Chapter 102: Meeting Bruno, Storming the Base

Chapter 102: Meeting Bruno, Storming the Base

The next day, Ron and the others arrived in Chinna Town, preparing to take a boat to Yellow Rock Island.

Ruby noticed Ron looking a bit dejected and asked curiously, "Ron, what's wrong? Ever since you came back last night, you've seemed out of it."

"Nothing, just feeling a little down," Ron replied, taking out a silver feather from his pocket. Under the sunlight, the silver feather emitted a shimmering white glow.

This was his reward for completing the mission to record Lugia's data in the Pokédex. The previous night, Lugia had called Ron out just to inform him that it had laid an egg. The newborn Lugia was currently being raised near Silver Rock Island in the Whirl Islands. The Pokémon League had notified Lugia that Ron had several legendary Pokémon with him, and there was a possibility that he might try to capture the young Lugia. Because of this, Lugia had made a special trip to discuss the matter with Ron.

This was also what frustrated Ron. According to Lugia, the League had clearly spread this information to every legendary Pokémon it could contact. This meant that from now on, if Ron wanted to capture a legendary Pokémon, his only option would be to target the older ones. He could forget about getting any legendary Pokémon hatchlings.

Still, at least he had this feather from the system as a consolation prize. With it, he could ask that Lugia for a favor.

Ron didn't mention to Lugia that Team Rocket's underwater base was probably located near Silver Rock Island. He was still planning to go there, but Lugia would likely notice his presence anyway—after all, Celebi was sitting on his shoulder. Legendary Pokémon had a way of sensing each other to avoid trespassing into each other's territories.

Seeing Ron staring blankly at the feather, Rosa asked, "By the way, Ron, the Whirl Cup still has about eight or nine days before it starts. Where are we heading first?"

"To Yellow Rock Island," Ron said, putting the feather away. "We're meeting someone there, then taking a boat to Silver Rock Island. Once we take care of business, it'll probably be just in time for the tournament. We can head to Red Rock Island for the competition afterward."

Soon, the boat to Yellow Rock Island arrived, and the three of them boarded. By noon, they had reached their destination.

Yellow Rock Island wasn't exactly a tourist hotspot. It was more known for its fisheries and fruit orchards. The island was also famous for its crafts made from discarded Corsola horns.

The craftsmanship was indeed impressive, so Ron and the others bought a few items. Afterward, they had lunch at a restaurant before Ron made a call to confirm the meeting location.

When they arrived at the meeting point, they spotted a muscular man on the beach. Ron was a little surprised. "Elite Four Bruno, what are you doing here?"

Bruno turned to look at Ron, nodded, and said, "The League sent me this time to assist you all. Hopefully, we can resolve this matter quickly."

Ron walked up to him. "I'm all for a quick resolution, but how are we getting there? And what's the battle plan?"

"We're taking a submarine and going in head-on," Bruno said without hesitation.

The three of them were speechless. That's the plan? Just charging in?

But thinking about it, it made sense. With an Elite Four member on their side, the base's personnel probably wouldn't pose much of a threat. Ron was more than happy to let Bruno lead the charge while they followed behind, cheering him on.

After giving some brief instructions, Bruno made a call. Shortly after, a submarine surfaced in the nearby waters. A motorboat was deployed to pick up Ron and the others, along with Bruno, and bring them aboard.

The submarine was quite cramped. Besides the pilot, there were only three other combat personnel. Including Ron and the others, that made a total of eight people. Ron was speechless. Only seven of us can fight, and Bruno is really just going to storm Team Rocket's base with this small force?

The journey was uneventful. After a full day of travel, the submarine finally reached the waters near Silver Rock Island.

"We're finally here?" Ron asked. "How are we attacking?"

They were underwater, after all. Were they supposed to swim over?

"We ram straight into it!" Bruno declared.

Ron could practically hear a million alpacas stampeding through his mind.

The submarine advanced slowly until they finally located the underwater base. However, the base's personnel spotted them as well. Several submarines emerged from the base, launching torpedoes at them.

"Ignore it! This submarine was built with League funding—it's sturdy!" Bruno shouted. "Full speed ahead, ram them!"

The pilot acknowledged the command and pushed the engines to full power, charging toward the base. A few torpedoes struck the submarine, causing it to shake, but they didn't slow it down in the slightest.

With its engines at max, the submarine smashed through Team Rocket's base and forced its way inside. As soon as they broke through, Ron and the others rushed out. They watched as seawater flooded into the base. This area must have been a sealed docking bay where Team Rocket kept their submarines. Now that it was breached, the whole place would be underwater soon.

"Gyarados! Hyper Beam—blast a path open!" Ron commanded, sending out his Gyarados.

Without hesitation, Gyarados fired a Hyper Beam, blasting a hole in the wall.

Wearing their diving gear, Ron and the others jumped onto Gyarados's back, and it carried them deeper into the base.

"The water's going to flood this place soon, so we need to move fast," Bruno said. "I'll take the lead, you cover me."

With that, he sent out Machamp, Hitmonchan, and Hitmontop. The three Pokémon charged at the approaching Team Rocket grunts, taking them down effortlessly.

Ron also released his Dragonite and Greninja, adding to the chaos alongside Gyarados.

"These guys are weak. Is this really Team Rocket's base?" Ruby asked while directing his Pokémon.

Ron had his doubts, too. These Team Rocket members were ridiculously weak—not even at the level of elite trainers, let alone a match for a Pokémon League challenger.

The only recognizable faces were Jessie and Little James (James: "My name is James, not 'Little James'!"), but even they weren't anything special. The rest were just low-level grunts.

Something was off. Way off. Ron couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Even after taking over the entire base, they still hadn't encountered any strong opponents.

After rounding up the captured Team Rocket members, the League personnel began collecting data. The base had been operated by Dr. Namba, who was researching ways to enhance Pokémon using legendary Pokémon energy.

Though the concept seemed a bit flawed, their main target had been Lugia. That was likely why the League had decided to take down this base.

As the Team Rocket data was being compiled, Ron spotted something familiar—a red Gyarados.

His suspicions only grew stronger. Something was seriously wrong here. He just couldn't figure out what.

Then, as he examined one of the collected items, his eyes widened in shock. He rubbed them hard to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Once he was certain he wasn't mistaken, he turned to Bruno.

"I want to take that thing," Ron said. "That okay with you, Elite Four Bruno?"