34 Vermilion Base

Inside the Base:

"This base is the safest among all others because the gym leader Lt. Surge is part of us, there are two more Gym leaders who work for the organisation, Sabrina and Koga are the latest additions. As for the Elite Four, we have Blaine of Cinnabar islands and we have some relation with Giovanni of Viridian. Overall four gym leaders and an Elite four member are part of us," said Petrel giving me a briefing about Team Rocket.

I nodded at that and acted a bit shocked but there's no point as I still had my mask on.

"Don't reveal the info to anyone, not even to your agents. Only Elites and Executives are allowed to know it, I gave you the information because you will be personally trained under me and compete for the Executive position when you are ready. You, Duke, Rose and Kaiser are the probable candidates with the inclusion of current Elites. You will mostly have three years to train as we will be laying low for that amount of time," said Petrel which gave me a genuine shock.

So, this tournament did have a hidden agenda, in three years we will be having one more tournament huh?

"Normally, I shouldn't give away the hidden information but you have the potential to be an Executive or at least an Elite in these three years. The information I gave was to make you understand that I have high expectations for you. Although my speciality is disguise and deception, you will be learning more about that in the final part of the training. First, you need to learn about how to train and also to make complete use of your pokemon potential," said Petrel expecting a nod.

"Thank you Sir, I will be learning as much as possible from what you teach," I said making him grin.

"First, let's start with your appearance. Take off your mask," he said and slowly took his seat on the couch.

I complied and showed my appearance, Petrel intently gazed at my scar and nodded in understanding,

"Nice!!!! a good learning scar to have but that gives away your appearance. So, you need to use makeup and cover it. Just in case if there's a situation where you lose your mask and have to blend into the crowd," suggested the Executive.

"I understand, I will do as you say."

"Next, let's talk about your pokemon. You did a great job but there's an issue, when were your pokemon caught? what rank were they when you caught them? and their age?" asked Petrel bombarding me with questions.

"My first pokemon was caught on day 1 of the trial, he was at the initial stage of beginner rank and is a month old now. Electrike was caught when she was at Mid-stage of beginner level and is three months old. Lastly, Fletchinder is one year old and was caught when she was in the initial stage of Intermediate rank," I said answering in detail.

"Hmm!!! well Fletchinder might not be an issue but you have some work to do when it comes to Electrike and a major problem to correct with Krokorok," he said startling me. I am now slowly understanding what's the issue here, when I was in the orphanage some of the passerby trainers gave me some tips.

I know what Executive Petrel meant but I had no choice but to level them up because of the tournament. I was going to take Oak's suggestion but Petrel is fine I guess.

"Is it the rapid development of Krokorok and Electrike?" I asked him back, which made him smile.

"Yes, in just 16 days you turned an initial beginner rank pokemon into an advanced intermediate ranked pokemon. This just shows your Krokorok and Electrike have very high potential but if this rapid increase in power continues then they would slowly destroy their potential," he said getting a quick nod from me.

"So, let's do this. For the next three months, you just polish the moves of your Pokemon. Don't battle much and don't try to improve their ranks. All three of them must spend a minimum of three months in the Intermediate stage, let them build their stamina and power with repeated practice. Is that clear?" he asked me with an authoritative tone.

"Yes Sir, dead clear but can I know the recommended time for a pokemon to spend in each Rank?" I asked. He thought it over for a minute and said,

"It depends upon the potential of pokemon, a high potential pokemon can adapt well. So, any pokemon that's above low-green grade Potential will have to spend a minimum of three months in the Intermediate stage. The timing multiplies four times per every rank up, so if your Krokorok breaks into Advanced stage then he should spend at least a year before trying to break into the Elite stage."

He paused for a bit and said again,

"Keep in mind that these are the minimum requirements for a high potential pokemon. Sometimes it might take longer and might even take two or three years to break the barrier. So everything depends on luck, your pokemon might need a perfect opportunity to break the barrier which might not happen for a lifetime. So, dont worry about the future," He said, finishing his lessons for today.

"I will keep everything in mind and take perfect care of my pokemon. Other than that may I know what are my duties?" I asked as I had no clue about what I should do.

"For now, there is nothing but that's only because Team Rocket is laying low and they are giving some time for the recruits to adjust. These three months will be the adjusting period, you concentrate on forming your team as a Captain and also know the internal workings of the organisation. You will come across some psychopaths here and there but keep in mind that you only answer to two people, one is me and the other is Boss," he said in a relaxed tone.

He also asked me if I had any other doubts to which I asked my final question of the day.

