Because Elite Four Bruno was also at the base, Sato and Joseph weren't too worried that anything unexpected would happen if they left Mark here.
Unless he suddenly lost his mind and tried to catch Pokémon in this base, this place was the domain of Mark the Luck -mascot- King!
Meanwhile, Sato and Joseph took Trish and Amber straight to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.
On the way, they also planned to rendezvous with Lance and Will and check whether reinforcements were needed.
After all, although the two had been discovered early, they had also coincidentally helped draw away many of Team Rocket's grunts from Base A3.
It was already late at night. The four flew in pairs atop two Hydreigon, soaring above the Viridian Forest. Wherever they passed, the chirping of Bugs and croaking of frogs fell completely silent.
With Hydreigon's combat power, they were unquestionably "kings" of the Viridian Forest's outer rim.
Flying directly toward Viridian City was undoubtedly fast, and in no time at all, Sato's group had already caught sight of the city.
"Sato, something's wrong… the Pokémon in the forest suddenly increased, and many of them are injured!"
Joseph used Viridian Power to carefully sense the surroundings, then turned to Sato and said.
"Let's go down and ask a couple of them."
Relying on Joseph's Viridian Power, Sato didn't hesitate at all to gather intel directly from the Pokémon.
---◓---
Three minutes later, the four rose back into the sky and continued toward Viridian City, with both Sato and Joseph now showing grim expressions.
Lance and Will had already brought the battle from the underground base to the surface, and Team Rocket's reinforcements seemed to be powerful!
By the time they arrived at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, it had already suspended public operations and been turned into a logistics base to treat injured League personnel.
Even Sato had to rely on his face alone to get Amber and Trish admitted inside.
"Miss Joy, I'll leave these two in your care," Sato entrusted them to her seriously.
"Don't worry. You're the ones who need to be careful out there now, Team Rocket's people are everywhere."
Nurse Joy naturally knew who Sato was and also understood that the sudden chaos in Viridian City had all started with this teenage prodigy before her…
Right after that, Sato and Joseph walked out of the Pokémon Center again and rushed toward the heart of the battle.
"Nine~Tales!"
A sharp fox cry rang out from Ninetales' mouth. Accompanying it were a Mismagius and a Clefable.
Ninetales led the attack, Mismagius provided interference, and Clefable handled long-range support in the back. The three Pokémon worked in perfect sync and could fend off Lance and Will's coordination with ease, often without Miyamoto needing to give any commands at all.
Lance had sent out Charizard and Dragonite, while Will had chosen Slowking and Slowbro. Even four versus three gave them no advantage.
This Lance was far from his peak, and Will hadn't reached Elite Four level yet either. Facing Miyamoto, Team Rocket's highest-ranking Admin, they were no match at all!
Around them, other battle zones had broken out everywhere.
Under Miyamoto's command, even normally sneaky Raticate now stood boldly in the streets, engaging in full-on brawls with League officers and Trainers!
Who gave them such courage?
It was Miyamoto!
Even someone as "dazzling" as Lance couldn't win against her, not even with an ally's help; so what was there to fear? Go all out!
When Sato and Joseph arrived, this was the scene that greeted them.
Amid the chaos, Miyamoto's presence made her impossible to ignore.
Sato and Joseph exchanged a glance; without hesitation, they moved to support Lance and join the fight against Miyamoto.
"Oh~? Even now the League still has fresh reinforcements?"
Miyamoto quickly noticed Sato and the others arriving, but she didn't expect it to be someone she had actually met before.
Ninetales, who had been chasing after Charizard, suddenly stopped!
Its narrow fox eyes squinted slightly as it looked toward Joseph… and a faint line of drool hung from the corner of its mouth…
It clearly remembered that the jerky that "Trainer-chan~" made was super tasty!
Slurp…
It was craving again!
"GET DOWN NOW, THERE'S A GRAVITY FIELD!"
Suddenly, Will shouted loudly up at Sato and Joseph in the air.
But Clefable next to Miyamoto was already looking innocent as it subtly adjusted the coverage of Gravity. At once, a powerful unseen force began dragging Sato and Joseph downward.
"Gardevoir!"
Without hesitation, Sato sent out Gardevoir and, in the blink of an eye, recalled the Hydreigon beneath him.
At the same time, Joseph almost perfectly mirrored him, releasing Gallade and recalling his own -Lotta- Hydreigon.
Flash! Flash!
Two white lights gleamed. Gardevoir brought Sato, and Gallade brought Joseph, both using Teleport to land beside Lance and Will; an impressively timed reaction.
