20: Chapter 19: A Champion’s Might!
20: Chapter 19: A Champion’s Might!
Chapter 19: A Champion’s Might!
Relying on Dragonite’s legendary speed—capable of circling the globe in a mere 16 hours—they quickly arrived above the primitive forest concealing the Team Rocket base.
Dragonite descended warily, dropping Sean off beneath a giant tree near the entrance of the Team Rocket base.
This spot was perfect—not too far away, yet completely hidden from sight.
“Execute the plan, and stay alert!” Lance offered one final instruction before soaring toward the base entrance aboard Dragonite.
…
Above the Team Rocket base.
“ROAR—!!!” Dragonite let out an earth-shattering roar.
The Team Rocket grunts dozing off below were instantly startled right out of their boots by the dragon’s cry, turning their eyes toward the sky in unison.
“It’s…
it’s Lance!” “Sound the alarms immediately!
Maximum alert!!” “…” Standing on Dragonite’s back with his arms crossed over his chest, Lance watched the Team Rocket grunts below scramble into a chaotic mess like ants on a hot pan.
He waited leisurely, letting the alarm ripple through the entire base.
A moment later.
Feeling the timing was right, Lance issued his command to Dragonite to launch the assault!
“Dragon Pulse.” Dragonite leaned back, its massive maw snapping wide as it gathered energy, violently unleashing a brilliant, multi-colored wave of draconic energy!
*BOOM—!!!* The Dragon Pulse struck directly above the core facility of the Team Rocket base, tearing through the dirt, rock strata, and the outer alloy shell of the base with absolute ease!
It blasted a massive crater open, exposing the underground layout of the base directly to the elements!
Amidst the billowing clouds of dust and smoke, Lance didn’t hesitate for a single microsecond, riding Dragonite straight through the blasted opening into the base interior.
“All combat personnel, assemble in Sector A!!!” “Hold him back!!!” “Go report to the Executive immediately!!” …
The base dissolved into absolute chaos as alarms blared frantically.
“Tch, how did he get here this fast?!” Located within the core zone of the Team Rocket base, Proton furrowed his brows deeply, muttering to himself.
“There’s no way the League’s investigation could have located our base’s hiding spot this quickly!
Could we have exposed our tracks when we abducted Professor Elm earlier?
But we ran a completely clean operation back then.
Impossible!” *BANG!* Proton slammed his fist violently against the desk in sheer frustration.
“Tch, that leaves exactly one possibility.
We have a mole inside the base!” …
Lance’s cold gaze swept rapidly across his surroundings, noting that the interior of this Team Rocket base was shaped like a cylinder, roughly divided into three floors.
The corridors of every single floor were absolutely packed with Team Rocket combat grunts.
“Koffing, Explosion!” “Weezing, Explosion!” “Voltorb, Explosion!” “Arbok, Poison Sting!” “Pidgeot, Air Cutter!” “…” In an instant, the blinding light of multiple Explosions, purple Poison Stings, and razor-sharp wind blades came hurtling straight toward Lance like a tidal wave!
Watching the incoming onslaught, Lance spoke calmly: “Scale Shot.” Draconic energy surged within Dragonite.
Out of thin air, tens of thousands of blue scales forged from pure Dragon-type energy materialized around its body like a cluster of shining stars.
In a single fraction of a second— The scales rocketed outward in every direction like a torrential downpour, completely indiscriminate!!
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…* The Scale Shot instantly tore through everything in the vicinity, triggering a massive chain of explosions large and small!
A few seconds later, the blinding light cleared.
The densely packed crowd of Team Rocket grunts had all collapsed to the floor!
The entire area fell into dead silence!
Lance scanned the surroundings rapidly.
Confirming no stragglers were left standing, he gestured for Dragonite to fly deeper into the base interior.
…
…
Under the cover of the chaos Lance had manufactured, Sean took a deep breath and said, “Gengar, go.
Be extra cautious, and don’t get hurt!” “Ke-giah!
(Understood!)” Gengar slowly sank into the ground, making its way toward the Team Rocket base.
