"…Joseph? Joseph? Do you copy?"
[…]
Sato stared at the walkie-talkie, which remained completely silent. After two seconds of silence, he stood up and walked outside.
"Leader Sato!" Myron rushed over and stopped Sato, who was about to leave to search for Joseph.
"I won't stop you from looking for your partner… but Olivine City really needs your help. Please… come back quickly."
After saying that, Myron ignored the others trying to stop him and gave Sato a deep bow.
At that moment, many local Trainers from Olivine City were filled with shame.
Their own hometown, in the end, could only be defended thanks to the strength of outsiders…
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
Sato didn't say anything more. He would help Olivine City, but Joseph's safety could not be compromised.
"Sharpedo, head for the western forest."
"Sha!"
A blue stream of water streaked across the sky. Sharpedo wasn't a Flying-type, but its speed was no slower than one; especially with Speed Boost, it only got faster.
As the lush forest came into view, Sato tilted his head and touched the Ralts on his shoulder.
"Scan for the Psychic waves left behind by Gallade's Teleport."
"Got it, Toto… Over there!"
Sharpedo and Ralts cooperated seamlessly -one focused on flying, the other on guiding- and in the blink of an eye, they had already adjusted their route seven or eight times.
Sato understood clearly: however many adjustments there were, that's how many times Gallade had used Teleport.
And since each adjustment was minor, with the overall direction remaining consistent, it was clear that Joseph had discovered something, and was advancing with great purpose.
"Toto, I found it!"
Suddenly, Ralts looked down toward a spot in the forest. It seemed to have sensed something ahead and didn't even have time to alert Sato before using Teleport on its own.
Sato's heart sank. If Ralts was in such a rush, there was only one explanation…
Joseph had been attacked! And his opponent was stronger. Ralts had rushed ahead to help.
The next moment, a powerful energy wave erupted from somewhere deep in the forest.
Without needing to be told, Sharpedo instantly charged toward the source.
When Sato arrived, the first thing he saw was Joseph half-kneeling on the ground and Gardevoir standing in front of him in full battle stance.
Sharpedo landed beside Joseph, using its massive body to shield him.
Sato rushed over to Joseph and found him gasping for breath, so weak he could barely stay upright.
"You're here…"
"Yeah… What happened?"
Sato frowned as he carefully helped Joseph up, noticing the pale color of his face and the bitter smile tugging at his lips.
Before Joseph could answer, the sound of battle from Gardevoir interrupted them.
Sato quickly turned to look, and saw that Gardevoir was facing off against a levitating Claydol, whose strength was clearly Elite Four!
"E-Elite Four Shaka… is with Team Rocket!" Joseph's words immediately made Sato realize how serious the situation was!
"How touching~ You care enough about your comrade to rush here without even saying hello, Leader Sato."
The voice came from behind Claydol, and only then did Sato finally notice the man standing there.
Shaka: the Ground-type Elite Four member, known as the Bastion of the Earth. When standing on the ground, it was as if he had fused completely with the ground itself.
It was nearly impossible to detect!
"Elite Fou… Shaka, are you sure you want to betray the League?" Sato signaled Sharpedo to assist Joseph, then slowly stepped past Gardevoir and faced Shaka head-on.
"Betray?" Shaka sneered. "I dedicated most of my life to the League. Do you really think the word 'betrayal' can erase all I've contributed?"
"But you still chose to stand against the League." Sato said coldly, eyes flickering with uncertainty.
He vaguely remembered this full-scale raid by Team Rocket from his previous life.
But because too much time had passed -and he had been stationed in Hoenn at the time- he hadn't paid it much attention.
What Sato could confirm was that in his previous life, Elite Four Shaka had stepped down voluntarily due to age, and had eventually passed away peacefully, with no reports of betrayal.
But now, not only had Shaka turned against the League, he had become an enemy to both Sato and Joseph. And the one who stirred the wings of this butterfly effect…
Was none other than himself.
Realizing that, a trace of unease rose within Sato.
The more he interfered in this life, the less reliable his past-life memories became. More and more things were changing simply because he existed here.
An alarm was going off in Sato's mind, any past-life event could only serve as reference now; nothing was guaranteed!
These thoughts passed in a flash. Sato refocused on the present and heard Shaka sigh as if lost in his own memories.
"In life, there are always all kinds of bonds. Some choices aren't made freely. You two are both gifted Trainers. To have reached this level of strength at such a young age is truly rare…
Stop resisting. Come with me to Team Rocket. The resources and treatment you'll receive will far surpass anything a Gym Leader can offer!"
Even though Joseph had already escaped once, Shaka still didn't want to kill either of them.
He had always shown leniency toward talented youngsters.
Unfortunately, Sato had fought so hard to reach the light… there was no way he'd return to the darkness.
He shook his head. Without wasting a single word, he gave the command directly to Gardevoir.
"Magical Leaf."
"So stubborn… Then I'll just take you both by force! Claydol, Earth Power!"
Magical Leaf swept forward in a wide wave, but at the same time, the entire ground seemed to come alive.
The quaking ground disrupted Gardevoir's attack, and even Sato had to struggle just to stay balanced.
No wonder Joseph had ended up in such rough shape!
Sato understood immediately, then sent out Gengar without hesitation and had it lift him into the air using Spatial Barrier.
"Garde!"
Gardevoir also abandoned her attack for now, using Psychic power to lift herself off the ground. Her expression turned serious as she stared down her opponent.
From the very first move, Claydol had seized control of the battlefield. For someone like Joseph, who had no Flying-type Pokémon, it was practically a guaranteed loss.
"Claydol, Rock Slide!"
"Gardevoir, Magical Leaf."
Rocks came crashing from above as Magical Leaf spun into green vortexes, slicing through and wearing down the falling debris until all danger was gone.
But just as the two moves canceled each other out, Claydol suddenly appeared beside Gardevoir.
"Signal Beam!"
Shaka's command came a second late!
But Claydol's Signal Beam was lightning fast, blasting toward Gardevoir in the blink of an eye!