But the moment Sato and Joseph actually faced Miyamoto, the first thing she said was…
"Hey, blond cutie~ Got any more of that jerky? My Ninetales is feeling snacky, fufufu!"
Lance and Will: !!!!?
Sato: …→→
Joseph: ...
Lance and Will were utterly dumbfounded, while even Sato and Joseph were rendered speechless by Miyamoto's absurdity.
Joseph explained the previous encounter in a few quick sentences, earning them some rather sympathetic looks from the other two.
Dear Arceus…
You ran into Team Rocket's "top" Admin while traveling in Sinnoh, and ended up "resolving" the whole situation without a fight… just by offering some beef jerky…
It's hard to say whether your luck is incredible or downright cursed!
Mark: Feels like someone's talking trash about me while I'm not around!
Right on cue, Ninetales impatiently wagged its nine fluffy tails, staring at Joseph with an eager face. Its eyes couldn't help drifting toward Joseph's backpack!
Under the odd gazes of the other three, Joseph twitched his lips hard and gave Ninetales his answer through action…
"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"
"Gall!"
A flash of white light. Gallade instantly appeared beside Ninetales, both arms forming glowing Psycho Cut blades as it struck without hesitation!
"TAAAALES!"
Ninetales dodged Gallade's attack with a furious cry. Its narrow eyes glared back at Joseph, filled with anger… and a hint of grievance?
Joseph felt incredibly uncomfortable being stared at like that. He raged internally: 'I'm not your Trainer! Who are you looking pitiful for?!'
"Gardevoir, Psychic."
"Dragonite, Hydro Pump!"
"Slowking, Psychic! Slowbro, Heal Pulse!"
"Gallade, Close Combat!"
A four-on-one battle began, and Miyamoto's three Pokémon quickly launched their counterattack.
Gardevoir tried to use Psychic to restrict Ninetales' movements, but Mismagius intervened and blocked her.
Dragonite, stripped of its flight ability, only held on this long because it was tougher than Charizard.
Will had Slowking use Psychic to try to slow down Clefable, but the level difference made the move only mildly effective.
So he immediately had Slowbro turn back and heal the barely surviving Charizard.
Under Gravity, Lance -this Flying Master Elite Four- couldn't even use half of his full strength. He was so stifled it made him want to bang his head against a wall.
As for Joseph, maybe it was the emotional trauma from Ninetales, but he went all out and commanded Gallade to go completely on the offensive!
Looking at the aggrieved glint in Ninetales' eyes, anyone unaware of the situation might have thought Joseph had done something scummy to it!
…And even under the combined assault of four people and four Pokémon, Miyamoto remained calm, not even bothering to give many commands, simply letting her three Pokémon act on their own.
Mismagius clashed directly with Gardevoir's Psychic and, for a while, didn't seem to be at a disadvantage at all.
Ninetales moved unhindered. With agile speed, it effortlessly dodged Dragonite's completely ineffective Hydro Pump.
Clefable, on the other hand, didn't even flinch as it took Slowking's Psychic head-on; and even found the time to shrink the area of the Gravity field, placing extra pressure on Sato's team once more!
The only one who managed to cause Ninetales even a tiny bit of trouble… ended up being Joseph's Gallade.
Gallade was naturally lightweight, and used Teleport to shift its position. Coupled with Ninetales' "special" feelings toward Joseph, it couldn't help but show a sliver of… leniency toward Gallade.
Ninetales: I won't rest until I eat that beef jerky!
Gallade: I'm sick of that stuff already乁(˙ ˙乁)!
Ninetales: AAAAHHH I'M GONNA KILL YOU!
Joseph, who possessed Viridian Power and could understand the two Pokémon's conversation: …?
After all these years, he never realized his Gallade could be such a pain!
'Get a grip, damn it! Ninetales is at Elite Four level! You're only Ace!'
The very next moment, Ninetales -who had been holding back- suddenly snapped and went all in, charging at Gallade with all nine tails shining in metallic light.
[Iron Tail: Ninefold Fan Strike]!
Fwoosh~
CRASH!
This attack was executed with Ninetales' full strength. It was so fast that Gallade didn't even have time to use Teleport!
Even if it had the time, the sheer force of Ninetales' aura locking onto it crushed any will to escape.
At the same time, Joseph instinctively shouted a command without hesitation!
"PROTEEEECT!"
DUANG!
Crack… cra-crack…
One Iron Tail strike actually cracked the supposedly invincible Protect barrier!
"Nin!"
At that moment, Ninetales' eyes were blood-red. It had no intention of letting Gallade off the hook.
