The Drum Island was also one of the member nations of the World Government.
Therefore, Rosse's arrival was warmly welcomed by the locals.
The Drum Island even summoned all doctors and medical contributions from across the country, just to fulfill Rosse's request.
"Your Highness, the doctors and medical contributions you requested have all been gathered in the capital. Only Dr. Kureha hasn't responded to my invitation. Should I issue a compulsory order under your name?"
Drum Island King Wapol stood before Rosse, his head slightly lowered to show his respect.
"Since Dr. Kureha doesn't want to come, just forget it. King Wapol, summoning all the doctors like this won't cause some sort of chaos, will it?"
Dr. Kureha was the best doctor on Drum Island, also a 120-year-old monster.
Weirdos always had weird tempers, Rosse didn't really care whether she came or not.
Just the doctors and medical texts Wapol summoned were enough for Stella and Sora to study for a long time.
Besides, time was limited, he couldn't stay on Drum Island for long.
It was already the year 1501. If he went to the Goa Kingdom too late, his prey might escape.
"To be honest with Your Highness, summoning the doctors did cause a small bit of trouble," Wapol was a slick king. He had already attended the Reverie in the Holy Land over four times and had seen too many Celestial Dragons.
The Drum Island was a member nation, and Celestial Dragons wouldn't cause trouble for them without reason. Now that he was following Rosse's request, he naturally didn't want to shoulder any trouble.
"What kind of trouble?", Rosse looked at him with a half-smile, knowing Wapol wanted his help with something.
But since he took the people and books, he didn't mind helping with a little thing.
"The queen of Alabasta is recuperating in the Drum Island. We might not be able to provide her with medical assistance."
Wapol's meaning was straightforward, he didn't want to offend Alabasta and wanted Rosse to help deal with the issue.
"That's simple. Just send the queen to my residence, my doctors will handle her medical issues," Rosse smiled as he agreed, thinking it was nothing serious.
If he remembered correctly, the current king of Alabasta was Cobra, who had only recently married. The queen's name was Titi, a rather timid woman.
He had originally been torn about whether to go to Alabasta, but since the queen of Alabasta was already here, there was no need to go there now.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for aiding Queen Nefertari," After finishing the matter, Wapol quickly took his leave.
He didn't know what the queen of Alabasta would go through here with Rosse, nor did he want to know.
She was someone Rosse requested, once delivered, it had nothing to do with him anymore.
"How dare you treat the queen with such disrespect! Alabasta will sever diplomatic ties with the Drum Island!"
That evening after dinner, Rosse heard some unpleasant noises outside.
Rosse didn't even pause his steps, only gave Gion a glance.
Sora and Stella were both studying, with Zephyr responsible for their safety, so now only Gion was following him.
Gion nodded slightly, her figure darting out and disappearing.
After about 15 minutes, while Rosse was waiting in the parlor, he heard a knock at the door from outside.
"Come in," Rosse sat on the sofa, looking at the door Gion opened.
Under Gion's lead, royal guard Igaram steadily pushed the wheelchair of Cobra D. Titi, stepping into the parlor at an unhurried pace.
Rosse directly ignored the tall and muscular Igaram. A D-rank level wasn't even worth his attention.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Cobra D. Titi]
[Overall Rating: E-rank]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Another E-rank.
Rosse's gaze was quickly drawn to Queen Titi on the wheelchair.
Queen Titi had deep blue hair that gently draped over her shoulders. Her complexion was fair as jade, but her expression carried traces of timidity, like a startled fawn, her eyes filled with cautiousness as they moved.
Just as the intel said, she was a timid woman.
Rosse's gaze shifted downward slightly.
Even though Queen Titi wore thick and warm clothing, her graceful figure was still faintly visible, slender waist, long legs, elegant posture, all highlighting her outstanding physique.
No wonder Cobra, as ugly as he was, could have a daughter like Vivi. Vivi at least shared 90% resemblance with Queen Titi.
"Your Highness!"
Rosse ignored Igaram, but that didn't mean Igaram could ignore Rosse.
Noticing Rosse's gaze, Igaram stepped forward, his large body shielding Queen Titi, bowing respectfully to Rosse.
"And you are?", Rosse narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a deliberately confused tone.
Alabasta was a massive country in the first half of the Grand Line, occupying a very important geographical position. Its ancestors were one of the Twenty Kings, and it was the only one that gave up Celestial Dragon status and returned to their ancestral land.
However, Rosse had heard some rumors. Supposedly the queen of Alabasta back then never actually returned, and it was her brother who was the first ruler of Alabasta.
There were even rumors that the queen of Alabasta back then was the one sitting on the highest throne of the World Government.
Whichever was true, it proved Alabasta's special status.
So from the beginning, Rosse never intended to let Alabasta off the hook.
Openly dealing with a member nation wasn't appropriate, but covert methods were endless.
"Your Highness! I am Igaram, royal guard of Alabasta, ordered to protect Queen Titi."
Igaram introduced himself formally, standing upright. That calm and unyielding demeanor seemed to showcase the dignity of Alabasta.
"You are neither the king nor the prince of Alabasta. Then who gave you the right to speak to me while standing?", Rosse's gaze casually fell on Igaram, without even a trace of Conqueror's Haki, it was simply a spoiled Celestial Dragon expressing dissatisfaction.
Alabasta was going to be a bit of a hassle.
If it were just an ordinary member nation, he would've acted already.
But playing things differently could always bring different fun.
Clang!
At Rosse's words, Gion's Kinpira was already unsheathed, the blade resting against Igaram's neck, as if the slightest wrong word would result in immediate execution.
"Your Highness, before leaving, King Cobra authorized me to represent Alabasta. Legally speaking, Alabasta is not your vassal, so I don't need to kneel to speak with you," Igaram frowned slightly, but still stood in front of Rosse.
He didn't know what Rosse intended to do, but he could feel the danger from him.
He wasn't a stubborn fool, but right now, with Queen Titi behind him, he couldn't back down.
If he did, he would betray Cobra's trust.
Half an hour later, Axel looked up at the restaurant sign in front of him bearing a Poké Ball logo and began to question his life.
"Little Blue, is this what you meant by cooking?"
After Ho-Oh entered the Poké Ball, Little Blue also became emboldened.
Hands on her hips, she looked like she didn't care whether he ate or not, "Isn't it fine as long as I don't make you cook yourself? Why do you care how I get the food?"
Axel: "..."
Alright, he accepted it.
He couldn't win an argument with Little Blue anyway, after all, she had two mouths.
Except for the little loli, because Axel could shut the little loli's mouth.
"I want one portion of braised abalone, one deep-sea fish, one Stargazer Pie, one...", Little Blue randomly pointed at the menu, only looking at the expensive ones, not the suitable ones.
Because in this world with Pokémon, all wild ingredients were especially rare, almost on par with Pokémon food.
Axel clutched his wallet tightly, "Little Blue, are you an employee of the Silph Company?"
"Huh?", Little Blue blinked, not understanding what Axel meant.
"If you're not a plant, why are you ordering so many dishes?"
Little Blue said as if it were obvious, "The prices here are all doubled. Even if I win and eat for free, it still doesn't feel worth it."
"I have to order more to teach those damn capitalists a lesson!"
"You're not afraid of losing?"
Little Blue stood up, suddenly putting on a coquettish act, gently shaking Axel's arm.
"Of course I'm afraid of losing, but you have Ho-Oh!"
Axel calmly withdrew his arm, "That's true, I have Ho-Oh anyway. If you can't beat them, I'll just run."
Little Blue: "???"
'Wait, are all Gardevoir trainers like this?'
'Bastard!'
Very soon, the dishes were served, and Axel began eating without any mental burden.
Gotta admit, all the ingredients raised in this world were incredibly fresh and delicious, even simple cooking produced amazing flavor.
Soon, the time came to 8 PM. A girl wearing a fiery red dress took two small flags and walked onto the restaurant's central stage.
This woman wasn't exactly stunning, but her figure was explosive.
Slightly less than Little Blue without her concealed Poké Balls.
Emmm... barely met the appetite-enhancing standard.
Seeing Axel's gaze fall on the server girl, Little Blue gritted her teeth hard.
'Damn it, is your beautiful girl Little Blue not even as pretty as that server?'
'If you just treated me a little better, I could become a star for you to see!'
"Good evening, dear guests, it's now 8 PM, and our battle restaurant's featured program is about to begin."
"Here, you can enjoy passionate and dazzling Pokémon battles while you dine."
"Win one match, and tonight's meal is on the house."
"Win three matches in a row, and we'll also offer a one-day stay at our mountaintop villa!'
'Is anyone signing up for the battle?"
Little Blue, puffed with anger, took a few bites, slammed her chopsticks down, and brought her Wartortle up to the stage.
"I'll be the defender!"
Seeing someone come up, the server stepped back and automatically gave up the center spot.
The stage was now Little Blue's, along with the next challenger.
"We already have a defender. This beautiful lady's Pokémon is a Wartortle."
"Is anyone else coming up?"
"If not, our restaurant staff will battle this lovely lady."
There was a wave of murmurs from the audience.
As one of the starter Pokémon, Wartortle was already quite powerful.
However, the deeper it got in the battle restaurant, the tougher the opponents that came on stage.
