Chakra's mood was extremely complicated.
On one hand, he was seething with anger over his Skarmory's defeat; on the other, he was filled with regret—he shouldn't have ignored Sachi's advice.
He had thought that by going all out, he could easily take down Nozomi first and then team up with Sachi to defeat Lorelei, completing the mission effortlessly.
But the first step of his plan had already failed.
For this mission, he had brought only Steelix, Skarmory, and a swarm of Forretress.
Among them, Skarmory had been one of his main assets. Losing it drastically weakened him, and being inside the ship's cabin meant his signature Self-Destruct attacks couldn't be deployed on a large scale.
Now, defeating Nozomi and Lorelei was no longer realistic.
"Sachi, retreat!"
Judging the situation, Chakra shouted to Sachi.
"…"
Sachi shot him a look, wanting to curse.
Why wait until now? If they had retreated earlier, they could have left easily. Now, the difficulty of escaping had increased tenfold.
Before, with Chakra's Skarmory intact, they could have flown out directly on Skarmory and Crobat.
Now, the only flying Pokémon at Chakra's disposal was Forretress.
Though Forretress could float in the air, carrying humans across the sea was obviously impossible.
Worse yet, Lorelei had already zeroed in on Sachi!
When Lorelei noticed Chakra and Sachi preparing to retreat, she responded immediately.
"Jynx, Sweet Kiss! Kabutops, Ice Beam! Seal the wall behind them!"
Sweet Kiss was Jynx's control-type move, putting opponents to sleep through a terrifying kiss.
The purpose of Ice Beam was even more obvious: to trap Sachi and Chakra here!
"Damn it! You go first—I'll cover our retreat!"
Chakra gritted his teeth and shouted to Sachi.
If both of them ran together, Nozomi and Lorelei would inevitably chase. If they tried to fight while retreating, the Kanto League trainers on deck would corner them, making escape impossible.
One of them had to stay behind.
As the trainer with a self-destruct strategy, Chakra was clearly the best choice.
He knew this well, which was why he told Sachi to leave immediately.
Sachi hesitated, but she knew there was no time to waste. Facing a real Elite Four member like Lorelei, even Pokémon at full health had to be approached with caution. Delay any longer, and escape would be impossible.
Steelix moved first.
With a sweep of its tail, it shattered the ice wall. Sachi, carried by Crobat, shot through the gap at breakneck speed.
Chakra didn't rush. He glanced at Nozomi, sneered, and tossed two Poké Balls:
"Try these!"
Bang! Bang!
Two red-and-white Forretress appeared in the cabin.
"Explosion!"
Chakra commanded, then sprinted.
As an expert in demolition, he knew that the combined power of two Forretress using Explosion could blow the entire cargo hold of the S.S. Anne apart.
Once the hold flooded, it would hinder Nozomi and Lorelei's pursuit and leave them trapped!
"Enjoy your victory for now! Let's see if you can survive the sinking of the S.S. Anne first!"
Chakra even planned to sink the S.S. Anne with Forretress after escaping the hold—revenge against the League's ambush and a way to destroy production lines. Salvaging them later with Giovanni's submarine could recover some losses.
The thought made Chakra feel a dark thrill.
But reality was harsh.
After a few steps, Chakra noticed something was wrong.
Why weren't the Forretress detonating?
Panicking, he turned to look.
One Forretress was staring blankly, hypnotized; the other was pinned under Metagross' iron arms, spinning its eyes in confusion—completely incapacitated.
"Damn it!" Chakra's face paled as he hurried for another Poké Ball, still hoping to deploy a Forretress.
But Nozomi and Lorelei wouldn't give him the chance.
"Lorelei!"
Nozomi called out.
Lorelei nodded. With a wave of her hand, Jynx's eyes glowed blue, and Chakra's limbs were immediately ensnared by invisible Psychic power.
"Forretress!"
Chakra called to the Forretress beneath him.
The Forretress fired Mirror Shot at Jynx, temporarily freeing Chakra—but before he could relax, a Vine Whip lashed at his body from the side.
Crack!
Two whips struck his wrists and stomach.
The heavy impact bent him over like a shrimp, his face twisted in pain.
The Poké Ball in his hand flew from his grip.
"Forretress!"
Chakra tried to push through the pain and struggle.
Steelix, seeing this, struck the Forretress attempting to help its trainer with a tail sweep, knocking it unconscious, then wrapped Chakra in its coils, extinguishing his last hope of escape.
"Ivysaur, Leech Seed!"
Nozomi didn't dare underestimate Chakra, one of Team Rocket's "Three Beast Masters." He ordered Ivysaur to plant another Leech Seed.
Watching Chakra bound by the growing vines, Nozomi finally relaxed.
"Got him!"
Together with Lorelei, he had set a trap for Chakra. After an intense fight, he had captured one of the Three Beast Masters.
Sachi had still escaped.
"As expected of a high-ranking Team Rocket operative—difficult to deal with," Nozomi muttered. He rifled through Chakra's Poké Balls, then had Gastly use Hypnosis, finally easing his mind.
Steelix continued to battle; while Nozomi's Steelix hadn't defeated the opponent, Chakra's Steelix was completely restrained, soon to be rendered powerless.
"Gary, he's yours to watch. Ivysaur, Gastly, you two assist him along with Steelix."
Without waiting for a response, Nozomi turned to Lorelei:
"Lorelei, let's go after Sachi!"
"Understood!"
TL: Hey everyone, i'm thinking of continuing the novel of One Piece: Trainers on the Straw Hat Pirates that CosmicKaminari was doing but he dropped. if you would like to see it post a comment.