"Hey, you two—what are you standing around for? If you're going to fight, hurry up and—don't…"
Archer's face started twisted with rage, but halfway through talking he gentled up, even pasted on a fawning smile.
"You two big shots, if you've got any ideas, I'm all ears."
Not many things could flip Archer's mindset on a dime.
Pulling a stunt like this total 180? Rarer still.
Why? Because—
Plop!
Sabrina casually tossed a doll like it was trash.
If it had been an ordinary doll, Archer wouldn't have blinked.
Problem was…
It was a doll in Ariana's likeness!
Ariana!!
And Rapidash-dammit—it could talk!!!
"Archer… get the Boss to save me! I can't change back! I need the Boss's power to return to normal!"
Ariana didn't open her mouth; the voice just drilled straight into Archer's head.
Right then, Archer howled inside. This was inhuman.
A normal person does this?
She really turned a human into a doll?!
The urge to slip out the back rose like a tide.
In straight Pokémon battles, Archer fancied he could take either Grey or Sabrina.
But if it came to hand-to-hand with actual people?
He wasn't sure he could even get past Grey.
And then there was Sabrina—who could turn people into dolls with a flick—
How were you supposed to fight that?!
Facing the unknown makes people afraid.
Especially when you've got no idea what the opponent's next attack even is—fear crashes in, the mind starts to fill in the blanks.
That fear swells larger and larger, until it paints your worst nightmare right in front of you.
The whiplash in Archer's attitude made Grey snort laughter.
A wise man bends with the wind—and a man who doesn't want to turn into a doll bends fast. That was Archer.
"Since you don't want to be a doll, you'll do as you're told. Got it?"
Grey smiled without smiling at Archer—then had Articuno finish off Houndoom, which was still clamped onto Annihilape, with a single move.
Sabrina also locked down Archer's Poké Balls with telekinesis, leaving him with nothing to send out.
"I…I understand…"
Archer's voice went flat.
He'd never imagined that if he were ever arrested, it'd look like this.
Bagged by two Gym Leaders.
Utter humiliation.
In Archer's mind, if he were going to be caught, it should be by one of Kanto's Elite Four. That would track.
And instead?
Two Gym Leaders popped up.
One only recently took over, and the other had her Gym blown to rubble.
This clown combo actually arrested him!
Too damn much.
He cursed under his breath. His horizon went black.
"Alright, Mr. Archer. You're fish on the chopping block now."
Grey cleared his throat, stepped up, and interrogated, "Tell me why Team Rocket came here to nab Zapdos."
"To catch Zapdos, obviously. What else? It's a Legendary Pokémon—why wouldn't you catch it if you can?"
Archer sounded so matter-of-fact it almost sold itself.
Grey wasn't buying.
"Tell the truth—or I'll let you sample what it feels like to be a doll. Come on, Sabrina, let's start by turning one of Mr. Archer's arms."
"Mm. Left or right would be better?"
"Let's ask Archer himself."
They volleyed their lines.
"No! I'll talk!"
Color drained from Archer's face. The moment Grey mentioned his arm, pain bloomed in his imagination.
There's a kind of pain you can feel just hearing about it.
Hiss…
Not that. Anything but that.
Archer practically begged, pleading with Grey not to lay a finger on him.
"Start talking. Our time's valuable. Every minute is worth a fortune. You'd better finish before you owe me fifty million. Otherwise, it won't just be your arm turning into a doll."
Grey patted Archer's shoulder like a friend. "Relax. Say what you know, as you think of it. But don't you dare feed me lies. You know the consequences~"
The pressure rolled over him.
Nerves taut, Archer blurted that everything he'd say next was true.
"Gym Leader Grey, we're not only collecting Zapdos. We actually have plans for all three of Kanto's Legendary birds.
Our scientists recently made a breakthrough—there's a chance we can fuse the three Legendaries into one…
But it's still only conceptual. We need the real birds for the research, so we were sent to capture them…"
Archer dumped everything he knew, terrified he'd miss a detail and prompt Grey to run some "big memory-fix" on him.
Just thinking about that was enough; if it ever happened to him for real, he might as well not go on living…
"Mhm, very good, Mr. Archer. I can tell you really cherish your body."
Grey nodded, giving him a big thumbs-up. "I hereby declare you the most spineless Team Rocket executive I've ever seen."
"?!"
Archer's pupils shrank. He wanted Grey to explain that one on the spot.
"Most spineless," really?!
Maybe replay your own words?
"Sigh. Team Rocket—typical craven lot. Pathetic."
Grey got a bit worked up, then looked at Sabrina.
"I've already called Officer Jenny; she should be here any moment. In the meantime, let's turn Archer and Petrel into dolls first. No sense letting time drag and trouble brew."
Archer: ???
"Nooooo!!!"
His scream, like a butchered pig, echoed through Rock Tunnel.
It cut off fast.
Reason was simple: both Archer and Petrel were dolls now.
"Hah… these three as dolls are kind of adorable."
Grey pinched the chibi execs' cheeks and gave a generous review.
He didn't hand out praise often.
If Sabrina set up a stall selling dolls, he'd absolutely swing by to support it.
Too realistic (no, really).
————
Officer Jenny from Lavender Town arrived quickly with her team.
Seeing the wrecked scene, their hearts clenched.
"Grey, Sabrina—are you two alright? Where are the Rocket executives?"
She scanned the area. She'd heard Rocket brass were here and had even borrowed a powerful Arcanine from a family elder—
Ready to make a glorious arrest.
"Oh, right here."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810