"Does being new or not really matter?"
Ye Feng smiled slightly and put the green badge into his pocket.
"Since I have the badge, I'll be going now."
Ye Feng stood up and was about to leave the Viridian Gym.
Giovanni stared at his retreating back for a long time.
"Is it Johto? Hoenn?"
Giovanni began to wonder if this guy was a trainer from another region.
However, there was no one famous from other regions that seemed to fit.
And this person's strength was too great!
Although the strength he had just displayed was not his true level, his Beedrill had been brought out!
Yet, it was still defeated without any ability to fight back?!
Finally, Giovanni made a decision.
He called out to Ye Feng.
"Hey, have you heard of Team Rocket?"
Hearing this, Ye Feng turned around.
"Team Rocket? Of course, I've heard of it."
"Aren't you their boss?"
Giovanni: "???"
Giovanni was completely stunned this time.
If the strength his Pikachu had shown earlier had shocked him, then these words had shocked him to his mother's mother and his grandmother's house.
His identity as the boss of Team Rocket had actually been exposed?
Wait a minute!
Although this identity was little known, some people did know.
Besides his subordinates in Team Rocket, even the top brass of the league didn't know, otherwise, he could still continue to be a gym leader without any issues?!
So, how did he know?!
Was he trying to trick him?
No, it didn't seem like it.
"No matter how you found out my true identity, I read the same thing in your eyes as I have."
"That is ambition."
"Do you want to join my Team Rocket?"
Giovanni directly extended an olive branch.
He had originally planned to take things slowly, but since Ye Feng already knew his identity, there was nothing to hesitate about.
Team Rocket was not a small organization.
It was a super transnational conglomerate spanning two major regions, Kanto and Johto.
Its scale was vast, and it operated in both legitimate and illicit circles.
It was involved in all sorts of businesses.
Giovanni saw Ye Feng's strength and wanted to invite him to join.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't want to join any Team Rocket."
Ye Feng said calmly, with his hands in his pockets.
Ye Feng knew Team Rocket all too well.
It was an organization that aimed to rule the world with Pokémon.
Ye Feng had no grand dream of ruling the world.
Ruling the world sounded inspiring, but after ruling, one had to manage the world.
Governing the world after conquering it was the real challenge.
Ye Feng had no intention of making things difficult for himself. He wanted to enjoy power, not fulfill obligations.
His chosen path was the bright road of becoming a famous Pokémon Master, gaining fame and fortune.
He didn't want to join Team Rocket and be under someone else's command.
Having to complete missions all day long.
"Alright, I'm leaving. Thank you for the badge, Gym Leader Giovanni."
Under Giovanni's reluctant gaze, Ye Feng left the gym.
"This person..."
Giovanni slumped back into his red leather sofa.
Beside him, a Persian nudged its head forward, meowing.
Giovanni stroked the Persian with his large hand.
Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I've met an interesting person today."
Then, as if speaking to the air, he said:
"Matori, investigate this person for me."
...
The afternoon sun was a little dazzling.
After leaving the Viridian Gym, Ye Feng went to a Pokémon Center.
He wasn't there to heal Pikachu; in the previous battle, Pikachu had won three consecutive matches without taking any damage.
He was here to use the microwave at the Pokémon Center to heat up the curry chicken cutlet rice that Nanami had given him.
After all, everything at the Pokémon Center was free, including recovery, lodging, and meals. Of course, this was for trainers.
"Excuse me, where is the microwave?"
After searching around and not finding a microwave, Ye Feng went to the counter.
He looked at the beautiful Nurse Joy with pink hair and a nurse's uniform.
Ye Feng was always curious whenever he saw her.
The Nurse Joys at the Pokémon Centers in these cities looked more like twins than twins.
What was it that made these Nurse Joys look almost identical?
And the Officer Jennys who maintained public order were the same.
The Joy family and the Jenny family were also important families within the league.
They both held significant power within the league.
"Oh, the microwave? It's in the dining hall on the left. It's a bit hard to find, though. Just ask the dining hall staff."
Nurse Joy pointed the way for Ye Feng, and at the same time, her gaze never left him.
Even after Ye Feng left, Nurse Joy still gazed at him dotingly until someone complained:
"Hey, Nurse Joy, what are you doing? My Bulbasaur is waiting for you to treat it!!!"
Ye Feng arrived at the dining hall on the left.
There were fixed tables and chairs.
Many people were sitting there, silently eating the meals in their hands.
These people were all dressed as traveling trainers, with some Pokémon around them.
These were all Pokémon trainers who had no money for food or were trying to save money.
Being a Pokémon trainer was very expensive.
Just traveling between cities would cost a considerable amount of money and a large fortune, let alone having a bunch of Pokémon to raise.
Therefore, true lower-class Pokémon trainers lived like this.
Ash was considered quite well off. As for Gary, who drove a sports car with so many beautiful women, he was a true noble and wealthy individual.
Ye Feng was also poor.
Otherwise, before leaving, he wouldn't have sold all the furniture and television sets at home to exchange for money, the reason being that realizing this dream required a lot of money.
And the dream might not even be realized.
A dream was essentially just a dream, either a daydream or a night dream.
Ye Feng walked through the crowd.
Looking at their faces, none of them had smiles.
All that was left were fatigue and confusion.
Only a few of these people would persist in the end.
The rest would either change careers to become Pokémon researchers, Pokémon breeders, Pokémon observers, Pokémon performers, or other Pokémon-related professions.
If all else failed, they would abandon the Pokémon industry, find a normal job, and work in a factory!
This was the harsh reality.
The real world!
It was something that the child-oriented Pokémon anime did not reveal.
"Hello, I'd like to use the microwave."
Ye Feng arrived at the dining hall counter.
"Hmm? A microwave?"
The dining hall staff member was also a Nurse Joy.
Anyway, according to them, they were all relatives.
"I'll get the microwave for you."
Nurse Joy was momentarily stunned: "After all, we provide fresh, free meals here, so microwaves are rarely used."
Nurse Joy brought the microwave to the counter and plugged it in.
Ye Feng took out the curry chicken cutlet rice from his backpack and placed it in the microwave.
He closed the microwave, and heat emanated from within. The curry chicken cutlet rice slowly rotated on the turntable below.
Ye Feng stood there waiting, while the Nurse Joy, dressed in a chef's uniform, stood watching him.
Ye Feng and Nurse Joy made eye contact. Unexpectedly, Nurse Joy's face turned red, and she quickly averted her gaze.
"Her figure is quite good."
Although she was wearing a relatively loose chef's uniform, the belt at her waist cinched her slender waist.
This made Nurse Joy's figure appear very perfect.