"Careful. Don't miss a single one."
Deep within the cave, a young man with long blue hair, dressed in an elite black Rocket uniform, stood beside the frozen river with a tall, menacing Houndoom at his side.
The Houndoom's face was ferocious, its gaze cold and merciless—a true devilish hound. The great, curved horns atop its head gave off a demonic aura.
It was said…
Within a pack of Houndoom, the one with the largest and most curved horns would become the leader.
Thus, the horns of a Houndoom were no mere decoration—they were a symbol of power and dominance.
The blue-haired man was Boqi, captain of a Rocket elite squad. This Houndoom was his trump card, his most powerful partner, already trained to the Gym Leader peak level.
It had to be said—even among Gym Leaders, many did not have ace Pokémon reaching Gym Leader peak level.
And yet, Boqi, barely twenty-five years old, had already raised one to that point. Without question, he was a rare talent.
However—even such talent, in the talent-stuffed ranks of Team Rocket, could only rise to the position of an elite squad captain…
Of course—a Gym Leader had many duties, forced to raise a wide range of Pokémon, splitting their focus.
Team Rocket was different.
To them, Pokémon were nothing more than tools of crime. There was no need for tournaments or official battles.
Tools need not be many—only efficient.
Thus, Rocket members often focused on raising one or two Pokémon, concentrating all their effort into them. Naturally, those few Pokémon would grow to extremely high levels.
A 6v6 match might overwhelm them—but if the mission was murder and arson, they excelled: swift, ruthless, efficient.
…
At this moment—
Boqi stood tall at the riverbank while his subordinates, clad in diving suits, plunged into the icy waters.
The glacial river wasn't deep, only a few meters.
They dove to the bottom, searching every crevice and gap between rocks, determined not to miss a single Never-Melt Ice.
Each piece was about the size of a thumb, pure white like snowflakes.
Its defining trait: it would never melt. Even under the scorching sun, it remained frozen, a miraculous substance.
Never-Melt Ice was a heavenly treasure for all Ice-type Pokémon. Consuming it could temper their bodies, refine their potential. Each shard was worth over thirty million…
Such… such…
Each one was unimaginably precious—absolutely unmissable!
"Damn it, Articuno's nest held a thousand pieces of Never-Melt Ice. Those higher-ups claimed nine hundred ninety-nine, leaving only scraps for us—and they hid the rest in this freezing river!" Boqi cursed bitterly.
"Rooaaar!" Suddenly, Houndoom snapped its head toward the cave entrance and let out a deafening roar.
Boqi's body tensed. He whipped around, staring at the entrance. "Who's there?"
Moments later, Yozora stepped into the cavern, at his side a plump-looking Gengar with crimson skin.
"A Commander-tier Gengar? Impressive. For someone your age, your strength isn't bad at all…"
Boqi smirked in faint admiration, but his expression quickly hardened. "However, if you oppose Team Rocket, there's only one path—death."
"Houu—!"
Even before Boqi's words fully fell, Houndoom lunged toward Yozora.
A perfect bond!
Indeed, Boqi had trained this Houndoom to such an extent that their minds and hearts resonated. Such synchronicity was normal for a first-rate trainer.
At the same time, Yozora released Beedrill.
The insect's chilling, murderous aura made Houndoom hesitate, its stride faltering. It opened its maw and spewed a probing stream of flames.
Of course.
What else to expect from a Rocket elite's ace Pokémon? Treachery came naturally.
In this instant, Houndoom, Beedrill, and Yozora aligned in a deadly triangle.
If Beedrill dodged, Houndoom's Flamethrower would strike Yozora directly.
"Swords Dance!" Yozora commanded.
Beedrill spun rapidly, like a massive golden top, whirling fast enough to deflect every lick of flame without fail.
"No way… A Beedrill actually withstood my Houndoom's attack? What level of Beedrill is that?" Boqi's heart skipped a beat.
In his mind, Beedrill as a species was pitifully weak, incapable of producing true powerhouses.
And in truth, he wasn't wrong.
Beedrill's total base stats were only 395—not even 400.
By comparison, another assassin-type like Gengar had a stat total exceeding 500, utterly surpassing Beedrill in both strength and speed.
Indeed, Beedrill was a weak species, rarely birthing elites.
In all of Team Rocket, aside from Giovanni himself, few ever bothered to raise a Beedrill seriously.
Yes—aside from Giovanni, hardly anyone specialized in Beedrill.
And Giovanni had his reasons.
His very first Pokémon as a young trainer was Beedrill. Like many trainers, he bore special affection for his first partner.
Even Giovanni was no exception. He showered that Beedrill with mountains of resources. Over time, it naturally became monstrously strong.
But Giovanni was Giovanni—a man of immense wealth and resources. "Limitless" hardly began to describe it.
With such resources, any Pokémon, no matter how weak, could be raised into an unstoppable powerhouse.
Outside Team Rocket, true Beedrill experts were even rarer. Most trainers chose the starter Pokémon and trained them to perfection.
Never did Boqi imagine—aside from Giovanni, another had raised a Beedrill to this level…
And that trainer was just a kid!
Unbelievable.
"Being rich really is nice… This brat, whose child of the League could he be?" Boqi muttered inwardly, scowling.
Just then, Beedrill struck. Its speed was lightning-fast—so fast that Houndoom couldn't react before its chest was pierced clean through by Beedrill's stinger.
"Awooooo—!"
Houndoom let out a horrific scream, collapsing forward…
"Houu…!"
Boqi's pupils shrank to pinpoints, his chest seizing up.
His ace—the Pokémon he had painstakingly raised for years—was defeated in a single strike.
"This… this Beedrill… just what level is it?!"
For the first time, Boqi felt fear gnaw at his heart.
(End of Chapter)