Chapter 203 – Ethan and Team Rocket
New Bark Town – Elm's Laboratory
Asahi pushed Silver forward. "Professor Elm, I'll leave him in your care!"
Silver, now standing awkwardly in front of Elm, looked a little uncomfortable.
No matter how he thought about it, he definitely wasn't a rookie Trainer anymore.
Yet here he was, picking up a starter Pokémon like a total beginner…
Professor Elm handed Silver a Poké Ball containing a Totodile and a Pokédex, waving it off casually. "It's no trouble at all."
To be honest, when Professor Oak called him in advance, saying that a new Trainer would be coming to get a starter Pokémon, he was quite surprised.
After all, Oak had plenty of Kanto starters available. Sending someone all the way to Johto just to pick one up seemed a bit unnecessary.
But when Elm saw Asahi, all his confusion disappeared.
Given his position, Elm had access to some classified League information.
He recognized Asahi instantly—the Trainer who had recently defeated Giovanni and became a legend in the League!
Adding in the recent news about Mahogany Gym being attacked by Team Rocket…
A realization dawned on him.
"Asahi, are you here to deal with Team Rocket?"
From Elm's perspective, that seemed like the most logical reason for Asahi's visit.
The request to pick up a starter Pokémon must have just been a side errand.
Asahi thought for a moment. "Hmm… In a way, yes."
His main target was the Masked Army, but that didn't mean he wouldn't crush Team Rocket along the way.
Hearing this, Elm was thrilled.
"That's fantastic! Team Rocket has been running rampant in Johto lately!"
"Recently, I've noticed them lurking around my lab. I even reported it to the police, but after an investigation, Officer Jenny found nothing."
Asahi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? They've been snooping around here?"
Team Rocket should have their hands full with the Masked Army right now.
What could they possibly want from Elm's lab?
However, Asahi didn't have time to stick around and investigate. He had to contact Johto's Gym Leaders soon.
So…
He turned to Silver, who was busy bonding with Totodile, and spoke seriously:
"Silver, I have an important mission for you!"
—
After assigning Silver the task of dealing with Team Rocket's activities near Elm's lab, Asahi left with Green and Sabrina.
As they walked, Sabrina asked, "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave this to him?"
She recalled Asahi telling her that Silver lost a battle to Gary.
And in her opinion, Gary was already pretty weak.
If Silver lost to him, was it really okay to let him handle Team Rocket alone?
Hearing this, Asahi turned to Green.
"Hey, Green, Sabrina's underestimating your little brother. You're just gonna let that slide?"
Green rolled her eyes, ignoring Asahi's blatant attempt to stir things up.
She simply continued studying the intel Asahi had gathered from his sources.
Now that they were preparing to take down the Masked Army, she had to stay fully focused.
Sabrina crossed her arms and smirked. "Nice try, but you're not turning me against Green that easily."
Asahi clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.
He then glanced at Sabrina's smug expression and muttered, "Hmph. No matter how much you puff your chest out, it's still flat."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Sabrina froze.
It took her a few seconds to process what he had just said.
Then, she glanced down, and just as she was about to retort—
A figure suddenly appeared ahead of them.
A boy wearing goggles on his head, carrying a shoulder bag, and holding a billiard cue while a mischievous Aipom perched on his shoulder.
He was sprinting toward them at full speed.
Seeing this, Asahi raised an eyebrow.
If he wasn't mistaken…
That was Ethan.
And behind him—
A group of Team Rocket members in pursuit.
Ethan, noticing his path blocked by Asahi and the others, shouted urgently:
"Move! Move! Get out of the way!"
"Sabrina."
Asahi turned to the woman beside him.
For now, Sabrina set aside her grudge over Asahi's earlier comment and released her Alakazam. Its eyes glowed blue.
In an instant, the boy charging toward them—Ethan—froze mid-motion.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Ethan shouted, panicked.
He was already running for his life, and not only were these people refusing to help, but they had also restrained him?!
The Rocket Grunts chasing him had caught up by now. Upon seeing Sabrina, their squad leader instinctively blurted out, "Lady Sabrina?!"
Ethan's expression turned from panic to horror.
The woman in front of him was a Team Rocket officer too?!
Damn it! Was he about to fall into Team Rocket's hands?
"Let me go! You evil Team Rocket woman!"
Ethan struggled desperately, even trying to command Aipom to attack Sabrina—
But Alakazam's Psychic held him completely still.
Sabrina, however, ignored Team Rocket and turned her attention to Ethan instead, her expression suddenly dangerous.
"…Did you just call me an 'evil woman'?"
Under Sabrina's piercing gaze, Ethan—who usually feared nothing—swallowed nervously.
"Alright, Sabrina, don't scare him." Asahi chuckled. "More importantly, let's deal with these Team Rocket grunts."
Sabrina glanced at Asahi, then shifted her gaze back to Team Rocket.
The Rocket Grunts quickly realized that the "Lady Sabrina" in front of them had defected from Team Rocket.
But not a single one of them had the courage to confront her.
"Retreat!"
Their squad leader immediately gave up on capturing the boy. His only priority was getting his men out of here.
Yes, Sabrina had betrayed Team Rocket—
But that didn't mean she had gotten weaker.
Trying to fight her would be suicide.
Unfortunately for them, Sabrina wasn't planning to let them go.
A bright, almost cheerful smile appeared on her face.
She waved her hand.
Alakazam's spoons glowed blue.
The next moment—
Every Rocket Grunt trying to flee was lifted off the ground, suspended in midair.
One of them reacted quickly, releasing an Arbok and commanding it to attack Sabrina directly.
If they could disrupt her, Alakazam might lose focus—giving them a chance to escape.
But…
Boom!
A burst of smoke erupted as a Blastoise landed between Sabrina and the incoming Arbok.
"You didn't forget about us, did you?" Green grinned playfully.
With a single move, Blastoise sent Arbok flying.
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