After dealing with the Team Rocket members who had been blocking him, Haunter continued floating towards Robert.
Robert looked at the approaching Haunter and then at the chaos on the battlefield nearby. He realized that if he didn't leave quickly, he would likely end up just like the rest of the defeated Team Rocket members.
Cursing under his breath, Robert gritted his teeth, "Useless! If it weren't for you worthless fools, would we have ended up like this?" He felt no guilt about abandoning his subordinates — in his eyes, sacrificing them to fulfill his ambitions was a worthy use of their lives.
It didn't take Robert long to come up with an escape plan. He would use his remaining Pokémon and the surviving Team Rocket members to draw Red and his Charizard's attention, giving himself the perfect opportunity to flee.
"Everyone, follow me!" Robert shouted. "Backup will arrive soon! Until then, we must show that kid the true power of Team Rocket!"
Hearing Robert's words, the exhausted and overwhelmed members of Team Rocket were suddenly filled with renewed energy. Motivated by the false promise of reinforcements, they launched a desperate and frenzied counterattack, fighting with a determination that hadn't been there moments before.
"This... Captain, the backup... it's not..." the communications officer stammered in confusion. He hadn't received any notice about reinforcements.
Backup?
What backup?
Was he even still the communications officer?
"Shut up!" Robert barked, shooting the officer a fierce glare. "If I hadn't said that, would they still be able to fight like this? From now on, you saw nothing. Understood?"
"Y-yes, sir," the officer stammered, shrinking under Robert's furious gaze.
Meanwhile, Red (also called Crimson by some) observed the sudden surge in Team Rocket's fighting spirit and raised an eyebrow. Though curious, he didn't really care. In his eyes, even with renewed energy, these grunts posed no real threat. His Charizard would wipe them out soon enough.
By the time any "support" truly arrived, Red would have finished up here, collected whatever supplies he wanted, and moved on toward Qianhong City.
Encouraged by Robert's lies and hoping for imminent reinforcements, the remaining Team Rocket members fought with surprising resilience.
Seeing the effect of his deception, Robert smirked to himself in satisfaction. He then pretended to show bravery, pulling out his last Poké Ball and hurling it forward.
"Come out, Weezing!"
"Use your most powerful Smokescreen and cover the entire area!"
"Gas~!" Weezing cried out loyally, immediately following the order.
Thick, choking black smoke gushed from Weezing's mouth, quickly engulfing the entire 'VIP room' and splitting the battlefield into two halves.
As the smoke thickened, Robert slipped a gas mask over his face, took a deep breath, and plunged into the cover of darkness, sprinting toward the exit.
"Hmm?"
Even though the thick smoke obscured vision, Red's psychic abilities allowed him to faintly sense Robert's movements. His Psychic power wasn't particularly strong — his sensing range was barely five meters — but it was enough to notice suspicious movement within the smokescreen.
Yet, Red chose to act as though he hadn't noticed. After all, he wasn't particularly interested in personally chasing down every fleeing grunt.
However, Haunter was under no such obligation to pretend.
Upon seeing Robert's sneaky attempt to escape, Haunter tilted his head thoughtfully. Then, making a quick decision, he marked Robert with a dark curse known as Black Eye and phased out of sight, intent on tailing the fleeing captain. If Robert truly tried to run away, Haunter would simply knock him out and drag him back.
With Robert and Haunter slipping away from the battlefield, Red no longer felt like wasting time.
He summoned a gust of fierce wind, blowing away much of the lingering smoke. After giving his Charizard and the other Pokémon a moment to recover their stamina, he gave the command to finish off the remaining Team Rocket members.
This time, Red wasn't interested in dragging things out.
Charizard and his companions, bolstered by Red's encouragement and their own desire to finish the fight, unleashed a series of devastating moves.
Although Robert's "encouragement" had boosted the Rockets' morale temporarily, their fighting strength was no match for the fully recovered Charizard and company.
Powerful attacks lit up the 'VIP room' as Team Rocket's Pokémon fell one after another — Arbok, Golbat, Koffing, and others collapsed, unable to withstand the assault.
Before long, the room was littered with unconscious grunts and fainted Pokémon.
---
System Notifications:
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating Arbok. You have gained 90 points."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating Golbat. You have gained 70 points."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating Koffing. You have gained 60 points."
"..."
---
By the time the last of Team Rocket's Pokémon was defeated, Red had racked up nearly four thousand points from this battle alone. Combined with the points he had already earned, his total now exceeded ten thousand — a significant milestone.
"You guys did great," Red praised as he walked over to his team. "Charizard, Pidgeot, Blastoise, Pikachu..."
"Charrrr~!"
"Pidgeot~!"
"Kami!"
"Pikapi~!"
"Hisss~!"
Each Pokémon cried out happily in response. Though the fight had been a bit one-sided at times, the thrill of battle and the experience gained made it all worthwhile.
After the adrenaline faded, Red summoned ropes from his system's inventory and, with Charizard's help, tied up all the remaining conscious Team Rocket members.
As for the fainted Arbok, Golbat, and Koffing, Red returned them to their Poké Balls to prevent them from causing further trouble.
Why bother tying everyone up instead of just leaving them there?
Simple — Red intended to turn these criminals over to the authorities.
Even if they wouldn't stay locked up for long, the process would create enough of a headache for Team Rocket that it was worth the trouble.
Red smirked at the thought. Sometimes, small victories could hurt just as much as large ones.
And for Team Rocket, this was only the beginning.