The trio was instantly seventy to eighty percent convinced!

After all, there weren’t many people in the world who knew that Giovanni was the actual leader of Team Rocket!

Even after being defeated by the Champion of the Kanto region, the Indigo League hadn’t gone out of its way to publicly reveal Giovanni’s true identity. Perhaps due to some unspeakable considerations—maybe worrying that exposing Giovanni’s identity as Team Rocket’s boss would negatively impact the League itself.

After all, Giovanni’s public image was that of a cross-regional corporate CEO and the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym, long hailed as the strongest among the eight Gym Leaders. For someone like that to be revealed as the head of a criminal organization would be a PR disaster for the League.

Moreover, Giovanni was still “on the run.” Not many people could defeat and apprehend him! That was an almost impossible task—Giovanni was an extremely powerful Trainer, a master of Ground-type Pokémon!

Unless the Elite Four of the Indigo League or one of the three Champions stepped in… otherwise…

Team Rocket’s business side was clever too. Under the management of certain executives, they had smartly distanced themselves from Giovanni and the later Team Rocket rampage in Johto, continuing to conduct legitimate business operations on the surface. The League couldn’t thoroughly investigate them.

As for whether the corporation was secretly supplying funds to the four Commanders or other executives… well, that was a mystery.

“Didn’t expect you to be a new executive recruited by Boss Giovanni! What an honor!”

Seeing the trio’s attitude completely change, Hikaru finally let out a breath of relief.

Phew! These three were still so easy to fool!

Among all the Rocket members, this trio had relatively simple minds. At least they were better than the other “elite types.”

“That’s right. By some chance, I got acquainted with Giovanni. He really is a very charismatic man.”

“But what I told you about my previous identity isn’t fake either. You understand that, right?”

“Mm-hmm-hmm!” The trio nodded enthusiastically, then started whispering among themselves with strange grins on their faces.

A new executive came to find them?

And even acknowledged their work?

Was this a promotion and pay raise on the horizon?!

New executives always needed loyal subordinates, and this one had close ties with Giovanni himself. That meant… they might get rocketed to success too! The trio’s minds began to fill with fantasies!

Seeing that he had thoroughly fooled them, Hikaru didn’t waste time and got straight to the point:

“I’ll make this quick!”

“As a specialized craftsman, I can manufacture many types of battle equipment. You can probably understand why Giovanni recruited me.”

“But I’ve heard through some channels that your mechanical skills are really impressive.”

“Using nothing but hammers, pliers, and wrenches, you manage to create robots on a tight budget. How do you do it? Who are you people?”

“I want to see your design schematics.”

By first showcasing his own strength, then acknowledging the trio’s technical prowess, and finally expressing genuine curiosity, Hikaru had perfectly crafted the image of a new Rocket executive obsessed with gadgets and invention.

As expected, the trio was stunned!

Although they had built robots by hand many times, higher-ups were probably unaware of this. Since they hadn’t achieved much recently, they couldn’t even apply for high-level equipment from HQ—they had no choice but to do everything themselves!

“Aha~ Our skills aren’t that great. You’re flattering us!”

The trio was floating with joy from the praise. Until now, their efforts had never been recognized by HQ. They were even once fired for not paying dues and giving enough “gifts.” But now? A freshly appointed Rocket executive personally came to see them!

Some of the special budgets they had applied for—though they hadn’t successfully captured Pikachu—at least had earned them a bit of reputation!

This was something to be proud of! Could it be that Giovanni was planning to set up a new tech department and sent this executive to recruit them?

And the executive even wanted to see their designs?

Could this be… a test?

If their machine blueprints were approved, they’d instantly become core staff in the new department!

What a great feeling!

“Waaah! Boss, we won’t let you down!”

“…”

Hikaru watched as the trio got swept up in their own imaginations, emotionally moved and lost in their daydreams, and he could more or less guess what they were fantasizing about.

He’d seen enough of Meowth’s delusional daydreams to recognize the signs.

“Here you go, nya!”

Meowth suddenly pulled out a design draft from inside James’s clothes. Hikaru couldn’t believe that such a narrow space could store such a thick stack of paper—was that outfit some kind of magical item?

Were they walking storage gods?

“This is the newest robot blueprint we’ve prepared, but due to budget issues, we haven’t been able to build it. That’s why we came here looking for treasure.”

Meowth scratched his head shyly. In the trio, he was the main tech guy, usually working on the robots with James, while Jessie mostly served as the muscle (i.e., the one pedaling the power generator).

Hikaru took the blueprint.

Item: Universal Cheap Machine Design Draft

Description: A special machine blueprint created by Team Rocket’s trio, with extremely detailed information! Constructed from trash materials and powered by discarded batteries, the machine boasts excellent working efficiency.

