Misty glanced at Ash and said, "Even though he won the battle earlier, he traded his Butterfree for the other Trainer's Raticate."
"Traded?" Natsui was surprised at first, but upon remembering this episode from the story, he couldn't help but shake his head. "Wasn't Butterfree your partner? Why did you trade it? Besides, your goal isn't to complete the Pokédex, and Raticate isn't such a rare Pokémon that it's worth the trade."
"But…" Ash was also very hesitant, his tone unable to hide his disappointment, "Brock also agreed to the trade."
"That's because he saw the other guy's female companion and couldn't take his eyes off her, how was he supposed to listen to you?" Misty also didn't know what to do about Brock's habit of going crazy whenever he saw a pretty woman.
Since things were already like this, Natsui didn't try to convince Ash to get his Butterfree back right away. After all, everyone grows up little by little, and this was a stage Ash had to go through. Besides, he was the one who accepted the trade proposal; he who tied the knot must untie it. Even if he regretted it, he had to wait for Ash to understand it on his own.
"By the way," Misty took another bite of cake and asked Natsui, "where have you been?"
"Just taking a look around." Natsui looked at the pieces of cake in Misty's hand and smiled. "Even if you are at a growing age, you shouldn't eat so many sweets, it's very easy to gain weight, you know?"
Hearing this, Misty looked at Natsui and, as if remembering something, though with some regret, she slowly put the cake down on the table.
The ship's siren sounded again. The S.S. Anne had been sailing for a long time now. Through the window, no land or other ships could be seen, only the deep blue sea everywhere.
Natsui sat down next to Misty and had barely taken a few bites of food when, suddenly, with a loud bang, all the doors to the hall slammed shut. A group of people with ill intentions appeared out of nowhere.
These people wore black hats, masks over their eyes, and were dressed in black uniforms with the letter 'R' printed on them. They carried machines with several suction tubes on their backs and surrounded the passengers.
Just as everyone was confused and unsure what to do, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed. Two figures, a man and a woman dressed in white uniforms, leaped onto a platform made of stacked tables. Then, amidst arrogant laughter, a spotlight shone on them.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" exclaimed a standing Meowth, jumping between the two at the end.
The Team Rocket trio, present throughout the entire Pokémon series, had finally made their grand appearance!
Jessie, with her long and voluminous magenta hair, put her hands on her hips and shouted to the passengers, "All the Pokémon here today, Team Rocket will be taking them!"
"That's right!" James exclaimed with his arms crossed, also shouting. "And if anyone dares to interfere, don't blame us for not being nice!"
The passengers had no time to react. The black-clad Team Rocket members activated their machines, and in an instant, a powerful gust of wind swirled around. With the strong suction, the vast majority of Poké Balls from the people closest, whether in their hands or on their belts, were sucked into the machines.
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos. Natsui, Ash, Misty, and the others, being farther away, had not yet been reached by the current of air.
Team Rocket, just like in the series, had finally attacked the passengers…
After a brief moment of panic, the passengers were naturally not going to give up without a fight. One by one, they released their Pokémon and, under their owners' orders, they fought back and began to battle Team Rocket's Pokémon.
The Team Rocket members' Pokémon were almost all Poison-types, the most common being Ekans, Koffing, and Zubat.
On the other hand, the passengers' Pokémon were much more varied, but although there were many types, most were unevolved Pokémon like Rattata, Pidgey, and Bellsprout.
Ash, Misty, and Brock also joined the battle.
Both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the hall. Explosions and flashes of fire soon left the place a mess.
However, overall, if Team Rocket had no other tricks up their sleeve, even without the help of Ash and his group, their defeat was only a matter of time.
Could a plan so long in the making be this simple?
Natsui watched everything calmly. Suddenly, he saw on the second-floor gallery the man with the codename Handsome, who was battling with two Pokémon against an effeminate-looking man in a Team Rocket uniform with a purple mohawk hairstyle.
With a hunch, and with no time to warn Misty and the others, Natsui ran towards the stairs and went up to the second-floor gallery.
Handsome's two Pokémon were a Croagunk, a standing frog with a sour face, and a Growlithe, with tiger stripes and a lion's mane.
And the effeminate man's Pokémon were a Zubat, with no eyes but a huge mouth, and a Weezing that was constantly emitting toxic gases.
The four Pokémon were in the middle of a fierce battle. Seeing Natsui arrive, Handsome's face lit up with joy, while the effeminate man's face grew even darker.
"Natsui!" Handsome exclaimed, and then, pointing to the other man, he shouted, "This guy is named Lambda, he's one of Team Rocket's four Commanders and the head of operations for this heist! If we catch him, we'll truly stop this chaos!"
"Damn it, stay out of my way!" Lambda shouted angrily. "Whether it's the International Police or any other Trainer, if you dare to interfere with Team Rocket's plans, you will pay the consequences!"
So he was the head of operations. It was no wonder that, being trapped here, the Team Rocket members below were so disorganized.
"You'd better surrender," Natsui said. "Look down. Your plan has completely failed, your subordinates have been defeated and are fleeing. Defeat is inevitable! Kirlia, use Psychic!"
The next second, Lambda's Zubat was as if grabbed by the neck and violently slammed into the ground.
With Natsui's addition, the situation, which had been a close tie, was resolved in an instant.
Seeing this, no matter how frustrated he was, Lambda had no choice but to swallow the bitter taste of defeat.
"Don't get too happy, we'll be back!" he said, giving Handsome and Natsui a furious glare. After saying this, Lambda commanded, "Weezing, use Smokescreen!"
A thick cloud of black smoke billowed from Weezing's body, enveloping Lambda.
"Curses!" Handsome exclaimed, and when he covered his nose and entered the smoke, he discovered that Lambda and his Pokémon had already vanished without a trace.