Watching on the screen as Natsui's group's Pokémon broke through their lines like an unstoppable force, charging deeper into the base and crushing all opposition, Butch couldn't help but frown. "Dr. Jinbo, what should we..."
"It's Dr. Namba!!" Before Butch could finish, Dr. Namba rudely interrupted him. He shot the two a fierce glare and said angrily, "It's all because of you two useless fools! Not only did you fail to capture Lugia, but now you've led them here!!"
"It's not our fault they came..."
Cassidy was about to argue, but her partner, Butch, quickly pulled her back.
Butch knew very well in his heart that there was no point in saying anything now. With a great enemy at the gates, they couldn't and shouldn't have any internal strife.
Seeing Butch repeatedly giving her signals, Cassidy could only suppress her anger, sigh helplessly, and stop arguing with the base's highest commander.
Seeing his partner had calmed down, Butch then rubbed his hands together and said to Dr. Namba with a fawning smile, "Yes, yes... you're right about everything. So, what should we do now? Should we retreat?"
"Retreat!?" Dr. Namba directly rejected the suggestion. "Not yet. There's still a lot of important data and research results in the base. We need some time to transfer them. You two, take all the remaining members and block them. They must not be allowed to break into the core area!"
"Huh? Us?"
Butch and Cassidy were stunned. After all, the two had just experienced a failure and no longer had the courage to face Natsui's group again.
"Of course, it's you. Should it be me?" Dr. Namba snorted coldly. "Remember, you must stall for as long as possible to buy enough time to transfer the data!"
Butch and Cassidy looked at each other. Although they were very reluctant, they also knew the importance of this data to Team Rocket. They could only bite the bullet and accept the order.
After the two left the command room, Dr. Namba then ordered a subordinate beside him, "Have the submarine ready. We must evacuate from here immediately!"
"Huh?" The member was taken aback. "Didn't you just order Lord Butch and Lady Cassidy to eliminate the intruders? We're leaving now? What about the data?"
"A bunch of idiots!" Dr. Namba first cursed angrily, then pointed to his own head. "The data is all in my head. As long as I can get away safely, it's equivalent to all the data being transferred. Understand?"
"Ah? Then why did you have Lord Butch and Lady Cassidy attack? Couldn't we have just left directly?"
Dr. Namba turned his gaze to the large screen, a cruel look on his face. "Hmph, something that even Giovanni and so many executives couldn't do, how could these two possibly stop those people? Having them attack is just to teach those two failures a lesson. Besides, I've also prepared a little gift for our guests who have come from afar. It will definitely make them happy!"
...
In the base's corridor, Natsui's group was directing their respective Pokémon in a fierce battle with Team Rocket.
Since being discovered, they had advanced another dozen or so meters and had reached the second floor of the base via the stairs.
However, the resistance here was particularly strong. They had to defeat several Team Rocket members every few steps.
The walls were covered with scorch marks, impact craters, and signs of electric shocks. Not only were the walls and floor damaged, but various wirings were also exposed. Looking back, a dozen Team Rocket members and dozens of Pokémon were already lying behind them.
The battle was nothing short of intense!
Especially after seeing Cassidy and Butch again, it made Natsui's group realize that the base had likely mobilized all its forces to stop them!
Cassidy and Butch, along with a dozen others, completely blocked the path ahead. But facing such a formation, Ash and the others were not afraid at all, looking eager to fight. In contrast, the Team Rocket members were worried that a fierce battle would rupture the base and cause seawater to flood in, so everyone was acting cautiously.
"Damn you, how did you guys follow us here!" Butch gritted his teeth as he looked at Natsui's group, looking as if he wanted to tear them apart.
"What? Are you surprised?" Looking at them, Natsui shook his head and smiled. "When you fled in such a pathetic state, you should have known that we wouldn't just let it go!"
This was indeed something the two hadn't expected. After all, they had left in such a hurry and were in a submarine; they really hadn't been on guard against being followed.
But...
Butch and Cassidy's mission was to stall Natsui's group for as long as possible. Seeing that Natsui wasn't attacking directly but was in the mood to chat, they patiently continued to banter with them.
Erika saw through their little trick at a glance.
She whispered in Natsui's ear, "They're stalling for time."
Natsui nodded lightly. He had naturally noticed this as well. Although he didn't know what these people were up to, he just had to make sure they didn't succeed.
Just as he was about to order an attack, he suddenly felt a movement beneath his feet, followed by a violent tremor, as if something had suddenly activated, lifting them up!
