Chapter 151: Team Rocket
Once the brief, tense meeting concluded, the sharp-eyed young man and the city official took their leave. The Head Nurse and her senior assistant also prepared to head towards the main stage; the introductory musical performance had run its course.
"Professor, it's nearly time," The Head Nurse prompted Oak.
Professor Oak, who had remained mostly silent during the short briefing, nodded and rose from his seat. As he moved towards the door, he glanced back at Xiu, a peculiar, almost knowing look in his eyes that Xiu, still mentally processing the implications of potential Team Rocket activity, barely registered.
Xiu followed them out into the slightly less chaotic backstage area, finding a vantage point from which to observe. He watched the Head Nurse step onto the stage to address the crowd, launching into the standard welcoming remarks and platitudes common to such events. 'Meaningless pleasantries,' Xiu thought clinically.
Yet, the crowd responded with surprising fervor, their cheers louder and more sustained for a speech than for the earlier musical acts. It seemed both average citizens and visiting Trainers alike held the Joy Family in high regard. He observed it all with a cool detachment.
Suddenly, Professor Oak appeared beside him, having lingered backstage instead of waiting in the wings. "Remarkable, wouldn't you say?" Oak murmured, a teasing glint in his eyes. "How quickly word spreads. If you hadn't stirred things up at that roadblock, prompting those exaggerated rumors, the officials might never have looked closely enough to find those actual traces. You've done them a great service, in a way."
Xiu shot the Professor an unimpressed look. "I hardly intended for this outcome, Professor. The situation is... concerning."
He quickly shifted from annoyance to genuine worry, his earlier analysis interrupted by Oak's arrival. "How serious is it? Is there a real risk of... significant disruption?" He needed Oak's assessment, having missed the initial part of the briefing.
"Hm, how to put it..." Oak stroked his chin thoughtfully, pausing for dramatic effect. "Well, it seems your little... intervention... created enough noise about 'sabotage' that the authorities felt obligated to investigate thoroughly, despite the source. And during their sweep, they did indeed find a couple of individuals loitering near the roadblock area with confirmed, low-level Team Rocket affiliations. Just grunts, by the sounds of it, but combined with the rampant rumors you helped ignite..." He chuckled softly. "It triggered a high alert. The International Police liaison – that intense young man you saw – is apparently looking into the security company involved now."
"This..." Xiu felt a familiar wave of exasperation at the sheer absurdity of the chain reaction. He'd intended to solve a simple blockage, and inadvertently stumbled into... this. A more pressing concern surfaced. "My involvement back there... It won't lead back to me, will it?"
Oak chuckled again. "So brave inciting a near-riot, yet worried now? Why the sudden caution?"
But Xiu found himself smiling faintly, a dry, humorless expression. "Professor, you seem to forget my current official designation, the vehicle I arrived in, and the fact that you explicitly claimed me as your assistant in that meeting just now."
Oak's teasing expression faltered, replaced by a look of dawning realization, then mild consternation. He cleared his throat. 'Ah. The clown, it seems, is me.' "Well," Oak conceded, recovering quickly, "they lack the manpower and time to thoroughly investigate the origins of the roadblock confrontation itself right now. Their focus is on the Team Rocket angle and maintaining event security. As far as official reports will likely go, it was a spontaneous public disturbance. Extremely chaotic. Hard to pin down specifics." He gave Xiu a reassuring nod. "You were just a concerned citizen caught in the middle, weren't you?"
Xiu felt a measure of relief, though he knew loose ends could still be dangerous. He pressed on, "And the 'famous trainer' whose presence supposedly caused all this?"
"Ah, that." Oak waved a dismissive hand. "The security firm was locally contracted. Plausible deniability. The talent involved likely has layers of management and agents insulating them. These situations rarely touch the stars themselves directly."
"A pity," Xiu murmured, a flicker of genuine disappointment crossing his face. Seeing the entitled disruption go unpunished felt unsatisfying.
"Professor! Professor Oak! You're on next, please be ready!" The Head Nurse's assistant – the same one from the meeting – hurried over, interrupting them.
Oak, however, showed no sign of haste, merely adjusting his collar. He was perfectly accustomed to these appearances. As the nurse finished her remarks and gestured towards the backstage, Oak received his cue and strolled casually onto the stage.
The reaction from the square was instantaneous and overwhelming. A roar went up from the crowd, significantly louder and more passionate than even the cheers for Nurse Joy.
Xiu watched, genuinely taken aback by the sheer scale of the adulation. He knew Oak was famous, a titan in the field of Pokémon research, but the intensity of this reception was beyond what he'd anticipated. 'This level of public goodwill... another useful shield.'
His subtle reaction seemed to catch the attention of The Head Nurse's assistant, who had lingered nearby. She followed his gaze towards the stage, a soft, admiring expression on her face. "Professor Oak truly is a great man," she sighed contentedly.
"Ha," Xiu let out a short, noncommittal sound, echoing dryly, "Yes. Truly great."
The assistant glanced at him, a slight frown creasing her brow. "Is something wrong?" His tone hadn't quite matched her reverence.
"Nothing at all," Xiu replied smoothly, turning to her with a neutral expression. He decided to leverage the moment. "Forgive my manners. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Xiu, Professor Oak's research assistant."
"Oh! Hello!" The assistant seemed slightly flustered but quickly recovered, offering a professional smile. "I'm Joy Sachiko, from the Viridian Pokémon Center. Please, call me Sachiko."
"Sachiko," Xiu nodded, transitioning seamlessly. "How long have you been stationed here in Viridian?"
"About three years now," she replied readily.
"And the festival? What have previous years been like? Any... unusual incidents?"
Sachiko, perhaps disarmed by his polite manner or simply trusting someone associated with Professor Oak, proved surprisingly forthcoming. Xiu guided the conversation subtly, asking about city life, common issues, and the general atmosphere. Within minutes, he had a clearer picture, one that put Oak's earlier explanation and the current backstage meeting into a different context.
According to Sachiko, while Team Rocket did operate in and around Viridian City, their presence was less 'terrorist organization planning grand sabotage' and more 'entrenched organized crime'. They were involved in smuggling, illegal gambling, black market Pokémon trading – notorious, certainly, but a known quantity. Many low-level street trainers, disillusioned youths, or petty criminals were rumored to have connections or be minor members. It wasn't uncommon for local businesses, especially shadier ones like that security firm, to have tangential links or owe favors.
'So, Xiu concluded internally, Team Rocket is a persistent local problem, a background radiation of criminality, not necessarily an imminent existential threat to the city.' This explained the officials' reaction – heightened alert due to the public panic and the potential for escalation during a major event, but not outright cancellation or overwhelming force deployment. The threat level, while real, was likely assessed as manageable based on past experience.
No wonder Oak seemed so casual. He likely understood this local context perfectly. He wasn't just teasing me; he was deliberately letting my outsider's perspective inflate the perceived danger. That familiar irritation surfaced again. This incorrigible old man and his damned mind games...
On stage, Professor Oak, true to his implied promise of brevity, delivered a concise, engaging speech that lasted barely three minutes before concluding to another wave of thunderous applause and making his exit.
Seeing Oak heading back, Xiu politely excused himself from Sachiko. "Professor," he greeted Oak as the older man approached, "ready to make our escape?"
"Indeed," Oak grinned, clearly pleased with his efficient performance and the adoring reception. "We still have research to discuss, don't we? No time to waste on socializing."
He nodded a quick farewell to the nearby staff and headed briskly towards a side exit, Xiu falling into step beside him, outwardly calm, inwardly cataloging the new information and recalculating his assessment of the situation – and of the man walking beside him.