While Silph Co. had effectively achieved a monopoly in Kanto, that didn't mean it had no need for advertising.
Take the holographic communicator, for example—until it reached 100% market penetration, there was still plenty of reason to run ads.
As for Aether Foundation and Greater Mauville Holdings…
The former could use the Silver Conference to attract Kanto residents to visit Alola, boosting tourism and increasing profits for both the Aether Foundation and Team Rocket's hotel investments in the region.
The latter? Advertising at the Silver Conference was a necessity.
Although Devon Corporation had suffered setbacks in Hoenn, it still dominated the region. Most Hoenn-based media outlets had ties to Devon, meaning they would never accept ads from Greater Mauville Holdings.
If they wanted to promote Neo Mauville, their only option was to advertise outside Hoenn.
And Luo Yuan didn't stop there.
If the Silver Conference needed sponsors, then wouldn't it also need media partners?
After all, James and Jessie's new TV station had just launched. They were desperate for a major event to expand their influence, and the Silver Conference was the perfect platform.
Lance had no idea that, in the time it took him to assign Luo Yuan the task, Luo Yuan had already finalized the entire sponsorship lineup—and more.
All Lance had expected was for Luo Yuan to secure Silph Co. as a sponsor.
Given Luo Yuan's close relationship with the company's president, as long as he handled the request, Silph Co.'s sponsorship was practically guaranteed.
With that in mind, Lance finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Being a Champion wasn't easy.
Especially when it came to leading a newly restructured League like Johto's.
But Lance firmly believed that these difficulties were only temporary.
Once everything settled into place, things would get easier.
After leaving Lance's office, Luo Yuan returned home.
When he mentioned the sponsorship opportunity to Lusamine, she was—predictably—interested.
After all, the Alola League had only just been established.
For now, it was still following the traditional island trials, and had yet to host a proper League tournament.
Sponsoring the Silver Conference was a novel idea.
"How much is the sponsorship fee?" Lusamine asked.
"…!"
Hearing her question, Luo Yuan suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask the most important detail.
Lance had told him to find sponsors, but never actually mentioned the price.
Calling Lance now to ask would make him look incompetent—not an option.
After a brief moment of thought, Luo Yuan estimated based on the scale of the Indigo Conference and the advertising benefits of the event.
"Let's start with 1 billion."
Given the Silver Conference's live audience, broadcasts, and replays, the total viewership would reach hundreds of millions.
Even at 500 million, it would still be profitable.
Lusamine, being the wealthy president of the Aether Foundation, had no real concept of sponsorship fees.
Hearing Luo Yuan's reasoning, she reached the same conclusion—1 billion was definitely worth it.
"Alright!" She agreed without hesitation.
With Lusamine's sponsorship settled, Luo Yuan sent the same proposal and payment details to Silph Co. and Greater Mauville Holdings.
Since all three companies were essentially under his control, their responses were swift.
Approved.
Contracts were signed.
Funds were transferred.
Everything was handled within an hour.
After wrapping things up, Luo Yuan sent Lance a message.
Lance, upon seeing it, was stunned by Luo Yuan's efficiency.
Then again, considering Luo Yuan was a shareholder in Silph Co., it wasn't too surprising.
But when Lance opened the sponsorship account and saw the total amount deposited—3 billion—his mind went blank.
…
Luo Yuan remained unaware that he had just set a new record for the highest sponsorship deal in League history.
Then again, even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
To him, this amount was pocket change.
By now, Team Rocket's hotel investments in Alola were fully operational, generating massive daily profits.
On top of that, Sakaki's various investments worldwide were starting to pay off.
Team Rocket had officially moved past its days of financial struggle.
In fact—
Luo Yuan had even heard that Sakaki had increased funding for the New Island research base.
If that wasn't proof of Team Rocket's financial strength, nothing was.
And as for Luo Yuan himself?
Once Neo Mauville became fully operational, he would effectively own an entire city.
An entire city's revenue?
That was a whole different level of wealth.
Compared to that, 3 billion was nothing.
At the moment, Luo Yuan was lounging in a sun chair in his garden, soaking up the sunlight.
Around him, his Pokémon roamed freely.
His recently captured Tyranitar sat on the ground, happily devouring a pile of berries.
Sylveon, using its ribbons, had wrapped itself around Luo Yuan's arm, resting on his chest.
On a nearby chair, Slowbro was mimicking Luo Yuan's posture—though, unlike him, it had no Sylveon, only the Shellder attached to its tail.
Further away, Mimikyu, which had recently become obsessed with doodling, was using glow-in-the-dark markers to create a "shiny skin" for itself.
Its disguise was now covered in a chaotic mess of neon colors.
Luo Yuan decided to let it be.
If Mimikyu was happy, that was all that mattered.
Besides, there was an actual advantage to this.
In battle, the sheer shock of seeing Mimikyu like that might throw opponents off guard.
A psychological first strike.
Near the pool, Lillie was trying to teach her Alolan Vulpix to swim.
Strangely, her Vulpix felt nothing like an Alolan one.
If anything, it behaved more like a regular Fire-type Vulpix that had been dyed white.
Despite being an Ice-type Pokémon, it was terrified of water—a trait typically seen in Fire-types.
At the moment, Lillie was holding Vulpix in the water while it frantically paddled with all four legs, splashing wildly in panic.
Just then, Luo Yuan's communicator rang.
"Who the hell is calling me at a time like this? Don't tell me it's Lance again…"
Using its ribbons, Sylveon lifted the communicator and placed it in Luo Yuan's hand.
When he checked the screen, he was surprised—
It wasn't Lance.
It was Matori.
"Matori? What's the news?" Luo Yuan asked.
"I've got some good news," Matori said.
"The research team at New Island has perfected the artificial Mega Evolution stones—they're officially ready for commercial production."
"Oh? The breakthrough finally happened?" Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow.
This was a major development for Team Rocket.
With the ability to mass-produce Mega Stones, even ordinary Rocket members would be able to access [Mega Evolution].
Previously, Team Rocket's breeding program had focused on raising the Rocket-exclusive starter Pokémon.
But they had also been nurturing various species capable of [Mega Evolution].
Now?
Luo Yuan could already envision Team Rocket forming its own elite [Mega Evolution] unit.
"But… there's also some bad news…"
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T/N: wow with mega evolution even available for normal members they're really gonna become rainbow rocket