Boom!
A crisp explosion echoed across the sky.
Everyone who hadn't yet evacuated instinctively looked up.
A brilliant firework burst open above Celadon City—
And eight blazing red characters formed in the air:
"Did you like this gift, Lance?"
On stage, Lance's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Veins bulged across his forehead as fury radiated from him.
Team Rocket had publicly executed undercover League agents.
This wasn't just murder.
It was humiliation.
A deliberate slap across the face of the Kanto League.
They were brazen beyond belief.
Even Armin couldn't stomach it.
As someone who had been meant to die in that explosion, he felt especially qualified to comment.
He knew Giovanni was watching from somewhere in the shadows.
"Where are you going?" Officer Jenny called when she saw him turn away.
Armin waved without looking back.
"To make Team Rocket pay."
Jenny's eyes grew moist.
What courage.
To challenge Team Rocket alone, seeking vengeance for fallen comrades…
Regardless of success or failure—
That resolve was worthy of respect.
She remembered the investigators bursting into blood mist and shouted desperately,
"Don't go! There are too many of them!"
Armin, however, had no intention of charging in blindly.
Instead, he strode onto the stage.
Lance spun around at the sound of footsteps—
Shock flooded his face.
"You're alive?!"
Armin gave him a brief nod, then lifted his gaze toward the tall building across the plaza.
He imagined Giovanni's signature smile hidden behind glass and steel.
Then he sneered.
"You're celebrating too early."
"I'm not dead."
-----
Across the street—
Giovanni had been savoring Lance's grief.
Then the loudspeaker crackled.
"You're celebrating too early. I'm not dead."
The pen in Giovanni's hand slipped and clattered to the floor.
His brows knitted sharply.
Ariana's voice tightened.
"How is that possible?!"
A cold premonition flashed through Giovanni's mind.
He grabbed the phone immediately.
"All units, evacuate the base at once! Secure Dr. Fuji! Have him take the Mewtwo prototype and leave immediately!"
-----
Back at the plaza—
Armin turned to Lance.
Without giving him time to speak, he said quickly,
"Team Rocket's base is inside the Celadon Game Corner. If you move now, you might still catch them."
Lance reacted instantly.
His expression hardened.
Officer Jenny had overheard everything and was already issuing orders into her communicator.
Within moments—
All of Celadon's law enforcement mobilized.
Their target:
The Celadon Game Corner.
Lance mounted Dragonite personally.
Before taking off, he looked at Armin with solemn determination.
"Wait here. I won't let you fall into danger again."
Armin: …
He was almost touched.
Almost.
As Lance soared away, Armin slipped out the back while Jenny was distracted.
He hailed a taxi.
"Fuji Estate."
The Rocket-issued card still had plenty of League currency left.
To prevent it from being frozen, Armin stopped by a bank and withdrew ten thousand Pokédollars in cash.
From that, he used two hundred to buy a standard travel backpack from the taxi driver.
He stuffed the money inside, along with Mimikyu—now without a Poké Ball.
…
When he arrived at the estate—
Amber was sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the sky.
Armin vaulted over the wall and headed straight to her room.
"brother! You're here!" Amber's eyes lit up.
Armin nodded, steadying his breath.
"I'm here to keep my promise."
"To take you to see the ocean."
Amber scrunched her face adorably.
"But Daddy won't let me leave…"
Armin knelt in front of her.
"Tell me honestly. Do you want to stay here?"
Amber hesitated.
Then, as if summoning all her courage, she whispered,
"Brother… I'm not the Amber you're looking for. I don't even know who I am…"
She knew.
Armin's thoughts sharpened instantly.
He shook his head firmly.
"It doesn't matter who you are. The one who hooked pinkies with me and promised to see the sea—that was you, right?"
Amber nodded.
"Then that's enough."
"Will you come with me?"
This time—
She didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Armin lifted her into his arms.
As they reached the corridor—
He paused.
The basement entrance.
He set Amber down gently.
"Wait here. I'll be right back."
She nodded obediently.
…
Armin descended into the basement.
He pushed the door open—
And froze.
Rows of lifeless Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander floated inside transparent tanks.
Each bore a black serial number.
The order of their cloning.
Farther inside—
The tanks no longer contained Pokémon.
They contained girls.
Identical pale faces.
Identical blue hair drifting like seaweed in green solution.
Ambers.
How many had Dr. Fuji cloned in two years?
Armin stared at the lifeless forms.
Then—
A soft voice came from behind him.
"Brother… are they all Amber?"
He turned.
Amber stood there, calm.
Before he could speak, she gave a fragile smile.
"I already knew."
"When I first woke up… I was surrounded by water like this."
Armin's chest tightened painfully.
Yet the eight-year-old girl smiled brightly.
"It's okay. Compared to them… I'm already lucky."
"They never met you."
"I did."
His throat felt tight.
"We're leaving," he said gently.
…
Back upstairs—
Amber suddenly remembered something.
"Wait for me!"
She ran into the battle room they'd visited before.
Her eyes lingered on the rows of Poké Balls.
Armin understood immediately.
"Bring them with us."
She beamed.
"Thank you, brother!"
Armin stuffed twenty Poké Balls into the backpack until it was full.
That meant—
Mimikyu had to stay in his arms.
Just as they prepared to leave—
Footsteps echoed from outside.
Armin reacted instantly.
He pulled Amber behind him and ducked into a storage room.
Through a crack in the door—
They saw them.
Five Team Rocket members.
And Dr. Fuji.
They rushed upstairs toward Amber's bedroom.
Moments later—
Fuji's furious roar shook the house.
The five Rockets scattered, searching the estate.
Armin held Amber closer.
The promise had been made.
Now—
They had to survive long enough to keep it.