"Gengar says 'water dog' is the nickname it gave Suicune."
"Wait. Then an electric dog that looks like Suicune…" Reiji rubbed his chin. "That has to be Raikou, right?"
Had Team Rocket actually captured Raikou too?
They had gathered Electric types and Water types from every stage of evolution, from base forms to final forms. On top of that, they had Zapdos and possibly Raikou, two Legendary Pokémon. What kind of genetic experiment needed that kind of lineup?
Reiji could barely remember the old anime plot now. He only remembered that a Magikarp had been affected by something, evolved into Gyarados, and kept its original red scales, becoming the red Gyarados.
The key was whatever had forced that Magikarp to evolve.
Was Team Rocket capturing all these Pokémon to trigger forced evolution?
A thought came to him. In one of the movies, there had been something called Mega Wave, a device that forced Pokémon to Mega Evolve without Mega Stones.
Johto was still second-generation territory, so that exact technology shouldn't exist here. But whatever Team Rocket had inside this base was probably similar: some kind of evolution-inducing signal.
In other words, the base might be full of useful things.
Zapdos, Raikou, and research connected to evolution. That was worth seeing in person.
As for the red Gyarados, he would pass. That thing's temper was probably awful, and it was practically destined for Lance anyway. How could Reiji be cruel enough to break up Lance and his future red Gyarados? Those two were a perfect match.
That settled his goal.
First, he would see whether there was a chance to evolve Magneton. Then he would wait for the League's main force to arrive and look for an opening to grab whatever research Team Rocket had on forced evolution.
If he could get that, then later combine it with the Mega Wave technology from that movie, he might eventually remove the pain and side effects from forced Mega Evolution. Maybe Pokémon could Mega Evolve without needing Mega Stones at all.
He vaguely remembered that the Mega Wave had something to do with a movie featuring a Fire-type Legendary. If he had time later, he could look it up. Once he saw the Pokémon's appearance, he would probably remember which movie it was.
For now, the priority was Lake of Rage.
He needed to get close, hide, and wait for the League investigation team. He wondered who would come this time. In the anime, Lance had shown up in person.
With that in mind, Reiji rode Pelipper low through the forest. He kept Gengar ahead as a scout. Whenever it found a Rocket sentry, Reiji changed course and went around. They avoided every checkpoint and made it through without being seen.
They moved in stops and detours until nightfall before reaching the area around Lake of Rage.
Security was much tighter here. Human sentries were only part of it; Team Rocket had Pokémon watching the area too. Without Lokoko's illusions, Reiji would never have gotten this close.
Once he reached the area, he removed the cloth covering his face and brought out Ditto to change his appearance. He also rearranged the Poké Balls on his belt, choosing Pokémon common enough not to draw attention in a forest, along with Lokoko in Ninetales form.
He waited until deep into the night before a chance appeared.
A Rocket grunt on night duty wandered into the forest to relieve himself.
Lokoko caught him with hypnosis at once and made him talk.
His name Obara, an ordinary Team Rocket member at the base. He had recently graduated from the rookie training camp and been assigned to Lake of Rage not long ago. That explained why he had been shoved onto night watch. He was at the bottom of the food chain.
Reiji took Obara's ID card and questioned him further.
The base was run by Professor Sebastian. The field commander was Tyson, an Elite Four-tier Trainer. Under Tyson were dozens of combat squads, each led by an Advanced-tier Trainer. Obara and his group didn't even count as real fighters. They were low-level base staff, not assigned to any battle squad.
When Reiji asked what the base was researching, Obara didn't know.
All he knew was that at certain times, the base ordered everyone to recall their Pokémon. If they left them outside, the Pokémon would be affected and fall unconscious.
There was also a rumor inside the base.
If someone released a Pokémon during those periods, it might evolve.
Even Pokémon that normally needed Evolution Stones weren't exceptions. Obara had personally seen a Nidorino evolve without a Moon Stone.
That was enough for Reiji to piece the rest together.
Team Rocket was using the entire Lake of Rage as a test field. At set times, they released a signal that triggered evolution, hoping that somewhere in the lake, a Pokémon would mutate under the effect.
