After a moment of thought, Adrian decided not to call the police for now. Instead, he dialed a specific person's number first.
Not long after, the call connected, and the screen showed a capable-looking woman with light blue hair.
"Adrian, why are you contacting me all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
Clair was a bit surprised.
Although she and Adrian had a good rapport, they usually didn't contact each other without a reason.
That's because Clair was a training fanatic, while Adrian was a fishing fanatic; they each had their own hobbies and pursuits.
"Miss Clair, I was attacked by Team Rockets!"
Adrian's voice was low. "They tried to steal my Dratini."
"Team Rockets? Those bastards again!"
Clair's expression changed slightly as she fired off three urgent questions: "Where are you now? What's the situation? Do you need backup?"
"I'm currently near the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City, Kanto. The situation is under control for now. The Team Rocket members have been defeated, and I don't need backup. But I'm not sure how to handle the aftermath."
At Adrian's signal, the rotom phone turned its camera, showing the messy scene and the charred Clem to Clair. Adrian added, "Before he passed out, this guy said his name was Clem. He seems to be a special member of Team Rockets and also the captain of some execution unit for Project R—"
"A special member of Team Rockets?"
Clair was taken aback.
The strength of ordinary Team Rocket members might be uneven, but those who become special members are usually quite capable.
If they're an Executive, their strength is even greater. Even Gym Leaders might not have an easy time facing them.
Most importantly, this person was also the captain of an execution unit.
With such a position, his status is already not much lower than that of an Executive.
Although puzzled about how Adrian managed to defeat a Team Rocket special member, given the urgent situation, she didn't press for details. She simply said, "Let me make a call. Wait for a few minutes."
With that, Clair hung up.
Seeing that Clair could help, Adrian immediately felt much more at ease.
If Clair couldn't handle it, he was prepared to contact Elite Four Lorelei.
However, Adrian wasn't sure if he had enough standing in front of Elite Four Lorelei to make such a request.
After taking a deep breath, Adrian noticed Clem's pokémon scattered around. An idea struck him, and he quickly had Pikachu use Thunder Shock on Clem once more.
"Looks like he's still unconscious!"
Seeing that Clem showed no reaction, Adrian cautiously approached, took Clem's poké balls, recalled all six of his pokémon, and securely locked the balls.
Only then did he finally relax.
But just then, the large pack Clem was carrying suddenly opened on its own, and an egg about the size of a soccer ball with unique patterns rolled out.
"This is—a pokémon egg?"
Adrian's eyes lit up, filled with curiosity.
Clem had specifically carried this egg with him, which meant it couldn't be ordinary.
Seeing no one around, Adrian quickly picked up the egg for a closer look.
Unfortunately, Adrian had no expertise in pokémon eggs and couldn't discern anything special about it.
Beep beep beep!
Just then, the rotom phone rang. It was Clair calling back. Adrian quickly answered.
"Stay where you are. In about five minutes, the person I contacted will arrive. Just follow his instructions then."
On the screen, Clair's lips curled slightly upward, clearly in a good mood.
Seeing this, Adrian had a thought and asked in surprise, "Miss Clair, the person you contacted... it wouldn't be Champion Lance, would it?"
"That's right, it's him!"
Clair smiled and said, "You're really lucky. Lance happened to be at the Fuchsia Gym discussing something with Mr. Koga. With Dragonite's speed, it'll only take a few minutes to get from the Gym to your location."
Hearing that Lance was meeting with Koga, Adrian couldn't help but think of the near future when Koga would step down as the Fuchsia Gym Leader and take up a position as one of the Elite Four in the Johto region.
Could they be discussing that very matter today?
But Adrian only kept this thought to himself, not daring to voice it.
Otherwise, if such confidential League information was known by him in advance, it might cause unnecessary trouble.
After chatting with Clair for a few more minutes, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from the sky.
A large, orange pokémon with tiny wings was rapidly flying toward them.
It was none other than Kanto's pseudo-legendary pokémon, Dragonite!
On Dragonite's back rode a handsome young man with a Red cape and matching Red hair. His face was handsome yet stern—it was Lance.
From a distance, Dragonite locked onto Adrian and swiftly descended.
"You must be Adrian?"
Once Dragonite landed, Lance leaped off its back. His Red cape billowed in the wind, looking incredibly cool.
"Mr. Lance! I am Adrian."
Adrian quickly stepped forward to greet him.
Champion Lance was a superstar Trainer who stood at the forefront of the world's pokémon Trainer rankings.
In terms of fan count and popularity, Iono was like a little sister compared to him.
"Not bad, full of vitality!"
Lance sized up Adrian, then carefully looked at Gyarados, sighing with emotion. "I've read about the flying Gyarados in my clan's ancient texts but always thought it was our ancestors' fabrication. Now it seems my training was insufficient. I've been like a frog in a well, too self-assured. pokémon have limitless potential!"
Adrian wore a humble expression. "You flatter me, Mr. Lance."
Without dwelling on the matter further, Lance turned his attention to Clem, who was lying on the ground, twitching occasionally.
Although his body was charred black, his features hadn't changed much, and Lance recognized him at a glance.
"It's indeed Clem, a special member of Team Rockets!"
As a pokémon inspector, Lance's main focus was combating evil organizations. He was familiar with the profiles of some key Team Rocket personnel.
But at the same time, Lance was also somewhat surprised.
Because Clem's abilities were quite formidable, at least on par with the average regional conference Champion.
If he went all out, even an ordinary Gym Leader might not fare well against him. How could he lose to a rookie Trainer?
"Could it be that this kid is hiding his true strength?"
Lance glanced subtly at Adrian, silently speculating.
It wasn't impossible!
Among rookie Trainers, very few manage to collect eight badges and qualify for the League Conference in their first year.
But the Pokémon world is vast, and there are always geniuses who defy conventional expectations.
Not to mention distant examples, just take Red—a prodigy who became the world Champion in a remarkably short time.
Compared to Red's achievements, Champion Lance's own journey could be considered ordinary.
Though compared to ordinary people, Lance himself was also a prodigy.
"Clair has already told me about your concerns. Leave this person to me; I'll handle it as if I captured him. In my report, I won't disclose your information to prevent Team Rockets from targeting you."
Lance smiled and joked, "In a way, I'm benefiting from your efforts, getting credit for free."
"You're too kind, Mr. Lance. With your strength and status, what use do you have for such a minor credit?"
Adrian didn't dare to claim any credit. Instead, he expressed gratitude: "I'm already immensely thankful that you're willing to help me out of respect for Miss Clair."
"Team Rockets is cunning. Capturing one of their special members is no easy task."
Lance shook his head. "If it were an Executive, it would be even more difficult."
Since becoming a pokémon inspector, he had clashed with Team Rockets many times, catching plenty of small fry, but the big fish were always too slippery.
Looking at this bright and cheerful young man before him, and considering that Adrian had managed to defeat Clem, a Team Rocket special member, alone in the wild, his aptitude and combat skills in unregulated battles were evident.
After all, official battles and unregulated wild fights were two completely different concepts.
"Adrian, what are your plans after challenging the Indigo Conference?"
Thinking of this, Lance felt a spark of inspiration and asked with a keen gaze, "Would you like to join the Indigo League and become a pokémon inspector?"
"One directly under me, answering only to me!"
Lance added emphatically.
It was clear that Lance held Adrian in high regard, even making such an offer.
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