Chapter 216 — Checking Asahi's Mental State
While Giovanni and Pryce clashed, Asahi was on the sidelines, casually slacking off, using telepathy to commentate on the battle.
[Don't send your Pokémon out one by one! This is classic drip-feed tactics. Just overwhelm Pryce all at once — he only has two Pokémon to fight back!]
[Swinub, stop defending and attack! The best defense is a strong offense!]
[Nidoking, what are you waiting for? Use Earthquake already!]
[Delibird, peck it! …Where's the energy you had when you went after Ho-Oh? Yeah, just like that!]
[Oh no, Beedrill's about to be caught by Delibird — Cloyster, hurry up and save it!]
— Sabrina: […]
Checking Asahi's current mental state.
Watching Giovanni and Pryce battle while they simply stood by, Sabrina couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction.
[Psychic Girl: When are we making a move?]
[GardevoirFan#1: No rush. I think Giovanni can hold out a little longer.]
[Psychic Girl: You really don't think Giovanni can win? He is the head of Team Rocket, after all.]
[GardevoirFan#1: It's not that… I just have more faith in Pryce.]
As Asahi and Sabrina continued their mental chat, the Masked Corps trainer opposite Asahi noticed something off.
Earlier, her Murkrow had fought evenly against Team Rocket's Gengar.
Now she had sent out a Sunflora, yet Gengar was still fighting her evenly…?
Something was wrong — very wrong.
Steeling herself, the Masked Corps trainer grabbed another Poké Ball from her pocket, preparing to throw everything she had into this battle and defeat Team Rocket's trainer!
Noticing her movement, Asahi sighed.
"Can't you just pretend not to see anything? Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if we all just slacked off together?"
"Your Masked Corps salary barely pays anything — why are you fighting so hard?"
Before she could release her Forretress, Gengar suddenly vanished in a flash, reappearing right in front of her with a sinister grin.
Then, without warning—
It stuck out its wet, ghostly tongue and gave her a slurp.
The Masked Corps trainer, frozen by Lick's paralysis effect, collapsed to the ground.
Her Murkrow and Sunflora, rushing to save their trainer, were swiftly taken down by a pair of Shadow Claws.
After knocking her out, Asahi didn't spare her another glance. He casually looked around to make sure no one noticed his Gengar's actions, then found a new, unobstructed vantage point.
With a flick of his fingers, Gengar used Mean Look to trap a Team Rocket member mid-battle.
Once the poor sap was immobilized and inevitably defeated by the Masked Corps, Asahi smoothly took his place — faking a struggle while continuing to watch the main fight.
By now, the battle between Giovanni and Pryce had reached its peak.
Snow and sandstorms mixed in the air, creating an apocalyptic scene.
Within a hundred-meter radius of the shrine, everything — trees, grass, flowers — was frozen solid, shattering at the slightest touch. No one dared to approach.
Giovanni, however, displayed his strength. Though the surrounding ground was shattered and cracked like an earthquake had struck, his footing remained firm.
Both sides' Pokémon were visibly injured, some more seriously than others.
"The Giovanni of the Earth… you live up to your reputation," Pryce said calmly. "But if this is all you've got, then I'll be taking the GS Ball's crafting scroll."
His voice was steady, as though stating an obvious fact.
"Hmph."
Giovanni's cold snort was his only reply — he couldn't refute it. In this battle, he was clearly at a disadvantage.
A four-on-two fight, yet Pryce still held the upper hand.
Indeed, Pryce was a man who dared to face both Ho-Oh and Lugia head-on…
But Giovanni wasn't done yet.
After his losses to both Asahi and Pryce, Giovanni had pondered how to quickly grow stronger.
The answer came from his battle with Asahi.
He had ordered Team Rocket's Kalos branch to gather information on Beedrill's Mega Evolution stone and the Key Stone.
Through a secret deal with a local Kalos gang, the stones were delivered via the Pokémon transfer system.
Giovanni gave Pryce a long, hard look.
He reached into his pocket and pinned a badge onto the "R" logo on his chest.
His hand brushed against the Key Stone.
