Shielding the old man behind him, Xia You seized the initiative and ordered, "Everyone, attack together!"
His Pokémon unleashed their moves at once. In an instant, a riot of colorful attacks flew toward Murkrow and Arbok.
Athena directed her Pokémon to dodge while sneering, "Ganging up on us? Your methods really are different from those of most Trainers!"
Xia You did not bother responding to her taunt. This was not a Trainer battle, after all, so there was no need to follow battle rules.
Still, her two Pokémon were undeniably strong. Even under assault from several opponents, they managed to find openings to counterattack.
"Murkrow, use Wing Attack! Arbok, use Acid Spray!"
Seeing this, Xia You refused to back down and chose to meet her attacks head-on.
"Charmander, use Ember! Squirtle, use Water Gun!"
The attacks collided in an explosion, but Xia You had more Pokémon on his side. He continued issuing orders. "Jolteon, use Thunder Shock! Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!"
Murkrow and Arbok failed to dodge in time. Both were struck and let out low cries of pain.
"Tch!" Athena gritted her teeth. In the end, she had underestimated the man before her-and, even more so, the number of Pokémon he had.
"Good!" Seeing that the attacks had worked, Xia You pressed his advantage. "Kirlia, use Confusion and hold them in place!"
Arbok had been dodging attacks when Confusion suddenly tugged at its body, making it freeze for a moment. Xia You's Pokémon seized the opening and focused their fire, landing several moves at once!
The repeated blows made Athena realize that the situation had turned against her. However unwilling she was, the circumstances forced her to give the wisest order she could.
"Damn it, we're retreating!"
With that, she recalled Arbok into its Poké Ball, took a running start, and leaped through the office's shattered window-from more than twenty floors above the ground!
Then a dark shape flashed before Xia You's eyes. Murkrow swept past him, grabbed one of Athena's arms, and carried her far away from Silph Co.
Once he was sure Athena had left, Xia You let out a long breath. Looking at the wreckage strewn across the floor, he turned back apologetically. "Sorry for leaving your office in such a mess."
The old man smiled kindly. "It's all right. Compared with our lives, what does a little damage matter?"
Unexpectedly, however, Athena's retreat seemed to have triggered a chain reaction.
The sounds of battle in the hallway had stopped, and the Team Rocket members could no longer be heard. When Xia You opened the office door, he came face-to-face with Sabrina.
"Are you all right?" Xia You asked with concern, looking past her shoulder at the hallway behind her.
"I'm fine." Sabrina shook her head. "But in the middle of the fight, they suddenly all retreated. I don't know why."
Aside from the traces of the recent battle, there was no sign of Team Rocket in the hallway. They had even taken their unconscious members with them!
"Maybe their plan fell apart, and they left because they had no hope of kidnapping this gentleman."
As he spoke, Xia You recalled his Pokémon one by one, leaving only Kirlia and Gastly out.
The old man's gaze moved between Xia You's face and the Poké Ball containing Zapdos, and he gave a discreet nod.
He thanked them sincerely. "Thank you both so much. If you hadn't helped today, not only would this company have been completely ruined, but the entire world might have suffered a catastrophe."
This was no exaggeration. In fact, if the Master Ball had fallen into Team Rocket's hands and been mass-produced, it would inevitably have caused severe damage to the ecological balance.
"We only did what we could." Xia You then turned to Sabrina. "There are still a lot of researchers locked up elsewhere. I think we should call the police first and let them handle it."
Sabrina nodded and went downstairs to take care of things. Xia You also sent Gastly to look around for any potential dangers nearby.
Once those matters were settled, the old man invited him back into the office.
"Sorry, I haven't had a chance to introduce myself," the old man said. "My name is Silph. I'm the President of this company."
Xia You had already figured that out. "Hello, Mr. Silph. I'm Xia You, a Pokémon Trainer."
Silph invited Xia You to rest on the badly damaged sofa and studied him for a long while. Finally, as though he had reached a decision, he walked slowly to a wall and activated a switch, revealing a high-tech safe behind it.
He opened the safe with his fingerprint and took out a Poké Ball.
This Poké Ball looked different from ordinary Poké Balls and Great Balls. Its lower half was the usual white, while its upper half was bluish-purple. On either side was a pink semicircle resembling a fly's eye, and a large "M" was marked right in the center.
Walking over to Xia You, Silph held out the Poké Ball and said solemnly, "As thanks, I'd like to give you this Master Ball."
"Isn't this far too valuable a gift?" Xia You quickly stood up. Although the Master Ball was incredibly precious, he preferred to catch the Pokémon he liked through battle.
"Please take it." Silph let out a long sigh. "We've only produced a few Master Balls, and they've already caused such an uproar.
If we actually finish the research, who knows what other trouble it might bring?"
Xia You asked, "Then why not lock it away forever?"
Silph shook his head, as though he had seen through it all. "No matter where you bury treasure, it will attract the greedy. I'd rather leave it in your hands."
Seeing how firm he was, Xia You considered it briefly, then stopped refusing and accepted the weighty gift with both hands.
When Sabrina returned, Xia You decided to leave quietly before the police arrived to avoid any trouble.
After all, he did not want to reveal any information about either Zapdos or the Master Ball.
The two said goodbye to Silph and took the elevator down and out of the building. Watching the sun slowly set, they felt as though a lifetime had passed, even though they had only been inside for a few hours, after so many fierce battles.
Then Sabrina said, "Well, now that the job is finished, I should head back to the Gym."
Xia You turned to look at her. He wanted to say something to thank her, but in the end, he said nothing and simply held out his right hand.
"I hope we'll meet again."
Sabrina nodded and clasped his hand with her soft one.
"My intuition tells me we definitely will!"
Before you continue