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"You arrogant brat, how dare you underestimate us!" Proton gritted his teeth angrily after listening to Ash's taunting words.
"You know what? You're absolutely right—it really won't be easy for just the two of us to handle this situation! I'm feeling so discouraged that I don't even want to fight!" Petrel's attitude was completely different from Proton's angry response.
He was the type of person who would avoid taking direct action whenever possible. What's more, knowing that they weren't likely to win against this particular opponent, yet still insisting on engaging in such a difficult and potentially futile battle—he really didn't want any part of it.
"You idiot! Which side are you even on?!" Even though Proton had known this unreliable companion for many years, he couldn't help but curse when he heard such defeatist talk.
"Alright, alright! I'll fight if I absolutely have to!" Petrel waved his hands dismissively when he saw Proton's frustration.
However, he clearly had no real fighting spirit and seemed like he was just going through the motions to appease his partner.
"Even if there are only two of you, I won't be holding back," Ash declared coldly, gripping the Poké Ball he had been casually tossing in his hand.
"Ash, they seem to be deliberately stalling for time. I'll deal with them—you should go ahead!" Sabrina observed the scene in front of her with a slight frown, then moved closer to Ash's side and spoke with determination.
"Can you handle them alone?" Ash asked with genuine concern.
"What? Do you think I can't manage them by myself?" Sabrina narrowed her eyes and looked at Ash after hearing his worried question.
"Uh..." Ash was momentarily stunned and scratched his cheek with his finger in embarrassment, realizing that he had indeed been overly concerned about her capabilities.
She was practically a human-shaped Pokémon herself, and even if she somehow wasn't able to defeat them, it would be incredibly easy for her to escape. With her Teleport ability, no one would be able to follow or catch her.
"And don't forget about me, Ash!" At that moment, a voice called out from behind them, and a familiar figure came running over.
"Green!" Ash turned around to look, and it was indeed Green approaching them.
"Don't worry about this! Just leave these two to me!" Green moved to stand beside them and spoke confidently to Ash.
Green noticed Sabrina standing there as well. Since she had taken a different route through her journey and had never challenged the Saffron City Gym, she didn't know Sabrina personally. However, seeing that Sabrina was clearly working together with Ash, Green assumed they were on the same side.
"Alright! I'll leave this to both of you," Ash said, glancing between the two women and realizing that neither of these formidable trainers were ordinary opponents by any means.
Originally, Ash hadn't been too worried about Sabrina handling the situation alone, but now that Green had arrived as additional backup, he was even less concerned about the outcome. He decided not to waste any more time dealing with Petrel and Proton and walked directly forward toward his true objective.
"What a shame! I was originally looking forward to having some fun with you! It seems I won't get that chance today!" Petrel said with mock disappointment as Ash walked directly between him and Proton as if they weren't even there.
Petrel spread his hands in a helpless gesture, while Proton watched with cold, calculating eyes. Just watching Ash walk casually between the two of them, Proton reflected on how many times he had dealt with this particular trainer.
He was forced to acknowledge that even if the two of them joined forces, they might not be able to defeat Ash, especially with Petrel's obvious reluctance to fight seriously. And now there were two additional powerful women to contend with as well.
Watching Ash continue past them, Sabrina and Green simultaneously pulled out their Poké Balls, and the two Team Rocket Executives realized they had no choice but to accept this challenge.
Ash continued walking forward and soon arrived at the president's office. At that moment, there were two Team Rocket members stationed outside the office entrance.
However, they knew that the two Executives, Proton and Petrel, were supposed to be blocking intruders further back in the corridor. The fact that Ash had reached this location meant he had somehow gotten past both Executives, which left these guards uncertain whether they should attempt to stop him or not.
When Ash approached the door, he let out a cold sneer that made both Team Rocket members guarding the entrance visibly nervous, giving them an ominous feeling about what was about to happen.
CRASH!!!
"AHHH!!!"
There was a sudden, thunderous noise from inside the office. President Silph was startled by the commotion and saw the entire office door get completely smashed to pieces by some tremendous force.
Two figures flew inside accompanied by screams of pain and crashed into the wall behind them, leaving the entire doorway area in complete chaos and destruction.
Then a Scyther walked calmly through the wreckage, followed by a young man who entered while casually adjusting his hat with one hand.
Ash walked into the office through the settling dust and smoke, surveying the entire room with his eyes. There was a man sitting behind the executive desk with a completely shocked expression on his face.
A Team Rocket member carrying a metallic briefcase stood nearby, watching Ash with obvious wariness and suspicion. However, Ash didn't pay attention to either of these two individuals. Instead, he focused his gaze on the imposing figure standing calmly in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
At that moment, the figure in front of the massive windows had his hands casually placed in his pockets. Upon hearing the violent commotion, he showed no surprise whatsoever and turned around slowly, immediately radiating an aura of powerful authority and intimidation.
Despite the dramatic entrance, there was still a faint, confident smile playing on his face. His eyes were slightly narrowed in an expression that seemed both appreciative and calculating, carrying an indefinable sense of dangerous charisma.
As for President Silph, he stared in complete amazement. He had known that someone was attempting to break into the building, but he never would have expected that such a young boy could manage to penetrate this deeply into a facility that was heavily surrounded by Team Rocket forces.
"Hmph! I've been waiting for you for quite some time. You must be the troublesome brat who's been ruining our carefully laid plans!" the man said as he turned to face Ash, speaking with a cold sneer.
"If there aren't any other troublesome brats running around, then yes, that would be me! I have to admit, I didn't expect the boss of Team Rocket to show up in person for this operation!" Ash replied as he walked further into the room with measured steps.
However, he remained extremely cautious and alert, because he knew perfectly well that the man standing before him was no ordinary criminal. This was Giovanni, the supreme leader of Team Rocket—one of the most powerful figures who had dominated the underground criminal organizations of both the Kanto and Johto regions for many years.
"I am simply discussing important business matters with President Silph here. It would be better for children not to interfere in adult affairs," Giovanni responded calmly.
Giovanni wasn't surprised when Ash revealed his identity, since Ash had already demonstrated extensive knowledge about Team Rocket's operations during his previous encounters with the organization.
"Business discussion? This is obviously an armed robbery!" President Silph interjected coldly after hearing Giovanni's euphemistic description.
"You must also realize that the police are about to arrive at this location. Why haven't you left yet? What is your real purpose here?" Ash asked suspiciously.
If this operation was simply about stealing the Master Ball technology, there would be no logical reason to take such enormous risks by remaining here. Ash glanced at the briefcase in the hands of the Team Rocket member nearby, suspecting that the Master Ball prototypes were likely contained inside.
Ash found the situation very puzzling. Now that they had apparently obtained the Master Ball technology, Giovanni was still here instead of escaping. Was he simply coveting other products and technologies from Silph Company? Ash was afraid it wasn't going to be that simple.
Giovanni's facial expression changed slightly after hearing Ash's perceptive question, but he quickly resumed his confident smile.
"It is indeed quite commendable that you managed to defeat so many of my operatives to reach this place. Thanks to your interference, our original plan here has fallen through," Giovanni acknowledged with what seemed like genuine respect.
Although he stated that the plan had failed, there was no trace of disappointment or frustration visible on Giovanni's face. It was as if the failure of this particular operation was completely insignificant to his larger schemes and ambitions.