Team Rocket and Lorelei of the Elite Four

With Charmeleon lighting the way, Gary plunged into the caves of Mt. Moon alongside his Pokémon.

Most of the Pokémon living in the caves were light-averse creatures like Paras and Diglett, so no wild Pokémon came out to ambush them.

However, the Clefairy Gary was looking for had yet to appear either.

Finding a Clefairy was crucial if he wanted to find a Moon Stone on Mt. Moon.

Basically, all the Moon Stones on Mt. Moon were in the hands of Clefairy.

"You lot, hurry up and pack! We're pulling out!" Voices suddenly rang out ahead, startling Gary.

"Charmeleon, come back for now." Gary recalled Charmeleon, then pressed himself against the rock wall to hide.

Soon, firelight illuminated the cavern ahead, and three people in Team Rocket uniforms emerged with a balding scholar, passing not far from Gary.

"The experimental specimens here are terrible. Let's relocate to Johto," the bald scholar muttered to himself.

"Yes, Dr. Lanbo..."

"You're absolutely right, Dr. Beibo..."

The old man's mouth twitched. "My fucking name is Dr. Namba!"

"Of course, Dr. Lanbo!"

Crouched in the corner, Gary listened with his own mouth twitching. So this bald guy was Dr. Namba.

The old bastard was supposedly an authority on Pokémon evolution. Apparently, he had been conducting more secret experiments on Mt. Moon...

Watching them leave the cave, Gary breathed a sigh of relief. "They should be gone now. I need to see what they've been doing."

With that thought, Gary stood and crept toward the direction they had come from.

Bang! Alarm bells suddenly blared in Gary's mind, and he rolled across the ground.

A rock shattered with a crash right where he had been standing!

"Hmph! I noticed a rat in the cave earlier. Turns out it was just some brat." A Team Rocket squad leader appeared before Gary with two grunts.

Gary's mouth twitched. He had let his guard down!

He had actually forgotten that a Team Rocket squad should have five or six members!

The group that had passed him clearly hadn't had enough people. The others had stayed behind to intercept him.

Gary looked toward the Team Rocket members, and his pupils contracted.

Behind them, four or five iron cages stood against the rock wall.

They held Sandshrew, Zubat, Geodude, Clefairy, and even a Rhyhorn!

"Guess you're not going to let me walk away, huh?" Gary quipped, reaching for his belt and gripping a Poké Ball.

"What do you think, brat?" The Team Rocket squad leader waved with a vicious grin, and his two underlings opened one of the cages.

The bewildered Rhyhorn cautiously stepped out.

Without another word, the squad leader took out a syringe and jabbed it straight into a gap in Rhyhorn's armor.

"Tsk, tsk. So this is Kanto's den of monsters." Watching Rhyhorn's eyes gradually turn bloodshot, Gary sighed.

Why was Kanto home to the Pokémon League headquarters? Because it had not only the strongest Elite Four, but also the most troublesome villains.

The criminal organizations in other regions were basically all obsessed with pursuing the power of Legendary Pokémon and destroying the world.

Only Kanto's Team Rocket understood economic development and valued scientific research. Even something as outrageous as creating a god was practically effortless for Giovanni.

Compared to Team Rocket, the other villains were truly shallow... far too shallow...

Under Gary's deeply furrowed gaze, Rhyhorn's entire body began to radiate the white light of evolution.

Soon, a mighty, imposing Rhydon stood before him.

"Forced Evolution? And through drugs, at that..." Gary glared angrily at the Team Rocket members.

This method of evolution didn't just exhaust a Pokémon's potential. One mistake could cost the Pokémon its life!

"Hmph. Scared now, brat? Too late! Rhydon, finish him!" The squad leader viciously waved his hand.

The bloodshot-eyed Rhydon flew into a frenzy. Its horn spun at high speed in a Horn Drill as it charged toward Gary.

One hit from that thing would punch clean through him!

"Eevee, use Water Gun!" Gary immediately fought back.

"Vee!" Released from the Poké Ball, Eevee instantly fired a stream of water right into Rhydon's face.

Yet the rampaging Rhydon didn't stop. Instead, it charged even faster.

"Motherfucker!" Gary gritted his teeth, scooped up Eevee, and rolled, narrowly avoiding Rhydon's charge.

"Hahaha! Stop struggling, brat! You're dead!" The three Team Rocket members roared with laughter.

"Nidorino, Scyther, Charmeleon!" With a sweep of Gary's hand, every Pokémon he currently had that could fight appeared beside him.

"Eevee, use Water Gun again! Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage! Nidorino, meet it head-on with Horn Attack!" Gary first ordered the three Pokémon to gang up on Rhydon, then turned his gaze on the Team Rocket trio. "Scyther, forget everything else! Charge in and hack those three bastards to death!"

