After swimming another few dozen meters upward, the surrounding seawater grew brighter, as if two powerful beams of light were piercing through the ocean to illuminate everything.
As visibility improved, Natsui finally felt a tightness in his chest and had Erika pass him the respirator for a few deep breaths.
Without a timer, he didn't know how long he had held his breath, but he was certain his lung capacity had significantly improved.
He estimated it had roughly doubled—not a massive increase, but enough to allow him to swim freely for much longer.
They continued their ascent, and soon, with a splash of waves, they broke the surface and breathed the outside air once more.
Only then did Natsui realize the moon was high in the sky; it was completely dark. The two bright lights he had seen from below were the searchlights of two police boats.
Seeing them surface, a rope ladder was thrown down from the nearest boat. Natsui helped Erika climb it first before following.
After adjusting to the ocean's temperature, the air felt bone-chillingly cold. Soaked and exposed to the breeze, he couldn't help but shiver.
Fighting the cold, he had barely reached the top when several hands pulled them both aboard.
His eyes were still adjusting to the dim light, and he could only make out silhouettes around him.
Before he could see anyone's face, a thick towel was draped over his shoulders, its warmth chasing away the chill and making him feel reborn.
Once his vision cleared, he saw not only Ash, Misty, Brock, Ritchie, and Shuichi, but Anabel was there as well.
Noticing his gaze, Anabel smiled softly. "It seems you ran into some trouble down there. I could feel the tremors from the seafloor even on the boat."
"We did run into a bit of trouble," Natsui said with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Team Rocket's crazed scientists blew up the base. Erika and I were almost buried there."
"Unfortunately, we couldn't catch them, and they managed to escape."
He then recounted what had happened below, including the details about the virus. Hearing this, Ash and the others exchanged stunned looks.
They never imagined Team Rocket would use such a diversion to hide their true objective.
Misty's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Natsui, it's a good thing you insisted. Otherwise, we would have never known Team Rocket was hiding a secret like that!"
Even Ritchie scratched his cheek, looking a little embarrassed. He had also believed the matter was simple.
It was clear now that he was far behind the champion in both skill and experience.
"I was just acting on a hunch. I guess I got lucky this time," Natsui sighed, then asked, "By the way, what are you all doing together?"
"We were worried, of course, so we urgently dispatched two boats to support you," Anabel explained with another smile.
"As for me, after escorting the Team Rocket prisoners to the ground, I immediately took another helicopter and just arrived."
At the mention of Team Rocket, Natsui quickly looked around. "Where are they?"
Anabel stepped aside, revealing officers still busy on the deck.
In one corner, dozens of handcuffed and soaking-wet Team Rocket members were squatting as International Police officers searched and registered them one by one before leading the dejected grunts into the ship's cabin.
Everything was orderly, another testament to Anabel's excellent command.
Anabel continued, "When we arrived, we found Team Rocket escaping from the base. They were all floating helplessly on the surface, looking pathetic and too weak to fight back."
"It was easy to round them up."
Natsui felt relieved that Team Rocket hadn't escaped. But then a thought struck him, and he quickly asked Anabel, "Did you catch Cassidy and Butch?"
"No," Anabel shook her head, her tone regretful. "Just as we were about to capture them, a Magikarp-like submarine appeared out of nowhere and rescued them."
A Magikarp submarine?
Natsui instantly thought of the Team Rocket trio. Only they would be riding around in that homemade submarine, causing trouble everywhere.
But weren't they bitter rivals with Cassidy and Butch? Why would they save them? He just couldn't figure it out.
"Well, that can't be helped," Natsui sighed. "Those two are persistent and are key members of Team Rocket. It would have been great to catch them too."
Unlike Natsui, Anabel was quite satisfied with the outcome. "Regardless, this operation was a huge success. We've dealt another heavy blow to Team Rocket, weakening their forces significantly."
"A few more operations like this, and their presence in Johto will be completely wiped out!"
She looked at Natsui with admiration, joking, "Honestly, I admire you more and more. Just as Looker said, you're our lucky star!"
...
The next morning, after a night's rest on the police boat, Natsui's group bid farewell to Anabel and set off for Red Flame Island's Sea Temple on Shuichi's speedboat.
The incident was finally over, and it was time to report back to Maya.
In just two days, they had destroyed a Team Rocket base, captured numerous members, and foiled their ambition to capture Lugia.
Silver and its mother could now live here in peace, free from disturbance.
They were supposed to part ways with Shuichi, but the young boy insisted on seeing the Sea Temple and the beautiful High Priestess Maya with his own eyes.
After getting his mother's permission over the phone, the group took him Shuichi along. As for Ritchie, he naturally wanted to join in on the fun as well.
He was on a training journey, and the Sea Temple was the most famous landmark in the Whirl Islands. Though he regretted missing the tournament, seeing the sights was a great experience in itself.
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