"Hello, we are League Rangers. Could you please present the legal permits for your construction?" A middle-aged ranger wearing a round cap stepped forward, glancing at the massive construction site behind them and the gaping holes that led underground.
Onando nodded toward one of his subordinates, who promptly handed over the permits that Silph Co. and the Onando Research Institute had obtained in advance.
"These permits check out, but your construction seems to exceed the approved legal scope," the ranger remarked after reviewing the documents.
Onando chuckled. "Originally, we were here to conduct botanical research, but yesterday, a group of wild Pokémon suddenly attacked. In the process of fending them off, they damaged the ground. To protect the rare plants here, we had no choice but to repair the area a little."
Repair the ground?
The rangers exchanged skeptical glances.
Did they really think we were fools? With all this excavation and drilling equipment, it was obvious they were conducting underground operations. Protecting plants? Not even Silph Co. would be this brazen.
"The Syndicate working with Team Rocket in Kanto to protect plants and turn over a new leaf? Now that's an interesting career shift," Lorelei finally stepped off the aircraft.
She swept her gaze over the group, her eyes narrowing when they landed on Dolores.
"At least ten people here are on the League's most-wanted list. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Dolores?"
As a member of the Kanto Elite Four, Lorelei knew dangerous individuals from every region like the back of her hand.
Dolores' expression turned cold. Now that their identities had been exposed, a battle was inevitable.
"Froslass, use Blizzard!"
Even though her opponent was an Elite Four member, Dolores' Pokémon team had undergone viral enhancements. They had nothing to fear. Besides…
As the blizzard swept across the battlefield, rings of transparent water shields rose around Lorelei, enveloping her and the surrounding rangers.
Dolores held nothing back—she unleashed all her leader-tier Pokémon. In addition, she had Pokémon left behind by Lucius, some from Archer, and newly acquired ones from Ariana. The sheer ferocity of her assault forced Lorelei onto the defensive.
"The Syndicate actually equipped her with this much firepower?" Lorelei released her own Pokémon in response, her mind flashing with surprise.
If Dolores had an army of Pokémon this strong, capturing her would come at a steep price.
As Lorelei calculated her battle strategy, she suddenly sensed multiple powerful Pokémon rapidly closing in from all directions.
Her expression darkened. Wild Pokémon at leader-tier?
At that moment, Sham's Crobat joined the battle, launching a surprise attack from behind.
"Another leader-tier Pokémon?" Lorelei no longer held back—all of her Pokémon took the field.
As the weakest member of Kanto's Elite Four, Lorelei commanded only two King-tier and four Leader-tier Pokémon. Facing over ten Leader-tier Pokémon at once, she was quickly forced onto the back foot.
The rangers, though professional Pokémon trainers, were completely overwhelmed the moment the battle began. Against an army capable of leveling an entire city, they lacked even the will to resist.
To make matters worse, Lorelei had to divide her strength to protect them, further limiting her combat ability.
Dolores had no such concerns. Most of the lower-ranked Hive members had already retreated into the underground tunnels when the battle broke out, leaving only Sham and other elite operatives to handle the fight.
Suddenly, a fierce wind cut through the battlefield. A Pidgeot and a Butterfree approached at high speed, entering the fray in the now snow-covered warzone.
"Why are wild Pokémon helping them?"
Lorelei's Dewgong blocked a Flamethrower from a Houndoom as she looked up at the two Leader-tier Pokémon using Air Slash against her.
Logically, if wild Pokémon were attacking intruders in their territory, Team Rocket and the Syndicate should have been their targets as well. Yet, these wild Pokémon were clearly aiding the Syndicate against her.
"This isn't good. I need to call for backup."
She pulled out her communicator.
The device was ice-cold—completely frozen. It wouldn't even turn on.
Damn it. Looks like I'll have to escape first.
Lorelei scanned the battlefield, rapidly formulating several retreat strategies. Just as she was about to signal her Pokémon to fall back, the ground suddenly trembled violently, making it impossible for her to maintain balance in her high heels.
A wild Pokémon burst from the ground.
A Leader-tier Dugtrio?
A deep, guttural roar echoed from behind her as a blue Nidoqueen emerged, blocking her escape route.
With both the sky and ground sealed off, over fifteen Leader-tier Pokémon had now surrounded her.
Lorelei's pupils shrank.
This was supposed to be just another case of wild Pokémon causing trouble in the forest…
And yet, somehow, she had walked straight into a death trap.
Am I really going to die here today?
...
Lucius sat alone in his hotel room, analyzing the situation. Both the Pokémon League and the Mythical Pokémon were conspiring against him—he had to act.
He connected his consciousness to Vicious and issued his command.
Previously, after infecting Celebi, he had used it to ensure that Vicious was also infected. Now, he had absolute control over him.
Under the influence of the pheromones, Vicious immediately ordered his base to be sealed off and instructed his subordinates to begin spreading the virus within the facility.
The sudden lockdown of the division quickly caught the attention of Team Rocket's headquarters.
The headquarters staff swiftly initiated remote access, forcibly activating the division's internal surveillance systems.
"What's going on?!" A headquarters officer gasped in horror as the surveillance footage appeared on the screen.
The base had already descended into chaos—monsters roamed freely, some still bearing the tattered remnants of Team Rocket uniforms. Meanwhile, Pokémon ran rampant, wreaking havoc without restraint.
"Quick, report to Proton!" a Team Rocket grunt shouted.
With Archer dead and Ariana away on a mission, Proton was the next in line for command.
The communication link was established, and the intelligence unit at headquarters promptly reported the situation at Vicious' division, relaying the surveillance feed.
Proton's face remained expressionless as he watched the horrifying scene unfold, but deep inside, he felt a flicker of excitement.
With Archer gone and Vicious having caused such a catastrophic disaster, there was no way he could recover from this. That meant Proton's standing within Team Rocket would rise even further.
Despite his internal delight, he remained composed and relayed the encrypted report to their leader—Giovanni.
"Vicious was secretly researching a virus, and now there's been a leak?" That was Giovanni's immediate assessment. Regardless of the cause, a crisis of this magnitude demanded swift action.
Without hesitation, he dispatched nearby Team Rocket divisions and operational units to contain the outbreak, ensuring that they took precautions against infection. His top priority was preventing the chaos from spreading beyond Vicious' base.
At the same time, Giovanni himself prepared to depart from Viridian City—he would handle this matter personally.
-----
Want to read ahead of schedule?
Join here for advance chapters: patreon.com / madbot635