In Dreamwood Forest, Proton, who had initially taken this mission as nothing more than a game, suddenly halted, a sinister chuckle escaping his lips. From the shadows, a swarm of Alcremie emerged, their eyes filled with hostility as they glared at the intruder.
"Oh, now this is just hilarious… Alcremie?" Proton sneered, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "What now, are you gonna smother me with whipped cream?" His laughter echoed through the trees, but the moment he sensed an ominous presence, his body reacted instinctively.
He threw himself backward, bending at an unnatural angle—just as a razor-sharp psychic blade whizzed past, slicing his beret clean in half.
"Pffft—HAHAHA!" Proton burst out laughing, straightening up. "Oh, I see. A little distraction to set up an ambush? Too bad for you, I'm very sensitive to killing intent."
He brushed himself off, then casually tossed the ruined beret to the ground, stomping on it and grinding it under his heel.
"If you had aimed just a little lower, I might've ended up a bald old man."
A mocking voice echoed inside his head.
Proton's grin twitched. His expression darkened. "Oh? You've got a smart mouth, huh? Congratulations, you've officially pissed me off… I'm going to tear you to shreds!"
"Crobat—Air Slash!"
"Craaa!"
Crobat flapped its wings, sending a razor-sharp wind blade toward the enemy hidden in the shadows.
But before the attack could land, a delicate purple hand reached out, and with a simple flick of its fingers, the Air Slash vanished into nothingness.
The culprit stepped forward, revealing itself—Hatterene.
"Tch. Fine then. We'll do this the hard way! Weezing, Drapion—go!"
Proton tossed two additional Poké Balls, releasing his next two partners.
Weezing hovered in the air, its two heads spewing a toxic smog, while Drapion slammed its claws together, the armor plating on its body gleaming ominously under the moonlight.
Seeing the escalating hostility, Hatterene didn't back down. Instead, more Pokémon emerged from the darkness, silently assembling behind her.
"Oh? Trying to win with numbers?" Proton's lip curled. "Heh, that's adorable. Let me show you how I handle pests. Weezing—Explosion!"
BOOM!
Without hesitation, Weezing's body burst into an enormous explosion, releasing a massive shockwave alongside a cloud of deadly poison gas. The sheer force shook the entire forest, and Proton watched with glee as the smoke billowed outward.
"Pfft—hahaha! That's what happens when you—what the hell?! Wide Guard?!"
As the smoke cleared, none of the Pokémon before him had taken a single scratch.
Standing at the frontline, a Galarian Mr. Rime smirked, having erected an impenetrable psychic barrier at the last second.
Proton's eye twitched. "Tch. Can't you idiots just die properly?"
"Crobat, Drapion—Cross Poison!"
Crobat's four wings gleamed with a toxic purple glow, while Drapion's pincers crackled with venomous energy.
The two launched forward, aiming to cut down their enemies before they could counter.
But Hatterene, ever unbothered, gave a single order.
"Decorate them."
In that instant, the Alcremie surrounding the battlefield shimmered, their sweet, mystical energy wrapping around their allies.
Galarian Rapidash, Indeedee, Oranguru, and Gothorita all glowed brilliantly—their psychic powers amplified to their absolute peak.
With unified precision, they struck back.
A powerful Psychic blast tore through the air, twisting Crobat's wings unnaturally, forcing it into a violent crash.
Drapion fared even worse—Hatterene's overwhelming psychic grip sent it slamming into the ground, burying it deep beneath the soil.
Even its reinforced exoskeleton began to crack under the sheer force.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Proton clenched his jaw, his mind racing.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a Master Ball—one of Team Rocket's most prized assets, stolen from Silph Co.
This was his trump card—meant for capturing Celebi.
But in this critical moment, he decided…
Screw it.
This Hatterene would do just fine.
He prepared to throw it—his lips curling into a twisted grin.
"Come on… I can't wait to see the look on your face once you're mine."
Proton let the Master Ball fly—
—only for nothing to happen.
"…What?"
The ball bounced off Hatterene's body and landed harmlessly on the ground.
The mechanism didn't even activate.
"…Huh?"
His grin twisted into confusion, then panic.
"The hell is this?! Why didn't it work?!"
Then, the realization hit him.
"…Wait. You have a trainer."
His entire body stiffened, his breath ragged.
That meant—
From the very beginning—
He was never even taken seriously.
This wasn't a fight.
This was just a joke to them.
"…Hah. Haha… HAHAHAHA!!"
Proton collapsed onto his knees, his laughter deranged.
"I… I lost… TO A TRAINED POKÉMON?!"
As he sat there, trembling, a shadow loomed over him.
Hatterene raised her delicate hand…
…and Drapion let out a final, painful shriek, as its armor plating shattered completely.
Proton flinched, finally snapping out of his hysteria.
"…T-this doesn't make any sense! Your attacks shouldn't work on Dark-types! Are my textbooks a lie?!"
Hatterene tilted her head playfully.
"I'm not telling you."
What Proton didn't know—was that this was all thanks to the Dreamwood Forest's power.
As its protector, Hatterene's psychic attacks always hit their mark, no matter what.
"…Is that so?"
Proton's hand trembled.
"Then… die."
From his belt, he swiftly drew a gun, loaded with high-explosive rounds—powerful enough to pierce a Rhydon's armor.
His finger tightened on the trigger.
But the moment he fired—
The bullet phased straight through her.
"…W-what?"
For the first time, Proton felt true fear.
Hatterene blinked slowly, then effortlessly froze the bullet midair using her psychic power.
Her expression darkened.
She was done playing games.
With a flick of her wrist, the gun in Proton's hand twisted into an unusable hunk of metal.
The next moment, Proton found himself completely paralyzed.
"I… I can't move…! Why?! Where the hell is my backup?! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE COME?!"
Then, it dawned on him.
He had shut off his own communicator.
"…HAHAHA! NO WAY! THIS IS A NIGHTMARE! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE CRUSHING MY ENEMIES—NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!"
Hatterene tilted her head again.
"A nightmare, huh?"
Her eyes glowed ominously.
"Then let's make sure you never wake up."
With that, Proton sank into unconsciousness, trapped in a dream far worse than reality.
(To Be Continued…)