"Grey! You freaking set me up?!"
Petrel's face went from green to red. He'd thought Grey really hadn't heard him.
But no—
He did it just to bump his bounty?!
"Huff… damn…"
Petrel clutched his chest. Grey had him so mad he almost spat blood.
Too much!
"You—!"
Petrel snapped Dratini back into its ball and hurled two others.
Weezing and Muk—two of his classics—hit the field.
They were about as strong as before, maybe a level or two higher.
"Captain Petrel, I'll back you up!"
The "new underling" disguised as Petrel stepped out, sending in two regional birds: Fearow and Pidgeot.
Only mid-40s level—nothing special.
At best, roughly on par with Breloom.
"Grey, it's not too late to give up. You don't have many Pokémon on you, right? A bunch of unevolved ones—how disappointing."
Petrel's lip curled. He was already picturing Grey groveling at his feet.
They had numbers, and even if Grey had one or two Elite-tier battlers—so what?
Fighting types didn't have many wide-area moves, and while Annihilape's Rage Fist looked dramatic, the early hits weren't that scary.
If they found the right opening to one-shot it, an Annihilape was nothing!
Petrel was sure—this time, victory was his!
"Weezing, Muk—Sludge Bomb!"
At Petrel's bark, the sly glint in his eyes snapped into something vicious.
You were dirty first, Grey—don't blame me for getting dirtier!
Weezing and Muk gaped wide. A reek flooded out as deep violet light flared.
Dozens of sludge bombs—pure Poison-type power—sprayed forth, roaring down on Grey like a purple stormfront!
At the same time, Fearow and Pidgeot flashed with white light, speed spiking!
"Quick Attack!"
All four attacked at once, target: Grey.
Grey stood where he was, unmoving.
Seeing him hold his ground, Petrel snorted through his nose, already savoring the sight of Grey melting under Sludge Bomb.
No matter who he sent out, Grey would have to eat one hit.
That was Team Rocket's inescapable net!
Petrel threw his shoulders back, fingers tightening around Electrode's ball.
No way Grey could block three moves at once—right?!
Grey only lifted his gaze, not even moving a foot.
Then a Great Ball bounced from his hand.
"Huh?"
Catching sight of that particular ball, Petrel's heart hitched.
It felt…
Wrong.
In Petrel's book, Grey was cheap to the bone.
The way he'd recorded for bounty points made that clear.
He'd do almost anything for money within "reason."
The type with a "line," but not much "ethics."
A trainer like that wouldn't blow "big money" on anything but standard red-and-white Poké Balls.
Crack!
Before the Great Ball even burst, a cold, cutting light flared from the shell.
Snowflakes spun into being.
Fearow and Pidgeot froze into popsicles mid-lunge!
It happened in a blink.
Before Petrel processed it, the two birds hit the ground stiff and glassy with ice!
The incoming attacks slowed in the sudden whiteout, stalling mid-air!
Only then did the Great Ball open.
"Ling!" (Presumptuous! Who dares disturb the Bird Lord's nap?!)
Articuno stepped into view.
Its noble bearing hit Petrel like a shock—his body trembled.
Articuno!
A Legendary Pokémon!
Ice/Flying… no wonder it one-tapped those two birds…
Wait!
"Articuno?! H-how did you catch that?!"
Petrel stumbled back, staring, disbelief all over his face.
His eyes darted from Grey to Articuno and back, and for a second he couldn't read the man at all.
"Is catching Articuno supposed to be hard?"
Grey's voice was flat, Petrel's question tossed aside. "Or is it that, because you can't do it, you think no one can?"
"Damn it…"
Petrel choked on the words.
Muk and Weezing tried to counter—but one Blizzard from Articuno nearly froze them solid.
"How is this Articuno so strong?!"
Watching that, Petrel wanted to swear a blue streak.
You had a monster Articuno and didn't lead with it?
Back on the S.S. Anne—were you playing Tepig to take down an Incineroar?!
In just a few seconds, Petrel's mood did a hard flip.
As for Grey? He wanted to scream.
You can raise an Articuno, but you still scrounge for bounty cash?
Are you a poet or what?!
"Electrode, Golem—Explosion!"
Petrel went for broke, shoving his underling into the line of fire and whipping two balls straight at Grey!
Electrode and Golem barely hit the field before a gale hurled them back.
Whoooosh—
"Ling!" (So you want to blow up the Bird Lord, huh? With this little headcount you think you can trouble me?! Impudent whelps!)
Articuno gave a lazy wingbeat. A brutal squall of snow screamed across the ground.
Ice shards blasted through the air; rime crawled over the earth in a breath.
Compared to a week ago, Articuno had grown fast under training.
It was already one of Grey's top lieutenants.
Grey had even given it a callsign: "Blue Pheasant."
No mystery—fit like a glove.
Electrode and Golem slogged through knee-deep frost, unable to prime their vaunted Explosion at all.
Round two with Petrel—and Grey was steamrolling.
He hadn't even bothered sending out Annihilape.
"Sigh… I thought Mr. Petrel might achieve enlightenment on the way to jail."
Grey propped his cheek on one hand and sighed.
"If your strength were a bit higher, Mr. Petrel, I could ask the League for a bigger bounty. But your performance… truly disappointing."
"In fact, you've never once disappointed me when it comes to being disappointing."
"You—!"
Petrel exploded, finally tilted over the edge by Grey's constant talk of "bounties."
"You that hard up for money?! You think Team Rocket's short on cash or something? Answer me!!!"
Those last two words were a shout.
Team Rocket's liquid funds beat the League's any day. And yet Grey refused to join, dead set on playing bounty hunter.
You want big money? Join Team Rocket already!
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