Near a cave beneath the summit of Snowcap Mountain.
"Weezing, use Poison Gas!"
"Venomoth, use Gust on the Poison Gas!"
"Muk, Toxic Spikes!"
"Dewgong, hold the line with Aqua Ring!"
"Magneton, use Discharge!"
A Team Rocket squad dressed in uniform was fiercely battling the Ice-type Pokémon inhabiting Snowcap Mountain.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, their superior strength and coordinated teamwork allowed them to carve a bloody path straight through the wild Pokémon.
First, Weezing released Poison Gas, poisoning the wild Ice-types in front of them.
Then Venomoth used Gust to spread the poisonous cloud even farther.
Muk immediately followed up with Toxic Spikes, causing the poisoned Pokémon's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed to drastically decline.
Under such conditions, the defensively powerful Dewgong stood firmly at the front lines, relying on its Thick Fat Ability and natural resistance to Ice-type attacks.
To it, the attacks from the wild Pokémon barely seemed painful at all.
Meanwhile, Aqua Ring continuously restored its stamina, making it nearly immovable.
Finally, Magneton handled the offensive side.
Brilliant yellow electricity flashed through the snowy white landscape so intensely it hurt to even look at.
"Tch. If we weren't on a snowy mountain, we'd have already blasted these guys into the sky."
One squad member laughed.
According to their usual combat style, Discharge would directly ignite the expanded Poison Gas cloud and create massive explosions.
But on a snow mountain, violent explosions could easily trigger avalanches.
And if that happened, none of them would survive.
That was why they had waited until most of the Poison Gas had dispersed before letting Magneton attack.
"Tch. These Legendary Pokémon really love living in horrible environments. Seriously, what are they even thinking?"
Another member grumbled.
His main Pokémon were Crobat and Arbok, both of which suffered badly in the snowy environment.
It wasn't that they couldn't fight, they simply felt sluggish and weak.
This was the first time he'd experienced something like this.
After all, most areas in Kanto were nowhere near as cold as Snowcap Mountain.
"I think bat Pokémon and snake Pokémon usually have this problem? Can't really help it~"
Knowledge among lower-level Team Rocket members was generally limited, so another member answered uncertainly.
Thankfully, this was an elite squad assigned to an important mission.
Otherwise, nobody here would probably even know that much.
The second member shivered in the icy wind.
"Whatever. Let's finish this mission quickly. I seriously miss a warm bed."
The others all nodded in agreement.
"Number Eight, stay behind and clean up the battlefield. Everyone else continues advancing with me."
The squad leader scanned the group before casually selecting someone.
All the Team Rocket members except Number Eight immediately revealed expressions of schadenfreude.
Within Team Rocket, contributions during missions directly determined how rewards were distributed.
That was why the unlucky guy whose main Pokémon couldn't perform well here was so frustrated.
This mission was practically wasted for him
unless something happened later that forced him to use his weakened Pokémon.
As for contributing right now?
He knew perfectly well these bastards would stab him in the back the moment his weakened Pokémon became a liability.
Nobody who survived long enough in Team Rocket was truly kind-hearted.
As long as the mission could still succeed, eliminating one more competitor was always beneficial.
And being assigned cleanup duty meant Number Eight would no longer participate in the upcoming operation involving Articuno.
That was the real core objective of this trip to Snowcap Mountain.
The only advantage was that cleanup duty probably wasn't dangerous.
But the rewards afterward likely wouldn't amount to much either.
"Yes, sir!"
Beneath his mask, Number Eight looked furious.
Wasn't it just because he'd beaten this guy up a few times back in the academy?
If his luck hadn't been so terrible afterward, there was no way this idiot would've become the squad leader for this mission.
Still being angry was useless.
He had no intention of experiencing the consequences of disobeying orders.
Compared to losing rewards, Team Rocket's punishments were far more terrifying.
Silently, Number Eight pulled a large sack and a pile of empty Poké Balls from his spatial backpack.
His fierce gaze landed on the unconscious Ice-type Pokémon scattered across the battlefield.
"Hopefully a few of you have decent strength or potential. At least then I can make back some profits."
Officially, he still had to hand them over.
But besides himself, nobody knew exactly how many Pokémon he caught.
Keeping a few good ones for personal use or trading them for resources was a perfectly normal choice.
The inspectors usually didn't care much either.
