You Three Follow Me

In the darkness of the forest, one dark figure after another passed.

They ran in perfect formation, stepping over the grass beneath their feet, and the sound of rustling passed through the quiet of the night.

The men in their uniforms of black each spread out under a tree and hid their figures.

Their faces were hidden under special masks, with only their eyes showing.

There was a strange symbol drawn on the corner of these people's clothes, indicating their identities.

It was an orange symbol with an "R".

They're Team Rainbow Rocket!

"Squad 1, in position."

The man in black in the lead pressed the headset on his ear and reported the progress of his side.

Soon, with the sound of a surge of electricity, the voice from the other side also reached his ears.

"Stand by."

"Squad 2, in position."

"Squad 3, in position."

"Squad 4, in position."

The sound of several teams taking their positions continued to come out, and the captain who was reporting his work inclined his head to look ahead.

The forest was dark, but with the help of his night vision goggles, he could see a steel fence hidden between the trees in the distance.

It was the target of their operation, one of the old Team Rocket's hidden bases.

It hid a large group of old Team Rocket hardcore members who were unwilling to join Team Rainbow Rocket.

"Hmph."

Looking at the iron net, the captain seemed to see the door hidden behind it.

He let out a cold snort, his face filled with disdain and contempt for these stubborn people.

Without Giovanni, what can they do?

Following Giovanni is the best way out!

Yes, this captain is a true Giovanni fan.

Ever since the first day he joined Team Rocket, he has been following Giovanni's path.

Including specializing in Pokémon attribute and fighting styles.

He is a trainer who specializes in Ground-type.

That's why he became the leader of the special operations team, thanks to his strength.

After Giovanni proposed Team Rainbow Rocket, the captain chose to support it and became a member of Team Rainbow Rocket.

Today, he joined the siege.

"Captain, what do we do?"

"Stay put."

After hearing the question of the team member behind him, the captain responded without hesitation.

Then, it was as if the team had disappeared, and there was no movement at all.

It was as if they had truly merged into the trees...

In the other three directions, the other three teams did the same.

They stayed in place, quietly waiting for the commanding officer of the operation to look at them.

Time passed by.

The forest was silent at night, like a ghost.

However, the members of this team were all Team Rainbow Rocket's elite.

They wouldn't complain about the dullness of the ambush, they would just do their duty and wait for their positions.

Until...

"Demolition Squad, in position."

A hoarse voice came from the headset.

"Demolition Squad?"

The captain looked surprised.

At first, he didn't know who the leader of this operation was.

But after hearing the name "Demolition Squad", a name flashed through his mind.

It was a name that everyone in the old Team Rocket had been talking about.

One of the three officers of the old Team Rocket...

"I'm Lt. Surge!"

A rough, bold voice came out of the headset, and he gave his name.

As soon as he said this, the members of the special operation team, who had been lurking around like ghosts for the past half hour without making any noise, all unconsciously let out a gasp.

The name... No one knows it, no one knows it.

Lt. Surge, the Gym Leader of Vermilion Gym, and one of the three admins of the old Team Rocket.

He had a high reputation and a large number of admirers within the old Team Rocket, and even the current Team Rainbow Rocket.

Unexpectedly, this person who had left the old Team Rocket a long time ago had returned to Team Rainbow Rocket and became the leader of this siege operation.

"Now, we will deploy this operation."

Lt. Surge made a strategic deployment through the public channel.

In short, he himself led the demolition squad to carry out a frontal invasion, and outside, the four special operation teams that had been deployed in the four directions of the secret base and surrounded it were responsible for supporting and blocking the operation to prevent anyone from escaping.

"Squad 1, copy."

The captain responded immediately.

Followed by the other three squad leaders.

It was a very simple and crude plan.

But it worked...

It was all due to the strength of Lt. Surge himself and his Demolition Squad.

This is how Lt. Surge fights.

"So..."

Lt. Surge's voice came out once again.

"The battle begins!"

"Demolition Squad, full assault!" This is the voice of the demolition squad leader.

A battle has begun.

"Demolition Squad..."

While the squad leader was thinking about something, an explosion came from the secret base in the distance.

"Boom...!"

The explosion swept up into the sky, the fire blooming like another sun rising from the ground, illuminating the darkness of the earth in one gulp.

"Boom-!!" "Boom-!!" Boom-!!"

After that, explosions of the same size were produced one after another.

Every once in a while, an explosion rang out in the distance.

In addition to that, there was the sound of shouting and fighting.

This proved that the advance of Lt. Surge and the Demolition Squad was proceeding in an orderly manner, and those who had intercepted them were unable to stop them.

"Ah..."

The team leader froze, then revealed a bitter smile.

I forgot that the standard Pokémon of the Demolition Squad was Electrode...

"Now we don't have to do it."

He shook his head, and issued an order to the team members behind him, saying, "Cheer up, this is the greatest time for those bastards to counterattack, definitely don't let one of them go!"

"Yes!"

The team responded together.

...

"Ok!"

Inside the tunnel, Lt. Surge was grinning wildly.

Beside him stood a huge Raichu.

The big orange rat was also grinning wildly as it discharged its Thunderbolt, shattering the large steel door in front of it.

"Boom!"

Between the flying debris, a beam of freezing light shot out.

Lt. Surge was calmly directing Raichu to return fire.

"Chu!"

The electric rat with a lightning-like tail unleashed a furious thunderbolt that overwhelmed the opponent's freezing ray like a devastating blow.

The wave also tore through the smoke surrounding the area, and Lt. Surge looked around and saw a grim-faced man standing inside the lab.

He was accompanied by a Piloswine.

"Lt. Surge..." The man gritted his teeth and glared at him, saying, "You guy, it's not enough that you're the League's Gym Leader, but you want to be Giovanni's dog?"

"Thumbs down."

Lt. Surge snorted with disdain.

He took out the warrant and waved it around.

"Fools, look closely, I've been ordered to arrest you scumbags!"

"You-"

"Carl, you'll suffer less if you just surrender."

Lt. Surge cut the man off.

He didn't like the guy either, and for good reason.

Carl and another female officer named Sham were actually Masked Man's lackeys.

Once upon a time, Masked Man had made a big mess in the Johto region by gathering the remnants of Team Rocket, and Carl and Sham were the new admins he had created at that time.

Later, when the Masked Man incident ended, the two became part of the new Team Rocket.

Giovanni didn't care about them, but they couldn't see the writing on the wall and kept doing disgusting things.

Even after Carr and Proton went to jail, they were still up to no good.

Now, there's no place for them in Team Rainbow Rocket.

Lt. Surge is here to take care of them.

"Piloswine... Blizzard!" Carl gave the order to attack.

Then, while Pokémon was attacking, he threw two more Poké balls.

A Magcargo and Houndoom were at his side.

"Rubbish."

Lt. Surge smiled disdainfully, not even bothering to send out a new Pokémon, and fought with a Raichu.

Shogun versus Shogun, King versus King.

The strongest fighters in this group were Carl and Sham.

The rest of the minions, the Demolition Squad and the ambush outside are enough to keep them away.

All Lt. Surge had to do was take care of Carl and Sham.

"Raichu, Thunder, blast them!"

"Chu!"

Lt. Surge's Raichu sneered as he increased his output, and the raging lightning tore through the storm of ice and snow in one gulp.

Carl hurriedly commanded his three Pokémon to attack.

However... His opponent, Lt. Surge, was one of the three admins of the old Team Rocket, and now one of the Eight Gyms in the Kanto region!

After a few rounds, Carl's three Pokémon's combined attacks could not overcome Lt. Surge's Raichu.

Even...

"Raichu, Focus Blast!"

"Chu!"

Raichu whipped out a Focus Blast, and it hit Piloswine's head.

Focus Blast exploded and Piloswine died on the spot.

This disrupted Carl's rhythm.

Then, Raichu's Thunderbolt struck like a wild horse, and Magcargo wailed as he was enveloped in lightning.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!"

"Woof!"

The blackened Cerberus spewed out hot flames.

However, such an attack was like a turtle's crawl for Raichu, and he dodged it easily with a single jump.

And then... He and Lt. Surge ran towards Carl.

"Chu!"

Raichu laughed like a berserker and ran, unleashing a torrent of lightning that cut off Magcargo and Houndoom's Flamethrower.

"What?" Carl was taken aback by Lt. Surge's lunacy.

When the trainer was startled, the two Pokémon's aura was weakened by more than one degree.

This made it easy for Lt. Surge and Raichu to rush in front of them.

"Chu!"

With a look from Lt. Surge, Raichu used Brick Break to hit Houndoom's head.

It then sent a near-zero-range Thunderbolt at the nearby Magcargo from the same spot.

"Your turn!" At the same moment, Lt. Surge threw a punch into the bridge of Carl's nose.

There were two muffled thuds, and both Carl and Magcargo fell to the ground.

Raichu took out the Houndoom again.

"Woohoo!"

Lt. Surge screamed in relief.

He had been acting like a gentleman for a long time, but this was a good punch for him.

"Too bad I lost my Voltorb Gatling." Lt. Surge shook his head, missing the days when he used to blow things up with his machine gun.

At the same time, there was a constant stream of reports from the team members in the headset.

The members of the demolition squad have basically controlled the situation, and some of the escapees have been stopped by the ambushers.

This encirclement operation is almost a complete victory.

There is still one problem...

"Boom!"

Two figures flew into the lab, Sham and her Slowking.

The Pokémon were already unconscious and in a coma.

"Oh?" Lt. Surge gave a playful smile.

And sure enough, a shadowy figure arrived.

"Long time no see, Sabrina."

Lt. Surge waved at the figure.

The frosty-faced Sabrina glanced at Lt. Surge and said, "You and your guys are making too much noise."

"Hey, what's the big deal?"

Lt. Surge waved his hand in disbelief.

"We're fighting the bandits legally and reasonably, so what's wrong with using a little bit of extraordinary means?"

Sabrina didn't care about Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge, however, did not let up and looked at Sabrina with a curious face, saying, "I didn't realize that you also promised the boss... I thought you don't lack money."

"Of course I don't lack money."

Sabrina laughed coldly and said, "I didn't agree to this matter because of Giovanni's face either."

At this point, Sabrina paused for a moment.

She unconsciously played with her hair, and her tone changed along with her expression.

"If it wasn't for that man... I wouldn't bother to go on this mission, it's boring and troublesome."

After saying that, Sabrina also turned around and left, leaving Lt. Surge alone in the same spot, thinking.

"That guy... Hey."

Lt. Surge gave a nosy smile.

There's something going on between Sabrina and that guy.

Over there, Sabrina left the secret base with an instantaneous movement and went back outside.

"Hmm... It's about time."

Sabrina looked at the time and date.

Her phone's screensaver was a picture of herself and Aisha.

The boy in the photo is still as good-looking as ever, but Sabrina's unchanging iceberg face has a rare soft smile - if this photo is shown to people like Lt. Surge who are familiar with Sabrina, their chin will probably drop.

"Hmph."

Taking a look at the photo she had set as her screensaver, Sabrina was in a good mood.

With a flash, she disappeared.

...

Kanto region, Pallet Town.

"Ahh... Mom's cooking is really the best."

At Ash's house, Ash sat down on a chair with a happy face, rubbing his stomach, which had been stuffed with too much food.

He burped, prompting Gary to give him a disgusted look.

"Hey, that's rude, stupid Ash."

"Huh?" Ash looked at Gary with a "Are you out of your mind?" look on his face.

"This is my house, do I have to be reserved in my house?"

"You didn't pretend to be reserved outside either!"

After helplessly spitting at Ash, Gary tilted his head away, automatically blocking out Ash's subsequent trash talk.

Looking at him like "you can say whatever you want, if you listen to a word, I'll lose", Ash was also angry and laughed.

Then, he pulled open his jacket with a swish and showed Gary the eight badges on the inside of his jacket.

"Gary, let me show you my Earth Badge."

Gary: "?"

Gary's blood pressure went up.

"You're dead, you're sick!"

"No, you're not. I'm mad at you!"

The two lovebirds started a second round of cursing.

Aunt Delia was laughing in the kitchen at the noise outside.

Beside her, Mr. Mime that helped her wash the dishes shook its head, especially worried about the intelligence of these two human children.

"The relationship is really good."

