Business at the Rainbow Game Corner continued to boom.
A steady stream of funds flowed like blood into Team Rocket's war machine, bringing its operating efficiency to unprecedented heights.
Naturally, this enormous, honey-dripping cake drew the covetous eyes and scrutiny of more and more factions.
One day, an unexpected "customer" came knocking.
A representative of Erika, the Celadon Gym's Gym Leader, secretly contacted the game corner's manager, Matori, through an intermediary.
The representative was very polite, saying that Miss Erika was highly interested in the game corner's novel business model.
The Celadon Department Store, which she owned, also hoped to introduce a few of the latest game machines to attract more young customers.
Matori did not dare make the decision herself and immediately reported the news to Giovanni and Ye Li.
When Ye Li heard the news, alarm bells immediately rang in his mind.
Erika?
Would a Gym Leader like her, a high-ranking member of the Pokémon League, really take an interest in our little business?
There's definitely something fishy here!
Ye Li's mind raced, linking all the clues together.
Last time, we managed to bluff our way through Lorelei's investigation by using Erika as a shield.
But knowing Lorelei, she definitely wouldn't let it rest.
This time, Erika approached us herself. Chances are, Lorelei put her up to it.
Their direct investigation came up empty last time, so now they want to try another approach and infiltrate us through a business partnership!
They want to buy our game machines to study their technological secrets and find evidence connecting us to Team Rocket.
Ye Li instantly saw through their intentions.
In Giovanni's office, Giovanni also heard Ye Li's incisive analysis, and a trace of approval flashed in his eyes.
But this is also an opportunity.
Ye Li's thoughts shifted, and a plan to turn their scheme against them took shape in his mind.
If they want to infiltrate us, why can't we use them in return?
We're not just going to accept this order. We're going to accept it "at a loss"!
Not only will we sell them the latest game machines, we'll price them thirty percent below market rate!
We'll also throw in a large batch of game corner redemption vouchers and tell them that points earned on the game machines at the Celadon Department Store can be redeemed at our game corner for special prizes, including Dratini!
That's what you call tying our interests together!
We'll use our core prizes to draw all the Celadon Department Store's customer traffic over to us!
At the same time, our partnership with the Celadon Department Store will become a semi-public fact.
Who is Erika? She's the face of Celadon City, a Gym Leader of the Pokémon League.
With her prestigious name backing us, the game corner's business will effectively be completely legitimized.
If the Pokémon League wants to investigate us again, they'll first have to weigh whether coming after us will affect the business of their own Erika.
Turn the enemy into our business partner, or even our shield!
As Giovanni listened to this series of schemes in Ye Li's mind, worthy of a "business genius," the smile on his face grew broader.
He picked up his communicator and gave Matori her orders directly.
His instructions matched the plan in Ye Li's mind almost word for word.
"...Don't just sell them. Sell them at a discount."
"...Throw in a batch of top-tier redemption vouchers. Turn her customers into our customers."
"...I want to use Erika's prestigious name to let everyone in the Kanto Region know that the Rainbow Game Corner is just as legitimate and legal an entertainment business as the Celadon Department Store."
Although Matori did not understand this order to "take a loss for publicity," she still carried it out faithfully.
Soon, she reached a "friendly" cooperation agreement with Erika's representative.
Several brand-new game machines specially supplied by Team Rocket were openly installed in the most prominent spot in the Celadon Department Store.
For the first time, Team Rocket's tendrils successfully reached into a Pokémon League Gym's business holdings through a semi-public commercial partnership that no one had anticipated.
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