After the fighting contest ended, Paul and his party continued their journey. Today, everyone came to Gringey City, which is located in the heavy industrial zone.
Like all industrially developed cities, the exhaust gas turned into black clouds and enveloped the sky, and the stinky sewers under the gray sky exuded a disgusting smell.
After so many days of practice, on the way to Gringey City yesterday, Paul's Squirtle finally successfully completed the first stage of evolution and became a Wartortle.
Now, all the three Kanto starters in Paul's hands have reached their second form. Excluding the Electivire, Gyarados, and Gible that were entrusted to his elder brother Reggie, the number of Pokémon in Paul's hands has reached nine.
After entering Gringey City, Ash's Pikachu suddenly looked flushed and sick.
Worried about Pikachu's situation, the group didn't wander around and went straight to Gringey's Pokémon Center.
Ash sent Pikachu for a medical examination, while Paul received a call from his elder brother Reggie.
After chatting about the latest situation, a Poké Ball was teleported from far away in Sinnoh.
A smile touched the corner of Paul's mouth. "Welcome back to the team, Electivire!"
After hanging up the phone, Paul asked about Ash's Pikachu. It seemed Ash wouldn't be able to leave the Pokémon Center for the time being.
Flipping through the map boredly, Paul's eyes lit up when he saw an abandoned location in Gringey City's unused area.
It turned out that in the abandoned light industrial park in Gringey City, there was another place that Paul valued very much: the unmanned power plant!
If Paul's memory was correct, there was a surprise here.
Paul felt a stirring of excitement as he looked at the Electivire that had just returned. One of the three legendary birds that symbolizes the weather, Zapdos! Although it wasn't the only god level Zapdos with a specific role inhabiting the Sevii Islands.
However, the very nature of legendary Pokémon meant the Zapdos species' starting point was far beyond ordinary Pokémon.
If he could subdue this one, then the future Sinnoh League might not be completely dominated by that beast tamer Tobias.
* It would be great if Gible could fight right now. * Thinking about strategy, Paul couldn't help but miss the little shark that often gnawed his head. * After sleeping for so long, I wonder when it will come back strong. *
Putting all the Poké Balls he had on the table, Paul thought hard. A one on one fight was impossible; his strength didn't allow Paul to be so arrogant. It would be good enough to successfully corner Zapdos. So, how to fight was worth considering.
In the end, Paul clipped the Poké Balls containing Whimsicott, Ivysaur, Charmeleon, Vulpix, and Electivire to the front of his belt. For the rest, Empoleon, Pidgeot, Wartortle, and Machamp were kept as backup.
The main role in this battle fell to Gengar. Although its typing wasn't a perfect counter, the one most likely to complete the final capture was this old Gengar who had lived for an unknown amount of time and never revealed its true power level.
After explaining to Ash and the others that he had other things to do, Paul left the group and went to the Poké Mart.
Paul gritted his teeth and bought three Ultra Balls, each costing a hefty sum.
What? You ask why he didn't use the Master Ball to catch Zapdos? What kind of resources did they think he had? The Master Ball had to be saved for Arceus and its powerful duo, the twin gods of time and space, Dialga and Palkia.
The Ultra Ball, as a high end Poké Ball series developed by Silph Co., was the most basic configuration for subduing legendary Pokémon. Throwing a red and white Poké Ball at a legendary beast? The person who would do such a thing was either mentally deficient or Ash Ketchum, that's right, Ash!
Holding the Ultra Ball, Paul trekked all the way to the abandoned industrial area outside the city.
"Okay, everyone come out." He released the prepared team, and Paul began to hold a battle meeting.
"Ahem, everyone, listen to me quietly. This is our team's first boss battle. I hope you can fight well."
"Ivysaur?" Ivysaur looked suspiciously at Paul's side, eyeing the powerful Electivire. * Bro, who are you? * it seemed to think.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce. Electivire has completed its evolution and returned to the team. As today's main tank, everyone welcome it."
All the Pokémon cheered.
"Electivire!!" The burly figure, muscles flowing with electric arcs, and two long black tails swung gently behind its back. As the saying goes, even a tiger can have a gentle heart. The powerful Electivire was well received by the team members for this raid.
"Master Gengar, everyone has seen it before. Let's see you play, old ghost." Paul pulled Gengar's bulging body out of the shadow.
* What? * Gengar seemed stunned. * My master C, leader, you are not kind. I want to quit the group! * Gengar broke character instantly. * You didn't call me when you were easily beating weaker opponents, but for a hard fight against Zapdos, you thought of me? *
Gengar's personality was such that it preferred to win with one move and never use a second; it was incredibly lazy. Even when it first met Paul, it was too lazy to fight, so it took Empoleon's attack and was subdued by Paul's words alone.
