---
Everything had gone smoothly so far.
The group waited several extra minutes outside the underwater base just to be sure no alarms, no patrols. The camera deception worked. They'd slipped past the first hurdle undetected.
But now came the next challenge.
How to get in.
They hovered outside, hands on the cold metal wall. It was solid, airtight, and pressure-sealed. If they wanted to go full commando, they could've blasted holes in the structure.
The flood pressure alone would sink the base and wipe out everyone inside within minutes.
But that wasn't the mission.
They weren't here to destroy indiscriminately. Their goal was to shut down operations and capture the culprits, not drown them.
So they'd need to find a proper entrance.
Kai scribbled his thoughts onto a slate and passed it around. The others, Ash, Misty, Brock, Erika, and Ritchie frowned, none of them able to offer a solution.
Kai sighed. Figures.
But then his eyes landed on Misty's Corsola.
Wait a second…
---
Inside the base…
Two Rocket Grunts lounged in the surveillance room, slumped in chairs, sipping tea, utterly bored.
With years of uneventful watch duty behind them, they'd grown lax. The cameras rarely showed anything but passing fish and the occasional curious wild Pokémon.
"Ugh, that dumb Corsola again," one of them groaned.
The other chuckled. "You think it sees its reflection and thinks it found a date?"
They watched it bumble toward the camera again. It tilted its head, inspected the lens… then bit it clean off.
The screen went black.
"WHAT THE—!?"
One of the grunts sprang up, fumbling for the intercom. "Maintenance! Camera 3's out again! Another stupid wild Pokémon just took it out!"
A tired voice crackled back. "You've gotta be kidding me. That's, what, the fourth time this month? Do these sea creatures think we're hiding treasure out there!?"
Grumbling the whole way, a repair technician suited up and swam out to the damaged unit.
---
Meanwhile…
Kai and the others waited in silence, clinging to the structure.
Then—the hatch opened.
A lone Rocket tech drifted out, completely focused on his repair task.
With the entrance unsealed behind him and no one else in sight, Kai gave the signal.
Now or never.
The team swam forward in formation, gliding past the airlock and into the base.
---
SPLASH.
They surfaced inside a pressure chamber shaped like a sub dock. Climbing up the ladder, they pulled off their gear, taking deep breaths of shockingly fresh air.
"Air purification system's top-notch," Brock muttered.
Misty looked around. "So… what now?"
Kai checked both ends of the corridor. "We move quickly. Scout the layout, find what this place is for."
They returned their Water-types and instead released Pokémon better suited for indoor close-quarters.
Kai swapped out Dragonair for Gengar and Gardevoir.
With those two beside him, short of running into a Legendary, nothing here could seriously threaten him.
The team crept down the halls, silent and alert. Surprisingly, they encountered no guards no cameras, no sensors. Just a few lab coats rushing by, easily avoided thanks to Gengar scouting ahead through the walls.
Then they reached it.
A storage bay turned prison.
Dozens of Water-type Pokémon—Weak, tired, caged.
Misty gasped, covering her mouth. "Why… why are they locked up like this?"
"Experiments," Kai muttered grimly. "They're using them for research."
He gestured. "Let's get them out."
No one hesitated.
They couldn't open the cages manually, so they ordered their Pokémon to break the locks. The metal screeched, cages burst, and the Pokémon spilled out—confused, panicked, but free.
It was loud.
Too loud.
In seconds, the alarmed cries of newly freed Pokémon echoed through the hall.
And then—
"Intruders!" a voice yelled from the corridor.
"Sound the alarm! They've released the test subjects!"
Klaxons blared.
The base was now fully aware.
But that didn't matter.
Kai stepped forward, cold and calm. "Let them come. This is what we're here for."
He turned to his team. "Take down anyone who gets in your way."
Ash's grin widened. "Been waiting to hear that."
Poké Balls flew. Thunder cracked. Water surged. Psychic waves rippled down the halls.
The counter-attack had begun.
---
Team Rocket operatives poured from every hallway too late and too uncoordinated. They were met with swift retaliation: Charizard's flames, Gengar's illusions, Onix's shockwaves. Erika's Bellossom even trapped several guards with a tangle of vines.
Chaos erupted.
In the control room, a trembling technician turned toward three familiar figures:
Dr. Namba. Jessie. James.
Staring wide-eyed at the surveillance feed.
"…How!?" Jessie shouted. "How do they always find us!?"
James clutched his head. "Why is it always them!?"
Namba slammed a fist on the console. "Get ready! They're not leaving this base in one piece!"
----
Don't forget to check out my New Fanfiction
"Pokemon: Reborn as a Pokemon"
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For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon.
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