Time rewound ten minutes.
Silver had come alone to the outskirts of Saffron City. As he was walking toward the city, he suddenly heard a piercing scream:
"Stop the thief! Someone stop the robber!"
He turned toward the sound and saw a woman collapsed on the ground, her hands empty, crying as she pointed into the distance.
Over there, a man in a black uniform was clutching a document pouch and sprinting for his life!
Team Rocket!
Even though there wasn't a familiar "R" on the uniform, stealing someone's property in broad daylight and treating League law like a joke—if it wasn't Team Rocket, who else would do something like that?
After spending this time with Grey, Silver's mindset had already changed completely.
And with what he'd gone through in the Johto region before, he hated Team Rocket down to the bone.
Now he'd run into a Team Rocket member committing a crime in Saffron City—how could he just stand by and do nothing?
Silver's eyes hardened. His steps unconsciously sped up as he chased after that black figure!
"Damn it! Why is there some brat playing hero too?!"
The Team Rocket member whipped his head around. When he saw Silver stubbornly keeping up, his expression changed instantly.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to run faster, trying to shake his pursuer.
But Silver had gone through countless pursuit drills. His ability to track and keep pressure on a fleeing target was already honed to perfection.
No matter how the man twisted and turned through detours, Silver would catch up within ten seconds.
Seeing he couldn't lose him, cold sweat seeped from the Team Rocket member's forehead.
Then he spotted a narrow alley, and like he'd found a lifeline, he dove straight into it!
A back alley.
A familiar scene.
Silver stood at the entrance. Even with the stench rushing into his face, he didn't hesitate—he went straight in.
As for the Muk loitering at the entrance, it didn't meddle when the two of them arrived.
Clearly, it had been scared senseless by Grey before.
Not wanting to get dragged into trouble for no reason, it could only watch them go in.
"Heh. The brat actually dared to follow me in? Fine. Today I'll show you what happens when you piss off Team Rocket!"
When the Team Rocket member saw Silver enter the alley, he twisted his mouth into a vicious sneer.
He slammed his hand down on the Poké Ball at his waist, and a Golbat appeared instantly!
"Gyaaah—!"
Golbat flared its wings and unleashed several invisible, razor-sharp blades of air!
The alley was piled with rotting garbage. The moment the air blades tore through it, the filth and stink surged like a wave.
Every hair on Silver's body stood up. In that split second, he jerked sideways to dodge.
The colorless, lethal wind blades skimmed past his forehead, and a few strands of bright red hair drifted down to the ground.
A killing move!
Thud, thud!
Two more Poké Balls hit the ground, and two more Pokémon appeared at the Rocket member's side.
Arbok. Weezing.
Familiar Pokémon—pretty much the standard loadout for Team Rocket trash.
"Pathetic."
Silver stared coldly at the three Pokémon closing in and spat out the two words with contempt.
"You little—what did you say?! Arbok! Weezing! Golbat! All three of you, get over there and rip his mouth apart!"
The Team Rocket member instantly flew into a rage, barking orders as all three Pokémon attacked at once.
Arbok opened its blood-red maw, a deadly toxic glow flickering between its fangs.
Weezing matched Arbok, its mouth gaping as filthy smog burst out of its body.
As for Golbat, there was no need to mention its mouth—it was already wide open, and thick venom glistened across its body, clearly gathering for the next strike.
And then, the very next second—
"W-Wait… maybe we should just forget it…"
The Team Rocket member's voice suddenly started shaking.
Because he could feel it clearly: something cold, sharp, and hard was pressed against his lower back… and something else was at his throat…
The three Pokémon had no choice but to stop as well.
"Tch. I thought you'd be tougher than that."
Silver clicked his tongue in disappointment. With his hands spread, icy light flashed in his eyes.
"Croconaw, Aqua Jet!"
The last Poké Ball on his waist snapped open.
Croconaw spun cleanly, its body instantly wrapped in surging water. It crashed into the lunging Houndour and blasted it away—dog, fangs, and all!
Houndour tumbled across the ground in a miserable roll. The flames in its mouth hissed out, leaving only a few thin strands of smoke leaking between its teeth.
Cold light flickered in Silver's eyes. Good thing he'd been on guard—otherwise he really would've fallen for that trick.
"Now. Recall your Pokémon. Immediately."
Silver's voice was glacial, leaving no room for argument. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee what they'll do."
Sneasel's claws were pressed to the man's waist, and Murkrow's sharp beak was braced at his neck.
Two vital points. A single twitch in either place could mean a fatal wound.
"Sneasel." (Surrender now. Otherwise I don't know what my claws might do to you.)
"Murkrow—!" (That's right. My beak isn't dull either!)
The two Pokémon growled their threats at the same time.
As Dark-type Pokémon, they were naturally good at assassination in most situations.
Compared to a straightforward, somewhat dopey Pokémon like Croconaw, these two were far better suited to lurking in the shadows and striking at the right moment.
That was exactly why Silver had sent them out first.
If Croconaw were the one responsible for a sneak attack…
Yeah. No. Forget it.
Silver wasn't that stupid.
Besides, he only had three Pokémon. There was no way he'd leave himself without protection.
That was a lesson he'd learned from clashing with Team Rocket before, through talks with Grey.
This was his first time applying it.
And the result was pretty good.
"O-Okay, okay, let's talk this out—everyone calm down, we're all pals…"
The Team Rocket member's sweat poured down. Shaking violently, he reached for his Poké Balls.
Four red flashes popped in succession, and every Pokémon was recalled.
He fumbled with trembling fingers, locking each Poké Ball, then set them on the ground one by one.
Now he had no ability to resist at all—like a fish thrown onto a cutting board, he could only let Silver do whatever he wanted.
"Hand over the documents. Toss them over. Don't mix anything into it."
Silver ordered flatly.
"Boss, I'll do it! Please calm down—don't let your Pokémon do anything to me!"
The Team Rocket member's hand shook as he threw the documents to Silver. Then he crouched down and covered his head.
"Whatever you ask, I'll answer!"
He genuinely valued his life. He genuinely feared the red-haired boy in front of him might order his Pokémon to kill him.
After all, he'd just had murderous intent. There was no guarantee this cold-faced pretty boy wouldn't hold a grudge.
He was Team Rocket—if he got killed, nobody would punish the kid. The kid could even get rewarded for it.
"Hoh hoh hoh~ Is this the backbone of Team Rocket?"
A voice with a heavy Unovan accent sounded from behind Silver, along with the tap-tap of a cane striking the ground.
"Mr. Iron-Masked Marauder, it seems quite different from what you described~"
Silver broke into cold sweat immediately.
Just as he was about to move, another voice spoke up.
"Sage Zinzolin, he's just an outsourced temp worker. Please don't take it too seriously."
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