Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 20: Picking Them Off One by One

The Captain's voice echoed through the walkie-talkie:

"All squads, listen up. We've identified an unknown enemy in Mt. Moon. Four of our groups have already gone silent. Everyone is to regroup in the main tunnel immediately."

His tone was no longer calm. Asahi could hear the frustration and anger in his voice.

"Tch. They caught on already?" Asahi clicked his tongue in mild disappointment. He had hoped to deal with more of them before being discovered.

But he wasn't surprised.

The captain had ordered earlier that each group report to their squad leaders every ten minutes, and squad leaders report to him every thirty minutes.

The fact that Asahi had managed to knock out a third of the team before being discovered already spoke volumes about their incompetence.

"Well… regrouping won't be so easy."

Smirking, Asahi signaled to Gardevoir. She closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, another Rocket group's location was marked in his mind.

Following Gardevoir's directions, Asahi walked 200 meters straight, turned right for 150 meters, and then took another left.

He ran into three more Team Rocket grunts head-on.

Still in disguise, Asahi's appearance startled one of them.

"Hayato? Weren't you guarding the tunnel entrance?"

The other two, however, weren't so easily fooled. They tensed up, releasing a Rhyhorn and a Golbat to block his path.

"Hayato, prove your identity!" one of them demanded coldly.

Asahi had no way to prove anything. The Mimic Mask only altered his face, not his voice.

Realizing the jig was up, he didn't bother trying to explain.

Stepping back to stand behind Gardevoir, Asahi smiled faintly and gave his mental command.

[Psychic!]

The moment the Rockets saw Gardevoir, they knew something was wrong.

"Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!"

"Golbat, Air Slash!"

But before their Pokémon could act, a powerful psychic force slammed into them.

Bang! Bang!

Both Rhyhorn and Golbat collapsed, unconscious.

Seeing their Pokémon defeated in an instant, the three grunts felt a chill run down their spines.

A one-hit KO.

Who was this person pretending to be Hayato?!

Their thoughts were tinged with both fear and frustration.

[He's this strong—why bother with a disguise?! How underhanded!]

Asahi had no interest in their complaints.

After another command, Gardevoir swiftly incapacitated the three grunts as well.

Asahi gathered their Poké Balls, adding to his growing collection, which was now nearly filling his backpack.

Tying up the three grunts, Asahi turned to leave.

But just as he was about to go, he glanced toward a side tunnel and spoke:

"Enjoying the show? Why not come out and say hello?"

Silence.

A minute passed, and still, there was no response.

Confused, Asahi looked at Gardevoir, who shook her head after scanning the area with her psychic senses.

Seeing no one there, Asahi shrugged and moved on.

However, not long after he left, the air in the spot he had been watching shimmered.

A pink, floating figure appeared, covering its mouth as it chuckled gleefully.

The Pokémon—Mew—giggled again before disappearing, silently following Asahi.

---

In the main tunnel of Mt. Moon, the atmosphere was tense.

Under the dim lighting, Team Rocket grunts gathered, their captain standing at the forefront with a grim expression.

"How many are still missing?" he demanded.

A nervous grunt hesitated but finally answered:

"Out of 36, including you, only 19 have returned. The rest are unaccounted for."

Despite expecting bad news, Yhe captain felt dizzy at the report.

To make matters worse, they had no idea who their enemy was.

Bang!

His fist slammed into the rock wall, frustration boiling over.

The Crobat hovering above seemed to sense its trainer's anger, its eyes glinting with hostility as it eyed the other grunts.

The captain took a deep breath, suppressing his rage. He couldn't afford to lose control—not yet.

After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth and gave the order:

"Contact the third squad. Tell them there's an unknown enemy in Mt. Moon, and we need reinforcements."

"Captain?!" The grunt was shocked.

The third squad had always been on poor terms with them. Asking for help would surely invite ridicule.

But Captain's icy glare silenced any objections.

"Do as I say. Don't make me repeat myself."

The grunt trembled all over, not daring to speak further. He quickly sent a message to the third unit.

At that moment, a tablet-like device hanging from Captain's waist suddenly began to beep. The sound transitioned from steady to urgent.

The captain froze, then his face lit up with delight, completely wiping away his earlier frustration.

Grabbing the tablet swiftly, he checked the indicated location and immediately released a Weezing.

"Weezing, use Flash over there!"

"Wee-zing!"

A dazzling light burst from Weezing's body, illuminating the distant darkness and exposing what was hidden within it.

Behind a large rock, a figure was faintly visible.

Asahi: "???"

He had been observing quietly in the shadows. How had he been discovered so suddenly?

***

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