Long-lost People in Memory

The previously unconscious Windy finally regained consciousness thanks to the full efforts of Chimecho and Bellossom's healing.

"What happened? Am I dreaming?" Windy asked in confusion upon seeing Chimecho hovering in front of him. Internally, he thought, Am I seeing the boss's Chimecho?

Just then, Jessebelle, who was holding him, laughed and cried simultaneously. "You're not dreaming—someone's come to save us!"

Following Jessebelle's pointing finger, Windy saw Yuga, who was confronting Carr and Orm. He shouted exitedly, "Boss!"

His sudden movement pulled at his abdominal wound, making him wince in pain.

Although he was unsure why his boss had shown up here, Windy knew they were saved.

Seeing this, Jessebelle urged him, "Your injuries are severe, so try not to move too much. That person looks very strong—we're definitely going to be okay."

Windy nodded in agreement.

Once Chimecho confirmed that Windy's injuries were no longer life-threatening, it turned around, and together with Bellossom, they went to treat the other members of the Sasaki family.

Meanwhile, Carr and Orm, realizing they were trapped, reluctantly released their Pokémon in a final desperate move against Yuga.

Yuga summoned all his Pokémon, except for Shelgon and Cosmoem, keeping Lapras and Dragonite by his side while sending the others to take down Carr and Orm's subordinates in the confined space.

Noticing Yuga's intentions, Carr and Orm were furious and ordered their Pokémon to attack him.

Despite his large build, Orm used four cute, small Cottonee. However, these Cottonee were unusually vicious and ruthless, far from the typically gentle nature of their species.

The four Cottonee attempted a combined Energy Ball attack directly at Yuga, but Lapras intercepted it with a powerful Water Gun, scattering their attack.

After failing in the first attack, the Cottonee tried again, but Lapras countered with Ice Beam, encasing each Cottonee in ice, which then dropped to the ground with a series of thuds.

The Sasaki family patriarch, who had just been rescued by Chimecho, opened his eyes to see several ice chunks had flying toward him and somehow passed right through his body. Startled, he rolled further away in fright.

Seeing this, Chimecho giggled at the Sasaki family patriarch's foolish reaction.

Windy and Jessebelle who are standing near Yuga, were equally tense.

Dragonite knocked Carr's Skarmory out of the air with a Thunder Punch, sending it crashing to the ground right in front of Windy and Jessebelle, who jumped in fright.

However, they soon realized that, despite being so close to the battle, not a single attack reached them.

Carr's Pokémon included six Forretress and one Skarmory. With Skarmory defeated, the six Forretress encircled Dragonite, spinning at high speed.

Seeing the approaching Forretress, Dragonite clenched its fist and began using Fire Punch, knocking each Forretress out of the air one by one like dumplings into soup.

Although Carr's Forretress was capable of using Explosion and Self-Destruct, he was nothing like the Shadow Triad Yuga had encountered before—Carr valued his life highly. In this situation, if the Forretress used Self-Destruct or Explosion, it wouldn't just be Yuga in danger; he and Orm would also be caught in the blast.

Seeing their Skarmory, Forretress, and Orm's Cottonee all being taken down, Carr broke out in a cold sweat.

For Carr and Orm to become part of Team Rocket's Three Beasts, they were undoubtedly strong. Unfortunately, they were facing a far more formidable opponent.

Carr gritted his teeth and released his strongest Pokémon—two Steelix. Orm followed suit, releasing two Shuckle.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

Two enormous Steelix charged at Yuga from either side. Despite knowing the Steelix couldn't reach her, Jessebelle couldn't help but scream and cover her head as their massive tails swept dangerously close.

Dragonite darted in front of the first Steelix, delivering a Fire Punch directly to its jaw, sending it reeling with a pained cry. The other Steelix was struck by Lapras's Hydro Pump. Despite its massive size and weight, the forceful water blast forced it to retreat.

Just as Lapras and Dragonite prepared to continue their assault, Orm's two Shuckle intervened, using Rock Tomb. Dozens of massive rocks fell from above, trapping both Dragonite and Lapras and halting their movements.

