https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-146-Claiming-the-Assessment-Rewards/12830726/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-148-Jing-He-VS-Chomei-Round-Two-/12830728/
Chapter 147: Gastly: Kick-off!
Chapter 147: Gastly: Kick-off!
Days passed by in quick succession.
It was Thursday.
After a quick packing, Jing He prepared to depart with his little companions. He had already informed the administration office, and the head, Min Jiang, had readily given him the green light upon learning he was going to assist an inspector. In reality, Jing He had merely been courteous, as he had no classes scheduled for the next few days.
Their destination was none other than Blackthorn City in the Johto region.
Initially, Wu had offered to pick him up, confidently stating that with his Dragonite, Charizard, and Aerodactyl, the trip to Johto and Hoenn would be quick. After all, Hoenn was just west of Johto, not too far away.
"Dragon King picking me up to take over the Dragon Clan?"
Strange thoughts flashed through his mind.
Jing He firmly declined, not wanting to waste the famous inspector's precious time. He would just take a plane to Johto.
The sky was clear, and a few lazy Munchlax flew lazily through the azure air. Jing He pulled his suitcase, with a Gastly floating beside him, arriving at the Kanaz City Airport.
"Oooh~~"
The Weavile squinted its eyes, lying lazily on the suitcase.
The Hammer Arm Pokemon puffed out its cheeks, looking a bit unhappy.
Why not just hang the suitcase on the hammer?
No exercise, not happy.
On the plane, Jing He repeatedly warned Hammer Arm not to tamper with the aircraft before closing his eyes. The distance from Hoenn to Johto wasn't too far, so the flight wouldn't take long.
The Pokemon world's airplane meals were quite generous, offering both human and Pokemon food. Gastly extended its tongue and licked the food clean, then looked eagerly at Weavile with Hammer Arm.
"Oooh~~"
The Weavile sighed and lightly blew a breath, instantly chilling their drinks. The two little Pokemon clinked their cups together and drank heartily.
As the plane entered Johto airspace, it encountered turbulence, jolting Jing He awake. Looking out the window, he saw an orange figure flash by at incredible speed.
'Carrying a camera?!'
Jing He was startled. Seeing a few more figures, he realized they were low-tier Ho-Oh—Beedrill. Fortunately, the league's planes weren't easily damaged and had contingency plans for various emergencies. The Beedrill, finding no way to cause trouble, soon left.
This made Jing He realize something important. In the Pokemon world, when traveling, two types of Pokemon were essential: a flying-type Pokemon for air travel and a water-type Pokemon for sea travel. Despite the apparent sturdiness of planes and ships, accidents were unpredictable.
Unable to fall back asleep, Jing He took out his notebook to try writing another script. His last one had received good feedback, but due to high investment costs and shooting difficulties, it was put on hold. This time, he planned to write a low-budget one.
At the Blackthorn City Airport in Johto, Jing He, luggage in hand, stepped out of the airport to see a familiar figure approaching.
"Jing He!"
Wu greeted him with a warm expression, giving him a big hug. The Dragonite beside him looked eager to join in.
Startled, Jing He quickly broke free and swiftly handed Dragonite a few energy bars to distract it. This allowed Jing He to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Let's go, Shizuka is ready!"
Wu led Jing He out.
"Ready?"
"Ready for what?" Jing He was puzzled.
Blackthorn City wasn't particularly large or bustling, situated among the mountains. However, it had a significant population, and the city was filled with "dragon culture." Even on the streets, one could see people with Dragon-type Pokemon.
While Dragon-type Pokemon were rare and valuable to the outside world, they seemed less so in Blackthorn City.
However, raising a Dragon-type Pokemon was different from simply owning one.
As they walked, Wu explained his recent findings.
"I discovered traces of Team Rocket near Lake of Rage," Wu said gravely.
Team Rocket was a significant problem for both the Kanto and Johto Leagues. Even the powerful Kanto and Johto Leagues struggled to find a solution to the vast Team Rocket organization.
As a Kanto League inspector, Wu was no stranger to Team Rocket.
"Indeed."
Jing He thought to himself.
"However,"
Wu hesitated.
"Team Rocket hasn't been very active lately. I'm not sure what they're planning."
"Ask Giovanni," Jing He mused.
"Tell me about Lake of Rage. What did you find?" Jing He asked.
Wu snapped back to reality, remembering that Jing He was from Hoenn and that Team Rocket was also his concern.
"When I arrived, Team Rocket had already withdrawn, but I found special magnetic instruments around Lake of Rage."
"Magnetic?"
"Specifically what they do, I've consulted an expert, but I suspect the Gyarados's transformation is related to these instruments."
"How is the Gyarados doing recently?"
"Still... the same."
As they talked, they arrived at the Blackthorn Gym.
Jing He: "?"
