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Chapter 151 - Chapter 151: Clearing the Dungeon with a Rattata

Chapter 151: Clearing the Dungeon with a Rattata

2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)

"Not bad."

Red descended the stairs, surveying the surrounding metal structures.

His memory of this secret basement was from the video game world, still in pixelated, mosaic-like quality, a far cry from its current realism.

At the bottom of the stairs, he pushed open the door and was met with the sight of another vast hall. The floor was surrounded by sturdy metal walls, with no visible doors or windows.

Red's sharp eyes spotted a strange light flickering from several tiles on the floor, and he instantly recalled the teleporter pads at Silph Co.

After all, Team Rocket had occupied it for two or three years; they must have stolen a good deal of Silph Co.'s technology.

The hall was empty. Seeing no one, Red waited for a moment before deciding to step onto a random tile and teleport.

If he teleported into Giovanni's room, that would be perfect. He could just slaughter him on the spot.

"Warning, warning, intruder detected!! Warning, warning!!"

Flashing red lights suddenly burst from the ceiling, and the sharp electronic alarm echoed throughout the enclosed space.

This gave Red a huge shock. He thought to himself, *I've only been in here for less than five minutes. How was I discovered so quickly?*

Team Rocket's detection capabilities were truly not to be underestimated.

Thus, Red no longer hesitated. He stepped directly onto a flashing tile. A white light immediately flared up, enveloping him, and with a *swoosh*, he vanished.

A white light flashed, and Red appeared in another room.

This room, however, had quite a few people dressed in the same Team Rocket uniform. They were squatting on the ground, playing cards and smoking. As for the alarm blaring from the ceiling, they paid it no mind, as if it were normal background music.

"Hey, Fujita-kun, you're down here so early today?"

"Slacking off on the job again? Aren't you afraid you'll get demoted to Iron rank this year?"

Seeing Red, several of them spoke up with smiles.

Fujita? Iron?

A thought sparked in Red's mind. He quickly realized the body's owner was named Fujita. *Getting demoted to Iron... Does that mean I'm currently a Bronze-rank grunt?*

He glanced at his own sleeve cuff. Team Rocket had a strict ranking system.

According to Team Rocket tradition, upon reaching Gold rank, a member could have one stripe on their uniform.

Platinum, Diamond, and Master ranks had two, three, and four stripes, respectively.

And in all of Team Rocket, only Giovanni was qualified to wear a five-stripe uniform.

The three core executives he had met earlier were, in fact, only Diamond-level with three stripes, not even considered Team Rocket's top-tier combat power.

He scanned his surroundings again. The sleeve cuffs of the men here were all empty, proving they were all fodder below Gold rank. This made him lose interest. He gave a nod and walked towards a corner of the room.

"Tch, Fujita-kun is so aloof today."

"Probably couldn't take it anymore after watching those dealers upstairs, right?"

"To be fair, I can't take it either."

The fodder joked and laughed amongst themselves, their banter blending harmoniously with the urgent alarm.

Red couldn't help but shake his head. When it came to being disappointing, Team Rocket's low-level executives truly never disappoint.

He immediately stepped onto a teleporter tile, trying his luck again. Maybe this time he'd teleport directly into Giovanni's private chambers.

*Swoosh!*

*Swoosh!*

*Swoosh!*

After teleporting several times in a row, Red stopped in a wide, open hall. It looked perfectly normal, and there was no one around.

Just as he was preparing to teleport again, a beam of white light suddenly shot up from a tile in front of him. With a flash, a figure appeared before him.

The grunt jumped, startled.

This grunt was also startled by Red's sudden appearance.

He was a scrawny man, also wearing a Team Rocket grunt uniform, with a plain face and a plaster patch on his left cheek. He was staring at Red with a look of astonishment, then he abruptly pointed a finger, his face contorting in rage as he bellowed:

"I finally caught you, intruder!"

Red: "?"

Red subconsciously checked his own face and attire. There was nothing wrong; he still looked like Fujita.

What the hell? How could he have been seen through?

"Surrender now, you despicable intruder! How dare you covet the treasures of our great Team Rocket! I'll hand your worthless life over to Lord Zeus, and tomorrow, I'll have my first stripe!"

The grunt didn't hesitate. Without waiting for a reaction, he flung a Poké Ball, immediately entering battle.

A bluish-green, spotted, beast-like Pokémon appeared. It had spikes on its back, its two small claws were held halfway up to its chest, and its small head was filled with a fierce battle intent as it let out a roar.

"Roar roar!"

The sound wasn't loud, but its aura was impressive.

"Oh~"

Red's interest was piqued. This Nidorina seemed to be quite well-raised. He glanced at the grunt's sleeve cuff—no stripes. Do Team Rocket grunts understand Pokémon now?

*Hmph, since I've been exposed, I'll just use Charizard to smash through this dungeon.*

*Do they really think a max-level player would be stupid enough to go through the newbie village plot all over again?*

A smirk lifted the corner of Red's mouth, and he reached for his waist, but his hand froze mid-air.

"..."

*My Pokémon... they all seem to be with Ash?*

Damn it.

Should I go back and get the Poké Balls from Ash?

Forget it, I'll just call for backup.

*"You free? Come give me a hand."*

With a thought, Red sent out a silent command.

As long as he was still in Celadon City, his Pokémon, with its terrifying psychic sensitivity, would naturally sense his thoughts.

Sure enough, a moment later, a sentence returned to his mind, though the tone was a bit lazy.

*"Free. Not coming. Fodder. Won't fight."*

Concise, brief, and perfectly logical.

Red: "..."

Why did it feel like he was talking to himself?

The grunt watched as the intruder's expression cycled through a full range of emotions. It was baffling, but Team Rocket never played fair and waited for their opponents. He was already planning to make the first move.

"Whatever, I'll just use this guy's Pokémon."

Red grasped the Poké Ball at his waist. The bodyguard, Fujita, only had one Pokémon. The Poké Ball looked rather old, like a family heirloom.

Red threw it out with a reverse toss.

"Squeak squeak!"

A Rattata appeared before him, full of life, its large incisors gleaming with a pure white light.

Red: "..."

The grunt sneered at the sight and ordered:

"A Rattata? And you dare to be a despicable intruder? Nidorina, use Pin Missile!"

Red, however, countered preemptively, his gaze sharpening as he commanded without hesitation: "Rattata, use Sucker Punch."

"Squeak squeak!"

A wave of dark energy, though not very dense, emanated from the Rattata. Before the Nidorina could even fire its Pin Missile, the Rattata had already seized the initiative, closing the distance in an instant and slamming its head into the Nidorina's belly, forcefully interrupting the Pin Missile.

Sucker Punch was a move that allowed the user to strike first if the opponent was also using an attack move.

"What the hell is this aura?"

The grunt was startled by the aura emanating from Red. He felt as if the foolish-looking person before him had suddenly transformed into a terrifying fierce beast.

"Rattata, use Focus Energy."

Red ignored the grunt's expression, his own face serious.

Now that a battle had begun, he wouldn't let it lose, regardless of whether this Rattata was his own Pokémon or not. Not even if it was just a common, run-of-the-mill Rattata.

Today, I'll clear this entire dungeon with just this Rattata!

A fiery expression appeared on Red's face.

(end of chapter)

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