Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [24]

"Luo Yuan, look over there!"

Misty pointed into the distance.

"What is it?"

Luo Yuan, in the middle of thinking about his prize draw, looked up in the direction Misty was pointing.

In the sky, a large flock of Pidgey took off as if fleeing from something, their wings flapping frantically as they escaped toward the sky.

"What happened over there?"

Misty glanced toward the Viridian Forest, where the Pidgey were flying from.

His psychic senses detected an unusual energy fluctuation coming from the distance.

At the same time, the Dratini coiled around his neck let out a nervous coo.

"Could it be…that some organization has something going on at Mount Moon?"

The thought crossed Luo Yuan's mind but was quickly dismissed.

Impossible. Not only were most of Team Rocket's resources tied up with the Mewtwo project, but if there were really an operation underway, Truebird would have notified him beforehand.

The energy felt distinctly strange, and combined with his earlier run-in with that odd environmental group, something about the whole situation seemed off.

"Let's go check it out," Luo Yuan said.

Without hesitation, he started moving in the direction of the disturbance, Misty close behind.

—

Five Minutes Earlier

In a valley on Mount Moon…

Dressed in a red uniform and with light brown hair, Aliana of Team Flare hung up her communicator, her face darkening.

"Lady Aliana, what happened?" her assistant asked softly.

"Scar, that incompetent fool, failed to hold the entrance, and someone's gotten past him," Aliana replied, a flash of irritation in her eyes.

"Does it matter?" her assistant shrugged. "All our preparations are complete. Even if we're spotted, the Kanto League wouldn't be able to react in time to interfere with the plan."

Team Flare had clashed with the League enough back in Kalos to know just how sluggish the League's response times could be.

The assistant didn't think a few extra eyes from the Kanto League would make any difference to their mission.

"Hmph, who said I was worried about the Kanto League?" Aliana shot him a cold look.

"Then…"

"Compared to the Kanto League, it's Team Rocket who really dominates this territory—and they're the ones we have to fear."

A flicker of rare apprehension crossed Aliana's face.

As a Flare executive, she had no problem brushing off the League.

Aside from the League's infamously slow bureaucracy, they were bound by laws; even if they were captured, the worst that could happen was extradition back to Kalos to face charges from the Kalos League.

And since Team Flare had influence over many officials back in Kalos, Aliana felt no real pressure from the League.

But Team Rocket?

As another organization entrenched in the criminal underworld, Aliana knew all too well how ruthless Team Rocket was, with enough power to rule the entire Kanto, Johto, and Sevii Islands.

They had entered Team Rocket's home turf without permission. If Team Rocket caught wind of their presence…

Aliana shivered.

She didn't even want to imagine the consequences.

Her thoughts were interrupted when an underling approached, snapping her back to the present.

"Report, Lady Aliana. The device has finished preloading. Shall we activate it?"

Aliana took a moment to steady herself.

She turned toward the massive Moon Stone encased within a large machine and calmed her nerves.

Team Rocket wasn't omnipotent. As long as they finished their operation before Team Rocket noticed, there would be no reason for them to cross the ocean just to come after Team Flare in Kalos.

Reassured, she gazed at the Moon Stone and gave the order:

"Activate it. We need enough energy to fully power the Ultimate Weapon."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The underlings answered in unison and set to work on the machine's controls.

As it powered up, the Moon Stone began to glow with an intense light.

Energy waves rippled out, spreading in all directions.

Meanwhile, more and more of the Moon Stone's energy was siphoned into the machine.

"Clefairy—!"

In a nearby cage, a group of Clefairy and Clefable watched helplessly as the Moon Stone's energy was drained away, their anxious cries filling the air.

But trapped behind bars, there was nothing they could do.

As Aliana's face broke into a smile, watching the energy finally flowing into the device—

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam! Blast that machine to pieces!"

"Roooaaar!"

With a mighty roar, a beam of pale energy shot from Gyarados's mouth.

It struck the machine at the center of the valley.

Boom!

A powerful explosion erupted, the device's protective shielding shattering like an eggshell as the entire apparatus blew apart.

The rapid turn of events was almost too much to process.

The energy had been seconds from being fully collected, and in the final moment, the machine was destroyed.

Aliana was stunned, her mind blank for a heartbeat before she snapped back to reality.

They hadn't even had time to react before someone had demolished the entire machine, without a single warning or word.

Seething with rage, Aliana summoned her own Pokémon.

A Mightyena and a Druddigon took their positions in front of her, ready to fight.

With a dark expression, she turned her gaze to the intruders who had foiled her plans…

And saw Luo Yuan and Misty, standing beside the towering Gyarados, watching her with matching stares.

Not League members, not even Team Rocket.

Their plan had been sabotaged by two random trainers passing by?!

---

T/N: Darn my charmeleon needs more screen time