Theoretically speaking, as the most developed city in the entire Kanto region, Saffron City's security shouldn't be this poor.
But the reality is... reality is just a ragtag troupe; previously, everyone relied too much on Sabrina.
Even Silph Co. was the same.
Because of Sabrina's existence, everyone relaxed their vigilance regarding security.
Now that Sabrina suddenly skipped work.
Smart people definitely know they need to patch up past loopholes.
But patching them up isn't that fast, so Team Rocket caught the opportunity.
The night sky of Saffron City was like a slowly descending dark blue velvet cloth, shrouding the Silph Co. headquarters building in an atmosphere of solemn killing.
For Saffron City and Silph Co., this was a sudden emergency.
But for Team Rocket, it was a long-planned scheme.
Back when Ash was still in Cerulean City, Team Rocket had already wanted to do this.
The brilliant city neon lights flickered in the distance, yet they couldn't shine into this area isolated by an invisible force field at all.
Silph Co. is not just a building, but also the surrounding campus.
Generally, few people come inside the company.
The sweet and fishy smell permeating the air became increasingly heavy; it was a bizarre scent mixed with tension, malice, and residual Psychic power.
This was the smell of danger.
Wearing that mask, Vicious's gaze flickered uncertainly behind the red lenses.
He truly didn't intend to start a full-scale war here, in the core area of Saffron City where Sabrina had just left not long ago.
That would be no different from seeking his own death.
Vicious's goal was not for Team Rocket's grand blueprint, nor for Malamar's ambition, and certainly not to fulfill Cross's pitiful desire for revenge, but solely for himself.
He was testing Marshadow's behavioral patterns, testing the power of the new pawn in his hand, and paving the way for his subsequent true plans.
As for the Rainbow Wing given by Giovanni that Malamar said was in Ash's hands... Hehehehe...
Even if he wanted to snatch it, he couldn't do it so openly.
If he really snatched it, he would be taken out by Giovanni.
Vicious was currently only a Team Rocket Supreme Executive, not the Team Rocket Leader.
Anxious?
He wasn't anxious at all.
This operation was just to slightly test the strength of Ash's trio.
As for whether to actually act in the end, that was another matter entirely.
When the risk outweighs the benefit, then the action should be terminated.
"Roar—!"
Facing Misty's Gyarados, which radiated majestic water vapor and pressure, and Brock's Onix, guarding the front like a rock fortress, the corners of Vicious's mouth hooked up into a cold arc.
No matter what, he was a Team Rocket Supreme Executive.
Even if his strength couldn't compare to those strongest ones, it wouldn't be too bad.
He still possessed the strength of an ordinary Gym Leader... Uh... actually, whether he could win against [Full Power Brock] was hard to say.
After all, truly capable Trainers didn't need to join Team Rocket... just like Lt. Surge and Sabrina, they were merely Team Rocket's collaborators.
Vicious raised his hand and took off a jet-black, oddly styled Poké Ball from his chest, then tossed it high.
This was the special Dark Ball.
"Come out and exercise a bit, Tyranitar!"
The Dark Ball snapped open in mid-air.
What was released was not the usual white light, but a surge of dark energy thick as ink, carrying an ominous aura.
At the core of the energy, a massive silhouette expanded rapidly, finally landing with a crash!
"Boom!!!"
The ground trembled violently, and cracks spread out from the landing point.
A Tyranitar, whose size far exceeded its kin, appeared before everyone's eyes; its height was close to five meters, like a moving small mountain.
Its armor presented an unhealthy dark gray color, covered with twisted dark red patterns.
Tyranitar's eyes were crimson as blood, containing only pure violence and a desire for destruction. Saliva dripped from its massive jaw, corroding the ground and making "sizzle" sounds.
The power of the Dark Ball had stimulated the ferocity in its bones to the extreme, turning it into a monster that knew only destruction.
"Tyranitar, Stone Edge!"
Vicious's voice came through the mask, carrying a trace of excited trembling.
"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Misty showed no weakness.
"Onix, Double-Edge!" Brock commanded steadily, intending to create an opportunity for the Hydro Pump.