Number Eight understood clearly this was Team Rocket's rule.
As long as you didn't betray them, and as long as you were strong enough, you could obtain everything.
Within the snowstorm, red lights flashed one after another.
Meanwhile
Silas, who had only just reached the mountainside, gestured toward Gallade beside him.
Gallade, surrounded by blue-purple psychic light, nodded.
Its psychic power spread outward instantly.
"There's a cave twelve meters ahead to the left. We can temporarily rest there."
It quickly found a target.
Silas took a deep breath, feeling the freezing air sting his lungs as he trudged through the snow toward the cave.
Once inside the dim cave, he casually threw out two Poké Balls.
"Gigalith, reinforce the cave and block some of the wind with rocks."
"Blaziken, lend us some fire and warm this place up."
The two Pokémon immediately began working skillfully.
As the temperature slowly rose, Silas let out a comfortable sigh.
The temperature on Snowcap Mountain had become absurdly cold.
Articuno had likely sensed something unusual and intensified the environment even further.
Even while wearing insulated expedition gear and protected by Gallade's Psychic powers, Silas still felt bone-piercing cold invading his body.
"How's your recovery?" he asked Gallade.
Leaning against the icy wall while meditating, Gallade replied:
"No change from before. Recovery is progressing steadily. About five more minutes."
Blaziken, flames burning within its claws, spoke through Aura:
"Want me to carry you for a while instead?"
Silas shook his head.
"You'll be the main fighter later. If we run into enemies midway, it'll become troublesome. Better let Gallade handle it."
Gallade silently nodded in agreement.
This wasn't the time to force things.
Its own Advance-level combat power was far less important than preserving Blaziken's Elite-level strength.
Five minutes quickly passed.
Silas and Gallade exited through the stone gap Gigalith had intentionally left behind.
Looking up toward the snow-covered summit, Silas still couldn't see Team Rocket anywhere.
Wonder where those guys are now…
Judging from the battle traces along the way, their coordination was extremely solid, and they hadn't suffered much damage.
Still moving in such a large group would inevitably attract relentless attacks from wild Pokémon.
Since they had effectively cleared a path for him, Silas believed his own progress speed was definitely much faster than theirs.
And even with those suppression devices, Articuno wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"I just hope I make it in time…"
His voice gradually disappeared into the roaring blizzard as he and his Pokémon vanished into the endless white snow.
"Damn, I'm exhausted."
The Team Rocket member left behind to clean the battlefield sat beside a massive wind-blocking rock irritably.
"Raticate, stand guard."
He released a giant rat Pokémon.
Its tan-yellow body and cream-colored belly made it look oddly cute, but its massive sharp front teeth fully revealed its dangerous nature.
Rattata and Raticate were among the most common and approachable Pokémon in Kanto.
Unlike Caterpie or Weedle, they weren't excessively weak early on, Rattata at least possessed decent combat ability.
And unlike Pidgey, which struggled to fully evolve into Pidgeot, Rattata evolved into Raticate around Level 20 shortly after becoming Raticate, allowing it to surpass many Pokémon in strength very quickly.
Most importantly, Rattata and Raticate were true omnivorous Pokémon.
They would eat practically anything, meaning civilian Trainers didn't need to worry too much about feeding costs.
Compared to Grass-type Pokémon, which were also relatively easy to raise, the biggest issue with the Raticate line was its lack of late-game potential.
While its Speed remained decent thanks to its body size, its Attack, Defense, and stamina were all somewhat mediocre.
Thankfully, its pure Normal typing meant it had very few type disadvantages.
Otherwise, life for the species would've been even harder.
At that moment, the three rows of whiskers on both sides of the Raticate released by Number Eight were twitching continuously.
Normally, these whiskers were essential for maintaining balance.
If the whiskers were damaged, their speed would noticeably decrease.
However, when combined with the species' primary Ability, Run Away, powerful Raticate could also use their whiskers for limited-range detection.
Only a very small number of exceptionally strong Raticate could achieve this.
After all, its Trainer was still an elite Team Rocket member and definitely had some skill.
Far away within the blizzard, Silas hid in the shadows alongside Gallade, observing the lone Team Rocket member and his Pokémon through his sharp eyesight and Gallade's Psychic powers.
He frowned.
"Just one person? Did the others already head up the mountain? Or was he left behind as a guard?"
