บท 188: EPISODE 78: Intervention!***

A nice Tempura meal amidst the hot weather, such a pleasant thing to eat. My body feels both energetic and annoyed. Energetic because of the nutrients and annoyed because of the meal's spicy flavoring. Although, I have my glass of water that could quench the spiciness right away.

As said, I have accepted Kris's plead and that is to have a three on three Pokemon Battle with her. I feel more confident if I am to battle her since she is not that focused on becoming a champion. After all, her dream is to become a famous ecologist which I hope she achieves.

After a nice meal, we head to the eastern reaches of the city wherein a small Battle Center is located there. It is quite smaller than the Battle Center in Violet City, but still, the important thing is the battleground and not the size. Upon entering the Battle Center, the three of us encounter a strange and unusual person.

I do not know what to say, whether he is either obese or strong. He has a dumbbell on his left arm and for some reason, he is shirtless which is quite disturbing for me and very inappropriate in a public place like Cianwood City.

"Hi there Mr. Chuck!" Kris greets. So, the future ecologist knows this shirtless man after all.

"Oh, well if it isn't my victor, Kris. How ya doin kiddo? I thought you were heading to Blackthorn City next?" Chuck asks, patting the shoulder of the young woman whom he calls kiddo.

"Victor?" I question, not knowing who in the world Chuck is and how he knows Kris.

"Oh right, I forgot to introduce you to Mr.Chuck. He is the gym leader of Cianwood City and I am one of his very few victors. Hehe, not even Ethan could defeat him." She introduces with a little pinch of boastfulness.

"Nice to meet all of ya!" Chuck greets, gesturing by shaking me and Virgo's hands. His hand is extremely heavier than a boulder. The shake feels more like he's trying to pull my arm off. As luck would have it, a man like him has no idea that we are members of Team Rocket because of our casual public attire.

"So, Mr.Chuck, what are you doing in the Battle Center?"

"Oh nothin much Kris, just training with me and my Pokemon for my rematch with Ethan later. Bwahahaha! I'll show him something he'll never forget. Anyway, it is nice to meet all of you, and I, the great Chuck, will be heading to my gym in order to meditate." And just like that, the shirtless gym leader runs off from our sight.

"So, um. Is he a Psychic gym leader?" Virgo assumes after hearing the word "meditate" from the words coming from Chuck.

"A psychic leader? Of course not. He is a fighting gym leader who has the guts to swim in cold and icy water. For him, that is what meditation means. Anyway, come on, let us enter the Battle Center in order to have my match with your friend." Kris gladly explains.

The Battle Center has the looks of a Dojo. There is one stage, wherein the players fight, of course, there is also a referee and a spectator to observe the match. The handlers or the operators, or perhaps in simpler terms, the people in charge are no other than Black-belters whom I do not want to mess with. A single kick would definitely deal a massive amount of damage, and I do not want that to happen to me.

I guess the Battle Center is in accordance with the city's gym which is a fighting type. According to Virgo, fighting types are usually powerful but weak when it comes to fighting ghosts and bird types. I wonder... I wonder... why would they be weak to bird types?

Although, our purpose here is to battle, the three of us are met by an unexpected surprise. On one of the tall pillars of the Battle Center, a man whom I hate makes a debut with his Pokemon, Feraligatr. He seems angry, angrier than any man I've met before.

"Kris?! You're mingling with a grunt now?" Silver shouts in frustration.

"Woah, Silver. You're here as well, I've never seen you since Goldenrod." Kris says, not minding Silver's words.

"Wait... You met Silver?" I ask her in a shocked expression.

"Yes, yes I have. He is um... how should I say this? He is my rival in terms of everything." She replies sarcastically.

"You Rocket grunts! What are you doing here?! Are you planning to blow up the city with your absurd plans?" Silver assumes, enraging at me and Virgo, but primarily me.

"Woah! Silver, calm down. They're not here to destroy stuff, it's their day-off so let them enjoy it." Kris quickly intervenes Silver's words while blocking me and Virgo from him.

"Who cares?! They're still grunts and they need to be punished for their actions! Feraligatr, Hy-"

"Excuse me? But battles are held in the stage and not in front of the door." A black belter interrupts.

"You know what? Fine, I won't fight but in return, I want Luna and the girl with glasses to leave immediately. Cianwood is not safe with grunts lurking nearby, and a day-off is no exception!" Silver continues to enrage, spilling all of my anger unto me. I wanted to spill my anger too but Kris and Virgo quickly refrained me from doing so.

"Why do you hate Team Rocket so much?! I mean, I've never seen these two cause any trouble before."

"They're not a "secret" organization for nothing Kris. You know what?! I'm tired with all th-"

"Please keep down your voice, this is your first warning." A black-belter interrupts again, further angering Giovanni's son.

"I'd say, you're making a fool out of yourself." I tease sarcastically, chuckling softly afterward.

"What was that?!"

"Come on, stop thinking that I'm the villain. You nearly cracked my spine remember?" I recall.

"Wait, you tried to kill Luna?!" Kris's expression shifts into a shocked one.

"Well, she killed more people!"

"Wait, you killed people?" Kris tilts her head to me, questioning me seriously.

"Hmm, of course not. Why would I kill people in the first place?" I respond with a lie.

"Why are you lying?" Virgo whispers to my ear, interrupting my conversation with Silver. I did not to her anymore, and decided to continue to my conversation with Giovanni's son.

"All of you are prohibited to be here! Leave immediately. I've warned you." The black-belter interrupts again, kicking the four of us out of the facility. In order not to cause further trouble, we had no choice but to follow the instructions.

Upon exiting the vicinity, Silver leaves the three of us with rage. He did not dare to speak to either of us anymore. He just left, not a single gesture nor a bid of goodbye from him. I was also angry but I was able to control it unlike him. Yeesh, Silver is more intense compared to his father.

"Sorry for the commotion. Silver is just determined to knock out your organization. He's always like that."

"I can say. I've met him many times already." I say.

And so, our day-off was wasted because of an intervention from the mad man's son. Without anything else to do, we've decided to walk and explore the city instead. I finally bought some things with the use of my salary. Pokeballs, Revive, Max Revive, a bundle of those only costs 30 Pokedollars in this city so why not buy it when I have the opportunity? It can be useful in missions.

At the end of the day, the two of us part ways with Kris. We were unable to have our battle but at least we get to try Tempura. My ties with Silver has also intensified, and I nearly wanted to fight with him back in the Battle Center. As said, Xeryll returns during the arrival of dusk to pick us up.

"So, tell me. Why did you lie?" Virgo questions by whispering as the helicopter drifts back to headquarters.

"I did not want Kris to see my villainy and malevolent nature. If you've noticed, I was earnestly controlling myself to fight against Silver. I did not want to show how malevolent I can be in front of a woman who thinks I'm benevolent."

"You know, the truth will reveal itself one day."

"I know, she'll understand soon enough. Anyhow, I'm tired of walking around the city."