"Haa… haa…" For the first time, Satoshi felt genuinely troubled.
Although he'd long known about this, seeing it firsthand, he still couldn't help complaining…
Garchomp, why can you fly?! Do you even have wings?!
Chasing after Garchomp on its escape route, Satoshi felt exhausted just thinking about it.
Not having a Pokémon that could fly was genuinely inconvenient.
The current situation was far from good. Garchomp was fleeing purely on instinct, soaring through the air—not exactly fast, just slow enough for them to barely keep pace by running.
Thankfully, this Garchomp was being relatively docile, not using any moves, allowing Satoshi a moment of relief. Otherwise, he would have already commanded his four Pokémon to attack together and quickly subdue it.
Knocking it unconscious was easy enough; the trouble was the adult man chasing behind them. The guy still had a controller in his hand, interfering with Garchomp's flight path, making it truly difficult for Satoshi's Pokémon to accurately target the rampaging dragon in midair.
As for attacking the collar itself, that was even riskier. One slight mistake, and they'd hit Garchomp directly, sending it further into a berserk state, unleashing attacks and devastating the city.
"Damn it! Why's this stupid controller so useless? Can't that Garchomp fly in my direction already?" Tatsumi fiddled with the controls, desperately attempting to manipulate Garchomp—but the Pokémon stubbornly refused to obey.
Garchomp, as a late-blooming pseudo-legendary, had power vastly exceeding ordinary Pokémon. Controlling it was naturally harder, especially in the middle of an ongoing Outrage.
To control it successfully, you'd have to wait until Garchomp was extremely weakened.
The two fell into a stalemate: one desperately trying to approach Garchomp, the other hoping to manipulate Garchomp to wreak havoc and escape amidst the chaos.
"Gabu!!"
Now, Garchomp was heading straight toward Rainbow Wing Tower. Its flight speed wasn't terribly fast, but if this kept going, it would reach the tower's peak. Unable to fly himself, Satoshi's options would narrow drastically.
"No choice then… I'll have to use that move."
Satoshi sighed helplessly, eyes becoming resolute.
[Sato-baby, you've got a plan?]
"Yeah, I've got a secret weapon. You see these legs?"
Satoshi patted his thigh, muscles visibly tightening with strength.
[I see them, and it feels like they're speeding up... what's happening?]
"It's Agility! If I can't naturally surpass it, I'll just use my determination to break human limits! Return for now, Raichu, Grookey, Frogadier—conserve your strength."
As he spoke, Satoshi accelerated sharply, swiftly retrieving three Pokémon back into their Pokéballs, leaving only the fastest—Combusken. With its Speed Boost ability, even a sneak attack would be instantly countered.
[I'm pretty sure you're not human…]
Faster… Faster still… until he reached the speed needed to rescue Garchomp.
Pushing himself to the absolute limit with Agility, Satoshi and Combusken finally caught sight of Garchomp directly overhead.
Garchomp had already reached Rainbow Wing Tower.
"Damn it! How's that brat so fast?! And why is this stupid controller so worthless?" Realizing he'd fallen behind, Tatsumi angrily slammed the controller to the ground.
Bang!
The moment the controller struck the pavement, it burst into flames, instantly exploding.
"Huh?" Tatsumi stared blankly.
Wait, I broke it????
I was just venting my anger—I didn't expect it to blow up!
"Gabu!" The collar around Garchomp's neck suddenly emitted a harsh crimson light, illuminating the dark night sky.
The powerful Pokémon grew even more frenzied, struggling painfully and unleashing deafening roars.
In the next moment, Garchomp fired off Hyper Beam. A brilliant golden ray, like an enraged dragon, struck fiercely at Rainbow Wing Tower.
Parts of the tower erupted into flames, smoke billowing upwards.
"Oh my god—it actually went berserk!"
Even Tatsumi himself broke into a cold sweat. Catching Garchomp wasn't just difficult now—it seemed he'd be lucky not to die here.
This Garchomp was well beyond Gym Leader-level, with immense strength. According to research, prolonged use of Outrage caused its scales to regenerate rapidly, making it incredibly valuable to Team Rocket.
Dr. Xerosic himself had specifically requested to study this particular Garchomp.
If Tatsumi failed to bring it back, punishment would undoubtedly follow.
Coldly observing the scene, Tatsumi drew out a Pokéball.
"Screw it—come on out, Corviknight. A rare opportunity; might as well toy with this brat a bit. After all, I'm unbeatable."
Releasing Corviknight, Tatsumi quickly mounted it, smirking arrogantly.
...
[Waaah~ Sato-baby, Garchomp's started attacking! Maybe we should run away?]
"Don't say dumb things. If anything, we have to push forward harder."
Satoshi raised his head, carefully observing the situation.
Things were indeed bad. But the "secret plan" he'd mentioned earlier was only just beginning.
Wait… this feels oddly familiar. Am I about to end up falling off Rainbow Wing Tower holding onto Raichu?
Recalling a similar scene from the anime, excitement surged through Satoshi's veins.
If anime-Satoshi could look so cool, there was no way he'd lose to his fictional counterpart!
"GABUUU—!" Garchomp was in terrible pain, trembling uncontrollably, unleashing guttural roars filled with desperation and fury.
Every roar sent out another Hyper Beam, fortunately aimed mostly toward empty sky, minimizing actual damage except for minor destruction to the tower itself.
Unable to fly, Satoshi now had only one option left:
Jump onto Garchomp's back!
"Combusken, toss me onto Garchomp's back!"
"Yamo~ (Leave it to me!)"
Turning swiftly, Satoshi locked eyes with Combusken. With Combusken's strength combined with his own jumping ability, landing atop Garchomp's back had become genuinely possible.
Garchomp's flight altitude was currently low—this was exactly the time to attempt it.
This will work!
Rather, I must do it!
Satoshi sprinted toward Combusken at top speed, leaping agilely and landing squarely onto Combusken's outstretched, cupped hands.
"YAMO—!" Gathering all its strength, Combusken hurled Satoshi skyward.
"Soaring—straight to the heavens!" Satoshi ascended rapidly, Garchomp's figure suddenly filling his vision. Quickly stretching out his arms, he firmly grasped Garchomp's back, clawing his way upward desperately toward the collar.
"Gabu—!" Struggling frantically, Garchomp unleashed another devastating Hyper Beam, blasting a deep crater into the ground below.
"Garchomp, calm down—I'll help remove that collar!"
Weakly grasping the collar with his fingers, Satoshi whispered softly into Garchomp's ears, doing everything possible to soothe the raging Pokémon.