{T/N: There are less than 50 Chapters left til completion on P@tre0n... With that, here's an olive branch: If we reach 99 decent Reviews (No Spam!), I'll upload 3 chapters daily, + an extra chapter for every 150 Stones with no upper limit.
The ball is in your court...}
....
[Pokémon War "Battle of Mt. Silver" has been triggered!]
[Quest Objective: Assist the Kanto Army in defeating Team Rocket]
[Reward: Random Pokémon Egg x1]
Caleb glanced at the notification that popped up on his panel before refocusing on the battle before him...
Giovanni had long planned for this battle. The vast expanse of Mt. Silver was filled with Team Rocket members as far as the eye could see.
Lance and his forces were already trapped here. Breaking through the encirclement with a group of civilians who had little combat ability would be an unimaginably difficult task.
In terms of difficulty, it was no less challenging than the Battle of Changban during the Three Kingdoms period.
The nature of warfare in this era differed from that of the previous collapsed timeline. Here, Pokémon remained the primary combatants...
In the sky, Shadow Balls, Vine Whips, and Embers flew chaotically... On the ground, jagged rocks and swirling sandstorms rose high.
In an instant, groups of Pokémon collapsed from exhaustion under the relentless assault.
Seeing this, Lance's expression darkened. He repelled an enemy soldier, standing atop his Dragonite as he glared at Giovanni and said solemnly, "Is this the outcome you wanted?"
Giovanni narrowed his eyes slightly, "I will create a world far better than this."
With a wave of his hand, he commanded: "Beedrill, use Fury Attack!"
Lance took a deep breath. Even though both he and his Pokémon were already covered in wounds, he fearlessly charged forward: "Dragonite, Dragon Rage!"
In the blink of an eye, Beedrill's gleaming stingers pierced Dragonite's body. With a slight twist, it effortlessly dodged the incoming Dragon Rage.
"Groo!"
Dragonite let out a pained cry, helplessly plummeting to the ground with its trainer.
The other three Elite Four members grew even more anxious at the sight. They had been trapped on Mt. Silver for many days.
Earlier, Giovanni had besieged them without attacking, deliberately depleting their resources and stamina. Now, they didn't even have a single Potion left to heal their Pokémon. Every person, every Pokémon, was fighting while injured.
"Hey, worry about yourself first!" Archer, one of Team Rocket's executives, grinned at Lorelei across from him before ordering his Pokémon to launch another fierce assault.
Lorelei's Lapras took the hit for its trainer, then weakly closed its eyes.
The other three Elite Four members were already locked in desperate battles, unable to assist Lance...
The civilians who had sided with the Kanto League and sheltered behind the Elite Four couldn't hold back their despairing sobs at the sight.
Caleb stole a glance toward Lance's direction during a lull in the fighting.
But at that moment, a shower of dazzling petals suddenly drifted down from the sky. Lucario's eyes sharpened, sensing danger, and it swiftly retreated.
Sure enough, the once-gentle pink petals abruptly turned lethal, slashing toward Lucario with deadly intent.
Snapping back to focus, Caleb scanned the battlefield and quickly identified a blind spot untouched by the Petal Dance. Calmly, he commanded: "Left flank, Extreme Speed."
Lucario halted its retreat and flashed left like a streak of white light.
The Petal Dance missed entirely, but the opponent showed no frustration.
"Tsk tsk, little eye-candy, hasn't anyone told you not to lose focus during a Pokémon battle?" The woman let out a bell-like laugh.
Caleb studied the familiar figure before him. She had an oval face, large eyes, and an aura of sultry allure.
Though each Instance reused the same characters, their personalities varied across Scenarios.
Compared to the Ariana he had met before, this world's version was far more provocative...
"Yeah." Caleb's expression didn't change as he checked on Lance's situation, then said, "I don't have time for this. Bye!"
"Trying to run? Not gonna happen!" Ariana's tone shifted sharply as she raised a hand and ordered, "Vileplume, Petal Blizzard!"
Caleb gave her an odd look before asking, "Who said anything about running?"
Before his words fully landed, a deafening draconic roar split the air. Scorching flames poured down, instantly engulfing the Vileplume.
Mimikyu shot forward like a streak of light, its energy drive flaring as it slammed into Vileplume and sent it flying over a dozen meters.
The combined 30% damage boost from the title 'Gigantamax Slayer' and Mimikyu's 'Armor Form' instantly knocked out Vileplume.
Ariana gaped at the glowing Mimikyu.
"What the hell is that?!" she exclaimed.
Ignoring her, Caleb mounted Dragonite and shot toward Giovanni. ..
...
Giovanni slowly approached the fallen Lance, flanked by a Nidoking and a Beedrill.
"Lance, I gave you a chance," Giovanni said.
Lance remained silent, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes. His thoughts turned to Ash and Gary, whom he'd prepared as his contingency.
As long as the spark of hope remained, what did his death matter?
Giovanni shrugged, a trace of regret in his eyes, "Pity. You won't live to see the better world I'll create, one where humans don't need Pokémon to reign supreme."
Lance answered with nothing but a derisive scoff.
"Finish them." Giovanni turned away without a backward glance, issuing the order to his Nidoking.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when a series of impact sounds erupted behind him.
Nidoking and Beedrill crashed to the ground in front of him.
Lance, who had resigned himself to death, snapped his eyes open at the noise, only to see a handsome young man extending a hand toward him.
"Hey, don't die on me," the stranger said.
Lance froze...
The famously unflappable Dragon-type Elite Four member found his mind blanking for several seconds.
When Lance didn't respond, Caleb turned and placed a hand on Lance's Dragonite, channeling his Viridian Power to restore its strength.
Soon, the fallen Dragonite reopened its eyes.
Caleb's own Dragonite peeked over his shoulder, curiously eyeing its battered counterpart.
Finally snapping out of his daze, Lance scrambled to his feet.
Caleb withdrew his hand, pulled a baguette and milk from his inventory, and tossed them to Lance, saying, "Leave the rest to me."
With that, he turned to face Giovanni.
Lance stared dumbly at the food in his hands... his first meal in over a day.
Suddenly, the young man glanced back and asked, "Oh, by the way, do you want Giovanni alive or dead?"
Caleb held no goodwill toward Giovanni whatsoever. Regardless of the Instance, the leader of a cross-regional Pokémon trafficking syndicate was hardly a saint in any world.
The question gave Lance pause before he numbly replied, "Alive... I guess?"
Giovanni, overhearing the exchange, sneered, "What arrogance! Beedrill, Fell Stinger!"