[Report, ma'am! Base A3 was just infiltrated!]

Miyamoto was currently leading a squad of elites toward Base B13 in Viridian City to provide support. But just halfway there, she received this message.

She immediately realized: it was very likely a diversion tactic. The real target was definitely something inside Base A3!

Was it a world-grade Item?

A powerful Pokémon?

…Or perhaps those two individuals they had just captured?

But the importance of Team Rocket's bases wasn't determined by their number labels.

Base B13 was a medium-sized facility responsible for mission handoffs and Pokémon storage. In many cases, it was even more important than some of the larger bases.

So Miyamoto only hesitated for a moment before swinging her hand decisively. Continuing toward the support mission!

Although Base A3 was large, its main function was to provide housing for Team Rocket members and hold people whose Pokémon had already been confiscated.

So, Base A3's strategic value was far lower than that of B13.

More importantly, there were other Team Rocket Admins stationed at A3, they should be able to hold out a little longer.

At that moment, however, the very Admin Miyamoto was relying on -Darth Kaiser- was already wearing a grim expression as he clashed head-on with Elite Four Bruno…

---◓---

"Hitmonchan, Fire Punch! Machamp, Karate Chop!"

"Ursaring, Hyper Beam! Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"

Thanks to the existence of Dark Balls, Kaiser could obtain quite a few high-level battlers without much effort. But because Dark Balls inflicted immense damage on Pokémon, Kaiser had to constantly rotate through dying Pokémon to ensure his strength didn't fall too far behind the other Admins.

However, as Team Rocket continued to grow rapidly, several Admins had already reached the Elite Four level. In contrast, Kaiser -reliant on Dark Balls- had become more and more of a liability.

Five years ago, Bruno had beaten him so badly that he fled with his head in his hands. Kaiser had only escaped by using Explosion.

Now, Kaiser's strength hadn't improved in the slightest, while Bruno had steadily grown stronger, rising to an even higher level.

Ursaring and Weezing, boosted by Dark Balls, still didn't have true E4 level power. They were quickly and completely overwhelmed.

"DAAAMMIT! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT WOMAN MIYAMOTO?! Has she betrayed me, or is she hoping the League takes me out for her?!"

Kaiser shouted in frustration. But even the stronger Team Rocket members around him had been held off by Sato's group and were barely managing to resist.

A few minutes later, Kaiser ignored the collapsed Weezing and Ursaring and sent out Nidoking and Electrode!

The moment Bruno saw Electrode, alarm bells went off in his head. 'Was Kaiser really going to try Explosion again to flee?'

"Poliwrath, Surf!"

Without hesitation, even though he held the absolute advantage, the cautious Bruno sent out a third Pokémon. Making Kaiser twitch with fury!

Poliwrath: one of the few Pokémon that could have the Damp Ability!

"Not even giving me a sliver of hope? Fine then… let's fight to the death!"

Kaiser's face twisted with rage. Right in front of Bruno, he threw two pitch-black Poké Balls to the ground… then stomped them to pieces!

Once the Dark Balls were destroyed, the controlled Nidoking and Electrode should've been freed.

But instead, both Pokémon -with their blood-red eyes already glowing- went completely berserk. Their crimson irises looked like dripping blood, and they charged at Hitmonchan and Machamp without fear of death!

Hyper Beam!

Wild Charge!

Kaiser didn't even need to give orders. Nidoking and Electrode had already begun burning through their own life force, launching attacks even they couldn't fully control!

Bruno narrowed his squinting eyes… he couldn't see clearly, but he was clearly taking things even more seriously now.

---◓---

And while the Team Rocket Admin and Elite Four Bruno were locked in fierce battle, Sato's group was anything but idle.

Reinforcements from Team Rocket kept coming. Many had already fallen to Zoroark's Night Daze, but plenty of others who still had battle-ready Pokémon sent out a second wave. At that point, sneak attacks were no longer an option.

Sato had already deployed Zoroark, Hydreigon, and Krookodile. Mark sent out Togekiss and Reuniclus.

Joseph sent out four Pokémon at once. Blissey led the support, skillfully using Heal Pulse to keep the team sustained with pinpoint precision.

Beside Blissey, Clawitzer, Delibird, and Comfey seemed more like her little underlings, tossing out relatively minor Heal Pulses, Presents, or Floral Healing while simply admiring Blissey's master-class support work, shouting "FUA FUA FUA!" nonstop.

Blissey's insane! (ˊωˋ*)*

Inside Base A3, Team Rocket had been completely suppressed by Sato's group; they could leave whenever they wanted.

…But when Bruno saw Kaiser, he knew their long-standing grudge had to be settled now, while the opportunity was perfect.

---◓---

Elsewhere, Lance and Will had also defeated the two Star Hunters left to guard Base B13.

Apart from Dragonite taking a solid Ice Punch from Weavile, the rest of their Pokémon had only sustained minor injuries.

Dee-doo~ Dee-doo~ Dee-doo~

Flashing red and blue, a convoy of police vehicles pulled up in formation, sealing off the collapsed street completely.

Officer Jenny swung her leg off the motorcycle with a dramatic flourish, landing in a cool pose~ Her expression turned serious as she looked up at the Slowbro hovering in the sky, and then down at the orderly wild Pokémon fleeing toward Viridian Forest.

"Have you identified who caused all this commotion?"

"Reporting, ma'am! It was Elite Four Lance and E4 candidate Will!"

Officer Jenny rubbed her temples "Sigh…" Another mess on her hands.

They only bothered to contact her after toppling the enemy's base? Clearly, they didn't trust the local police force. And it was equally obvious… they just wanted to dump the cleanup work on her!

Clean-up duty was dirty and exhausting, and there wasn't much glory in it either. But after receiving the directive, Rosa Jenny couldn't exactly refuse.

'I'm helping you maintain public order, and instead of thanking me, you don't even bother cooperating…? Are you guys actually in league with the criminals?'

With all that running through her head, Officer Jenny of Viridian City felt a wave of frustration.

As the city's primary law enforcement, who would want to be stuck with the reputation of "Only shows up when it's already over… Ah! here comes Jenny!"?

"This area is off-limits, ma'am. Please vacate the premises immediately!"

A male officer suddenly raised his voice, reaching out to stop the wine-red-haired woman in front of him.

But in the very next moment, a furry tail suddenly wrapped tightly around his neck. Before the Growlithe at his side could even react…

Snap!

"Grooowl!"

Growlithe barked furiously and lunged at the furry tail, but hit nothing but air.

"Ninetales, Psybeam."

"Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"