As Satoshi stepped into the Cerulean Gym, Boss Sakaki was waiting for him.
“You’ve come, Satoshi.”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“But I did.”
“Your current strength won’t be able to defeat me. Go back.”
“I’ll use my Blissey.”
“……”
Sakaki’s face turned green. Of all Satoshi’s Pokémon, there was only one he didn’t want to fight against, and that was Blissey. Satoshi’s Blissey was practically a super tank, making it incredibly difficult for his own Pokémon to fight. Although his Pokémon were mostly Rock and Ground types, making them immune to Poison-type moves, Satoshi’s Blissey knew Toxic! It was so freaking disgusting! He couldn’t believe how that cute kid learned such a tormenting move.
“Satoshi, if you dare use Blissey, I’ll cut off our father-son relationship.”
Sakaki genuinely didn’t want to fight Blissey again. It was just too foul. As for the father-son relationship, Satoshi had been close to Sakaki for years. They were always helping each other out, and eventually, they adopted a father-son relationship. Of course, only the higher-ups in Team Rocket knew Satoshi’s identity, and Satoshi still hadn’t remembered that Sakaki was the boss of Team Rocket.
As for Satoshi sending a bunch of Pokémon thieves to jail? Sakaki just shrugged it off. These were small fries his adopted son could handle. After all, the business of the Continent Hotel, which his son had taken over, was a major source of income for Team Rocket.
Indeed, Team Rocket held shares of the Continent Hotel, although it was under the name of Sakaki’s family.
“You don’t want me to use Blissey? Fine…”
“You little rascal, you were definitely up to something...” Sakaki was speechless looking at Satoshi. Did he want to use Blissey to teach everyone a lesson right at the start of his journey? He was truly his adopted son! He loved it!
“Never mind, Dad, this is Meowth's new high-magnification camera. Check it out.”
Satoshi had Meowth bring out the camera he used to take pictures of Ho-Oh.
“Oh? High magnification, how high?” Sakaki was interested.
“I happen to have some pictures for you to see.” Satoshi pulled out the developed pictures and handed them to Sakaki.
At first, Sakaki thought the pictures were pretty good, filled with vitality. However, once he noticed Ho-Oh, his eyes widened. The high-resolution enlarged version of Ho-Oh left him breathless.
“This! This is?!”
“Oh, I encountered it while I was out. So I quickly took a picture. It’s a good start, right?”
Sakaki couldn’t say anything as he looked at Satoshi, who had a beaming “I’m so lucky” smile.
“Satoshi, do you know what kind of Pokémon this is?”
“Of course, it’s Ho-Oh. That’s why I had Meowth take a high-resolution picture.”
“You really… wait! This level of clarity… ”
Sakaki only then realized that the clarity and magnification of Satoshi’s photos were perfect for capturing other organizations!
“This is great. Meowth, do you have the blueprint?”
“Meow, I do, here you go.”
Meowth handed the blueprints to Sakaki, who nodded in satisfaction. “Good. I will have the company release new products soon, but a censored version would be better.” Sakaki glanced at Satoshi, after all, Meowth was his Pokémon.
“Sounds good to me. I don’t know anything about this stuff anyway. You take care of it, Dad.”
“If only you could learn some company management. Then you could help me. Shinbo, take the blueprints.”
“Yes!”
A young woman with purple hair and glasses took the blueprints, bowed to Satoshi, and left. Watching Shinbo leave, Satoshi couldn’t help but say, “Shinbo is really serious.”
“Yeah, but that makes me feel at ease about her handling things. By the way, I watched the news. You moved pretty fast, kid.” Sakaki chuckled, revealing a knowing smile. Satoshi pulled down his cap and said, “After all, I’m an adult now. I gotta move quickly. It’s the most rude to keep someone waiting without a response.”
“That’s right. You said it. Well, you’re starting your journey, and there’s nothing much I can give you. This Caterpie has been growing up with you all this time. Take care of him.”
Seeing Sakaki hand over the Poké Ball, Satoshi didn’t hesitate. After all, he and Sakaki’s Caterpie had been together for a while, so they were already familiar.
“I’ll train him well. So I’ll be off then. Take care, Dad.”
Seeing Satoshi about to leave, Sakaki remembered the photos in his hand.
“Satoshi, you forgot your photos.”
“Consider them a gift for you!”
Sakaki looked at the photos in his hand. Satoshi, his Pokémon, and Ho-Oh in the background made a wonderful picture. He couldn’t help but smile from the bottom of his heart.
“A photo with a legendary Pokémon, what a first!”