Anyway, this Pokémon's creed in life was that dumplings weren't as good as delicious food, but nothing was as fun as... ahem, if you wanted comfort, you had to lie down. As long as conditions permitted, it would lie flat and never exert itself.
"No slacking off. This time it's up to you," Paul said seriously.
"Ah, okay, I'll have to do my best." Seeing that resistance was futile, Gengar floated with its head down in the air, pretending to be dead.
"Char!" Charmeleon looked at Paul enthusiastically.
"Okay, let me continue." After appeasing Charmeleon, Paul looked at Whimsicott and said, "Whimsicott, main disruptor, assists in defense. Ivysaur, secondary disruptor, secondary tank. Vulpix, Charmeleon, secondary attackers. The general arrangement is like this. Today we will fight using Sunny Day tactics!"
All the Pokémon were full of fighting spirit and responded loudly.
Gengar weakly raised a hand. "Oh. Come on..."
Paul looked at Gengar. "Old ghost, you look very reluctant. Are you scared?"
Gengar shook its head. "No. It's just that I can't keep being exploited by you after I expose my true strength?... I just want to be a happy, lazy Pokémon, occasionally pretending to be weak to surprise others. Isn't that nice?"
Paul replied, "You really... have aspirations."
"Hehehehe, of course." Gengar rolled its eyes dismissively.
Paul sighed. "It's reasonable not to want to fight Zapdos, but it's a pity. I originally wanted to reward you by buying the swimsuit photobook of Diantha and her Gardevoir." Paul pretended to be regretful and glanced at Gengar.
Gengar suddenly shuddered from head to toe and whipped its head around to look at Paul. "Are you serious!?"
Paul shrugged. "Would I lie? Tsk tsk, Kalos's most powerful and beautiful champion and her ace Gardevoir's summer beach swimsuit special. It's very popular."
"Wait a minute!" Gengar suddenly covered its nose, its body flushing red visibly.
"That's it!" Gengar looked towards the unmanned power plant fiercely. "Whether you want to steam it or braise it, I'll go pluck that Zapdos's feathers and put it in the pot!"
"Tsk tsk, old timer, don't push yourself," Paul shook his head and chuckled. The power of beauty was great; even a ghost who had lived for centuries couldn't resist it.
Vulpix and Charmeleon silently took two steps back, turning their heads away from Gengar. * We don't know this Pokémon, we can't afford the embarrassment. *
Gengar curled its lips in disdain. "You two little guys know nothing." Gengar made a face.
Whimsicott held Paul's arm. "Cott!" * "Look at them, they only think about themselves, unlike me. I do whatever my Trainer says. I only feel sorry for my Trainer."
Ivysaur tilted its head. "Ivy?" * Whimsicott, what strange attribute did you awaken? *
"Okay, that's about it for the combat meeting. The most important thing is to find Zapdos!" Paul clapped his hands. If he didn't end this, the attitudes of these little guys would completely go astray.
"Screee!!!" A deafening cry came from the depths of the factory along with a thunderous explosion.
"Kid, no, someone has already started fighting Zapdos!!" Gengar floated up solemnly and said to Paul.
Man and ghost stared at each other for a long time.
"Get the boss!!!"
"Leave that Zapdos alone, my photobook!!"
Recalling the other Pokémon, Paul only took Electivire and Gengar and rushed towards the source of the sound.
"Hahahaha! Zapdos is nothing special!" A white combat uniform, the familiar R logo; the style of the clothes indicated at least cadre level, but the mask worn on the face looked like a pair of underpants, which was quite comical.
Paul grabbed Gengar, who was about to rush forward. * It's actually Team Rocket. Things are getting a bit serious now. *
During his time traveling with Ash, he had mostly encountered comical villains like Jessie and James, and Paul had become a little too accustomed to the perceived goodness of the world.
Unexpectedly, in a place untouched by the main plot, he immediately met a Team Rocket Admin, which slapped Paul back to reality.
"Screee!!!" The painful cry of Zapdos was accompanied by dazzling thunder and lightning explosions.
Paul squinted, looking at the Team Rocket grunts surrounding Zapdos. Seven or eight of them were holding strange firearms, forming an inescapable capture net.
Zapdos's strong electric current couldn't destroy this net at all. On the contrary, the energy circulating on the net seemed to be tightening.
The leading Admin commanded a huge Tyranitar, and it didn't look easy to mess with.
Taking out Empoleon's Poké Ball, Paul sighed. * What is this? The battle of annihilation has become a rescue mission. *
"Gengar, how strong is that Tyranitar?" Paul peeked out, observing the situation quietly.
"Tch, a Tyranitar just one step away from the Champion level. A small problem," Gengar pouted, its words betraying its true assessment.
"Hiss. There's a big problem." Paul scratched his head. If it was Elite Four level, they could still fight; after all, the old ghost Gengar wasn't weak. But if this near Champion level Tyranitar was to be taken down by Gengar, it would likely be overwhelmed.
