Aside from Lt. Surge, who was brimming with excitement, both Koga and Sabrina remained eerily calm in the face of Team Rocket's current victories. One was already weary of the endless battles, while the other harbored complicated emotions—after all, even before Team Rocket's occupation, Saffron City had always been Sabrina's domain.
As the commander of this operation, Sabrina held absolute authority over Team Rocket's forces in Saffron. Not only was she intimately familiar with the city, but she was also the most renowned Psychic-type expert in Kanto. To prevent outsiders from infiltrating, her Psychic corps was essential in maintaining an impenetrable defensive barrier.
Yet no one knew what Sabrina was truly thinking. Seeing the city she had grown up in reduced to ruins—it was impossible for her heart to remain entirely unmoved.
"Hahaha! These brats actually split up! How about we each take one?"
Lt. Surge roared with laughter as he made his suggestion.
Inside the surveillance room, the three executives had complete oversight of Saffron City. Ryuuske was well aware that even with Mewtwo's Teleport, sneaking into the city unnoticed was impossible—Sabrina's Psychic senses would detect them instantly. That was why Ryuuske hadn't even bothered with stealth, instead making a bold, open entrance. The moment the four of them arrived in Saffron, they had already fallen under Team Rocket's watch.
"Perfect! I heard that brat refused the badge I offered him, insisting on earning it through his own strength. Well, now's his chance!"
Koga balanced a Golbat upside-down on his hand, peering into a small mirror held in its mouth. Reflected in it was Gary, riding his Charizard straight toward Silph Co.
"Alright, that one's yours, Koga. Honestly, I'm more interested in the kid with the Dragon-types, but I doubt Sabrina will allow it. So, I'll take the other brat—the one who nearly killed me on the S.S. Anne. Sabrina, you handle the Dragon-user and that random girl who showed up!"
Lt. Surge declared with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "Perfect timing—I just got my hands on some new toys. And now, with an unlimited power supply, I can finally test them out!"
There was no trace of pre-battle tension in him. In fact, Lt. Surge had never feared death—for him, war and combat were all he craved.
Sabrina said nothing, merely lowering her head and folding her arms before silently leaving the surveillance room. Though she didn't speak, both Koga and Lt. Surge knew she had accepted the plan.
"The boss still needs this building intact—let's not let these brats wreck it. Koga, we'll greet them outside!"
With that, Lt. Surge pulled out his Thunder Badge—the official Gym Leader emblem issued by the League. A piercing screech echoed as a massive golden bird, its feathers crackling with electricity, descended and gripped his shoulder with its talons.
"The Kanto League is full of idiots. Sitting on a gold mine and not even knowing how to use it. In the end, it all fell right into Team Rocket's hands."
Lt. Surge shook his head, glancing at the badge in his palm. These badges had originally been distributed by the League as symbols of authority for Gym Leaders—who would've thought they'd become Team Rocket's strategic weapons?
"Let's go, Zapdos! With you here, we've got all the power we'll ever need! HAHAHAHA!!"
Laughing wildly, Lt. Surge unleashed a blinding bolt of lightning, shattering the floor-to-ceiling window in front of him before leaping onto Zapdos' back and soaring into the sky.
Only after Lt. Surge had left did Koga slowly retrieve his own Soul Badge. As soon as it appeared, a swirling vortex of frigid air enveloped him.
"...After this battle, I should go back to Fuchsia and check on Janine. I wonder how she's doing."
The thought of his daughter calmed Koga's restless heart, if only slightly.
---
"Where should I go first? Should I just charge straight to the top floor?"
Ash, suspended in the air by Aerodactyl's grip, stared down at the hundred-story skyscraper beneath him, hesitation flickering across his face.
Like Gary, his primary goal wasn't to defeat Team Rocket—it was to rescue the people of Pallet Town. His own mother had been captured, and he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
"No, no. Normally, the top floors would be where the enemy leader is. Charging straight in would be reckless. But the other floors don't seem like places they'd keep hostages either… Wait—I got it! Aerodactyl, dive down! We're heading to the basement!"
Ash, still circling in the air, stroked his chin before suddenly smacking his fist into his palm in realization. Without hesitation, he ordered Aerodactyl into a steep descent.
But just then—
"You're a smart kid. Too bad that won't save you!"
A familiar voice rang out. Before Ash could react, his peripheral vision was flooded with a blinding flash of electricity. Instinct kicked in, and he barked a command—Aerodactyl barely managed to twist out of the way as a searing beam of light shot past them.
"ZZZZRRRAAAKKK—"
There was no earth-shattering explosion—just a dull, sizzling sound, like something being melted clean through. Ash whipped his head around, his pupils contracting in shock.
Silph Co. stood at the heart of Saffron City's financial district, surrounded by towering skyscrapers where suited elites once worked. Now, before Ash's eyes, one of those buildings had a perfectly circular hole—one meter in diameter—punched straight through it. Steam rose from the edges, the reinforced concrete melted by unimaginable heat. That single flash of light had pierced the entire building like a hot knife through butter.
"Th-That's insane! What kind of move was that?! If Aerodactyl had taken that hit head-on…"
Ash shuddered. His Aerodactyl had only recently been revived—it hadn't undergone any real training yet. Right now, it was little more than transportation, with zero combat capability.
"Quick, Aerodactyl! Get us to the ground!"
Knowing he stood no chance in the air, Ash immediately ordered a retreat. Only on solid ground could he recall Aerodactyl and send out his real team.
"HAHAHAHA! Scared now, brat?! Taste Lt. Surge's RAILGUN!!"
A booming laugh echoed from a nearby skybridge. There, crouched on one knee, was Lt. Surge—a massive cannon barrel resting on his shoulder, so heavy that an Electabuzz behind him helped support its weight.
Clad in full military gear, armed to the teeth, his belt lined with Voltorb, and a five-meter wingspan Zapdos gripping his shoulders—Lt. Surge was a one-man war machine.
His railgun worked by utilizing Zapdos' electromagnetic force, accelerating Voltorb as projectiles through the repulsive interaction of parallel currents—the Ampere force.
In the modern world, railguns were typically mounted on warships—massive weapons requiring complex power systems. But Lt. Surge, with just a single Zapdos, had turned himself into a human railgun. With Zapdos' near-limitless energy reserves and rapid recovery, he could effectively fire indefinitely. In any modern military, Lt. Surge alone would be an entire army.
And as Ash found himself under siege by this unstoppable artillery—Gary, too, was being engulfed in a blizzard's fury.
To be continued…