"That familiar scent?" Thousand-Year Gengar muttered. It was puzzled as to why it could smell a trace of Blood-Red Gyarados on Damon and Crobat.
"As expected, only thorough preparation can guarantee a perfect victory." The corner of Damon's mouth lifted slightly as he said calmly,
"It wasn't a waste that I got some of Test Subject No. 1's serum from Professor Hemlock!"
(Tch, so it's the power of Gyarados…)
Thousand-Year Gengar looked at the serum in Damon's hand with slight despair. Back then, it had been subdued by Red because of this very type disadvantage. It hadn't expected to be suppressed by that same power again now.
(Gyarados… could it be that you are my 'Pokémon' life's natural enemy…?)
"The smell of this serum smeared on the body is pretty strong~" Damon frowned. Beside him, Crobat seized the moment when Thousand-Year Gengar revealed an opening and decisively used Confuse Ray!
Seeing this, Thousand-Year Gengar immediately used Confuse Ray as well to confront it, preventing itself from being controlled.
Suddenly a flash of white light faded away. The exhausted Jolteon was forced to revert back into Eevee's form and lay motionless on the ground.
"Let's go!"
Damon threw out a smoke bomb. After creating smoke that masked scents, he grabbed Eevee by the neck and prepared to leave the Celadon Gym with Crobat.
(Did a pebble accidentally splash onto me?)
Damon lowered his head in confusion as he looked at Thousand-Year Gengar. However, not wanting to delay the plan, he didn't think further and hurriedly fled the Celadon Gym with Crobat.
"Damn it! I actually just watched a guy like that take Eevee away!" Thousand-Year Gengar said with a face full of regret. Damon took in the entire scene and revealed the smile of a victor before disappearing from Thousand-Year Gengar's sight.
After confirming that Damon and Crobat had moved far away from the Celadon Gym, Thousand-Year Gengar finally calmed down and looked toward Red and Abra, who slowly walked out from the corner.
"Boss, why didn't we deal with that guy here?" Thousand-Year Gengar asked in confusion.
"Getting rid of Damon alone is useless. We must wipe out the Team Rocket forces in Celadon City in one sweep!" Red said coldly. Only by casting a long line could one catch a big fish.
"But Eevee's injuries?" Thousand-Year Gengar asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. Just now I secretly treated Eevee. It has mostly recovered. I told Eevee not to move so Damon wouldn't see through the disguise." Red explained. He didn't want to leave a cold-blooded impression in the hearts of his companions, so he didn't hide the plan from Thousand-Year Gengar.
"I planted a tracker on Damon. A tracker enhanced with the Power of Viridian won't be easily detected. That guy probably thinks it's just some small stone."
"So that's how it is. Boss really is shrewd!" Thousand-Year Gengar quickly echoed.
At this time, Abra removed a limiter from the wall and handed it to Red.
Red released a slight trace of psychic power, but it was immediately blocked by the limiter in his hand. It even emitted a shielding magnetic field in return. Seeing this, Red understood everything and muttered,
"No wonder there was a slight deviation when searching earlier. I didn't expect that guy to be this well prepared!"
"So Boss, when do we start the operation?" Thousand-Year Gengar asked.
"Now. Immediately. Right away!" Red ordered. "Although security is at its strictest right now, it's also the moment when flaws are most likely to appear. Damon bringing Eevee back will definitely lead to major personnel adjustments. This is our best chance to infiltrate!"
The Pokédex in Red's arms had already analyzed Damon's location.
It was the Celadon Game Corner.
After briefly saying goodbye to Ash's trio, Red disguised himself and came alone to the Celadon Game Corner.
Although it was called a Game Corner, it was actually closer to what one would call a casino. The only entertainment here was slot machines. Many self-important people believed they could rely on their unbelievably unlucky hands to win large amounts of game coins to exchange for prizes, but in reality they were just handing money over to the Celadon Game Corner.
As for why so many people were attracted to gamble here, it was because one of the prizes was Dratini.
What kind of Pokémon was Dratini? It was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon of the Kanto Region, practically one of the symbols of the Kanto Region.
Naturally, many suckers came here to throw away money just for the chance to redeem this prize. Anyone who tried to cause trouble would be beaten by Team Rocket members disguised as a security company. Particularly arrogant troublemakers might not even keep the underwear they were wearing, fleeing the Game Corner naked and never daring to step near it again.
"Sir…" A staff member looked bitterly at the red-capped boy in front of him, warning him slightly to stop while he could. This wasn't a place where one could act recklessly.
Inside the Celadon Game Corner, Red relied on his own hands to perform his 'perfectly legitimate' operation. The slot machine in front of him kept showing three Dratini symbols, and the game coins it spat out quickly piled up around Red into small mountains.
Dratini—the symbol that yielded the largest number of game coins on the slot machine—represented the jackpot.
At first, Red really did rely on luck to win a large amount of game coins. But in order to attract Team Rocket's attention, he simply ordered Thousand-Year Gengar to hide within his shadow and secretly use Psychic to control the operation of the slot machine, helping him quickly pile the game coins into mountains.
Red's actions indeed drew the attention of Team Rocket behind the scenes. Due to the recent strict inspections in Celadon City regarding whether the Game Corner could actually redeem its prizes, Team Rocket planned to reluctantly 'stuff' a Clefairy to Red so he would take the benefit and leave sensibly.
But Red had come specifically to cause trouble—how could he possibly leave like that? Annoyed, he slapped the Team Rocket member who threatened him and told him to 'sensibly' get lost.
"So this is the guy deliberately causing trouble?"
A Team Rocket squad captain came backstage and saw Red's location through the monitors, as well as the three small mountains of game coins beside him.
"Kid, you've got pretty good luck~" a bystander said enviously.
Because of Red's 'performance,' nearly half the gamblers had gathered around him, wanting to see with their own eyes how he was making such big money.
"Take them and use them if you want. I don't need this many," Red said calmly.
Red's 'generosity' allowed passersby to take the game coins freely. He didn't even blink at the loss. Those words completely enraged the front desk, but due to Red's strength, the boss still called in the Team Rocket forces behind the scenes.
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you notice there's a Pokémon under that guy's shadow?"
The squad captain angrily slapped the boss.
"With a brain like yours, if our Team Rocket didn't need to set up a secret combat experimental base, would we ever let a fool like you be the owner of the Game Corner?"
In order to avoid inspection from the League authorities, Team Rocket deliberately found a failed entrepreneur who was poor and desperate to act as the nominal owner of the Game Corner. Only this way could they evade the League's inspections.