Chapter 35: Mental Pollution

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Darkrai slammed heavily against the wall, its breath already extremely weak.

"Darkrai!"

Tobias was startled and looked at Proton and the mysterious trainer opposite him, his face turning pale.

With Darkrai down, he had no other fighting power left.

"Oh my, oh my~ It seems Mr. Tobias, you're done for."

Proton nonchalantly fiddled with his fingers, grinning as he looked at Tobias.

Tobias gritted his teeth.

"You two, as Elite-level trainers, actually teamed up against me! Shameless!"

Tobias's eyes were bloodshot. If it were a one-on-one, he wouldn't have lost!

But facing two trainers at once, unable to defend both ends, he really couldn't hold on!

Darkrai, as a Mythical Pokémon, was indeed powerful, and its physical strength surpassed that of ordinary Pokémon. But aside from Darkrai, his other main forces couldn't cope.

Damn it! Where's the League's rescue team? "Huh? Mr. Tobias, you must be out of your mind. We're from Team Rocket, you know~"

Proton laughed loudly, even clutching his stomach, making Tobias so angry he could barely contain himself.

This was blatant mockery!

"Stop wasting time with him, hurry up and recall Darkrai. I need to leave."

The burly man said irritably. He was here at Archer's request, and if not for his good relationship with Archer, he wouldn't have bothered coming.

After all, there was a risk of exposure.

"Don't rush, don't rush. We're almost done here. Don't you think this is fun?" Proton wasn't in a hurry, even stepping towards Tobias.

The burly man's eyebrows tightened under his sunglasses, seemingly understanding Proton's intentions. This guy was truly wicked.

However, the burly man didn't stop him; after all, they were colleagues.

Though as a Rocket Executive, he and Proton, one of the four Rocket Executives, belonged to different ranks, they were both subordinates of the boss.

"What are you trying to do?!"

Tobias instinctively stepped back as Proton approached, but then turned to see Proton's Crobat already hovering close by, far too close.

Tobias could even see Crobat's sharp fangs, which sent chills down his spine.

"Now~ Mr. Tobias, we've been quite reasonable, haven't we? I didn't even let my Pokémon ambush you."

Proton stopped in his tracks, looking at Tobias's pale face, grinning with a sigh.

"Tell you what, Mr. Tobias, I'll give you one more chance."

A malicious smile appeared on Proton's rather handsome face.

"The poison on Crobat's fangs is potent. If you don't get the antidote and timely treatment, Mr. Tobias, your life could be in danger."

"You!"

Tobias was both angry and scared. How dare this guy! "Shh~ Quiet, listen to me, okay? We're Team Rocket; we can do anything." Proton made a shushing gesture.

Tobias clenched his fists but remained silent, seething with humiliation.

"A Pokémon is a trainer's most important partner and companion. Even I believe that. Though I disregard other Pokémon, I care deeply about my own."

Proton leisurely began speaking.

"So, I want to know, dear Mr. Tobias, is Darkrai more important to you, or you're own life is more important?"

Proton smiled, his gleaming white teeth sending chills down one's spine.

Tobias's pupils shrank.

From the corner, Darkrai, too injured to move, turned its blue eyes towards Tobias.

"Think carefully before you answer. You only get one chance, and I can't guarantee what might happen if you choose wrongly."

Proton smiled maliciously, his tone still friendly, but the cold light in his eyes made the hair on one's neck stand up.

Tobias's face turned deathly pale. This...

The burly man glanced at Tobias, then at Proton, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

Proton, despite his rather handsome appearance and polite, gentlemanly demeanor when interacting with others, was, in truth, the coldest and most ruthless among the four Rocket Executives.

In the burly man's view, Proton, with his pathological personality, could easily be ranked alongside Ariana.

Ariana was arrogant, hot-tempered, and extremely cruel, a detestable person.

And now, Proton was clearly tormenting Tobias.

Choose between your own life or Darkrai? This was a deadly dilemma. Did Tobias really think he wouldn't abandon Darkrai?

The burly man didn't think so. He had seen too many people like Tobias, psychologically fragile despite their arrogance.

And Proton wanted to see that result—Tobias's extreme humiliation and anger when he gave the answer.

Proton really was a psycho.

The burly man turned his head, not wanting to see any more. Though he didn't consider himself a good person, he definitely didn't want to be paired with Proton on missions in the future.

