"Wait, is something lying over there?" Lin Hao stared ahead.
Following the current, the speedboat slowly approached a shoal on the outskirts of Fuchsia City. Thick morning fog hung over the beach, where a conspicuous trail of blood marked something being dragged.
"Whatever it is," Lin Hao said as he climbed off the boat and yawned, "all I want right now is somewhere to eat breakfast. Too bad my free buffet on Cinnabar Island is officially a bust."
"Is food all you think about?!" May followed with her head down.
They followed the blood trail, but hadn't gone far before Lin Hao stopped. Beside a reef ahead lay a Pokémon barely clinging to life.
Its body was deep blue, a long pink tongue wrapped around its neck, and open wounds covered its slender limbs.
"Greninja?" May exclaimed. "Isn't that one of the Kalos Region's starter Pokémon? What's it doing on a deserted beach in Kanto?"
Hearing their voices, Greninja struggled to open one eye. It looked at Lin Hao and shrank back.
It still clutched an intricately crafted Black Metal Hard Drive. "Gren..." Greninja rasped, trying to retreat.
"Don't move. You're badly hurt." May took out a Potion and tried to approach.
No sooner had she spoken than whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A dozen or so dark figures suddenly sprang from the nearby woods.
They surrounded Lin Hao and May, all wearing black uniforms with a striking blood-red "R" emblazoned on their chests.
An elite Team Rocket pursuit squad! "Little girl, keep your hands off that frog!" Their scar-faced leader walked over, giving her a sidelong glare.
He held an electrified Alloy Whip. "We've been chasing it for three whole days. Finally too tired to run, huh?" The scar-faced man sneered. "Hand over that hard drive, and I'll give you a quick death."
Greninja held its breath and guarded the hard drive tightly.
"Team Rocket!" May gripped a Poké Ball. "What do you think you're doing in broad daylight?!"
"A League Investigator?" The scar-faced man glanced at May's credentials and snorted. "Out here in the middle of nowhere, even an Investigator can die. Go, Houndoom! Crobat!"
A dozen or so vicious-looking Pokémon blocked every escape route. Lin Hao crouched down, lowered his head, and opened his backpack.
He pulled out a few brightly colored packets of biscuits. "This is the last of my food," Lin Hao muttered to himself. He tore open a packet and was just about to take one out.
"Hey! You, the kid spacing out!" The scar-faced man pointed at Lin Hao with a scowl. "Kick that Greninja over here, and I'll leave your corpse in one piece!"
As he spoke, he casually flicked his electric whip. Crack! It missed Lin Hao but struck the packet of biscuits in his hand squarely.
The packet split open on the spot, scattering fine crumbs of seaweed-flavored biscuits across the sandy beach.
The sea breeze blew past. Lin Hao's hand remained poised to take a biscuit for three full seconds.
"You ruined my breakfast." Lin Hao's voice was flat, with a chilling edge.
"It's just a lousy packet of biscuits!" The scar-faced man roared with laughter. "You broke little bastard, I'll send you to hell for a feast! Houndoom, Flamethrower!"
"Roar!" Several Houndoom opened their jaws at once, sending raging flames straight at Lin Hao.
Inside the system space, Groudon roared furiously: "(Roar! How dare they steal Master's food! Let me out so I can stomp them to pieces!)"
Ho-Oh's whole body blazed: "(Burn them to death! Let me burn them with my sacred fire!)"
Mewtwo offered a single remark: "(A bunch of ants dare waste Master's food.)"
"All of you, shut up," Lin Hao replied inwardly.
Facing the oncoming flames in the real world, Lin Hao didn't even raise his head. "Pikachu." He looked at the enemy. "Make them pay for my biscuits."
"Pika!" Pikachu leaped down from Lin Hao's shoulder and puffed out its cheeks. Staring at the crumbs on the ground, the tip of its tail twitched.
"Boom!" Pikachu didn't use any Electric-type moves at all. It simply clenched its tiny right fist with brute force.
Blinding white light burst from its fist. Mega Punch! Pikachu's small body became a streak of yellow light as it charged head-on into the sea of flames!
"You've got a death wish! A mere mouse thinks it can take that head-on?!" The scar-faced man laughed, then abruptly fell silent.
Bang! Pikachu smashed its fist straight into the center of the flames, unleashing a terrifying sonic boom.
The force of that single punch tore every Flamethrower apart! Sparks flew everywhere.
Without slowing down, Pikachu slammed its fist hard into the face of the foremost Houndoom.
Crack! With the sound of breaking bone, the muscular Houndoom went flying. It knocked down three trees in succession before its eyes rolled back and it passed out on the spot.
Silence fell. The dozen or so Team Rocket members stared in shock. "Wh-what kind of monstrous strength is that?!" Cold sweat poured down the scar-faced man's face.
"Attack! All of you, attack! Tear it apart!" the scar-faced man bellowed in fury. A dozen or so Pokémon hurled themselves at Pikachu without regard for their lives.
"Pikachu, Thunder." Lin Hao didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu clapped its paws together. Boom! An enormous golden pillar of lightning crashed down and swept across the beach!
Lightning lit up the entire beach as screams rang out one after another. In less than five seconds, the light faded. All dozen or so Pokémon had been reduced to charred forms trailing black smoke.
The raging current also caught the dozen or so Team Rocket members. Their hair stood on end, black smoke poured from their mouths, and they all collapsed to the ground, twitching.
Lin Hao brushed the biscuit crumbs off his hands and walked up to the scar-faced man. He rummaged through the man's pocket and pulled out a few League Coin notes. "This is what you owe me for my biscuits." He tucked the money into his pocket.
Lying beside the reef, Greninja watched the whole thing in a daze. It looked at Pikachu, which was now casually licking its paws.
Then it looked at the languid Lin Hao, his hands tucked into his pockets. Finally, it could hold on no longer.
"Gren..." Greninja closed its eyes and lost consciousness.
May hurried over, quickly took out a scanner, and scanned Greninja.
"Lin Hao!" May raised her head. "This Greninja's file is encrypted! It has no record of living in the wild!" Lin Hao yawned, uninterested.
Just then, Greninja suddenly convulsed violently. Its eyes snapped open, and it grabbed the hem of Lin Hao's jacket with all its strength.
"Gren... (They're... also after...)" Greninja sent out a halting Aura message.
Before you continue