"Gary, look! That's the meteorite!"
While heading up the mountain, they could see a helicopter lifting the meteorite and loading it into its cabin.
Cyclizar understood the situation and accelerated its climbing speed. In less than a minute, it reached the top of the mountain and leaped up onto the summit.
"Who?!"
"Who's there?!"
The Team Rocket trio, who had been in the middle of a confrontation with Team Galactic, were interrupted by the sudden arrival.
Bang!!
Cyclizar swung its tail for balance, stretched out its hind and forelimbs, and dropped toward the ground, landing safely on the grass.
"Team Rocket... and you guys..."
Ash recognized the Team Rocket trio, but not the other group. Although he had encountered Team Galactic before, he didn't know what their organization was called.
"Those brats!"
"The twerp!"
"How did they show up here? Meow!"
The Team Rocket trio was shocked.
Gary looked over at Team Rocket. Jessie, James, and Meowth were in rough shape, clearly having already clashed with Team Galactic.
"Blastoise, come out." Gary wasted no time and immediately released Blastoise.
"Toxicroak, Dark Pulse." Seeing Gary release a Pokémon, Saturn didn't hesitate and ordered Toxicroak to attack right away.
"Gugu!"
A ball of dark energy condensed between Toxicroak's hands, and a beam of darkness shot toward Blastoise.
"Crack!"
Before Blastoise could counterattack, it used its body to block the Dark Pulse head-on.
Boom!!
"Useless," Saturn sneered coldly, seeing Blastoise take the hit from Dark Pulse.
However, the next second, Saturn couldn't laugh anymore.
"Water Pulse."
The words had barely left Gary's mouth before a sphere of water burst out of the smoke and struck Toxicroak instantly, sending it flying.
Bang!
Toxicroak hit the ground and couldn't get back up. It had lost its ability to battle.
"What?!"
Saturn's eyes widened. He couldn't believe his Toxicroak had been defeated so easily. His Toxicroak was strong.
[LV55 Toxicroak / Elite]
Saturn's Toxicroak was indeed powerful, but unfortunately, it simply couldn't match Gary's Blastoise.
"You stay and hold them off. We're retreating," Saturn ordered.
Saturn was practical. The moment he saw Gary's Pokémon take out Toxicroak in a single move, he ordered his subordinates to stall while he recalled Toxicroak and ran.
His subordinates were loyal and immediately sent out their own Pokémon to block Gary's path.
Golbats appeared one after another, surrounding Gary and Ash.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Pika-chu!!"
Pikachu fired a bolt of lightning skyward and took out one Golbat, but it was barely a dent. Team Galactic had sent out more than twenty Golbats.
Although these Golbats posed no real threat to Gary or Ash, dealing with all of them would still take time. That was the whole point—Team Galactic was using them as a delay. By the time all the Golbats were dealt with, Team Galactic's people would be long gone. They had already taken one meteorite; Gary couldn't allow them to take the second one too.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon on that helicopter," Gary ordered.
"Kami!"
Blastoise's knees bent slightly as it aimed its cannons at the helicopter that was retrieving the meteorite. Water energy roared inside the barrels.
Two Golbats immediately dove toward Blastoise, trying to prevent it from firing at the helicopter.
"Ignore the Golbats. Fire!" Gary ordered.
Bang!!
Two thick blasts of water erupted from the cannons. The Golbats blocking the way were instantly knocked aside. The two Hydro Pumps struck the helicopter and the meteorite respectively.
Bang! Bang!
The side of the helicopter buckled inward from the impact, and the meteorite was shattered by the water blast. Both the wreckage and the fragments fell toward the ground.
"Gary, the meteorite got smashed..." Ash said, staring in shock.
"I know. Let's deal with Team Galactic first," Gary said.
Team Galactic had no intention of coming back for the broken pieces. They fled with the one meteorite they had already secured, leaving behind their released Golbats and even some of their own subordinates.
"Your leader has abandoned you. Why not surrender?" Gary said.
"We swear loyalty to the leader to the death!"
"Even if we die, we won't let you pass!"
The Team Galactic grunts were fanatically loyal to Cyrus and would rather sacrifice themselves than give in.
Gary hadn't expected Cyrus's hold over people to be this frightening. These were low-ranking grunts at best, yet even they were willing to throw their lives away for him. Cyrus clearly possessed a terrifying degree of personal charisma.
"Ash! Gary!"
"Are you guys okay?"
"Are we too late?"
At that moment, Magnezone finally arrived carrying Brock and Dawn. Maylene and her Lucario were with them as well—they had met on the way up the mountain and climbed together.
"Magnezone, use Gravity," Gary ordered.
"Bzzt!"
After setting down Brock and Dawn, Magnezone immediately entered the fight. Its body released a powerful magnetic force, distorting the surrounding field. A crushing pressure descended over the area.
The Golbats were slammed to the ground and pinned, unable to move.
However, although the Golbats had been subdued, Team Galactic's helicopter had already flown far out of range. Gravity couldn't reach it.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered, unwilling to let them escape.
"Pika-chu!!"
Pikachu fired a golden bolt toward the sky, trying to chase the helicopter, but it had already flown too far. The lightning traveled about twenty meters before fading away.
"Damn it, they got away," Ash said angrily.
Although they had successfully prevented Team Galactic from stealing the second meteorite, the enemy had still escaped with one piece. And the other meteorite had been destroyed.
Buzz! Buzz!!
Just then, the roar of an engine came from the hillside. A police car flew up the slope, jumped over everyone's heads, and landed steadily on the grass.
"Team Galactic, freeze!"
It was Officer Jenny from Veilstone City.
The remaining Team Galactic members saw Officer Jenny arrive and stopped resisting. They all raised their hands in surrender.
Saturn had already escaped with the meteorite, so their mission was technically complete. More importantly, all their Golbats had been pinned by Magnezone, and they had lost their ability to fight. The mission was done; there was no need for needless sacrifice.
Of course, Officer Jenny hadn't come alone. More police officers followed up the mountain one after another, arresting the Team Galactic grunts and confiscating their Pokémon.
As was standard procedure, Gary, Ash, and the others had to cooperate with Officer Jenny's investigation and were all brought in for questioning.