Their goal was probably to refine that signal until they could skip a Pokémon's normal growth stage and force it straight into its final form. If they could mass-produce fully evolved Pokémon, Team Rocket's fighting strength would soar.
Of course, it was a shortcut that ruined the foundation.
Even if a Pokémon evolved into its final form, it would just be an oversized shell if it hadn't grown properly. It would never match a Pokémon raised by a real Trainer. Team Rocket probably didn't care. They wanted numbers.
This was the same kind of logic as the Mewtwo cloning project. It was technology for mass-producing battle power. Team Rocket really had no bottom line when it came to strengthening its forces.
After that, Reiji asked about Obara's friends, enemies, and habits.
The answer was useful: Obara had no friends. He was bullied by practically everyone. People saw him as weak, so they walked all over him.
Good.
That made things easier. If nobody in the base actually cared about Obara, Reiji didn't have to worry about stepping on the wrong person's toes while using his identity.
Once he had what he needed, he had Toxicroak deal with Obara.
Obara's Poké Balls ended up in Reiji's hands. He checked them one by one: Golbat, Weezing, Rattata, and Beedrill.
All garbage.
Not a single one had potential over 50.
Reiji stared at the panels and gained a whole new understanding of how weak this guy was.
Seriously?
No wonder they stuck him on night duty. With Pokémon like these, Reiji had no idea how Obara had even survived in Team Rocket. Calling him a regular member was generous. He was barely worth counting.
Golbat and Weezing were useful for the disguise, at least. Reiji released his own versions to compare them. Golbat looked close enough. Weezing's color was different, but that was manageable.
Obara's three Poison types—Golbat, Weezing, and Beedrill—couldn't be released again. They might return to the base and give him away, so Reiji had Gengar dispose of them. Rattata wasn't worth special handling; Toxicroak took care of it.
Once the Trainer and his Pokémon were gone, Reiji had Toxicroak dig a hole. Ditto memorized Obara's face, changed into it, and Reiji buried Obara and all four Pokémon.
He put on Obara's black uniform. It was a little tight; the guy had been slightly shorter than him.
Then he set his belt with the new lineup: Lokoko as Ninetales, Golbat, Weezing, Rhydon, Sharpedo, Pidgeot, Ditto on his face, and Gengar in his shadow.
With Poliwrath away, Rhydon was his strongest visible fighter. Pidgeot and Sharpedo were for escape, one by air and one by water.
He didn't use Toxicroak because it wasn't native to Kanto or Johto. Rhydon and Sharpedo would draw less attention here.
Clothes, ID card, Poké Balls, face—everything was ready.
Reiji pulled the black Team Rocket cap lower over his brow, took a slow breath, and walked out of the forest.
He had barely stepped into the open when someone started shouting.
"Obara! Obara! Where the hell did that bastard go? When I find him, I'm skinning him alive. He vanished during duty and got me chewed out by the captain!"
"Boss Tian," one of the lackeys said, pointing toward Reiji as he came out of the trees. "Isn't that Obara?"
"You little shit. Finally found you."
Tian was the night-shift squad leader. The moment he saw "Obara" coming out of the woods instead of standing guard at the base entrance, his anger boiled over. He stormed over, grabbed Reiji by the collar, and cursed in his face.
"You're good at hiding, huh? Made us search all over. Why didn't you keep hiding?"
"Captain, I just went to piss."
Reiji lowered his eyes and avoided Tian's gaze. He didn't want trouble. If Tian yelled, hit him a few times, then left, that would be fine.
But anyone who had been bullied knew how this worked.
The weaker you acted, the more people pushed. If they saw you as easy prey, even their dogs would come piss on you. Blindly giving ground solved nothing.
So what should he do here?
"Piss? Why don't you drink it while you're at it?" Tian shoved Reiji to the ground and spat beside him. "You got me cursed out by the captain. How are you paying for that?"
He threw out his Electric-type Pokémon.
"Magneton, fry him."
He didn't truly mean kill him. Probably.
But pain was guaranteed. Tian clearly planned to make him suffer.
