"Don't fight over it. Come at me together."
Jupiter speaks coldly; in her entire life, she's never been looked down on like this.
It's humiliating. Absolutely humiliating.
"You clueless little brats have no idea how high the sky is. I've already beaten more of your type than I can count."
Jupiter pops two Poké Balls with a cold sneer.
A Bronzong and a Skuntank appear in front of her.
"Strong presence. She's probably Elite Four‑level. No wonder she's so full of herself."
Rosa narrows her eyes and studies Jupiter's Pokémon before making her call.
In Rosa's book, anyone who can say "all of you come at me together" is arrogant as hell.
Jupiter, obviously, disagrees.
Hearing the bun‑haired girl across from her casually call her "arrogant," Jupiter feels like a rock just lodged in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Who the hell is the arrogant one here??
You idiots barged into my base and are literally arguing over who gets to 'claim' me, right to my face.
Who the hell is acting all high and mighty?
"This woman's got some skills. You guys probably can't handle her, so let me and Hilda take this one."
Rosa is brimming with confidence as she steps up.
Elite Four‑level? Perfect. Elite Four‑level is just right.
That way, those students and that so‑called 'young lady' won't be able to snatch this from her.
"Hold it. Beautiful, who said we can't handle her?"
Drayton finally speaks up.
Honestly, he'd just been thinking the same thing as Rosa, but she jumped the gun and said it first.
"With someone like her, Kieran can handle it one‑handed. The other Admin's probably about the same level. My Dragon‑type squad can stomp them."
Drayton has zero intention of handing Jupiter and Saturn over.
Bronzong and Skuntank? Kieran can blow them up in his sleep.
Kieran's team is stacked; he's got an Incineroar that completely walls annoying stuff like Bronzong.
Kieran nods, radiating quiet confidence.
Jupiter's expression darkens again, the muscles in her face twitching.
"You say you can do it and that makes it true? Students really shouldn't talk so big."
Rosa's clearly annoyed. She knew bringing these academy kids would just mean more competition for merit.
"Beautiful, how little faith do you have in us? Tell you what—after this operation, we can have a match outside."
Drayton's mouth twitches; he narrows his eyes slightly at Rosa.
"Great. I'd love that. Time someone taught you students what a real battle looks like."
The gunpowder between the two sides is already starting to ignite.
"A‑ahem… I mean, either way, shouldn't one of these Admins go to me?"
A soft voice slips in. It's Dawn.
She suddenly realizes that all these people from Unova are kinda rude—and really pushy. They're so forceful she hardly dares raise her voice.
But she wants merit too. She wants to exchange for a Legendary Pokémon.
Rosa and Drayton immediately swing their gazes over to Dawn.
Those sharp, stare‑you‑through eyes make the young lady Dawn flinch and subconsciously step back two paces.
"Is… is there a problem?"
Dawn's voice is a bit timid.
Seeing that, Rosa and Drayton withdraw their gazes. This young lady isn't worth worrying about; looks like one of those thin‑skinned types.
Ignore her and she'll drop out of the race on her own.
Realizing Rosa and Drayton aren't responding, Dawn grows anxious and discouraged at the same time.
Just as they thought, speaking up twice already used up basically all of Dawn's 'courage meter.'
As the young lady of House Dawn, she's been raised from childhood to be kind and approachable. Acting like Rosa—fighting and grabbing for things—that's just not her.
Caitlin's personality is actually similar in some ways, but Caitlin is more proud, looking down on ordinary people from above.
Dawn, though, isn't like that.
"Dawn."
Paul glances once at Jupiter's face, which is now black enough to drip ink, then at Rosa and Drayton still "arguing" about who gets what.
He's figured it out: Rosa and the others don't see Dawn as competition at all.
"What is it, Paul?"
Dawn's in a knot. She knows she should fight for this and is scrambling for the right lines.
"You don't need to waste words on them. Just go take those two Admins down."
Paul stays expressionless. As a Sinnoh native, of course he stands on Dawn's side and thinks for her.
If his own strength were enough, Paul would've already jumped Jupiter, no debate needed.
"Isn't that… kind of bad?"
Dawn freezes, then starts to waver.
The "ownership" of Jupiter and Saturn hasn't actually been decided yet, right?
"There's nothing bad about it. Merit in hand is what matters. And did Lord Damian ever say Admins must be 'assigned'?"
Paul's the clear‑headed one here.
He honestly thinks Dawn's a little too "pure." But that's fine; with him as the strategist, he's not about to let her go hungry.
"Go battle those two Admins right now, grab first move. I'll support you from the side."
Paul has even prepped which Pokémon he'll use for Helping Hand.
Dawn eats the meat, he drinks the soup. That's the most practical outcome.
"Don't hesitate. Be decisive."
Seeing Dawn still look unsure, Paul's about to lose it.
Seriously, why is your skin this thin? We're fighting an evil organization. There's zero need for 'gentlemanly conduct' when you're beating on an evil org.
And Rosa and the others are rivals from other regions; this isn't an official match. Who cares about chivalry?
"Are you sure this is really okay?"
Dawn's almost convinced.
"Trust me, Dawn. This is our Sinnoh evil organization; it's only right that people from Sinnoh handle them. Those guys have no justification to compete with us."
