"Cubone! Cubone!"
Cubone swung the bone club that was practically bigger than its own body, turning around to protest Ash's nonsense from earlier.
"What's wrong, Cubone?" Ash laughed.
"Are you cheering for my righteous behavior?"
In Ash's mind, things were simple.
Humans were good.
Ghosts were evil.
As for that mass of black energy—it was practically glowing red with resentment. One look and you could tell it was an extremely malicious spirit.
But when Lambda and his subordinate Xiao Hei finally turned around fully, Ash's expression changed. His brows furrowed as he immediately pointed the paper fan at them instead.
The large purple-red "R" emblazoned on their chests said everything.
Team Rocket.
That changed the conclusion instantly.
No matter what kind of demon or ghost stood on the other side—
if Team Rocket was opposing it, then Team Rocket was definitely the villain, and whatever they were fighting automatically became the righteous side.
Honestly… wasn't Team Rocket a bit too common in Kanto?
You could probably close your eyes, throw a rock anywhere in the region, and have a decent chance of hitting a Team Rocket member.
"Hey, brat," Lambda sneered, stroking his purple goatee,
"who are you? Waving around a broken fan—trying to cool me off?"
That paper fan was only effective against ghosts or Ghost-type Pokémon. Against normal people, it wasn't even good for ventilation.
A rookie Trainer?
One Cubone?
"Huh… wait a second," Lambda added, glancing at Cubone,
"isn't this the one that got away?"
He then looked past Ash—toward the Ghost Marowak—and a playful smile crept onto his face.
When the ghostly Marowak sensed Cubone, its aura immediately destabilized, confirming Lambda's suspicion.
Lambda flicked his hand casually.
"Since it's leftover trash, let's deal with it together.
Golbat—use Air Cutter."
"Skreee!"
This Golbat was clearly high-level. Its wings spun in a full circle, generating two massive blades of compressed air, slicing through the atmosphere and shooting off in opposite directions.
"Marooowak!"
The Ghost Marowak tried to rush forward to protect Cubone—but one of the wind blades blocked its path. Forced to change tactics, it raised its bone club horizontally, barely managing to withstand the attack.
Powerless.
All it could do was watch as the other blade tore straight toward Cubone.
On the other side, the small Cubone froze.
It was still just a baby Pokémon—
the kind that could be knocked out by a single kick.
The blade was already upon it!
"Charmander—use Flamethrower!"
At the critical moment, a low command rang out.
A blazing pillar of fire shot forward, detonating the Air Cutter midair.
The flames scattered like sparks as a figure stepped in front of Cubone, adjusting his cap with confidence.
At his side stood a small orange lizard Pokémon, its tail flame roaring fiercely.
"Well done, Charmander."
Ash grinned proudly and reached out to pat Charmander's round head—
Only for Charmander to tilt its head aside and dodge.
Ash didn't think much of it, chalking it up to teenage Pokémon rebellion.
Lambda, however, was now openly furious.
A terrifying aura of authority poured off him as he snarled,
"Kid. Are you looking for death?"
Ash straightened his back and replied calmly,
"Hey, don't glare at me like that. I recognize you."
Lambda paused.
His brow relaxed slightly as curiosity replaced his immediate killing intent.
"Oh?"
"Then tell me—who do you think I am?"
High-ranking Team Rocket members rarely used their real names. Most operated under aliases.
Apollo, for example, often used the name Boros while committing armed robberies and worse.
Only low-ranking grunts liked flashy self-introductions.
In fact, Team Rocket was currently undergoing internal reforms—anyone caught being overly theatrical would be kicked out of the organization.
Ash half-squinted, sizing Lambda up from head to toe. Then he raised the paper fan to cover half his face, speaking mysteriously.
"Oh, I heard this from a guy named Apollo," Ash said.
"He mentioned that his company had a gatekeeper—an old man who insists on dyeing his hair purple."
"And the weirdest part?"
"He even dyed his beard."
"Hehehe… that wouldn't be you, would it—Lambda?"
Lambda: "!!!"
Lambda's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
What had started as idle amusement instantly turned deadly serious.
His codename—spoken aloud by a rookie Trainer?