Without a word, as though sharing a silent understanding, Beedrill's body was instantly enveloped in a dazzling, multicolored light.
From the sidelines, Asahi's eyes widened in shock.
"When did Giovanni get a Mega Evolution stone?!"
The radiant light quickly dissipated, revealing Beedrill's newly transformed, angular form. Its legs had morphed into sharp stingers, giving it an almost futuristic appearance.
With its speed nearly doubled post-evolution, the now Mega Beedrill activated Agility and split into countless afterimages, all converging toward Pryce from every direction.
This time, Mega Beedrill didn't bother with Delibird — it went straight for Pryce himself.
Take out the trainer, and the Pokémon would be easy to deal with.
Seeing this, Pryce's Swinub once again attempted to erect an ice wall around its trainer.
But Giovanni was ready.
He commanded Cloyster to use Spike Cannon to suppress Delibird, preventing it from helping Pryce.
"Now!" Giovanni shouted, "Aggron, Nidoking — Hyper Beam!"
Having secretly charged their attacks, both Aggron and Nidoking unleashed their Hyper Beams from different angles, striking the same point on the ice wall.
Boom!
The powerful explosion shattered the ice wall into a web of cracks.
Without giving Swinub a chance to reinforce the barrier, the blindingly fast Mega Beedrill dove into the smoke of the explosion, its twin stingers flashing—
Fury Attack!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The ice wall crumbled into countless shards.
Without a moment's pause, Mega Beedrill's stingers, now glowing with a sinister purple hue, thrust straight for Pryce's throat.
In a desperate attempt to dodge, Pryce shifted his body, but Mega Beedrill's speed was overwhelming.
He managed to protect his throat—
But with a swift, merciless strike, Mega Beedrill's stinger pierced through Pryce's chest.
The scene froze in place.
The expressions of those gathered in the Forest varied greatly—
The Masked Corps looked terrified, the Rocket Team was exhilarated, Giovanni remained calm and composed, while Asahi slightly raised an eyebrow.
Asahi found the whole situation a bit absurd.
Had Pryce really been taken down by Giovanni just like that?
Although Asahi always believed Pokémon battles were full of endless possibilities, Pryce's defeat felt way too hasty.
After a brief moment of thought, Asahi activated the Aura he had been holding back, worried about being discovered.
When his Aura swept across Pryce's supposed location—
Asahi instantly sensed something unusual. "This is..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the mask on Pryce's face—pierced by Beedrill—slipped off, revealing a shimmering block of ice beneath.
It was an ice sculpture puppet!
"A decoy ice puppet!"
"When did that happen?!"
The Rocket Team members, who had just popped open champagne bottles in celebration, now wore stunned expressions.
In contrast, the Masked Corps burst into cheers, their morale skyrocketing.
Giovanni, however, paid no mind to his subordinates' reactions—
or rather, he had no time to care.
His face darkened.
He hadn't expected that the Pryce hidden within the ice sculpture... was also an ice sculpture. What was this—like Russian nesting dolls?
Worse yet, he hadn't noticed a thing.
At that moment, Pryce stepped out from behind a remaining ice wall.
Clearly, during the explosion caused by Hyper Beam's destruction, he had swapped himself with an ice puppet and hid behind the ice wall.
Pryce glanced at the Beedrill that had pierced his "body."
Mega Beedrill noticed Pryce as well. It tried to pull back its stinger to launch another attack but found that the frozen puppet's ice held its stinger tightly in place—it couldn't break free!
"Damn it... Beedrill!"
Giovanni's face changed.
At the same time, Delibird had broken free from Cloyster's entanglement. Spreading its wings, it shot toward Mega Beedrill like a crimson bolt of lightning.
Whoosh!
Its red body became a flash of light aimed straight at Mega Beedrill.
Peck!
The same move that once plucked Ho-Oh bald now targeted Mega Beedrill again.
This time, Mega Beedrill had no way to dodge. At the last second, it barely managed to conjure a Protect shield—
but Delibird's strike hit with full force!
Crack!
