Chapter 416: The True Protagonist Appears
As dusk settled in, Lu Ye regrouped himself, ready to bid farewell to Professor Sakuragi.
Professor Sakuragi had registered his trainer qualifications out of goodwill.
Lu Ye didn’t actually hold a grudge… though some people's names might get an extra little mark in his notebook.
“Let me take you for a quick walk around the backyard,”
Professor Sakuragi twirled his mustache and said seriously,
“If you’d like, you can leave your Pokémon here for safekeeping—it’ll help them get familiar with the place.”
Normally, when a trainer had more than six Pokémon, they’d deposit the extras at the local lab.
But Lu-sensei was a fully certified cook (not really), and though his seven little ones carried the risk of property damage, traveling together was still manageable.
“No need, Professor Sakuragi,”
Lu Ye smiled, then asked curiously, “Do those nearby hills count as part of your backyard too?”
Sakuragi nodded.
“From here all the way to the foothills of Mt. Coronet, the lab has storage zones, and trained rangers regularly patrol the area.”
Rangers were a profession introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, with spin-off games too.
Unlike Officer Jenny's security force, rangers specialized in field operations—handling wild Pokémon incidents and preventing poaching. With the massive Oak Research Institute as precedent, it was only natural Sakuragi's lab would also have this kind of team.
“So Ash really didn’t need to release his Pidgeot, huh.”
Lu Ye paused, thinking, “Wait, that wasn’t releasing—it was just a temporary errand…”
In Sinnoh, the days were short and the nights long.
By six in the evening, it was already pitch dark outside.
Professor Sakuragi had wanted to keep Lu Ye for dinner,
But Sylveon tugged at Lu Ye’s sleeve with her ribbons, casting a sideways glance toward the door:
“Bui~”
Yeah, no way the lab’s Pokéblocks could beat homemade!
“Well then, until next time.”
Professor Sakuragi smiled, then remembered something and said:
“Oh, Lu Ye… This year’s research summit will also be held in Waterflow City. Would you be interested in joining my project team?”
His former assistant was Mr. Berlitz of Sinnoh.
Mr. Berlitz’s daughter, Platinum Berlitz, was one of the special edition protagonists in the Sinnoh region.
But she was still too young to serve as a full research assistant.
As a scholar of myths, Cynthia had recommended Lu Ye to Professor Sakuragi, especially praising his language skills.
Sakuragi already had a high opinion of Lu Ye.
If what Cynthia said was true, he thought,
Then with Lu Ye’s addition, they might just win the summit’s Gold Award…
Lu Ye had a conflicted expression.
You’re giving me this offer right after I unlock a research mission?!
If I join and coast my way to gold, what then?!
“Professor, I don’t think I’m suited for academic research…” Lu Ye politely declined.
Sakuragi nodded understandingly.
With his strength as a trainer, of course he had greater ambitions.
Cynthia had once set aside her scholarly work to focus on the Champion League.
Lu Ye might very well be aiming for the Elite Four—or even Champion.
Sakuragi didn’t press. He nodded with a smile.
“Then I wish you the best in the League challenge!”
Lu Ye let out a breath of relief. He waved goodbye and turned back.
“Let’s go, Gengar—time to head home.”
“Gengarr~!”
Even if the League wasn’t his true goal, it was still better to stay far from the research field for now...
With heavy steps, Lu Ye walked out of the lab, deep in thought.
Sakuragi watched his figure disappear, thoughtful.
A scholar and a trainer…
The combination reminded him strongly of Cynthia.
“Lu Ye’s area was ancient languages, wasn’t it?”
Sakuragi muttered, recalling what Cynthia had mentioned.
“If he expanded into Sinnoh’s mythological studies…”
“There might be a breakthrough waiting there…”
…
Sinnoh, Seaside City.
The city lights flickered—clearly the power grid was acting up.
Cynthia turned off the lamps and lit a candle.
The soft glow lit up the side of her face as she focused intently.
While handling her League work, she was also preparing a paper for the upcoming research summit.
“The stele at Solaceon Ruins, the murals at Celestic Town…”
Cynthia murmured, fingertips moving across the pages, until they touched a small note filled with text.
As her eyes landed on the paper, a knowing smile curved her lips.
She continued her work under the candlelight.
On the A4 paper, cast in shadow, the "Author" field seemed to hold two faintly visible names…
…
Lu Ye’s visit to Professor Sakuragi concluded.
The system came online for the first time in ages—only to land a knockout punch.
But with the task being so specialized, the odds of success were low. Nothing to panic over…
He stepped out of the lab.
The crimson night sky sparkled with stars.
Compared to the neon of Goldenrod City, this countryside sky was much clearer.
Lu Ye took a deep breath of the fresh, damp air. He tossed out a Poké Ball and called out:
“Come on out, Arcanine!”
The chill of the night vanished under the warmth of the Fire-type.
