Nozomi wasn't unaware of the Rocket Team captain's little trick — far from it. He had noticed that man's every move from the very beginning.
Even the supposedly secret distress signal the captain sent out had been caught by Nozomi's telepathy, word for word.
"Sachi and Chakra... two of the Rocket Team's Three Beasts, huh?"
The Three Beasts of Team Rocket — a trio of top-tier enforcers said to rival even the organization's Four Elites in raw power.
Nozomi knew a thing or two about these two. Both were formidable opponents.
Sachi wasn't much of a concern; with Lorelei backing him up, Nozomi had little to fear.
Chakra, however, was another story. According to intelligence, Chakra specialized in using Forretress, whose go-to move was Explosion. If that lunatic decided to blow up the ship in desperation, things could get ugly fast.
Nozomi would have to come up with a specific countermeasure later.
For now, though, his attention remained on the enemies before him.
"Another small fry. Let's deal with him quickly."
He glanced at the Rocket captain who sneered coldly at him — and couldn't even muster the interest to take him seriously.
This setup is pathetic, Nozomi thought. Just one captain stationed on the entire S.S. Anne? At least send a mid-level executive. Do they think I'm not worth the effort?
Of course, if Giovanni heard that, he'd probably explode in fury.
Did Nozomi think Rocket executives grew on trees? The men on the ship were more than enough to handle most Trainers or even a few League Investigators. How could anyone have predicted that he would show up here of all places?
"But since they've already sent the signal for help, I suppose these grunts are useless now."
Nozomi looked down at the chaos below — panicked passengers fleeing in every direction while a massive Steelix rampaged through the crowd.
These Rocket fools had released their Pokémon carelessly, turning the cargo hold into total bedlam — the perfect battlefield for Steelix.
Any Pokémon capable of seriously hurting Steelix couldn't use large-scale attacks without risking friendly fire, and single-target moves were easily dodged.
Even when an attack connected, Steelix simply shrugged it off as if swatted by a feather.
Seeing this, Nozomi knew it was time to clean house. The real battle would come later — he had to clear out these small fry first.
With a snap of his fingers, he gave his command.
"Metagross — Psychic!"
"Steelix — Iron Tail!"
At his order, the Metagross that had been shielding him with Light Screen suddenly surged forward.
"Metagross!"
"Wha— a pseudo-legendary!?" someone screamed.
The already battered Rockets collectively went pale. One Steelix was hard enough to deal with — but now a Metagross too? How were they supposed to fight that?
Time waits for no one — not even for those drowning in despair.
In an instant, Metagross's immense telekinetic force swept across the entire hold, seizing Trainers and Pokémon alike in its crushing grip.
"Ugh— my head!""It's Psychic! Find a Psychic-type to counter it!"
But their Psychic-types were suffering just the same, pinned under the same mental pressure.
Meanwhile, Steelix's Iron Tail lashed through the crowd with unstoppable force.
Each swing sent three or four people or Pokémon flying; under the combined assault of Psychic and Iron Tail, the Rockets were completely helpless.
Their minds were being crushed, their bodies battered — a double dose of agony that left them writhing on the floor.
Within ten minutes, not a single Rocket remained standing. Every one of them had been flattened by Steelix and Metagross.
"Having terrain advantage really makes a difference."
Nozomi gave himself an approving nod. Choosing to fight in the cargo hold had been a brilliant move.
In a cramped space like this, the Rockets' numerical advantage was useless — it only trapped them together, turning their strength into a liability.
The equipment around them, which the Rockets valued highly, also restricted their movements. Nozomi, on the other hand, could attack freely without restraint.
He sent out Leafeon and Ivysaur to assist. Under Metagross's supervision, they tied up the unconscious Rockets one by one — and for the ones still conscious, a quick tap from Leafeon's Vine Whip ensured cooperation before binding them as well.
With the cleanup done, Nozomi began preparing for his next challenge — facing Sachi and Chakra, two of the Three Beasts.
While Nozomi was wrapping things up, Gary outside was nearly bursting with curiosity.
"What on earth is happening in there?"
It had been over twenty minutes since Team Rocket charged into the cargo bay. Even the two guards who'd been stationed outside had gone in to help.
Now the noise inside had gone silent.
Gary's heart itched like a Meowth with fleas. Who won? The Rockets or that mysterious Trainer?
After pacing nervously for several minutes, he couldn't take it anymore.
"I'll just take a peek. If the Rockets haven't come out yet, they must be up to something. I'll just look through the crack — just to see what they're doing."
Convincing himself, Gary crept up to the cargo door, pushing it open ever so slightly.
And then — his eyes went wide in shock.
"Wha— they're all down!? Every Rocket's been wiped out!?"
All around, unconscious Rockets and their defeated Pokémon littered the floor.
Who could possibly have done this!?
To take down this many Rockets at once — just how powerful was that Trainer? The thought alone made Gary shiver.
Pushing the door open a bit wider, he caught sight of the Trainer rounding up the captives.
"Nozomi!? It's you!?"
Gary's voice broke through the silence.
"Hm? Gary? What are you doing here?"
Nozomi looked equally surprised — then chuckled.
"I followed these Rockets down here to see what they were plotting, but I didn't expect…"
Gary's eyes darted over the fallen Rockets.
"Did you do all this?"
"Of course. Why? Feeling a little awestruck?" Nozomi teased.
"Tch— who'd be impressed by you?" Gary huffed, then paused before asking seriously:"But really, Nozomi — what were these Rockets doing here? Why are there so many of them on the S.S. Anne?"