Chapter 39: Saffron City and the Underflow of Team Rocket
The road from Lavender Town to Saffron City was smooth and unobstructed. Because of that, Ash and his two companions encountered no trouble along the way, and after riding for just over two hours, they finally reached their destination.
The only reason it took that long was because Ash insisted on stopping to duel every psychic wandering along the roadside.
In truth, Ash wasn't entirely at fault.
These psychics were being… incredibly annoying.
They just had to show off by bending spoons with psychic power in front of Ash.
It made Ash's second-hand embarrassment flare so hard that he simply reached out and crushed the spoon into a metal ball.
"You—you—you… This is an insult to psychic abilities! I challenge you!"
Ash looked at the psychic, whose face had gone red-hot with anger, and smiled provocatively.
"Come on~ I was waiting for you to say that."
As a prelude to challenging Saffron Gym, getting used to psychic-type fights was absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, since the entire city revolved around psychic power, there were plenty of psychics around.
Ash had his Pokémon spar with every single one of them.
Of course, these challengers were nothing like Sabrina.
Barely better than nothing.
Some even got so mad when they lost that they tried to draw a curse circle against Ash.
Ash didn't tolerate that kind of behavior.
He slapped the guy twice.
"Are you crazy? What, am I feeding you for free?"
"Uuuu—"
The psychic held his face, tossed Ash some pocket money, and teleported away instantly.
"Tsk… he can even teleport."
Sorrel watched in astonishment.
Not because teleportation was rare, but because someone who could teleport somehow failed to dodge Ash's slap.
Was that a surprise attack skill!?
Sorrel stroked his chin and nodded.
"As expected… Ash himself might be the strongest Pokémon."
After passing through city security and officially stepping into Saffron City, Ash immediately felt his skin tighten.
"Tch…"
His Aura Sense had run headfirst into the psychic presence covering the entire city.
"When I get the chance, I have to learn some kind of aura-protection technique…" Ash muttered.
This was Kanto's biggest and most prosperous metropolis.
Just entering, the three were hit with visual overload.
Towering skyscrapers everywhere, the glittering steel jungle, and the endless flow of vehicles across crowded streets and alleys.
"Ash, where do we go next?" Souji asked uncertainly.
Ash scratched his head.
"Uh… maybe find a local to ask?"
Sorrel and Verity froze, then nodded seriously.
After squatting by the roadside for half a day, Ash gave up.
Not a single Officer Jenny in sight.
Isn't the saying: "When in trouble, ask the police"?
In the end, the three abandoned hope and entered a café to drink milk tea instead.
The waitress was extremely helpful.
With a map in hand, she pointed everything out—Pokémon Center, Gym, the nearly-bankrupt Fighting Dojo—everything was clear.
"Actually, roads in Saffron City are easy to navigate."
She pointed at the central commercial district.
"See this? Silph Co.'s skyscraper. It's the tallest building in the whole city. As long as you use it as a reference point, you'll never get lost."
"Ohhh~ You learn something new every day…"
The three nodded adorably.
After finishing their drinks, the trio prepared to head to the Pokémon Center.
Check in first, then train, then challenge in peak condition.
Sorrel and Verity had no objections.
"Then let's find Silph Co. first. That way we won't lose our sense of direction." Sorrel suggested.
Ash nodded.
"Sounds good~"
"I heard there's a department store near there too. After Ash finishes his match, we can go shopping." Verity added.
While chatting, the three walked toward the tallest building.
"Don't run!"
"Get back here, you wench! I'll break your legs!"
As they reached a narrow alley, a terrified woman ran straight toward them.
Her office attire was torn to shreds, and the black stockings on her legs were full of holes.
"Holy crap! A kidnapping assault!" Verity shouted.
"Are you blind? Look at the outfits of the people chasing her!" Sorrel took out a Poké Ball and commented.
"It's Team Rocket!"
Ash's expression hardened instantly.
Unlike Jessie, James, and Meowth, the other Rocket members weren't harmless at all.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Ash didn't hesitate for a moment.
"Pika—CHU!!"
Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder, curled midair, and released a blinding bolt of electricity.
Crackle—!
The thick pillar of lightning struck the Rocket grunts behind the woman.
The men screamed and immediately collapsed.
"Are you alright?"
Verity rushed forward and caught the woman before she fell.
"Haa… I'm alright. Thank you so much."
The woman looked at Ash—and froze.
Then, as if making a decision, she bowed deeply.
"Please… Please help me!"
Ash scratched his head.
Oh ho?
A side quest triggered?
Naturally, they couldn't leave a woman alone in a dangerous alley.
Ash suggested, "Why don't we talk at the Pokémon Center?"
The woman shook her pale head.
"No. It's not safe there. The police force of Saffron City has been completely lured away by Team Rocket. There are Rocket informants in the Pokémon Center too. We can't go!"
"I see… No wonder we haven't seen any Officer Jenny on the way. Team Rocket diverted them."
Sorrel slapped his forehead.
Ash frowned deeply.
Ever since being crushed by Red, Team Rocket had been much quieter.
To take such a huge risk and cause such a commotion now—what were they after?
"Let's go to the park. It's not far from here, and the woods have places to hide."
The woman looked at Ash pleadingly.
"What do you think?" Sorrel asked Ash.
Ash nodded.
"We've run into it already—no way we're ignoring this. Let's go."
After weaving through several turns, they arrived at a quiet wooded area.
The woman sat on a tree stump and slowly explained everything.
She was Natsuko, the secretary of the CEO of Silph Co., and she had escaped from the company building.
The reason she escaped was simple:
Silph Co. had been infiltrated by Team Rocket—again.
Hearing that, Ash felt secondhand embarrassment for Silph Co.
Kanto's number-one megacorporation… being taken over by Team Rocket twice?
What kind of masochists were they?
Why keep becoming Giovanni's plaything!?
"This happened before, right? Why didn't you upgrade your security?"
Ash asked speechlessly.
"Uh… because the Chairman said Team Rocket's spine was completely shattered by that legendary trainer… that they couldn't possibly revive. Also, hiring powerful trainer-security costs a lot, so… the company didn't maintain that level anymore…"
Natsuko explained, cheeks flushing in shame.
Maybe the Chairman never expected Giovanni to make a comeback.
He secretly instructed her to escape through the office's hidden elevator and report it to the authorities.
Chairman:
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ Hurry—go get the Battler—!
"And then I discovered… the city's entire police system is basically empty."
Natsuko sighed.
"Then why not look for the Gym Leader?" Haruko asked.
"Sabrina once joined Team Rocket. I cannot trust her."
Natsuko shook her head.
Ash raised an eyebrow.
No wonder the psychic queen didn't crush the Rockets despite the commotion.
With that reputation, even he wouldn't get involved…
"So, why did Team Rocket occupy Silph Co. again?" Ash asked the key question.
Natsuko hesitated for a long moment.
Her lips moved, but no words came out.
"If you don't tell us the truth, we won't be able to help you."
Ash said seriously.
Natsuko took a deep breath, steeled herself, and finally spoke.
"Alright… Actually, Team Rocket is after—"
To be continued…
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〔TL〕
Every 100 powerstones = 2 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.