Damian expected from the start that Kyurem would search for Zekrom.
Originally, he intended to find an opportunity to locate N himself. He wanted to use this situation to influence him. He did not expect that N would actually arrive at his door by himself.
However, this was acceptable. In fact, it made things much more convenient.
"What do you want?" N asked, staring intensely at Damian.
"Well now..."
Damian pretended to reflect for a moment. Then, he looked at N with a beaming smile.
"If you join Team Rocket, I will agree to help you rescue Zekrom."
"..." N fell into a long silence.
He had finally escaped the control of Ghetsis. Now, he only wanted to move forward on the path he had discovered for himself.
And Team Rocket was definitely not the home he desired.
"What is wrong? Did you not just say you would do anything for Zekrom?" Damian tilted his head to the side.
He was not surprised by N's hesitation. After all, N was a person who truly had good intentions. He was kind-hearted and sincerely hoped that Pokémon and the world would improve.
But Team Rocket was a dark organization.
Hearing Damian's words, the look in N's eyes kept shifting. Yes, he was very hesitant. He had worked hard to escape Team Plasma, only to become a member of Team Rocket.
But when he thought of Zekrom, N gritted his teeth.
"If you can rescue Zekrom, I will join Team Rocket!"
He knew that once he joined Team Rocket, he would be stuck in the mud again.
Furthermore, it was different from Team Plasma. In Team Plasma, no one was stronger than him. Besides, even if it was only in name, he had been the King of Team Plasma. He had the right to make his own decisions. He had the ability to refuse to do things he did not want to do.
But in Team Rocket, what Damian said was law. His own wishes would be lower than Damian's wishes.
Yet, N still agreed because of Zekrom!
Zekrom had always stayed by his side, helped him, supported him, and protected him. To N, Zekrom was a vital partner in his life.
Hearing those words, the expressions of Anthea and Concordia became quite complicated.
They had originally agreed to serve Damian for N's sake. They did not expect N to come and deliver himself to Damian's doorstep now.
But... Damian was at least much better than Ghetsis.
"It seems you really value Zekrom very much," Damian said, sounding impressed. He could observe how deep the bond between N and Zekrom was.
He thought he would have to spend much more time talking to convince him.
"Zekrom is my companion."
"True. But from now on, we can be considered companions as well."
Damian laughed happily. He took out a High Executive badge and handed it to N.
"Then, welcome to the team, N."
"You have not rescued Zekrom yet."
N glanced at the golden 'R' badge and frowned. Their agreement was not supposed to start yet.
"Do not worry. You are not officially on the staff yet. Think of yourself as a temporary worker," Damian said with a light chuckle.
"Also, you do not have to worry about me going back on my word. You should know the reason why. As for how to deal with Kyurem, I have a plan."
Hearing this, N remained silent. He did indeed know the reason.
If Kyurem was going after Zekrom, it would inevitably go after Reshiram as well. So, theoretically, Damian and Kyurem were bound to have a conflict.
But N still had to come to Damian. He did not feel at ease. Damian would certainly fight Kyurem, but Damian had no obligation to rescue Zekrom in the process.
"I understand."
N reached out and took the badge that represented a High Executive of Team Rocket.
"Very good. The sixth High Executive is in place."
Damian was in a very good mood. The addition of N, the former leader of Team Plasma, undoubtedly increased Team Rocket's strength greatly. Team Rocket now clearly had six High Executives.
They were: Damian, Zinnia, Caitlin, Karen, Colress, and N!
As for Giovanni, Damian had naturally pushed him aside. He would let the old man play around slowly in the Pokémon League.
As for the position of Boss of Team Rocket, Damian was already planning to find an opportunity to "take his place."
And he wanted to announce it as loudly as possible!
The next time he went back to Kanto, he would find a radio tower. He would broadcast a message announcing that he had reached the top of Team Rocket.
"..." N responded with silence. Feeling the texture of the badge in his hand, his mood was very difficult to describe.
For Zekrom's sake, he had truly sold himself to Team Rocket.
"You do not need to make that face. Although Team Rocket is not exactly a legal organization, we are not a particularly evil dark organization either."
Damian noticed N's expression and clicked his tongue.
N's sad expression—looking like he was forced to compromise against his will—made it hard for Damian to keep a straight face.
"At least we will not be like your Team Plasma. We do not do things like robbing innocent trainers of their Pokémon. We are an organization that does proper business."
Damian gave an example to make a comparison.
"Also, you do not have to worry about the organization doing things that harm Pokémon. I really like and respect Pokémon. Such things are strictly forbidden, okay?"
"What I have heard is completely different from what you are saying," N said, frowning slightly.
The Team Rocket he had heard about was the kind that was brutally evil and did every bad deed imaginable. They were much more extreme than the former Team Plasma.
"The past is the past, and the present is the present," Damian scoffed.
"N, you are just like those people in the League. You are completely full of stereotypes."
"The current Team Rocket is led by me, Damian! It is a Team Rocket that has been completely transformed!"
