Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 6: Everyone's a Traitor

Asahi was well-prepared. Upon hearing the question, he immediately responded:

"I've reviewed the case file over the past few days and found several discrepancies."

"First is the source of the intel. According to the file, a customs officer at Vermilion Port discovered during a routine inspection that someone was using a cargo ship to smuggle restricted equipment."

"Following this, my former colleague, an International Police officer named Tetsuya, contacted a Team Rocket informant he'd planted. The informant confirmed the cargo was linked to Team Rocket and identified the target of the operation: the Devourer, a freighter owned by Silph Shipping Group."

"On the night of April 17th at 11:00 PM, under the command of the deputy director, 14 International Police officers launched a raid on the Devourer, which was docked at Vermilion Port."

"At 11:15 PM, the team encountered an ambush in the ship's hold. One officer was injured, and a call for backup was sent to headquarters via communicator."

"At 11:20 PM, communication was disrupted, and the team lost contact."

"At midnight, the Devourer experienced a massive explosion. External support personnel reported this incident to the League as an emergency."

"At 12:10 AM, Lt. Surge, the Vermilion City Gym Leader, arrived with reinforcements and secured the scene."

"At around 12:30 AM, the Vermilion City Fire Department arrived and began firefighting and rescue efforts."

"By 1:40 AM, the fire was under control."

"According to Lt. Surge's subsequent report, no survivors or corpses were found during the rescue operation."

As Asahi recited the case file in full, Lance frowned slightly. "What are you trying to say?"

Asahi spread his hands.

"In simple terms, I suspect there's a traitor in our ranks!"

"What!?"

---

To be honest, before seeing the case file, Asahi had fully intended to slack off.

After all, from his perspective, the disappearance of his former colleagues and superior could easily have been due to some unavoidable misfortune. Sending him to investigate would likely lead to the same outcome.

But after reading the file, he was stunned.

The entire case reeked of suspicion from start to finish.

How could an ordinary customs officer detect the smuggling operation of a professional criminal organization like Team Rocket?

Why was the informant allegedly planted by the International Police missing from the informant database?

And most baffling of all—why would his former superior bring the entire department's manpower to such a dangerous operation, leaving no one behind?

It was riddled with flaws!

Honestly, from the customs officer providing the tip-off, to the colleague gathering intelligence through the informant, to the superior recklessly leading the team into a trap—every single person involved looked like a traitor.

Each step of the operation was perfectly orchestrated. If even one link in the chain had failed, Team Rocket wouldn't have been able to annihilate the Kanto branch of the International Police so thoroughly.

But somehow, everything fell perfectly into place, as if everyone was collaborating with Team Rocket. It was absurd.

"Damn it, is this League even salvageable? Has the Kanto branch of the International Police been infiltrated so thoroughly it's like a sieve?"

Utter despair.

Even though Asahi wanted to slack off, he had no choice but to bring this up to Lance.

Otherwise, one day he might wake up to find the Pokémon League replaced by the Team Rocket League.

After Asahi presented his perspective to Lance, the latter fell silent, clearly shocked by Asahi's words.

Recently, Lance had been busy vying for the position of Indigo League Champion, leaving little energy for his "part-time" role with the International Police.

Who would've thought such significant issues were lurking beneath the surface?

Now that Asahi had pointed it out, Lance glanced back at the report in his hand… it was truly alarming.

How had he not noticed before that the League was so deeply infiltrated by Team Rocket?

"Phew…"

Lance took a deep breath, then looked up with a solemn expression. "Thanks to you, Asahi. Otherwise, who knows how much longer I would've been kept in the dark?"

Although he had only temporarily taken over the Kanto branch after the incident, if Asahi hadn't given him this heads-up, he would undoubtedly bear some responsibility should anything go wrong in the future.

Asahi, however, wasn't one to take credit for himself:

"There's no need for me to say anything. Eventually, the League's Strategic Analysis Department or the International Police's headquarters investigators would've discovered these problems. I just brought it to light a bit earlier."

"What I really want to discuss is something else entirely."

Lance: "?"

This wasn't the critical issue? Was there something even more concerning?

Even Lance couldn't help but feel a tinge of unease.

But what's already happened won't change due to anyone's will.

"It's about Lt. Surge from Vermilion Gym. Lance, don't you think the timing of his arrival at the scene was a bit… peculiar?" Asahi asked.

"Timing?"

Lance flipped through the dossier in his hands and indeed noticed something suspicious.

"The explosion occurred precisely at midnight, yet Lt. Surge of Vermilion Gym managed to organize his team and arrive at the scene within ten minutes! Keep in mind, most people were already asleep at that hour."

