"I also know many of Team Rocket's secrets. As long as you're willing to save me, I'll tell you everything. I can even help you deal with them."
Seeing there was no way out, Lambda panicked. His words tumbled out rapidly. When death was staring him in the face, even the most composed person would lose control, let alone someone like him.
"Lambda, you've lost your mind. You dare betray me and the boss?" Silanu, who was tied up nearby, shouted with a twisted expression. "You know what happens to traitors in Team Rocket. Death is the only end."
"Shut up! I'm about to die anyway, why should I care about him?" Lambda roared back, then turned toward Ash and Lance with desperate hope in his eyes.
"That's a tempting offer… but I refuse."
For a brief moment, hope lit up Lambda's face, only to be crushed instantly by Ash's next words.
Lance remained calm. He knew Ash possessed abilities that made extracting information effortless. Compared to relying on Lambda's unreliable words, directly reading his memories would be far more accurate.
"This is the evolution device?" Lance asked, pointing at the large machine nearby.
"Yeah. It uses rare radio waves to create conflicts and generate wide-range radiation. It doesn't affect humans, but it has a strong effect on Pokémon."
Ash explained casually. The machine held no real value to him.
Silanu was stunned. Ash spoke as if it were simple, but without deep mechanical knowledge and extensive theoretical understanding, it would be impossible to grasp the structure of such a device so quickly.
"Weezing, use Self-Destruct! Golbat, use Supersonic!"
At that moment, Lambda suddenly made his move. Despite his crippled legs, he pulled out Poké Balls with his left hand and threw them toward Ash and Lance.
White light flashed. Two Weezing appeared beside them, their bodies glowing ominously as they prepared to explode. At such close range, the blast would be devastating.
At the same time, a Golbat opened its mouth, releasing a vibrating blue sound wave straight at them.
"This is it, my chance!" Silanu shouted. The rope binding him suddenly snapped apart. A concealed mechanism in his modified watch had cut through it long ago, and he had been waiting for the right moment to escape.
"Trying to run? It's not that easy."
Ash's eyes sharpened. In an instant, Susanoo manifested, enveloping both him and Lance.
With a single sweeping motion, Susanoo's arm sent the two Weezing flying into the distance.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion erupted far away.
At the same time, Susanoo's fist shot forward, smashing the Golbat out of the air.
Ash then turned his gaze toward Silanu. A blazing blade formed in Susanoo's hand. With a swift cross slash, Silanu's legs were severed.
"Ahhh!!!"
His scream echoed through the area, just like Lambda's earlier.
Seizing the chaos, Lambda made his final move.
"Fearow, take me away!"
A Fearow appeared, one of his strongest Pokémon. Grabbing onto its claws, Lambda was lifted into the air as its wings beat powerfully, carrying him skyward in a desperate escape.
"I've been watching you for a long time… trash."
"Boom!"
Just as Lambda thought he had escaped, Ash suddenly appeared above the Fearow. His eyes had already transformed into the Rinnegan, cold and indifferent. Raising his left hand, his palm faced downward.
"Shinra Tensei."
"Boom!"
"Gah!!!"
A terrifying repulsive force erupted instantly. Fearow let out a shrill cry as its body was blasted downward. Bones cracked under the overwhelming force.
Ash seized the moment. In midair, he reached out and grabbed Lambda by the hair.
"Human Path, soul extraction."
The Rinnegan contracted sharply. In an instant, Lambda's soul was forcibly torn from his body and absorbed. At the same time, all of his memories flooded into Ash's mind.
"Bang!"
Ash landed steadily, his feet striking the ground hard enough to crack it, yet his body remained completely unaffected.
"How is the intel?" Lance asked, looking at Lambda's lifeless corpse.
"Not bad… I got quite a lot of interesting information."
Ash glanced at the writhing Silanu and spoke indifferently.
"Kill him. He's useless now."
From Lambda's memories, Ash had obtained valuable intelligence, including Team Rocket's financial channels, several ongoing research projects, and even a connection with the Rowan Family.
After eliminating everyone in the base, Ash and Lance stepped outside. The ground nearby was stained with blood, corpses scattered everywhere.
Lance rubbed his forehead slightly. "That fight felt good, but cleaning up afterward is going to be troublesome. If ordinary people see this scene, it'll cause chaos."
Even though the public knew Team Rocket was an evil organization, such a brutal scene getting out would still create negative attention for the League.
Ash, however, only smiled.
"We're in Johto. Even if people find out we did this, it just proves we helped the Johto League eliminate a criminal organization. No one outside the League was involved, so the story won't spread far."
He paused briefly, then added,
"As for the methods… who's really going to care about that?"
Lance's eyes lit up slightly. After thinking it over, he nodded.
Ash's reasoning made perfect sense.