Looking at Lance, who was kneeling, Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy were momentarily stunned.
A flash of shock passed through their eyes.
This was one of Team Rocket's most brutal executives,
One who burned, killed, plundered, committed every evil act imaginable.
Even something as vile as harvesting parts from Pokémon and selling their flesh, he could do that. How could someone like him kneel so easily?
'Something's off, very off!'
The couple pondered for a long time, their gaze finally landing on the pink Dragonair.
A sudden thought sprang into their minds.
'Could it be that Axel has joined Team Rocket?'
In just half a month, Axel had raised a level-30 Gardevoir and even acquired a shiny Dragonair.
Give it some time, and at the very least, he'd be a Gym-level trainer.
Add to that Giovanni's fondness for planting people inside the League... Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy felt like they had seen through something.
"Xiao Fan, you didn't join Team Rocket, did you?"
Axel: "..."
Upon hearing Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen's words, a black line appeared on Axel's forehead.
'What the hell is all this?'
Thankfully, he had a mouthpiece of a subordinate right beside him.
Before Axel could explain, Lance had already started passionately speaking on Axel's behalf.
"You two misunderstand! Lord Axel is not part of Team Rocket. He is destined to be the new king who will lead us to overthrow Team Rocket."
"Team Rocket is cruel, they won't even spare people like us."
"Thanks to the mercy of the divine and the lord, we were able to survive. We must serve the divine and the new king!"
Lance excitedly told Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy about Axel's strength, even spilling the contents of the brainwashing Mewtwo had attempted.
Ten minutes passed, and finally, Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy understood the current situation.
At the same time, they developed a new understanding of Axel's strength.
Gym leader? Too low.
The legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh of Kanto, and the rumored "God of Battle Beast" that Team Rocket had been researching, all had ended up in Axel's hands.
And that "God of Battle" seemed to have even saved members of Team Rocket from the future, and Lance had seen a glimpse of the future in its memories, which was why he resolutely pledged loyalty to Axel. (Brainwashing effect.)
'If that's the case...'
The couple exchanged glances, and both could see the glint in each other's eyes.
Axel was able to obtain Kanto's legendary Ho-Oh, and even the newly-researched Mewtwo from Team Rocket.
Doesn't that mean he's fated with the legendary beasts of Kanto?
Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy had spent half their lives in Team Rocket, always responsible for searching for that legendary Pokémon of the Bell Tower, Lugia.
In ancient times, Lugia was the deity that protected the Johto region, ensuring good weather and harvests. People fondly referred to it as the Sea God.
But 150 years ago, Lugia mysteriously disappeared, vanishing from people's lives.
Uncle Sonny and Aunt Stacy hoped to rediscover Lugia and allow the trainers of Kanto and Johto to once again receive the protection of legendary Pokémon.
So they resolutely joined Team Rocket, hoping to use the organization's funding to support their research.
But later, they discovered that things were far from as simple as they had thought.
Team Rocket's various research projects weren't just about making money, they aimed to rule the world.
If Lugia fell into Team Rocket's hands, it would only bring even greater disaster to trainers in Kanto and Johto.
So they decisively burned all their research data and managed to escape to Aurient.
It could be said that apart from the two of them, no one else knew Lugia's current whereabouts.
If in the future, Axel grew strong, and they told Axel that Lugia was on Suicune Island, then perhaps Axel would become the first-ever trainer to simultaneously own three legendary Pokémon.
By that time... maybe Axel really could defeat Team Rocket and make Kanto and Johto just like Aurient, free of any villainous tumors.
———
After a few rounds of drinks, Gardevoir put down her food and turned to look in the direction of Dragon Lake Fishing Park.
If she remembered correctly, today was the day that old man, who frequently fished for Magikarp, was supposed to catch two special ones.
One was a shiny Magikarp, and the other was an enormous one, both with extremely powerful evolutionary potential.
In his past life, Axel had chosen to flee to Kyoto with the little loli's family on this day, narrowly missing that giant Magikarp.
By the time they met again, Axel was already challenging the position of Elite Four.
That Magikarp never had the chance to grow...
If he'd had help from that little guy, maybe back then Axel wouldn't have had to use his physical body to block the attack of a divine beast.
He absolutely couldn't miss it this time.
Gardevoir gently tugged on Axel's arm, her telepathic voice echoing in his mind.
["Master, want to go fishing~"]
"Let's go," Axel agreed instantly.
He understood his own nature, he would never stay in Aurient for long.
Even if he got into Ninox University in the future, his goals wouldn't just be limited to challenging Aurient's gyms.
Other regions were filled with divine beasts and fated trainers, what's the point of staying in Aurient?
Not to mention, in just two years Lugia would reappear on Suicune Island.
Even if he couldn't catch it, just going to see the commotion and snag a few powerful tags would still be awesome, right?
It wasn't easy to have time to stay in Aurient, so naturally he wanted to stroll around the place where he grew up.
———
At the same time...
In Dragon Lake Fishing Park, Hank stared at the lake surface with excitement.
His eyes bulged outward, unblinking as they locked onto the water.
Three days. It had been three whole days.
Three nights ago, he had suddenly seen the statue in Dragon God Plaza flash with light.
From that moment on, he had a feeling in his heart.
He would definitely catch the most powerful Magikarp.
During those three days, he hadn't left his fishing spot even once.
When he got hungry, he ate some instant noodles; when thirsty, he drank lake water; when sleepy, he leaned against his small stool and napped a bit.
That sense of divine intuition only grew stronger in his heart, and Hank became more and more excited.
He would definitely obtain the strongest Magikarp.
"Kid... all these years, this uncle of yours has been freeloading off you. Once I get that amazing Magikarp, people will be so jealous of you," He rubbed the 100 yuan bill Axel had given him a few days ago and grinned.
As a fishing maniac, the thing he needed most was recognition.
And Axel was the one who recognized him the most.
Just then, a metallic bell suddenly rang out, and the float in front of Hank abruptly sank downward.
Hank shoved a mouthful of instant noodles into his mouth and, without hesitation, tossed aside the box in his hand.
Strike!
A tremendous force surged up, and Hank instantly felt like he was going to be dragged into the water by the giant creature, he could even hear the screeching of his shoes scraping against the ground.
A flash of golden light flickered beneath the surface, looking especially enchanting under the moonlight.
Beside that golden silhouette was a massive red shape, just the exposed part of its back was over three meters long.
"BIG CATCH!"
Hank shouted excitedly, half-squatting on the ground, tightly gripping the fishing rod.
A flash of light came from his waist, and two strong Magikarp leapt into the water one after the other.
"Brothers, help me pull the big one up from the water!"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y