Dragonite smashed through the rocks one by one with punches, shattering them into pieces. Breaking free, Dragonite charged toward Steelix, readying another Fire Punch.

Just then, one of the Shuckle sprang forward, intercepting Dragonite's punch with its sturdy body. Although it was sent flying, its impressive defense left it relatively unharmed.

Lapras, meanwhile, used Surf to wash away the rocks encircling it, intending to attack Steelix, only to be blocked by the second Shuckle.

Frustrated, Lapras's body emitted an intense chill, lowering the temperature sharply within the space.

With a resonant hum, an icy blue aura erupted from Lapras, instantly freezing the nearby Shuckle and Steelix into two ice statues. Lapras had used its one-hit knockout move, Sheer Cold.

However, from within the frozen Steelix, a cracking sound emerged, and in moments, the ice shattered as Steelix broke free. Its Sturdy ability had allowed it to withstand the effects of Sheer Cold, sparing it from a complete knockout.

The Shuckle, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate; its Gluttony ability offered no protection, and it was rendered unable to battle within the ice.

Breaking free, Steelix launched itself at Lapras with Double-Edge. In response, Lapras used Surf to create a water barrier, propelling itself into the sky while Steelix crashed into the water wall.

From above, Lapras unleashed an ice beam, freezing the water barrier along with Steelix within it.

Desperate, Orm secretly released a Girafarig, intending to use Trick Room to support the remaining Steelix and Shuckle. However, the area was already under the influence of Dusknoir's Trick Room, preventing the weak-minded Girafarig from setting up its own Trick Room.

Meanwhile, the Shuckle suddenly shifted tactics, using Power Trick to swap its defense and attack stats, and then launched a full-force Stone Edge at Dragonite.

Steelix seized the opportunity, using Double-Edge to charge at Dragonite.

Dragonite swiftly dodged with Extreme Speed, causing Shuckle's Stone Edge to hit Steelix in the head, making it lurch sideways.

Seizing the moment, Dragonite landed a powerful Fire Punch directly on Steelix's head, knocking it out cold.

Without Steelix, Shuckle was left vulnerable. With its defense swapped to boost its attack, it now had little defense to withstand even a single hit from Dragonite.

With all their Pokémon defeated, Carr and Orm huddled together, trembling in fear.

It wasn't long after Yuga dealt with Carr and Orm that the Pokémon he'd sent out to handle the grunts returned as well. Soon, the area outside the hall was filled with unconscious people, lined up in neat rows.

"Shi… Shimizu Yuga, Team Rocket won't let you get away with this!" Carr's voice shook as he spoke, both angry and terrified at the sight before him.

Team Rocket?

Yuga hadn't expected Carr to reveal his identity, let alone that these people were with Team Rocket. None of them wore uniforms with the Team Rocket emblem, so it was no surprise that Yuga hadn't recognized them.

Actually, it wasn't surprising that Carr would spill his identity; now that they were in Yuga's hands, it was only a matter of time before their identities were forced out, so there was no point in hiding it.

Seeing Yuga ignore him, Carr started cursing again, and Orm joined in.

The grudge between Yuga and Team Rocket went so deep it would take days to explain, so it was no wonder Carr and Orm were furious at him.

Finding them too noisy, Yuga shot a look at Breloom nearby, who understood immediately and landed a punch on each of them, instantly silencing them.

After confirming all the Team Rocket members had been captured, Yuga ordered Gengar and the others to withdraw into the shadow space.

Seeing the Gengar and other Ghost-types vanish into shadows one by one, the Sasaki clan members who had already regained consciousness looked at Yuga with awe and respect, realizing that these Ghost Pokémon had created the barrier separating them from the battlefield!

They had never heard of such an ability.

After withdrawing the space, Yuga walked over to Windy and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; it's all thanks to you, Boss!" Windy replied, getting up from the ground with Jessebelle's help. Then he remembered something and quickly said to Yuga, "They took my Great Flygon and Porygon!"