"Scy!" Without hesitation, Scyther swung its blades and rushed the three Team Rocket members.

"Hey! Don't do anything crazy-aaah!" The three were dumbfounded. Who was the terrorist here?!

Scyther plunged into their midst, slashing left and right. Any arm raised to block was hacked, any leg put in the way was cut, and blood instantly sprayed...

Thud! Meanwhile, Nidorino was already flying backward. It might have stood a chance against Rhydon head-on if it had been a Nidoking.

With that difference in weight, it simply couldn't budge its opponent!

Eevee and Charmeleon could still maneuver around Rhydon with their nimble footwork, but against its rampage, they were barely holding on.

"Damn it. We're still not strong enough." Gary's brows knitted tightly.

"Eevee, Quick Attack! Charmeleon, use Smokescreen! Don't fight it head-on!" Gary's strategy came down to one word: stall!

Rhydon had been pumped full of stimulants. He refused to believe it could keep rampaging for hours. As long as they held out, his side would win in the end!

The cramped battlefield inside the cave limited the space Gary's team had to maneuver.

For a while, danger came from every direction.

Boom! A rock flew just over Gary's head. That was Rock Blast!

The rampaging Rhydon was throwing out moves like they cost nothing!

Gary's face paled slightly. "Maybe I should call for help..."

"Roar!" After taking another Flamethrower from Charmeleon, Rhydon turned straight toward Gary and charged.

"Arceus, work a miracle! Somebody save me!" Gary abruptly rolled to the side.

"Ice Beam!" A mature, sultry voice suddenly rang out.

Crack! Gary's eyes shook with shock. The Rhydon that had been rampaging a moment earlier had become a lifelike ice sculpture.

"Well now~ Do I look like Arceus?" A woman with a stunning figure strolled out of the shadows.

She had long, rose-red hair, a black shirt, and a short, figure-hugging blue skirt.

"Lorelei of the Elite Four!" Gary exclaimed.

She was no ordinary trainer. Supposedly, this woman was the reason Lance had failed the Elite Four challenge five years running.

Kanto's number-two Pokémon trainer, the Ice-type expert, Lorelei.

Lance had repeatedly tried to claim the Champion's position, only to fall at this woman's hands every time. She had practically beaten his head in...

That alone showed just how terrifyingly strong she was.

"You're safe now~ You're not hurt, are you?" Lorelei adjusted her glasses and gave him a gentle smile.

Gary shook his head, marveling inwardly. What an enchantress...

Every smile, every little shift in her expression, was utterly captivating.

"Looks like I was a step too late." Lorelei frowned. "Has Team Rocket already withdrawn from here?"

"Uh... there were actually three left." Gary pointed to the trio lying on the ground farther inside the cave. "I didn't know whether I could get away, so I took them out first."

Looking at the three Team Rocket members in the corner, whose fate was uncertain, Lorelei gave Gary a surprised glance. "I wouldn't have guessed. You're pretty decisive."

Gary took out a Potion and carefully treated Eevee's and Charmeleon's wounds, then shrugged indifferently. "This isn't playing house. They wanted to hurt me, so I had to hurt them first. Just self-defense. Besides, I don't have morals, so nobody can guilt-trip me..."

"Pfft~" Lorelei covered her mouth and chuckled. "What an interesting young boy. Nice to meet you. I'm Lorelei."

Gary smiled softly. "This isn't our first meeting. I met you once at the Indigo Plateau with my grandfather. I'm Gary Oak."

Lorelei's eyes lit up. "Oak~ Right, you're Professor Oak's handsome little grandson."

Gary scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm all right. Just averagely handsome."

Lorelei gave Gary a flirtatious wink. "And modest, too. All right, I'll notify Officer Jenny to handle things here. What are you planning to do next?"

Gary touched Rhydon's frozen form. "This one was forcibly evolved. There are probably going to be problems, so I'd like to take it to a Pokémon Center for an examination. Would that be all right?"

Lorelei had little interest in such minor matters and waved a hand. "No problem. You rescued all the Pokémon here. Handle them however you see fit."

Gary nodded, took out a Poké Ball, and caught Rhydon. Then he approached the iron cages and opened their latches.

The wild Pokémon trembled, apparently still unsure what had happened.

After a moment's thought, Gary reached in and carefully lifted out Clefairy. "It's all right, little one. You're free."

Stroking Clefairy's head, Gary spoke gently.

"Clef?" Clefairy gave Gary a puzzled look, then understood.

It took a few tentative steps and found that Gary was simply watching it with a smile.

At last, the little one boldly ran deeper into the cave.

With Clefairy leading the way, the other wild Pokémon expressed their gratitude to Gary before turning and leaving.

Watching Gary, Lorelei nodded. As expected of Professor Oak's grandson, he really was a gentle boy.