It was an early morning filled with the chirping of many low-level Pidgey. Due to Alex's room not being on a higher floor, he could hear them even in the sleepy state. It was almost time for him to wake up. So he removed his laziness and woke up. As he sat on the bed for few seconds with his half-closed eyes, he first stretched his body to remove the rigidness left due to the night's sleep. After a big yawn, he got out of the bed.

The meeting with Maria yesterday had gone pretty well, and later he went out to eat lunch with Maria. ​​

Although the two are not officially together yet, the conversation had a real impact on Alex and Maria's relationship, who exchanged relatively openly.

Alex told Maria a lot about his personal stuff. Though, the secrets such as how he earned his money or having a system were kept secret.

Especially how he earns his money; Alex would like to never tell anyone. And even if he trusts Maria completely, he would probably keep it hidden.

The secret with the system is not dangerous anyway because he cannot prove that he has a system. Of course, he does not want to let anyone know that either.

But if somebody finds out that he said that he has a system, he/she would probably first think that Alex has a problem with his head. Especially since the people in Pokémon don't know what exactly is a 'system'.

Alex went to the kitchen and, like every morning, started preparing breakfast for everyone.

He was a bit excited today because he will be meeting Giovanni today and get the chance to achieve a special position.*

...

3 hours later, a 20 years old Team Rocket member, who had an average, at best, face, made his way to Lisa's office.

Alex, who had entered the Team Rocket base with his new identity, was on his way with the excuse of having an appointment with Lisa (which Lisa had confirmed).

He knocked on Lisa's door and only opened it when she said, "Come in~."

Alex entered the office and saw that Maria was already there waiting. It looked as if both partners had a good talk and got along well.

Lisa showed a knowing look and said, "You know~, Alex. Your new face is really average. Isn't that a bit of a waste~?"

Alex, who knew that Lisa had naturally known about his new ID, responded with a smile, "It's good that it's so average. The fewer impressions I leave, the better."

Lisa smiled provocatively.

But then she said solemnly, "Okay, let's not keep Boss waiting any longer. Alakazam!"

Alakazam, who was standing next to Lisa, immediately teleported Maria and Alex.

Alex, Maria, and Alakazam disappeared from the office. After a few seconds, Alakazam reappeared in the office.

Alakazam looked in the direction of Lisa and said telepathically, "The boy has started to train his talent."

Lisa gave a curious look and asked, "Ohh~ Can you judge what talent he has?"

"Yes, it should be rank 3. But it's still at the beginning and doesn't have a lot of Psychic-energy in his body."

"Rank 3, hmm~ Rank 3 is good but also nothing special. By the way, why didn't you tell me at the first meeting?"

Alakazam gave a small smile when she said, "Before, he was a poor guy that you can overlook if you don't look for it directly. Now it's a little different."

Lisa showed a thoughtful expression and said, "From now on, test the potential of people who come in here every time, got it~?"

Alakazam just nodded in reply.

...

Alex and Maria were teleported into a beautifully decorated room at the same time.

Alakazam, who teleported with the two of them, had only stayed there for 5 seconds before teleporting away again.

Alex looked around the room and saw 3 different people standing in the room.

A short man with a Forretress next to him, a young girl with purple hair and a sharp look that can kill someone, and a young, handsome man with eyes that looked like a falcon.

Alex immediately looked at the info of the only Pokémon present in this room.

-------------------------------

Pokémon: Forretress

LV: 53

Type: Bug/Steel

Ability: Sturdy

Gender: Male

Potential: Gold

Moves:

- Protect, Tackle, Self-Destruct, Bug Bite, Take Down, Rapid Spin, Bide, Natural Gift, Spikes, Payback, Iron Defense, Gyro Ball, Double-Edge

- (Innate Talent) Explosion [M], (Innate Talent) Endure [E], (Innate Talent) Hyper Beam

- (TM) Earthquake, (TM) Toxic, (TM) Substitute

--------------------------------

Alex, who saw this information, couldn't help but suck in a long breath of surprise, looking at this little man as a crazy one. And he recognized this little man almost immediately, too.

That was Carr that Alex had seen in a Pokémon manga and is known for having Forretress almost exclusively and using it as a bomb.

'Who in their right mind only trains one move effectively?' thought Alex.

This is also the first time Alex saw such a powerful Pokémon that hasn't trained all of its Innate Talent moves at least to the Expert rank. That showed that this short man had used most of the training time with the [Explosion] and only trained [Endure] a bit to use it in a combo with it.

'Wait, how do you train the move Explosion? If it's how I am imagining it, it should be almost impossible to train this move on the Master rank. Carr must have a trick to train it easier,' thought Alex.

Carr didn't wait for a second and said with a professional smile, "Ok, now that everyone is here, let's go. Follow me, everyone."

Then he opened the door and led the group.

Alex walked next to Maria and looked at the other two participants.

He first looked at Janine, whom he recognized from the games. He knows that she will be a Gym leader in the future.

Janine also looked at Alex, who was still wearing his Ditto mask. But she showed no expression or emotions when she looked at him. For her, each of these people was an obstacle to overcome as quickly as possible. Though she was a bit confused why this 20-year-old nobody trainer was also a participant.

Alex, who saw this blank mask of a face, thought inwardly, 'This really is a look of an assassin. Though they call themselves ninja.'

Then he looked in the direction of Marco, who ignored him.

Marco did not appear in the games or manga, so Alex had no information regarding him. He had only heard that Marco's deceased father was a top member in Team Rocket, and that's all he knows.

After less than 1 minute, the group arrived in front of a large door. Carr, who had led them there, said goodbye with the words, "Ok, I have completed my task. I'll be going then."

_____________________

[EN]: * Giovanni fanboy spotted.

[AN]: Of course I am that, editor.

Giovanni is my favorite character along with Cynthia. Giovanni from manga and Cynthia from the game.

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