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THUD!
Gyarados's massive body finally collapsed to the ground, the impact sending a tremor through the earth beneath their feet.
It was over.
After all the chaos the collapse of an entire Rocket research facility they had finally brought it down.
Still, the aftermath was… less than glorious. So many top-tier Pokémon had been thrown at a single berserk Gyarados—only for several of them to be taken out in monts. If word got out, it'd be a little embarrassing, to say the least.
These weren't wild Pokémon—they were trained, disciplined partners of elite trainers.
But if not for the help of Will and Karen—two future Elite Four mbers—the outco might've been far worse. If the whole task force had been made up of International Police agents like Looker, they might've lost dozens, maybe even a hundred Pokémon in the fray.
That said, based on what Kai had seen, both Will and Karen still had a long way to go before truly reaching the level of the Elite Four. Their Pokémon were good—but not quite there yet.
Kai walked up to Gyarados's head. Its body had ballooned in size from the effects of the signal—it was now so massive that its head alone was nearly eye-level with him.
Though battered and charred, Gyarados was still conscious. It lay there, panting, eyes half-open and weak—but no longer crazed.
The madness was gone.
Kai could see it—the old, loyal glimr in its eyes. Gyarados had returned to its senses.
He let out a breath of relief. "You're back… You really made a ss this ti, didn't you? I know it wasn't your fault, but man…"
He couldn't help but think back to the day Gyarados first evolved from Magikarp. Back then, it had lost control too—rampaging until Kai had beaten it into submission.
It felt like things had co full circle.
But in a strange way, this disaster had turned out to be a blessing.
Though the signal had driven Gyarados into a frenzy, it had also altered its body—transforming its color, increasing its mass, and greatly enhancing its strength.
This wasn't the sa Pokémon anymore.
Kai could say with confidence: there wasn't another Gyarados in the world that could rival his.
And if he ever used a ga Stone to trigger its ga Evolution… then this beast would be a nightmare that few trainers could ever hope to challenge.
He returned Gyarados to its Poké Ball and turned to Will, Karen, and Looker with a grateful nod.
"Thanks, all of you. Really. If this had gone any worse, I don't know what would've happened."
Truthfully, if none of them had been around, Kai would've just summoned the Legendary Birds and ended it that way. But their willingness to help—without hesitation—ant sothing. He was grateful.
"Don't call for this kind of thing again," Karen huffed. Then she smirked. "Your Gyarados is way more of a handful than those Team Rocket clowns."
Kai laughed and tossed a few lighthearted complints their way to smooth things over.
Soon, the International Police units that had been chasing down fleeing Rocket grunts returned. But none of them had found Tyson or Professor Sebastian.
Looker shook his head, disappointed.
They'd escaped.
That cloud hung over the mission like a shadow. The leaders had slipped away yet again.
Trying to move on, Looker turned to Karen, shifting the conversation and also giving Kai a bit of breathing room.
"What about your side? Any progress?"
Karen shrugged. "Goldenrod base is completely cleared out. But a executive? Yeah, he managed to slip away."
"He escaped too?!"
Looker's shoulders slumped. Still, between dismantling a research facility, neutralizing the signal emitter, and capturing a large number of Rocket grunts, the mission had significantly weakened Team Rocket. Their Project R had been dealt a major blow.
In the grand sche of things, the operation was a success.
You couldn't win everything in this world.
After expressing his gratitude again, Looker offered to take them back to camp for a small victory celebration. But Kai, Will, and Karen all declined.
In the end, Looker left a handful of agents behind to salvage what they could from the wreckage, and he departed with the prisoners in custody.
After exchanging contact information, Kai waved goodbye to Will and Karen as well.
With the Rocket threat in Mahogany town finally resolved, he could now resu his gym challenge without worry.
---
Leaving the shore of Lake of Rage, Kai and Sabrina trekked into the forest, heading toward their next destination.
The sun was already dipping toward the horizon, casting long shadows and bathing the forest in a dusky glow.
If they didn't want to camp outdoors tonight, they'd need to reach the city before nightfall.
Thankfully, they still had ti and weren't in a rush.
But just as they were about to exit the forest, sothing perched on a branch caught Sabrina's eye.
She stopped.
Kai noticed and followed her gaze.
"What is it?" he asked.
She didn't respond, just stared upward with quiet curiosity.
Kai looked as well and saw what she was watching.
A Natu.
Its small green body perched neatly on the branch, its red wings folded, black-striped feathers gleaming in the fading light. Its round eyes locked on them in eerie silence.
Kai recognized it instantly.
The Natu's design always struck him as oddly uncanny. While its dopey face gave it a harmless look, the human-like eyes and twitchy movents always felt a little too intelligent.
He rembered reading sowhere that the concept behind Natu ca from South Arican tribal myths possibly even based on birds worshipped in ancient soarican cultures, like those found in Mayan folklore.
Its coloring, too, had been inspired by spiritual birds symbols of mysticism and insight.
"You like it?" he asked Sabrina.
She nodded faintly.
Kai couldn't help but smile. In all their travels, the only other Pokémon she'd ever shown interest in was that talking Slowking from the Orange Islands.
This was rare.
"Pretty sure Natu's a Psychic-type, right?"
He pulled out his Pokédex and aid it at the Pokémon.
BEEP.
"Natu: The Tiny Bird Pokémon. Type: Psychic/Flying. Though it cannot fly due to underdeveloped wings, Natu hops from place to place and occasionally perches on branches to peck at budding leaves. It's said to constantly be watching sothing. Once it makes eye contact, it locks on with an unblinking stare—but flees the mont its target moves."
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