"Team Rocket? Sird of the Three Beasts?"
Elias eyed the gray-haired woman he had intercepted, a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected to stumble upon such a big fish just by casually showing up.
If he rembered correctly, Sird was officially a high-ranking officer of Team Rocket, but in reality, she was an undercover agent planted by Team Galactic in Sinnoh.
Not only that, but she had a Darkrai as her trump card—definitely a tricky opponent.
With only Gengar by his side, Elias wasn't entirely confident he could win against her.
"How many of you are here this ti? Did Lance co too?"
Sird instinctively assud Elias was so kind of Interpol agent, so she wasn't surprised that her identity had been exposed.
All she wanted to know now was how many people the Pokémon League had sent after them—this would determine her next move.
However, her only response was two swiftly approaching [Shadow Balls].
"Banette, [Protect]!"
At the last mont, Sird's Banette conjured a shimring green barrier, blocking the incoming attacks.
At the sa ti, a Persian leaped out from Sird's Poké Ball, its tal-clad claws gleaming as it lunged at Gengar midair.
"Gengar, [Phantom Force]!"
Elias reacted instantly, activating his psychic powers the mont Persian sprang into action.
Although Elias's abilities weren't exceptionally strong yet, for Persian—who was midair and had no way to dodge—even the slightest psychic interference was fatal.
Sure enough, Persian's [tal Claw] missed completely, slamming into the ground instead.
Boom!
Dirt and debris flew as a deep claw mark was gouged into the earth.
But no matter how powerful an attack was, if it missed, it was aningless.
Before Persian could recover, Gengar had already teleported beneath its exposed abdon.
BAM!
"Mrow!"
At the last second, Gengar switched its move—using [Thunder Punch], a move that could actually damage Normal-types.
A surge of electricity mixed with brute force sent Persian soaring several ters into the air.
Although Banette quickly caught the falling Persian, the damage had already been done.
Sparks of electricity crackled along Persian's body, its face contorted in discomfort.
"Paralysis."
Sird instantly identified the issue, her tone laced with irritation.
In battle, paralysis wasn't the worst status condition…
But…
The fact that Gengar had inflicted paralysis with just one [Thunder Punch] was extrely annoying.
And to make matters worse—
Sird soon noticed a faint dark-purple hue around the area where Gengar had struck Persian.
[Poison Jab].
"Return, Persian."
Face dark, Sird recalled her Pokémon.
Even though it could still fight, battling under two status effects would only be a waste of ti.
Rather than dragging things out, she decided to end this quickly.
A confident smirk spread across her lips.
As she commanded Banette to continue fighting, Sird quickly pulled out a communicator from her coat.
On the side of the device was a red button—a standard issue used by Interpol agents.
Right in front of Elias, she pressed it without hesitation, her expression smug.
She had been waiting for this mont.
w was finally about to show them why Legendary Pokémon were superior.
"You're actually calling for backup?"
Elias raised an eyebrow, surprised by how shaless Team Rocket executives had beco.
Back in the day, Lt. Surge had fought until the bitter end without even thinking about calling Giovanni for help.
However, just as Elias was considering a strategic retreat—
Sird's communicator was suddenly disconnected.
Sird: ...?
She stared at the device in disbelief, her pupils shrinking in shock—like she had just suffered a devastating emotional blow.
---
anwhile.
A pile of shattered tal scraps landed in the corner of a tree hollow—the remnants of a communicator that had been crushed to pieces.
w, still nestled in its hammock, had just finished destroying it.
Yawning, it was about to roll over and continue napping—
When a soft blue glow from its pendant froze it in place.
"w?"
w tilted its head in confusion.
Then, to make sure it wasn't imagining things, it pinched itself.
Feeling the sharp sting of pain, it confird that it wasn't dreaming.
But…
Why was the stone glowing?
w would never forget the agonizing pain it had felt watching this sa stone lose its light years ago.
It had started out blue…
Then turned red…
Then, faded away completely.
That suffocating, heart-wrenching mont—like having a piece of its own heart torn away—was sothing w never wanted to experience again.
And yet—
This stone, which should have remained lifeless forever…
Was glowing once more.
w didn't know why.
But a thought—one so absurd, yet so overwhelming that it made its heart pound uncontrollably—surfaced in its mind.
—Could Elias still be alive?
Or…
Had he sohow co back to life?
Two thoughts—both of which w had long abandoned as impossible—resurfaced with full force.
w could no longer remain calm.
Its sleepiness vanished entirely.
It flipped over and shot out of the hammock, gripping the pendant tightly as it followed the stone's guiding light out of the tree hollow.
Even as it flew, w's heart pounded like a drum.
It wanted to believe.
It wanted to witness a miracle.
But…
More than anything—
It was afraid.
Because it had been let down too many tis before.
It had gone to Ho-Oh, begging it to resurrect Elias—only to be told it was impossible.
It had begged Celebi to send it back in ti—only to fail over and over again.
It had even traveled all the way to Kalos, seeking help from the Life Pokémon, Xerneas—only to be told Elias could not be revived.
Or rather…
There was no record of Elias ever existing.
It was as if he had been erased from reality itself.
If not for the pendant in its hands, the only proof that Elias had ever been real, w might have thought it had just imagined everything.
But today—
Sothing was different.
For the first ti in years…
There was hope.
...
Following the pendant's signal, w soon arrived at the battlefield.
Pushing aside the branches, the first thing it saw was Sird—still standing there.
w's heart sank.
For a mont, it thought Team Rocket had just tricked it into coming here.
But before it could react—
A voice—both familiar and unfamiliar—reached its ears.
"Gengar, use [Confuse Ray] to cover us—we're retreating!"
Clink.
The pendant slipped from w's trembling paws.
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