"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush! Charizard, Fire Blast!"

"Alakazam, Slowbro, double Psychic!"

The destructive power of Elite Four level Pokémon was enormous. While maybe not enough to reshape the land, wiping out a horde of grunts with a single move was no challenge at all.

Lance's Dragonite and Charizard rampaged through the base like unstoppable forces; anyone in their way, gone!

Though Will had not yet reached the Elite Four level, the combined Psychic energy of his two Pokémon was just as powerful as attacks from an average Elite Four Pokémon.

Not to mention, Psychic-type Pokémon excel at level suppression. While their advantage might be less clear against equals, sweeping through lower-level opponents was laughably easy.

"Will, did you get through to Viridian City's security forces!?" Lance shouted while commanding Dragonite and Charizard in their relentless assault.

"I did, but the underground layout is complex. Officer Jenny's reinforcements might not arrive that quickly."

"That's fine. Now that we've been discovered, let's raise as much chaos as we can and draw their attention!"

Then, Lance immediately gave another loud command, "Dragonite, use Hyper Beam on the dome! Blast through this cave!"

"DRAAAA!"

A "majestic" roar erupted from the normally goofy-looking Dragonite. With a strong flap of its little wings, it shot straight up toward the dome of the underground base.

Then came a beam of orange light -Hyper Beam- crashing upward with overwhelming destructive force.

RUM… RUMMMMMMBLE…

"Was that an earthquake…? THAT HAD TO BE AN EARTHQUAKE!"

"It's shaking! RUN!"

"AHHHHH! Help!!"

"…"

Since Lance and Will had infiltrated during daylight hours, the streets above were still filled with young people out playing and hanging around.

The moment Dragonite's Hyper Beam shook the ground, the street crowd shifted from confusion to panic. And then to outright chaos as they fled in every direction!

Suddenly…

A terrifying surge of orange energy burst through the ground, slashing upward along the street in a vertical line.

A small car driving along the road was instantly sliced in half by the Hyper Beam with a sharp crash.

Inside the driver's cabin, the shocked driver stared in disbelief as his car split in two… and slowly collapsed to both sides.

"AHHH! H-HELP!"

With a scream, the driver scrambled to unbuckle his seatbelt and fled the street on all fours, trembling all over.

Soon after, the ground began rumbling again, and though most people had already fled far away, a few bold souls stayed hidden, observing from corners…

BOOM!

Another Hyper Beam shot up from underground, intersecting the first beam to carve a huge "十" symbol into the street.

The road began to collapse entirely.

Rocks and dirt surged upward.

Dust exploded everywhere!

For a while, nothing could be seen clearly at all…

"DRAAAAA!" "CHAAAAR!"

Two dragon roars echoed almost back-to-back from underground, and then from the fissures, a flood of injured wild Pokémon burst forth, fleeing for their lives!

Just as the Pokémon were about to scatter into the city, a Slowbro appeared overhead, hands behind its back, wearing a "wise and mighty" expression.

"Slooow…bro~"

Slowbro looked up and bellowed. Its eyes immediately lit up with intense purple light.

In the next moment, all the wild Pokémon fleeing from underground turned around, gazing blankly up at Slowbro in the sky.

"Slooow…bro~"

Then, Slowbro suddenly waved forcefully in the direction of Viridian Forest, and all the wild Pokémon instantly turned around, dashing straight toward the forest.

Inside the underground Base B13, a large number of wild Pokémon -under the cover of Lance and Will- began frantically fleeing to the surface.

Though Team Rocket reinforcements continued to arrive, none of them were a match for even a single strike from Lance or Will.

That was until a black-haired man, not wearing a Team Rocket uniform, quickly approached them.

"E-Elite Four Lance!"

The newcomer immediately recognized one of the intruders, and his face turned pale in an instant.

He was clearly a "miniboss" leader, and there was no way Lance would let him get away. Without hesitation, he commanded Dragonite to strike!

"Dragonite, Extreme Speed!"

"Dra!"

The usually gentle-looking Dragonite displayed a speed completely unmatched by its appearance, instantly appearing beside the blue-haired man and punching straight toward his shoulder.

In that crucial moment, a Protect energy barrier enveloped the man tightly, shielding him from Dragonite's blow.

Only then did Lance and Will notice that hidden inside the man's clothes was a small Horsea.

It was clear the Protect had come from Horsea.

"How many more attacks can you block? Dragonite, Thunder Punch!"

"Quagsire!"

The next second, another Pokémon appeared in front of Dragonite.

Faced with the charging Dragonite, Quagsire simply opened its tiny eyes and… used Leer with an innocent look.

Plop~

Thunder Punch slid right across Quagsire's body. The Electric-type energy had absolutely no effect on the Ground-type Pokémon.

"Cloyster, use Icicle Spear! Weavile, Ice Punch!"

"Dragonite, Hurricane!"

"Alakazam, Slowbro, Psychic!"

"Quagsire, Amnesia!"

At some point, a masked woman had appeared beside the blue-haired man. And it was clear Cloyster and Weavile were her Pokémon.

The six Pokémon fell into a chaotic battle. Cloyster and Weavile immediately targeted Dragonite without hesitation.

To them, dragons were nothing!

Sensing the oppressive Ice-type energy, Dragonite had no choice but to retreat while unleashing Hurricane.

Meanwhile, Will commanded Alakazam and Slowbro to rush forward, using Psychic to hold down Cloyster and Quagsire. The Dark-type Weavile would have to be handled by Dragonite alone.

As for Quagsire, it still stared blankly with its tiny eyes, standing innocently among the other Pokémon, a slow question mark forming above its head…

Who am I?

Where am I?

Someone's trying to harm me!

But… it doesn't really hurt.

With Amnesia in effect, Dragonite's Hurricane and Alakazam's Psychic only felt like tickles to it.

Cloyster, meanwhile, smartly hid behind Quagsire, sneakily launching attacks while avoiding direct hits from Psychic.

At the same time, Weavile had already closed in on Dragonite. Its claws, glowing with icy blue light, slashed viciously at its opponent.

"D-DRAAAG!"

Dragonite's anguished roar echoed from deep underground, piercing through the clouds; making everyone hiding nearby shiver.

It was clearly just a cry, but it felt… horrifying!

---◓---

Elsewhere, a bit of dust suddenly drifted down from a crack in the ceiling of Team Rocket's Base A3.

Strangely, there were no guards stationed nearby; otherwise, someone would've noticed right away.

At that moment, a pair of golden eyes appeared on the ceiling. They glanced quickly around… and then vanished without a trace.