Paul leans in and pushes the point fast and low.
"Do you have confidence you can deal with those two Admins?"
"I do!"
Dawn finally sets her resolve. She pulls out another Poké Ball and looks at Jupiter and Saturn.
"Pheromosa!"
With a flash of white light, the gorgeous, arrogant Pheromosa lands gracefully in front of Dawn.
She's only had Pheromosa for two days, but it was already Elite Four‑level when Dawn caught it, so it can jump straight into her main lineup.
Garchomp and Pheromosa stand side by side in front of Dawn. As for Empoleon, even if it's her ace…
Its offensive pressure can't match Garchomp and Pheromosa, so she doesn't send it out.
"They haven't noticed us yet, and that Admin looks like she's about to explode. Dawn, go now."
Paul glances once at Rosa and the others, then calmly prompts Dawn.
Squabbling over credit is pointless. Just making a move is what counts.
Merit has to be seized. Talking won't do it. If you have time to argue till you're blue in the face, you've got time to start swinging.
Paul thinks he's being very wise here.
"Electivire, Weavile—Helping Hand!"
He immediately calls out orders. Electivire and Weavile both fire Helping Hand onto Garchomp and Pheromosa.
Normal‑type Helping Hand, boosting the power of the target's next move.
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
"Pheromosa, Focus Blast!"
Dawn doesn't hesitate this time.
"These damned little brats!"
Jupiter is literally shaking with rage now. Watching them still arguing over her "ownership" has her boiling.
"Bronzong, Psychic"
She's ready to make them pay.
But before she can even finish—
"Jupiter! Look out!"
Saturn's pupils contract hard as he shouts a warning.
Jupiter's own hair stands on end. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots it: a vicious dragon barreling down on her with claws out.
Dragon Rush from a Dragon‑type.
"Skuntank, Protect!"
Jupiter barks the order, but—
Too late. Way too late.
Boom!!
Garchomp's Dragon Rush slams straight into Skuntank. The pain sends Skuntank screaming, and the impact is so heavy the reinforced flooring starts to crack.
Garchomp rides Skuntank straight through, smashing them down onto the third floor.
Good thing no one was directly under them, or that would've been an incident.
At the same time, another boom goes off.
Jupiter's face gets even uglier.
Pheromosa's Focus Blast detonates all over Bronzong. The blast wave ripples, and Bronzong staggers back under the hit.
Focus Blast doesn't hit Bronzong for super‑effective, but Pheromosa's Special Attack is no joke.
"Drill Run!"
Dawn keeps pressing.
Pheromosa's long body starts to spin like a drill and rockets toward Bronzong at high speed.
Ground‑type Drill Run.
An Alakazam appears in front of Bronzong and throws up a Protect, blocking the Drill Run.
Seeing the strike fail, Pheromosa flips back in a smooth arc and lands elegantly, brushing its long hair with a haughty look as it stares down Alakazam and Bronzong.
"How are they this strong?!"
Jupiter's face is black as ink, but she's also honestly rattled as she stares at that clean, elegant Dawn.
She's clearly still young, but this strong already?
Could it be that these brats weren't just full of themselves—they really do have the muscle?
No way. That can't be right.
The commotion from Garchomp and Pheromosa's opening volley obviously catches Rosa and the others too.
"No honor at all!"
"They actually jumped in first! That's dirty as hell!!"
"Damn it! This is your fault—otherwise I'd already have these two in the bag by now!"
Seeing Dawn "go early," Rosa and the rest are all shocked.
Drayton and the others' verbal pile‑on only makes Dawn's fair little face flush. Her skin really is thin.
But Paul's skin is thick enough for two.
"You were the ones standing around. Never heard 'you snooze, you lose'? Who wastes time arguing like that? What if they'd bolted?"
Paul says it flatly, not feeling the slightest bit guilty—in fact, sounding outright righteous.
He even has Electivire throw another Helping Hand onto Garchomp while no one's watching. As for Weavile… it's gone somewhere.
"Fine, fine! Hydreigon, Dragon Pulse!"
Rosa doesn't hold back; Hydreigon starts attacking at once.
They'll just see who drops these two Admins first.
Drayton and the others send in their main squads right away too. In seconds, the battlefield is pure chaos.
Jupiter and Saturn are scrambling like mad to hold back the offense, and sweat's already starting to bead.
Rosa and the others' main rosters are all very strong, and they've got them badly outnumbered. Jupiter and Saturn only have two fighters between them.
Two vs. five. They're completely outgunned.
These snot‑nosed brats are shameless.
None of them notice a dark‑gray Weavile quietly sneaking around behind Jupiter and Saturn.
Paul's lips curl into a cold smile. These people are all fixated on beating Jupiter and Saturn; none of them have stopped to change up their thinking.
Why are you talking about honor and righteousness with evil‑org Admins? Just jump them and pin them yourselves; that's a clean win.
Too cheap? Too underhanded?
Paul can flash his Team Rocket ID right in their faces.
Call him underhanded?
He's a Team Rocket member, personally licensed by boss Damian, thanks very much.
Yeah… Paul's suddenly realizing this Team Rocket identity is actually pretty handy.
Open your mind a little, and it's like a whole new world.
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