The Protect shield instantly cracked, webbing with fine fissures.
Though hastily formed, Protect remained the ultimate defensive move, and it managed to block Delibird's first attack.
But Delibird wasn't the only one attacking!
Due to its attempt to ambush Pryce, Mega Beedrill had closed the distance between itself and Piloswine—dangerously so.
Pryce tapped his cane lightly.
A gust of Icy Wind swept over Mega Beedrill's undefended abdomen.
Instantly, a layer of ice coated its body.
Giovanni quickly commanded his Pokémon to aid Beedrill—
But Pryce had been waiting for this. Delibird unleashed another Icy Wind, sending Nidoking and Aggron skidding on the ice before they could even get close, both losing their balance and crashing to the ground.
Cloyster, being a ranged attacker, fared slightly better—
but its attacks posed no real threat to Delibird or Piloswine.
Seeing the ice grow thicker around Mega Beedrill, threatening to freeze it solid, a voice suddenly cut through the air behind Pryce.
"Boss Giovanni, I'm here to help—Weezing, use Explosion!"
Boom!
A deafening blast roared.
The sound was impressive—
but it accomplished nothing, as Pryce's Piloswine effortlessly blocked it with an ice wall.
Still, the explosion bought Mega Beedrill a moment to breathe.
Seizing the chance, Mega Beedrill shattered the ice binding it—
but rather than attack Pryce again, it retreated, putting distance between them.
Pryce's face darkened with disappointment. He had almost taken down that Mega Beedrill—
if not for this meddler...
Turning his icy gaze on the Rocket Executive, Lambda, Pryce's eyes gleamed with cold fury.
Lambda, who had moments ago proudly declared his entrance to impress Giovanni, suddenly felt a bucket of ice-cold water pour over him.
Only then did he remember exactly who Pryce was—
and the two terrifying defeats he'd suffered at Pryce's hands before.
His legs started trembling.
Lambda hurried to escape—
but it was too late.
Piloswine unleashed another Icy Wind, freezing Lambda solid.
He remained frozen mid-stride, still posed like he was trying to run away.
Without sparing a glance at the frozen fool, Pryce refocused on Giovanni. "Your men are loyal... but are you sure you want to keep fighting?"
"Hand over the scroll and the GS Ball, and I'll let you leave."
Though Mega Beedrill had narrowly escaped freezing, it was clearly too exhausted to be a threat.
And with the time for Celebi's appearance drawing ever closer, Pryce was in no mood to waste time on Giovanni.
To show his "goodwill," he had only frozen Lambda's surface—there was no real danger to his life.
Giovanni, however, gave only one response to Pryce's offer:
"Give me Silver!"
Bang!
Three Poké Balls burst open—Dugtrio, Persian, and Tyranitar.
Alongside the others already on the field, Giovanni now had seven Pokémon out.
Though a trainer's focus was limited—sending out more Pokémon didn't always mean a stronger battle strategy—
Giovanni didn't care anymore.
He just wanted Silver back!
"So... negotiations have broken down."
Pryce's expression turned cold.
He had warned Giovanni enough.
With a sharp tap of his cane, the wintry wind howled louder, and the falling snow quickly buried the forest in white.
Both Rocket and Masked Corps trainers felt the bone-piercing chill seep into their very cores.
The higher-ranking officers exchanged glances.
They knew this battle had gone beyond what ordinary grunts could handle.
Without hesitation, they ordered their subordinates to retreat from the scene, leaving only the key combatants behind.
Asahi, blending into the retreating crowd, intentionally lagged behind.
Once sure no one was watching, he slipped away—quietly climbing a tree and returning to stand beside Sabrina.
Sabrina watched Asahi, who had started changing clothes, and chuckled:
[Sabrina]: Not playing Rocket Grunt anymore? You were calling Giovanni 'Boss' more smoothly than I ever did.
[Asahi: Gardevoir Is the Best]: You don't get it—it's called professionalism. If I didn't act convincingly, do you think Giovanni would've trusted me so easily?
Sabrina, seeing Asahi's self-righteous expression, simply smiled knowingly.
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