Ralts never expected things to turn out this way. She had planned to use her psychic powers to escape the mont Elias showed any sign of attacking her.
But she never even got the chance to react before she was already caught in his grasp.
"Don't struggle."
Seeing Ralts flail helplessly and even prepare to bite him, Elias quickly used telepathy to soothe her.
His voice suddenly echoing in her mind made Ralts freeze.
Seizing the mont, Elias explained,
"Team Rocket must have set up traps around the forest specifically targeting Psychic-type Pokémon. If you run now, you'll be walking right into their hands."
Unlike ordinary poachers, Team Rocket was a massive international criminal organization that always made thorough preparations. There was no way they wouldn't have a thod to subdue Psychic-types.
Hearing this, Ralts struggled a little less but still looked at Elias with suspicion.
It wasn't until she used her psychic senses to scan the area and found a group of Alakazam stationed near the forest periter, poised for action, that her face turned pale, and she fully believed Elias's words.
"W-What do we do now?" Realizing she may have misunderstood him, she asked through telepathy as well.
"Don't worry, just cooperate with as much as you can."
As he spoke, Elias adjusted his hold on Ralts, cradling her in a way that made it look as if he were restraining her, and walked toward Lt. Surge.
Seeing this, Lt. Surge, who had been worried that Elias might resist, finally relaxed.
Though the opposing trainer was just a kid, his Haunter had demonstrated considerable strength in their earlier exchange.
A cautious man by nature, Lt. Surge didn't want to risk unnecessary complications in his mission.
Luckily, the boy in front of him didn't seem like the type to throw his life away for a Pokémon. Faced with the overwhelming presence of Team Rocket, he surrendered without even putting up a fight.
"Good. Hand over the Ralts, and we won't make things difficult for you."
As Ralts drew closer, Lt. Surge's voice carried a hint of urgency, and his burning gaze made the little Pokémon instinctively shrink back into Elias's arms.
Since Ralts was already soft and delicate to begin with, her sudden movent nearly caused her to slip from Elias's grasp.
"Stop squirming. You'll blow our cover." Elias had no choice but to remind her through telepathy.
Ralts' face flushed slightly, but she finally stopped moving.
At the sa ti, Elias halted his steps and pretended to eye Lt. Surge warily.
"How do I know you won't attack once you get Ralts?"
"I wouldn't trust a bunch of criminals like you as far as I could throw you."
Lt. Surge's face darkened slightly.
What do you an, you wouldn't trust us? As a major international cri syndicate, Team Rocket had its own sense of honor.
Besides, he really had no interest in picking a fight with a re kid.
Still, the boy's hesitation was understandable.
With that in mind, Lt. Surge signaled his subordinates.
"Put away your Pokémon."
Then, he turned to his Raichu.
"Raichu, go bring Ralts over. Be careful not to hurt the trainer."
After giving these orders, he looked back at Elias.
"This should be enough, right? Stay where you are. Raichu will take Ralts, and once we have her, we'll leave imdiately."
This was the biggest concession he was willing to make. If the boy still refused, he'd have no choice but to take Ralts by force.
Fortunately, after a few seconds of contemplation, Elias nodded in agreent.
Raichu, having received its command, trotted over with its long tail dragging behind it, showing no signs of wariness.
Clearly, Elias's seemingly harmless appearance had completely put it off guard.
However, just as it reared up on its hind legs, preparing to release a small jolt to paralyze Ralts for easier control—
A pair of eyes glowing with soft blue light suddenly appeared in its vision.
"[Hypnosis]."
Raichu's body stiffened. By the ti it realized sothing was wrong and tried to run, its limbs had already slowed, and an overwhelming drowsiness crept into its mind.
Thud!
Raichu collapsed face-first into the dirt, as if it had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep.
For a brief mont, everyone stood frozen in shock.
Lt. Surge opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Haunter, who had been lying in wait, suddenly flickered into view beside Raichu.
With a casual swipe of its hands, a glowing red essence was pulled from Raichu's body and swallowed whole.