“Arf~(｀0´)” Arcanine howled, its tail hairs glowing faintly red.
Lu Ye ruffled its head hard. “Quit howling! People are sleeping! They’ll file a noise complaint!”
“Arf~” Arcanine smiled sheepishly and lowered its head, but felt secretly proud.
Heh, who needs a bike—I'm the real ride!
“Let’s go! Time for midnight snacks!”
Arcanine let out a low growl, powerful limbs in motion, its majestic form disappearing into the night…
…
February 23, Monday, sunny.
The early morning mist faded as the sun began to rise.
“Ka-meh…ヾ(⌐■_■)”
Blastoise examined the planted patches in the yard with his watering can and nodded in satisfaction.
“Bui! (〝▼皿▼)”
Sylveon emerged through the pet door, ready to greet the local wild Pokémon.
On the second-floor balcony, Lu Ye and Gengar were stretching together.
“Morning workout routine number three!”
From the Rotom Pokédex floated out some weird background music.
“Gengarr!!”
Gengar struggled to reach his toes, sweating buckets before giving up.
“Chagi Dooyi~ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ”
Togepi happily ran circles around Lu Ye and Gengar.
Duck Duck, holding his leek, sprinted behind them. “Gaa!!”
Slow down! You’ll trip, duckie!!
Lu Ye paused, then realized: “Oh… today’s Duck Duck’s babysitting shift?”
“Gengarr!” Gengar nodded with a smug grin—he had the day off!
As Togepi and Duck Duck frolicked noisily,
Lu Ye looked toward the glittering beach in the distance, feeling refreshed.
This was his third day living in Sinnoh.
He was gradually adapting to True Sand Town’s countryside rhythm, so different from Modu or Goldenrod City.
More importantly—
True Sand had no Gym. The nearest one, Blackgold City, was two hours away. No surprise Gym Leader visits…
“Another peaceful day in paradise,” Lu Ye thought cheerfully.
Beep beep beep—
“New call, Roto~!”
Lu Ye glanced at the screen, surprised, and opened the video call.
On screen appeared the purple-haired Team Rocket secretary, Proton.
Of course. Spoke too soon. Lu Ye winced.
“What’s up?”
Proton hesitated, then said, “I heard… you’ve arrived in Sinnoh?”
Lu Ye nodded. He’d just signed for a Rocket Logistics package yesterday.
“Well…” Proton coughed awkwardly.
“Those three idiots apparently went to Sinnoh for some… research material?”
“I haven’t been able to reach them. If you run into them, please go easy on them…”
Lu Ye blinked.
Those three came to Sinnoh too?
Not to catch Pikachu—but to collect material for the card game and boost PTCG revenue!?
Lu Ye was touched. He replied solemnly:
“Don’t worry. I’ll steer them back onto the right path!”
Forget Pikachu—go work hard and build your startup! You’ll hit a financial milestone in no time!
Proton was momentarily stunned by this righteousness, adjusted his glasses, then cleared his throat:
“A-and one more thing!”
“What is it?”
“Boss Giovanni… has been acting strange lately.”
Proton hesitated, then decided to report:
“He’s been locking himself in his room… and there’s always the sound of Meowth in there…”
Lu Ye: ???
Maybe he’s filming a cat-care vlog?
It sounded normal enough—until you said it like that…
“Has he asked you how to post videos to the site?” Lu Ye asked.
“Huh?”
Proton was confused. “You mean some Rocket announcement video? He hasn’t said anything to me.”
“Then never mind… later!”
Lu Ye coughed and chose to keep him in the dark.
That last cat video burned his soul. He wasn’t about to relive that again.
He wasn’t the grudge-holding type—obviously.
After all, Cynthia, Professor Oak, Boss Giovanni… Lu Ye totally held no grudges against them.
Proton: ???
Why do you sound like you know Boss Giovanni better than I do?
Am I… about to get replaced?!
“Oh, send me the tracker for Meowth Coins,” Lu Ye said.
He remembered that James owned several villas in Sinnoh.
One of them might be their Team Rocket base.
With the tracker, he could probably just knock on the door.
Proton gave a halfhearted “Sure,” and Lu Ye continued:
“What’s Rocket’s current policy for Sinnoh?”
In the anime, the villainous Team Galactic appeared.
Team Rocket played a key role in opposing them.
But in this altered timeline, Lu Ye hadn’t heard anything about Team Galactic.
Just in case, he figured he should ask.
“Let me check…”
Proton paused, cleared his throat, and recited:
“Policy One: Pivot to tertiary industries to boost Team Rocket employment.”
“Policy Two: Innovation-driven development—emphasizing new energy, aerospace…”
“That’s enough!” Lu Ye groaned.
In short—
Team Galactic was already taken care of in this timeline.
Ash’s solo journey might still intersect with the anime plot…
And knowing Movie-Ash’s luck, he might stumble into a Legendary event without trying.
