Pokemon: My Pokemon Has a Tailed Beast Template

Chapter 287 287: Trouble in Cerulean Cave

No matter what world it was in, leadership meetings were always exhausting.

Lance spoke endlessly from the stage for nearly two straight hours.

Since Sam hadn't slept well to begin with, he almost fell asleep listening to Lance's lecture-like speech.

"Ahem!"

Suddenly, two deliberate coughs echoed from the stage.

Then Sam heard his own name.

The moment he realized it, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

It felt exactly like getting caught daydreaming by a teacher during class back in high school.

Instantly, all traces of sleepiness vanished.

Seeing that Sam had finally regained his focus, Lance calmly shifted the topic toward him.

"Leader Sam, Team Rocket appears to be planning another operation in Kanto recently."

"I hope you can investigate after the Gym Exchange Tournament ends."

As he spoke, Lance handed over the prepared documents.

The Gym Leaders quickly accepted the files and began reading through them carefully.

The report listed several areas where Team Rocket had recently been active.

Among them, one location had been heavily marked in red ink—

Cerulean Cave near Cerulean City.

After reading the report, many of the Gym Leaders unconsciously turned toward Sakura.

Sakura's expression immediately became awkward.

After all, Cerulean Cave technically fell under the jurisdiction of the Cerulean Gym.

Yet Lance had directly assigned the investigation to Sam instead.

The meaning behind that decision couldn't have been more obvious.

He no longer trusted the Cerulean Gym.

At that moment, Sakura's heart sank completely.

She suddenly realized that Lance's patience with the Cerulean Gym had likely reached its limit.

If the Cerulean Gym performed poorly during this exchange tournament, then they would probably become the perfect example Lance used to establish authority.

Meanwhile, Sam's expression became serious the moment he saw the words Cerulean Cave.

Team Rocket wouldn't risk exposing themselves to the League's attention unless something extremely important was hidden there.

If Sam's guess was correct—

They had probably discovered traces of Mewtwo.

That thought immediately put Sam on high alert.

Among all the villainous organizations throughout the Pokémon world, the one Sam feared most was undoubtedly Giovanni.

Unlike other villains who constantly claimed they wanted to "improve the world," Giovanni never bothered hiding his ambitions behind pretty words.

He created Team Rocket for one purpose only—

To conquer the world.

That straightforward ruthlessness was what made him truly terrifying.

And if Giovanni managed to gain control over Mewtwo…

Even Sam couldn't imagine how dangerous things would become afterward.

Whether for justice or simply for his own survival, Sam absolutely couldn't allow Giovanni to succeed.

Even if Lance had never assigned him this mission, he still would've gone to stop Team Rocket himself.

"Don't worry, Lance," Sam replied seriously.

"Once the exchange tournament is over, I'll immediately investigate Cerulean Cave."

To be honest, Sam actually wanted to rush there immediately.

But since Lance specifically instructed him to move after the tournament, acting too early would only attract suspicion.

Hopefully Team Rocket wouldn't make their move so quickly.

After thinking it over carefully, Sam ultimately accepted the mission without objection.

Seeing that Sam had agreed, Lance visibly relaxed.

As long as Sam personally handled the matter in Cerulean Cave, Lance truly felt reassured.

"Then today's meeting is adjourned."

After leaving the conference room, Sakura walked away with a troubled expression.

At this point, the future of the Cerulean Gym could only depend on Misty.

Only if Misty displayed enough talent and potential would the League believe the Cerulean Gym still had a future worth preserving.

Sakura hated placing all that pressure on her younger sister.

But she truly had no choice anymore.

She absolutely couldn't allow the Cerulean Gym to be destroyed under her leadership.

"Sam."

After casually greeting him, Erika left together with Jasmine.

The two girls had quickly reconnected yesterday, and today they planned to go shopping together.

Sam felt a little helpless.

Originally, he had wanted to spend the day with Erika, but now that clearly wasn't happening.

"Sam… would you like to go out for a walk together?"

A cold voice suddenly spoke beside him.

It was Sabrina.

The fact that Sabrina had initiated the invitation herself genuinely surprised Sam.

Normally, she almost never took the initiative to speak to others.

Looking at the faint redness on Sabrina's face, Sam was momentarily stunned.

Still, he didn't show it outwardly and simply nodded in agreement.

Honestly, Kanto's culture was still fairly traditional in many ways.

Relationships involving multiple wives or partners weren't considered especially shocking among wealthy or powerful families.

Even Erika's father had more than one wife.

And truthfully—

Very few men were completely immune to temptation.

As Sam's strength and status continued to rise, his ambitions and desires naturally grew alongside them.

If this had happened shortly after he first arrived in the Pokémon world, he probably would've firmly refused to spend time alone with another woman while already in a relationship.

But now…

After only brief hesitation, he accepted Sabrina's invitation.

After all—

No matter how cold her personality might be, Sabrina was still incredibly beautiful.

Rejecting someone like her wasn't exactly easy.

At least for now, though…

He hadn't actually crossed any lines yet.