What if her Wartortle just evolved recently?
With that thought, many trainers began getting eager.
Axel was observing the trainers below when he suddenly heard the "di di di" sound of his phone.
"Who's sending messages at this time?"
Axel blinked and took out his phone, skillfully opening the app.
[Aunt Delia: Axel, I heard you met Ash?]
[Ash said you helped him improve his strength a lot!]
[Before you leave, you must come visit Auntie in Pallet Town, okay? I really want to thank you in person.]
[Photo:(Aunt Delia's Baked Sausages with Cream)]
Seeing the food in the photo, Axel swallowed hard.
Was Aunt Delia's cooking always this generous?
She sprinkled so much cream, it was practically covering her clothes.
Axel admired it for a bit, decisively saved the photo, then fiercely deleted the chat record.
"I got it, Auntie Delia, I'll definitely come visit before I leave!"
[Aunt Delia: Come attack my door?]
"Ahem... typo, I meant pay a visit."
[Aunt Delia: Alright then, but I heard you went to Mt. Moon?]
[If I remember correctly, Red was also at Mt. Moon yesterday. Maybe you two can meet up.]
[Make sure to get along well!]
"Got it, Auntie Delia!"
After chatting with Aunt Delia for a while, since he already had his phone out, Axel figured he might as well check in with the little loli too.
When the call connected, Axel saw that the little loli had just finished bathing and was lying on the bed playing with a tablet while holding a Smoliv.
But unlike usual, the little loli had a serious look in her eyes now, completely different from her usual unserious attitude.
She didn't even realize she wasn't wearing clothes.
"Rotom, activate anti-peeping mode," After instructing Rotom, Axel slowly began enjoying the spring scenery on screen.
He waited quite a while before the little loli finished her task.
["Humph~ Dead Axel, you haven't called me in days!"]
Axel stared without blinking, "If I knew you were giving out such high-level benefits, I'd call you every day."
["What benefits? I haven't even finished my research yet. I've only just reached the entry level, okay?"]
"Don't belittle yourself, they're already quite big."
The little loli blinked, feeling that something was off with Axel today.
But on screen, she couldn't see anything weird about him.
His gaze was clear, no mischievous smile, and he even looked a bit more handsome than before.
Aside from showing a bit more admiration, everything else was normal.
Holding onto her researcher's mindset, the little loli practically pressed her eyes against the screen.
Watching this, Axel was heartbroken.
'Don't get so close, having a little distance is nice...'
Just as he was thinking about how to coax the little loli back, he suddenly heard her confused voice.
["Huh, Axel, how come that girl behind you is wearing the same clothes as my mom?"]
["Is that R-logo outfit really popular in Kanto?"]
Axel froze for a moment.
'Same clothes, R-logo?'
'Isn't that Team Rocket?'
After hearing the little loli's words, Axel decisively multitasked.
On one hand, he turned down the volume on his phone, continued chatting with the little loli, and took the opportunity to admire the artwork.
On the other hand, he released his psychic power to listen in on the conversation at the Rocket Team's table behind him.
"Second Uncle, let's make a move. That Wartortle looks pretty good to catch."
"And that guy in front's Gardevoir is super pretty too, definitely worth a lot of money!"
"Move your sister," The person called Second Uncle smacked his companion hard.
"Have you gone dumb from staying in Team Rocket?"
"We're all low-level members. We might not even be able to beat that Wartortle, and you want to take on a Gardevoir?"
"Sit your butt down and eat your noodles. Catching Pokémon can wait until Lord Apollo comes tomorrow!"
"And flip that shirt with the organization's symbol inside out. You really think nobody recognizes Team Rocket?"
After hearing their conversation, Axel blinked.
'Team Rocket's Apollo is coming to Mt. Moon too?'
Axel knew a bit about this man.
He's the one in Team Rocket who most resembles Giovanni.
Giovanni has ideals, can take a loss, and is also super decisive when doing bad things.
Apollo, on the other hand, looks like a gentleman on the surface but is rotten to the core.
Among the three executives, the worst is Apollo, the cruelest is Lance, and the weakest is Ariana.
Just as Axel was hesitating whether to inform Daisy about this, Gardevoir's eyes suddenly lit up.
She remembered the details about Mt. Moon.
In her past life, when she came to Mt. Moon, she happened to run into Kanto's Team Rocket causing trouble.
And the one leading them was one of the three Rocket executives—
Apollo.
In that battle, Apollo brought a Gym Leader-level Houndoom and a bunch of Rocket members who used special containers to steal the moon power triggered by the Clefairies.
Apparently, it was to store it for biological experiments to study multi-type Pokémon.
