Rescue, Battling Team Rocket!

Mingyou never expected to run into a scene like this. He originally thought an ordinary transport plane had simply crashed, but he never imagined it was Team Rocket!

Looking at the nearly ten iron cages of various sizes, all packed with Pokémon inside, there was no doubt they had been snatched from who knows where, and they had even captured Latias!

What should I do...

Mingyou had truly never seen this kind of situation. He instinctively picked up his phone to dial the emergency services, only to remember that the phone had no signal long ago.

There were also no other Trainers around this area, meaning he was the only person who witnessed this incident, along with Ogerpon... but Ogerpon was also frightened.

"Ogebun..."

"I'm here, don't be afraid..."

Mingyou held Ogerpon's hand and comforted it, while feeling extremely nervous inside. He worried they would be noticed by Team Rocket, and if Ogerpon was discovered, it would definitely be captured. He knew all too well what these scum were like.

Watching Latias being locked inside a cage by Amoonguss and placed under guard, Mingyou clenched his fists. Naturally, he really didn't want to see these Pokémon captured by Team Rocket for trade or experimentation.

Yet... he was powerless as well!

The other side was the mafia, wanted criminals hunted by the International Police, while he was just a poor commoner who wanted to live a peaceful life and lacked that kind of power...

Mingyou struggled fiercely inside. From an ordinary person's perspective, running into this kind of situation meant running as fast as possible to avoid adding trouble and losing one's life.

After all, it had nothing to do with him, nor did he have any obligation to help. Throwing his life away purely for a sense of justice in his heart was simply not worth it.

Yet he was different. His grandfather was a Ranger responsible for rescuing Pokémon, and wasn't the very purpose of him inheriting the estate to carry on his grandfather's will and continue helping and caring for Pokémon!

However...

Even if he wanted to go save them, the gap in strength was far too vast. The fact that the other party could capture Latias, a Legendary Pokémon, meant they were definitely an elite squad, and that burly man was most likely an organization executive.

As for his side, there was only Ogerpon...

I have to think of a way!

Team Rocket definitely wouldn't leave until they finished repairing the plane, so he had to make a decision within these tens of minutes!

Go? Or run away?

A choice between two...

Seeing Mingyou's expression at that moment, Ogerpon beside him couldn't help but worry as well. It knew he was very kind and wanted to rescue these Pokémon, only blaming itself for being too weak and unable to help with anything...

At that moment, however, it seemed to suddenly spot something and immediately pointed not far away, near a small earthen slope close to Team Rocket's transport plane.

"Ogebun!"

"Huh?"

Mingyou snapped back to his senses, then looked over in that direction as well. There, he saw a crystal emitting a brilliant aura. Its color was exceptionally gorgeous and eye-catching—it was precisely that Tera Crystal formed earlier!

"It's actually here too... That makes sense, the Terastal light made the plane lose balance, so it definitely should be right around here... Wait! I have a way!"

His eyes widened sharply. He looked at Latias locked inside the cage, and then at the Tera Crystal.

This Tera Crystal was blue in color, and the particles radiating from it were a mixture of blue and purple, which meant this was a Dragon-type Terastal!

And if Latias could touch the Tera Crystal, as long as it underwent Terastallization, the Tera energy would instantly fill its body, restore all its status, and make it even stronger in a short time!

They lacked the ability to contend with Team Rocket, but what about a Latias that had recovered its strength? That would naturally possess the power to battle Team Rocket!

Then he looked at Ogerpon beside him and said with a smile, "Thanks to your reminder!"

"Ogebun~"

Receiving praise, Ogerpon nodded happily, and Mingyou already had his own idea.

Ogerpon was extremely familiar with the terrain here, so he could have it sneak over from another direction while he went over to draw Team Rocket's attention, waiting for Ogerpon to rescue Latias and head to the Tera Crystal.

