Desperate times, desperate measures

As for the other three unlucky fools, they had no idea what had happened over here.

When they saw the Tauros stop, they thought Johnny had made his move.

They immediately ordered their Pokémon to attack the Tauros from the flank, while continually throwing Poké Balls to capture them.

They were quite dedicated to their jobs.

The Tauros on the flank began to stir, letting out roar after roar.

Without their leader to guide them, they really were rather dim.

Under normal circumstances, Johnny would have had Gloom use Sleep Powder in advance to put the Tauros leader to sleep. They would then have acted together to seize the opportunity and capture some Tauros before moving on to the next herd.

Completing this mission would not have been difficult.

Now, though, they could forget it.

Moreover, as they attacked the Tauros and stirred them up, they also made it easier for Baoba, who had just arrived, to spot them.

Baoba shouted reproachfully:

"Who are you? How dare you sneak in here and catch Pokémon in the Safari Zone! Aren't you afraid the Pokémon League will hold you accountable?"

One of Team Rocket's Official Members saw Baoba in camouflage, looking meek and timid, and immediately ordered his Pokémon:

"A Ranger? Stay out of our way. Kill him, Grimer!"

A Grimer slowly dawdled toward Baoba, looking as though it had him in the bag.

Baoba, however, pointed at it and shouted:

"Slowpoke, Disable, then Water Pulse!"

An endearingly dopey head slowly emerged from behind Baoba. Its "wise" eyes turned toward Grimer, and it murmured, "Slow!"

Its eyes glowed blue, and it aimed its fleshy forelimbs at Grimer as waves spread outward.

Grimer instantly froze in place.

Slowpoke opened its mouth and spat out a huge ball of water, which slammed into Grimer.

There was a bang.

The water ball blasted Grimer's body to pieces, sending sludge flying and splattering the three Team Rocket Official Members and their dozen or so Pokémon.

Then the tables turned, and Baoba pointed at them and said:

"Go! Take them down, Slowpoke, Tauros!"

If it had only been Slowpoke with its advanced-level strength, things would have been fine. Even if they could not beat it, they could still run.

But at Baoba's words, they slowly turned their heads and discovered that the Tauros leader had already woken from its slumber.

Its bovine eyes glared red at them, and it held a poisonous barb in its mouth. The mild poison had left its mouth tingling and numb.

But that mix of pain and pleasure left it unable to stop.

Its awakening meant that the Tauros once again had their leader to guide them.

Seeing several Tauros lying motionless on the ground, how could it possibly spare the three of them?

As a Ranger, Baoba was familiar with every Pokémon group in the Safari Zone.

He had watched this Tauros leader grow up from a young age, for instance, so the Pokémon in the Safari Zone would not hurt Rangers.

He could also temporarily direct these Tauros.

The three unlucky fools looked around in bewilderment. Seeing none of those familiar faces, they cried out miserably, "We're done for..."

The Tauros bellowed furiously, then charged. "Moo!"

Even Baoba could not stop the enraged Tauros. There was only one possible outcome for the three: being trampled into pulp.

Baoba sighed helplessly. The Slowpoke behind him tugged at his clothes, then pointed in the direction Giovanni and Axin had fled.

Baoba rubbed his chubby face. "Are there more people over there?"

Slowpoke nodded.

Baoba did not continue the pursuit. He looked up at the Pidgeot circling overhead and merely said flatly:

"Which direction? Fuchsia City? They'd better hope for the best."

With Johnny hot on their heels, Giovanni and Axin had desperately fled without thinking, only to end up heading toward Fuchsia City.

And was that not precisely the direction from which Aye, Fuchsia City's Gym Leader, was coming?

Giovanni's Viridian Force was still very sensitive to energy.

After fleeing for a while, he sensed a powerful energy directly ahead, steadily approaching their position.

His brows knitted tightly, and he asked Axin:

"Something's wrong. What's in that direction?"

Axin thought for a moment, then immediately answered:

"Fuchsia City!"

Giovanni instantly realized who the approaching person must be. "Damn it, the person ahead should be Fuchsia City's Gym Leader!"

Axin was clearly panicking too. "A Gym-level expert?"

Giovanni's mind worked quickly, and he soon figured it out. As Team Rocket stood now, it had not yet been fully classified as a heinously evil organization.

Poaching Pokémon would only get them arrested. "It's fine. Even if we're caught, they won't go so far as to kill us."

Axin was still a little worried. "But if you fail the mission, won't you be killed?"

Giovanni shook his head. "No. We're already past that stage."

Axin nodded. "Then should we just put our hands up and surrender in a moment?"

Giovanni said thoughtfully:

"No rush. Don't we have someone to share the pressure? He should draw more attention than we do."

Listening to Johnny's yelling in his ears, Axin nodded in agreement.

If it were him, he would take out that noisy fellow first too.

Giovanni judged the distance, and when they were about close enough, he and Axin descended from the air together.

Johnny, chasing behind them, thought they were going to make a desperate stand. "What? Planning to give it everything you've got? Do you even have the strength?"

Giovanni turned and grinned. "We don't, but someone does."

The dark clouds veiling the bright moon parted, and a figure holding onto a Crobat with one arm swept through the sky.

Upon spotting the three below, he immediately let go, spun repeatedly in midair, and finally landed lightly on the ground.

Above them, Crobat flapped its wings, sending blades of air shooting downward!

This Crobat had exceptional control over its power. Most of the Air Slashes went toward Johnny and his Pokémon.

Only a small portion headed toward Giovanni and Axin.

Johnny was caught off guard, but fortunately, the four Pokémon beside him reacted fairly quickly.

They each used their moves, holding off the Air Slashes for the moment.

Axin, who had long been ready, shouted to the Arbok and Golbat beside him:

"Protect!"

The two shielded Giovanni and Axin respectively, green light rising from their bodies to form green energy barriers.

Bang!

But these were moves from a Gym-level Pokémon, after all. Even preparing in advance and using their strongest move, Protect, did not help.

Protect was still shattered. Although Arbok and Golbat were not killed, they were sent flying and instantly lost the ability to battle.

They were no match. Truly no match at all.

Gym-level strength really was formidable.

P.S. We've reached a hundred thousand words. This litter-box scooper is getting ready to ask for recommendation votes. Dear readers, please help out over the next few days by clicking the update reminder and keeping up with the updates. If you have time, please leave a positive review.

Enough said. I'm bowing my head to you.