"Did you guys… hear something?"
Team Rocket's voices were so loud that even the trainers, who'd been focused entirely on the Butterfree swarm, couldn't help but turn around.
They looked toward a suspicious-looking bush.
Sticking out from it… was a telescope. Super obvious.
Meowth immediately stopped laughing and scratched its head.
"Uh-oh, we've been spotted, meow~"
"What's the panic? It's just a bunch of bratty kids," Jessie said with complete indifference, standing up from the bush.
She wasn't going to bother hiding anymore.
Seeing this strangely dressed woman, Yumi frowned.
"Who… who are you?!"
She knew most of the local trainers around Viridian pretty well.
But she'd never seen these people before. Not to mention that bold red "R" on their uniforms—it screamed suspicious.
Ash immediately recognized them the moment Jessie stood up, though the iconic "Don't ask" line hadn't even left his lips when—
"Since you've asked with such sincerity!"
The next second, Meowth and James leapt out from the bush.
"Then I shall be generous and answer you~!"
The two humans and one cat instantly struck a classic pose.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples—"
A smooth, uninterrupted recital of the motto completely froze everyone in place for a full minute.
The air felt like it solidified.
Only the sound of leaves rustling in the forest wind remained.
"Team Rocket?!"
Aside from Ash, who'd already been prepared for this, the first to react was Yumi.
Still shocked, she pointed furiously at the trio with a slender finger.
"You're the criminals on Officer Jenny's wanted posters—the ones stealing Pokémon around Viridian!"
That snapped the other two trainers out of it too.
The police were actively hunting these three, and now they had the audacity to show up here?!
"That's right, meow~ It's us~" Meowth licked his paw smugly, clearly enjoying the shocked reactions.
But when it opened its mouth to talk…
"Wait—Meowth can talk?!" Yumi practically dropped her jaw to the forest floor.
Rubbing her ears in disbelief, she turned to her companions.
"Did you hear that?!"
"Y-Yeah, we did!!"
"No way… that's insane…"
Everyone had heard it.
They stared wide-eyed at the talking Meowth like it was some kind of alien creature. Their entire understanding of the world was shattering.
"Perfect timing, meow—!"
"Behold, my masterpiece: the 'Super Shiny Butterfree Capture Net Cannon'!!"
While everyone was still stunned, Meowth's eyes gleamed as it seized the moment, hitting the remote in its paw.
As the brains and inventor of the group, this was its time to shine.
—BOOM!!
From underground came a massive rumble.
With exaggerated smoke effects, a huge and sketchy-looking machine painted in Team Rocket colors burst out of the ground.
Its wheels got stuck on some roots and wobbled a bit.
Jessie stood proudly atop the unstable control deck, hands on hips.
"Hahaha~ That pink Butterfree belongs to Team Rocket now!"
James was frantically adjusting the targeting system beside her.
"Yeah, yeah! And the rest of the Butterfree too—ow!"
He slipped, almost falling.
"Meowth! Next time, bolt the wheels on properly!"
"Now's not the time for that, meow~!" Meowth yelled while furiously pressing buttons.
"Watch this! Super Capture Net, fire—!"
The moment the words left its mouth, a massive (and very crooked) electrified net launched into the air—aimed straight at the Butterfree swarm.
Especially the shiny pink one.
For a brief second, the other trainers were frozen in total confusion.
Only Ash remained calm.
The moment the net fired, he gave a command to the Pikachu on his shoulder:
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball to knock that net back!"
"Pika—CHUUU!!!"
Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder, golden electricity crackling from its cheeks.
It formed a glowing orb of lightning and fired it at the incoming net.
The golden Electro Ball ripped through the air and slammed precisely into the center of the flying net.
On contact, the net—originally flying toward the Butterfree—reversed course in an instant.
Even worse for Team Rocket…
The electricity wrapped around the net, turning the entire thing into a live conductor!
"Th-This isn't right, meow…" Meowth began to panic.
That net—it had spent all last night weaving it!
But instead of catching Butterfree…
It was now flying right back at them.
The moment the electrified net hit the machine—
BOOOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted, unleashing a shockwave of smoke and fire.
Three figures were launched skyward like comets.
Their screams faded into the distance—
"What a pain…"
"Meowth's dream of becoming a Rocket admin—meoooow!!"
And with that, Team Rocket vanished over the horizon.
The scene was so ridiculous that everyone else just stood there, mouths agape.
Silence.
Total silence.
Everyone was completely petrified, dumbfounded by the sight of the thick smoke still rising and the direction Team Rocket had disappeared into.
The air reeked of gunpowder and scorched metal.
Leaf's face had turned pale.
"A-Are they… dead?"
This wasn't a cartoon.
Getting launched that far into the sky? Unless they landed in water or in a tree, they were definitely goners.
But in Ash's heart, he silently answered—
No way they'd die that easily.
Team Rocket's trio had survival instincts beyond comprehension.
Even in the newest series, after Ash was retired and replaced by a new protagonist…
They were still around.
"Thinking about it now… maybe the only reason we found the Shiny Butterfree so quickly today…"
"…was because of their luck…"
[Ding! System Notification: Team Rocket trio defeated.]
[Randomly plundering target traits…]
[Ding! Plunder successful!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired Hidden Traits: "Indomitable (Gold)" and "Super Lucky (Gold)"!!]
[Indomitable (Gold)]: No matter how many times you fail, you always have the courage to start over. Active Pokémon on your team also receive a morale boost. Greatly increases survival chance in any dangerous situation.
[Super Lucky (Gold)]: MAX-level luck aura! Possess luck beyond imagination—makes you an incredibly fortunate individual.
Ash blinked as the system prompt echoed in his mind.
Damn.
Defeating them once had netted two golden Hidden Traits?!
Even with mental prep, he was still a little shocked by how generous the reward was.
Honestly…
He was starting to suspect that Team Rocket might actually be the true "Children of Destiny" in this world.
[End of Chapter]