"Who! Who's out there!" Jessie's shriek came through the iron door. Hearing it, Meowth collapsed onto the floor.
In the passage, the four grunts still hadn't realized disaster was upon them. "You little punk, you're about to die and you're still playing dumb!" The lead grunt waved a hand. "Arbok, melt him with Acid!"
Arbok opened its cavernous jaws, shooting out a glob of purple, highly corrosive venom.
Lin Hao's expression remained unchanged as his fingertip pressed the button on his Poké Ball. "Charizard, clear the place."
Amid a violent tremor, there wasn't even a flash of white light. A deafening dragon's roar threatened to shatter their eardrums! Billowing waves of heat erupted like magma, flooding the entire narrow passage!
Before the glob of purple acid could get close, the intense heat evaporated it in midair!
"ROAR!" An unusually massive Charizard squeezed into the narrow passage.
There wasn't enough room for its wings to spread fully, but that did nothing to diminish its imposing presence.
The flame on its tail burned an eerie blue-white. Even the surrounding metal walls glowed red and warped under the intense heat.
"Holy... holy shit!" The lead grunt's eyes bulged. "That's a fucking Charizard?! It's a whole size bigger than a normal one!"
"It's so hot! The walls are going to melt!"
May hid behind Lin Hao, sweat pouring down her head. She stared at the raging Charizard ahead, utterly dumbfounded. You call this an ordinary person's Pokémon? Whose Charizard comes out with built-in steel mill effects?!
"Flamethrower," Lin Hao said.
"ROAR!" Charizard opened its huge mouth, and a blue-white pillar of flame nearly two meters in diameter blasted through the passage-all the way through!
"Get out of the way!" the grunts screamed, but it was far too late. The pillar of flame engulfed Arbok, Raticate, and Weezing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The three Pokémon couldn't even scream before they were hurled backward and slammed into the metal door behind them. Charred black, they fell to the floor and didn't get up.
The scorching air also knocked all four grunts to the floor. Their hair was singed, black smoke rose from their clothes, and they lay there howling.
The terrifying heat burned a huge hole through the metal door, and molten iron dripped down its frame.
"Job done." Lin Hao narrowed his eyes wearily and patted Charizard's neck. "Come back."
A red light flashed as Charizard returned to its Poké Ball. Only then did the temperature in the passage begin to drop.
Stepping over the scorched grunts littering the floor, Lin Hao approached the half-melted iron door. Clang! He kicked the ruined door off its hinges, sending it crashing onto the cargo hold floor.
Inside the cargo hold, Jessie and James huddled together while Meowth lay on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
The Team Rocket squad leader stared blankly at Lin Hao as he entered. "You... who are you?!" The squad leader drew his gun.
"I told you, I'm here to deliver a package." Lin Hao walked in with his hands in his pockets.
He surveyed the cargo hold, his gaze finally settling on the large iron cage in the corner.
Pikachu sat inside, holding an unfinished packet of Seaweed Crackers and staring at him.
"Had enough to eat?" Lin Hao asked.
"Pika~" Pikachu let out a loud burp.
"If you're full, get out yourself. Do I have to send a whole procession to escort you?" Lin Hao rolled his eyes.
"Pika!" Pikachu grabbed the cage bars with both little paws. Crackle! A burst of dazzling golden sparks erupted.
Pikachu tore a huge hole in the sturdy Alloy Cage with its bare paws, jumped out, and scrambled back onto Lin Hao's shoulder.
The Team Rocket squad leader froze at the sight.
"Ripping alloy apart bare-handed?! Since when could a fucking Pikachu do that?!"
Lin Hao turned toward Jessie and James, who were cowering in the corner. "We meet again," he said, looking at them.
"B-boss!" James dropped to his knees with a thud and repeatedly bowed his head to the floor. "We really didn't know that was your Pokémon! It climbed in by itself!"
"Yes, exactly! It ate all our snacks!" Jessie also knelt on the floor, wailing.
The squad leader's expression darkened, and he roared, "What are you three useless idiots doing?! He's only one guy! Get him!"
"If you want to fight him, do it yourself! We quit!" Jessie and James sprang to their feet. They didn't even spare Meowth, lying on the floor, a glance.
They exchanged a look, turned, and ran toward an escape hatch at the far end of the cargo hold.
Bang! The two burst through the hatch and vaulted out into the vast sea.
"Hey! You two bastards!" The squad leader stamped his feet in fury.
Lin Hao walked up to the squad leader. "Are you jumping yourself, or should I help you?"
The squad leader glanced at Pikachu, who was picking its teeth on Lin Hao's shoulder, and gave a dry cough. "I... I'll jump myself."
Splash! The squad leader jumped into the sea too.
Looking at the stolen Pokémon filling the cargo hold, Lin Hao waved to May behind him. "Investigator, I'll leave the rest to you."
"That's it? You're done?" May walked in and surveyed the wreckage. "Couldn't you follow procedure even a little?!"
"An ordinary guy like me doesn't know anything about procedure." Lin Hao turned and left. "I still need to go upstairs and eat my Argentine Red Shrimp."
Half an hour later, the chaos aboard the cruise ship had subsided. May revealed her Investigator credentials and returned the stolen Pokémon to their owners.
The cruise ship got underway again and arrived at Vermilion Harbor in Vermilion City.
Lin Hao stretched as he stepped off the deck. "What an exhausting trip. I didn't even eat enough at the buffet to get my money's worth," he complained.
"You melted their cargo hold door! You're lucky the captain didn't make you pay for it!" May said irritably.
Just as the two were about to leave Vermilion Harbor, the crowd ahead parted to either side. A burly man nearly two meters tall strode toward them, wearing black sunglasses and a camouflage vest, with a thick cigar clenched between his teeth. A group of thuggish-looking Apprentices followed him.
The burly man stopped in front of Lin Hao, looked down at him, and blew out a thick smoke ring.
"So you're the punk who burned the S.S. Anne's cargo hold?" Lt. Surge took off his sunglasses, his gaze vicious. "Don't you know this ship is under our Vermilion Gym's protection?! You think you can disrespect me, Lt. Surge, like that?!"
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