"Golbat, use Air Slash!"
"Houndoom, Fire Fang! "
In the mountains of the American West, four trainers dressed in white uniforms stood coldly among the fallen Aurors of the Magical Congress. Each bore a bright red R emblazoned on their chest.
They were none other than the four Rocket Executives personally chosen by Giovanni — Archer, Ariana, Proton, and Petrel.
"How foolish. Beaten so many times and still refusing to give up," Ariana sneered, stroking her Arbok's scaled head. "If Boss Giovanni hadn't ordered us not to kill, I'd have ended them all with a single Killing Curse."
"Since those are the Boss's orders, we follow them," Proton replied calmly. "Let's move out. We've already recruited plenty of wizards here in North America."
But Archer, the leader of the four, didn't move. His sharp eyes fixed on a particular direction in the forest.
Houndoom's hackles rose. It crouched low, baring its fangs with a guttural growl.
"Grrr…"
The other three immediately realized something was wrong.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Ariana barked sharply.
"Oh? So I've been found? As expected of Pokémon — such keen senses," came an aged voice.
An elderly man emerged slowly from the shadows — white-haired, white-bearded, even his lashes ghostly pale, as though his very body had been drained of color.
"An old man?" Ariana arched an eyebrow.
He looked so frail that she half-expected him to crumble if touched. She had no interest in fighting such a fragile opponent — Giovanni would reprimand them if they caused unnecessary deaths.
"Old man, don't waste our time. Get lost before you end up dead — and don't say we didn't warn you." Ariana's voice dripped with mockery. Archer, too, felt his interest fade. Just some decrepit stranger.
But among the four, Proton's face had gone pale — as if he'd seen a ghost rise from the grave.
Why was this man here?
What were the guards at Nurmengard doing?
Did Dumbledore know about this?
Countless questions flashed through his mind before they condensed into pure terror. His throat tightened as he forced out the name — a name once whispered with dread across continents.
"G–Gellert… Grindelwald—!"
The moment he spoke, the old man did not react — but his three teammates leapt back as if a cannon had gone off beside their ears.
"Grindelwald?!"
"Wasn't he imprisoned in Nurmengard?!" Ariana gasped, genuine horror twisting her face. She didn't even consider that Proton might be lying — his surname Shafiq belonged to one of the ancient families who had once served the dark visionary.
Though Grindelwald had vanished from the world for nearly fifty years, the followers of his creed still remembered his image. Even if Proton hadn't been one of them, he surely recognized the man's face.
And if Proton said it was him… he was right.
But how had this man escaped from that hellish prison? And what business did he have with them?
"Relax. I merely wish to meet your leader — Giovanni of the Earth, isn't it?" Grindelwald smiled kindly, though to the Rocket Executives, the expression looked more terrifying than any specter.
"You want to meet our Boss?" Archer blinked. The name Giovanni alone steadied his nerves, like finding solid ground amid stormy seas.
Right — what was there to fear?
So what if he was Gellert Grindelwald?
A relic of a bygone age. Even Dumbledore admitted he was growing old — how much power could a worn, imprisoned Grindelwald still wield?
Their boss had defeated the Dark Lord himself — Giovanni, the master of both Pokémon and men.
Compared to that, Grindelwald seemed far less threatening. Perhaps the four of them together, with their Pokémon, could even take him down.
As for taking him to meet Giovanni — Archer dismissed the idea immediately.
He knew well that a man like Grindelwald would never bow to anyone. If he couldn't be tamed for Giovanni's use, then there was no need for contact. Even a temporary alliance would inevitably fracture over ideology.
And besides… did this washed-up sorcerer even qualify to stand beside Team Rocket?
"If you want to see Boss Giovanni, you'll have to get through us first!" Archer declared, stepping forward, Houndoom growling beside him.
"Wait, are you serious?!" Proton cried in panic.
He'd grown up on the stories of Grindelwald's power — he knew what they were up against. Their Pokémon might be strong, but together they only equaled the strength of a handful of elite Aurors.
Good enough for normal opponents — but against him?
"What are you afraid of? He's just an old man!" Ariana scoffed, eyes flashing with excitement. Her Arbok reared up, flicking its tongue eagerly.
"I knew it wouldn't be that simple," Grindelwald sighed.
Ever since his conversation with Charles Gold at Hogwarts, he had wanted to meet the leader of Team Rocket — Giovanni. To see whether this man might be a partner in his vision.
Yes — Slughorn had never been an Acolyte. That man in Nurmengard now was merely his double, one of his devoted followers.
Dumbledore had heard that Grindelwald had repented. That was true — but not in the way he thought. He regretted only that night in Godric's Hollow, when he'd hurt Dumbledore's sister and fled.
He never regretted trying to change the world.
Even now, in his fading visions of the future, Grindelwald still saw the same truth — that wizards must one day break free from the Statute of Secrecy.
