Chapter 92: Night Visit to the Game Corner
"Ah? Doesn't that put me in danger!"
Ash held Pikachu tightly, feeling a chill down his spine.
*Pika, pika!* Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and nuzzled his face, as if comforting him.
*Woo—* A familiar voice echoed through the sky.
Everyone looked up sharply, and a fierce gust of wind followed.
*Woohoo~* A massive Dragonite landed.
"It's Lance!" Ash exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the person on Dragonite's back.
"Ash, Natsume, what are you doing here?" Lance jumped off Dragonite and greeted the three.
*Roar!* A long screech came from the sky, and an Aerodactyl landed next.
"Huh? Mr. Lance, is there someone else?" Jenny asked in surprise.
"No." Lance shook his head.
Everyone looked, and a man jumped down from the Aerodactyl.
He wore a gray-black wool vest, had short teal hair, and in the darkness, he stood out as boldly as Lance.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Archer, Director of Team Rocket."
Archer stepped in front of everyone and gave a slight bow.
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted. "How dare you show up here!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu let out a cold snort.
"Wait, Ash, Archer is here to assist us," Lance said, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder.
"Assist?" Ash was puzzled, then noticed Natsume winking at him.
He remembered that Natsume had mentioned Team Rocket had some legitimate enterprises.
"Hmph!" Ash turned away, still distrustful.
"In that case, shall we go?" Archer said.
"Wait." Natsume called out.
"You're here to sort things out? You're not secretly on some mission, like taking out Team Rocket members before we uncover anything?"
Natsume's words were casual, but Archer shook his head.
"Of course not. Our Team Rocket always deals with criminals. Perhaps Boss Giovanni already sent someone."
Archer smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Shall we get going, Mr. Lance?" Jenny looked toward the group.
"Lance, there's something off about him."
On the way, Natsume's voice suddenly echoed in Lance's mind, startling him—it was like the telepathy of the Saffron Gym.
"No way… Jenny told me this involves Team Rocket. I went straight to him, probably too late for him to react."
Hearing this, Natsume nodded slightly.
Both of them were right. Archer hadn't had time to react, but there was definitely something suspicious.
Natsume subtly used telekinesis to sense Archer's emotions.
Though Archer hid it well, Natsume could feel a trace of anxiety in his heart.
Archer walked at the front, his undershirt damp with sweat.
If he ruined this operation, Boss Giovanni's plan would fail.
He might easily take the experimental data under everyone's eyes, but what about the remaining Team Rocket members?
The League would surely uncover some clue.
"Mr. Archer, I hope you're truly here to assist us."
Outside the Game Corner, Jenny watched Archer warily.
"Haha, of course."
Archer glanced at Lance without expression, fingers brushing over a Pokéball before pulling out a set of keys.
*Creak~* The game corner doors opened.
"Wow, this game corner is really suspicious. It's already closed at night."
Ash looked around, noticing that all other places were brightly lit, only the Game Corner was shut and locked.
Hearing Ash's voice, Archer's hand trembled slightly on the door.
*Damn it, which idiot is in charge here?*
"Follow me." Natsume held his Rotom Phone and passed by Archer, leading the way.
"Go and open the hidden door here." Reaching a room in the game corner, Natsume looked at Archer.
Archer knew that pretending to be clueless wouldn't work now.
Soon, a hidden passage revealed itself before everyone.
"You Team Rocket folks really love digging holes." Ash glanced inside, seeing a large open space.
"Not going down?" Archer raised an eyebrow.
"Relax. I said I'm here to sort things out, and that's exactly what I'm doing." Archer said, jumping down first.
"Jenny, please guard the exit." Lance requested before descending.
"Sure, no problem." Jenny nodded, watching everyone enter the underground space.
Unlike what they expected, the underground area was a vast forest.
Not only a forest, but not far away, they could also see a lake.
"This underground area is a huge mimicry circle?" Lance said in shock.
"Wow, I wonder if there are any Pokémon in here… Ah!" Ash was cut off as Pikachu nudged him.
"You're right, Pikachu. We should first find Misty and see what this is!"
Before Ash could finish, a child suddenly jumped out of the nearby grass.
"Seed, seed!" The child crouched on the ground, mimicking Bulbasaur's cries.
"What's wrong with you?" Ash stepped forward, but the child leapt away like a wild Pokémon startled by a Trainer.
"Cater~ pieeeeeeee~" In a nearby tree, another child appeared, imitating a Caterpie, crawling out like a cocoon.
Both children had helmet-like devices on their heads.
"What is going on?" Lance glared in anger.
"These disgraceful scoundrels tarnishing Team Rocket's name—I'll find whoever's responsible and make them answer for this." Archer's face showed pure fury, as if he were the enforcer.
*Clack!* Lance suddenly placed a hand on Archer's shoulder.
"In that case, lead us to them." Lance's voice was low and firm.
So far, they hadn't seen a single Team Rocket member.
Archer nodded, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists.
"Ash, go find Misty!" Natsume uploaded the map location to Ash's Pokédex.
"Natsume, where are you going? I want to go too!" Ash worried about missing something.
*Pika-pi!* Pikachu tapped Ash's face, agreeing that they should find Misty first.
"Ash, aren't you curious what Pokémon Misty thinks she is in the hypnotic world?"
Ash paused, realizing this was even more important.
"Also, I recently upgraded your Pokédex's camera function. Now the videos are in 4K HD!"
"Whoa!" Ash's eyes lit up.
"Then Natsume, I'm going to film… and rescue Misty!"
Saying this, Ash dashed toward a marked point on the map near a lake.
Watching Ash run, Natsume turned to Lance and Archer at the front.
Following Archer's lead, the group soon exited the mimicry circle.
Before them stood a massive underground warehouse, its ceiling lined with twisted circuits providing power for the mimicry circle.
*Boom!*
A violent rumble echoed through the warehouse.
Immediately after, the three saw numerous Team Rocket members fleeing in panic.
You can read more (around 100+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.