"Bang!"
Struck squarely by Charmander's Fire Punch, Raticate let out a wretched shriek as its body was blasted backward like a cannonball. It slammed into the stone wall behind it and collapsed unconscious.
"Uh…"
The sight left the two Team Rocket grunts—and the pale-faced boy beside them—completely dumbfounded.
"This big brother is so strong! Thank goodness… maybe I can finally get my Pokémon back…" The pale boy's eyes lit up with excitement as he stared at Yozora's back, full of hope.
"Charmander, Flamethrower!"
Before the grunts could react, Yozora gave another sharp order.
A torrent of fire roared forth, instantly knocking out their Zubat.
At the same time, Charmander leapt forward, landing squarely in front of the two Rockets, glaring at them with murderous intent.
Charmander's small body wasn't frightening in itself. But after showing such overwhelming strength, in the grunts' eyes, that little lizard had already become something monstrous.
"Raaah!"
Charmander unleashed another Flamethrower, this time aimed straight at the pair.
With a scream, both men collapsed to their knees with a loud thud. By sheer luck, this put them below the line of fire and the flames roared overhead instead.
"Wh-what do you want from us!?"
Overwhelmed by Charmander's aura, the two Rockets felt cold sweat running down their spines. They didn't dare look directly at the Pokémon. Instead, the grown men clutched at each other, trembling uncontrollably.
"If you're this weak, why join Team Rocket in the first place?"
Yozora sneered, then spoke with icy authority: "Hand over the Pokémon you stole, along with every single stone you've taken. Otherwise—"
Before he could finish, Charmander roared again, the sound like a dragon's warning.
"I'll hand them over! Right away!" the two cried in unison. Shaking in terror, they hurriedly placed all their Poké Balls on the ground.
Then each took out a gray storage pouch and dropped it beside the pile.
In this world, spatial technology was highly advanced—the Poké Ball itself being the greatest invention of all. Building on that foundation, backpacks and storage bags also used space-compression tech.
What looked like a small pouch could hold far more than its appearance suggested. Didn't Ash and his friends always pull out full tables and chairs at mealtime? That was why these storage tools were so common and cheap. The kind of bags these two carried were worth maybe a thousand dollars each at most.
"Is this really everything?" Yozora asked coldly.
Charmander roared again, making their hearts skip a beat.
"That's it, sir! We swear it! Nothing else!" Both grunts nearly burst into tears. To prove their innocence, they even tugged at their clothes as if ready to strip.
"Scram."
Since they had nothing more, Yozora waved them off.
The Rockets stumbled to their feet and fled, tripping over themselves in their desperation to get away.
"Pathetic. They even abandoned their own Pokémon." Yozora walked over with the pale boy and noticed the Poké Balls containing the Zubat and Raticate, left behind by their trainers. He gave a cold snort.
Meanwhile, the pale boy dug through the pile of stolen Poké Balls and found the ones that belonged to him.
He had been cautious enough to mark his Poké Balls with tiny symbols so he could tell them apart.
Yozora didn't need such tricks.
Even through the Poké Ball's seal, he could sense the aura of the Pokémon within. That was how he had immediately picked out the Zubat and Raticate from the pile.
"Yozora, thank you so much! Really, I can't thank you enough!" The boy clutched his two Poké Balls to his face, cherishing them with tears in his eyes.
Yozora only shook his head and gestured toward the pile of Poké Balls on the ground, including the abandoned Zubat and Raticate. "Shorty(Xiaobai), please take all these to the Pokémon Center for registration. As for those two Pokémon, leave them with Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny to deal with."
"Shorty?"
The pale boy blinked, then realized Yozora was simply giving him a nickname because of his blood loss and ghostly complexion. He gave a wry smile.
Still, he nodded earnestly. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I know exactly how those trainers must feel right now."
With that, Shorty gathered up every Poké Ball in one armful.
Meanwhile, Yozora inspected the two storage bags. Inside, he found eight Moon Stones in total.
Though all of them were inferior-grade stones, combined they were worth nearly 1.8 million Pokédollars—a fortune by any measure.
"Yozora, these minerals aren't like Pokémon. They're nearly impossible to trace, and if handed over, someone might even claim them falsely. You should keep them yourself—as payment for your help today," Shorty said solemnly.
Yozora nodded and accepted them without pretense.
He believed in never taking reward without effort. But he had defeated Team Rocket, returned stolen Pokémon to their owners—he had certainly earned a small share.
So he tucked the Moon Stones away without guilt.
After everything was settled, Yozora and Shorty parted ways. Shorty headed for the Pokémon Center.
Yozora, however, continued his journey.
Climbing the stairs, he and Charmander reached the second floor of Mt. Moon's cavern system.
Mt. Moon's cave had ten levels in total. At the very top, the tenth level opened into a wide plateau—Mt. Moon Square, where travelers often camped.
In his right hand, Yozora carried his golden shovel. In his left, he rolled a Moon Stone between his fingers as he walked.
This particular stone was a dull green, heavily flawed—a clear reject.
And yet, even so, he could feel the surging power sealed within it.
As he walked, Yozora suddenly froze. Then, without hesitation, he started digging.
Dirt flew in all directions. Within moments, he had dug a pit three feet deep.
Charmander tilted its head curiously at its trainer's strange behavior.
"Jackpot!"
With a joyful shout, Yozora climbed out of the pit, grinning at Charmander as he opened his palm.
There lay two Moon Stones. One was the flawed stone he had been carrying. The other—freshly dug from the earth—was nearly identical in grade.
Both were rejects. And yet, Yozora was shocked.
All he had done was sense a faint energy beneath his feet—similar to that of a Moon Stone—and decided to dig. He never expected he'd actually find one!
Only now did he truly realize how unusual he was.
Because for anyone else… such a thing would have been utterly impossible.
End of Chapter