However, it’s highly vulnerable to attacks and must be manually controlled or remotely operated. — “Using junk materials helps the environment, and we don’t have to borrow money, nya!”

Effect: +50% Ingenuity. Otherwise, no special effects. Team Rocket’s mechanical skills come from themselves—this is merely a schematic.

You carefully examined the blueprint. Thanks to your previously acquired mechanical knowledge, you fully understood all the information and gained unique insights!

Gained Knowledge: Basic Cheap Item Quick-Assembly Knowledge (Limited)

— Enables fast assembly of cheap robots using scrap material. Boosts manufacturing speed, accuracy, versatility, and part compatibility by 200%. Defect rate +50%. Cheap products have flaws.

Bonus Acquired: General Machine Operation Knowledge (Limited)

— From James. As a child, he was forced by his father to learn operation and handling of many types of machines. +100% proficiency in operating any machinery. Thanks to 23 private tutors.

Bonus Acquired: Mechanical Art Knowledge (Limited)

— +100% mechanical aesthetics and +90% disguise for machine appearances.

Using this knowledge, you can create various “Pokémon-catching robots.” With slight modifications, they can be used as daily utility machines. Examples: “Iron Meowth Thunderbolt No.1,” which converts Electric-type Pokémon power into a limitless energy source. Also includes rocket packs, nightmare machines, and many other cheap machines.

Understanding the design concepts further improves your fabrication data and grants access to more advanced blueprints.

With enough accumulated knowledge, you can unlock: “Universal Mechanical Fabrication Technique (A+).”

Oh? So Team Rocket’s trio still had untapped potential?

Makes sense—after all, they had only just arrived in the Johto region.

And those machines? They were absolutely wild. Throughout their journey, the trio had created an uncountable number of high-tech gadgets. Most of their functions were too crazy to remember, but converting Pokémon moves and energy into power sources?

That’s borderline dangerous! And ridiculously overpowered!

In any big tech company, they’d easily land a Chief Engineer role! All this made from garbage and scrap metal?!

“Truly unbelievable. That’s my honest opinion. I’m amazed.”

Hikaru put on a serious face.

Still, if his impersonation as a Rocket executive were to be exposed, the operation to exploit their tech would have to stop. So he smiled calmly at the anxious trio.

“Can you explain why you designed it like this? Let’s put budget limitations aside.”

“And, this discarded component here—its artistic aesthetic is quite remarkable.”

It was happening!

The trio’s hearts skipped a beat—reviewing the blueprints and explaining the design concepts? That was definitely a tech department recruitment exam process!

The executive’s assessment had begun!

“Allow me to explain in detail!” James stepped forward immediately, his eyes lighting up as he looked at Hikaru like he’d found a kindred spirit.

“Executive! You understand my design?!”

James had a true talent for aesthetics, thanks to the twenty-three private tutors his father had hired during childhood. He also helped Jessie with her Contest performances, styling her and offering strategic ideas. His flair for art even made him get along well with Brock!

However—

“No no no! These designs are too flashy! Not practical!” Meowth and Jessie both shouted in unison, waving their hands in disapproval.

“To balance art and utility, why not repurpose decorative bits into extra storage compartments?” Hikaru suggested, sketching some quick changes on the blueprint.

After looking at the revision, James’s hair practically stood on end with excitement!

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of something so simple! Executive… thank you so much!”

“No no, it’s nothing. Just a small touch.” Hikaru smiled. He could already tell James’s artistic suggestions were often violently vetoed by Jessie. The guy had been completely artistically repressed.

And this was the result of all that pent-up creativity?

James began passionately explaining his design concepts, rapid-fire style, and Hikaru couldn’t help but wonder by the end:

You really designed all this… just to catch Pikachu?

You exchanged insights on mechanics and art with James. Gained: “Universal Part Modification Knowledge (Limited).”

— Improves your efficiency, precision, and aesthetics in modifying any parts by +100%.

Hikaru patted James on the shoulder and nodded: “Keep it up. You’ve got real talent. There’s a lot of room for promotion in your future. I’ll remember you all.”

Honestly, cheap, basic, universal, and highly adaptable—those were the key traits of the trio’s inventions.

Sure, they had weak points and were prone to collapse. But Hikaru didn’t need them for combat!

For environmental engineering or automated watering? Perfectly suited!

“Seriously, if they just sold these robots to the League, the trio wouldn’t be starving all the time.”

James may have been born into wealth, but he’d run away in pursuit of freedom. That meant he couldn’t rely on family support. He truly embodied: “If I don’t make it in Team Rocket, they’ll drag me home to inherit billions.”

Also, their cooking skills were apparently top-tier. So multitalented!

The trio possessed tons of valuable “knowledge.” But for now—this would do.

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep