Chapter 58: Ambush Koga

Over these five days, Ace frequently visited Saffron City, but not to prepare travel essentials as he had told Cynthia.

Ace was there to inquire about news—specifically, news about Gary.

Within five days, Ace had gradually gotten a grasp of the situation in Saffron City. Gary had entered the tower in Saffron City a week before Ace arrived.

And then, there was no more news.

Rumors about ghosts were already circulating in Saffron City. Now, with an outsider losing contact in the tower, it naturally led to even greater panic among the residents, who no longer dared to approach the tower.

As for uncovering the secrets of the tower, which the residents called the "Soul Bone Tower," Ace wasn't interested; he'd leave that to Ash, the protagonist. Ace was more concerned about the moment the storyline began, when Ash and Gary would cause chaos in the Soul Bone Tower, disrupting Koga's plans.

And he would seize that opportunity to deal with Koga.

"Two more days... just a little longer..."

Ace glanced at the forest behind him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Before that, he needed to improve his strength!

"Splish, splash..."

The sky was gloomy, and the rain poured down. Ash ran quickly, looking for a place to shelter.

"Are they here?"

High above Saffron City, Aerodactyl gripped Ace's shoulder, looking down at Ash running rapidly below.

Ace didn't pay any more attention to Ash but instead looked towards the Soul Bone Tower. Aerodactyl carried Ace, flying towards the tower.

Ace didn't interfere with the plot, so the story naturally unfolded as it should. Ash learned that Gary had been missing for two weeks, and he immediately rushed towards the Soul Bone Tower.

Inside the Soul Bone Tower, Koga watched Ace and Ash rushing towards the tower on his monitoring equipment, his brows tightly furrowed.

"It's the brat from last time, and the brat the boss put a kill order on."

Koga had a headache. Why were both of them coming together?

"Forget it, I'll let the brat from Mt. Moon go for now. Arbok, Gastly, I'll leave this to you."

Comparing the importance of Ace and Ash, Koga immediately decided to ignore Ash for the time being. He sent out his Golbat, leaped out of the Soul Bone Tower, and flew towards Ace.

In the heavy rain, Aerodactyl circled above the Soul Bone Tower. Ace looked down at Koga, who had burst out of the tower, and a faint smile touched his lips. "So you've come?"

With that, Ace sharply flicked a Poké Ball. Golbat shot out, moving at an incredibly fast speed towards Koga. He and Team Rocket were already mortal enemies; the first thing they would do upon meeting was definitely not to greet each other or exchange threats.

The first thing they would do was to kill each other directly!

"Supersonic!"

"Supersonic!"

Both Golbats simultaneously unleashed Supersonic waves. The waves collided in mid-air, shattering each other.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Three shurikens, modified from Poké Balls, rapidly flew towards Ace. Aerodactyl flapped its wings, dodging the shuriken attacks with Ace.

"Too late!"

Koga sneered. The Poké Balls in the three shurikens opened, and three Ekans sprang out, firing Poison Sting rapidly towards Ace.

"Clink, clink, clink..."

But just as the Poison Sting attacks flew towards Ace, a gray mist enveloped his entire body. The Poison Sting attacks struck the mist, failing to penetrate it, losing all momentum, and falling towards the ground.

"Gastly, Hypnosis!"

The mist converged, revealing Gastly's form. Enduring the Poison Sting for Ace was quite draining for Gastly, but it could still hold on.

"Happiny!"

A Poké Ball opened, and Happiny leaped out, charging a small punch, then fiercely striking one of the Ekans on the head.

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, the Ekans's head exploded like a watermelon. Gastly, seeing this, immediately rushed over and devoured the Ekans's soul fragments upon its death.

Aerodactyl flapped its wings, repelling the remaining two Ekans, then swooped down, picking Happiny up onto its back.

On the other side, Koga wasn't faring well either. Ace's Golbat spat out a large amount of venom mixed with rainwater towards Koga. If Koga hadn't reacted quickly, having a Grimer attach itself to his body to form a sludge armor, the venom landing on him would likely have killed him!

The two Ekans landed, turning into mangled messes. Ace looked at Koga with a cold sneer, then abruptly waved his hand. Golbat flapped its wings fiercely, and a barrage of Razor Wind attacks sliced towards Koga.

"Tsk."

Koga's Golbat quickly ascended, dodging Ace's Golbat's Air Slash. But what it didn't know was that this was exactly what Ace had been hoping for!

Aerodactyl roared as it swooped down towards Koga, gathering energy in its mouth. A Hyper Beam formed, rapidly firing towards Koga's Golbat.

"Boom!"

In the nick of time, Koga sent out Muk, using Muk's pliable body to directly withstand Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam. To block the Hyper Beam, Muk expanded its body as much as possible, protecting Koga but also obscuring Koga's vision.

Accompanied by the impact of the Hyper Beam, Muk was fiercely slammed onto the ground. However, being a Muk, whose entire body was made of sludge, this impact was harmless. It stood up from the ground, ready for more!

"Happiny, Gravity!"

But in the instant Muk obscured Koga's vision, it also gave Ace an opportunity. Happiny abruptly swung its arm, and a surge of gravity pressed down on Golbat.

Golbat rapidly plummeted but quickly flapped its wings desperately, resisting the gravity and slowing its descent.

"Tsk, looks like I can't crash him to death."

Noticing his plan to crash Koga to death was ruined by Golbat, Ace felt a bit displeased.

Ace's displeasure naturally meant his Pokémon were equally displeased.

"Lapras, Body Slam!"

A Poké Ball was thrown, and Lapras appeared in mid-air. Using its massive body, it swiftly crashed down onto Koga's Golbat.

"Toxic!"

"Heal Bell!"

Koga's and Ace's voices rang out simultaneously. Golbat spat out potent poison at Lapras, while Happiny withdrew its Gravity. A clear ringing sound echoed, and Lapras, which had just been hit by Toxic, instantly had its poisoned status cured!

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Koga immediately released his grip on Golbat, plummeting downwards on his own.

"Boom!"

Lapras crashed onto the ground with Golbat underneath, directly cracking the earth, and Lapras also cried out in pain. Falling from such a height, for Lapras, was a pyrrhic victory.

All its limbs were fractured, and its internal organs were severely damaged. If not treated immediately, Lapras wouldn't survive for an hour!

This suicidal combat style was impossible for others to replicate; only Ace could use it.

"System, it's up to you."

Ace quickly recalled Lapras. Five mission points were deducted, and Lapras instantly returned to peak condition!