Hearing this, Yuga replied, "No problem, I'll go look for them."

In a short while, Yuga found the Poké Balls for the Great Flygon and Porygon on Carr. After releasing them to check for injuries and confirming they were not seriously harmed, he returned them to their Poké Balls.

"Take care of things here with the Sasaki family. I'll go find someone to take these people into custody," Yuga said, pointing at the pile of Team Rocket grunts outside.

"Don't worry about it; we'll handle the rest ourselves," Windy responded.

Yuga stepped outside the hall and dialed Joyna's number.

In Kanto, Yuga knew quite a few people, including Joyna, the chief of the Kanto Investigation Bureau.

The former head of the bureau was Lance, but after he transferred to Johto, Joyna took over.

Yuga explained the events that had transpired at the Sasaki estate to Joyna over the phone. Of course, he didn't know all the details, so Joyna would need to send people over to investigate further.

When Yuga returned to the hall, it had already been tidied up, and the other Sasaki family members who had been held captive elsewhere were also rescued.

He even spotted a familiar face: Sasaki Shindou.

The Sasaki family was in complete chaos, overwhelmed with matters to handle, so Shindou merely nodded in greeting at Yuga from afar without approaching for a conversation.

Yuga walked back into the hall to find the head of the Sasaki family, supported by his wife, approaching him with a pale face.

Mrs. Sasaki had been held captive earlier, but Team Rocket hadn't had the chance to interrogate her, so she wasn't hurt.

"Gym Leader Shimizu, we owe you so much this time. On behalf of the Sasaki family, I offer our sincerest gratitude," said the head of the Sasaki family, bowing deeply to Yuga, with Mrs. Sasaki following suit.

Yuga stepped aside to avoid the bow and waved his hand, saying, "It was a coincidence that I was here. Besides, Team Rocket is a menace to society, and it's everyone's duty to fight against criminals."

Yuga then learned from the head of the Sasaki family that Team Rocket had managed to infiltrate and control their family so silently because of an insider—a traitor within their ranks. It turned out that one of the Sasaki family's elders had secretly joined Team Rocket.

Under this elder's scheme, all the capable trainers in the Sasaki family had been neutralized; some were still unconscious even now. Team Rocket's operation had been so covert that no one outside even knew the Sasaki family had been attacked.

It seemed Team Rocket had come to the Sasaki family searching for something, but they had been vague about it. The head of the family truly had no idea what they were looking for.

To find out about it, Team Rocket had even used hypnosis on him. But not knowing meant not knowing—hypnosis was useless.

After listening to the head of Sasaki family's complaints, Mrs. Sasaki suddenly spoke up, "I heard them mention that the item was something Big Brother brought back. Do you think Sister-in-law might know?"

Upon hearing this, the head's face changed, as did Windy's, who was sitting nearby.

Seeing everyone looking at her with puzzled expressions, Mrs. Sasaki sheepishly said, "I was just speculating."

The head of the family sighed and said, "You might have a point."

Listening to their conversation, Yuga fell into thought.

There was only one person the Sasaki couple could refer to as Big Brother—the late father of Windy. So, the sister-in-law they mentioned could only be Windy's father's first wife.

"Windy, do you remember her?" the head of the Sasaki family cautiously asked.

It had been many years since anyone in the Sasaki family dared mention this person.

Windy nodded; of course he remembered. The happiest days of his life in the Sasaki family were the days he'd spent with her.

In his memories, she was an incredibly gentle woman. Thanks to her protection, he'd had a few carefree years within the Sasaki family.

He knew that she was the one who had killed his father, but he didn't hate her for it.

"Would you like to see her again?" the head of the family asked, a complex expression on his face.

His words exploded in Windy's mind. See her? What did he mean?

Yuga raised an eyebrow, too. It seemed that the woman was still alive.

Then again, no one had ever explicitly said she was dead. Windy only remembered her being taken away by people sent by his grandfather, and they never saw each other again, nor had he heard any news about her since.

He had thought that his grandfather…

Windy's grandfather had passed away not long after she disappeared.