And Pokémon… were the key.
If his plan succeeded, the world would merge through Pokémon — bridging muggles and wizards alike. There would no longer be "wizards," only "gifted humans."
And muggles with Pokémon would never again fear or persecute those with special power.
But how to make it real — that he could not see.
Divination was not omnipotence. If it were, he'd have conjured the bomb himself by now.
Would the one to lead the future be Charles Gold's International Pokémon League, or the shadowed Team Rocket opposing the International Confederation of Wizards?
(Charles: Surprise! It's both me!)
"Seems I'll have to fight after all," Grindelwald murmured.
He didn't use the Pokémon Charles had given him. Instead, he drew a wand — not his own, nor Slughorn's, but a replica of the Elder Wand. Weaker than the true artifact, yet far stronger than any ordinary wand.
The real Elder Wand's power was beyond imagination.
"Well then… let's stretch a little."
With a flick of his wrist, a spell shot forth without warning.
He hadn't used a killing curse — just aimed at the ground near Houndoom's paws. After all—
If he killed these trainers or their Pokémon, cooperation with Team Rocket would become impossible.
Archer's group, caught off guard, failed to react at first. The earth beneath Houndoom erupted in a violent blast, and only then did they move, scattering instantly.
Even Proton had no choice but to join the battle.
Ariana struck first, always impulsive.
"Arbok, Glare! "
The serpent lifted its hood, displaying its terrifying markings in an attempt to intimidate the old wizard.
But such a tactic meant nothing to Grindelwald. At her Arbok's level, that move couldn't possibly affect him.
Reality, it seemed, didn't work like the games.
"That won't work! Use Toxic instead!" Proton shouted. "Golbat, Air Slash to cover him!"
His Golbat soared skyward, slicing the air with razor-thin blades while Proton hurled several curses from his wand.
The barrage tore deep scars into the ground — but Grindelwald merely waved his wand lazily.
"Avis!"
A storm of conjured birds shot forth like arrows, intercepting every attack midair.
"So this is the might of Team Rocket's so-called 'Four Executives'? Pathetic."
"Archer! Houndoom, Flamethrower! "
Houndoom opened its jaws and unleashed a torrent of crimson fire — flames hotter than any dragon's breath, so intense the very rocks began to melt.
"Protego!"
A violet barrier shimmered to life, surrounding Grindelwald completely. The flames crashed harmlessly against it, then — with a subtle twist of his wrist — he turned them back.
The inferno flared blue, folding in on itself before exploding outward in a surge like a tidal wave of fire. The icy flames swallowed Houndoom whole.
The beast roared as blue fire struck its chest, scattering sparks across the mountainside.
Archer shielded himself from the heat, face grim. "Impressive… so this is the spell that nearly destroyed Paris? But my Houndoom's Ability is Flash Fire! Fire only makes it stronger!"
From within the blue blaze, the dark hound stood tall and defiant, wreathed in ghostly fire. Yet Grindelwald merely chuckled.
Destroyed Paris?This was nothing — just a casual flicker of flame.
He didn't bother to explain. With another motion, his wand burst with scarlet light — a blazing spear of magic shot forth. Houndoom tried to dodge, but the blast grazed its flank, leaving a deep, bloody wound.
"Houndoom!"
Archer rushed forward, but the ground beneath him turned fluid, sucking him in up to the waist.
"Golbat, Toxic! "
"Weezing, Smog! "
Thick black smoke billowed out from Weezing's pores, shrouding the entire area in darkness.
Using echolocation, Golbat honed in on Grindelwald's position and spat jets of venom toward him.
But Grindelwald had already raised his shield. The poison splashed harmlessly against the shimmering barrier.
"Ventus!"
A fierce gust howled through the valley, clearing the smog away like a tornado. Grindelwald smiled — but then the ground beneath him stirred. A flash of purple lightning burst upward.
Arbok!
"Bind! "
Ariana grinned.
The smokescreen hadn't been just for cover — her Arbok had burrowed underground, waiting for this moment. As Grindelwald dismissed his shield, the serpent struck, coiling tightly around him.
Its muscles constricted like iron, crushing tighter with every breath. In seconds, it could shatter his bones and rupture his organs.
"So much for the great Grindelwald," Archer smirked. "You worried for nothing, Proton."
He knelt beside his recovering Houndoom, spraying its wound with Rocket-issued medicine — a potion stronger than Skele-Gro, and mass-produced, no less.
"That stuff's better than any healing elixir," Ariana noted. "Is Houndoom all right?"
"He's fine," Archer replied, exhaling.
"Then it's settled. We've captured Grindelwald — time to bring him before Boss Giovanni."
The four spoke proudly, unaware that the man wrapped in Arbok's coils was smiling faintly — a stiff, eerie grin frozen on his face.
(End of Chapter)