Here is the rewritten chapter with non-English characters replaced with their English equivalents or transliterations:
Kanto, Vermilion City, Team Rocket Headquarters
"Boss, according to the latest intel, Teacher Jing He has just arrived in Blackthorn City in Johto. It seems that Wataru invited him," Gincho reported to Giovanni.
Giovanni looked up, grabbed a small cookie from the table, and popped it into his mouth.
"Hmm," he nodded thoughtfully. "It's probably because of the Lake of Rage incident."
"Most likely."
Seeing Giovanni eat the cookie, Gincho's cheeks flushed slightly as she continued, "However, the personnel at Lake of Rage have already been evacuated. Even if they find anything, they won't be able to trace it back to us."
Speaking of which, the Lake of Rage incident did have some connection to Jing He.
Mewtwo had once again disrupted part of Team Rocket's internal network, and with each use of its powers, the disruption grew more severe. This time, it even affected some of the Team Rocket networks in Johto, including Lake of Rage.
However, Giovanni wasn't particularly concerned about it.
The R Project at Lake of Rage was just one of many Team Rocket initiatives, aimed at studying the effects of magnetic fields and sound waves on Pokemon, with the goal of controlling them. This was one of Giovanni's many backup plans for controlling Mewtwo. Now that Mewtwo was in a "controllable" state, the project at Lake of Rage had become less important.
"Cut our losses quickly and tell Apollo and the others to lie low for a while," Giovanni said.
"Yes, sir!"
Giovanni gently stroked his Persian and slowly smiled. "Since he's in Johto now, Gincho, you should go and meet our unsuspecting officer."
"Ah?"
Gincho was taken aback.
Meet Teacher Jing He?
She quickly regained her composure. "What do you need me to do?"
Her eyes behind the round glasses sparkled.
Should she kidnap Teacher Jing He?
The thought was a little thrilling!
"Just meet him and subtly reveal your identity. See how he reacts," Giovanni said slowly.
No kidnapping, huh?
A flash of disappointment crossed Gincho's eyes.
Then she seemed to think of something. "But what if that Officer Wataru finds out something?"
"I'll have Akagi accompany you."
Akagi, the Gym Leader of Vermilion City, was a ninja, and Blackthorn City in Johto was known for its ninjas. It would be a reasonable cover for the trip.
"Yes, sir!"
With Akagi around, it would be much safer.
"By the way," Gincho swiped on her tablet and brought up a file. "Boss, this is the list of outstanding graduates from the academy this year."
Gincho emphasized the word "outstanding" slightly, whether intentionally or not.
Giovanni took the tablet and scanned the list casually.
"Hmm?"
His gaze finally settled on three names.
He tapped on one, and a photo appeared.
A complex expression flashed across Giovanni's eyes.
"Those three..."
Seeing Giovanni open the photo, Gincho started to say something but was interrupted.
"They'll go with you this time."
"Together?"
Giovanni put down the tablet without further explanation.
Gincho could only respond, "Yes! I'll make sure to complete the mission!"
---
Blackthorn Gym
At the entrance of the Blackthorn Gym, Jing He's eye twitched after listening to Wataru's explanation.
"You're kidding me?"
Wataru could only chuckle awkwardly.
"There's no way around it. It's a rule set by the elders. Only those who challenge and gain the current Gym Leader's approval can enter the 'Dragon's Den.'"
This was why Wataru had brought Jing He here and mentioned earlier that "Sakura was ready."
Jing He's eyes widened slightly.
"Why didn't you just bring Gyarados out?"
"True," Wataru patted Jing He's shoulder, "but the destruction would be hard to control. And don't you want to see the 'Dragon's Den'?"
In fact, entering the "Dragon's Den" required more than just a Gym challenge. Wataru had to request permission from the Dragon Elders to secure this opportunity for Jing He.
"Not really," Jing He shook his head.
Wataru: "..."
"Alright, I do want to a little," Jing He admitted.
Honestly, as both a seasoned Pokemon enthusiast from his past life and a trainer in this one, he was curious about Blackthorn City's mysterious "Dragon's Den."
And Wataru had a point; bringing Gyarados out could cause too much damage.
Wataru laughed.
"I've already told Sakura that you can enter regardless of the outcome."
Jing He shot him a glare.
You're not the one fighting.
He then looked at Gastly, the sleeping Weavile curled up like a snowball, and the Machoke stealthily hanging a suitcase on its hammer.
Who's going to fight?
It's just a formality, anyway.
Bang!
The Gym doors opened.
Sakura, already prepared, stood on the opposite side of the battlefield.
Seeing Jing He enter, she smiled and cracked her whip.
"Finally, you're here."
Jing He glanced at Wataru, who had casually moved to the side.
Why does this feel like...
I'm being lured in for a kill?
Gastly floated out of Jing He's shadow, wearing its sunglasses, and shouted arrogantly:
"Let's do this!" (Replaced non-English text with a fitting English equivalent)
Challenge accepted!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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