Team Rocket Appears

Giving Ash a sideways glance, Misty said, "Even though he won the battle just now, he traded his Butterfree to the opponent for their Raticate."

"A trade?" Xia You was momentarily stunned, but upon recalling this storyline, he couldn't help shaking his head. "Isn't Butterfree your partner? Why trade it away? Besides, you aren't aiming to complete the Pokédex, and a Raticate isn't any rare Pokémon-there was no need to trade with the guy."

"But..." Ash was quite conflicted, his tone unable to hide his disappointment. "Brock agreed to the trade just now too."

"He saw the guy's female companion and completely lost his mind, how could he possibly listen to you?" Misty had no recourse when it came to Brock's bad habit of falling head over heels the moment he saw a pretty woman.

Things had already reached this point, and Xia You didn't urge Ash to go back and trade his Butterfree right away; after all, everyone grew gradually, this was a stage Ash had to experience, and it was an exchange request he himself had agreed to-whoever tied the bell on the tiger had to untie it, so even if he regretted it, Ash had to figure it out himself.

"By the way." Misty took another bite of cake and asked Xia You, "Where did you go just now?"

"Just walked around the neighborhood casually." Glancing at the pieces of cake in Misty's hand, Xia You smiled. "Even though you're still growing, don't eat too many sweets. It's very easy to gain weight, you know."

Hearing this, Misty looked at Xia You, and wondering what crossed her mind, she slowly put down the cake in her hand despite feeling a bit of regret.

The whistle blew once more. The S.S. Anne had been sailing for a long time by now, and land or other ships could no longer be seen outside the windows-everywhere was blue seawater.

Sitting beside Misty, Xia You had just eaten a few bites of food when, with a sudden bang, the double doors of the hall were completely shut, and a group of ill-intentioned people popped out from nowhere.

These people wore black hats, eye masks tied across their faces, and black uniforms printed with the letter 'R', carrying machines with several tubes strapped to their backs as they surrounded the passengers completely.

Just as everyone was bewildered and at a loss, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed. A male and a female figure wearing white uniforms jumped onto a high platform formed by stacked tables, and then, amidst arrogant laughter, a spotlight struck the two of them.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" A standing Meowth finally jumped out between the two of them.

The Team Rocket Trio, who ran through the entire Pokémon anime, had finally made a brilliant appearance!

Jessie, who had thick, bright purplish-red long hair, put her hands on her hips and said loudly to the passengers, "All the Pokémon here today-we in Team Rocket are taking them all!"

"That's right!" James crossed his arms and similarly said in a loud voice, "Anyone who dares to get in our way, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Before the passengers could react, those Team Rocket grunts in black clothes activated their switches. In an instant, air currents swirled, and relying on a powerful suction force, well over half of the Pokémons' Poké Balls-whether held in hands or worn at waists-from the people standing at the very front were actually sucked into the machines.

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos, while Xia You, Ash, and Misty remained temporarily unaffected by the air currents because they were standing further back.

Team Rocket really did make a move on the passengers, just like in the animation...

After the brief panic, the passengers naturally wouldn't surrender without a fight. As one Pokémon after another was released by the people, they rose up in resistance under the command of their masters, engaging in battle with Team Rocket's Pokémon.

The Pokémon in the hands of the Team Rocket grunts were almost all Poison-type, and among them, the most common had to belong to Ekans, Koffing, and Zubat.

As for the Pokémon in the hands of the passengers, they were even more varied. Yet although their types were wide-ranging, most were still unevolved Pokémon like Rattata, Pidgey, and Bellsprout.

Ash, Misty, and Brock joined the battle as well at this point.

Both sides launched a fierce battle inside the hall, and explosions and firelight quickly left the place scarred and battered.

Generally speaking, however, if Team Rocket had no other methods, defeat was only a matter of time even without Ash and the others making a move.

Could a plan plotted for so long really be this simple?

Xia You calmly watched everything. Suddenly, he saw that in the second-floor corridor, the man codenamed Looker was battling two Pokémon against a soft-looking man wearing a Team Rocket uniform with a purple mohawk hairstyle.

His heart stirred, and with no time to greet Misty and the others, Xia You ran to the stairs and arrived at the second-floor corridor of the hall.

Looker's two Pokémon were Croagunk, a standing frog possessing an utterly punchable expression, and Growlithe, which had tiger stripes and a lion-like mane.

As for that soft man, his Pokémon were a Zubat lacking eyes yet opening a gaping maw of blood, and a Weezing constantly emitting poisonous gas.

The four Pokémon were locked in a fierce battle, and upon seeing Xia You arrive, Looker's face instantly showed pleasant surprise, whereas the soft man's expression grew even more unsightly.

"Xia You!" Looker called out, then pointed at the man and shouted, "This guy is named Lambda, one of the four executives of Team Rocket and also the field commander of this hijacking. As long as he's captured, we'll have truly stopped this riot!"

"Damn it, don't you get in the way!" Lambda roared angrily. "Whether it's the International Police or any other trainers, anyone who dares to stop Team Rocket's plans will pay the price!"

So he was the field commander. Now that he was trapped here, no wonder the Team Rocket grunts below were as chaotic as scattered sand.

"You'd better give up." Xia You said. "Take a look down below. Your plan has completely fallen apart, and your subordinates are running away in all directions. Failure is already an inevitable outcome! Kirlia, use Confusion!"

The next second, Lambda's Zubat was grabbed by the neck as if by an invisible hand, then slammed fiercely onto the ground.

With Xia You joining in, the previously evenly matched battle instantly decided a winner and loser.

Seeing this, no matter how unwilling he was, Lambda could only swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

"Don't get too happy too soon. We'll be back!" Glaring fiercely at Looker and Xia You, Lambda gave an order right after, "Weezing, use Smokescreen!"

A large sheet of black smoke spewed out from Weezing's body, enveloping Lambda.

"Oh no!" Looker was alarmed. Yet when he covered his nose and rushed into the smokescreen, he discovered that Lambda and his Pokémon had long since vanished without a trace.