Lu Ye shivered.
“I can’t travel with Ash in Sinnoh… I need to stay as far from him as possible!”
…
Sinnoh, near Twinleaf Town.
“This is all Jessie’s fault, dragging us to the middle of nowhere, meow!”
“You two said if we tailed the twerp, we’d find a Rocket Executive!”
“I’m starving… so hungry…”
The trio slumped—until a vast estate appeared before them.
“What a fancy house, meow…”
James blinked. “Huh? I think this one’s mine.”
“???”
Inside the estate, James picked up the landline and called the butler:
“Could you prep a quick lunch, please…”
When a lavish feast was laid out, Meowth drooled:
“This is way too fancy, meow…”
“James, don’t tell me!” Jessie gasped. “This whole estate is your family’s?!”
“Not exactly.”
James scratched his head. “This one’s just a summer retreat. I used to vacation here. The estate across the hill belongs to the Berlitz family or something.”
Jessie and Meowth nodded calmly.
They were used to James being rich.
What mattered now was proving themselves to the executive and earning his recognition…
If they could earn big from PTCG and catch Pikachu—
They all looked skyward, imagining a dream scenario:
【A shadowy hand gently patted Sylveon’s head. She licked her paw with a haughty gaze. A deep voice echoed:
“Jessie, James, Meowth… Excellent work. You’re now Team Leaders!”】
“Sounds amazing~”
“Ssssss!”
Ding dong—
The doorbell rang.
“Who visits at this hour, meow?” Meowth looked to James.
James turned pale. “I-it can’t be R-Rumika!?”
“Who’s Rumika?” Jessie asked with a spoon in her mouth.
Your fiancé who looks exactly like you, meow! Meowth groaned mentally.
“We’ve got to run!” James leapt to his feet.
“She’s that scary?” Jessie blinked.
“A hundred times scarier than you—no, a thousand!!” James wailed.
“…Doesn’t look like her, meow.”
Meowth dragged a chair over, peeked out the window, and stuttered:
“E-Executive!?”
“Executive!!” Jessie and James rushed to the window, shouting in shock.
…
As Lu Ye entered the hall, the trio eagerly surrounded him with awkward grins.
“Executive, if you needed anything, a call would’ve sufficed! No need to come in person!”
“You weren’t answering.”
Lu Ye sighed. “Heard you guys came to Sinnoh, so I dropped by.”
Sure enough… no matter the region, these three always popped up.
Telling them to stop chasing Pikachu clearly didn’t work.
Maybe they were… Ash’s XP providers?
“W-we got our phones cut off!” James panicked.
“Get the butler to recharge the phone bill, meow!” Meowth tugged his sleeve.
Lu Ye waved it off. “As long as you’re safe. If I find a fitting business gig, I’ll let you know.”
“Yes, sir!” The trio saluted.
A Carnivine quietly snuck up and chomped James’ head.
“Stop it! We have guests!” James flailed.
Jessie and Meowth crossed their arms. Totally normal.
“By the way.”
Lu Ye, also totally used to this, asked: “Since you’re in Sinnoh, have you reported to Boss Giovanni?”
Jessie and Meowth shook their heads.
“Perfect.”
Lu Ye called out, “James, mind if I use your video terminal?”
“Mmgh… sure!”
…
On the video screen appeared Giovanni’s stern face.
“Boss Giovanni, we’re launching new operations in Sinnoh, meow!” Meowth reported.
“I’m sure Team Rocket’s reputation will skyrocket here!” Jessie grinned.
“Yeah, totally!” James rubbed his hands.
“Excellent.”
Giovanni nodded gravely.
“Now leave us. I want a private word.”
The trio quickly left the room.
Only Lu Ye and Giovanni remained.
“You…”
Giovanni started first.
“Know how to register a content creator account?”
Lu Ye blinked and covered his mouth.
“Don’t give me that look.”
Giovanni said flatly, “Even I can’t do everything.”
“Ahem!” Lu Ye coughed. “Have you decided on your username?”
“‘The Story of Cat and Child.’”
A rare glint of light flickered in Giovanni’s deep eyes. “Thoughts?”
“Fantastic! Sounds like a Top Creator ID!” Lu Ye nodded firmly.
“Hmph.”
Giovanni smirked. “I’ve authorized Sinnoh’s Team Rocket operations to you. No need to call every time.”
Lu Ye was stunned.
I just came to check in—how did I end up with full clearance?!
But then again, Giovanni was the type to trust capable people.
If a Legendary-level crisis really popped up… this authority might be handy.
Lu Ye nodded. “Thank you, Boss Giovanni!”
“Oh, one more thing.”
Giovanni frowned, deep in thought.
Recalling the trio’s eager faces, he asked seriously:
“Those three… what were their names again?”
Lu Ye: ???
So it wasn’t that he trusted them to operate independently.
He just… never remembered them in the first place?!
…