The playful expression vanished, replaced by cold, murderous intent.
If this kid knew his name—
Then there was only one ending.
"Pick a grave," Lambda said flatly.
He might look down on Apollo, but they were both core executives. There was no way he'd let such sensitive information leak to an outsider.
This kid had probably just gotten lucky and overheard something.
Trying to sow discord between them?
Low-level tactics.
And besides—
His purple hair was natural.
Even his armpit hair and—well—everything was purple.
Calling his beard dyed was unforgivable.
Ash wasn't done.
"I also remember Apollo mentioning that your real ace isn't Golbat," he added casually.
"It's actually a Crobat, right?"
Lambda: "?"
Damn it.
Was Apollo really that stupid—leaking everything?
Lambda snorted coldly.
Still, it didn't matter.
His true secret—
the one even Giovanni didn't know—remained intact.
Everything else could be exposed, and it wouldn't change the outcome.
He stared at Ash like prey.
Regardless of whether this kid really had connections to Apollo—
He couldn't be allowed to live.
Ash: "…"
Seeing Golbat begin charging another attack, Ash felt a bead of sweat roll down his face.
He wasn't nearly as calm as he looked.
Back on the S.S. Anne's lifeboat, Apollo had once drunk with him.
Why the man had been so friendly, Ash never understood—but a drunk Apollo had indeed spilled a lot about Rainbow Group and Team Rocket.
Infighting in criminal organizations wasn't surprising.
For example—
Team Rocket had four core executives, each capable of matching an Elite Four member.
Apollo had even admitted he was the weakest of the four.
Elite Four might not seem that impressive to Ash mentally anymore—
But actually fighting one?
His head would be bigger than a Squirtle's shell.
And this Golbat—clearly not even Lambda's ace—was already terrifying.
So what about the Crobat he'd never even seen?
According to Apollo, the other two executives were manageable—but Lambda was the most troublesome of all.
He carried a massive secret.
A secret that guaranteed victory no matter how desperate the situation became.
Ash had thought exposing Lambda would scare him off.
Instead, he'd pushed himself into a dead end.
He'd even told Red earlier—
Unless it was truly life or death, Red shouldn't interfere.
Without the crucible of life-and-death battles, how could one become the strongest Trainer?
How could one become a Pokémon Master?
"…Why do I always make things harder for myself?" Ash wanted to slap himself.
Damn it.
Then let's do this.
Ash shook his head, took a deep breath, and his eyes ignited with fighting spirit.
He hadn't relied on Red to defeat Zapdos.
That meant—even against a Team Rocket executive—
he had a chance.
He didn't believe Lambda's "secret" was powerful enough to overturn everything.
Stay calm.
I can win.
Ash quickly pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at Golbat.
First encounter—might as well check for weaknesses.
"Beep. Golbat, the Bat Pokémon.
Because it longed for large eyes as a Zubat, it evolved and gained them.
Extremely dangerous. Not suitable for consumption."
The Pokédex droned on.
Ash frowned.
"Useless, as always."
As his arm lowered, the Pokédex's scanner accidentally swept over Lambda.
It beeped again.
"Beep. Lambda (False).
Team Rocket member. Codename: Xiao Hei.
A substitute puppet used by Lambda."
Ash: "?"
Lambda: "?"
Ash rubbed his temples.
Is my Pokédex broken?
He redirected the scanner toward the grunt behind Lambda—the one with his head bowed, face hidden by a black cap.
"Beep. Lambda (True).
Team Rocket core executive.
One of the future successors of the global criminal enterprise Team Rocket.
A master of disguise—prefers to impersonate subordinates while using puppets to pose as himself, thereby avoiding all misfortune."
The Pokédex finished calmly.
Lambda: "!!!"
The grunt—Xiao Hei—jerked his head up, disbelief written all over his face.
A secret he'd hidden for ten years—
Exposed just like that?
Ash slowly lowered the Pokédex, satisfied.
So I didn't waste all that sunlight feeding you, huh.
Steam practically hissed from Ash's nostrils as he squared his shoulders, completely opposite to Lambda's stunned expression.
The battlefield—
Suddenly felt very clear.
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