"The Bard... you're finished."
Alice walked over slowly, her voice low and dangerous. "Without your Pokémon, you're nothing but a toothless tiger." She clenched her fists, her knuckles popping with an audible crack.
"D-don't come any closer!" The Bard's composure finally shattered. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a handgun, aiming it directly at Alice.
"You think I'm afraid of a toy like that?" Alice sneered. In a blur of motion, she performed a feat of raw martial skill, disarming him before he could pull the trigger.
"I've been playing with guns since I was a child. Your amateur hour is over," she growled. With a swift, powerful movement, she executed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw, slamming the assassin into the hard ground.
The Bard coughed up a spray of blood, his internal organs jolted by the impact. He was stunned. Even as an assassin, his hand-to-hand combat skills were supposed to be equivalent to a Black Belt; he was a man who could snap a neck with a 180-degree twist. Yet, he had been effortlessly flattened by a woman. It was a humiliating end to his professional pride.
Before he could even catch his breath, Alice had already cleared the chamber and checked the safety.
"May you find peace on the road to heaven," she said coldly. She shoved the muzzle into the Bard's mouth and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The Bard's head burst like a dropped watermelon.
"Sorry you had to see that, Kongjian," Alice said, licking her dry lips as she turned to Feng Che. "But this... this is what Team Rocket truly is." At this moment, Alice looked both beautiful and terrifyingly fierce.
"I wanted to tear him apart piece by piece, so this was a mercy. My Fletchling is severely injured—its wings are broken. I don't even know if it will ever fly again." She released the small bird from its ball. The Fletchling's wings were twisted at unnatural angles, and its tiny face was contorted in pain.
"Spending a month on this island without a Pokémon Doctor... its career is likely over. But Fletchling, I won't abandon you. Please, hold on."
[Fletchling: Thank you, Alice... I'll live. Even if I can't help you fight anymore, I want to see you reach the top of Team Rocket.]
Feng Che caught the bird's thoughts. He stepped forward to examine the wings. "The injury is serious, but your emergency stabilization was excellent. You kept the bones from shifting further out of alignment."
He felt a surge of confidence. He had worried there might be crushed bone fragments, which would have been impossible to treat on this desolate island. But thanks to Alice's quick thinking, it was a relatively clean break. With his knowledge, he could set the bones and use his specialized potions to ensure a full recovery.
While Alice tended to her bird, Feng Che began looting the Bard's body. He found two worn Poké Balls—likely containing the Fearow and Graveler—and one brand-new one. His eyes caught a glimmer on the Bard's wrist: an ultra-high-end spatial bracelet, color-matched to the skin. If Feng Che hadn't been so observant, he would have missed the assassin's greatest treasure.
Inside the ten-cubic-meter space, he found stacks of food, clean water, an Assassin's Guild medal, and an anonymous storage card. The card listed the location of a private safety deposit box at the Pokémon Bank.
"That card is his most valuable possession," Feng Che noted. He'd seen these in the games; they were often used by professionals to store high-value items they couldn't risk carrying.
"He was 'The Bard,' a professional from an assassin's guild. I actually tried to hire him once," Alice remarked bitterly. "I didn't think my rivals would get to him first. To think a pro like him would fall here... my hands truly are stained with blood." She looked at her pale, slender fingers.
"Sorry, Kongjian. Team Rocket is a den of villains. We do illegal research, we act without mercy... but I feel this is the only world where I belong. The League isn't any better; they're just as filthy, they just hide it behind a badge of 'justice'."
"I didn't hear a word of that," Feng Che replied, looking up. Alice saw his amber eyes, steady and unwavering. Her ears turned slightly red, and she looked away.
"Rookidee, help me find that Fearow we knocked back. Use a ball to bring it back like this."
Feng Che demonstrated by pointing a Poké Ball at the Graveler still trapped in Arbok's coils. A red beam pulled the rock Pokémon inside. He clicked the lock, shrinking the ball to the size of a ping-pong ball. The Rookidee, incredibly intelligent, chirped in understanding, grabbed an empty ball, and took off.
"Your Rookidee is the smartest bird I've ever seen," Alice praised.
"She's a quick learner," Feng Che said, patting the Ditto-Arbok's head. "My 'Arbok' is smart too, just a little lazy. As long as I keep him fed, he's happy."
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