"Captain, we've got a lock!" a grunt shouted, his voice a mix of excitement and disbelief. The radar detector in his hand beeped insistently, a single red dot pulsing on its screen. It pointed directly toward a thicket of bushes just ahead. "Traces of Mew, confirmed!"
The captain's eyes narrowed. "Fearow, get ready!" he barked, releasing his own Pokémon. Behind him, his six subordinates sent out their Spearow, a flock of sharp-beaked sentinels, while fumbling with the heavy Electroweb launchers they carried. They were well-equipped, a testament to Team Rocket's thorough planning. But Red knew the truth: this squad was nothing more than a disposable probe, sent to test the waters and gauge Professor Oak's potential response.
(Can a lineup like this really hope to challenge Mew?) Red thought, a flicker of dark humor in his mind. (They must think it's all fun and games, that Mew's playful nature makes it an easy target.)
He wasn't entirely wrong. The Mythical Pokémon possessed immense power, but its inherent kindness and curiosity were also its greatest vulnerabilities, leaving it open to attack by those with malicious intent.
"Wait... is that a Pidgey?" one of the grunts asked, squinting at the bushes. He tapped his detector, confused. The red dot was hovering directly over a small, brown bird Pokémon that was innocently pecking at the ground.
"You idiot!" the captain roared, turning on him. "Have you never read a briefing? Mew can look like anything! Fearow, use Tri Attack! Subdue it!"
The grunt flinched, lowering his head. How was a low-level grunt supposed to have access to top-secret files on a Mythical Pokémon?
Fearow screeched and unleashed three orbs of energy—one fire, one ice, and one electric—that converged on the tiny Pidgey. Tri Attack was a perfect opening move, designed to inflict a crippling status condition and wear Mew down before the real capture attempt began.
The instant the attack flew, the Pidgey's form shimmered. Sensing its disguise was blown, it exploded in a flash of pink light, transforming into a sleek, powerful Pidgeot. With a flap of its mighty wings, it summoned a blade of wind—an Air Cutter—that sliced through the Tri Attack, harmlessly dispersing the energy.
"So it is Mew! Just as the intel suggested!" the captain grinned, his confidence restored. He shot a subtle look to his men. They understood immediately. While they feigned ordering their Spearow to attack, they were secretly repositioning, aiming their Electroweb launchers to ensnare their true target.
It was a childishly simple trap, one Mew would have easily avoided. But the sound of battle had already drawn unwanted attention.
From the deep woods, a new figure shot into view. It was a Beedrill, but one far more formidable than any textbook example. It was massive, its battle-scarred carapace gleaming. Its twin stingers were wickedly sharp, dripping a viscous, violet venom that sizzled as it hit the forest floor. With a furious buzz, it unleashed a volley of Pin Missiles, intercepting a Spearow mid-dive and sending it crashing to the ground.
The Beedrill's heroic intervention enraged the Team Rocket captain. "Forget Mew for a second! Fearow, take care of that pest!"
Fearow, under orders, wheeled around to face the intruder. But this Beedrill was a hardened veteran of countless wild battles. It danced through the air, peppering the Fearow with a relentless barrage of Pin Missiles before closing the distance in a blur. It drove its stinger forward in a brutal Poison Jab, striking a vital point.
The Fearow shrieked in agony. The captain's face darkened with fury. "Forget the plan! Use the webs on the Beedrill! Now!"
Caught by surprise, the Beedrill was suddenly engulfed in a crackling net of electricity. The Electroweb pulsed, tormenting it, while the injured Fearow seized the opportunity to strike back. Wounded and trapped, the Beedrill's strength began to fade. As its energy waned, a faint, verdant aura flared to life around its body—its Swarm ability, pushing its Bug-type moves to their absolute limit in a final, desperate stand.
"Hmph! Just a standard Swarm ability," the captain sneered with contempt. "If it had a rare ability like Sniper, maybe I'd have considered catching it. As it is, it's just trash."
"Is tormenting a cornered Pokémon something to be proud of?"
A cold, displeased voice cut through the clearing.
The captain spun around. In the blink of an eye, his subordinates had all been neutralized. They stood frozen, their eyes vacant, while their five remaining Spearow hovered limply in the air, eyes swirling in a deep, induced sleep. Standing behind them was the boy from the summer camp. He was enveloped in the faint, shimmering outline of psychic power.
"Who—who are you?!" the captain stammered, falling back on protocol. "How dare you interfere with the sacred work of Team Rocket!"
He hoped the infamous name would be enough to scare the boy off. It wasn't.
