"Don't worry," Xia You said solemnly. "I'll leave here as soon as I've challenged the Celadon Gym."
"I have faith in your abilities, so let me wish you success in advance." Then Looker changed tack. "But there's something else I need to tell you about what we discussed earlier. Once our preparations are complete, we'll also put together a special operations team to serve as the vanguard in the raid on the Team Rocket Base. We may invite you to join then."
"Huh? Me?" Xia You froze for a moment, then quickly agreed. "Of course, no problem. Since Team Rocket has already made me a target, I can't just stand by, no matter how I look at it. But who else will be on the special operations team?"
"Well..." Looker thought for a moment. "Naturally, anyone who makes it onto the team will be strong. We'll do everything we can to invite the Elite Four, and we'll also contact outstanding Gym Leaders through the Pokémon League."
Xia You couldn't help nodding. If they really could assemble a lineup like that, they could indeed go wherever they pleased inside the Team Rocket Base.
After hanging up, Xia You followed the main road to the Celadon Gym.
The Celadon Gym looked somewhat like the gymnasiums commonly found at schools, with an ocher roof and silver-gray walls. It stood in an enormous garden in the city center.
As Celadon City's official Gym, its Gym Leader, Erika, specialized in Grass-type Pokémon. Anyone who defeated her would receive a Rainbow Badge.
Upon entering, Xia You first arrived in a spacious lobby, where several pretty young women in shorts were working. When they saw him, a blue-haired girl came over.
"May I ask what brings you here?"
After Xia You explained why he had come, she