The Ruins of Alph are a set of ruins located in the center of the Johto region, southwest of Violet City.
Aerodactyl reverted from its Mega Evolved form and landed with Ace and Kirlia at the edge of the ruins. Ace took off his goggles, looked at the ruins in front of him, and recalled Aerodactyl.
"Kirlia, sense the situation."
Ace gave the order to Kirlia beside him. Kirlia nodded, extending its hands forward, and an invisible psychic power surged out, quickly spreading forward.
Kirlia had evolved from Ace's Ralts. In the past two years, Ace had focused on cultivating its psychic power, so Kirlia had a very high level of skill in sensing situations and detecting danger.
"Master, there are a large number of life forms inside, about twenty-something people." Kirlia retracted its hands and telepathically spoke to Ace timidly.
"And the entrance?"
"Over here."
Kirlia pointed in a direction, and Ace immediately followed Kirlia toward the Ruins of Alph. After passing through a gate, Kirlia led Ace into the interior of the ruins. After walking for about two hundred meters, Kirlia stopped.
Psychic power surged, and a secret door opened. Kirlia was the first to rush in, and then a blinding flash of light shone from inside the door.
"Enemy attack!"
"My eyes!"
Two screams were heard. Ace walked into the secret door very calmly. Inside the secret door, two grunts wearing black Team Rocket uniforms were covering their eyes. Beside them were a Sentret and a Girafarig. At this moment, they were all blinded by Kirlia's Flash and couldn't mount any effective resistance.
"Hypnosis."
Kirlia used one hand for each, and the hypnotic waves shot out quickly. The two people and their Pokémon, who had lost their sight, instantly fell into a deep sleep.
"Kirlia."
Ace took a bundle of ropes from his fanny pack. Kirlia's psychic power controlled the ropes, which twisted like venomous snakes, and then tied the two of them up. As for the two Pokémon, they were also caught by Ace using the Poké Balls he had scavenged.
"The quality is not as good as the one created by Giovanni." Ace lamented, feeling a little disappointed with the new Team Rocket created by Pryce.
But it was to be expected. In the beginning, Giovanni had hoped to create Team Rocket to overthrow the League and dominate the world, so the requirements for strength were very high. As for Pryce, he wanted to obtain Celebi's power to change the past. Strength was not important at all, as long as they could provide him with information, it was enough. The difference in their philosophies naturally led to the lack of strength in the new Team Rocket.
After dealing with the two grunts guarding the door, Ace released Crobat. Crobat landed on Ace's shoulder, and its ultrasonic waves quickly spread out. Soon, all the routes inside the ruins were in Crobat's mind.
"Boom!"
Just then, a muffled sound came from the distance. After hearing it, Ace quickened his pace and walked into the depths of the ruins. With the assistance of Kirlia and Crobat, Ace didn't take any detours and smoothly arrived at a maze.
Looking at the spiderwebs blocking the entrance, Crobat flew out, and a sharp swing of its wings shattered the entire web instantly. After continuing forward and shattering several more spiderwebs, Ace quickly found himself surrounded by a few people.
"Looks like it's not that kid." Seven or eight people walked out from all over the maze and surrounded Ace. The leader frowned and said, "No matter who it is, since you're here, we'll follow the old rule: beat him up and take his Pokémon."
"Heh."
Hearing their words, Ace couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Sensing the mockery in Ace's laugh, the leading squad leader immediately roared.
"I'm laughing at how you so-called Team Rocket members are so much weaker than you were before the disbandment." Ace's smile disappeared, and he said coldly to the squad leader, "At least before, you guys were willing to fight to the death. Now you've all been reduced to mere thugs. You're really getting worse with each generation."
"You... attack!"
The leading squad leader sensed something was wrong and immediately prepared to attack. But their combat awareness was too weak. When they shouted that, Crobat had already rushed out. All they could see was a black shadow flash by, and the next moment, a sticky liquid dripped onto their bodies.
Instantly, they felt the part where the liquid had dripped go numb, and the numbness was spreading rapidly.
"Oh no! It's... poison..."
Before they could finish their sentence, Crobat's poisonous venom attacked their hearts. The few Team Rocket grunts all collapsed and died, with no one spared!
"Tsk, I think I went a little overboard."
Ace looked at the dead grunts and clicked his tongue, not bothering to dispose of the bodies. After all, he had a business relationship with the League thanks to his orchards, and since he had killed Team Rocket members, he figured there would be no trouble if he just told the League about it.
With that thought, Ace took out his phone and dialed a private number. The phone rang twice and was quickly answered. A calm voice came from the receiver. "Hello. Ace, what a surprise to hear from you. Do you want to take over the Elite Four or a Gym Leader position?"
"No interest," Ace said indifferently. "President, I'm currently at the Ruins of Alph in Johto. I was just attacked by the remaining members of Team Rocket, and I was just defending myself. They seemed a little weak, and I accidentally killed them."
"..."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. In his office, the president was rubbing his temples with a speechless expression. The cooperation with Ace had made him a lot of money, and his favorability towards this young man was soaring. If he had a daughter, he would have married her off to him without a second thought. But now that this had happened, the president felt a headache coming on. It was a matter of life and death, so it wouldn't be easy to handle.
"But I left two of them alive."
"Why didn't you say so sooner!"
The president instantly breathed a sigh of relief. If Ace had killed everyone, it would have been a little difficult to deal with. But with survivors, there were many ways to maneuver the situation. After all, the ones who died weren't ordinary people. They were members of the evil organization, Team Rocket! In a grander sense, the president could even give Ace a banner with the words "For the people" on it. As for a few lives? Please, members of an evil organization wouldn't have a good end even if they were caught. Just consider it an early execution.
The president's mood brightened slightly. He instructed Ace to make sure he kept those two alive and not to kill them. Immediately after, the president dispatched people to the Ruins of Alph. The remaining members of Team Rocket were a big problem!