"Since you already have a concrete plan, Dr. Namba, why don't we depart right now?"
Lucas thought for a moment before smiling faintly as he spoke to Dr. Namba.
The sooner it was settled, the sooner he could be at ease. Lucas had no intention of wasting time here unnecessarily.
"Of course, that's no problem at all. Cassidy, Butch—do you currently have Lugia's location?"
Dr. Namba nodded, then turned to face the two and asked in a steady tone.
"Doctor, not at the moment. However, those two Lugia always come near here at a fixed time each day to forage for food."
At this, Cassidy's expression became solemn as she replied seriously. After all, Lucas was watching her closely, and the pressure was intense.
"Mhm, then it should be soon." Dr. Namba glanced at the time.
"In that case, let's wait a little longer. Dr. Namba, make sure you don't disappoint me." Lucas raised his brows ever so slightly.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Lucas!" Dr. Namba's heart tightened as he bowed his head and answered respectfully.
"Cassidy, don't you feel like there's something strange going on?"
In the corner, Butch blinked and whispered quietly to Cassidy.
"Strange? What's strange?" Cassidy looked confused.
"The way Lord Lucas addresses the Doctor!"
"Hiss…" Cassidy thought back carefully, and suddenly inhaled sharply.
It did seem that way—apart from making a mistake twice in the very beginning, afterwards Lord Lucas had consistently used the same title.
Dr. Nanba!
But… why did it sound a little odd?
No, it must be an illusion! How could Lord Lucas be that kind of person? It must be due to Dr. Namba's strange, irresistible aura.
Time passed quickly. An hour slipped by in the blink of an eye. Lucas was seated at the main chair, carefully trimming and polishing Irene's fingernails. Irene's face flushed faintly red, since after all, there were quite a few people nearby watching.
"They're here! Lugia has appeared, Lord Lucas—Dr. Nanba!"
The ever-watchful Butch, who had been staring at the monitor the entire time, shouted hurriedly.
"It's not Nanba, it's Dr. Namba!" Dr. Namba snapped, his moustache bristling, his eyes wide as he roared instinctively.
"Mr. Lucas, Lugia has appeared." He quickly lowered his voice again, reminding Lucas.
Butch's face was full of grievance.
"Then let's begin the operation, Dr. Namba."
Lucas turned to look at the monitor, where indeed one large and one small Lugia could be seen slowly swimming closer.
"Plan No. 1, initiate!" Dr. Namba ordered sternly.
"Yes, sir!"
Cassidy responded quickly, her fingers tapping continuously across the control console.
"It really is Lugia…" Green's eyes sparkled brilliantly. Although she had seen them in video footage before, seeing Lugia appear vividly on the monitor now still filled her heart with awe.
And yet…
Could Team Rocket really capture a Lugia?
Green was deeply doubtful. True, one of these Lugia was still just a young one, while the other seemed not yet fully developed. But even so, they were legendary Pokémon!
Just as she was thinking this, the two Lugia had already arrived at the seabed.
The mother Lugia lowered her head, gently biting off a strand of seaweed before turning back to feed it to the little Lugia—a tender, affectionate gesture that radiated warmth.
"Target confirmed—little Lugia."
Cassidy spoke as she pressed a control button. At once, a hidden panel of the base opened, and an object slowly began to move outward.
"Uh…"
When she saw the object clearly, Green froze in shock!
Marnie and Irene's eyes also twitched violently, their expressions strange as they both involuntarily glanced at Dr. Namba.
"Dr. Namba, your craftsmanship really is… something." Lucas looked twice, then turned his gaze to Dr. Namba with a tone that could only be called "praise."
Because what Cassidy had deployed… was a mechanical little Lugia.
But to call it a mechanical Lugia was being generous—it looked more like a gray, steel-shelled duck. Not only was it utterly devoid of elegance, its rough, crude design was so off-putting that one could hardly resist the urge to ridicule it at first glance.
"Ahem… please don't mind the details, Mr. Lucas. Admittedly, it's a little ugly, but we had too little time. This was the best we could manage…"
Dr. Namba coughed awkwardly, his voice filled with helplessness.
He knew well enough that this "steel-type little Lugia" was ugly. But time had been far too short to create something more refined.
"So, you plan to use this tin-can duck to lure the little Lugia? Isn't that a bit much?"
With just a little thought, Green immediately grasped Dr. Namba's so-called "Plan No. 1." She rolled her eyes and gave a disdainful snort.
This crude piece of junk—how could it possibly attract a little Lugia? Was this some kind of joke?
That was Lugia! Even if it was just a baby Lugia, there was no way it could be this stupid!
If it really worked, Green thought, she would perform a handstand right here on the spot…
She scoffed inwardly, but before the thought even finished forming, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
On the monitor—
The steel-shelled duck paddled toward the little Lugia. The mother Lugia was still busy gathering seaweed for her child.
The young Lugia, bored and restless, looked around idly. It's clear, watery eyes suddenly lit up when it spotted the steel duck nearby.
Its tiny wings flapped excitedly as it swam straight toward it.
"Awuu! Awuu!"
As though it had found a companion of its own kind, the little Lugia chirped happily, rubbing its head gently against the steel duck's head and making delighted noises that sounded almost like a puppy whining.
"What the—?!"
Green was utterly dumbfounded.
No way. No way! Little Lugia, what was wrong with your eyes? That was just a steel duck, not one of your own kind!
"Excellent! Quickly, retrieve little Lugia before the mother notices!"
Dr. Namba was delighted. As expected—whether legendary or not, children were still children. Innocent, trusting, and easy to fool.
Capturing it would be almost too easy!
"Understood!" Cassidy replied crisply.