The battle erupted instantly, its intensity far exceeding the ordinary!
Tyranitar roared.
Ground-type energy surged violently around its body. Countless sharp stone pillars the size of millstones burst out of the ground like living things, carrying a whistling sound that tore through the air, covering Gyarados and Onix in a fan shape.
Gyarados's thick Hydro Pump bombarded the stone pillars, blasting open a sky full of water mist and crushed stones, yet it could not completely block this attack of huge range.
Quite a few stone pillars slammed ruthlessly onto Gyarados's blue scales, emitting dull loud noises and leaving streaks of white marks.
And Onix's Double-Edge collided solidly with Tyranitar!
Boom—!!!
Like two high-speed trains colliding head-on.
A visible shockwave spread in a ring, flipping over some surrounding Team Rocket members who were caught off guard.
Onix's massive rock body, in the frontal contest of strength against Dark Tyranitar, was actually shaken back by that terrifying power, sliding backward forcefully, with fine cracks appearing on its rock armor.
Finally, amidst a tooth-aching friction sound, it was ruthlessly slapped away by Tyranitar with a heavy claw wrapped in Dark-type energy.
Onix crashed into a distant green belt like a kite with a broken string, crushing a patch of shrubbery.
Although Vicious was not famous for powerful strength, he was at least at the level of an ordinary Gym Leader.
"Onix!" Brock couldn't help but clench his fist... If not for this being the city center, he would have smashed Vicious's head in.
"No good, no signal!" Ash held the Pokédex in his hand.
He had attempted to contact the outside world for help earlier.
However, the bright red "No Signal" indicator at the top of the screen was completely expected.
The opponent was fully prepared and had thoroughly shielded the communications in this area.
No wonder Silph Co. showed no abnormalities.
"Ash, Misty! Let's go!" Brock decided promptly, grabbing Ash who was still a bit unwilling.
"Staying here will only make us a burden to them!"
"It might be difficult for Onix and Gyarados to win against that Tyranitar, but if they want to escape on their own, that Tyranitar can't stop them!"
Brock saw it clearly.
Although Tyranitar's strength was great, speed was not its strong suit.
And it seemed its mind was affected by something; its attacks were fierce but lacked agility.
It lacked the rationality most important in high-end battles.
Onix excels at Dig, and Gyarados can fly or enter water. As long as they don't have these Trainers as clear targets and liabilities, their chances of escaping are very high.
In wild battles, the Trainer is the biggest weakness.
Simply put, now is not the time to fight to the death.
After all, neither Brock nor Misty could go all out in the city center... besides their Gym Leader main forces, they also carried other second-string and third-string Pokémon.
Good people are always tied down.
Misty instantly understood Brock's meaning: "Gyarados, cover us! Then find a chance to retreat on your own!"
Gyarados let out a deafening roar.
Water currents surrounded its body, and its huge tail, carrying the force of a thousand jun of flowing water, swept across, temporarily forcing back the Tyranitar that wanted to pursue, creating a narrow breakout path for Ash's trio.
"Want to run? Not that easy!" Vicious snorted coldly, waving his hand to order, "Catch them! Don't let them leave the park perimeter!"
Vicious actually didn't intend to fight to the death with Brock and Misty either.
After all, these two were Gym Leaders.
Even if they ascended to the position by inheritance, not by their own strength, it was still so.
If he really forced these two to stay and fight to the death, Vicious truly felt he might not win... besides their Gym Leader main forces, the opponents definitely carried other Pokémon.
...So let the subordinate cannon fodder go up.
Instantly, dozens of Team Rocket members, like sharks smelling blood, released their Pokémon one after another.
Rattata, Arbok, Weezing, Zubat... all kinds of Pokémon converged into a motley flood, roaring and surging from all directions, attempting to re-encircle the trio.
Vicious's prestige within Team Rocket was still very high.
Regardless of what he thought inwardly.
When he did things, he generally took on the difficult problems himself... anyway, it was useless for ordinary cannon fodder members to go up.