"Can I roam outside with pokemon? I mean I can get a basic league ID by paying some money in the Pokemon Centre right? or will Team Rocket provide me with something?"

He raised his brows at that and said,

"You want to roam in the free world huh? It's fine, get an ID from the Pokemon Centre. Team Rocket only gives an ID if you are an Elite rank or above. Until then manage it with the basic ID or win four gym badges to be an official league trainer. We never stop you from getting achievements and ranking up in the League as it is more beneficial for us."

I nodded in understanding and went outside to meet up with Gregory who was waiting in the hallway. This base was an underground basement, it was too huge to be called just that. They literally built it under the Power plant of Vermilion City, I think the area might be as big as two to three acres worth of land.

Lt. Surge has all rights to this powerplant which makes it easier for Team Rocket to run their operations. As I was thinking, I noticed Gregory talking to the receptionist.

"Hey man, I have something to talk so let's go talk inside my cabin," I said which startled Gregory.

I always thought this bastard was innocent but seems not, he was effortlessly flirting with the receptionist like a simp.

"Oh, you are back? wait a second!!!!!!!! Did you just say you have a Cabin for yourself? That's crazy!!!!!" he said bidding farewell to the busty lady at the counter.

"Yeah, apparently every captain has it and I also noticed that you were very busy with something. Did I disturb you?" I asked.

"Nah, I was just trying to get familiar with the base. She was the one who started the conversation and I did not know how to get out of it," he said feigning ignorance.

"Anyways, let's go. I got some tips from Executive Petrel, it might help you a bit. Let's talk while we walk to my cabin...."

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

Five minutes later:

The room looked quite empty for now but it was big enough. It had a similar seat that Captain Carr had, I looked around the drawer to see if there was anything but found nothing. I took my seat while Gregory stood there observing everything with stars in his eyes.

"You will also get a cabin so dont put that face, it's disgusting. Now, let's talk about recruitment. Before we get other agents and grunts, I plan to observe and gather information. So, keep an eye out for people and use that receptionist who is interested in you to gather the data," I said while signalling Gregory to take a seat.

"Ya sounds good but what about that Shawn guy? the guy who placed fourth in our first two trials before the tournament. I think he seemed like a good trusty guy, we can try him. The only problem is that we do not know the base he was assigned to," said Gregory reminding me of Shawn whom I planned to take when I left trial 2.

"Great, we can do that but let us find more options. Remember we need two more agents leaving you out, the main issue is with grunts. These guys are everywhere and we can't just recruit random guys because I want a strong team. I was thinking of getting people from the outside but Executive Petrel specifically told me to choose from the already joined ones," I said in annoyance.

"I think we have two months so I will try to extract as much as I can from the Receptionist Greta. Oh ya!!! what did the Executive tell you?" asked Gregory in anticipation.

I then narrated to him the whole story, I also told him about the ways to train pokemon leaving some crucial parts out. Can't say everything can I?

Then we talked about some things and Gregory left the room leaving me alone. I started taping my fingers on the table in boredom, these three months will be boring and I am sure about it. I listed the to-do tasks in these months,

1. Get an upgrade for the bag as I am promoted.

2. Sell the 20 pokemon I caught and buy Tm's or items with that money.

3. Meet Prof. Oak sneakily and get a basic league ID.

4. Know more about Psychics.

5. Finally, Use the four gyms to help my pokemon breakthrough and Upgrade my League ID.

Well, it seems I have my hands full. I also need to keep an eye on potential talents among grunts. So, as per that order l

need to get the first task done.

They gave me a map to roam around here so that I don't get lost. I checked the area where the logistics department is and found it to be closer than expected. I walked in the direction casually, I placed my pokemon egg in the cabin and locked the room so that no one can steal it.

It took me two minutes to reach the area, there was a grunt at the counter who steeped aside the moment he saw the coat I wore. Each Rank has a specific coat arranged so it is easier to distinguish, Captains get a long overcoat that extends till the knee and has a hoodie. It's black with red outlines and has two pockets near the hip.

Noticing my presence the logistics guy immediately greeted me. I had my mask on so he seemed more intimidated than usual,

"Howw...How can I help you, Captain?"

"Nothing, I was promoted to the rank of Captain today so what are the perks I get with the rank?" I asked in a deeper tone.

"Captains get an upgraded fanny bag with 6 great balls. All the things you buy on the Team Rocket black market will have a 10% discount while the things you buy in the base will be of 15% discount," said the fat guy.

"Black market???? When and where will this be?" I immediately asked in confusion.

----------x Chapter End x-----------

Note: This chapter has some info dump, I hope you guys don't mind it. Nothing much happens here but the information provided is crucial.

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