As Iron Tail rebounded, Ninetales used the momentum to spin in place and whipped its tail again; this time even more powerful than before!
"SUBSTITUTE!"
Seeing this, Joseph broke into a cold sweat and instantly chose another life-saving move.
But to everyone's shock, Ninetales' nine tails -transformed into steel- unexpectedly extended beyond normal range and reached Gallade's Substitute and the real body behind it!
For the first time, the group realized… even Protect and Substitute couldn't guarantee a Pokémon's safety.
And just as Ninetales' nine Iron Tails were about to strike Gallade directly, it suddenly jolted as if pricked by a needle and froze mid-motion.
At the same time, the metallic shine of all nine tails rapidly faded. By the time they hit Gallade and its Substitute, they had reverted to ordinary strikes.
Smack!
Gallade was sent flying, but the damage was far less than expected. Before it even hit the ground, it had already regained its balance.
Though Gallade itself was still in shock, it reflexively landed on both feet, slid backward a few steps, and came to a steady stop.
"…Nin!"
Ninetales instantly turned its head toward Sato's Gardevoir. With its battle-hardened instincts, it almost immediately located the source that had disrupted its finishing move.
Gardevoir, Disable[1]!
Since it had already used its "ultimate move" once, it couldn't use it again in the short term!
The first Iron Tail had been blocked by Protect, which counted as a complete usage. The second Iron Tail attack, naturally, would be restricted by Disable.
…What no one noticed was that beneath the spot where Gallade had just stood, a dark shadow flickered and vanished. But because it was nighttime, even Ninetales -closest to it- hadn't detected a thing.
Gengar had also been ready to block Ninetales' killing blow for Gallade.
"Dragonite, Iron Tail!"
"Slowking, Slowbro, Psychic!"
"Gardevoir, Psychic."
At that moment, Ninetales had just failed in two consecutive attacks. Aside from Joseph being scared half to death, the others also seized the opportunity and concentrated all their attacks! Directly at…
Clefable!
Compared to the overwhelmingly aggressive Ninetales, it was this seemingly harmless Clefable that had driven everyone to despair.
One Gravity move had completely crippled even Lance, the strongest among them. The rest of the Pokémon were all heavily restricted as well.
If they didn't take down Clefable first, Sato's group couldn't even see a glimmer of hope for victory.
Will had Slowking and Slowbro both use Psychic, targeting Ninetales and Mismagius respectively.
They didn't need to immobilize them long, just enough to stagger their movements would do.
Then Gardevoir, with her stronger psychic power, would go after Clefable. Finally, Dragonite would finish it off with a super-effective Iron Tail against the Fairy type!
Ever since Drake established formal communications with the Kalos League, the mysteries of the Fairy type had become much more transparent at League Headquarters.
The strategy began. Mismagius and the slightly drained Ninetales were both suppressed by Slowking and Slowbro.
Gardevoir also unleashed her most powerful psychic force, fully restraining Clefable. For the first time, its perpetually innocent expression twisted into one of pain.
---◓---
Where no one was looking, Gengar suddenly emerged halfway from the shadows, raised a finger "seriously", and crooked it toward Clefable…
You there, chubby! Come here.
Move: Taunt!
---◓---
Though Dragonite couldn't fly, it could still flap its little wings to build momentum for a charge.
Its big, cute eyes were full of determination. The chance its teammates had fought so hard to create… there was no way it would let it go to waste!
Boom!
Dragonite pushed off with both legs, stamping a shallow crater into the ground.
As it burst forward, its wings gave one strong flap, launching its speed even higher. In everyone's eyes, it became a massive yellow blur streaking past.
The next moment, Dragonite and Clefable were less than a meter apart, and Dragonite's thick tail was already gleaming with a blinding metallic light.
Twisting its body with the momentum, Dragonite lashed out at full force!
Clefable didn't panic. Enduring Gardevoir's Psychic, it began casting Minimize with unwavering focus!
…But just then, a scene suddenly flashed through Clefable's mind.
A grinning Gengar silently appeared before it. Those golden eyes were so calm, yet somehow full of mockery…
And then, as if that wasn't enough, Gengar calmly raised a finger and crooked it… again?
CROOKED. A. FINGER!
Clefable flew into a rage! Feeling its pure and noble self had just been grievously insulted!
Taunt… successful. Minimize failed.
SMACK!
Iron Tail - Direct hit!
[1] Wiki: If the target is currently locked in to using a consecutively executed move; and the move is disabled before completion, the move will be disrupted. If the target has already acted that turn before the move is disabled, it will still be locked into the move and attempt to use it on the following turn, and the move will be unsuccessful.