Benefits were shared with subordinates... he was too lazy to want some junk profits, so he distributed them directly.
"Misdreavus, Screech! Create illusions to interfere with them!" Ash shouted urgently.
There were too many enemies on the opposite side; they couldn't fight hard.
"Maa—!!!" Misdreavus hovered into mid-air, emitting a sharp shriek loud enough to pierce eardrums. Invisible sound waves drilled into the minds of those Pokémon and Team Rocket members like sharp thorns, causing their movements to stagnate instantly.
At the same time, Misdreavus's eyes bloomed with ghostly blue light. Dense Ghost-type energy spread out, creating layer upon layer of phantoms before the pursuers' eyes—sometimes the ground collapsed, sometimes flames ignited out of thin air, and sometimes multiple clones of Ash's trio appeared fleeing in different directions.
This indeed had an effect. Many Team Rocket members and their Pokémon fell into confusion, crashing into each other, and even attacking the illusions.
After all, the more people there were, the more they had to worry about hurting teammates.
Having many people has its advantages.
Having many people also has its disadvantages.
Ash's trio could attack at will, but Team Rocket couldn't.
Compared to other evil organizations, Team Rocket was too formal.
Once non-essential personnel loss was caused during an operation, even Team Rocket members would have to write reviews and get criticized when they went back...
Who knows what mentality Giovanni had to come up with such regulations.
...In short, for Team Rocket members, Team Rocket's regulations were actually quite abstract.
...And these abstract regulations indeed kept Team Rocket's overall image from being too atrocious.
As individuals, their bottom line might be low.
But as an organization, the bottom line was relatively high.
—Regardless of how many bad things were done in private.
—But when acting externally, unnecessary destruction was still prohibited.
However, even so.
The number of enemies was still too great.
Misdreavus's illusions and sound wave interference had limited range and couldn't cover all directions.
New Pokémon constantly broke through the interference, roaring as they closed in.
Pikachu exerted all its strength, the electric sacs on its cheeks flashing wildly. Bolts of "Thunder Shock" lashed out like golden whips at the approaching enemies, scorching several Rattata and Zubat rushing at the front until they fell black and charred.
But its electricity consumption was huge, and its attack frequency obviously slowed down.
Ash didn't release Pidgeotto, Gyarados, and Charmeleon.
Now they were being mobbed; what mattered was escaping.
Even though Pidgeotto flies fast, once caught by a large number of Zubat, it would be done for.
Charmeleon wouldn't work either; this was purely due to strength and compatibility.
Pokémon known as the starters all have the characteristic of fast evolution and stable strength... but this also means that before evolving to the final stage, their strength really isn't that great.
Once they evolve to the Charizard stage, their strength will skyrocket.
This point is the same for Venusaur and Blastoise.
Gyarados was also a problem; its size was too large and it would be treated as a target.
Otherwise, whether it was Pidgeotto or Gyarados, they could be taken out by focused fire.
Pidgeotto can dodge one Pokémon's attack, but how can it dodge the Supersonic waves of dozens of Zubat?
That's enough to cover a patch of the sky.
Fighting towards the sky means no worry about accidental injury to friendly forces.
The situation with Gyarados is the same.
With such a big target as Gyarados, Team Rocket wouldn't have to worry about accidentally injuring friendly forces when fighting.
What is important now is agility, and the three targets must be small enough.
So Brock and Misty didn't release all their Pokémon to start a full-scale confrontation with Team Rocket.
The more Pokémon released, the more troublesome it is to escape.
"Puu puu puu—"
Misty sat on Starmie, and Starmie constantly spat bubbles.
Although this move isn't powerful, it can make the ground slippery.
In short, it creates trouble for the pursuing Team Rocket members.
Many times, some moves look like they don't have much use and lack destructive power.
Then why can they still be passed down?
Of course, it's because their functionality is good.
Fighting and retreating, relying on Misdreavus's interference, Pikachu's electric shocks, and Starmie's bubbles, the trio moved quickly toward the edge of the Silph campus.
Seeing that the street symbolizing freedom was not far away, hope seemed within reach.
____
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