Although the risks were huge, he wasn't a Trainer who relied solely on Pokémon to fight. While his Pokémon worked hard, he wouldn't just stand around and watch either.

Yet as soon as he stated the plan, Ogerpon immediately grew worried. It was far too dangerous!

"It is dangerous indeed, but when things happen, we can't just sit and wait for death..."

Mingyou had grown up in a safe environment all these years; the people around him cared for him dearly, and he had never suffered any setbacks nor encountered any dangers.

At the same time, however, he knew the fragility of life. Dying once in his past life, along with the passing of his parents and grandfather in this life, had made him understand a great deal.

Even so, he wasn't someone who liked to escape. A person's life was only this long, and they always had to do some meaningful things!

"Just like this... Get ready to move out!"

Mingyou had made up his mind to rescue these Pokémon, and right at that moment, he suddenly felt something shake on his body!

"Huh?"

He was slightly startled. Following the sensation, he took the Strange Ball out of his pocket, but found it still had no movement at all, and it still couldn't be opened.

...Was it just my imagination?

Staring at the Strange Ball for a bit longer and finding no abnormalities, he could only figure that he was simply too nervous, considering he was about to face a crisis.

Seeing him remain so stubborn, Ogerpon had no choice. It then put on the Ogre Mask; since he was insistent on rescuing these Pokémon, it could only bring out its full strength to help Mingyou!

"Ogebun!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

The plan began. Team Rocket, still busy repairing the plane and keeping watch around the perimeter, had yet to realize they had been outmaneuvered by someone.

At this moment, that burly man was communicating with someone using a watch-style communicator. Through the blurry projection displayed on top, one could barely make out that the other party was a brown-haired woman with a bewitching face.

Then the burly man began to laugh loudly, saying, "Hilarious, that punk Doduo definitely didn't expect that instead of heading to the Kanto Region, we took a detour to the Sinnoh Region's branch. I really hope I can see that expression of his when he shows up to empty air, hahaha."

"You crashed halfway through the flight and you still have the face to laugh? Aren't you afraid Doduo reacts and chases after you? Taking down your squad alone is a breeze for him!"

"It's just a minor accident. We can finish repairs and take off in half an hour at most. Even if he's fast, it'll still take him an hour to rush over here."

"Hmph, remember to hurry back. The research on Shadow Pokémon is already prepared for this operation, and we're just missing Latias as that crucial experimental subject."

"Of course I know..."

Ending the communication, the burly man touched his hat, a smile instantly reappearing on his face. He looked at Latias inside the cage and said, "Did you hear that? You're going to be transformed into a Shadow Pokémon very soon."

"..."

Although Latias was furious, the toxin continuously draining its stamina left it unable to muster even a shred of strength. Watching it look like this, the burly man grew even more excited, but right after that, he heard footsteps.

"Huh?"

He turned around to look and saw that not far away, a youth was walking toward this side with a calm expression.

Thus, he reached out his hand, stopping the other surrounding Team Rocket members who wanted to launch an attack. Then, crossing his arms, he watched Mingyou stop walking and spoke in a very casual tone, "A punk who suddenly refreshed out of nowhere? If you want to cherish your life, forget about what's here and scram far away, you understand!"

The burly man looked terrifying, but was unexpectedly somewhat magnanimous. Perhaps it was because Mingyou posed no threat at all—before Team Rocket as a massive organization, he was nothing more than a passing Caterpie.

"The ones who should scram... are you guys!"

Mingyou feigned calmness as he uttered these words with a slight smile, while simultaneously observing that Ogerpon was already very close to Latias, so he only needed to buy time and draw the attention of these scum...

"Interesting..."

The burly man chuckled, as if he had found some amusement to pass the time. Ordering his subordinates to continue repairing the craft, he took out a Poké Ball and stepped forward.

"Let's do a simple self-introduction. I'm Cliff, an executive of Team Rocket's GO branch. Kid, I admire your courage, so state your name!"

"Just an ordinary commoner passing by..."