Raichu, still asleep, gave a violent shudder before falling completely unconscious.
"[Dream Eater]."
Lt. Surge's face twisted into an ugly scowl. Even an idiot would've realized by now—Elias had only pretended to surrender in order to lure Raichu in and take it out easily.
The worst part? He actually fell for it. Now, his strongest Pokémon was down, leaving him with only Electabuzz.
"Fine. Fine!" Lt. Surge let out a cold laugh. "You're the first person to ever make a fool out of Team Rocket like this."
"Release all your Pokémon! Capture him and that Ralts!"
"Trying to use sheer numbers?" Elias smirked, setting Raichu aside.
"Too bad… you won't get the chance."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, a faint blue glow forming over his skin.
The Rocket grunts suddenly found that no matter how hard they pulled, their Poké Balls wouldn't budge from their belts, as if they had been welded in place.
Let alone releasing their Pokémon—they couldn't even remove the Poké Balls.
High-level Pokémon battles often use the simplest solutions.
"Despicable!"
"If you've got guts, let us release our Pokémon and fight fair!"
The area erupted into curses and protests.
But Elias remained unfazed. After using telekinesis to gather their Poké Balls and tossing them into Haunter's gaping maw for safekeeping, he turned his gaze to Lt. Surge.
The real threat here was him. Especially his Electabuzz—it felt even stronger than Raichu.
anwhile, Lt. Surge's breathing grew heavy. His side's advantage had completely crumbled due to his own poor judgnt.
If he failed this mission, not only would he lose any chance of a promotion—he'd be lucky not to get demoted.
"Electabuzz, [Thunder]!"
Realizing he had to end this quickly, Lt. Surge wasted no ti issuing a command.
Boom!
Electabuzz reared back, unleashing a streak of lightning that crackled violently through the air.
"Haunter, [Dark Pulse]!"
Elias reacted just as swiftly. At the sa ti, he gently set Ralts down.
"Stay here and don't move." He softly instructed before teleporting directly in front of Lt. Surge.
Though Haunter might not match Electabuzz in power, Lt. Surge, as an ordinary human, was no match for Elias.
A tidal wave of psychic energy surged toward the Rocket Executive, who paled and desperately called for Electabuzz to intervene.
But locked in combat with Haunter, Electabuzz had no chance of coming to his aid.
Lt. Surge's vision blurred. When he ca to, he was already lying at Elias's feet, completely immobilized by psychic energy.
"Electabuzz, surrender. Your trainer has already lost." Elias's voice was calm but firm.
Defeating the trainer was always the fastest way to end a battle—after all, few were like him, a human Pokémon.
Seeing Electabuzz hesitate before finally ceasing its attack, Lt. Surge felt a wave of despair.
There was no doubt—he had suffered a complete defeat.
"Ralts!"
Nearby, Ralts cheered, waving her tiny fists excitedly as if she were the one who had won.
But just then, a sharp gust of wind swept in from behind her—
And a gleaming silver needle appeared right in front of her eyes.
Ralts gulped, fearfully stumbling back onto the ground.
Elias imdiately sensed the commotion.
But before he could command Haunter to drive away the Beedrill, another figure had already stepped onto the battlefield—
A Persian, moving with effortless grace.
Not far behind it, a man in a black suit and a Persian-shaped mask slowly approached.
Lying on the ground, Lt. Surge's expression flickered between relief and dread when he saw the newcor.
His lips moved slightly before he finally murmured,
"Gio—Boss…"
Elias's eyes narrowed slightly.
There was only one person Lt. Surge would call Boss—the elusive leader of Team Rocket.
Giovanni.
But the man didn't respond to Lt. Surge. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on Elias, a look of intrigue in his eyes.
"Elias of Saffron City," Giovanni said smoothly, his voice carrying a hint of admiration.
"I like you."
"Let give you two options."
"Leave this Ralts behind and walk away, or…"
"You co with , and I let Ralts go free."
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T/N: OHHHHH HE JOINS TEAM ROCKET WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT
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