Chapter 255 – Giovanni Can't Possibly Be in Hoenn, Right?
Seeing such an odd group standing at the entrance, the Team Rocket grunt monitoring the cameras froze.
What the hell?
Why was a Slowpoke riding on a person's back?
No, that's not the main issue right now!
Those guys are standing right outside the disguised entrance of the base!
Realizing this, he quickly nudged Ogi, who was flipping through a magazine beside him. "Ogi… Ogi, stop reading! There's someone outside!"
Hearing his companion's urgent tone, Ogi immediately became alert. "Someone? Where?"
Following his companion's indication, he looked at the surveillance monitor. However…
"There's no one…?"
The screen was completely empty, except for two Magnemite leisurely floating by, rubbing against each other as if they had too much excess electricity and needed to discharge it.
His companion froze at the sight.
"But I swear I just saw—"
"Enough, I think you're just too stressed and seeing things. Think about it, this is Steel Valley. Who in their right mind would come all the way here?" Ogi said, casually flipping back to his magazine.
It was a magazine mailed from Kanto, featuring this year's Indigo League Champion, the rising Trainer Gary Oak—grandson of Professor Oak.
Hearing Ogi's words, his companion began to doubt himself. "Could it really have been a hallucination?"
After thinking for a moment, he convinced himself that it must have been. Even if it wasn't an illusion, it was probably just some passersby.
After all, their base was not only hidden in Steel Valley, but the entrance was also disguised, equipped with a password lock. Even if Hoenn's Champion Steven Stone came, there was no way he could sneak in undetected.
With that in mind, he relaxed and pulled out his phone to check the news.
Apparently, those idiots from Team Aqua had injured Devon Corporation's president so badly he was hospitalized. This was going to be entertaining for a while.
Inside Team Rocket's Base
Gary let out a long breath and placed the Slowpoke on the ground.
Carrying a Slowpoke all this way—whether or not his willpower had been tempered, his lower back certainly had.
Looking around at the surroundings, Green asked, "Asahi, how did you know the passcode for the door?"
When she first saw the lock, she thought they'd have to break in. She hadn't expected Asahi to simply enter the code and walk right in.
Asahi smirked. "I tricked it out of Matori."
"How shameless…" Sabrina muttered.
"Alright, now that we're inside, this base officially belongs to the International Police Kanto Division. To prevent Team Rocket from damaging our new property… we'll split up!" Asahi began giving orders.
Sabrina raised a hand, using her psychic powers to put a passing Rocket Grunt to sleep before nodding at Asahi. "Go ahead."
"Sabrina, you take Green to the storage room and handle the guards there. Gary and I will take care of the people in the surveillance room, then pick off the rest of Team Rocket one by one."
He patted Gary on the shoulder. "How about it, Champion Gary? Any problems?"
"Is this another mission?" Gary asked weakly.
"Of course… no, wait, it's not!" Asahi grinned. "This is work!"
"No time to waste—let's move out!"
Inside the Base
Dressed in Rocket uniforms they had prepared beforehand and using masks for disguise, Asahi and Gary moved through the base's corridors.
Thanks to Asahi's natural Team Rocket demeanor, not a single person questioned his identity.
Gary, however, felt extremely uncomfortable, nearly giving himself away multiple times.
Rounding a corner, Asahi shot him a disapproving look. "Next time we go on a mission, don't tell anyone you're my subordinate! You're way too unprofessional…!"
"…Not everyone can act like they belong in Team Rocket as well as you," Gary muttered.
Honestly, with how naturally Asahi was playing the role, even Giovanni himself might hesitate to call him a fake.
"What was that?" Asahi raised an eyebrow.
Gary stiffened. "N-Nothing! I just thought I overheard some Rocket Grunts mention Giovanni."
"Giovanni? He wouldn't know we're here, would he…?"
Asahi chuckled. "How could Giovanni possibly be in Hoe—"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly fell silent.
Now it was Gary's turn to look confused. "What's wrong?"
"I just remembered something…"
Asahi recalled a piece of intel he had received from Johto.
Before the Indigo League opened, someone had spotted a Team Rocket airship taking off in Johto. At the time, Asahi had even sent an email asking if Giovanni had left Kanto.
He had guessed that Giovanni might have gone to another region…
No way, right?
As the thought crossed his mind, Asahi and Gary arrived outside the surveillance room.
Shaking his head, Asahi pushed his speculations aside.
No matter what, they could just capture a Rocket Grunt and interrogate them.
With that in mind, Asahi grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and pushed the door open.
At the same time, he shouted loudly, "Everyone, hands on your heads! Squat down! You've been caught!"
Gary: "…."
Aren't we being a little too bold?
Surveillance Room
Ogi and his yet-to-be-named companion were idly chatting about Hoenn's situation and Giovanni's grand plan.
When they got to the part about how they would soon dominate Hoenn, both of them were fired up.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
A strange-looking Rocket officer barged in, shouting words they didn't quite understand.
Something about them being caught and needing to put their hands on their heads.
Their first reaction was…
Smack!
The two slacking Rocket Grunts immediately sprang up and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. "We're sorry, sir! We won't slack off again!"
Gary was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell?
Team Rocket was… apologizing to them?
He was utterly lost.
Asahi was also momentarily stunned, but when his gaze swept over the magazines and phone on the table, he quickly understood.
They thought he was here for an inspection.
After all, his uniform was an executive uniform personally given by Giovanni.
Amused, Asahi kept a straight face. "Report. Any unusual activity in the surveillance room?"
Relieved, Ogi and his companion hurriedly replied, "No, sir! Everything is normal!"
