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New Bark Town – "The Town Where Winds of a New Beginning Blow."
If Pallet Town was a quiet, peaceful village, then New Bark Town was practically a small city in comparison!
In the games, it was depicted as a remote, sparsely populated town but now that Kai was standing in it for real, he realized that it was far larger and more developed than Pallet Town.
The town had numerous high-rise buildings, shopping centres, schools, hospitals, and even an amusement park were all present.
In fact, the Johto Pokémon League had even built a Pokémon Center here to support new trainers starting their journeys.
However, much like Cherrygrove City, New Bark Town still maintained a slow and relaxed atmosphere.
The streets were quiet, and the residents moved at an unhurried pace, fully embracing the laid-back lifestyle.
...
As the two of them walked into the town centre, Sabrina still seemed bothered by something.
She gave Kai a side glance and remarked coolly.
"I've noticed something… Whether it's Misty, Chole from Professor Cerise's lab, Melody from the Orange Islands, or even that girl from earlier, you always seem especially friendly toward cute girls. You wouldn't happen to have… a particular preference, would you?"
Kai froze on the spot.
A chill ran down his spine.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!!!
"W-Wait, wait, wait—don't say stuff like that!" He could feel cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"I treat them all like friends or maybe like younger sisters, that's all! There's nothing inappropriate going on. Besides, didn't you notice how well I take care of Ash too? It's just called mentoring the next generation!"
Sabrina stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable.
"Is that so? I was just casually asking, but you seem awfully nervous about it."
"Haha...Nervous? Me? Ha! What nonsense! I'm just saying, if someone overheard this conversation, they might actually think I'm some kind of creep!"
Luckily, Sabrina didn't push the issue further, allowing Kai to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
However, he couldn't shake the feeling that she had asked something similar before…
"Maybe I've been acting a bit too reckless lately? Did Sabrina pick up on something?"
Kai made a mental note to be more careful he had no desire to awaken a psychic's sixth sense on matters like this.
To steer the conversation elsewhere, Kai pulled out his phone and called Looker again.
This time, they agreed to meet at a café.
With the help of navigation, Kai and Sabrina quickly found the place.
The café was small and tucked into a street corner.
It was already getting late, but since it wasn't quite dinnertime yet, there weren't many customers inside.
As soon as Kai walked in, his eyes immediately locked onto Looker.
Hunched over in a corner booth, looking as suspicious as ever.
Looker's Terrible Disguise
Looker was wearing his usual trench coat, but now a pair of oversized sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat covered most of his face.
If the café weren't empty, Kai probably wouldn't have recognized him.
Kai casually sat down across from him, eyebrows raised.
"Yo. Long time no see. What's with the spy getup? Someone after you?"
Looker quickly shushed him, taking off his glasses and revealing his perpetually tired-looking face.
"Keep it down! I'm not being followed I'm following someone else!"
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Following someone? Come on, dude… With a disguise that obvious, wouldn't you get caught immediately?"
Looker sighed dramatically.
"Not my fault! My face is on Team Rocket's wanted list. If I go out without a disguise, every single grunt would recognize me instantly!"
At this moment, Looker finally noticed Sabrina and gave her a nod of greeting.
But before Kai could say anything else, Looker suddenly smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at him.
A silent message between men.
"Heh, so you really got together with Sabrina, huh?"
Kai glanced at Sabrina, then returned Looker's smirk with one of his own.
"Of course. What can I say? My charm is just too powerful."
Looker scoffed.
"Tch! I never realized you were this shameless!"
"You wouldn't understand, old man. You're still single."
The unspoken exchange between them lasted mere seconds but it was enough for them to fully communicate.
Unfortunately, Sabrina wasn't fooled.
She narrowed her suspicious eyes, sensing that the two were up to something.
But before she could call them out, Kai quickly cleared his throat and redirected the conversation.
"Ahem! So, Looker let's get back to business. Who exactly are you following?"
Looker pointed outside the café window.
"Take a look."
Kai followed his gaze to a restaurant across the street.
Inside, a man with his back turned to them was eating alone. He wore a tight black shirt, paired with dark jeans.
But the most striking feature?
A head of deep red, semi-long hair.
"Who is he?" Kai asked.
Looker lowered his voice.
"He's Giovanni's son."
Sabrina's eyes widened in shock.
"Giovanni has a son?!"
Despite knowing Giovanni for years as a fellow Gym Leader, she had never once heard of him having a child.
Kai, on the other hand, already knew.
"So it's Silver!"
Looker smirked.
"Surprised? We only recently found out about his existence. That sneaky bastard Giovanni sure knows how to keep secrets!"
Kai took a moment to process the situation, then asked—
"So… you're tracking him to find Team Rocket's hideout?"
Looker nodded.
"Exactly. His name is Silver, and I'm hoping to use him to track down Giovanni. I also don't trust why he's here in New Bark Town there's gotta be a reason!"
Kai sighed internally.
"Looker's going to be disappointed…"
The truth was—
Silver hated Team Rocket.
He despised Giovanni's disappearance, rejected his father's legacy, and wanted nothing to do with Team Rocket.
In fact, Silver had been working alone, becoming stronger on his own.
Of course, Kai couldn't just reveal this information to Looker.
Instead, he was curious to see—
"What exactly is Silver doing here?"
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