Chapter 210: Olivine Gym's Jasmine
Despite the uncertainties clouding his mind, there was one thing Giovanni could be sure of—Asahi was stirring the pot.
From the very beginning, it was Asahi who had deliberately leaked information about Team Mask to him. Then, he had provided intel on Silver, further escalating the conflict between Team Rocket and Team Mask. Now, he wasn't even trying to hide his intentions anymore…
Yet, for the sake of finding Silver, even knowing it was a trap, Giovanni had no choice but to step into it.
Turning off his tablet, he instructed Lambda, "Gather all available information on Ho-Oh, and assign someone to keep a close watch on Pryce."
"Understood!"
Giovanni had just received intelligence from Asahi regarding Pryce's attack on Ho-Oh.
Meanwhile, at Mahogany Gym…
A messenger bird, having flown all the way from Ecruteak City, landed within the gym.
Hearing the commotion, Pryce put down the ice chisel he had been using.
He turned toward the messenger bird, which reached into its pouch-like tail and retrieved a handful of feathers.
"Rainbow Wings..."
Pryce gazed at the large bundle of shimmering feathers laid before him, yet his expression remained indifferent.
To him, obtaining Ho-Oh's Rainbow Wings was nothing out of the ordinary. What was abnormal was that he had failed to capture Ho-Oh.
If it hadn't been for Asahi's unexpected interference, Ho-Oh would already be in his grasp.
Now, the Pokémon he had intended to use against Team Rocket had been rescued by Asahi, completely disrupting his plans.
According to reports, it was Asahi who had gravely injured Giovanni in the past.
If not for the issue with Silver, Pryce might have considered forming a temporary alliance with Giovanni to eliminate Asahi together.
But with Silver's whereabouts still unknown, that plan was at a standstill...
"Well, at least I've secured the Rainbow Wings..." Pryce muttered as he put them away, then turned his gaze to the ice sculpture he had just carved.
The sculpture wore a mask and a flowing black cloak—an exact replica of the Masked Man.
Pryce lightly tapped his cane.
The ice sculpture suddenly began to move, as if it had come to life.
The messenger bird retrieved a Poké Ball from its tail and handed it to the new Masked Man.
However, this time, Pryce did not send the duplicate to Whirl Islands to capture Lugia.
After the previous failure, he had decided to take action personally.
With a firm tap of his cane against the floor, the Masked Man lifted Pryce's wheelchair, positioning it at the sculpture's head.
Now merged with his icy doppelgänger, Pryce took one last glance at his gym, then released his Ariados and Gengar to stage a fake attack scene, making it seem as if the gym had been raided.
After recalling his Pokémon, he turned to the messenger bird and ordered, "Take me to Whirl Islands."
The bird, having just rested for a short while, responded without hesitation. It spread its wings and carried Pryce into the sky, flying toward Whirl Islands.
At that exact moment, Giovanni's spies, who had just arrived to monitor Pryce, witnessed this scene.
They hurriedly retrieved their communicators and reported the situation to their boss.
---
Olivine City was a coastal town, separated from Cerulean City by the sea.
Asahi and Blue descended from the sky, landing with the help of Salamence.
The repeated long-distance flights had clearly taken a toll on Salamence, as it panted heavily.
"Alright, take a break for now. If we need to keep moving, I'll let little Lugia take over," Asahi told Salamence.
If he recalled correctly, there was a Lugia residing in Whirl Islands. He planned to take little Lugia there to see if it could form a connection with its kin.
However, upon hearing that Asahi was considering passing its job to little Lugia, Salamence panicked—wouldn't that mean losing out on the extra Pokéblocks it had been receiving as rewards?
Immediately, it perked up and signaled that it wasn't tired at all.
Asahi could only sigh—never underestimate the power of a foodie's determination.
At that moment, Asahi's communicator rang.
It was good news from Kurt—Falkner from Violet Gym had agreed to join their operation.
With that, aside from Jasmine of Olivine Gym, whom they were about to visit, only Azalea Gym and Cerulean Gym remained uncontacted.
Asahi turned to Green. "Since there's still some daylight left, let's go find Jasmine first."
Speaking of Jasmine…
An image of the Magnemite Knight meme surfaced in Asahi's mind.
Shaking his head, he quickly dismissed those irrelevant thoughts.
Green didn't know why Asahi shook his head, but she had no objections to his suggestion.
After all, the sooner they acted, the sooner they could bring the Masked Man to justice.
However, when they arrived at the gym, they were informed that Jasmine was out.
As for her whereabouts…
"The Gym Leader often spends her free time at the lighthouse, Investigator Asahi."
---
Glitter Lighthouse
This lighthouse had existed for a long time, dating back to ancient times.
It was said that in the past, the lighthouse, along with its Ampharos, had guided ships safely through the sea.
Even though modern, automated lighthouses had been built along Olivine's shores, the Glitter Lighthouse remained preserved as a historical landmark.
When Asahi and Green arrived at the lighthouse, they spotted Jasmine.
Dressed in a light-colored dress, she sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows with a bright yellow Ampharos named Sparkle beside her, gazing out at the sea.
Sensing someone approaching, Jasmine turned her head and looked at Asahi and Green with curiosity.
"May I help you?" she asked.
Very few visitors came to the lighthouse, and Asahi and Blue didn't look like ordinary tourists.
Asahi introduced himself.
"I'm Asahi, an International Police officer," he said, presenting his credentials. "The Johto League is currently facing a grave threat, and we need your help, Miss Jasmine!"
Jasmine was momentarily taken aback.
A crisis in the Johto League?
Why hadn't she received any news from the League itself?
Her gaze carried a hint of doubt—could they be frauds?
"This is a confidential operation," Asahi continued. "Before you, Kurt from Mahogany, Morty from Ecruteak, Whitney from Goldenrod, and Falkner from Violet have already joined us!"
As he spoke, he displayed the list of trainers who had already joined the operation's communication channel.
Seeing the familiar names and trainer IDs, Jasmine's doubts disappeared—but new questions arose.
"Then… who exactly are we up against?"
"The Masked Army!"
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