"I looked up a map of Vermilion City. The straight-line distance between the Gym and the port exceeds ten kilometers."

"Ten minutes—to wake up, assemble his team, and then sprint over ten kilometers to the scene…" Asahi shook his head as he spoke. "It's just too implausible."

"Which is why I have good reason to suspect that Lt. Surge knew about the operation in advance. He might even be one of the masterminds behind the ambush on the investigation team."

Admittedly, Asahi's suspicion was bold, but it was also highly persuasive.

This International Police operation was conducted under the highest confidentiality. As a Gym Leader, Lt. Surge shouldn't have had any knowledge of it. Yet, under such circumstances, he still managed to lead his team to the scene within ten minutes of the explosion. It was deeply problematic!

Lance pondered for a long while before finally shaking his head reluctantly.

"Although you make a lot of sense, I can't just accuse a Gym Leader who has served the League for nearly a decade based on your speculation alone."

As an Elite Four member, Lance had to consider political factors.

Within the Pokémon League's organizational structure, besides the large number of grassroots personnel and the Champions and Elite Four at the top, Gym Leaders in each city were undoubtedly the backbone of the League.

They were often individuals with substantial strength, wealth, or influence in their local areas.

Gym Leaders were responsible for maintaining public order, organizing large-scale events, and attracting visiting trainers to stimulate the local economy and inject vitality into the city.

Although the League had the authority to remove them through annual evaluations, the longstanding neglect of Cerulean Gym was proof enough that this rule was more for show.

It was exceedingly difficult for the League to manage Gym Leaders with strong local influence, at least in the current Kanto region.

Especially without solid evidence!

"In any case, I'm sorry." Lance apologized sincerely.

Asahi wasn't surprised by Lance's response.

To be honest, if he didn't know the storyline, he wouldn't dare suspect a Gym Leader of colluding with Team Rocket within just one month of joining the International Police.

After all, Lt. Surge had covered his tracks exceptionally well. Aside from this barely noticeable "flaw," he had left no incriminating evidence behind.

But as always, Asahi knew the plot.

Lt. Surge?

Heh, he was one of Team Rocket's three top executives.

The reason Asahi brought him up wasn't to topple him immediately.

He just wanted to plant a seed of suspicion in Lance's mind.

So when Lt. Surge's true identity was eventually exposed, Lance would remember it was Asahi who first doubted him.

Of course, Asahi didn't let this intention show on his face. Instead, he acted visibly disheartened.

His fists clenched and then loosened, his gaze wavering for a long time before he finally sighed heavily, as though his spirit had been crushed. "I understand."

If a perfect score was 100, Asahi felt he deserved a solid 99 for his performance.

"Now that I've warned Lance, maybe Team Rocket will tone down their activities for a while. This way, I can go back to slacking off happily."

With that thought, Asahi was quite satisfied with his performance this time.

Next, he planned to see if he could slack off for thirty consecutive days and unlock a higher-level title in the system, like "Slack-Off Sage."

However, lost in his daydream, Asahi failed to notice the hesitation on Lance's face.

Unlike Asahi, who prided himself on being a professional slacker, Lance viewed him as a young man with a strong sense of justice and exceptional abilities.

Whether it was arresting over a thousand poachers in just two and a half years, or uncovering such critical information within a month of joining the International Police, Asahi had proven his worth.

Now, seeing someone like him struggling due to League protocols, Lance couldn't bear it.

How could they so cruelly crush a young person's sense of justice?

After much hesitation, Lance seemed to make a significant decision. He took a deep breath, his eyes resolute, and said to Asahi:

"I can see the justice and frustration in your heart. Here's what we'll do: while I can't formally authorize an investigation against Lt. Surge without evidence, I can grant you permission to conduct a covert investigation."

"This might be a tough process, but for the sake of the League, I'm counting on you."

"Uh… what?" Asahi snapped out of his thoughts, staring at Lance in disbelief.

You're kidding, right? You're actually making me investigate him?

To Lance, Asahi's astonishment looked like joy.

Lance smiled. "Even if this isn't entirely in line with League protocols, flexibility is necessary during execution! Go ahead with your investigation—I'll take full responsibility for the consequences."

"This…"

Asahi froze. He hadn't expected Lance to take the pressure for him. Such a boss was rare indeed—he was truly… moved? Not at all!

At that moment, Asahi had only one thought:

[My acting was too good—it backfired!]

For a brief moment, Asahi could almost see his easygoing days of slacking off waving goodbye to him.