"It's not Team Rocket."
Bruno scratched his messy hair and yawned. Beside him, two men in Ranger uniforms were scrutinizing Terrance.
"I'm a Gym Leader, the warning letter you received was written by me."
Addressing the two Rangers, Terrance then turned to one of the Indigo League's Elite Four, Master Bruno, and Lucario at his side. "Master Bruno, what brings you here? A small Team Rocket mission doesn't usually require such a big response."
"Haha, I was planning to go train at Mount Hideaway. Running into this incident was just a coincidence, so I thought I'd drop by and take a look."
Bruno laughed heartily, but his sharp gaze suddenly fixed on Terrance. "Kid, are you investigating Team Rocket?"
Facing Bruno's question, Terrance casually nodded. "Mm."
That simple answer made Bruno pause, then he shook his head helplessly. "Ah well, you youngsters do as you please."
"Team Rocket's operation tonight is scheduled for exactly 10 p.m., that's about five hours from now," Terrance said, revealing the information he'd gathered in advance. Then he continued, "Also, Master Bruno, may I have a word with you in private?"
The appearance of one of the Elite Four, Bruno, here was a surprise to Terrance. It seemed that this particular Team Rocket branch was doomed to be wiped out. Still, the situation gave him a headache. He hadn't wanted things to unfold this way, as it would interfere with his plans.
After pulling Master Bruno aside, Terrance made his request.
"You want me to leave the matter entirely in your hands?" Bruno looked around thoughtfully.
"Well, it's not impossible, but can you guarantee you'll apprehend Team Rocket?"
"I'll do my best. At the very least, I can guarantee that Team Rocket won't succeed in capturing a single Pokémon from the forest," Terrance replied.
Bruno gave him a glance, then yawned. "Fine, I'll leave it to you. But if you and those Rangers can't handle it, I'll step in."
"Understood."
…
…
At exactly 10 p.m.
Three squads—eighteen Team Rocket members in total—slipped into Viridian Forest, moving directly toward a pre-identified Heracross colony.
During the day, they had already confirmed the Heracross's whereabouts once more. So even in the dark, the route was perfectly clear with their Pokémon leading the way.
The eighteen Team Rocket members were divided into three teams, each approaching the target area from a different direction to encircle it.
Ten minutes later.
"Nothing?" One squad member furrowed his brow, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
The next instant, the forest was flooded with light. Several Pikachu, under the Rangers' command, unleashed bursts of electricity that lit up the forest, while flashlights shone directly onto the Team Rocket members.
"Filthy poachers, how dare you target the Pokémon of Viridian Forest." The Rangers' voices were cold as their eyes fell on the guns in the Team Rocket members' hands.
They'd been discovered.
Realizing this, the Team Rocket members didn't hesitate. They threw out their Poké Balls, ready to flee. But before they could react, each of them was restrained by a powerful psychic force.
"Vulpix, good job."
From the shadows, Terrance's voice emerged.
The terrified Team Rocket members turned toward the darkness, trying to see who had restrained them, but since Terrance didn't step into the light, they found nothing.
"1… 2… 3… 12 people. There are twelve in total." After counting the number of Team Rocket members, the Rangers quickly pulled out ropes and tied them up.
"There should still be six left, right?"
Bruno had appeared in front of Terrance at some point, his eyes questioning.
"I deliberately let them go. Master Bruno, please don't go after them, or it'll put me in a difficult position."
"No problem, but you'll have to give me a reason." Bruno rubbed his eyes in boredom. "So sleepy… I should head to bed."
Watching the Rangers busily tying up the Team Rocket members, Terrance's eyes flickered. He glanced up at the moon in the sky, then swiftly left the area.
…
…
Meanwhile, in another direction, six figures were running frantically, each of them wearing an expression of fear.
"There must be a traitor among us." The six Team Rocket members stopped. Their captain, Carter, scanned his five subordinates with sharp eyes.
Then he threw out a Poké Ball. A Beautifly appeared in the air and unleashed several Air Cutters, separating the group.
"Captain, what are you doing?!"
One member cried out in alarm. "The Rangers will be on us any moment! If we don't get moving, the police will catch up too!"
"Of course I know that. But if we don't deal with the traitor now, escaping will be even harder." Carter turned to the only female member. "Yoko…or rather, the League's lapdog."
"What did you drop just now during our escape?" he asked, pulling out an earring-style communicator. Seeing the device, Officer Lan Jenny's pupils contracted, but she quickly forced herself to stay calm and explained, "Captain, what do you mean by this?"
"If you won't admit it, fine. Then as your captain, I order you to hand over your Poké Balls first," Carter commanded.
"Captain, that's too much! The pursuers are right behind us!" Lan Jenny's heart raced. She hadn't expected that this Team Rocket member transferred from Hoenn would notice anything amiss. She had thought she'd discarded the communicator discreetly enough, but she'd been discovered after all.
"Are you defying my orders?" Carter's eyes flashed with cold light. "She's the traitor. The ambush we walked into tonight, it's all because of her. Hurry! Take care of this woman first!"
Hearing their captain's analysis, the remaining four Team Rocket members looked at Lan Jenny in disbelief.
"Yoko, hand over your Poké Balls to prove your innocence! Don't defy captain's orders," one of them urged, unwilling to believe she was a traitor.
But despite his pleading, Lan Jenny remained motionless. Of course she couldn't hand over her Poké Balls. If she did, she'd truly have no way to fight back.
She sighed helplessly in her heart. Then, as Captain Carter ordered Beautifly to attack, Lan Jenny steeled herself, and made her decision.
"Sandslash, Sandstorm! Ditto, transform into Charizard!"
In the next instant, light burst from her Poké Balls, while a layer of powdery substance fell from her face, flashing with light as it reshaped into a Charizard.
Removing her Ditto mask, Lan Jenny cast a deep look at the Team Rocket member from Hoenn, then swiftly mounted Charizard, recalled Sandslash, and prepared to escape.
Lan Jenny's actions confirmed beyond doubt that she was the traitor. The remaining team members felt a chill pierce their hearts. They hadn't imagined that the enemy had been among them all along.
"No time to worry about her. The mission has failed, we need to retreat immediately," Carter ordered.
Having exposed the traitor, Carter instantly became the group's anchor. The others quickly followed him, fleeing deeper into Viridian Forest.
Elsewhere, following Vulpix's lead, Terrance arrived in a dense grove. From beneath a tree, he brushed away a layer of leaves and dragged out a body.
Under the glow of Vulpix's Dazzling Gleam, the face of the body's owner was revealed before Terrance. It was a young man in a Team Rocket uniform, seemingly a squad captain.
The same leader of the six-person Team Rocket unit Terrance had deliberately allowed to escape.
"Looks like Mismagius succeeded."
Terrance smiled faintly. This man couldn't be dealt with carelessly. His personal freedom would have to be restricted for a while to ensure no information leaked.
According to intel provided by Jade Joy, this man was from Hoenn and owned a Kirlia and a Beautifly. After seeing this, Terrance had made an immediate decision: Mismagius would assume this man's identity and, along with his Kirlia and Beautifly, infiltrate Team Rocket.
Mismagius's illusion skills were far superior to Lan Jenny's Ditto disguises. Unless a Pokémon with Elite Four–level perception examined it closely, the chance of Mismagius being exposed was almost zero.
Moreover, Mismagius had also invaded Carter's consciousness, acquiring his memories. So, for all intents and purposes, Mismagius was Carter now.
"Let Mismagius infiltrate Team Rocket under Carter's identity. As for Lan Jenny and Jade Joy, they've barely passed the test. From here on, their mission will be to support Mismagius and ensure the operation's success."
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