“Cyndaquil, Larvitar, let’s get ready to back it up.” Phasing through the rock strata and alloy walls, the moment Gengar entered the base interior, it witnessed dozens of Team Rocket combat personnel frantically rushing toward Sector A to intercept Lance.
Gengar moved incredibly fast.
Thanks to its translucent body, absolutely no one noticed its presence.
It shuttled back and forth through the base, searching for the room where Professor Elm was being held captive.
A short while later.
Inside a dim, cramped room illuminated only by weak light and packed with surveillance cameras, Gengar finally located Professor Elm!
Professor Elm was bound securely to a metal chair.
His face was gaunt, his lips cracked and dry, and his eyes deeply sunken.
He had clearly gone days without a single drop of water or food.
Confirming the location, Gengar didn’t linger.
It immediately retraced its steps to bring the intelligence back to Sean.
Sean was waiting anxiously outside, terrified that something might go wrong.
“Ke-giah!
(Found him!)” Gengar poked its head out from the ground, speaking joyfully.
Ecstatic, Sean immediately had Gengar lead the way, ordering Larvitar to start digging.
“Larvi!” Larvitar’s tiny claws scraped at lightning speed.
The solid rock felt exactly like soft tofu before its claws, easily carved open to rapidly forge a small tunnel!
Inside the tunnel, Sean crawled flat on his belly, following closely behind Larvitar, while Cyndaquil also swung its tiny claws to help Larvitar dig.
After a good while, Larvitar’s tiny claws finally hit a solid alloy wall with a sharp *thud*.
“Stop!
Cyndaquil, it’s all on you now.” “Inaa.” Cyndaquil took a deep breath, aiming straight at the alloy wall ahead as it unleashed a stream of fire.
The flames burned continuously, the temperature rising steadily until the alloy wall glowed cherry red.
Sean couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his brow.
Finally.
The alloy wall began to melt, molten iron dripping down as the opening expanded bit by bit.
Sean stared nervously at the pitch-black wall opening as it grew larger and larger.
Once it was wide enough, he had Cyndaquil stop.
Without a shred of hesitation, he leaped through the opening into the room.
His gaze instantly locked onto Professor Elm, who was bound to the metal chair not far away!
“Professor!” Sean shouted excitedly, preparing to rush over.
Hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Professor Elm snapped his head up in sheer shock!
*Danger!* *Don’t come over!
Run!* He tried to scream frantically, but with his mouth taped shut, he could only let out muffled “Mmh-mmh-wuh-mmh…” sounds.
He shook his head in absolute despair, his eyes completely filled with panicked urgency!
Right at that exact microsecond— A stream of Acid so thick it looked as though it could spin silk, carrying a nauseating, pungent stench, violently came rocketing straight toward Sean’s face!
Sean’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks, his heart skipping a beat!
He had been far too excited just now, completely failing to notice the lethal danger lurking in the shadows!
At the peak of this life-or-death moment, Cyndaquil violently unleashed a Flamethrower, while Gengar also blasted out a Dark Pulse.
One red and one black attack erupted from both sides of Sean’s body, crossing and merging together, barely managing to intercept the incoming Acid right in mid-air!
*BOOM—!* The two forces collided violently, bursting into a blinding flash of fire.
Pungent white smoke instantly billowed outward, the acrid fumes stinging their eyes.
Sean instinctively pinched his nose and squinted.
Relying on the dim light from the flickering flames on Cyndaquil’s back, he peered through the gaps in the dense smoke and witnessed the one thing he least wanted to see in his entire life— The smoke slowly cleared away.
That “Arbok” chimera was currently hanging silently upside down from the ceiling, clinging to the metal surface with its dense array of Ariados spider legs.
Its vicious serpentine head hung low, a pair of milky, lifeless eyes staring dead at Sean.
It possessed absolutely no vitality, yet it was bone-chillingly cold.
The blood-red pustules blanketing its entire body rose and fell alongside its breathing, slowly contracting and expanding, looking as though they might burst open at any given second.