"Huh, you two little brats actually showed up here. Since you've seen the red Gyarados, we can't let you leave." Just as Ash Ketchum was about to use his Sharingan to analyze the Gyarados' condition, a voice suddenly came from behind.
Ash turned around, his pupils shrinking sharply. The group standing there all wore uniforms marked with the emblem of Team Rocket. Beside him, Sabrina simply shrugged, clearly unimpressed. She hadn't expected them to come looking for trouble on their own.
"W-What? Captain, that guy… he's the one who wiped out the BC unit led by Dr. Namba not long ago!" one of the grunts exclaimed in shock after recognizing Ash.
"No way… wasn't that kid supposed to be at the Whirl Islands? Why is he here…" The captain muttered nervously. Their boss had explicitly ordered them not to provoke Ash, yet they had run into him anyway.
"Forget it. Inform Lord Lambda first." The captain quickly gave the order, and one of the members immediately retreated to report.
"Lambda… one of Team Rocket's executives, huh? Looks like I've caught a big fish this time." Ash smirked faintly. Every word they spoke had already been picked up by him, otherwise, that grunt wouldn't have been allowed to leave so easily.
"Pikachu, handle that Gyarados. I'll deal with these guys."
"Pika!" Pikachu puffed up its chest confidently before dashing toward the red Gyarados. With its type advantage and strength, the outcome of that battle was already decided.
"Hmph, even if you're someone the boss is wary of, you're still just a kid. Go, Fearow!" The captain barked angrily, releasing his ace, a Fearow.
"A quasi-Elite level Fearow? You've got to be kidding me." Ash laughed outright. Using something like that against him was almost insulting.
"Fearow, use Drill Peck!"
The Fearow's long, sharp beak began spinning like a drill as it shot toward Ash at high speed.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Ash didn't even bother to dodge. In an instant, five shadow clones split off from his body and rushed toward the Team Rocket members instead.
"W-What is that?!" The captain's eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, the clones had already reached his subordinates.
"Water Release, Water Prison Jutsu." ×5
The five clones formed hand seals simultaneously. Water surged up from the nearby lake, forming five spherical prisons that trapped the Team Rocket grunts inside.
"Mmmph!!!"
The trapped members struggled desperately, but the water spheres were as solid as cages. No matter how hard they fought, they couldn't break free, and their breathing quickly became labored.
"Bang!"
A sudden impact snapped the captain back to reality. His Fearow, which had been charging with Drill Peck, was now firmly caught by the throat in Ash's hand, completely immobilized.
"H-How is this possible?! Fearow!!" the captain shouted in disbelief.
"You shouldn't have chosen to stand against me." Ash's voice turned cold. His grip tightened, and a sharp crack echoed as Fearow's neck snapped. The Pokémon went limp instantly.
"You bastard!" Enraged, the captain rushed forward, throwing a left hook straight at Ash.
"Smack."
"Ugh…"
Ash didn't even flinch. He lowered his stance slightly, then raised one hand and caught the man by the throat mid-charge, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The grunt clawed desperately at Ash's hand, trying to pry it off, but it didn't budge in the slightest.
"Now then… tell me, where is your base in this area?" Ash Ketchum asked coldly, tightening his grip around the man's throat as his three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly.
Under that gaze, the captured Team Rocket member felt as if he were staring straight into the eyes of a demon. Cold sweat poured down his face, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. In his vision, it was as if a pair of enormous, blood-red eyes loomed behind Ash, ready to drag him into the abyss at any moment.
"N-No… I…" He tried to speak, but fear strangled his voice.
"Hm… forget it. Even if you told me, I wouldn't trust you anyway." Ash's tone turned indifferent, cutting him off completely.
Before the man could react, the pressure around him intensified. Ash's Sharingan suddenly shifted, transforming into the Rinnegan. A terrifying phantom began to form behind him, an enormous, grotesque figure that radiated an ancient, oppressive aura.
The phantom opened its massive mouth, rows of sharp teeth gleaming with a chilling light. Its tongue extended outward, twisting and reshaping into something like a grotesque arm. It passed straight through Ash's body as if he were merely a medium, then latched onto the Team Rocket member.
"Your soul… I'll be taking it."
As Ash's voice fell, the phantom's tongue-arm yanked violently. The man's soul was forcibly dragged out of his body, his expression frozen in absolute terror. The phantom devoured it without hesitation.
At the same moment, fragments of memory surged into Ash's mind.
"Thud."
The lifeless body dropped to the ground, completely devoid of any response. Nearby, the other Team Rocket members trapped in the Water Prison had already drowned, their struggles long since ended.
"It seems I underestimated things… I didn't expect Team Rocket to have an experimental base here." Ash muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he processed the information he had just obtained.