Team Rocket's surprise attack cut through like a red-hot blade through butter, unstoppable. Team Magma's carefully arranged outer defenses were rendered useless by the electromagnetic pulse. Most of the outer guards had not even understood what was happening before iron fists reaching out of the darkness and silent electric shocks knocked them unconscious, leaving them unable to resist.
However, when the assault force advanced to the deepest part of the base, the Central Command Room that housed all the core data, Team Rocket's offensive finally met fierce resistance.
Before the heavy alloy doors, a Team Magma officer assigned to remain here led his last dozen or so Personal Guard members in forming a desperate defensive line. The officer's name was Kaji, a diehard known within Team Magma for his stubbornness and fanaticism.
"You're not taking another step! For Team Magma's great ideals!" Kaji roared furiously, a crazed fire burning in his eyes. He hurled his Poké Ball.
A red light flashed, and an unusually powerfully built Pokémon appeared in the middle of the passage. It resembled a camel, but instead of humps, it had two miniature volcanoes on its back, filled with searing magma that looked ready to erupt at any moment. It was the powerful Fire- and Ground-type Pokémon-Camerupt.
"Camerupt, show them the earth's fury! Use Flamethrower!"
Camerupt raised its head and let out a low roar, the volcanoes on its back heaving violently. The next moment, a massive pillar of fire over a meter in diameter, hot enough to distort the air, surged from its mouth like an enraged fire dragon, instantly illuminating the entire dark passage.
That terrifying firepower and heat capable of melting steel turned the already narrow passage into a veritable inferno. Team Rocket's elite members scrambled for cover, their offensive forcibly suppressed, unable to get even a fraction closer to the command room.
"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Apollo's expression darkened as he sent out his ace.
The hellhound-like Houndoom leaped out from behind him, gathering rings of dark purple, sinister energy in its mouth before sending them toward the flames as a pulse. Yet against Camerupt's astonishingly powerful Flamethrower, Dark Pulse could offer only a slight check before the intense heat quickly evaporated it. The two attacks clashed fiercely in the middle of the passage, neither gaining the upper hand for the moment.
At this critical moment, with the battle deadlocked, Umbreon, who had been quietly following at Ye Li's feet, suddenly darted out from behind him of its own accord.
Its pitch-black figure looked particularly agile and mysterious in the flickering firelight. Without the slightest hesitation, it charged straight toward the center of the battlefield.
"Umbree!"
Umbreon gave a cool, low growl. It was not loud, yet everyone present heard it clearly. A deep red light flashed through its eyes.
"Mean Look!"
An invisible psychic shackle crossed the clash of flame and pulse, striking the swaggering Camerupt with precision. Camerupt's enormous body abruptly stiffened. It felt as though countless invisible chains had bound it in place, leaving it unable to retreat or move an inch.
"You've got a death wish! Where did this little black runt come from?" Seeing the Pokémon openly challenging him, Kaji curled his lips into a cruel smile. "Camerupt, forget that hellhound! Deal with this eyesore first! Use your most powerful Flamethrower and burn it to ashes!"
At its new orders, Camerupt changed the direction of its attack, pouring all its fury onto the seemingly vulnerable Umbreon.
An even thicker, hotter pillar of fire surged forth once more, this time aimed straight at Umbreon, standing alone in the middle of the passage.
Everyone, including Apollo, broke into a cold sweat for Umbreon. Faced with terrifying flames capable of melting even rock, any Pokémon's first reaction should have been to dodge.
Yet Umbreon did not.
It simply stood calmly in place, lowering its body slightly and planting all four paws firmly on the ground. Just as the flames were about to strike, the golden rings on its body abruptly lit up with a gentle yet unwavering glow, as though forming an invisible energy shield over its body.
The flames engulfed its small body with a roar.
What happened next stunned everyone present, whether from Team Rocket or Team Magma.
When the flames dispersed as Camerupt paused for breath, Umbreon's figure came clearly into view once more. It still stood in its original spot, its stance steady. There was not a single scorch mark on its pitch-black fur; not even a spark had caught on it.
With terrifying, almost game-breaking Special Defense far beyond anything anyone had imagined, it had taken Camerupt's full-power Flamethrower head-on without suffering so much as a scratch!
"How... how is that possible?!" Kaji's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his savage grin freezing into utter astonishment.
In the instant that he and his equally stunned Camerupt stood dazed, Umbreon launched its counterattack.
An eerie light flashed in its eyes again. This time, it was no longer a locking gaze, but a bewildering light as dazzling as a kaleidoscope.
"Confuse Ray!"
A chaotic ray composed of multiple colors struck Camerupt's head with unerring precision. Camerupt's eyes instantly grew confused and unfocused. It began spinning uncontrollably in place, its huge body slamming into the passage walls with dull thuds. It even abruptly turned and spat a mouthful of scorching flames at its own trainer, Kaji, terrifying the officer into a frantic, undignified roll across the ground to escape.
A perfect opportunity!
"Houndoom!" Apollo immediately seized the fatal opening Umbreon had created.
"Dark Pulse!"
Houndoom gathered another dark purple ball of energy in its mouth and, while Camerupt was confused and utterly defenseless, blasted it hard in the flank.
With a deafening crash, Camerupt let out an agonized cry. Its enormous body could no longer hold up and crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, completely unable to battle.
With their main fighter down, the remaining Team Magma Personal Guard members lost their last will to fight and were swiftly subdued by Team Rocket's elites.
The battle was over.
An eerie silence fell over the entire passage. Everyone's gaze unconsciously settled on the mysterious black Pokémon as it slowly walked back to Ye Li and affectionately rubbed its head against his trouser leg.
Ye Li and Umbreon's first real battle had ended perfectly, dazzling everyone present in a way that could even be called a complete overturning of their understanding.
Apollo walked over to Ye Li, looking at the well-behaved Umbreon with a complicated expression. He remained silent for a moment before saying sincerely, "Lord Ye Li, this Pokémon of yours... truly is a monster."
Ye Li merely smiled, bending down to pick up Umbreon without offering any further explanation.
Having broken through the final defensive line, Team Rocket entered the Central Command Room without difficulty. The room was a mess, but the main database computer was still relatively intact. The technicians immediately stepped forward and began cracking its security and copying the data.
Ye Li also walked over, watching the files being decrypted on the screen. His attention was soon drawn to several documents marked "Top Secret."
The first document contained detailed ancient accounts of Groudon. In ancient writing and illustrations, it described how Groudon had created land with light and heat, as well as its endless war with another ancient Pokémon, Kyogre.
The second document was a detailed energy exploration report. Team Magma had searched for traces of Groudon across the globe and discovered that, apart from its known resting place-Mt. Chimney in the Hoenn Region-an extremely similar ancient energy signature belonging to the earth had also been detected beneath certain Ancient Ruins in the Kanto Region. Though far weaker than the energy at Mt. Chimney, it was almost identical in nature. A detailed map accompanied the report, with the ruins' location clearly marked by a red cross.
What concerned Ye Li most, however, was the third document. It contained an incomplete rubbing of an ancient mural, along with Team Magma scholars' interpretation of it. The mural depicted ancient people holding a red orb, seemingly performing some sort of ritual to awaken the sleeping Groudon. Team Magma had named this orb the "Red Orb" and speculated that it was the true key to controlling Groudon.
Looking at these detailed documents on ancient legends, energy exploration, and a mysterious orb, Ye Li frowned slightly. He realized that the gains from this raid were far greater than he had imagined. This was not merely a simple military victory; it had opened an entirely new door to ancient power for Team Rocket, and for himself as well.
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