Xiao Xia rolled her eyes at Ash and said, "Although he won the battle just now, he exchanged his Butterfree for the other party's Raticate."
"Exchange?" Xia You was stunned at first, and after remembering this part of the plot, he couldn't help but shake his head, "Isn't Butterfree your partner? Why would you exchange it? And you're not aiming to complete the Pokédex, and Raticate isn't a rare Pokémon, so there's no need to exchange it with the other party."
"But..." Ash was also very conflicted, his tone betraying his disappointment, "Brock also agreed to the exchange just now."
"He saw the other person's female companion and couldn't take his eyes off her, so how could he possibly listen to you?" Xiao Xia was helpless about Brock's infatuation with pretty women.
Since things were already like this, Xia You didn't persuade Ash to immediately exchange Butterfree back. After all, everyone grows slowly, and this was a stage Ash had to go through. Moreover, it was his own exchange request; only the one who tied the bell can untie it. Even if he regretted it, Ash had to realize it himself.
"By the way." Xiao Xia took another bite of cake and asked Xia You, "Where did you go just now?"
"I just walked around nearby." Looking at the several pieces of cake in Xiao Xia's hand, Xia You smiled and said, "Although you're still growing, don't eat too many sweets. You'll get fat very easily."
Hearing this, Xiao Xia glanced at Xia You, and for some reason, she remembered something. Though a bit regretful, she slowly put down the cake in her hand.
The whistle sounded again. The St. Anne had been sailing for a long time now. Outside the window, no land or other ships could be seen; everywhere was the vast blue sea.
Sitting beside Xiao Xia, Xia You had just taken a few bites of food when suddenly, with a bang, all the doors of the hall closed, and a group of ill-intentioned people appeared from who knows where.
These people wore black hats, eye masks, black uniforms with an 'R' printed on them, and carried a machine with several suction tubes on their backs, surrounding the passengers.
Just as everyone was bewildered and at a loss, the lights in the hall suddenly dimmed. Two figures, a man and a woman, dressed in white uniforms, jumped onto a high platform made of stacked tables. Then, amidst rampant laughter, a beam of light shone on the two.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To protect the world's peace!"
"To embody love and truth, the evil!"
"The cute and charming villainous characters!"
"I am Jessie!"
101kanshu①⓪①ⓚⓐⓝ.ⓒⓞⓜ All hand-typed, no errors.
"I am Kojiro!"
"We are Team Rockets, traversing the galaxy!"
"White hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"
"That's right, Meowth~" A standing Meowth finally jumped between the two.
Team Rocket Trio, who run through the entire Pokémon anime, finally made their dazzling appearance!
Jessie, with her thick reddish-purple hair, put her hands on her hips and loudly declared to the passengers, "All the Pokémon here today, Team Rockets will take them all!"
"That's right!" Kojiro crossed his arms and also said loudly, "If anyone dares to stop us, don't blame us for being impolite!"
Before the passengers could react, the black-clad Team Rockets members activated a switch. Instantly, air currents swirled, and with powerful suction, more than half of the Poké Balls, whether in the hands or on the waists of those standing at the front, were sucked into the machine.
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos, but Xia You, Ash, and Xiao Xia were far enough away that they were temporarily not affected by the air currents.
Team Rockets, as in the anime, have indeed made a move against the passengers...
After a brief moment of panic, the passengers naturally wouldn't just surrender. As Pokémon were released by people, they fought back under their owners' command, battling against Team Rockets' Pokémon.
The Pokémon in the hands of Team Rockets members were almost all Poison-type, and among the most common were Ekans, Koffing, and Zubat.
The Pokémon in the hands of the passengers, however, were much more varied. Though diverse, most were unevolved Pokémon like Rattata, Pidgey, and Bellsprout.
Ash, Xiao Xia, and Brock also joined the battle at this time.
Both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the hall, and explosions and flames quickly left the place in ruins.
However, all in all, if Team Rockets had no other means, even without Ash and others intervening, their defeat would only be a matter of time.
Could a long-planned scheme really be this simple?
Xia You calmly observed everything. Suddenly, he saw the man codenamed Handsome in the corridor on the second floor, leading two Pokémon, battling a feminine man with a purple Mohawk haircut wearing a Team Rockets uniform.
His heart stirred. Without time to greet Xiao Xia and the others, Xia You ran to the stairs and arrived at the corridor on the second floor of the hall.
Handsome's two Pokémon were a standing frog with a punchable expression—Croagunk, and a Growlithe with tiger stripes and a lion-like mane.
As for the feminine man, his Pokémon were a Zubat with no eyes but a gaping maw, and a Weezing that constantly emitted poison gas.
The four Pokémon were in the thick of battle. Upon seeing Xia You arrive, Handsome's face instantly lit up with surprise, while the feminine man's expression became even more unpleasant.
"Xia You!" Handsome called out, then pointed at the man and shouted, "This guy is Lambda, one of Team Rockets' four Rocket Executives, and also the on-site commander of this robbery. As long as he is caught, this riot will truly be stopped!"
"Damn it, don't get in the way!" Lambda roared, "Whether it's the International Police or any other Trainer, anyone who dares to stop Team Rockets' plan will pay the price!"
So he was the on-site commander. Now that he was entangled here, no wonder the Team Rockets members below were in disarray like scattered sand.
"Just give up." Xia You said, "Look down below, your plan has completely failed. Your subordinates are scattered and fleeing. Failure is already inevitable! Kirlia, use Confusion attack!"
The next second, Lambda's Zubat was as if someone had grabbed its neck and then slammed it hard onto the ground.
With Xia You joining, the previously evenly matched situation instantly saw a victor emerge.
Seeing this, no matter how unwilling Lambda was, he could only swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.
"Don't celebrate too soon, we will be back!" Glaring fiercely at Handsome and Xia You, Lambda then ordered, "Weezing, use Smokescreen!"
A large cloud of black smoke spewed from Weezing's body, engulfing Lambda.
"Oh no!" Handsome exclaimed in alarm, and when he covered his nose and plunged into the Smokescreen, he found that Lambda and his Pokémon had already vanished without a trace.