The moment August spoke, the prosecutor—who had just regained consciousness—immediately showed a grateful expression.
“Thank you so much for your help, Pryce!”
According to what August had said, if not for Pryce, he would have been captured by Team Rocket.
Pryce humbly waved it off as a small matter.
“But why did you get captured in the first place?” August asked.
At this, the prosecutor gave a bitter smile. “I was just studying Slowpoke near Slowpoke Well. I never expected Petrel to show up there.”
It was pure bad luck.
While waiting for August to rendezvous with him, he had noticed Team Rocket trying to capture Slowpoke. Thinking it was a good opportunity, he attempted to arrest them—only to realize too late that Petrel had been hiding among the regular grunts in disguise.
Normally, a squad leader would be more than enough for an operation like this. Why would a high-ranking executive like Petrel personally oversee something so minor?!
Hearing the prosecutor’s explanation, August narrowed his eyes. He could sense an opportunity to stir up trouble.
So…
“Actually, I might know why Petrel was here… but I’m not sure if the information is reliable.” August put on a hesitant expression.
Both Pryce and the prosecutor immediately turned their attention to him.
Especially Pryce—lately, the Masked Army had been at war with Team Rocket, making any intel on them particularly valuable.
“I should clarify—I don’t know if this is true,” August continued, deliberately drawing out his words. “But rumor has it that the Masked Army’s leader kidnapped Giovanni’s long-lost son. So now, Team Rocket is mobilizing everyone they have to go after them.”
“Maybe Petrel was sent to track down the Masked Army, and you just happened to get caught in the crossfire,” August added, looking at the prosecutor sympathetically.
The two had very different reactions to this claim.
The prosecutor looked completely unconvinced. Giovanni was Team Rocket’s boss, sure, but his son getting kidnapped? That was ridiculous—there was no way it could be true.
It had to be fake news!
Pryce, on the other hand, looked unconvinced—but only he knew how deeply unsettled he actually was.
Because he really had captured Giovanni’s son—Silver.
Now, Pryce finally understood why Team Rocket had been relentlessly coming after him.
But there was nothing he could do to resolve the situation.
If Silver were still in his custody, he could have used him to threaten Giovanni.
But Silver had already escaped long ago.
With Team Rocket actively waging war against him, it was clear their goal was to get Giovanni’s son back. But he had no way of producing Silver, so conflict was now inevitable.
What a mess.
Realizing the storm that was about to come, Pryce could no longer sit still.
Finding an excuse, he quickly left the scene to return to his Gym and prepare for Team Rocket’s retaliation.
Now, only August and the confused prosecutor remained.
Pryce just… left?
August, however, knew exactly why Pryce had taken off so quickly.
Telling Pryce about this?
It wasn’t for any real reason—just to fan the flames.
The conflict between the Masked Army and Team Rocket had been way too tame for August to take advantage of. Since he couldn’t fish in muddy waters, he had to stir the waters himself!
Just as the prosecutor was about to speak, August—after confirming Pryce was gone—took out a Poké Ball.
With a slight smile, he handed it over. “Your Arcanine.”
The prosecutor froze, his eyes widening the moment he recognized the Poké Ball. “You’re…?”
“Shhh.”
August pressed a finger to his lips. “Keep it a secret.”
Since the prosecutor had been captured by Team Rocket and yet had never mentioned anything about his rendezvous, it meant he was trustworthy. So August decided to reveal his hidden identity to him.
Not his real identity, of course.
The prosecutor nodded repeatedly.
As one of Lance’s trusted subordinates, he had the basic professionalism to keep such things confidential.
Now, he also understood why August had access to such classified information about Team Rocket.
At the same time, he was touched—August had actually tracked him down and rescued him.
It made him realize that August must have been downplaying his contributions earlier when he credited Pryce for everything.
“My codename is ‘Hoothoot.’ Here’s my contact information—if you ever need help, just reach out!”
Hoothoot…?
Hearing the alias, August suddenly felt like this guy would fit right in with the Kanto division of Interpol.
Tucking away the contact card, August nodded. He still had reservations about Johto’s branch of Interpol, but having at least one trustworthy contact would be useful.
“You handle these Team Rocket grunts—I’ll take care of the Slowpoke.”
With that, August activated his [Viridian Power] to soothe the Slowpoke trapped in their cages…
Or, well, tried to.
Because these guys didn’t seem to realize they had been captured at all. Even while locked up, they remained as blissfully carefree as ever.
Seeing this, August sighed.
With a mindset like that, it’s no wonder you guys keep getting targeted.
So, as he led the Slowpoke back, he also released his own Slowpoke, instructing it to give them a safety awareness lesson—hopefully making them a little less prone to getting captured in the future.
Meanwhile, August was chatting with Mewtwo.
“That Swinub was really strong.” Mewtwo commented.
Ever since mastering [Mega Evolution], Mewtwo had been feeling a bit… overconfident. But after witnessing Pryce’s Swinub in action, it realized just how much it didn’t know.
Even a Swinub had the ability to threaten it.
This world is way too dangerous.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” August reassured it. “That Swinub is a special case—not every Pokémon is that strong.”
Not every Swinub is Pryce’s Swinub…
While that was true, Mewtwo was right about one thing—the world really was a dangerous place.
It was full of lunatics trying to destroy it.
Compared to them, Giovanni—who only wanted to expand his influence—and Pryce—who simply wanted to travel through time to save his Pokémon—actually seemed… reasonable.
Being an Interpol agent tasked with keeping the world at peace was way too difficult.
August sighed and turned to Mewtwo and Gardevoir. “Alright, let’s drop off these Slowpoke at Slowpoke Well—then go find Silver.”
Hearing this, the Slowpoke collectively sighed in relief.
Finally! They could go home and relax in their cozy little den.
But their happiness didn’t last long.
Because August suddenly turned to look at them, a devilish smile on his face.
“I’ve already planned out your training regimen. Gengar will be supervising you.”
The moment he finished speaking, a sinister chuckle echoed through the air.
From the shadows beneath the Slowpoke, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
“…Slow…”
It wanted to go back to the wild Pokémon reserve!
—
This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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