"If you stayed because of it, then you'd better behave and surrender."
Giovanni glanced behind him, and everyone's eyes followed.
A plump Gengar was being pinned to the ground by a white cat with a ruby set in its forehead. Razor claws were sunk into its flesh, Dark-type energy bursting from the wounds.
"What?!"
Officer Jenny's eyes flew wide. She could not imagine that Lavender Town's Gengar would be swatted down in one hit!
That was a Pokémon personally trained by Elite Four Agatha, usually stationed at the Pokémon Tower.
How did it get one-shot just like that?!
The gap in strength was insane!
And she wasn't the only one rattled—the other officers were all shocked by the power Giovanni had just displayed.
Beedrill. Persian.
Species not known for high overall base power, yet under that man's hand, they were reaping like gods of death!
Could a human even raise Pokémon like this?
Against Lance's dragon armada—who would truly be stronger…
Thinking was one thing; Jenny forced herself to focus on the now.
Even Gengar couldn't match that man's Pokémon…
Honestly, even she didn't know how to fight this.
Could they win?
"Leave now, and no one gets hurt. I'm only here to take back the Team Rocket executives you arrested."
Giovanni adjusted his voice; a hearty middle-aged drawl rolled out of his throat—
The kind you'd expect from some office-dwelling greasy uncle.
Jenny rifled through her memory, trying to match the voice to a Kanto notable.
She went down her mental list and didn't get a single match…
What should she do in a situation like this?
"Our esteemed Officer Jenny, what you should be paying attention to right now is your own safety, not my identity."
Giovanni chuckled coldly; a flash of killing intent lit his eyes, then he forced it down at once.
No killing.
In a heartbeat, his reason had weighed the costs.
Severely injuring a police officer would at most trigger an investigation by the League—but if someone died…
That would ignite Kanto's rage in full.
All the more since the League had deliberately chosen Lavender Town as the temporary holding site this time.
That thought made his temples throb.
That town, where Ghost-types drifted, where countless Trainers' beloved partners lay at rest.
If a prison break desecrated that sanctum, furious citizens would trample every Rocket hideout flat.
Death here wasn't just a crime—it was a profanation of the dead's peace.
No one understood that better than this underworld king.
Violence must be calculated; anger must have a price.
Living hostages have value; wounded officers create just the right chaos.
"Arr-woof!"
Flames almost spilled from Arcanine's mouth, but without Jenny's order, it couldn't attack.
It didn't have telepathy; it had no idea what Giovanni intended.
What if the enemy really went for the kill?
That was Arcanine's fear.
Criminals can be arrested again. A life lost is gone for good…
"Urgh…"
Jenny's badge shivered in the firelight.
The stinger pressing at her neck had already pricked beads of blood, yet she still forced an order through gritted teeth:
"Arcanine, ignore me! Flare Blitz—maximum power!!"
"Boom!"
Primed and ready, Arcanine snapped its head high.
Stored explosive flame gushed from between its fangs.
A crimson tide devoured its body in an instant; the air around it warped and steamed from the heat.
Where its four paws hammered down, the concrete floor crazed like melting magma. Wrapped in a do-or-die charge, it roared straight for Giovanni!
"Sigh. Pitiful loyalty. Know your limits."
Giovanni's sigh carried a lofty pity.
Before the words finished echoing, Beedrill's wings shrilled into a super-high-frequency blur, flinging Officer Jenny like a rag doll into ruins twenty meters away.
"BZZZ—!"
The piercing buzz lanced across the sky; the yellow-and-black afterimage ripped a shock cone in the air!
In less than three heartbeats, it was there before the inferno, twin stingers crossing into a death X, driving straight for Arcanine's burning throat!
KA-BOOM!!!
At the instant stinger met flame, Beedrill's overwhelming force shattered the crimson blaze to pieces.
The Elite-tier Arcanine flew like a kite with a cut string, its burning body smashing through three reinforced concrete walls before crashing into a wrecked patrol car thirty meters away amid a geyser of dust.
Beedrill slowly drew back its needles. Venom dripped from the tips, eating sizzling, charred pits into the ground.
"Threat neutralized. Proceed."
Giovanni murmured to the empty air. To others it looked like he was talking to himself.
Only he knew what kind of terrifying being was answering him.
In an instant, the foundations of the Lavender police station thrummed with a sinister hum. Webs of cracks bloomed across the masonry walls.
RUMBLE—RUMBLE—RUMBLE!!!
The entire building collapsed as if chewed hollow by Durant.
As the dust surged skyward, three figures rose from the rubble, wrapped in pale blue psychic barriers.
Archer, Ariana, Petrel.
All three had been saved by some unknown presence.
Every other officer lay crumpled on the ground, unable to move.
"Damn…"
Officer Jenny clawed herself up from the debris. Staring at Giovanni as he was about to leave, she slammed a fist into the ground, crushing a sheet of grit to powder.
"If there's a chance—see you next time."
Giovanni chuckled, then—with that Pokémon's aid—left with the other three.
Only a faint distortion lingered in the air, thick with the residue of a powerful Psychic-type energy.
Strong…
Too strong…
They never stood a chance…
——
Saffron City, inside the Fighting Dojo.
"Grey, how strong do you think Team Rocket's boss really is?"
Green rested her chin on the table, bored, counting on her fingers. Her cheek went "smack" against the cold tabletop as she tossed the question at Grey.
"He's no pushover. At least on the same level as Lance."
Grey was still grooming Zapdos. After a moment's thought, he offered his assessment to Green.
"Eh? How so? I remember Lance is a big deal! Team Rocket's boss hides his head and shows his tail, never even shows his face—isn't that because he's afraid of Lance?"
Bumiao chimed in between sunflower seeds.
To her, if you've got strength, you show it, right?
"Don't be dense. How many trainers does the League have? Team Rocket's Boss is just one guy. He's not going to go head-to-head with the entire League."
Grey gave Bumiao a helpless look and was about to add more when—ding-dong.
[Grey's VIP Lounge (6)]
[Lorelei: Damn Team Rocket…]
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