Shortly afterward, the yelling stopped.

In the living room, Ash got on top of Gary and skillfully used a grounded armbar to lock Gary's arms.

Gary: "..."

Gary is on the ground, trying to fight back.

However, the strength of Ash's hands was like a thousand pounds, and he couldn't free himself from the hold.

"Hey, Ash, let go..."

"What did you say?" Ash looked beaten, as if he hadn't heard Gary's concession, and deliberately provoked his spirit.

"You said you lost?"

"..."

Gary felt his blood pressure rising again.

But... It was true, at least in terms of trainer combat, he had lost to Ash's animal without a doubt.

"Did you lose?"

Ash smiled and came over to his face, his smile once again triggered Gary's emotions.

Gary, who had already decided to give in a little bit, was so angry that he broke free from his knuckle-dragging technique.

The super newcomer explodes!

"Eat my fist, asshole!"

"Ah, Gary, I was wrong!"

The battle between the two trainers has entered the second round.

Ash's Pikachu and Gary's Arcanine were lying in the corner of the living room, looking at their trainers with bewilderment.

"Pi- pika...chu?"

"Woof?"

The electric rat and the big dog looked at each other, and both saw a touch of surprise in each other's eyes.

What the... They don't need us at all?

This scene was also seen by the others.

Three heads poked out of Ash's window.

"Hey, James, this is a great opportunity." The pink head spoke his thoughts to his companion, saying, "While these two kids are exhausted from fighting, we, the Team Rocket trio, will make a magnificent appearance and collect all their Pokémon!"

"Heh～"

The blue head let out a strange laugh and said, "In that case, not only can we catch that special Pikachu, but we can also give that well-bred Arcanine to Boss Giovanni, I've heard that Arcanine's sideburns are very warm, and it's especially comfortable and soft to lean against, and if Boss receives an Arcanine and a Pikachu, he'll surely praise us!"

Jessie and James looked at each other, giggled and started to fantasize.

In the darkness where he couldn't see his face, Giovanni stretched out a big hand to stroke Pikachu's head. He leaned between the handsome Arcanine's hair and made a few comfortable sounds from time to time. Then, he faced Pikachu in front of him. Jessie and James gave a thumbs up and said: "Jessie and James are dedicated to Pokémon and are considerate leaders. Talents like you must be reused and promoted to amins starting today!"

"Admin~"

"As admin, you can collect more bottle caps."

Jessie and James were immersed in a beautiful fantasy, and couldn't help themselves.

So, where's Meowth?

"Meow, you two idiots..."

A tearful Meowth popped up.

"The old Team Rocket was disbanded, and the three of us didn't hear about it when we were floating on the sea with the kid... Boss Giovanni set up the new Team Rainbow Rocket, from now on we can't be the bad guys capturing Pokémon, we have to be the good guys doing serious business meow."

Meowth, holding a broken radio, said the news that it only learned today after being on Mars for a long time.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Jessie and James froze in their tracks.

After a moment of frenzy, the two of them sat on Ash's windowsill.

"What am I supposed to do if I'm not the bad guy?"

James looked up at the moon in the sky.

It was a full moon today, big and bright.

But James' heart was empty.

"Without the Rockets... I have to go home to inherit the family fortune!"

"Shut up, you son of a bitch!"

"Meow! I envy you James for your background!"

At these words, James was immediately greeted with a punch and a sharp claw.

"Ah... It's still a familiar feeling." James collapsed with satisfaction.

After all, he probably won't get the chance to feel it again.

"Hey."

Jessie sat on the lawn with a depressed face, holding her face and looking at the night sky.

She had been an orphan since she was a child, and she didn't know what else to do when she left Team Rocket.

"Meow..."

Meowth was the same.

Growing up on the streets, Meowth had come to think of its partners, Jessie and James, as family.

With the breakup of Team Rocket, they'd have to be separated.

It's...

"No, Meowth can't take it!"

"I don't want to leave you two, Jessie and Meowth!"

"Damn it, don't cry so hopelessly, woooo!"

The two man and a cat hugged each other and cried sadly.

"So... If I have a way for you to continue working together without being bad guys, will you do it?"

And then, the hero came.

The smiling boy reached out to them.