By the time Gallade discovered the Team Rocket member, he had already been sitting there together with Raticate.
So Silas couldn't immediately determine why he was there.
After thinking for a moment, Silas released Ampharos.
"Shhh—"
Seeing Ampharos about to cry out dramatically upon entering the battlefield, Silas quickly covered its mouth and motioned for silence.
Ampharos obediently nodded.
It was just too excited, that was all.
Lowering his voice, Silas spoke quietly.
Even though the blizzard made it nearly impossible to hear anything from more than a few meters away, caution was still necessary.
"In a moment, use Thunder Wave to destroy all electronic devices on him. Don't let him contact his teammates. And take down that Advance peak-level Raticate too. We finish this quickly."
"Bwoo."
Ampharos answered quietly.
Then it pointed at Silas.
Silas' expression didn't change.
"Yeah. Leave the human to me."
After speaking, he turned toward Gallade.
Their hearts connected, Gallade instantly understood the plan.
"The distance isn't too far. I can use Teleport to bring both you and Ampharos over.
But afterward, my recovery time will increase to roughly thirteen minutes, and for about thirty seconds after teleporting, I won't be able to use Psychic powers."
"That's enough."
Silas made his decision immediately.
He grabbed Ampharos and placed a hand on Gallade's slender arm.
Gallade took a deep breath.
Blue-purple psychic energy suddenly pulsed outward.
"Ta!"
Raticate's twitching whiskers suddenly trembled violently as it cried out instinctively.
Number Eight's expression changed as he prepared to stand.
"BZZZT—BOOM!"
The communicator on his wrist suddenly exploded.
Caught off guard, Number Eight instinctively tilted his head backward to avoid the flying fragments.
"Urgh—!"
The next second, it felt as though an Aron had slammed directly into his stomach.
Seeing the enemy appear before him without warning, Number Eight endured the pain and threw a punch.
Silas crossed his footwork smoothly, dodging the punch while closing the distance even further.
Then he grabbed the man's shoulder and drove a knee upward viciously.
Number Eight's eyes bulged instantly.
The intense pain from below his waist temporarily robbed him of even the ability to scream.
Silas had no intention of stopping.
Lowering his center of gravity and shifting his steps rapidly, he appeared diagonally behind the man in an instant.
A ruthless gleam flashed through his eyes, completely mismatched with his usual appearance.
He raised his fist and smashed it directly toward the opponent's cervical spine.
"BAM!"
In less than four seconds, Number Eight collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Silas shook his throbbing hand.
People in the Pokémon world really were absurdly durable physically.
I should've just hit his temple or ears directly.
Since it wouldn't kill him anyway, might as well hit as hard as possible.
Meanwhile, Ampharos had only just engaged Raticate.
Its eyes were filled with excitement.
Soft white light glowed from its tiny hands.
Brick Break.
After finally finding an opponent it could physically bully, Ampharos apparently wanted to try being a melee mage.
Seeing its Trainer collapse, Raticate's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
Kicking off the ground, its body exploded with intense white light as it charged furiously toward.
First rule of wilderness combat always eliminate the Trainer before the Pokémon.
The experienced Raticate knew exactly what to do.
"SMACK!"
Before it could even rush forward several meters, a silver Iron Tail slammed heavily into its body.
Ampharos looked extremely displeased.
What was that supposed to mean?
Was the rat seriously ignoring it?
Staring at the flying Raticate, intense electricity burst from Ampharos' body.
"BZZZT—"
Electric currents crackled violently.
Raticate, now charred black and smoking from the mouth, lost the ability to battle.
Silas skillfully searched the unconscious Team Rocket member's body while casually returning Raticate to its Poké Ball and locking it away.
At the same time, he tied the man up securely.
"A bunch of poor bastards."
Half a minute later, Silas stood up irritably.
These guys seriously didn't carry anything valuable?
"Gallade, return and rest for now. Ampharos, let's go."
After quickly arranging the scene, he hurriedly left.
When Number Eight finally regained consciousness with great difficulty, he discovered he couldn't move at all.
His Poké Balls were also gone.
Looking around at the yellow and purple powder scattered everywhere, he wisely chose not to move.
Clearly, the League had sent a powerful Trainer with extensive wilderness experience.
"Skreeee—!"
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Listening to the faint bird cry echoing through the snowstorm, a trace of smug satisfaction appeared on Number Eight's lips.
.
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