"Natsui, look outside!!"
Misty let out a cry of surprise, pointing out the corridor window as if she had seen something incredible!
Natsui quickly walked to the window and looked out at the seabed, only to find in astonishment that everything below them was moving away. No, it could be said that the entire base, like a spaceship, was rapidly ascending towards the sea surface!
Ash and the others also came to the glass. Seeing this, they exclaimed in shock, "What's going on!?"
At first, they thought it was some kind of trap or secret weapon from Team Rocket, but when they turned to look, they found that Cassidy and Butch also had bewildered looks on their faces, clearly just as clueless about this as they were.
The two were so unsteady on their feet that they almost fell to the ground!
Feeling the gazes of Natsui's group, they quickly steadied themselves and pretended that nothing had happened.
But privately, the two of them subconsciously exchanged a glance.
Cassidy whispered, "What's going on? Isn't this the base's secret escape mechanism? Why is it activating now!?"
"I don't know either..." Butch shook his head. "Maybe Dr. Lunba has some other arrangement. Alright, let's not worry about this for now. It's not safe here anymore. Let's hurry up and finish the mission so we can get out of here!"
The base was still rising. Natsui didn't know what kind of plot Team Rocket was brewing, but time was short. He knew he couldn't let these people succeed and quickly commanded Gengar and Gardevoir to attack.
Ash and the others followed suit, all giving attack commands to their Pokémon.
Ash's Pikachu and Heracross, plus Ritchie's Pikachu and Charmander, Misty's Poliwhirl, Erika's Leafeon, and Brock's Forretress, which he had caught in Johto—all these Pokémon swarmed forward. In an instant, a variety of moves were launched, flying straight at Team Rocket.
Faced with such an onslaught, Cassidy and Butch couldn't hold them back and could only retreat step by step.
Pokémon were hit and fell one after another, but the two didn't panic. After all, their main mission was to stall for time. As long as they could delay until all the data and researchers were transferred, it would be their victory.
At this moment, the base was still rising rapidly. In just one or two short minutes, the surrounding environment had become much brighter. Through the windows, they could even see the faint light of the sun penetrating the sea surface. Clearly, at this rate, it wouldn't be long before the base surfaced!
Meanwhile, on the sea surface, Shuichi was waiting eagerly in the speedboat.
He stuck his head out of the boat. Out of nervousness and worry, his gaze was fixed on the sea. Although he knew he couldn't see anything, this was the only way he could calm his anxious heart.
Just then, the seawater suddenly began to churn and boil, as if something was about to emerge from within!
Seeing this, Shuichi was greatly surprised and quickly steered the speedboat away to avoid being capsized by the currents.
WHOOSH!!
The seawater shot up high as if it had exploded, and from beneath the splash, a base like a steel fortress actually floated up!!
The turbulent seawater constantly battered Shuichi's speedboat.
Looking at this base, although Shuichi immediately realized it was Team Rocket's secret base, he couldn't figure out how it had floated up!
Inside the base, Natsui's group had pushed forward another ten meters or so when they suddenly felt the glow of the setting sun on their faces. They looked up in surprise and only then realized they had reached the sea surface!
The orange sunset looked so beautiful that their movements couldn't help but pause for a moment.
But before they could come to their senses, an even more piercing alarm suddenly blared!
Unlike the regular alarm from before, this one was clearly much more urgent, and a cold female voice was constantly repeating the same sentence: "Warning! The base has initiated its self-destruct sequence. It will explode in five minutes. All personnel, please evacuate immediately! Warning! The base has initiated..."
Self-destruct!?
Not only did Natsui's group frown upon hearing this, but even Cassidy and Butch were clearly extremely shocked when they heard the alarm!!
Cassidy was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Damn it! We've been tricked by that old man! He's going to destroy this place!"
"No way?" Butch said in disbelief. "Didn't he tell us to buy time? Why would he destroy this place?"
"Idiot!" Cassidy gritted her teeth. "Are you an idiot? How can you still not understand? That old geezer never told us about the self-destruct! He had us hold off these intruders just so he could trap us here to die with them!!"
"What!?" Hearing Cassidy say that, Butch also realized the gravity of the situation and said urgently, "Then what do we do now?"
"Is that even a question!?" Cassidy grabbed Butch. "Of course we run!!"
The two of them huddled together, muttering, and then, abandoning Natsui's group, they turned and fled in a panic.