Chapter 188: A Debate on Principles
"Pikachu, from now on, when I say use your signature move, I mean Iron Tail." Yellow sparks flashed in Ash's eyes as he couldn't help but issue the reminder.
He felt like his bond with Pikachu had weakened significantly, as if they had no rapport at all.
This sense of disparity was even more pronounced, especially since he had just entered the Bond Phenomenon with his Charmeleon.
Of course, his bond was probably lowest with Wartortle. He was always so troublesome, and Ash could never figure out what that turtle was thinking.
"Pika?" Pikachu tried to twist around and grab its tail.
Its signature move was Iron Tail?
The problem was its belly getting in the way; its paws couldn't reach its tail.
Although it hadn't used Iron Tail, the power of its Thunderbolt still destroyed the torture machine. However, Mr. Kaiser's condition seemed even worse than the broken machine's. His muscles twitched all over, his skin was scorched black, and he was clearly on his last legs.
"You damn electric mouse... I have you and your whole family to thank for this..." Kaiser said gratefully, trembling as he lay on the ground.
Pikachu nodded, its expression calm and nonchalant.
"Pika (I'm an orphan, so just thank me)."
After some frantic first aid from Brock, they finally managed to buy Kaiser a bit more time. Only then did the trio learn that Team Rocket had invaded.
Not only that, but Kaiser had even revealed the Dratini's habitat. It wasn't his fault for being loose-lipped; Team Rocket's methods were just that good.
There was no time to lose. The three of them helped Kaiser up and ran in the direction he pointed.
In a certain mountain valley, a stream flowed through tranquil and beautiful scenery. The water was clear as it meandered, creating a picturesque view.
"Whoa, to think the Safari Zone was hiding a place like this."
The three of them pushed aside the bushes at the entrance to the valley cave and stepped inside, only to discover a whole different world.
The bushes outside also showed clear signs of being arranged by hand, likely camouflage created by that old cowboy to protect the Dratini.
The trio looked at the stream. It was about three meters wide with an unknown depth, flowing slowly. From time to time, a few Magikarp would leap out of the water.
Dratini are precious Pokémon, so their habitats naturally require extremely high-quality water. It seemed that old cowboy hadn't been lying to them.
"So, what's the plan?"
Jessie put her hands on her hips, tossing the question to the other two.
The trio's division of labor was clear: she was in charge of the looks department. She'd talk the talk, but not use her brain or lift a finger.
"Let's just pump all the water out. Looking at this stream's depth, we can drain it in less than two hours." This time, James pulled a generator-powered water pump from his pants.
"Then we can do a livestream of us foraging in the mud. We might even go viral."
"Idiot! It's 2020 and you're still talking about tide-pooling videos!"
Meowth shot James a look of utter disdain, then pulled out two grenade-like bombs. They were palm-sized, one red and one blue, held in each paw.
"This is my grand invention. The red one is called the Electric Fish-Blasting Grenade. Throw it in, and the stream for hundreds of meters around will fill with an electric current, blasting the Dratini right out." After speaking, he pointed to the blue bomb:
"This one's the Air Fish-Blasting Grenade. Toss it in, and it'll deplete all the oxygen in the stream's water. Then the Dratini, unable to breathe, will float up like a dead snake."
"Wow, that's our Meowth, always so reliable!"
"Archer is always in the company group chat calling himself Team Rocket's number one strategist. Even though I'm always the first to 'like' it, I, James, am the first to object! That title clearly belongs to the great Meowth!"
The two of them heaped on the praise, putting Meowth in an excellent mood.
*As expected,* he thought, *it takes being teamed up with two stupid humans to truly showcase my intellect!*
"Mwahahaha-meowth!"
With that, Meowth leaped onto a tall rock, about to toss both bombs into the stream simultaneously, ready to give the Pokémon inside a shocking taste of ice and fire...
"Stop, Team Rocket!!"
A righteous shout came from beyond the valley's bushes. The three members of Team Rocket instinctively looked toward the source of the sound and couldn't help but blurt out, "Who's there?"
"Hmm? Did I hear someone ask, 'Who's there'?"
Another voice came from the bushes. This opening gave the Team Rocket trio a bad feeling.
"Since you've asked with such sincerity!"
Jessie: "?"
"We will answer with great compassion!"
James: "?"
"To protect the world from destruction!"
"To protect the peace of the world!"
"Upholding the evil of love and truth!"
"The cute and charming *righteous* characters!"
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town!"
"I'm Brock from Pewter City!"
"I'm Misty from Cerulean City!"
"Pika (I'm an orphan)!"
Ash's trio struck a classic pose, having cleanly copied Team Rocket's entire routine.
The tables had turned!
"Hey, you guys are so unprofessional!"
"Copying us? You're just thieves! Low-class thieves!"
Team Rocket raged, seeing this as a great humiliation.
"Team Rocket, you're surrounded! Don't even think about doing anything to the Dratini!" Ash proclaimed righteously, seizing the initiative by casting the first accusation. By striking first and seizing the moral high ground, even if you lose, you can still win the sympathy of any onlookers.
"What the hell? We're just fishing here. This is the Safari Zone. Are you telling us we're prohibited from coming in to capture Pokémon?"
"No way? You can't catch Pokémon in the Safari Zone? You've got to be kidding me."
Jessie and James immediately launched a brilliant counterattack.
Indeed, anyone could enter the Safari Zone. On what grounds could Team Rocket be barred? No matter how rare Dratini was, it was still just a wild Pokémon here, which meant it was fair game to capture. Even if a wild Groudon appeared right now, they would have no right to stop them! That arrogant old cowboy Kaiser was just a gatekeeper. Besides, Team Rocket even owned shares in this Safari Zone. Team Rocket managed to stick its fingers into every industry in the Kanto Region, taking advantage of any opening.
"Then what are those in your hands!"
Seeing his opponents trying to win with logic, Kaiser stepped forward. He held up a nearby sign on which four large characters were written: Blast Fishing Prohibited.
"Hehe, these are just fireworks for our entertainment. They're harmless, meow."
Meowth, however, was completely unfazed. He activated the two bombs and tossed them into the air.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
The two bombs exploded in mid-air, but with no real power. The Electric Fish-Blasting Grenade required water as a conductive medium, and the Air Fish-Blasting Grenade could only deplete oxygen in water. They were useless in the air.
This was the escape plan Meowth had prepared.
"Hehe, nothing to say now, right, meow?"
Meowth couldn't help but taunt them. Today, he was operating on the fifth layer.
"Well, you didn't pay the entrance fee! That's illegal trespassing!"
Kaiser found another loophole and pointed it out.
"What a joke! We used our professional Team Rocket entertainment machine to cover the entrance fee. The cost of that machine is worth way more than your measly fee, so how can you say we didn't pay, meow?"
Meowth sneered. To be honest, they had actually planned to secretly install that machine in Giovanni's room one day, so the boss could relax and have a laugh after a long day. It just happened to be put to use ahead of schedule.
After a round of debate, Ash and his group realized they couldn't defeat Team Rocket on the moral high ground. The situation had reached a stalemate.
However, their debate had successfully attracted the interest of a certain Pokémon beneath the stream.
"μ~"
A small, blue snake-like Pokémon emerged from the water's surface, blinking its large eyes as it curiously observed the two opposing groups.
(end of chapter)