Under her control, the steel duck turned around and began heading back toward the base.
"Awuu? Wuu?"
The little Lugia tilted its head curiously, puzzled why its "companion" wasn't speaking and was swimming away.
But the little Lugia was clearly very naïve—it simply chased after its "new friend" without a second thought.
Green's eyelids twitched violently. She was speechless.
Meanwhile, the mother Lugia finally turned her head—only to find her child had vanished from sight. Panic seized her as she looked around frantically, then spotted the little Lugia swimming off into the distance.
"Wuuuu!"
The mother Lugia let out a call of relief and hurried after her child.
This little rascal, never letting its mother rest easy!
"Awuu?" Hearing its mother's call, little Lugia stopped in confusion and turned its head.
But the next moment—
The steel duck suddenly split open, a mechanical claw shooting out to seize the little Lugia in its entirety.
"Awuuu! Awuuuuu!" The young Lugia cried out in panic, struggling frantically.
The mother Lugia's expression darkened instantly. With a furious roar, she charged toward them.
"Recover it!"
The steel duck swiftly withdrew into the base, dragging the little Lugia with it. The entrance sealed shut immediately.
Little Lugia, captured successfully!
"Wuuu!"
The mother Lugia halted outside the base, unleashing a roar of rage so powerful it reverberated even within the facility's walls.
"Hahaha! Mr. Lucas, what do you think? Little Lugia has been successfully captured!"
Dr. Namba didn't care in the slightest about the mother's fury. He laughed proudly as he addressed Lucas.
So, what if it was Lugia? With a simple trick, it was nothing more than child's play.
"It really did go smoothly. But I fear this Lugia won't let things rest so easily."
Lucas arched his brow as he pointed at the monitor, where the furious mother Lugia circled the base relentlessly.
He hadn't expected capturing little Lugia to be so simple…
But catching the child was easy—what awaited them next was undoubtedly the wrath of its mother.
Lucas was eager to see how Dr. Namba planned to deal with that.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lucas. The trap for the mother Lugia is already being prepared—it's nearly complete."
Dr. Namba's voice brimmed with confidence. He had come extremely well-prepared to capture these two Lugia.
"Oh? But this Lugia won't give you much time."
"We anticipated that. Cassidy, activate the energy shield system." Dr. Namba gave the order without hesitation.
"Yes! Shield, activate!" Cassidy quickly manipulated the console.
At once, a dense white light spread around the entire outer base.
"Wuu?!"
Seeing that there was no entrance to the structure at all, the mother Lugia roared in fury.
Of course she recognized it as a human creation—these greedy, detestable humans!
Enormous power surged in her throat. Even though they were deep beneath the sea, a terrifying gale spread outward in all directions.
In the next instant, a blinding white beam ripped through the waters, slamming fiercely into the base. Razor-sharp winds swirled furiously within the beam itself.
The signature move of Lugia's kind—Aeroblast!
BOOM!
The blast struck the base's shield with thunderous force.
The sea churned wildly, a muffled explosion sending violent waves rippling across the seabed.
When the waves finally subsided, the white barrier shimmered faintly but remained intact. The base stood unharmed beneath its protection.
"Wuuu!"
The mother Lugia roared again, her fury unrelenting as she began to gather yet another attack.
"This is the same protective barrier used in battle arenas. It seems your preparations are quite thorough, Dr. Namba."
Lucas's eyes flickered with surprise as he regarded Dr. Namba.
These protective shields were first designed for Pokémon battle arenas, to prevent the audience from being harmed during matches. Their defensive capabilities were excellent.
For instance, in Galar, nearly every stadium was equipped with such shields. Thanks to Dynamax battles, accidents were all too common, but under these barriers, the spectators could watch safely. Back when Lucas had broken into the Energy Plant and released Eternatus, the Hammerlocke Stadium had activated its own barrier to resist it.
Though Eternatus ultimately broke through, at full power these barriers could indeed withstand even a top-tier legendary for a while.
Lucas hadn't expected Dr. Namba to have installed such technology in his undersea base. It certainly hadn't been part of the original script.
While the shield consumed an enormous amount of energy, it was undeniably an effective defensive measure.
"Still, this can't last forever. Dr. Namba, you'd better move quickly."
Lucas glanced at the monitors, where the furious mother Lugia battered the base again and again, and reminded him calmly.
"Of course." Dr. Namba's smile faded slightly as he watched the secondary screen showing the shield's fluctuating energy levels.
He had known the mother was protective of her child—but her sheer ferocity still exceeded his expectations.
"I'll go take a look at the little Lugia."
Lucas shrugged and gestured to Butch to lead the way.
"Understood. You all, move faster!" Dr. Namba barked through the communicator at the Rocket grunts setting up the trap.
After all, every attack on the shield drained energy from his base's reserves. He could practically feel the pain of it.
Butch dared not disobey Lucas. He quickly led him and the others out of the control room, into the chamber where little Lugia had been placed.
"Awuu…"
Inside a steel cage, the young Lugia sat pitifully on the floor. When it saw people enter, it shrank back in fear.
Though its heart was still naïve and childlike, it understood instinctively that those who captured it bore no good intentions. Fear was only natural.
"Let it out."
Seeing its frightened look, Lucas chuckled softly and gave Butch the order.
"Yes." Butch didn't hesitate. It made no difference anyway.
Even without Lucas here, Butch had plenty of confidence in himself. Against a little Lugia with no combat strength—he could handle ten of them at once!
The steel cage lifted away. Little Lugia blinked blankly, then staggered to its feet and backed up timidly, staring nervously at Lucas and the others.
It was… truly adorable.
(End of Chapter)