Kyurem will come for Zekrom, which Damian predicted from the start.
Originally, he planned to find a chance himself to approach N and use that to pressure him, but now N has come to him instead.
Well, this works too; it's actually more convenient this way.
"What do you want?" N fixes his gaze on Damian.
"That part," Damian pretends to think, then smiles at N.
"If you join Team Rocket, I'll agree to rescue Zekrom for you."
"…" N goes silent.
Having just shaken off Ghetsis's control, he just wants to move forward on the path he's found.
And Team Rocket is not the belonging he desires.
"What—weren't you just saying you'd do anything for Zekrom?"
Damian tilts his head.
N's hesitation isn't surprising.
After all, N is a genuinely good-hearted person; he longs for a world where Pokémon and the world can be better.
But Team Rocket is an evil team.
N's gaze shifts as he contemplates. Yes, he's hesitant; he barely escaped Team Plasma, and now he'd be a part of Team Rocket's League.
Yet thinking of Zekrom, N grits his teeth.
"If you can rescue Zekrom, I'll join Team Rocket!"
Although he knows joining Team Rocket would trap him again in the mud.
And unlike Team Plasma, Team Plasma didn't have anyone stronger than him; even nominally, he was the king of Team Plasma, with autonomy to avoid doing things he doesn't want to do.
But in Team Rocket, what Damian says goes; his own will would be subordinate to Damian's.
Still, N agrees, because of Zekrom!
Zekrom has always accompanied him, helped him, supported him, protected him; to N, Zekrom is his life's most important partner.
Hearing this, Anthea and Concordia's expressions become complex.
They agreed to align with Damian for N's sake; they didn't expect N to come offering himself like this.
But…
At least Damian is better than Ghetsis.
"It seems you really value Zekrom." Damian taps his lips in amusement; the bond between N and Zekrom is evident.
He'd thought he'd have to coax for a while.
"Zekrom is my teammate."
"Indeed, but from now on, we're teammates too."
Damian grins broadly, producing a top-tier Admin badge and handing it to N.
"Welcome to the team, N."
"You still haven't rescued Zekrom yet."
N glances at the gold "R" badge, frowning.
Their agreement isn't like this.
"Relax, you aren't officially on the roster yet; you're temporary staff for now," Damian says with a light laugh.
"And don't worry, I won't go back on my word; I do have a way to deal with Kyurem as well."
Hearing this, N falls silent; he does know.
Kyurem will come for Zekrom, and inevitably for Reshiram as well; in theory, Damian and Kyurem will clash.
But N still comes to Damian because he's not sure Damian will actually battle Kyurem, and he isn't obligated to rescue Zekrom otherwise.
"Understood."
N accepts, taking the badge in his hand.
"Not bad; the sixth top-tier Admin is in place."
Damian feels pretty good; N joining from Team Plasma will boost Team Rocket's strength; Team Rocket now has six top-tier Admins: Damian, Zinnia, Caitlin, Karen, Colress, N.
As for Giovanni, he's naturally been pulled out; let the Giovanni play in the Pokémon League for now.
The lead position of Team Rocket, Damian is ready to claim it himself.
And he intends to announce it loudly.
When they return to Kanto, he plans to broadcast it on a radio tower announcing his ascent to the top of Team Rocket.
"…" N's silence continues; the badge's texture in his hand makes him feel heavy.
For Zekrom, he truly has sold himself to Team Rocket.
"There's no need to wear that face; while Team Rocket isn't exactly a legit organization, they're not exactly evil either."
Damian notices N's expression and mutters.
This solemn, resigned expression made Damian a little uncomfortable.
"At least we aren't Team Rocket robbing innocent Trainers' Pokémon; we're a legit business organization."
Damian provides an example.
"And you don't have to worry about us harming Pokémon; I'm a big fan of Pokémon respecting Pokémon, so I've banned that kind of thing."
"What you've said doesn't match what I heard," N frowns slightly.
What he heard about Team Rocket was much more monstrous than this.
"That was the old Team Rocket; this is the new and improved Team Rocket!" Damian says with pride.
"Times change; organizations need to evolve; pure evil won't grow."
"If it weren't for the conditions, I'd have the entire Rocket League take on the Pokémon League for a showdown."