Then, as if realizing that sounded like they had been slacking off, they hastily added, "Well… the entrance cameras did pick up four suspicious figures."
Asahi and Gary exchanged a glance.
Asahi gestured for Gary to ask, "What did they look like? Did you see clearly?"
Still bowing, the two replied, "Not clearly, sir. They disappeared quickly—probably just passersby… but we did notice one of them was carrying a Slowpoke. Very strange."
Gary: "…"
He could already hear Asahi's upcoming teasing.
At that moment, Asahi held back his laughter and asked, "When is Giovanni returning?"
This time, Ogi and his companion hesitated. "Didn't Giovanni leave this morning?"
They glanced up cautiously at Asahi and Gary—
And then finally realized—
They had never seen this 'executive' before.
And the guy beside him… looked oddly familiar.
"It's the weird guy from earlier!" one of them suddenly shouted.
Gary: "?"
Before they could react—
A black shadow flashed, and a Gengar with a wicked grin grabbed them by the neck with Shadow Claw, lifting them into the air.
A moment later, they were both unconscious.
Now, the only ones left in the room were Asahi, who was barely holding back laughter, and a very dark-faced Gary.
But as a responsible superior, Asahi refrained from teasing his subordinates too much.
Cough. "So Giovanni really is in Hoenn… I didn't expect my guess to be right," Asahi mused.
Gary let out a breath of relief, glad Asahi didn't dwell on the topic.
"Should we retreat?" Gary asked.
"Retreat? Why?"
"Because… it's Giovanni… and Team Rocket…?"
"So what? Thieves hide from the police—not the other way around." Asahi shrugged. "Too bad we didn't find out where Giovanni went…"
As he spoke, he disabled all surveillance and cut the power to the base's PA system.
Then he clapped his hands together.
"Alright—now it's hunting time!"
Inside the Base
"Golbat…"
"Mareep, Thunderbolt!"
Sparks crackled across Mareep's fluffy wool, and in the blink of an eye, a powerful Thunderbolt struck the Golbat in midair, leaving it charred and sending it crashing to the ground—along with its Rocket Grunt trainer, who convulsed from the shock.
"That's the thirty-second one."
Since the start of their ambush, Asahi had taken down thirty-two Team Rocket Grunts.
It wasn't a huge number, but considering he was mainly using recently captured Pokémon like Mareep and Lapras, the efficiency was quite impressive.
At that moment, another Rocket Grunt came charging around the corner.
Just as Asahi was about to let Marshtomp handle it—maybe even trigger its evolution into Swampert—
Thud!
A Blastoise landed heavily on the Rocket Grunt, pinning him to the floor.
Green's figure appeared at the other end of the corridor.
Asahi held back the command that was on the tip of his tongue. "Green? What are you doing here? How's your side?"
"Sabrina has already taken control of the logistics department… I heard the commotion here, so I came to help." Green glanced around.
Clearly, the battle on this side had been much more intense.
Unlike the logistics warehouse, which was mostly staffed by non-combat personnel…
As they spoke, Torchic—now evolved into Combusken—kicked a Koffing that had been trying to launch a sneak attack.
The Rocket Grunt behind it found himself with Combusken's claws pressed against his throat, yet he still put on a tough front. "You dare attack Team Rocket's base? You won't have a good end!"
Asahi had just been about to praise Green, but hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh. "Team Rocket's bases? I haven't exactly flipped ten or eight of them, but I've taken down at least four or five… and I'm still standing here just fine."
The Rocket Grunt was about to argue back when…
He saw Asahi wipe his face, revealing his true appearance.
The moment he recognized Asahi's face, the Rocket Grunt's lips trembled. "…Asahi?"
Technically speaking, he had never met Asahi in person.
But he had seen Asahi's photo in Team Rocket's internal reports.
In bright red letters, it was labeled DO NOT ENGAGE—if encountered, all members were to scatter and retreat immediately.
That warning had left a deep impression on him.
Now, seeing Asahi in front of him, his legs felt weak—even though he was a member of Team Rocket.
Asahi smiled. "Well, well, it seems my reputation has reached Team Rocket's Hoenn branch… truly worth celebrating."
As he spoke, he gestured to Green's Combusken.
Bam!
In a flash, Combusken's fist struck the Rocket Grunt's head with precise force, knocking him unconscious.
Just then, Gary's voice came through Asahi's earpiece.
"Asahi, I've pretty much cleared my side. Most of the resistance inside the base has been dealt with. The remaining stragglers…"
Asahi had to admit—though Gary often ended up as the butt of his jokes, now that he was a Champion, his strength was undeniable.
"Leave them to me," Asahi replied.
He then took out a Poké Ball and released Gardevoir.
Meeting Asahi's gaze, Gardevoir nodded, a mutual understanding passing between them. The floating stone slabs beside it slowly rotated.
A surge of immense psychic power rippled outward, phasing through the walls and instantly sweeping across the entire base.
Then, Gardevoir's figure flickered and vanished.
A few minutes later…
Whoosh!
Gardevoir reappeared, effortlessly levitating over a dozen unconscious Rocket Grunts with its psychic powers.
With a mere thought—
Thud!
The defeated grunts dropped to the floor, unconscious.
"This is…"
"Just now, Gardevoir used Imprison to pinpoint the locations of all Rocket members in the base. Then, it Teleported to each of them, took them down, and brought them here," Asahi explained.
Green glanced at Gardevoir, feeling like it had grown even stronger.
That kind of feat… it definitely couldn't do before.
Gardevoir simply smiled.
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