...

In another hallway.

"Arbok!"

Dylan called out to Arbok.

Arbok raised its body, its cold snake eyes staring down Houndoom and Weezing, exuding a commanding presence.

An invisible pressure spread, and the white glow surrounding Houndoom and Weezing dissipated.

This was Arbok's Intimidate ability, which could lower the opponent's attack by one stage! A very useful ability.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower."

Archer maintained his elegant demeanor.

Being Intimidated didn't matter, as Houndoom primarily relied on Special Attack in battle. Although Weezing's decreased Attack was a bit troublesome, it wasn't a big deal.

Houndoom's mouth glowed with a fiery red light, and it unleashed a powerful Flamethrower at Arbok and Charizard.

This Flamethrower was noticeably stronger than before.

"Flamethrower!" Red commanded in a deep voice.

Charizard roared, unleashing an equally intense stream of flames.

The two Flamethrowers clashed heavily in the center of the corridor, neither overpowering the other, eventually causing an explosion.

Smoke and dust rose up.

"Charizard!" Red's red eyes remained calm and bright as the battle continued.

Charizard flapped its wings, charging toward the opposite side under the cover of the smoke, with Arbok following closely behind.

"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!" Archer was clearly prepared.

Weezing let out a low growl, launching a series of sludge bombs.

A Poison-type move, Sludge Bomb.

"Flamethrower!"

Charizard opened its mouth again, breathing in and unleashing a burning column of fire. The flames clashed violently with the sludge, but this time, Charizard's fire clearly overpowered the Sludge Bomb. However, as Weezing detonated the sludge, another explosion rang out.

"Houndoom, Roar."

Getting close wasn't going to be easy. Archer smirked as he ordered Houndoom to roar, but just as Houndoom was about to use the move...

"Glare!"

A large cobra suddenly sprang out from behind Charizard, its abdomen markings glowing with an eerie light.

A Normal-type move, Glare! Archer was taken aback.

Houndoom instinctively looked at Arbok, and in its eyes, those eerie markings seemed to be spinning. Suddenly, its body froze completely.

Electric arcs flickered around Houndoom's body—it was paralyzed! This was the effect of Glare. Once hit, the target would be paralyzed.

And paralysis, causing stiffness and immobility, was fatal in battle.

Archer frowned; this was becoming troublesome. But what really irritated him...

The observing Leah's eyes lit up. That Glare was impressive.

At the same time, Leah wasn't idle, using her out-of-battle Mental Pollution move!

"Nice one, Dylan! Archer's really lame, huh? Getting caught like that."

Leah giggled, deliberately raising her voice so Archer could hear.

"Is that it? Is that it? No way, no way? Is that all Rocket Executive Archer can do?"

The sarcastic tone even made Dr. Fuji's eyes change, and Red couldn't help but glance back at Leah.

This girl...

Dylan: Amazing!

Red: (.)

And Archer, his face began twitching uncontrollably again.

This annoying woman's voice was really getting on his nerves!!! Archer glared coldly at the woman waving her cheer stick. Noticing his gaze, Leah didn't flinch at all and even made a face at Archer, sticking her tongue out!

Don't get mad, don't get mad! She's just a little clown! Archer kept comforting himself, but his mood was definitely getting worse. No one had ever dared to mock him like this!

But Archer forced himself to stay calm. That annoying woman was clearly using this underhanded tactic to mess with his mindset.

Ridiculous! As a Rocket Executive, how could he possibly...

"Dr. Fuji, don't you think it's funny? This guy was bragging before the battle, saying he was going to teach Dylan and Red how to fight, even calling himself a senior. But now, as soon as the battle started, his Houndoom got paralyzed."

"Next, he's probably going to say, 'Looks like I underestimated you; next time I won't be so careless,' right?"

Leah chattered away, vividly mimicking the scene.

Dr. Fuji was momentarily stunned by Leah's conversation, but after noticing her winking at him, he seemed to understand.

"Yes, it seems Archer isn't all that."

Dr. Fuji was still somewhat reserved.

But...

Archer felt his temperature rising. Dr. Fuji!!! This nasty, despicable, shameless, annoying clown of a woman!!!

I really want to kill you!

Well, Leah used the off-field move Mental Pollution, and it worked pretty well.

(End of this chapter)