He sighs, thinking about future plans to expand across regions, making Team Rocket's Admins challenge the League.
Is there a world championship coming?
He might try.
"…" N goes quiet again.
Elsewhere .
"N is gone."
Alder frowns, to show his sincerity he indeed didn't confiscate N's Poké Ball. (ps: In the game, N doesn't use Poké Balls, because he believes they bound Pokémon, but at this stage in the story N has already become aligned with that belief)
"Forget it, as long as we're sure he won't keep pursuing those extreme Ideals."
Alder shakes his head; after yesterday's talk and observations, he's sure N's Ideals have been corrected.
And with that, it's fine—N hadn't actually done anything wrong to begin with.
As for Ghetsis, Alder has him specially detained; outsiders can't know where Ghetsis is kept.
"Take note of everywhere, keep an eye on N's location."
Alder has Jenny's commander send people to search for N's location info, which is still very necessary, because Alder genuinely believes N can be swayed.
Moreover, if N joins the Unova League, then their Unova League will stand up!
Though still not stronger than Kanto, at least it could pressure other regions.
Champion-tier, or Hero of Ideals—the value here is very high.
If N can become the Unova Region Champion and lead the Unova League, Alder can safely retire.
"Yes." Jenny's commander nods.
Having reached an agreement with N, Damian finally leaves the Castle as well.
He isn't exactly deceiving N; Kyurem is indeed hard to deal with, especially now that Kyurem has absorbed Zekrom, its Black form has the support of Zekrom, essentially a full-formed entity.
And with Damian's current combat power, dealing with Black Kyurem remains very difficult.
After all, Primal Kyogre is pure Water type and naturally resistant to water.
Replaying the LaRousse City battle against Shiny Rayquaza is also challenging; at present, Damian has Shadow Mewtwo and Rayquaza, making it hard to stall until Primal Kyogre buffs up.
Eindoak Town .
This is a town in the Unova Region; Damian and Caitlin and Elesa have come here.
"What's that?"
Caitlin looks toward a distant hill; on the hill there's a massive building—probably buildings?
"That's Sword of the Vale." Damian also notices the ancient, enormous building.
"Sword of the Vale?" Caitlin says puzzled.
Elesa obviously doesn't know much about it either; Eindoak Town isn't famous in Unova, so it's natural she doesn't know the local legend.
"Eindoak Town used to be the right center of the People of the Vale Kingdom, but as the kingdom declined, it fell into ruin." Damian explains.
As is well known, before the Pokémon League was established, most regions were wracked by war.
One famous instance is the war over the Whirl Islands territory that Lugia's thunder struck, turning the Whirl Islands into what they are now.
The so‑called Terrera is a country in Unova's history.
"And this 'Sword of the Vale' is Terrera's Castle, one of the local landmark buildings."
Damian shrugs; he isn't interested in the Sword of the Vale; he came to Eindoak Town with another purpose.
The three of them continue shopping, though they've come with a purpose, there's no little one showing up yet.
Damian doesn't mind accompanying Caitlin and the two sisters for a good stroll.
"Help! the monster's back!"
"Everyone! Quick, gather your goods!"
"Darn it! They come again every few days—why?!"
With a panicked shout, the entire street instantly becomes a chaotic mess.
Under Damian's astonished vision, the street stalls hurry to pack up, shops quickly move commodities back inside and close up.
What's going on?
Whew—
A thick bank of clouds and the howl of strong wind sweep in, rain and storm lash down.
The strong wind has already landed on the town, and within minutes the sky darkens.
"ma'am, what's going on?"
Damian and the three are invited into a shop by a kind shopkeeper, looking at the gloomy weather and wild winds, quite curious.
The owner is a middle‑aged woman in her thirties to forties, her face lined with worry.
"Sigh, we don't know either; but for more than a month now this inexplicable wind has blown through."
"It comes every one or two days, sometimes more often, up to three times a day."
"Our crops are about to be blown away, and this wind can be very strong; half a month ago, a house at the town's edge was blown away—people were terrified!"
~~~
Get early access to 100+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
patreon.com/PokemonStoryWeaver
~~~
Every 100 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter