Daily training continued as usual, though the desolate, uninhabited location made each day monotonous.
For Sieg it wasn't all too bad. Back on the Megalodon he used to talk to himself while gazing at the horizon all alone. Compared to that, this situation was nothing.
Moreover, he now devoted himself entirely to training his Pokémon and acquiring knowledge, scheduling every hour of the day. He didn't find it boring at all.
On the contrary, his days felt quite fulfilling.
The other three were different. Anyone who'd risen to squad leader rank within Team Rocket wouldn't be some ordinary, kindhearted soul. Though they appeared fine on the surface, each one was essentially a bloodthirsty, vicious criminal.
Their hands were all stained with countless lives and blood. This meant their temperaments weren't gentle and refined like Sieg's. Rather, from years operating in the criminal underworld, they'd grown accustomed to seeking quick results, resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement.
Add to that the fact that they were only harmonious on the surface while harboring mutual distrust, and friction during training and daily life was inevitable.
Everyone present had climbed to mid-captain by stepping over piles of corpses, how could they possibly yield peacefully?
Therefore, confrontation was unavoidable.
"Big bro, have you noticed our Pokémon seem listless lately?"
"Yeah, I noticed too. Think that woman did something?"
The two brothers whispered to each other. After all, they'd seen Rose's expertise with poisons beforehand.
The more the twins thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. The grudge that had been building since the Lapras incident now erupted in one go.
Just as Sieg was still in his tent studying in his books, sudden sounds of battle and flashing lights erupted outside.
"Nidoking (Nidoqueen), use Thunderbolt!"
Lightning flashed rapidly, bombarding a figure in the sky. Sieg looked closely, it was Rose's Pidgeot.
The dual Thunderbolts from both Pokémon filled the entire sky with electricity, but Pidgeot in the air calmly dodged, instantly appearing elsewhere.
Its Agility was extremely impressive, having reached the point of instant execution.
Gyarados and Golduck faced Venusaur head-on. Though both Water-types were weak to Grass, Water and Ice have always gone hand in hand.
Both Water-types had more or less mastered Ice-type moves, and Golduck had grasped some Psychic abilities.
Therefore, on the actual battlefield, they were actually suppressing the Venusaur that should counter them. As for the sky, that needs no elaboration.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen's various ranged attacks bombarded the flying Pidgeot relentlessly. Pidgeot could only continuously use Quick Attack and Agility to dodge, completely unable to retaliate.
Rose's expression was extremely grim. In a two-on-one frontal fight, she simply couldn't win.
In truth Rose was actually innocent. She'd merely been mixing some standard poisons. After all, her Venusaur possessed the Poison-type, so preparing toxins for it to consume was perfectly normal.
However, when preparing toxins, some inevitably spread through the air. Though airborne toxins lacked much potency, they could still affect Pokémon's condition.
Combined with the southerly wind blowing, and the four people's tents happening to be arranged in a vertical row, with everyone unaware, the toxins naturally drifted near the brothers' tents.
In other words, this was all a misunderstanding.
But the brothers wouldn't believe Rose's excuses. They'd already found her irritating since the Lapras incident, so now they were attacking directly.
After all, she was mixing poisons, and their Pokémon were affected by toxins, that much is fact.
She couldn't claim you bear zero responsibility.
"Venusaur, use Petal Dance!"
Amplified by sunny weather, Venusaur moved extremely fast. Its thick limbs suddenly lifted toward the sky as the toad-like bumps on its back absorbed endless solar energy.
Soon, countless vibrant petals surged from behind, continuously falling across the battlefield, ultimately forming small tornado-like vortexes of flowers.
Seeing this scene, the twin brothers exchanged glances and shouted simultaneously, "Shin'ichi (Shinji), use that move!"
"Gyarados, Twister!"
"Golduck, Blizzard!"
Massive Dragon-type energy gathered between heaven and earth, quickly whipping up moisture from the beach. A powerful tornado rushed toward the small flower tornado.
Just before the two tornados collided.
After an extended period of meditation, Golduck suddenly opened its eyes, its Psychic power still surging intensely. Its flat bill opened, spewing and endleslly cold icy breath.
The original tornado instantly transformed into an ice-crystal tornado, its power increasing further. The combination of Twister and Blizzard formed a massive snow tornado.
The snow tornado charged straight toward the flower tornado formed by Venusaur's Petal Dance.
The two tornados collided violently.
"BOOM~~~"
"BANG BANG BANG~~~!!!"
Plants vs. Ice.
Two massive tornados like two roaring dragons madly whipped up endless storms, this was the most powerful force nature could manifest.
Carrying the power to destroy everything, the tornados spun, producing deafening roars as they swept up surrounding beach sand.
For a moment, countless grains of sand flew through the air like a sandstorm, blocking out the sky and sun, plunging the entire area into darkness.
The fierce wind howled past. Sieg shielded his eyes with his hand to prevent sand from getting in them, standing by the cliff quietly watching the battle between the three.
"This combo technique..."
Sieg was genuinely impressed by that snow tornado. The combination of Blizzard and Twister was truly spectacular.
Including the Double Earth Power the twins had demonstrated before, this was already their second combo move.
Indeed, anyone who could stand out from among the tens of thousands of squad leaders in Kanto wasn't mediocre.
Rose had formidable tracking skills and poison expertise, with her Pokémon team built around Venusaur as the core of a Sunny Day strategy.
The twin brothers, though their team composition lacked cohesion, shared perfect coordination and had trained multiple powerful combo techniques.
The Pokémon they'd raised, whether Nidoking and Nidoqueen, or Gyarados and Golduck. were all outstanding among their peers at the same level.
"Truly, talented individuals are as numerous as fish crossing a river!"
Just as Sieg was sighing with admiration, he noticed a Pokémon silhouette in the distance over the ocean, flying toward them.
The Pokémon's body was entirely orange-yellow. Its thick limbs ended in three claws each. The boundary between its legs and body was distinct, but its arms connected smoothly to its torso.
It was a Dragonite!
Dragonite's wings appeared quite small relative to its body, with wing membranes that could lift it into the sky.
Dragonite's eyes were large and gray, its mouth and nose rounded, nostrils small. Two long, thin antennae and a small horn protruded from the top of its head. Its striped belly was cream-colored, extending all the way to the tip of its long tail.
That adorably dopey expression, combined with its smooth, chubby body, had once been voted as one of the most beloved Pokémon in official polls!