Ijun's voice crackled through the radio.
"All units, be advised: an unidentified enemy may be present in Mt. Moon. We've lost contact with four teams. Everyone, regroup at the main tunnel immediately!"
Gone was the cold composure from before—his tone was ced with frustration, and August could hear the simmering rage beneath his words.
Tsk, so they finally noticed.
He was a little disappointed. He'd only taken out a third of them before they caught on.
But it wasn't exactly surprising.
Ijun had ordered teams to check in with their squad leaders every ten minutes, and squad leaders to report to him every thirty minutes.
The fact that it had taken them this long to notice something was off just proved how sluggish Team Rocket's response was.
Still… regrouping won't be that easy.
August turned to Gardevoir and gave a small nod. She closed her eyes, and a few seconds ter—
Another Team Rocket squad's location was pinpointed.
Following Gardevoir's navigation—
Straight for 200 meters. Turn right. Another 150 meters forward. Then a left turn.
He ran right into three Team Rocket grunts.
August was still wearing his disguise.
One of the grunts blinked in confusion. "Hayato? Weren't you guarding the tunnel entrance?"
But the other two weren't as easily convinced. Their eyes remained wary, and without hesitation, they tossed their Poké Balls forward.
A Rhyhorn and a Golbat materialized in front of them.
Ijun's warning over the radio had clearly put them on high alert, and unlike the clueless grunts he had taken down before, these guys were well-trained. They wouldn't be easy to fool.
"Prove your identity," one of them demanded coldly.
August had nothing to prove it with.
He could only mimic someone's face, not their voice.
But since he'd already been exposed, there was no point pretending anymore.
Stepping back behind Gardevoir, August fshed them a polite smile—
And issued his command through telepathy.
[Psychic.]
The moment the grunts saw Gardevoir, they knew something was wrong.
"Rhyhorn, [Horn Attack]!"
"Golbat, [Air Ssh]!"
But they were still a step too slow.
Even as the Pokémon registered their trainers' commands, they hadn't moved yet—
And an invisible force crashed into them.
Boom! Boom!
Two dull thuds.
Rhyhorn and Golbat's eyes rolled back, and they colpsed, instantly knocked out.
The three grunts stood frozen, their skin crawling.
A one-hit KO?!
Just how strong was this guy?!
At the same time, they felt a sense of utter despair.
If he was this powerful, why did he even need to disguise himself? This was just pin unfair!
August didn't particurly care what they were thinking.
He gave Gardevoir another silent order.
A second ter, the three grunts slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Bending down, August swiftly confiscated their Poké Balls.
At this point, his bag was nearly full from all the Pokémon he had taken.
Then, after tying the grunts up securely, he straightened up—
And turned toward a nearby tunnel entrance.
"You've been watching for a while," he said casually. "Why not come out and say hello?"
...
Silence.
A full minute passed without a response.
August gnced at Gardevoir, silently asking if she sensed anything.
She frowned slightly, then closed her eyes, sending out a pulse of psychic energy, scanning the area repeatedly.
Still nothing.
In the end, she shook her head.
If Gardevoir couldn't detect anything, there was no point staying here.
August shrugged. "Forget it. Let's move."
With that, he turned and left.
But what August didn't realize was—
Not long after he left, the very spot he had been watching shimmered, the air twisting and distorting.
A small pink figure hovered in the air, watching him go, giggling softly.
Then, it vanished again, tailing him silently from the shadows.
---
Under the dim artificial lighting, the remaining Team Rocket members had gathered.
Ijun stood at the center, his face dark and stormy.
"Have you finished the headcount? How many didn't make it back?"
One of his subordinates hesitated, then, bracing himself, responded:
"Out of thirty-six members—including yourself—only nineteen returned. The rest… all lost contact."
Even though Ijun had mentally prepared himself, hearing that half of his men were gone still made him feel dizzy.
And what was even more infuriating—
He had no idea who their enemy was.
BAM!
His fist smmed against the cavern wall.
Sensing their trainer's anger, his Crobat narrowed its eyes, scanning the gathered grunts with a sharp, predatory gaze.
If Ijun gave the order, it wouldn't hesitate to attack them.
But in the end, he forced himself to swallow his rage.
They still hadn't found Mew.
And this mission was far too important. If they failed, the executives would hold him responsible—and that was not a fate he wanted.
That was the only reason he was tolerating so much insubordination today.
After a moment of deliberation, he gritted his teeth.
"Contact the Third Division. Tell them we have an unidentified enemy in Mt. Moon and that we need reinforcements."
His subordinate paled. "The Third Division? But sir, our retionship with them isn't exactly… good. If we ask for help now, they'll definitely mock us—"
A deadly gre cut him off.
"Do it. I will not repeat myself."
Shuddering, the grunt scrambled to rey the message.
Just then—
A shrill beeping echoed through the tunnel.
Ijun blinked.
Then, realization dawned.
His scowl vanished, repced by a twisted grin.
His frustration and anger evaporated in an instant.
Reaching for the tablet device strapped to his belt, he checked the screen—
Then immediately released a Weezing.
"Weezing, use Fsh!"
"WEHEEEEEEZ!"
A brilliant light exploded from Weezing's body, illuminating the pitch-bck depths of the tunnel—
And exposing the figure hiding behind a boulder.
August: "???"
He had been observing them perfectly fine from the shadows.
How the hell did they spot him all of a sudden?!
---
T/N: hmm its bec ause of todd howard, yknow sometimes these things happen
