◉◉◉◉◉
As for the Magma Team's Pokémon, they were all uniformly Mightyena.
Despite being standard-issue Pokémon, once the battle began, it was Team Rocket's trio who quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.
It could only be said that their combat ability was, as always, remarkably consistent. Even though these Magma Team intruders weren't executives, just a few elite grunts, Team Rocket somehow still couldn't win.
Even with the so-called "Fruit God" Wobbuffet present, the situation deteriorated almost instantly.
Under Jessie and James's commands, Seviper and Cacnea launched attacks using Poison Tail, Bite, Pin Missile, and Needle Arm.
However, the Mightyena were clearly stronger. With nothing more than Tackle and Double Team, they blocked the attacks and countered immediately. In just a single exchange, Seviper and Cacnea were sent flying.
The two Pokémon crashed backward into Team Rocket, knocking all three of them straight into the sea behind them…
In the blink of an eye, the group was swallowed by the waves, leaving only their fading screams echoing over the water.
Still as useless as ever…
If disappointment were a competition, Team Rocket would never fail to deliver.
That said, their unintentional sacrifice did buy Kai and the others precious time to close in on the Magma Team.
Just as the Magma Team members finished dealing with those unexpected nuisances and prepared to leave, they suddenly noticed a boy and a girl, both quite young, emerging from opposite sides.
Their brows furrowed. Without needing to ask, it was obvious these two were here for them.
"Stop right there!" Ash shouted. "Leave the box behind! And what did you do to Curator Nanmu?!"
This wasn't Ash's first encounter with Team Magma. Not long ago, he had already clashed with both Team Magma and Team Aqua, so he was no stranger to their ambitions.
The leader among the Magma Team—a male grunt—glanced at Ash and Misty but didn't answer. Instead, he tried to move past them.
However, just as he took a step forward, another man appeared ahead, accompanied by a bespectacled young boy.
"Tch." The grunt snorted irritably. "One after another… You, people are really persistent."
Kai was about to speak when hurried footsteps sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw the previously missing Curator Nanmu running toward them, panting heavily.
Nanmu looked utterly disheveled—his suit wrinkled, his hair singed, and his overall appearance made it clear he had suffered quite a bit.
"Wait!" he shouted. "These people are mine to deal with!"
Only then did Kai notice the Poké Ball clenched in Nanmu's hand. It was obvious now that when the box had been stolen, Nanmu must not have had a Pokémon with him, allowing Team Magma to overpower him so easily. Now, he was here to reclaim what was taken.
But… could he really defeat them?
Though doubtful, Kai chose not to intervene, stepping aside and letting Nanmu take center stage.
After all, the victim himself had decided to act. As helpers, the best they could do was observe for now.
"Go, Sealeo!"
With a flash of blue light, a plump, seal-like Pokémon appeared before them.
Sealeo, an Ice- and Water-type Pokémon, had a cream-colored underside and a blue back. Short tusks protruded from its upper jaw, and its thick white whiskers gave it the appearance of a kindly old gentleman.
These Pokémon often live in groups atop drifting ice floes, constantly spinning objects on their noses. While swimming, they can identify prey by scent alone and are especially fond of round objects—Poké Balls included.
The moment Sealeo appeared, Nanmu wasted no time.
"Use Aurora Beam!"
Sealeo opened its mouth, firing a brilliant beam of icy energy that struck a Mightyena head-on. The explosion not only sent the Pokémon flying but also destabilized the Magma Team members behind it. In the chaos, the box containing the stone was knocked from their grasp.
The box flew high into the air.
Max reacted instantly, leaping forward and catching it midair, clutching it tightly to his chest.
Seeing this, Kai couldn't help but marvel at Max's agility—and finally understood why Nanmu had insisted on handling this himself.
Sealeo was clearly well-trained. Nanmu had obviously invested serious effort into raising it. At the very least, it was far more reliable than Team Rocket's Pokémon, explaining his confidence.
Still, the Magma Team's elite grunts were no pushovers. Though caught off guard, they quickly recovered. At their urging, several Mightyena bared their fangs and began advancing toward Professor Nanmu step by step.
Ash shouted, "Team Magma! What do you want with that stone anyway?!"
"I don't owe you an explanation," one of them sneered, pointing at the box. "Hand it over if you know what's good for you—unless you want us to take it by force."
"In your dreams!" Max shouted back, hiding the box behind him. "You villains! This contains vital research data! There's no way we're giving it to you!"
Even without them saying it outright, the truth was obvious—they must have heard rumors and were searching for clues related to Groudon within the stone.
But their efforts were doomed from the start. After years of searching the land, how could they know that Groudon had been sleeping deep beneath the sea all along?
Stepping forward and positioning himself protectively in front of Max, Kai spoke in a calm tone.
Talking was pointless now. The box had been recovered—what remained was to drive these people away or capture them so they wouldn't dare return.
With a flick of his wrist, Kai released his Pokémon. Combusken and Metang materialized before him, while Ash and Misty released their own Pokémon from either side.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Seeing that their opponents were fully prepared to defend the box, the Magma Team exchanged glances.
The next second, their Mightyena charged forward all at once.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!