Meanwhile, in the forest.
"Who exactly are you, and why did you take Pikachu?"
Dawn shouted at the trio angrily.
Yet when the trio, who were preparing to battle, heard this question, they began replying almost reflexively.
"I heard someone asking who we were,"
"So we came at the speed of light!"
"The wind! The earth!"
"The sky, meow!"
"What are they doing?" Dawn watched the trio in confusion.
"Pika~"
Pikachu spread its little hands and sighed helplessly. It had long since grown used to these three.
"Let us bring danger to the whole world!!"
"Let us bring crisis to the entire universe!"
"Whether angels or devils call that name, its bewitching voice will make everyone tremble."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"I'm Meowth, that's meowth!"
"We're the stars of this era, we're the invincible Team Rocket!!" ×3
Upon finally hearing someone ask who they were, the trio quickly finished their opening lines.
Ah, that felt good all over!
"Little girl, that's what you get for interrupting us while we were catching Pikachu."
"That Pokémon beside you looks pretty good too. Hand it over, and we'll let you go. How about it?"
Jessie threatened Dawn.
Seemingly not quite satisfied with catching Pikachu, she had now set her sights on Piplup too.
"In your dreams! I'd never hand Piplup over to bad people like you."
Dawn refused on the spot, addressing the trio sternly.
If I'd known, I'd have come out with Xiaoyun. Now I haven't caught a Pokémon, and I'm about to lose Piplup too.
Boo-hoo~
"Hmph! Since you won't cooperate, we'll just have to do it ourselves."
Seeing how uncooperative Dawn was, the trio immediately ordered their Pokémon to attack.
"Come out, Seviper, Cacnea."
"Hiss~"
Red light flashed, and a large purple snake with a blade-shaped tail and an adorably vacant little cactus both appeared in the woods.
"Cacnea~"
"Cacnea, not me! Them, over there!!"
After emerging, the little cactus affectionately gave James a facial massage.
"Go, Seviper! Use Poison Tail."
"Cacnea, use Needle Arm (Needle Arm)."
Seviper leaped up, its blade-like tail glowing purple.
Cacnea followed close behind, its pair of cactus arms glowing white as both Pokémon struck at Piplup.
"Piplup, dodge, quick!" Dawn hurriedly shouted.
"Piplup!"
Piplup immediately reacted and hurriedly dodged Seviper's Poison Tail, but failed to notice Cacnea's Needle Arm and took a direct hit.
Seeing this, Dawn asked worriedly, "Are you okay, Piplup?"
"Piplup."
Piplup clutched its little wing. For a Pokémon that had only just set out, that Needle Arm had clearly dealt considerable damage.
"Seviper, press the advantage! Use Poison Sting."
"Cacnea, use Pin Missile."
As Jessie and James finished speaking, different energies gathered in Seviper's mouth and Cacnea's arms respectively. Then a rain of purple and white needles flew toward Piplup, blanketing the sky.
"Damn it, what do I do now? There's no dodging this."
Dawn clenched her fists. She was starting to panic as unprecedented pressure bore down on her.
"Piplup~"
By now, Piplup no longer had the stamina to fight back. If this rain of needles hit, it definitely wouldn't hold out.
"Sceptile, Leaf Storm!"
"Scep!"
Along with Xiaoyun's voice, the Grass-type Energy gathered in Sceptile's tail formed a storm of leaves, creating a storm wall in front of Piplup and Dawn that blocked every incoming attack.
"Who?"
"Who dares spoil Team Rocket's plans!"
Seeing their attacks blocked, the trio all turned toward the voice.
"Seriously? You're allowed to steal other people's Pokémon, but no one else is allowed to fight back?"
Once the smoke cleared, Xiaoyun walked out of it with Sceptile and Turtwig, smiling at the trio he remembered so well.
"Xiaoyun, what are you doing here?"
After seeing who it was, Dawn hurriedly jogged up to Xiaoyun, and most of the pressure in her heart instantly vanished.
Xiaoyun looked at her gently. "I was a little worried about you. I heard the commotion here and rushed over. Luckily, I wasn't too late."
"You brat, I'd advise you to mind your own business. Leave now, and we can pretend none of this happened. Otherwise..."
Seeing that Xiaoyun looked difficult to deal with, James planned to threaten him verbally in an attempt to make him back off.
"Oh? Otherwise what? Are you going to sic Meowth on me to scratch me?"
Xiaoyun found the trio rather entertaining. In no hurry to clock them out, he planned to tease them a little.
"That's going too far, meow! He dares look down on me, meow!"
"Jessie, James, get him! Beat him up for meow!"
Meowth immediately lost his temper, his long claws performing nonstop Fury Swipes at the air. Had Jessie and James not held him back, he looked ready to jump down and give Xiaoyun's face a scraping treatment.
"You brat! You dare mock our great Team Rocket? We'll show you what we can do."
"Seviper, use Poison Tail. Cacnea, use Needle Arm."
Jessie and James commanded their Pokémon to attack Xiaoyun.
"Ah, you really can't take a joke. You're angry already."
Watching the furious Team Rocket trio, Xiaoyun clicked his tongue in disappointment and directed his two Pokémon to respond.
"Sceptile, use Dragon Claw."
"Turtwig, use Razor Leaf to attack their mechanical arm."
Sceptile immediately flashed forward, its hands turning into three-foot-long energy claws, and sent Seviper and Cacnea flying with a slap.
Seviper and Cacnea were taken out on the spot.
Then Turtwig fired Razor Leaf as well, continuously striking the mechanical arm's joint, and the hand gripping Pikachu suddenly loosened.
"Pika!"
Pikachu reacted immediately, its powerful battle instincts allowing it to break free of the mechanical arm in an instant. At the same time, it didn't forget to retaliate.
It promptly turned around and slammed an Iron Tail into the mechanical arm, snapping it instantly.
"Gasp."
"This brat's pretty strong! What do we do, Jessie? We can't beat him!"
"Yeah, meow. Maybe we should run for now..."
Seeing their Pokémon defeated so easily by Sceptile, James and Meowth began thinking about retreating.
Commonly known as chickening out.
"You two useless fools, move aside! Some mere brat thinks he can stop me from catching Pikachu? Watch this!"
Jessie was, after all, a tough woman who dared fight Seviper alone head-on. Even after watching Sceptile easily defeat her Pokémon, she still showed no fear whatsoever.
Then Jessie pulled a rocket launcher out of who knew where and hoisted it onto her shoulder, intending to join the fight herself.
" Pika... chu!!"
Pikachu truly lived up to its reputation as a Team Rocket specialist. Even without Ash's commands, it could seize the right moment.
The instant Jessie pulled out the rocket launcher, Pikachu began storing electricity.
In a flash, a powerful, forceful Thunderbolt blasted toward them.
Just how many times had it been caught to develop such practiced reflexes?
Boom!!
The lightning struck the trio, instantly turning them into shooting stars that disappeared into the horizon.
"Damn it! Where did such a strong brat come from?!!" (Jessie)
"How could this happen? We finally managed to shake off the twerp and catch Pikachu this time! Why?!" (James)
"We failed to catch Pikachu for Boss Giovanni again. When will Meowth ever replace Persian and win the boss's affection, meow?!" (Meowth)
"We're blasting off again!!!" ×3
Watching the trio turn into shooting stars, Xiaoyun muttered to himself, "Those three must have physiques on par with Pallet Town's strongest rookie, right? How do they look completely fine with an explosion going off right beside them?"
Before, he had only watched through a screen, after all, but this direct visual impact left Xiaoyun even more stunned.
Don't they feel pain?
Once it was over, Dawn finally couldn't hold back any longer. She threw herself into Xiaoyun's arms and spoke with lingering fear.
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyun. I wanted to come out and catch Pokémon on my own, but I didn't catch any, and I nearly put Piplup in danger."
Xiaoyun held Dawn's waist with one hand and stroked her hair with the other, comforting her. "It's okay. Dawn, you were already really impressive.
"Lots of people don't even know how to give commands in their first battle. You actually managed to trade blows with Team Rocket. That already counts as exceptional talent."
Dawn raised her head and looked at him, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Xiaoyun gently pinched her cheek and replied with a smile, "Of course it's true..."
(Xiaoyun really wasn't lying. When May first started out, she didn't even know any moves and just had Torchic peck with its beak in battles."
"And then there was Pika, who wouldn't even acknowledge Ash at first. Rebellious as hell.)