With Mewtwo by his side, Feng Che wasn't worried about being captured. Even if he couldn't win a direct fight, escaping was trivial. However, being exposed like this left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Let's see what "evidence" Goodshow actually has, Feng Che thought, choosing to remain calm as the League Inspectors closed in.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted.
"I dare you to try!" Agatha slammed her cane onto the floor. The flickering torches in the Ghost Arena flared up, casting dancing shadows as several Litwick emerged from the darkness. "If I let you drag away a newly appointed Gym Leader without a shred of proof, it would mean I, Agatha, can't even protect my own subordinates."
She sneered at Goodshow. "Don't you know what the League's reputation is like these days? Forced confessions are common practice in your circles. I know exactly what kind of 'crimes' the prisoners in Indigo Jail are serving time for. Tell me, President, how would the people of Kanto react if they found out an innocent civilian was framed just because the League needs slave labor for its illegal mining operations?"
"Agatha, you...!" Goodshow's face turned beet-red. He felt the sting of her blatant threat.
"Regardless, I refuse to let him lead the Viridian Gym. He is a Team Rocket mole! I have a report here from Sakaki Tsu (Zhu), the nephew of Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni. It details everything." Goodshow brandished a file.
Sakaki Tsu? That useless brat, Feng Che realized. So the internal leak came from him. That 'fake mission' before must have been his doing too.
"Oh, that?" Agatha said dismissively. "Lorelei, Blaze, Hagen, and I all received copies of that letter. We even held a meeting to laugh at its lack of logic."
She counted off on her fingers: "The letter claims three things: First, Feng Che's Celadon Foster House is a front for gathering intelligence. Second, he used a Greninja to summon rain during the Rocket-League war. Third, he ambushed Hagen in prison to steal the Heart of Steel."
"We investigated every claim," Agatha continued. "Would Team Rocket be stupid enough to publicly denounce their own high-level mole? Goodshow, if you had actually watched Feng Che's recent matches, you wouldn't have come in here acting like a fool."
Agatha turned to the other Gym Leaders present. "Brock, Misty, Erika... surely you don't believe this nonsense?"
Erika stepped forward first. "The Celadon Foster House is in my city. I've had my Grass-types monitoring it for a long time. I haven't seen a single Rocket agent. If it were a base, they'd have a secret underground facility by now. All I see is a man who genuinely loves and cares for his Pokémon."
Misty added, "I compared the footage of the Greninja from the war with Feng Che's Greninja. Feng Che's Greninja was a Froakie from the League with a specific physiological defect—a slight tremor in its leg from a past injury. The Rocket Greninja didn't have that. As a Water-type Master, I can state with certainty: they are not the same Pokémon."
Hagen spoke up last. "The person who attacked me in the jail was exponentially more powerful than Feng Che is now. I've watched his Corvisquire and Torracat—he's not the man from the prison."
With the witnesses turning against him, Goodshow's face darkened. "I expected this. That's why I brought a direct witness!"
He clapped his hands. Inspectors led in a weeping, beautiful woman. "This is Chiyo Yuki, the owner of the Sky Foster House. Her business was recently destroyed by Team Rocket, and she claims Feng Che was behind it."
Agatha looked at Goodshow as if he were mentally handicapped. "Everyone knows the Sky Foster House tried to hostilely take over Feng Che's business and failed. Now that she's lost everything, she comes crying to you, and you want to hand her Feng Che's property as 'compensation'?"
"Actually," Agatha laughed coldly, "did you check her connection to Sakaki Tsu? She's his mistress. We investigated her 'Sky Foster House' and found massive tax evasion, illegal trafficking of rare Pokémon, and cruel experiments. I was just about to arrest her, and here you are, parading her around to frame a Gym Leader. Your 'authority' is showing, Goodshow. You've turned the League into your personal courtroom."
Goodshow was speechless. He hadn't realized Chiyo Yuki had such a criminal record.
"Enough of this farce," Agatha declared. "Brock, Misty, Erika—return to your cities. We will handle League business." She then turned to Feng Che, her voice softening. "You're free to go, Feng Che. Take your appointment letter. You're done here."
Feng Che nodded, walking out with the other Leaders. Does Agatha really trust me that much, or does she just hate Goodshow that much?
Once the doors closed, Agatha's smile vanished. "Arrest Chiyo Yuki immediately. Make sure she confesses to everything." As the woman was dragged away screaming for Goodshow to help her, Agatha glared at the President. "Mind your own business, old man. We aren't as easy to push around as you think."
Agatha and Lorelei then retreated to a secure room. A screen flickered to life, showing Lance (Wataru).
"Agatha, Lorelei. Did Goodshow move against him?" Lance asked.
"He tried to frame Feng Che as a Rocket mole. We blocked him as you requested," Agatha replied.
"Thank you. I must protect Feng Che at all costs," Lance said firmly.
"Why?" Agatha asked. "He's talented, but why risk so much for him?"
"Because he saved my life on Death Island," Lance explained. "But more than that... he provided the intelligence that allowed us to use the Team Rocket invasion as a cover to wipe out the corrupt noble families. He's the one who warned me about the League's financial deficit and advised me not to take the Kanto Champion title to avoid becoming Goodshow's scapegoat. He's the architect behind my current alliance with the Johto Priestess. Without his tactical plans, our rebellion would have been a disaster."
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