Team Rocket's intelligence department lived up to its reputation.
Almost the instant the Pokémon League's troops began assembling, Lin Feng's Network Monitoring System picked up the unusual military movements.
Large volumes of encrypted communications, personnel transfers, supply shipments... all the data pointed to one conclusion.
The Pokémon League was about to strike.
And it would be a military operation on an unprecedented scale.
When word reached headquarters, tension gripped Team Rocket's entire senior leadership.
An emergency meeting of the executives was convened overnight.
"Boss, the Pokémon League means business this time! Lorelei of the Elite Four is leading them. We can't fight them head-on!"
"Exactly. I suggest we immediately pull back all our forces around Celadon City, avoid the brunt of their offensive for now, and wait until this blows over."
"Preserving our strength is what matters most!"
Most of the executives in the meeting room favored caution. Arrogant though they were, they were not stupid. Going head-to-head with the entire Kanto League's regular army would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Giovanni sat at the head of the table, listening to their discussion without expression or comment.
His gaze, however, kept flicking toward Ye Li, who stood behind him.
Ye Li kept his head lowered and said nothing, but towering waves had already surged through his heart.
Avoid the brunt of their offensive? Pull back our forces?
Are you kidding me? This is the opportunity of a lifetime!
Under the immense pressure, Ye Li's thinking instead became exceptionally active and bold.
The Pokémon League wants to attack us, but what's their biggest concern? Civilians, and the repercussions.
Lorelei is assembling her troops in secret. That means she doesn't want to make a big scene. She wants to catch us off guard.
That's exactly what we can exploit!
An utterly insane, even outrageously audacious plan rapidly took shape in his mind.
Why don't we turn it around and make a big scene ourselves?
Go straight to Erika at the Celadon Gym! Drag her into this and use her as our shield!
We'll say a group of unidentified armed militants is preparing to invade Celadon City and destroy its peaceful, stable business environment! As a major taxpayer in the city, Team Rocket's Rainbow Game Corner is willing to contribute manpower and resources to assist the Gym in defending the city together!
That changes the whole nature of this! We go from "invaders" to allies of the "defenders"!
Lorelei's troops go from a "righteous Pokémon League army" to "unidentified armed militants disrupting the city's peace"!
If she wants to attack us, she'll have to get past Erika first, then every citizen of Celadon City! This turns an external conflict between us and the Pokémon League into an internal conflict within the Pokémon League!
A chance to turn Celadon City completely into Team Rocket's "semi-independent kingdom"!
Giovanni quietly listened to the insane plan in Ye Li's mind, a scheme that could only be called a breathtaking sleight of hand, and the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
This was no longer mere tactics.
This was politics, an overt stratagem!
It was a stunning masterstroke capable of turning the situation throughout the entire Kanto Region upside down!
"Enough."
Giovanni suddenly spoke, cutting off all the arguments in the meeting room.
He slowly rose, his cold gaze sweeping over every executive who had advocated retreat.
"Every proposal to avoid battle is rejected."
His voice brooked no argument.
"Team Rocket never retreats."
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Giovanni made a decision none of them had expected.
He turned around and, for the first time, before all the executives, directly addressed the young man who had stood in the shadows all this time, treating him almost as an equal.
"Ye Li."
"What are your 'thoughts' on the current situation?"
Giovanni's voice was quiet, yet it exploded like a thunderclap in Ye Li's ears.
A direct, undisguised probe had begun.
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