In that battle, nearly half of the trainers on Mt. Moon died.
In the end, it was Daisy who contacted Professor Oak in time, and had that Dragonite come and sweep through Team Rocket, barely allowing the Clefairies to complete the ceremony.
And that Dragonite, because it saved the ceremony on Mt. Moon, received the moon's blessing.
It gained power that was fearless of Fairy-types.
Gardevoir compared her own trainer's current combat power.
This time, it seemed this opportunity might fall into her trainer's hands.
Just right too, her trainer had just tamed a little pink Dragonair, super cute, so let it absorb the moonlight.
Besides that, if the plan went well, they could probably catch a few Team Rocket executives while they were at it.
The more Gardevoir thought, the more excited she became.
["Master... I'm heading out to buy some fried skewers... want any?"]
"With all this food, why go buy fried skewers?"
["Oh... Master's eating? Then I'll go buy for you..."]
A nearly uncontrollable gleam of killing intent flashed in Gardevoir's eyes. A spatial ripple flashed by, and she and the two Team Rocket members behind her all disappeared.
Axel: "???"
'You go buy your food, fine, but why take the two Rocket guys with you?'
Axel hurriedly took out Mewtwo's Poké Ball and quietly released it.
"Mewtwo, please go protect Gardevoir. She just left with some Rocket guys."
["Okay!"], A majestic voice echoed.
Before Mewtwo fully emerged from the Poké Ball, it already used Teleport to pursue Gardevoir's direction.
The two Rocket members hadn't reacted yet when they suddenly felt a burst of red light explode in their chests.
The psychic force slammed into them like a giant hammer, directly making both of them vomit blood.
"Second Uncle" was briefly stunned and immediately tried to release his own Poké Ball.
Gardevoir's lips curled with mockery, and a red gleam appeared in her eyes again.
Before "Second Uncle" could react, he was already falling down the mountain.
The other Rocket member was completely dazed.
If he wasn't mistaken, he looked like he'd run into a villain?
But if he remembered correctly, weren't they the villains?
Very confused...
Mewtwo, who had just caught up, was also stunned, why did things escalate to murder so fast?
["Gardevoir... what's going on?"]
Gardevoir's cold voice rang out in Mewtwo and the surviving man's minds:
["Team Rocket... deserves to die!"]
'Oh, turns out it's Team Rocket. No wonder...'
Just as Mewtwo was halfway through processing things in his head, something suddenly felt off.
'Even if they're Team Rocket, you can't just kill them directly, right?'
["Gardevoir, calm down."]
["Can't calm down."]
["What if there are good people in Team Rocket? They also have the right to pursue the meaning of life."]
Gardevoir's face was icy, ["Their meaning is to die by my hand."]
Mewtwo: "???"
'You're the real emotionless killer here, aren't you?'
'Axel, Axel, hurry and bring your cartoons so Gardevoir can watch an episode!'
Seeing Gardevoir's behavior, Mewtwo suddenly realized Axel was right.
Turns out he was the one with the guardian personality.
He's just not cut out to be a killer.
["You came here to kill the Rockets who abused you too?"]
Gardevoir's voice was cold, her expression like an iceberg, ["If that's the case, then I'll leave this one for you to kill."]
["But before killing, I need him to make a call to Apollo."]
Mewtwo was stunned again. As a newly conscious Pokémon, he was like a blank slate.
Even though the process of his creation had fighting intent instilled in him, there was also a trace of the World Tree's genes in his body, he wasn't inherently violent.
Now seeing Gardevoir like this, he really felt she was a bit too cold and heartless...
["I think you should go back and watch a cartoon episode..."]
Gardevoir nodded, ["After I kill this Rocket member, I'll go back and watch cartoons with you."]
Mewtwo: "..."
'I don't think I need to watch anymore!'
Axel would never have dreamed that the problem he'd racked his brain over, how to educate Mewtwo, got solved just like that by Gardevoir.
Hearing the two Pokémon's unfiltered telepathy, the surviving Rocket member was even more mentally broken.
He couldn't understand why this Gardevoir wanted him to cooperate one moment, and kill him the next.
Did he really look that easy to bully?
["I refuse!"]
Gardevoir's lips curled slightly as she looked at Mewtwo.
["Just in time... this Rocket guy now has a new use."]
["Let me teach you... how to destroy someone's heart with psychic power."]
Seeing Gardevoir say such vicious words with a beautiful smile, Mewtwo was stunned again.
Then, screams of agony echoed throughout the valley.
In the end, the Rocket member finally sighed in relief before dying, looking at Gardevoir with lingering fear.
He couldn't wait to dial a call, "Lord Apollo, the trainers and Pokémon here are very strong, better bring help when you come harvest!"