Night had fallen.
Outside the Gym in Veilstone City, a lot of Team Galactic members had gathered.
Each of them disguised themselves as Trainers doing special training, forming a pocket-shaped encirclement at the city gate.
And right at the center of this pocket was their direct commander, the Team Galactic Commander Jupiter.
As soon as Axel and the young lady appeared, they would act immediately, making sure the two of them couldn't escape even with wings.
And Crane was standing right next to Jupiter, serving as the honorary deputy commander of this mission.
Basically, he was just there to identify faces, to prevent Axel and Platinum from running away.
"Crane, they should be here soon, right?"
"Yes, sir!", Crane puffed out his chest, for the first time feeling he actually knew something.
Turns out as long as he followed the guidance of the three group leaders and the admins, even a useless guy like him could be valued this much.
"I specially took the high-speed rail here, so I definitely got here a bit faster than them."
"But they're not slow either. Shouldn't be long before they arrive."
"Good, you did well," Jupiter's sharp gaze flashed as he pressed the intercom button.
"All units, prepare to enter battle readiness.
"Squad One: Dark Look ready. Squad Two: Pursuit ready. Squad Three: Thunder Wave ready. Squad Four: Hypnosis ready..."
"Once Crane gives the order, all of you unleash your prepped moves together!"
"When the mission succeeds, Lord Cyrus will definitely reward us well."
At the end, Jupiter even reminded them again, "Remember, end it quickly. Don't let the Veilstone Gym Leader interfere."
"Understood!"
"For Team Galactic, let's fight!"
"Commander Jupiter, mighty as ever!"
"Promotion and riches, today's the day!"
Hearing his subordinates' impassioned shouts, the corners of Jupiter's lips curved upward slightly.
His men might be a little dim, willing to help Lord Cyrus and the commanders destroy the world, but their loyalty was unquestionable.
With such loyal subordinates, how could great plans not succeed?
Just then, a "clop! clop! clop!" of hooves came from afar.
The sound was extremely urgent, and every strike on the ground carried a vast, overwhelming pressure.
Just from the sound alone, you could tell the owner of these hooves was not to be messed with.
Almost instinctively, Jupiter raised his head and looked into the distance.
In the next moment, his pupils dilated, a deafening roar rang in his mind.
His brain went blank.
'What the hell?'
Jupiter was seriously starting to think lying in ambush had made him stupid.
Because he actually thought he was seeing the legendary Glastrier.
As a commander of Team Galactic, Cyrus had trained them beforehand during the project.
One of the requirements was to recognize the Legendary Pokémon of each region, to avoid accidentally provoking them while carrying out the plan to destroy the world.
But now... a Legendary Pokémon seemed to have actually appeared.
The only problem was, 'Why aren't you going to find Lord Cyrus, why are you here for me?'
Jupiter rubbed his eyes hard, hoping it was just a hallucination.
But in the next instant, a cold snowflake fell onto his face.
It was like a slap across the cheek.
Glastrier was real.
Realizing this, Jupiter's scalp went numb again.
But also, he felt endless relief.
Luckily he had come personally today. Otherwise, these subordinates who didn't recognize Glastrier would have definitely chosen to attack.
Then they'd all be wiped out.
At that point, every Team Galactic plan would suffer a huge blow!
"Crane..."
"Yes, sir!"
The instant Crane saw Glastrier and Axel, he had already gone completely insane.
His head was now filled with Axel, Platinum, and that "Galarian Rapidash."
As long as he tied them up, he could get himself a Gym Leader-level Pokémon.
And then get promoted to commander, climbing to the peak of life.
He had already rehearsed this process dozens of times in his head.
Now Commander Jupiter had finally spoken.
Crane stood up from the grass, swung his arm wide, and shouted heroically across the field:
"Brothers, attack!"
Jupiter: "???"
'What the hell!'
He just felt like he wanted to cry and wanted to burst out into a song, we're all just trying to live on.
How did he end up with such a husky, this so-called honorary commander?
Jupiter wanted to stop his men, but it was too late.
Dozens of Dark Looks and dozens of red-glowing Hypnosis beams blasted into the sky, aiming right at Glastrier above.
Axel was just thinking about how to help Platinum speedrun the Fighting Gym, when he suddenly felt a faint wave of energy coming from the front.
He looked up, just in time to see a barrage of moves crashing toward him.
"Huh?", Axel blinked, his gaze falling on the Pokémon launching the attacks, and then he laughed.
Most of those Pokémon were only around level 20, some even just level 19.
It had been way too long since he'd been attacked by Trainers this weak.
At this level, even a random non-freshman from Blueberry Academy could easily defeat several of them.
'And looking at their outfits, they should be Team Galactic from Sinnoh?'
Axel had just been wondering how to make contact with Team Galactic, and he didn't expect these guys to come deliver themselves.
"Glastrier, use Blizzard on those Trainers attacking us."
"Neighhhh!"
Glastrier neighed, ice crystals glittering all over its body.
The next instant, a pair of enormous icy wings, inscribed with the words "Vivid as Ice," condensed on its back.
Its body was already huge, and now with these magnificent effects added, it looked like a god descending.
Sitting in front of Axel, Platinum's eyes filled with shining stars, her hands covering her mouth, her heart pounding wildly.
"Axel, it's so romantic!"
"Romantic?"
Hearing Platinum's cry, the Team Galactic members who were at the front instantly went numb.
The moment the icy wings flapped, countless shards of ice spread across the sky.
Together with the howling winds, it was like an apocalyptic frost storm, terrifying to behold.
They felt bone-piercing cold spreading through their bodies.
As if they were about to be turned into ice statues.
'And you're calling this romantic?'
'Since when did Sinnoh have two such cold-blooded killers?'
Seeing Glastrier wipe out half his men with a single move, Jupiter's lips twitched madly.
"Crane, th-this is that rookie Trainer you were talking about?"
Jupiter smacked Crane on the forehead, his brain spinning at full speed, thinking how to make Axel spare them, and the remaining Team Galactic members.
Fighting was impossible, running...
Jupiter glanced at the speed of the opponent's moves, and figured even running was just a luxury.
The only slight comfort was that their uniforms were white.
With a helpless sigh, Jupiter hung his silver robe on a tree branch.
Raised a white flag.
"Brother, we might've mistaken you for someone else. Please, withdraw your divine powers quickly!"
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