A way out

"Hey man... I know we're in the middle of a battle, but the weather's getting really bad, and I've only got one Pokémon left. How about this—I'll let you win, give you the money, and we both go our separate ways. Sound good?"

"No."

"Dude... I don't know why you're so obsessed with winning, but please pay attention to the weather. Lightning has nearly hit us a few times already, so I'm begging you to let me forfeit."

"No."

"W-What?! Man! I'm begging you! I'm ready to kneel here, just let me go! I don't want to get struck by lightning!"

"No."

The trainer desperately tried to plead with Blue, but Blue's face remained blank, while his Wartortle continued punching the Rattata relentlessly.

BOOM!

"OH MY GOD!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE HIT BY LIGHTNING!! WHY DID I CHALLENGE THIS CRAZY GUY?! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!"

BOOM!

Lightning struck right behind Blue, but he wasn't going to let it distract him. The opponent was in front of him; looking away would be disrespectful.

"Hmm?"

Blue noticed a group of police officers gathering, talking to each other urgently.

"Damn it! The people inside still haven't gotten out! What should we do?!"

"Report the names immediately! We need to rescue them!"

"Um... Leaf, Misty, Lt. Surge, Zero2hero? Strange name... Billy."

"READ FASTER!!"

"Oh, yeah, and there's BLAH BLAH BLAH Brock and a boy in a red cap. Those last two apparently went into the power plant without informing us."

'RED?!' (Bruh, Leaf's on the list too—why don't you care about her?)

Blue, hearing this, looked at the battle in front of him and then tossed some money to the trainer.

"Huh?!"

"I forfeit. Goodbye." Blue returned Wartortle to its Poké Ball and ran off.

"...Did I win?"

***

BOOM!

"DAMN IT! WHY IS THE LIGHTNING STRONG ENOUGH TO PUNCH HOLES IN THE ROOF?!" Zero2hero shouted, running.

Then suddenly, the entire power plant shook, causing many people to stumble and fall.

"Ouch!" Leaf fell immediately, hitting her head and bruising her forehead.

Red, Misty, and a few others noticed and quickly went back to help her up.

Suddenly, large metal fragments started to fall, and everyone gaped before dodging.

"Is there any way to move faster?!"

"I have a Tauros, but I only have one—it can carry at most two people," a man said, holding up a Poké Ball.

Red looked at Misty and Leaf.

"Don't even think about it! Go save someone else!" Misty glared at Red.

"I'm fine, so help the injured first and have them report to the others outside," Leaf said.

Zero2hero looked at Surge and Billy.

"Don't look at me, save someone else," Lt. Surge said sternly.

"Save—"

Before Billy could finish, Zero2hero picked him up, startling him.

"W-What?! What are you doing?!"

"You're the most injured one here, right? Old man! Get out that Pokémon you called Tauros!"

"I didn't say I needed it!!" Billy protested, hitting Zero2hero's back, but he wouldn't budge.

The man then summoned Tauros, making Zero2hero's eyes light up.

Tauros is so cool!

"Alright! Just stay...still?" Zero2hero suddenly paused, looking at Billy.

"W-What are you staring at?"

"Oh, nothing... nothing at all..."

What's this? Do these two look like a couple?

"Are there any more injured?!" Misty called out.

At that moment, Hitmonchan approached, carrying its unconscious trainer who had been knocked out by Zapdos's overwhelming power.

Hitmonchan placed its trainer on Tauros's back, then looked at Tauros, and both Pokémon nodded to each other.

"Hitmonchan? Why don't you return to your trainer's Poké Ball?" Leaf asked.

Hitmonchan shook its head and held up its broken Poké Ball.

"The Poké Ball?! Then come into mine! You'll be safe that way—" Leaf tried to pull out her Poké Ball.

Hitmonchan held out its hand to stop her, looking at Leaf.

It was loyal to one trainer, and only one trainer.

Its trainer also didn't carry any Poké Balls to catch new Pokémon, so this was the only option.

Better to see its trainer safe than to be helpless.

"..." Leaf fell silent, seeing Hitmonchan's stubbornness, and then the shaking resumed.

"HURRY UP! THERE'S NO TIME!!" the man shouted.

"Alright, please be careful, Tauros!"

Mooo!

Tauros immediately sprinted off, and Billy worriedly looked back at everyone.

"Great, let's keep moving," Zero2hero said, and everyone nodded.

Then, a loud thunderclap echoed, and metal fragments kept falling, blocking their path.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, the group heard a noise behind them and turned to look.

It was the Electric-type Pokémon—they seemed to be trying to escape, too!

"Those are the Pokémon that helped me and Red fight Team Rocket!" Zero2hero said.

Everyone then turned to Red.

"..."

"For real? Then let's let them come with us!" Surge said.

The Electric Pokémon caught up, looking at everyone gratefully. They seemed eager to leave since their territory no longer felt safe, but they didn't know the way out and had to rely on the group.

"Don't worry, my friends! We'll definitely help you get outside!" The muscular man raised his fist, giving it a dramatic kiss.

"That's right!"

Hearing this, the Pokémon looked moved.

But before they could savor the moment, a cascade of scrap metal fell, completely blocking their path.

"...great."

It seemed like getting out of this place was going to take a very, very long time.

***

"Stealth Rock!" Brock commanded, and Mega Steelix summoned several floating rocks into the air.

But Zapdos dodged every single rock effortlessly, as if nothing could challenge it.

As Zapdos drew closer, its entire body became engulfed in flames.

"W-What?! Does Zapdos know a Fire-type move too?!"

Zapdos unleashed an intense wave of heat, dealing significant damage to Mega Steelix.

Mega Steelix immediately swung its tail, striking Zapdos and sending it crashing into the wall.

But Zapdos rose again, unfazed by the attack, as if it barely felt a thing.

"A true Legendary Pokémon—even Mega Evolution doesn't seem to trouble it," Brock said with a nervous smile, sweat trickling down his face.

Meanwhile, Proton watched from the shadows, discreetly taking out a device and throwing it to the ground.

The device transformed into a teleportation machine.

It was a single-use device, extremely difficult to create, and the four Rocket Admins had been instructed to use it only in the most critical situations.

And with Kanto's current turmoil, not using it would be a waste.

"Maybe next time, I should find a way to counter Mega Evolution," Proton smirked, abandoning the other Rocket members as he vanished into thin air.