Safari Zone

The roar of the engine drowned out the howling wind.

A Jeep sped across the fields.

Although this was not yet the future, when helicopters and fighter jets were used to catch Pokémon.

Driving a Jeep was still no problem.

As for the location of this mission, it was the Safari Zone near Fuchsia City.

The Safari Zone at this time was not yet a place where people could catch Pokémon simply by being Trainers.

Instead, it was a large Ecological Reserve inhabited by many Pokémon, all under the protection of the Pokémon League. Since it was relatively close to Fuchsia City, it was also protected by the city's Gym.

What an utter waste.

They sped along for five days before finally reaching the outermost edge of the Safari Zone.

Once they arrived, Johnny, the Squad Leader, addressed Giovanni and the five team members:

"Daylight isn't good for operating. We'll wait until night, then make our move once those Rangers are resting."

"This spot is the closest to where the Tauros gather, so we can also get back quickly once the operation is over."

Axin and the others answered in unison, "Yes, Captain."

They concealed the Jeep for the time being and rested there for a while.

Time passed. Giovanni looked up at the bright moon obscured by dark clouds and lightly clenched his fists.

When the cries of Hoothoot rang out in the night.

The operation officially began.

Johnny made a few hand signals and instructed them:

"You three go around from the left. Axin and Sam, take the right."

At Johnny's command, Axin and the others acknowledged him, then opened their Poké Balls and released their Pokémon one by one. "Yes."

Then Johnny spoke to Giovanni very amiably:

"Lord Giovanni, come with me so I can protect you."

Giovanni did not refuse. "All right."

Johnny then released his own Pokémon one after another.

Seven Pokémon: three Arbok, a Gloom, a Dugtrio, a Beedrill, and a Poliwhirl. Every one of them was an advanced Pokémon above level 30.

Overall, this fellow really was quite strong, with land, sea, and air all covered.

He ranked fairly high even among Squad Leaders.

If he wanted to protect Giovanni, he was capable of doing so.

Giovanni took out a Poké Ball and pressed it lightly, releasing Nidoran♂.

Nidoran♂ looked at his surroundings in surprise and hopped twice on the spot, as though he were dreaming, scarcely believing the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet.

But before he could rejoice, Giovanni's voice rang out beside his ear, making his entire body tense in an instant, nearly going rigid.

"Forget it. If you try to run today, I'll absolutely kill you."

After thinking it over, he turned and gave Giovanni an awkward smile.

Putting aside Giovanni's current threat, Giovanni had actually treated him rather well lately. How could he, Nidoran♂, be an ungrateful wretch?

He was only afraid that Giovanni might encounter danger, definitely not afraid that Giovanni would kill him.

Yes, that was it.

Johnny said to Giovanni with a beaming smile, "Lord Giovanni, you certainly have a unique way of getting along with Pokémon. Still, when Pokémon disobey, they do need to be taught a proper lesson."

Although he always acted exceedingly ingratiating toward Giovanni, a trace of a different emotion would unconsciously flash through his eyes.

"I know," Giovanni replied offhandedly.

Johnny slowly walked forward with his Pokémon. "Just stay behind me."

Watching his retreating back, Giovanni lowered his head and whispered to Nidoran♂:

"I might need to use your treasure in a bit. If it's lost, I'll give you a better one later."

Nidoran♂ hurriedly started to shake his head in refusal, but upon seeing Giovanni's cold, merciless gaze, he could only agree.

After all, Giovanni had given it to him, and taking it away would be easy for Giovanni too.

Tap, tap!

Giovanni followed Johnny forward, their crisp footsteps sounding somewhat jarring in the quiet night.

The nearby Pokémon had long since scattered in fright.

Not far away, a dark mass occupied the fields. It was one of the Safari Zone's Tauros herds, numbering at least a hundred and fifty, already a fairly large herd.

To prevent fighting between Tauros herds, and also to prevent fighting among all the Pokémon groups in the Safari Zone.

To maintain balance.

Usually, whenever a Gym-level Pokémon or stronger emerged among these groups, the Pokémon League would capture it.

That gave Johnny and the others their opportunity.

Pokémon had a very accurate sixth sense for approaching danger.

On top of that, the scent of Johnny's eight Pokémon was very strong.

As Johnny and the others kept approaching, the Tauros herd grew restless. They rose one by one with low growls, while several Miltank in the middle gathered around a particularly muscular Tauros, watching their surroundings warily.

The muscular Tauros in the middle gently nudged the Miltank aside and slowly walked to the front of the herd.

This was the leader of the Tauros herd. Although he was not Gym-level, he was still a powerful advanced Pokémon.

"Moo! Moo!"

He lowered his head and roared, setting his sights straight ahead, where the strongest sense of danger came from-where Johnny and Giovanni stood.

He abruptly reared up, then slammed back down and charged forward like a Jeep.

Not only that, under his lead, the herd behind him also charged straight ahead.

The charge of a hundred and fifty Tauros made the earth tremble! A thick cloud of dust billowed up!

The five Team Rocket members naturally noticed this, but apart from Axin, who inwardly cursed, none of the others thought anything of it.

Axin shouted:

"This is bad! Lord Giovanni is still over there!"

Beside him, Sam waved dismissively. "What's there to be afraid of? He'll be fine. Captain Johnny's there, isn't he? He'll definitely protect that kid."

"It's not like you haven't noticed. Captain Johnny practically wants to bow his head all the way to his feet. Obviously, he wants to pledge himself to the organization's future leader."

Axin frowned. Was that really so?

Despite the persistent bad feeling in his heart, he still set off with his Pokémon and hurried toward them as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, inside a Ranger outpost in the Safari Zone, a yellow-and-black-skinned middle-aged fat man who had been sleeping soundly over a desk suddenly raised his head.

He looked into the distant darkness, then released a Slowpoke.

The Slowpoke followed his gaze into the distance and gave him two low cries. "Slow, poke."

The fat man abruptly stood up. "The Tauros herd? They're usually very well-behaved. Something's wrong!"

He released a Pidgeot as well, left a sheet of paper on the bird, and instructed him, "Pidgeot, go to the Fuchsia Gym!"

The Pidgeot nodded, spread his wings, and soared into the night toward the distance.

The middle-aged man rose and hurried toward the Tauros herd with Slowpoke!

P.S. It was about time to introduce some new characters where appropriate. More familiar names will appear later.