When Giovanni agreed to her plan, Lorelei felt a surge of excitement.
On a small scale, this was a concession from Giovanni. But on a larger scale, it was a victory—her victory in their ongoing competition!
In Lorelei's eyes, she had seized the initiative. As long as the plan proceeded smoothly, she would defeat Giovanni and claim the championship for herself.
She had no idea she had already stepped into Luo Yuan's carefully laid trap.
While the League was finalizing its plan, Team Galactic had completed its assembly on Five Island.
They were currently making their way toward the Rocket base—its location provided by the spies they had planted in Kanto earlier.
Although they knew their target this time was Team Rocket, Mars and Jupiter didn't feel particularly anxious.
After all, while Rocket had demonstrated formidable strength in the Hoenn incident—including the ability to control Legendary Pokémon—Team Galactic believed they had the element of surprise. Rocket had no idea they were about to launch a sudden raid on the Sevii Islands.
And if Rocket hadn't stationed any Legendaries here, then they were confident they could take down any Rocket executive.
Before long, they arrived at the disguised entrance of the Rocket base.
After cross-referencing their map and confirming they were at the right location, the two exchanged a glance. Finally, Jupiter stepped forward and sent out her Skuntank.
"Skuntank, [Slash]!"
The nearly one-meter-tall Skuntank straightened its body at the command. Its claws glowed white before it swung them forward with force.
SCREECH!
A sharp, ear-piercing noise rang out as claws scraped against metal.
An awkward silence followed.
Jupiter froze.
There, on the Rocket base's steel door, were two deep scratch marks.
But the door itself? Completely unmoved.
Watching Team Galactic's movements through remote surveillance, Orm nearly burst out laughing.
These guys… seriously…
Compared to the trouble they were bringing, Orm found Team Galactic much more entertaining.
Jupiter was now utterly embarrassed.
Back in Sinnoh, using Skuntank's [Slash] to break through doors had never failed her.
But this time, she hadn't expected Rocket's base to have such a ridiculously sturdy entrance.
Even though her back was turned to her subordinates—and to Mars—she could already feel Mars smirking and her subordinates exchanging doubtful glances.
Jupiter's voice immediately turned serious.
"Skuntank, [Hyper Beam]!"
Skuntank, already feeling humiliated by its earlier failure, went all out this time.
It opened its mouth, a white energy sphere gathering at its center. Once it reached critical mass—
BOOM!
The [Hyper Beam] tore through the air and struck the Rocket base's door.
This time, the result was different.
The beam blasted through the steel, triggering a violent explosion.
As urgent alarms blared, Jupiter exhaled in relief, the awkwardness on her face easing slightly.
"We're going in!"
Beside her, Mars saw the now-destroyed entrance and gave the command to their team.
Their members, brimming with fighting spirit, rushed inside.
However, the scene that greeted them was completely unexpected.
Inside the Rocket base's lobby, there was nothing but dust and silence. A thick layer of grime coated the floor, suggesting it had been abandoned for quite some time.
It was clear now—this was a deserted base.
Mars and Jupiter exchanged glances, both realizing the same unsettling truth.
"This isn't good—we've been tricked!"
The fact that Rocket had abandoned this base meant only one thing—their informant had been compromised.
For a Galactic member to betray them…
In Kanto, only one organization could pull off something like that—Team Rocket.
Which meant… Rocket had known they were coming.
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying the situation became.
If this was a trap set by Team Rocket, then things were far worse than they had imagined.
"Retreat!" Mars ordered without hesitation.
At this point, gathering intelligence on Sird was no longer important.
If Rocket had set a trap for them, then they must have a plan to keep them trapped on the Sevii Islands. Mars had no intention of fighting them head-on.
The Galactic members, while confused, followed the order and prepared to withdraw.
But just as they turned to leave, they found their path blocked.
To Mars's surprise, it wasn't Team Rocket standing in their way.
It was… the Pokémon League.
For a moment, Team Galactic and the League trainers stared at each other at the base's entrance.
The League had just arrived—just in time to corner Team Galactic inside the abandoned Rocket base.
"Wait… was this trap set by the Kanto League?"
Mars and Jupiter's expressions twisted in confusion at the sight of the uniformed League trainers.
Had they miscalculated?
Was it not Team Rocket who had lured them here—but the Kanto League?
But… what would the Kanto League gain from dragging them all the way here from Sinnoh?
They couldn't figure it out.
Still, this wasn't entirely bad news.
After all, dealing with the League was much easier than dealing with Rocket's Legendary Pokémon…
At least, that was what they thought.
Until they saw who was standing behind the League trainers.
Lorelei.
Giovanni.
Luo Yuan.
The moment they recognized the three figures, their hearts plummeted like a rollercoaster plunging straight down.
Before coming to Kanto, they had, of course, studied its key figures. One glance was all it took to recognize these three.
Just how much did they hate us?
They had dragged Team Galactic all the way from Sinnoh to the Sevii Islands… and then sent three Elite Four members to personally take them down?!
Sure, Team Galactic had done a lot of bad things—but all of that had been in Sinnoh! If anyone had the right to deal with them, it was the Sinnoh League!
What business does the Kanto League have interfering?!
Jupiter and Mars were furious.
But they weren't about to give up without a fight.
Even if the League's strength was beyond what they expected, it was still better than facing Rocket's Legendaries.
If they could just break through, they might have a chance to escape.
With that thought, Mars and Jupiter locked eyes.
Then—
"Attack!"
The Galactic trainers, fully aware that their only hope of survival was to break through the blockade, acted immediately.
Poké Balls snapped open in rapid succession.
A blinding wave of white light flashed across the battlefield—
And one by one, their Pokémon emerged.
---
T/N: ERRR sorry for such an unstable upload schedule! to be honest... im currently translating 31 fanfics! yeah they are all in my patreon, and soon they'll start being public but the first one i released the blue eyes white one got blocked not even a full day in :sob: but ill try webnovel for it once more before moving it to scribble hub! if you are interested in just checking out the future fanfics u might see here go check out my patreon!
[patreon.com/WiseTL]
or maybe u just wanna see me talk to myself
[discord.gg/wisetl]