"Who's there!"
Paul shuddered and rolled on the spot. A Stone Edge precisely struck the position where Paul had been squatting just now.
"Whoa! Almost lost my chrysanthemum!" Paul gritted his teeth. At the critical moment, Paul didn't have time to think. He tore off his coat, tied it over his face, and jumped out awkwardly with the two sleeves tied around his neck like a scarf.
"Hmph, Hunter J asked me to greet Boss Giovanni on her behalf!"
"It's you annoying Hunters again," the Team Rocket Admin sneered. "Get rid of him!"
Before the words fell, Zapdos suddenly struggled violently, and the grunt who was about to free up a hand to grab a Poké Ball hurriedly gripped the net tighter.
The scene suddenly became a bit awkward.
"A bunch of trash!" The Team Rocket Admin blushed and shouted angrily, then took out a Poké Ball.
"Trash, you should be honored to die at the hands of Attila, the Admin of Team Rocket! Go, Scizor!!"
Paul gritted his teeth and threw a Poké Ball, simultaneously giving a mental order to Gengar. * Old ghost, whether we survive this time depends on you. *
"Scizor!" As soon as Scizor landed, it immediately flew towards Paul. A flash of red light, and Scizor's pincers, shining with a metallic glow, were already in front of Paul. Red Lightning lived up to its name!
At the critical moment, a green Light Screen protected Paul just in time. "Machamp!!!"
Machamp put its four hands in a defensive posture simultaneously, blocking the attack! * Don't hurt my master! *
At the same time, Gengar emerged from Zapdos's shadow! A powerful Shadow Ball shot out, accurately bypassing Tyranitar, and hit the capture net device in the hands of the Team Rocket grunts!
Boom!! Accompanied by explosions everywhere, Zapdos escaped and ascended towards the sky.
"SCREEE!!!!" Powerful electricity began to gather crazily.
"Damn it! Attack together, Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!!" Attila ignored Paul's side, and Tyranitar's powerful Hyper Beam went straight for Zapdos. The rest of the grunts also released their own Pokémon, and moves of various types flew towards Zapdos like they cost nothing.
"SCREEE!!!"
A huge golden electric current bombarded down. Paul closed his eyes subconsciously. Gengar flashed to Paul's side, its psychic power exploding, forming a Light Screen instantly. At the same time, this old ghost's energy level began to skyrocket!
While Paul was momentarily stunned, the Pokédex in his pocket beeped an alarm. "Gengar, energy level: 70... 75... 80... 85!"
The energy level soared all the way, finally stabilizing at 91 before stopping.
When the light subsided, Paul opened his eyes, only to see Attila and the group of Team Rocket members charred and fallen to the ground.
Gengar stuck out its tongue and lay beside him awkwardly. "Kid, this time I really put my old nose to the grindstone. You can't just pluck the bird and be ruthless."
"Scree..." Not far away, Zapdos was covered with purple bubbles, lying on the ground trembling.
"Poisoned!" Paul looked at Attila, making sure the pervert with the underpants mask wouldn't wake up for the time being. He summoned his courage and walked towards Zapdos.
Click!! Before he got close, a bolt of lightning exploded at Paul's feet.
"I mean no harm." Paul held up his hands. "Although I also want to subdue you, I won't take advantage of your weakness."
Gengar regained a little strength and floated up, standing beside Paul.
"You need to go to the Pokémon Center for treatment. If you don't want to follow me, I can release you after you're treated." Paul took out the Ultra Ball and looked at Zapdos.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Paul felt that the moment he took out the Ultra Ball, an inexplicable look flashed in Zapdos's usually vacant eyes, as if... disgusted?
"Scree," Zapdos looked at Gengar. * Why do you follow such an immature little guy with your strength? * it seemed to ask.
Gengar pouted and turned its head. "None of your business."
"Scree." Zapdos looked at Paul and lowered its proud head. The situation was dire; staying here and letting a group of shady looking people capture it was worse than going with this kid.
Paul held back his excitement and lightly touched Zapdos's forehead with the Ultra Ball in his hand.
Click. The Poké Ball locked. Successfully subdued.
Not daring to linger, Paul turned his eyes to Gengar. "Old ghost, do you have a way to hypnotize these people, making them think that a strong man, eight feet tall and wearing a gray combat uniform, attacked them?"
Gengar laughed mischievously. "Who do you want to frame? Hehehehe, I like it."
Just do it. Gengar's powerful psychic wave instantly enveloped all the members of Team Rocket. After a while, Gengar clasped its palms together. Bang! Done.
"It's done. Get out. This group is about to wake up." Gengar plunged into Paul's shadow.
"Come on, get away." Paul smiled. Passing by Attila, he kicked the guy in the face and left the unmanned power station without looking back, the Ultra Ball held high.