The giant Tentacruel's tentacles struck again.
This time, Luo Yuan didn't dodge.
"Dragapult, Dragon Pulse!"
A powerful blue Dragon Pulse shot toward the massive Tentacruel. Unlike the earlier skirmishes, this time Dragapult was going all out.
Boom!
The Dragon Pulse slammed into Tentacruel's body.
"Raaaah!"
The Tentacruel thrashed and writhed, its tentacles flailing in all directions, its deep growl of pain echoing through the city.
But to the citizens huddled in shelter, the sound was exhilarating.
They could now see the figure in black battling the Tentacruel in the sky.
"Is he with the League, sent to rescue us?"
"He looks so strong!"
"Look! He hurt the Tentacruel!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
Everyone, including Ash and Brock, assumed that the figure in the sky was a League rescuer.
Only Officer Jenny stared intently at the figure in black.
"That outfit, and that Dragapult... that's definitely the Tech Hunter!"
Her face reflected both shock and confusion as she muttered to herself, "But why would he be here?"
"Officer Jenny, what did you say? Isn't that guy from the League?"
Hearing her muttering, Ash and Brock looked over.
Jenny snapped back to attention and shook her head.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's the Tech Hunter, an international fugitive wanted by Interpol. He's attacked major tech companies in Hoenn before and just recently raided the St. Anne."
"I have no idea why he's here!"
As she spoke, Dragapult fired a Shadow Ball at Tentacruel, knocking the massive creature back into the ocean and sending up a huge splash.
"But he's helping hold off the Tentacruel... he doesn't seem like a bad guy," one of the nearby port residents commented, watching the fierce battle from afar.
This statement drew murmurs of agreement.
If that giant Tentacruel had been allowed to continue its rampage, the whole city could have been destroyed.
To these locals, Luo Yuan was nothing short of a savior for stopping it.
"Go, Tech Hunter! Defeat that Tentacruel!"
Someone in the crowd started cheering for Luo Yuan, and soon, others joined in, their voices resonating and reaching outside through the glass.
Jenny watched the scene unfold, her mouth open as if she wanted to point out he was a criminal.
But in the end, she stayed silent.
The Tech Hunter may have been a League-wanted criminal, but he had protected the people here.
And as a League officer who hadn't managed to protect the residents' lives and property, who was she to criticize him?
---
Luo Yuan, busy directing Dragapult against the giant Tentacruel, suddenly heard the cheering coming from the city and paused in surprise.
For a split second, he almost let his guard down, giving Tentacruel an opportunity to strike.
Snapping back to his senses, he let Dragapult evade on its own as he glanced toward the city.
"What... is happening?"
It felt surreal.
In Hoenn, every place he'd been had greeted him with hostility.
Hearing people cheer him on was a first.
"Kanto people really are warm and welcoming."
He smirked to himself.
Casually, he directed Dragapult to fire Dragon Darts, shattering Tentacruel's final attempt to resist.
After all, this Tentacruel, enhanced only by a chemical catalyst, was nowhere near the strength of the giant Dragonite he'd fought before; finishing it off was hardly a challenge.
Seeing the fear flash in Tentacruel's eyes as it turned and swam away, Luo Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
Should've just left it alone from the start, he thought. Instead, it chased me down and got itself beat up.
He didn't pursue the Tentacruel further to eliminate it completely; the root cause of this problem was the conflict between humans and Pokémon over habitat, and that was outside Team Rocket's line of business.
His mission here was complete.
And besides…
"The League's agents are quick to arrive."
Glancing at the speedboats approaching from the ocean, Luo Yuan patted Dragapult. "Let's go."
Dragapult nodded and, with a gray-green blur, vanished into the clouds.
All the League trainers arriving saw was a faint shadow and the port flooded with seawater.
---
As League trainers began investigating and handling the aftermath at the small port, Luo Yuan contacted Giovanni and recounted the events.
Seeing Giovanni's steady expression on the communicator screen, Luo Yuan silently felt a bit of sympathy for the Team Rocket trio.
They'd really caused quite a mess this time.
He suspected Giovanni would scold them, though he doubted any serious punishment would follow.
After all, the trio were nearly untouchable: Jessie was the daughter of Giovanni's mother's trusted aide, James was heir to a prestigious family, and Meowth… well, he'd been Giovanni's former pet.
While he was still mulling this over, Giovanni suddenly asked:
"By the way, I heard from Sabrina that you've acquired shares in Silph Co.?"
"Yes, that's right."
Luo Yuan wasn't surprised that Giovanni had learned about it.
In fact, he'd intended for Sabrina to "accidentally" pass that information on to Giovanni.
With Giovanni's extensive intel network, it would be impossible to keep his stake in Silph Co. a secret. So, rather than wait to be found out, he'd taken the initiative to disclose it and keep control in his own hands.
As a seasoned strategist, Giovanni didn't bother asking how Luo Yuan had obtained the shares; that was irrelevant.
"I'm sure you know," Giovanni continued, "that Team Rocket has had some covert projects in collaboration with Silph Co. Recently, however, Silph Co.'s president has severed our communications, apparently wanting to align with the League completely."
"My original plan was to raid Silph Co. headquarters to send a warning."
"But now that you're a shareholder, that won't be necessary."
"The League must have paid a high price to pull Silph Co. to their side. You're in a perfect position to use your shareholder status to get close to the League."
Giovanni's plan was clear.
"I understand," Luo Yuan replied, nodding.
Giovanni's foresight was impressive. His strategy aligned perfectly with Luo Yuan's own intentions to leverage Silph Co.'s influence to infiltrate the League's inner circle.
And with Giovanni's intel, Luo Yuan felt even more confident in his chances.
"That's settled, then. By the way, the unidentified Pokémon on Sevii Island has been showing signs of activity again. If you have time, investigate it as soon as possible," Giovanni added.
The information piqued Luo Yuan's interest, and his focus sharpened.
---
✧ Webnovel Readers, It's Holiday Time! ✧
Starting Dec 2nd, I'll be posting FOUR chapters a day for a whole week! 🎁 Let's celebrate the season together with lots of reading fun! (≧▽≦)
As always, thank you SO much for your support! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡ You guys inspire me to keep going, and I'm so excited to share even more novels with you all. Let's make this a story-packed season!
Oh and before the month ends can you please leave a review? I want the translations to have a rating before December!
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
Posture and water check!
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