It was all for the sake of collecting evidence.
The members of Team Team Rocket had been conducting cruel, inhumane experiments involving genetic manipulation and living Pokémon. For her, that was something utterly intolerable.
Clap—clap— A crisp sound of applause suddenly rang out from behind the black-clothed girl.
Her body froze instantly. She hadn't noticed anyone approach, hadn't sensed even the faintest presence sneaking up to her back.
Whipping around swiftly, she kept her composure, her sharp eyes locking on the figures before her.
A man, two women, and a Gardevoir.
"Impressive," the man, Lucas said, his lips curling into a smile that seemed far too casual for the situation. "Truly impressive. To think you were able to slip into a base of this size, gather what you needed, and then retreat in one piece. That's no small feat."
Lucas's tone was calm, but his praise was genuine—he was not one to flatter needlessly.
For he knew very well that the Team Rocket facility she had infiltrated was not just any hideout, but one of their true large-scale bases. To enter, uncover evidence, and then extract oneself unharmed… that was anything but simple.
"Who would have thought," Lucas continued, his gaze lingering on her with clear interest, "that the gym leader whom everyone knows as the gentle, elegant gym leader—lover of flowers, nature, and serenity—would also possess such daring courage and refined reconnaissance skills?"
Yes, the young woman before them was none other than Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon City.
"You're members of Team Team Rocket," Erika said sharply, her voice edged with steel even as her features remained composed.
Her right hand had already closed tightly around a Poké Ball, though the motion was so subtle it might have gone unnoticed. At the same time, hidden from their sight, her left hand—shielded by her body—had just finished transmitting the photographic evidence she had gathered.
She had already prepared herself for the worst.
"That's right," Lucas admitted openly, not bothering to conceal it. "So then, Miss Erika, please come with us quietly."
His smile did not falter. He acted as though her desperate little maneuver hadn't even existed.
"Delusional!" Erika's expression hardened. Go back with Team Rocket? That was no laughing matter.
"Vileplume—" she started, raising her arm to throw her Poké Ball. But in the very instant she moved, her body locked up.
Her eyes widened. She couldn't move.
A faint shimmer of blue light had enveloped her form, suspending her in place. Psychic power.
She turned her gaze toward the Gardevoir standing elegantly at Lucas's side. Its eyes glowed with a deep azure radiance.
This is bad…
"Your Poké Balls—I'll be holding onto them for now, Miss Erika," Lucas said smoothly. "Don't worry. We don't mistreat our prisoners."
Marnie, ever perceptive, stepped forward without needing instruction. With practiced ease, she searched Erika and retrieved every Poké Ball on her person.
With her Pokémon taken, Erika was effectively powerless.
She was known throughout Celadon as a daughter of nobility, and though unlike many pampered heiresses she did possess some degree of personal skill, without her Pokémon she was, at the end of the day, still only human.
Lucas and his companions brought her back down into Team Rocket's underground base beneath Celadon's Game Corner.
"Mr. Lucas, I truly cannot thank you enough."
The moment Archer laid eyes on their captive, he exhaled in relief.
Moments earlier, no matter how thoroughly the entire base had been searched, not a trace of the infiltrator could be found. He had nearly lost his mind with anxiety.
Now, seeing Erika in handcuffs, he felt as though a mountain had been lifted off his chest.
At his side stood a woman with striking red hair, her expression perpetually dark. She too wore the white uniform of Team Rocket. It was Ariana—one of the four Team Rocket generals.
Her sharp gaze bore into Erika like daggers, but Erika did not cower. Though her nature was usually gentle and graceful, she would never bow her head to Team Rocket. She glared back, unflinching.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Lucas remarked lightly, tossing Erika's phone to Archer. "The very first thing she did upon escaping the base was to send everything she had gathered… to Lorelei."
"What? Lorelei?"
Archer's and Ariana's faces darkened at once.
Snatching up the phone, Archer scrolled through the recent messages. Sure enough, Erika had already sent every photo she had taken directly to the Ice-type Elite Four member.
"Damn it…" he muttered, his eyes shadowed.
Of all the experiments they had running here, they had to be the kind Lorelei despised most: cruel genetic splicing with live Pokémon.
There was no question—once she saw those pictures, Lorelei would fly into a rage.
"Lorelei will bring people here. She'll see you all arrested," Erika said with quiet satisfaction.
Though her own situation was dire, the knowledge that the base was doomed gave her strength. She was the Gym Leader of Celadon City; there was no way she could allow such monstrous evil to exist in her home.
"Take her away. Lock her up," Archer snapped, his face dark. Now was not the time to waste thought on a mere prisoner.
"What do we do now?" Ariana asked, frowning. If Lorelei already knew, then it was only a matter of time before the Elite Four descended.
"We report to the boss immediately," Archer said grimly. "Then we start gathering all research data. Backup everything, and prepare to evacuate."
There was no saving this base. It was deep inside Celadon—territory firmly controlled by the Pokémon League.
The data, however, was another matter. That had to be preserved at all costs.
But the files were massive. Copying everything wouldn't be fast. He could only pray the League was slow to act.
"My apologies, Mr. Lucas," Archer said with a weary, bitter smile. "I had hoped to properly entertain you, to thank you for SS Anne… but it seems the situation has taken another unfortunate turn."
"You don't need to trouble yourself," Lucas replied calmly, lips curled in the faintest hint of amusement. "Focus on your data. I'll be staying in Celadon for a few days anyway."
A malicious glimmer flickered at the corner of his smile. Another opportunity to toy with the League.
"Thank you, Mr. Lucas."
Archer visibly relaxed. With Lucas's power on their side, at least there was a chance. Without him, Archer's nerves would be utterly frayed.
As Archer and Ariana hurried off, Karen—leaning lazily against the wall—clicked her tongue in amusement.
"He certainly treats you with a great deal of respect," she said slyly, casting Lucas a sidelong glance. "You really mean to stay here? That would put you head-to-head with the League."
"Of course. Isn't it exciting? In fact, I rather hope the League sends a couple of their Elite Four at once," Lucas said with a grin.
He had no urgent matters on hand at the moment—apart from that little issue with Mew. What better way to pass the time than to play with the League's elites?
How many Elites would they dispatch, he wondered?
---------------
Meanwhile, in Indigo Plateau…
Lorelei's beautiful face was set in icy lines, her chest rising and falling rapidly, betraying the storm raging within her. A heavy aura of cold radiated from her body, utterly unrestrained.
The Ice Queen was furious.
"Who sent the information?" she demanded.
Agatha, still idly playing with her Arbok, gave Lorelei a single glance. From the look in the younger woman's eyes, she already knew Lorelei was barely holding herself back.
"Erika. The Gym Leader of Celadon."
Lorelei pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and exited the gallery of photos on her phone. Her voice was like sharpened steel.
She dared not linger on the images too long—lest she lose all control and fly to Celadon immediately. But in her heart, she had already passed sentence: every last Team Rocket member in that base was marked for death.
Team Rocket. That vile, disgusting organization. They should never have been allowed to exist. Never granted even the faintest chance at redemption.
Repent? Monsters like them?
How many times had it been now? Again and again, time after time, they committed atrocities. And still, even now, Pokémon were suffering in their hands.
"Team Rocket has grown stronger recently. It's not safe for you to go alone," Agatha said calmly, her raspy voice low. "They've brought in several new officers, all formidable trainers. The organization is growing quickly."
"I'll call Lance," Lorelei muttered, her fury restrained but simmering. She remembered the woman they had seen in Cerulean, the dazzlingly seductive one who had appeared alongside Lucas.
Yes, Lorelei was furious. But even in her rage, she retained the most essential sliver of reason.
This was a large Team Rocket base. Nobody knew how many officers or executives lay hidden inside. To be safe, she would summon Lance.
If the two of them went together, there would be nothing to fear.
"Don't go too far," Agatha warned. "Even under the guise of cleansing Team Rocket hideouts, you and Lance have been watched closely. Every move you make is noted."
Ever since the S.S. Anne incident, the League had been dispatching its Elite Four to root out Team Rocket bases. Officially, they acted under the policy of non-lethality.
But Lorelei and Lance… were merciless.
Those captured by Lorelei suffered frostbite, their bodies ravaged by freezing cold. And Lance? Many of his victims had not survived at all.
They were too ruthless. And because of that, the League's politicians had begun to murmur.
For now, in these extraordinary times, those voices were quiet. But eventually…
Lorelei's brow furrowed. The thought of facing the incessant questioning of those useless councilmen made her chest burn with irritation.
"I'll find Lance. Please inform the Chairman in the meantime," she said coldly, rising from her seat and leaving the chamber.
"Samuel Oak…" Agatha whispered once Lorelei was gone.
She did not stop her. But her old, wrinkled face grew darker still.
The rift was widening. If this continued, then no matter how strong Lorelei and Lance were, eventually the council would strip them of their Elite Four titles.
The position of Elite Four was special, yes—but not untouchable. With a two-thirds vote, the council could dismiss even the strongest of champions.
"Perhaps it's time to prepare a retreat," Agatha thought, flipping open an ancient tome, her clouded eyes gleaming with an ominous light.
She could not afford to lose Lorelei or Lance. They were her most important pieces, the pawns she had spent years grooming—her most vital instruments for vengeance against Samuel Oak.
"If that day comes when the League will no longer shelter us…"
Her gaze hardened, falling on a line in the ancient book:
"Cobalt Island, a giant energy amplifier, has a close connection with the legendary Pokémon..."
(End of Chapter)