"Over here!"
Without warning, Ray Chu slammed a fist into the wall beside him.
Beneath that tiny fist, the wall exploded as though it had been hit by a charge of explosives, revealing an Arbok coiled behind it, ready to strike.
Ray Chu's sudden attack clearly startled the Arbok, but it reacted with incredible speed. The pattern on its chest abruptly shifted into an intimidating configuration as it unleashed [GLARE].
Unfortunately, the move paralyzed Ray Chu for only an instant. His movements barely even slowed before a Brick Break struck Arbok squarely on the head, nearly knocking its brains out.
Arbok hissed in pain.
Its level was much higher than Jessie's Arbok, however. Not only did it withstand the blow, it spat a glob of Acid Spray at Ray Chu.
SIZZLE!
A large patch of the floor visibly corroded away.
But the attack had only struck one of Ray Chu's Double Team afterimages. His real body had vanished in an instant.
"Where is he?"
The enemy hidden in the darkness immediately looked around, then suddenly raised his head.
"Above!"
Ray Chu was hovering in midair.
He thrust his right hand toward the sky.
Outside, beyond everyone's sight, storm clouds rapidly gathered overhead. Lightning flashed among the clouds before converging into a thick bolt that tore through the top of the tower and came crashing down.
[THUNDER]
The lightning instantly blasted Arbok into a puddle of black fluid that splattered across the floor.
[SUBSTITUTE]
That Arbok had only been a Substitute. Ray Chu's long-prepared attack had failed to hit the real target.
"Heh heh heh... So you're the brat who interfered with our plans in Vermilion City. You're also partly responsible for Lt. Surge's identity being exposed."
A shadow emerged from the darkness, revealing a middle-aged man dressed as a ninja.
Ditto was starting to panic.
Just as it stood there at a loss, a voice carried through the air.
"You're with Team Rocket?"
With a flick of his hand, the ninja released a Golbat and let it perch on his arm. An eerie smile spread across his face.
"That's right. I'm Koga the Ninja, one of Team Rocket's three executives. And now, you can die!"
A huge snake suddenly shot out from the shadows behind "Ray Chu"—actually Ditto—and opened its jaws, spraying a stream of highly toxic, corrosive fluid at him.
Just before the spray struck Ditto's human form, a green shield blocked the attack.
"Sirfetch'd!"
Dapple had arrived just in time and blocked the sneak attack with her shield. At the same moment, the long leek in her other hand shot forward in a rapid thrust toward a spot to the front-left.
The air distorted.
An Arbok appeared.
The leek lance swept across its long body and sent it flying. The snake crashed to the ground in a limp heap, completely unable to battle.
A flash of surprise crossed Koga's face. He gave Sirfetch'd a long look.
"To think you could see through Arbok's real position. You're even harder to deal with than I expected. How about it? Interested in joining Team Rocket? With your strength, you could become an executive immediately."
Ray Chu gave a derisive laugh.
"Team Rocket? That little organization carrying out terrorist attacks around Kanto?"
"Heh heh heh... Kid, aren't you misunderstanding Team Rocket a little? Kanto may be our main base, but our influence extends throughout Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and beyond. We have branches in all those regions. Team Rocket is far more powerful than what you've seen on the surface!"
Ray Chu's eyes shifted slightly.
He hadn't expected to hear something like that.
He had assumed Team Rocket was just an organization stirring up trouble in one small corner of the world, but apparently its foundations ran much deeper than he had thought.
"It sounds pretty good, but... I refuse!"
That was Ray Chu's answer.
He would have to be out of his mind to give up being a perfectly good Trainer just to run around with those Team Rocket people.
Unless they invited him to be the boss. Then he might consider it.
Koga's expression immediately darkened.
He gave a cold snort and ordered, "Zubat, Golbat—use [DEATH SUPERSONIC FORMATION]."
As soon as he spoke, four more Zubat flew out of the darkness from all directions.
At some point, Koga had secretly released them and kept them hidden until now, waiting for a chance to strike. Together with the Golbat perched on his arm, all five opened their mouths and unleashed a strange sonic attack.
Working together, the four Zubat and Golbat amplified the Supersonic waves severalfold. In the cramped interior, they rebounded endlessly off the walls.
The invisible assault could easily leave an enemy unable to resist. Even Dapple, whose stats had risen substantially, found it difficult to endure.
Koga wore specially made earplugs and was therefore unaffected.
A smug smile spread across his face as he looked at everyone sprawled across the floor ahead.
"It's over, kid!"
With a casual gesture, he released a Beedrill.
The poisonous stinger on its abdomen pointed toward Ditto. A single strike would be more than enough to end a young life.
"Fool. You rejected my offer. Now the only thing waiting for you is death!"
Beedrill's stinger plunged toward the helpless Ditto.
A yellow figure flashed past.
With a single slap, it smashed Beedrill into the wall.
What Koga had never expected was that the "real body" he had been targeting all along was actually a Ditto.
And as a Pikachu, Ray Chu's resistance to ultrasonic waves far exceeded anything Koga had anticipated.
"Pika!"
The electric mouse closed in on Koga with Quick Attack, then drove a lightning-charged fist straight into his abdomen.
"How... is that possible?!"
Koga coughed up blood as he was sent flying backward.
The Golbat on his arm flapped its wings and tried to attack, only for Ray Chu to whip around with a brutally heavy Iron Tail and send it flying as well.
In a single instant, the entire situation had reversed—so quickly there was barely time to react.
"Why... why is your Pikachu unaffected?" Koga asked in disbelief, clutching his stomach.
Ditto continued dutifully serving as Ray Chu's stand-in.
"Every wave has a fixed frequency. As long as you produce an opposing wave, you can cancel it out. Your mistake was being far too confident."
"So that's how it is. I don't know how you managed it, but you got me this time."
Koga lowered his head, hiding his expression from view.
Ray Chu's brow suddenly furrowed.
There was no way the man intended to surrender.
His gaze snapped toward the wall beside them.
A Pokémon resembling a streetlamp emerged from the wall.
The instant Ray Chu saw it, he knew this Pokémon was the culprit behind the bizarre incidents earlier.
He had no idea how it had managed to shake off Gengar.
"Perfect timing! Lampent, use [INFERNO]!"
The flame inside Lampent flickered.
It opened its mouth and spat out a mass of blue fire that swelled as it surged toward them. One look was enough to tell that the flames would be extremely troublesome.
Ray Chu immediately darted aside.
The blue fire exploded behind him with a roar, scattering blazing blue flames everywhere. The corrosive fire burned through everything it touched.
This Pokémon was not especially powerful, but its abilities were extremely strange.
In this Pokémon cemetery, it could push those abilities to their absolute limit.
---
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