Reiji threw a Poké Ball.
Bang.
Golbat appeared in front of him just as Magneton fired Thunderbolt. It immediately used Protect and blocked the attack while Reiji slowly pushed himself up from behind it.
"I really just went to piss."
He meant it. He didn't want trouble. He only wanted to stay undercover.
But he had expected this possibility the moment he chose Obara's identity. He just hadn't expected it to happen this fast.
If he didn't solve it now, he would never get any peace inside the base.
"Oh? Fighting back now?" Tian's anger flared even hotter. "Magneton, shock him again!"
That was how bullying worked. The moment the victim resisted, the beating got worse—unless the victim was stronger, or willing to drag the bully down with him.
"Golbat, Quick Attack. Then Crunch."
Since Tian wouldn't let it go, Reiji stopped pretending.
"Baa!"
Golbat shot forward the instant Magneton finished its Thunderbolt. Dark energy gathered in its mouth, and it bit down hard on Magneton's body.
Crack.
Magneton's shell split under the bite. All three eyes went blank, and it dropped unconscious in an instant.
Reiji's Golbat was already over level 50. Against a Rocket squad leader's Elite-tier Magneton, this was easy.
"What…" Tian stumbled back, staring at his fallen Pokémon. "How? Your Golbat…"
Inside Team Rocket, strength ruled.
As long as someone had power and didn't break the organization's core rules, plenty of things were allowed. Even a fight like this drew a crowd instead of immediate punishment.
"Holy crap. Since when was Obara's Golbat that strong?"
"Yeah, that thing couldn't even beat mine before. What happened?"
Reiji raised his head slowly, eyes red, voice rough and low.
"Anyone else? Damn it, I just got here. I was trying to get along with you people. Why do you keep pushing me?"
His gaze swept over the crowd.
He didn't know any of them, and he didn't need to. He glared at everyone like he was ready to bite, and the watching people backed away one after another.
Nobody spoke.
Even the squad leader had gone down. At this point, the only one who could handle an enraged Obara was probably the captain.
"Move. What's with the crowd? What happened here? Do you all have nothing better to do?"
The crowd split at the voice.
A muscular man in a sleeveless shirt walked through, a Golem at his side.
"Captain."
Reiji saw the three stripes on the man's shoulder badge, then glanced at his own single stripe and immediately understood the rank difference. He lowered his head and pointed at Tian, taking the chance to strike first.
"Captain, I only went into the forest to piss. He blocked me the moment I came out, then ordered Magneton to shock me."
"Is that true?" the captain asked, looking down at Tian.
A heavy pressure rolled off him. His Golem understood its Trainer perfectly and stepped forward, glaring at Tian as well.
"Captain, I… I…"
Tian stammered for a long time but couldn't get anything out.
He had started it. Too many people had seen it. Worse, he had lost.
Nothing he said would matter now.
"Take him away. Three days in solitary."
The captain knew exactly what had happened from Tian's stammering alone. With a casual wave, he had Tian dragged off.
Then he glanced once at Reiji, said nothing, and walked away.
Small conflicts like this happened in the base all the time. He was used to it. Team Rocket respected winners, and he saw no reason to dig deeper.
Some rookies from the training camp had real strength. A few would probably become captains themselves before long. Giving one of them a little room now cost him nothing.
For the others, it was just another bit of entertainment.
Once the matter ended, the Rockets who had bullied Obara before quietly lowered their heads and drifted away. A few who hadn't joined in came over, trying to act familiar.
Reiji ignored all of them.
He walked into the base with Golbat.
No one mentioned night watch again. Tonight would be sleepless, but not for him. Since night duty was supposed to be done in pairs, Obara's partner could handle it alone.
Inside, Reiji used Obara's ID card to pass through the first access door.
The problem showed up immediately.
Obara's clearance was rock bottom. He could enter the training grounds, cafeteria, and dormitory.
That was it.
The captured Pokémon Gengar had found were being held in storage areas and laboratories. Reiji couldn't get anywhere near those places with this card.
If he wanted to reach the important parts of the base, he needed a higher-level ID.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]