Red didn't answer. He simply raised a hand, and a sphere of pulsating blue energy—an Aura Sphere—materialized in his palm. He launched it, and it shot through the air, striking the Fearow and knocking it from the sky. With an unspoken command from Red, the still-ensnared Beedrill summoned its last reserves of strength, lashing out with a powerful X-Scissor that finished the Fearow for good.
The captain stared, speechless and hysterical. Red ignored him completely. He turned to the magnificent insect Pokémon, which had now collapsed, its Swarm aura fading.
"You're strong, and you have a good heart," Red said, his voice calm and clear. He extended his right hand. "Will you join me? Will you become part of my family?"
Red was genuinely impressed. When the other Pokémon had fled in terror, this Beedrill alone had rushed in to help a stranger. That was a quality that couldn't be trained.
The Beedrill looked from its battered body to the boy's outstretched hand. After a moment of contemplation, it lifted one of its sharp forelimbs and gently touched it to Red's palm. It wanted to become stronger, and it sensed that the boy before it held the key.
The moment it made contact, a voice, crisp and electronic, echoed not in his ears but directly in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. First Pokémon captured.]
[Ability Overlay System Activated.]
[Identifying Pokémon: Beedrill. Ability: Swarm.]
[Rare Ability Detected in Genetic Lineage: Sniper. Overlay?]
Red's eyes lit up. A system. He had his own system.
(Overlay the Sniper Ability!) he commanded mentally.
Instantly, the Beedrill began to change. The twin stingers on its arms sharpened further, their edges honing to a razor's keenness. Its large, round compound eyes narrowed, becoming sharp and predatory—the unmistakable mark of a Pokémon with the Sniper ability. Red keenly observed that the lingering green wisps of its Swarm aura hadn't vanished. This meant the Beedrill now possessed the effects of two abilities at once.
"I wasn't planning on letting you go."
Red's attention snapped back to the captain, who was trying to sneak away. With a mere thought, Red's psychic power seized him, locking him in place just like his grunts.
"If you've got any guts, you'll fight me one-on-one!" the captain shouted, his voice a mix of arrogance and desperation, hoping to provoke the boy into giving him an opening.
"Beedrill, recover your strength," Red said calmly, tossing two Oran Berries to his new partner. The Beedrill consumed them greedily, its energy returning. This fight would be the perfect way to forge their new bond.
Red released the captain from his psychic hold. "Fine."
Regaining his freedom, the captain immediately hurled another Poké Ball. "Go, Rhydon!"
A massive, bipedal Pokémon of solid rock and earth roared as it appeared. The captain eyed the transformed Beedrill cautiously. He didn't know what the boy had done, but years of experience screamed at him not to be careless.
"Beedrill, use Focus Energy," Red commanded.
Beedrill took a deep breath, its new, sharp eyes glowing as it concentrated all its senses, analyzing the Rhydon for the slightest weakness.
"Tricks! Rhydon, use Horn Attack!" the captain ordered.
"Dodge."
With a powerful flap of its wings, Beedrill sidestepped the charging Rhydon with impossible ease. Then, in a flash of green light, it swung its X-Scissor. Boosted by the lingering power of Swarm and the critical-hit focus of Sniper, the attack struck with astonishing force, hitting a vital point in Rhydon's rocky hide. The gargantuan Pokémon was lifted from its feet and slammed to the ground, knocked out in a single hit.
"How...? That's impossible! A weak little Beedrill... I don't believe..." the captain stammered, his mind refusing to process what he'd just seen. Red silenced his roaring with another wave of psychic energy, clamping his mouth shut.
"Mew! Mew!"
The battle over, the Mythical Pokémon reappeared, circling Red with childlike curiosity. Sensing the pure, benevolent Aura radiating from him, it chirped happily and rubbed its cheek against his. It had been a long time since Mew had encountered a human with such a righteous spirit. It felt an immediate, powerful kinship.
"We'll talk later, Mew," Red said softly, stroking its head. He turned his gaze back to the captured Team Rocket members. "Right now, we need to send this trash to a League prison."
He raised his right hand, and another Aura Sphere condensed in his palm. He launched it high into the sky, where it hung like a miniature blue sun—a signal he knew Professor Oak would see from miles away.
Far off, the Professor saw the flare. "Red! Is he in trouble?" he exclaimed, immediately calling the regional Pokémon League headquarters. "This is Professor Oak! I need an emergency dispatch of security personnel to my location, now!"
Half an hour later, the disgraced Team Rocket squad was being led away in cuffs by the stern and efficient Officer Jenny.
As he watched them go, Red reflected on the day. He had befriended a Mythical Pokémon and gained his first true partner, the incredible Beedrill. What he had expected to be a boring summer camp activity had suddenly become the start of everything, a memory he knew he would cherish for a lifetime.
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