Damian spoke with great pride.
"Times are progressing, and an organization also needs to progress and reform. If we just did pure evil, the organization would not be able to keep developing."
"If the conditions allowed it, I would have already started a 'Rocket League' to compete with the Pokémon League."
Speaking of this, Damian's thoughts began to wander.
In the future, once he planted his flag in every region and made the organization truly big and strong, he could make the Pokémon League recognize the necessity of Team Rocket's existence. After that, he really could let Team Rocket's executives compete against the Pokémon League.
After all, there is a World Coronation Series.
Yes, he would work hard toward that goal.
"..." N fell silent again after hearing this.
-----
"N is gone," Alder said, frowning. To show his sincerity, he had indeed not confiscated N's Poké Balls.
(Note: In the games, N does not actually use Poké Balls because he believes they restrain Pokémon. However, the N at this stage of the story has already had his thinking corrected.)
"Forget it. As long as I am sure he will not continue to pursue those extreme ideals, it is fine."
Alder shook his head. Based on yesterday's conversation and his observations, he was certain that N's ideals had been fixed.
And if that was the case, it was enough. N had never actually done anything bad himself.
As for Ghetsis, Alder had him specially imprisoned. It was impossible for outsiders to know where Ghetsis was being held.
"Notify the various regions. Tell them to keep an eye out for N's whereabouts."
Alder asked the Officer Jenny in charge to send people to search for information on N's location. This was still very necessary because Alder truly felt that N could be recruited.
Furthermore, if N joined the Unova League, their Unova League would finally stand tall!
Even if they still could not beat Kanto, they could at least stand above the other regions.
A Champion-level trainer who was also a Hero of Ideals—that carried a lot of weight.
If N could become the Champion of the Unova region and lead the Unova League, Alder could retire in peace.
"Yes, sir," the Officer Jenny in charge nodded.
After reaching an agreement with N, Damian finally left the castle.
He was not exactly lying to N. Kyurem was indeed quite difficult to deal with. This was especially true for the current Kyurem that had already absorbed Zekrom. You could say that its Black Kyurem form had Zekrom's "support" and was now in its complete state.
With the battle power Damian currently has on hand, it would be very difficult to deal with Black Kyurem.
After all, Primal Kyogre is a pure Water-type. As an Ice and Dragon-type, Kyurem naturally has a resistance to Water.+1
It would also be difficult to repeat the strategy he used against the Black Rayquaza in LaRousse City. After all, it would not be easy for his Shadow Mewtwo and Rayquaza to stall for time until Primal Kyogre finished powering up.
Eindoak Town.
This was a town in the Unova region. Damian brought Caitlin and Elesa here.
"What is that?"
Caitlin looked at the mountain in the distance. There was a huge building on top of the mountain. It was a building, right?
"That is the Sword of the Vale," Damian said. He also saw that ancient, massive structure.
"The Sword of the Vale?" Caitlin looked confused.
Elesa clearly only had a vague idea as well. Eindoak Town was not very famous in the Unova region. It was natural that she did not know about the history here.
"This town of Eindoak was once the center of power for the Kingdom of the People of the Vale. However, as the era of the kingdom faded, it has now fallen into decline," Damian explained.
Before the Pokémon League was established, almost every region was in a state of constant war.
A famous example was the war fought over the rights to the Whirl Islands. It caused Lugia to drop lightning in anger. This split the island into what are now the Whirl Islands.
And the so-called Kingdom of the Vale was a nation in Unova's history.
"And this 'Sword of the Vale' is the castle of the Kingdom of the Vale. You could call it a local landmark."
Damian shrugged. He was not interested in the Sword of the Vale. He had come to Eindoak Town for a different purpose.
The three of them continued to walk through the streets. Although they came here with a goal, that little fellow had not appeared yet.
Damian did not mind accompanying Caitlin and Elesa for a nice walk.
"Help! The monster is back!"
"Everyone! Hurry and pack your things!"
"Damn it! It comes every few days. Why is this happening?!"
Following a panicked shout, the entire street instantly turned into a mess.
Under Damian's surprised gaze, the vendors with stalls along the street quickly and skillfully packed their things. The shops also immediately moved their goods back inside and pulled down their doors.
What was going on?
Whoosh— Whoosh—
A large patch of dark clouds arrived along with the sound of howling strong winds. Rain began to fall, mixed into the storm.
The powerful wind quickly landed in the town. In just a few minutes, the sky had turned grey and dark.
"Ma'am, what is going on here?"
Damian and the two women were ushered into a shop by a kind owner. Looking at the dark weather and the gale outside the window, Damian was quite curious.
The owner was a middle-aged woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties. Hearing the question, her face was full of worry.
"Sigh... we do not know either. But starting about a month ago, these mysterious strong winds have been blowing through frequently."
"It happens every one or two days. Sometimes, if it's frequent, it even happens three times in one day."
"Our crops are about to be blown away. And this wind is sometimes very strong. Half a month ago, an old house on the edge of town was blown away. It scared us to death!"
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