Chapter 19: Team Rocket's Minions  

"Uncle Ironwood, you're flattering me. I was just lucky. If you hadn't forgotten that Rattata had dug a hole before using Thunderbolt, then I'm afraid my strategy would have failed."

Gary didn't dare to fully accept Ironwood's praise. After all, he had only taken advantage of a mistake this time. If they had faced off head-to-head, his Deino would never have been a match for Rattata.

It's not that Deino isn't strong, but Rattata had good overall abilities, and Ironwood's command was also very powerful.

"Don't be modest, kid. In terms of strength, your Deino is much stronger than Rattata. If my Rattata didn't know Thunderbolt, this battle would have ended long ago and wouldn't have dragged on until now," Ironwood acknowledged, understanding the gap between Rattata and Deino. Without Thunderbolt, Rattata wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Uncle Ironwood, do we qualify?" Gary asked after hearing Ironwood's words.

"You qualify, but the others aren't as strong as you. You're stronger than them, so you have to take care of them. Take this signal flare. If there's any danger, fire it, and I'll come as quickly as possible."

Ironwood didn't want to shirk his responsibility, especially since Gary's strength was impressive. He agreed to let them go investigate Team Rocket's whereabouts and handed Gary a signal flare for emergencies.

Then, Ironwood left, and Gary recalled Deino into its Poké Ball.

"Ding!"

"Mission completed, rewards issued."

"Deino defeated a level 18 Rattata and gained 360 experience points."

After Gary recalled Deino, the system prompt sounded in his ears.

"Perfect timing, 360 experience points isn't bad. The enhanced rare candy with 5000 experience is even better. It seems that as long as I trigger a few more choices like this, my Pokémon won't be far from evolving," Gary thought to himself, pleased with the system's rewards.

"Gary, why are you still standing there? Hurry up, or it'll be dark again, and we'll have to rest for another night," Bob called out when he noticed Gary hadn't moved while he and Mia had already started walking.

"Huh?" Gary snapped back to reality after being called, and quickly caught up to them. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

"What were you doing just now, standing there without moving?" Bob asked curiously as Gary approached.

"After the battle with Uncle Ironwood, I had some thoughts, so I was just thinking them over and got a bit absorbed," Gary replied casually.

"Oh?" Bob's interest was piqued. "What thoughts? Tell me!"

Gary was momentarily stunned by Bob's eagerness but quickly recovered. "It's not a big deal. I was just thinking we could make use of some weaker Pokémon. They may not be strong individually, but in large numbers, they could be a formidable force. It might be a good strategy to use them against Team Rocket."

"So that's what you were thinking. This idea has actually been considered before, but it's too difficult to implement. Pokémon under a trainer's command obey humans because of the Poké Ball, but wild Pokémon are different. Many of them hate humans, so the idea was ultimately rejected," Bob explained, shaking his head.

"I see. I thought it could work," Gary said, disappointed.

"Let's not dwell on it for now. We're getting close to the heart of Viridian Forest. According to intelligence, Team Rocket has been spotted in this area, but we don't know if they're still here. We should be careful."

Gary knew the people of Team Rocket were dangerous. He didn't want their conversation to alert them and put them in danger.

"Shh, I hear something," Gary whispered after they had walked for a while. He pulled Bob back, signaling for silence.

Bob understood something was wrong. He wanted to say something but held back.

"What's going on?" Mia asked as she approached from behind.

"Shh! Don't talk now. There's something off around here. Team Rocket is probably nearby. I just heard a conversation, and it sounds familiar. I'm not sure, but it might be who I think it is," Gary said, covering Mia's mouth before she could speak further.

Gary was still trying to figure out whose voice it was. From the sound of it, he guessed it might be Butch, and his partner should be Cassidy.

Mia wanted to argue but stopped herself when she realized the seriousness of the situation.

Time passed slowly. Gary wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered under his breath, "Damn it, are they still here?"

"They might be. Should we change locations?" Bob suggested, thinking Gary's concern was valid.

Just as Gary was deciding whether to move, two voices broke the silence.

"You know, Boss Giovanni is really something. We've been wandering around this Viridian Forest for days. I really don't know what he's thinking. Everyone else has left, and it's just the two of us. Isn't this just bullying us?"

"Stop complaining. Boss Giovanni must have his reasons. We're just Team Rocket grunts, so let's just do as we're told."

"It's Butch and Cassidy," Gary whispered with a slight smile. He turned to Bob. "Looks like we got lucky. We've found Team Rocket quickly. And from their conversation, it sounds like they're the only ones left in Viridian Forest. That's good news for us."

---