Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

Listening to the news report delivered by the female anchor, Stephen was momentarily unsure how to respond.

Most of it was accurate, but... something about the details felt off.

Defeating Lance and then escaping?

While it was true that he hadn't straightforwardly defeated Lance, he hadn't run away either.

"You've truly exceeded my expectations, Stephen-kun. To think you could invent something so remarkable in such a short time."

On the couch, Giovanni toyed with Stephen's invention: the magnetic controller.

After learning the full story from Beedrill through the power of the Viridian Force, Giovanni felt both thrilled and regretful.

Thrilled because he hadn't been mistaken—this boy was a bona fide genius, inventing such a device in record time.

Regretful because Stephen still wasn't an official member of Team Rocket.

If Stephen had been one of them, Giovanni could have contacted him directly after Lance was incapacitated and finished off that rabid, red-haired hound immediately.

Although Lance had yet to reach the peak of his champion-level prowess, his hostility toward Team Rocket was already set in stone: uncompromising and ruthless.

This time, Stephen had undoubtedly created the perfect opportunity to eliminate Lance.

But it was wasted because Giovanni hadn't revealed his true identity to Stephen yet.

And opportunities like this would be hard to come by again.

"Uncle, stop joking. I've already been mistaken for a member of Team Rocket."

Feigning ignorance, Stephen shrugged.

Giovanni set the controller aside, falling briefly into contemplation.

He was weighing whether or not to reveal his identity to Stephen.

While Stephen was currently working against the League, that was only his covert persona.

Would he openly join Team Rocket?

"Better to wait a bit longer."

After a few minutes of indecision, Giovanni decided it was best to observe for now.

Stephen's actions—targeting criminals like Anders instead of innocent wild Pokémon for experiments—revealed a lingering sense of morality.

If he revealed his identity too soon, it could backfire.

"But… this is truly a remarkable invention..."

Giovanni glanced again at the magnetic controller on the table.

With a press of a button, it could forcibly lock Poké Balls, preventing Pokémon from returning to them.

Although Lance, having witnessed its capabilities, would undoubtedly prepare for it in the future, the device was undeniably a trump card for surprise encounters.

"I have to find a way to recruit him into Team Rocket as soon as possible..."

Giovanni knew he couldn't use Stephen's inventions within the organization without revealing his identity.

If his subordinates started using these tools, Stephen would naturally grow suspicious.

With his intelligence, figuring out Giovanni's true identity would only be a matter of time.

And there was a vast difference between voluntarily revealing the truth and being exposed passively.

...

Meanwhile, at Indigo Plateau—the border between Kanto and Johto.

At this time, the Indigo League served as the predecessor to both the Kanto and Johto Leagues.

The two regions shared the same four Elite Four members and a single champion.

Currently, in the conference room of the Indigo League headquarters, three Elite Four members, the champion, League President Charles Goodshow, and several council members were gathered.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Lance slammed a wanted poster onto the table, his expression grim.

It was a poster of Joker, drawn based on Lance's description.

What infuriated him most was the "A-rank" threat level assigned to the target.

What did that mean?

Someone who managed to knock out him, the Dragon Master Lance, was only worth an A-rank?

Wasn't that a slap in the face for him and his dragons?

"This decision was made after an official discussion. Someone who fled from the Dragon Master isn't deserving of an S-rank designation," said Agatha, the current Indigo League champion, her voice cold and detached as she adjusted her purple gown.

"What do you mean fled? He left openly!"

Lance's anger flared again.

That masked kid had knocked him unconscious and then walked out in broad daylight.

His cousin Claire had confirmed as much.

Yet, the news report told an entirely different story.

"We can't report it like that."

Pushing up her frameless glasses, Lorelei, another Elite Four member, coldly chimed in.

Her crimson hair, darker than Lance's, and her mature figure belied her young age—barely 15.

"What do you expect the media to write? That the esteemed Dragon Master of the Indigo League was knocked out by a kid barely over ten years old?"

"Is this meaningless pride worth preserving?"

Though Lance's pride was formidable, he had no use for superficial pretense.

A loss was a loss, regardless of whether it was due to cunning or technology.

"But the public won't see it that way," said Bruno, another Elite Four member, often teased by Lorelei for being all muscle, no brains.

As a rising star poised to replace Agatha as champion, Lance not only represented his family's legacy but also the face of the League.

If news spread that he had been outsmarted by a Team Rocket member, the public's faith in the League would be irreparably damaged.

Lance clenched his jaw, unable to respond immediately.

"Besides, there's also the issue of Galar's rising star," a council member added.

"A new champion, not much older than you, Lance. Undefeated since debut, rising to power in Galar with overwhelming strength."

This reminder stung.

The Galar League's chairman, Rose, was a notorious opportunist.

A billionaire with unrelenting ambition, he had aggressively promoted Galar's Pokémon battles.

From constructing extravagant stadiums surpassing Kanto's gyms to poaching talent from other regions, Rose was bent on surpassing the Indigo League.

One such acquisition was Flannery, formerly of Hoenn, who had been lured to Galar with a generous salary.

Rose made no secret of his ambitions: to make Galar the dominant region in the Pokémon world, even at the expense of the Indigo League.