"Come out." Lucius tossed a Poké Ball, and the massive form of a Tyrantrum appeared in the VIP room.
"What kind of Pokémon is this?" Silver's eyes flashed with surprise upon seeing the Tyrantrum.
Although his own team was well-rounded, his primary focus was Ground-types, so he could immediately tell how powerful this Pokémon was.
Damn, just based on its presence alone, my Nidoking probably wouldn't even last a single move.
Nidoking was the final evolution of his very first Pokémon, Nidoran, and the reason he specialized in Ground-types. Of course, he would never admit that his choice was influenced by his father, the man known as "Giovanni of the Earth."
"It is not the strong who serve an organization, but the organization that serves the strong. If you are powerful enough, even the grandest of organizations is nothing more than a tool for you." Lucius spoke calmly.
As a Rocket Executive, such words were hardly appropriate—especially when spoken to the son of the Boss himself. But Lucius didn't care. After all, he wasn't really Archer.
"..." Silver, despite his young age, was sharp enough to grasp the underlying message. He understood that Archer was implying he had no need to be fixated on Team Rocket. Heh, so in the end, did that old man send someone to convince me to quit?
From Silver's expression, Lucius could tell that this rebellious teenager wouldn't take his words to heart. Besides, Silver's true target wasn't Team Rocket—it was his father, Giovanni.
"Silver, you're a Ground-type specialist, aren't you?" Lucius suddenly asked.
"Yeah." Silver nodded. It wasn't surprising that Archer knew his specialty.
"Good. Then release your Pokémon and have a match with my Tyrantrum." Lucius said.
Silver's eyes lit up. Archer was offering to train him. Even though Archer didn't specialize in Ground-types, getting to spar against at least an Leader-level Pokémon would be immensely beneficial for Nidoking.
Since Giovanni opposed his involvement with Team Rocket, none of the organization's strong trainers paid him any attention. And outside of Team Rocket, he had no qualifications to challenge top trainers.
The VIP room wasn't suitable for battling—a three-meter-tall Tyrantrum stomping around could bring the whole place down.
Lucius instructed Tyrantrum to head to the rocky terrain area for a match with Silver's Nidoking while he himself remained in the VIP room, awaiting the arrival of the others.
Not long after Silver and Tyrantrum left, three people entered the VIP room: Ophelia, Scott, and Flora.
Lucius had already sensed that Flora had been sent to the Game Corner, but it didn't matter. Celadon City, being such a large metropolis, would soon be under thorough investigation by the League, and the Game Corner was the perfect place to lie low.
"Nice to meet you." Lucius greeted Ophelia with a smile.
"You're the leader of Hive?" From the moment she laid eyes on him, Ophelia had recognized his identity: the number one wanted criminal in Johto, a high-ranking Executive of Team Rocket—Archer.
"That's right. Please, have a seat." Lucius nodded with a smile. Though he had once parasitized Ophelia and knew her inside and out, this was the first time they were meeting face-to-face as humans.
"..." Ophelia took a seat beside Scott and Flora, silently pondering the relationship between Hive and Team Rocket.
"Due to our losses in Crystal Cave a few days ago, Hive is now down to fewer than ten members." Lucius said calmly. "I will be heading to Unova next, so the operations of Hive in Kanto will be left to you."
Though he said "you," his eyes were fixed on Ophelia.
Among the three, Scott was half-witted, and while Flora had a high degree of fusion, she had no experience in managing an organization. Only Ophelia, a highly trained intelligence operative, could handle such responsibilities.
"Mr. Archer, as an employee of Silph Co., I don't think I can work for Team Rocket." Ophelia stood up, prepared to leave.
"Miss Ophelia, please sit down." Lucius said with a faint smile.
"..." Hearing Archer's words, Ophelia's body, which had been about to turn away, involuntarily sank back onto the sofa. The sensation was strange—not as if she were being controlled, but rather as if she simply couldn't refuse.
"Heh, I'm not asking you to work for Team Rocket—I'm asking you to work for Hive. Hive has nothing to do with Team Rocket." Lucius looked at her. "If you complete my request, I will grant you access to the X Lab."
Lucius saw Ophelia's gaze instantly sharpen, but she quickly concealed it.
As expected of a trained agent—her first instinct upon realizing she was exposed wasn't fear or escape, but rather eliminating everyone present.
"You may continue serving the Shadow Ops, but only if it aligns with Hive's interests." Lucius continued.
"You..." Ophelia's expression finally revealed a flicker of shock. "You're a psychic?"
Trained agents had extremely strong mental fortitude, making it nearly impossible for normal hypnosis techniques to break through their psychological defenses. However, some exceptionally powerful psychics could forcibly read thoughts through mental abilities.
"Indeed, I am a psychic. The moment you joined Hive, your mind became linked with mine." Lucius said with a smirk.
Linked? Hive?
So that's what it meant. No wonder commands appeared directly in my mind. That must be why I can control Scott...
"As for what Hive truly is, you will soon receive instructions from the Shadow Ops." Lucius knew that Shadow Ops had yet to inform all undercover agents about the virus, but that was only a matter of time.
"..." Ophelia couldn't shake the feeling that she was utterly transparent—as if all of her thoughts were laid bare before him.
"Alright. I will relay your assignments to you soon. I hope you will do your best to complete them." Lucius nodded to the three before leaving the VIP room.
"Looks like we'll be following your lead from now on." Flora turned to Ophelia.
She wasn't foolish. It was clear that Archer's main purpose today was meeting Ophelia. From their conversation, it was highly likely that she would be their leader whenever Archer was absent.
"..." Ophelia didn't respond. She was still mulling over their discussion.
Archer was the leader of Hive—but he also claimed Hive had no connection to Team Rocket...
She could tell that Archer was telling the truth. Was he trying to build his own faction? And what did he mean by receiving instructions from Shadow Ops? How was this connected to them?
Lucius had no intention of revealing the virus situation to Ophelia all at once. Unlike Flora and the others, she was still part of the official forces. Regarding the virus, she was naturally on the opposing side. Only by slowly reshaping her perspective could she truly dedicate herself to Hive—not out of obligation, but out of genuine conviction.
"So? Did you gain anything from this?" Lucius asked as he got into the Gym's internal vehicle and arrived at the rocky zone. He saw that Silver's Nidoking was already covered in wounds, but it was clear that it still had some energy left.
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