"Blast it open!"
Lance's roar rang out across the deck, filled with towering fury.
Dragonite roared again, dazzling Dragon-type energy gathering around his enormous claws as he slashed viciously at the seemingly flimsy Energy Shield.
Boom!
The Energy Shield flickered violently, ripples spreading across its surface, but ultimately held firm against the blow.
The Tyrant's emergency defense system was the pinnacle of Team Rocket's technology, its defenses strong enough to withstand an Elite-level Pokémon's fierce assault for a short time.
Enraged, Lance was about to have Dragonite gather power and unleash a more powerful Hyper Beam to smash through this turtle shell.
Just then, the emergency Communicator on his wrist suddenly rang.
It was the deputy commander of the Pokémon League fleet, who had already arrived from the outskirts of Dragon's Maw to provide support.
"Champion! Urgent military report!" The deputy commander's anxious voice came through the Communicator. "Our main force is pinned down here, and Team Rocket's other units have taken advantage of the opening to launch large-scale harassment attacks on several coastal cities, including Vermilion City and Fuchsia City!"
"Although their attacks aren't very intense and seem more like deliberate harassment and diversion, they've already caused widespread panic along the coast! Pokémon League Headquarters has ordered us to return immediately to defend them!"
Lance clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
He stared fixedly at the tightly shut door of the Command Room, then looked toward the cities on the distant horizon, where flames were already visible, his face showing extreme reluctance.
He knew he had been outmaneuvered yet again.
From the very beginning, his opponents had never intended to fight him head-on. Everything they had done had been to buy time-time for their "feint" elsewhere to succeed and force him to return to defend the