"Just challenging the Gym? Where's the fun in that?"
Akira looked at the man in front of him, whose smile was laced with menace, immediately sensing that he meant trouble.
"If you're not here to challenge the Gym… then what do you want?" Akira asked coldly, with no trace of fear in his eyes.
As one of the first Gym Trainers of the Shadownight Gym, Kinoshita Akira might not have been the strongest, but due to his preference for data-driven battles, he had become increasingly cautious in his actions.
Even at his young age.
"I think your Shadownight Gym has a good vibe. I'd like to stay for a couple of days, and maybe use your Advanced Mimicry Space to get my babies some extra experience~"
The man's flippant tone instantly enraged the other trainees who were watching the scene.
"This is the Shadownight Gym! We won't let you act as you please, who even are you?"
"Yeah, you're way out of line!"
"Akira, no need for you to step in! Let us teach him a lesson."
"That's right, Akira-"
"…"
"HAHAHA… A bunch of snot-nosed brats think they can teach me a lesson?"
The man acted as if he'd heard the world's funniest joke. But then his smile vanished in an instant, and he tossed out a Poké Ball with a flick.
"Ursaring, use Earthquake!"
Akira's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected the man to attack so suddenly. But fortunately, he had stayed on alert and reacted at once by sending out his own Pokémon.
"Donphan, Sand Tomb. Houndoom, Inferno!"
The sandy terrain created by Sand Tomb nullified Earthquake's effect, while Houndoom launched Inferno straight at Ursaring. Despite facing a two-on-one, Akira felt no shame.
There were no rules when dealing with enemies. Ever cautious, he had even secretly released a third Pokémon.
"Hmph! Fearow, use Air Slash!"
Having failed with his surprise attack, the man scowled and sent out a second Pokémon, none other than a High[1]¹ Elite Fearow.
Air Slash interfered with Inferno's execution, and Ursaring took the chance to dodge the attack completely.
The other Gym Trainees rushed forward to help, but Akira immediately held them back.
"I've got this. You go find Amber and Trish, he clearly came prepared, and he must have other accomplices!"
Hearing this, the others hesitated. Though they worried about whether Akira could hold him off alone, they also knew that bringing Amber was a more reliable option.
Besides, Akira didn't want them in danger. The trainees varied widely in strength, if they got involved, they'd only be putting themselves at risk of being used as hostages.
"Trying to run? Fearow, use Aerial Ace! Ursaring, Hammer Arm!"
"Houndoom, Lava Plume! Donphan, Rollout!"
Donphan blocked Fearow's Aerial Ace, and Houndoom successfully used Lava Plume to obscure Ursaring's line of sight.
But just then, an Arbok suddenly burst from the ground, its target was the group of trainees preparing to evacuate through the back door.
"Peon~"
Suddenly, a sleek purple feline appeared in Arbok's path and used Protect to block the incoming attack.
It was the third Pokémon Akira had secretly released as a precaution.
Espeon!
The Eevee Akira had chosen years ago had, after three years of training, finally evolved into a rare Psychic-type Pokémon.
"Psychic!"
"Peon~"
Espeon let out a soft cry as the red gem on its forehead suddenly radiated a brilliant light.
Caught off guard, Arbok was instantly seized by Psychic and -under Espeon's control- was slammed mercilessly to the ground at the feet of its trainer.
---
At the same time, Amber and Trish at the Intelligence Shop were also under attack.
Although the attacker didn't possess any Ace level Pokémon, they had experience, and seemed to know that Amber wasn't weak, so they focused entirely on harassment tactics.
The key issue was that they occasionally revealed their intent to snatch Trish, forcing Amber to hold back and not take any risks.
They were being stalled!
Amber was shrewd with age, but in battle, his strength couldn't always keep up with his insight. The enemy had openly initiated combat, but kept it to drawn-out harassment. It was clear they had a bigger plan.
And it just so happened that Akira was the only one left guarding the Gym today. The siblings Sina and Sen were out on a training journey, and Ponyo and Sosuke were stationed in their respective villages and couldn't help.
"…Of all days, today had to be the day the Leader was flying back. During this time window, no one can reach him while he's on the plane… this has to be part of a major plot!"
Shielding Trish behind him, Amber fought back against the attacker's harassment, but his heart sank further and further.
What Amber didn't know was that in Shadownight Town, only the Shadownight Gym, the Intelligence Shop, and the Police Station were under attack.
Most townspeople merely thought some strong Trainer had come to challenge the Gym again, which was why things were so noisy.
The real reason was that the mastermind only launched symbolic attacks on Shadownight Town, to prevent them from sending backup to other cities.
The true battlefield was actually in Ecruteak City, Olivine City, Violet City, and New Bark Town.
Whether by coincidence or not, just as an unexpected challenger arrived at Shadownight Gym, every notable city in Johto was hit by waves of attackers at the exact same time.
In the four cities -Ecruteak, Olivine, Violet, and New Bark- large numbers of Team Rocket grunts in black combat uniforms appeared out of nowhere.
They launched direct assaults on Gyms, police stations, training grounds, research institutes, large department stores, and other critical locations.
Team Rocket had actually set its sights on the entire Johto Region!
What shocked people even more was that the League had been completely unaware of this massive coordinated attack beforehand.
And just two years ago, Team Rocket had supposedly been wiped out… yet now their infiltration into Johto had reached such terrifying levels.
Even Shadownight Town had been breached during the short six-month absence of Sato.
Team Rocket… was more terrifying than ever imagined!
---
On the plane, Sato and the others were resting with their eyes closed, but a sudden announcement jolted them awake.
[The Johto Region is under attack by underground forces. This flight has been canceled and will return to Lily of the Valley Island in the Sinnoh Region…]
…Under attack?
Sato didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately stood up and headed toward the cockpit door, with Joseph and Mark quickly following, their eyes filled with tension.
"Sir, please return to your seat…" a flight attendant stepped up immediately, trying to block them when she saw their serious expressions.
"I'm Yuga Sato, Gym Leader of the Shadownight Gym in Johto Region. Johto is under attack-"
The flight attendant looked at Sato like he had lost his mind.
Still maintaining a smile, she firmly interrupted, "Sir, you're not the only passenger on this flight. Our duty is to ensure the safety of all passengers…"
Sato frowned and returned the same 'are you out of your mind' look.
"…Did I said anything about flying back to Johto? Johto is under attack, the Sinnoh League will definitely send reinforcements.
Get me in contact with the command center. My companions and I will go with the first wave of the reinforcement unit."
Then he added, with clear dissatisfaction, "Much faster than your civilian plane."
.
.
.
¹.I've decided to let "High" stay in the Elite ranks too. The previous: "initial Peak Elite", "Peak Elite", "Near-Pseudo Elite Four"? Yeah… hell nah.
[1] I’ve decided to let "High" stay in the Elite ranks too. The previous: "initial Peak Elite", "Peak Elite", "Near-Pseudo Elite Four"? Yeah… hell nah.