It was the Fuchsia Gym. Lin Hao sauntered inside, swinging his arms. The interior was dim, filled with mechanisms and traps. A man in a dark-purple ninja outfit hung upside down from a ceiling beam: Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader and Poison-type master.
"You're here." Koga flipped down and landed on the floor, staring at Lin Hao. In his pocket, the League's encrypted Communicator was active. President Charles Goodshow's secret order had arrived just ten minutes earlier: probe Lin Hao's limits at any cost!
"I hear you're strong." Koga threw a special black Poké Ball. "Let's see whether you really have some skill! Go, Venomoth!"
Bzzzt! A huge Venomoth with coldly gleaming wings rose into the air, scattering deadly poisonous powder everywhere.
Lin Hao looked at the Poison Powder swirling through the air and shook his head. "Another one who talks too much." He pointed at Pikachu, who was dozing on his shoulder. "Go finish it in one move. I'm in a hurry to get lunch. That powder is hard to wash out of clothes."
"Pika!" Pikachu slowly opened its eyes, pushed off Lin Hao's shoulder with its short legs, and leaped straight into the cloud of poisonous powder.
Koga snorted. "You're using Pikachu to take my Toxic head-on? My Venomoth can poison even an Onix into submission..." Before he could finish, Thunder! A savage bolt of golden lightning as thick as a bucket erupted from Pikachu, punching straight through the Gym's roof.
The poisonous powder filling the air evaporated in the wave of heat. The airborne Venomoth did not even have time to scream before turning into a lump of black charcoal and dropping beside Koga's feet with a thud.
Koga's smile vanished. His hand remained frozen in the gesture he had used to give his command, his entire body unable to move.
Lin Hao walked up and held out his right hand. "The Soul Badge, plus the hundred-thousand prize for winning the Gym battle. Hurry up." He pressed him like a debt collector. "Can you be quick about it? I'm hungry."
Dazed, Koga took the badge and a bank card from his pocket and handed them to Lin Hao. Without even looking, Lin Hao stuffed them into his pocket, turned, and left.
Only after Lin Hao and May disappeared through the Gym doors did Koga collapse, sinking to the floor. With a trembling hand, he pulled the Communicator from his pocket. "Hello? President." His voice shook.
At the other end, President Charles Goodshow asked anxiously, "Well? Is the test over? Did you discover the upper limit of his strength?"
Koga looked at the charcoal-black Venomoth on the ground and took a deep breath. "No." He lowered his head. "President, I wasn't even worthy of a serious glance from him."
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