Misty used all her strength to throw the poké ball high into the air.
That posture and aura made her look exactly like a Superior Trainer about to release their ace.
A red light flashed.
An orange-red Goldeen with a sharp, hard horn on its head appeared on the lobby floor.
Goldeen stared with a pair of dull, dead-fish eyes, its mouth opening and closing.
Then, it spat out a small puddle of water toward the front.
After spitting, Goldeen lay on its side on the ground, its tail slapping the smooth floor tiles with a "flap-flap," struggling to turn over, but like an ordinary fish on land, it could only flop helplessly.
The scene was extremely awkward for a moment.
Jessie, James, and Meowth tilted their heads in unison.
Silence.
Then,
"Pfft... Hahahahaha!!!"
Jessie was the first to burst out laughing, clutching her stomach, her high heels nearly losing their balance.
"I... I thought it was some powerful character! Turns out it's just a stupid fish flopping around out of water?" She laughed until tears almost came out, her full chest heaving violently with the laughter.
James wiped away the tears from laughing and pointed at the still-flopping Goldeen: "This, this can be called a battle Pokemon? In its current state, I could kick it away with one foot!"
Misty's maneuver, though ridiculous, did indeed buy some time.
"Alright, Misty."
Roy's calm voice came from behind her.
He stepped forward and gently pressed down on Misty's still-raised arm.
"You and Sister Delia leave through the back door immediately and find Officer Jenny to report this." Roy's tone left no room for doubt: "Leave this to me."
"Oh~ then be careful~" Misty quickly recalled Goldeen: "We'll bring Officer Jenny back soon!"
With that, she took Delia's hand, turned, and ran toward the back door passage of the Pokémon Center.
Seeing the two girls leave, Nurse Joy breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Roy even more nervously: "Mr. Roy, you should leave too! This place is too..."
"Nurse Joy, please retreat to a safe place."
Roy didn't look back, just waved his hand.
At the same time.
His Aura Power had already spread silently, precisely using Lock-On on the little fellow on a certain bed in the Pokémon Center's treatment area.
Pikachu's small face immediately showed a serious expression.
It stepped lightly off the Charge bed, and relying on its petite size and yellow protective coloring, it slipped silently out of the treatment area along the shadows of the wall, creeping toward the lobby... At this moment in the lobby.
The Team Rockets trio had laughed enough.
Jessie flicked her vibrant long red hair and resumed her arrogant posture: "Hmph, if the little brat ran away, so be it; our target is the Pokemon anyway."
Her gaze swept toward Roy, and she sneered: "What, kid, you want to be a hero? You think you can stop us all by yourself?"
Roy took two steps forward and stood in front of the puddle left by Goldeen.
He calmly looked at the Team Rockets trio.
"Yes, now it's my turn to step up."
"You?" James raised an eyebrow, sizing Roy up and down.
"What tricks do you have? Don't tell me you're going to release another fish that flops out of water? Hahaha!"
"I don't have any Pokemon."
Roy's words stunned the three of them.
"Huh?"
"I will stop you with my physical body," Roy continued in a calm tone with a hint of deliberate humor.
After a brief silence.
"Hahahahahah!!!"
An even more exaggerated explosion of laughter rang out again.
Jessie laughed so hard she slapped her thigh, her plump thigh flesh rippling: "Phy-physical body? Kid, have you been reading too much manga!"
"What's going on today, Meow!" Meowth laughed, rolling on the ground.
"First a little girl acting like a master with a flopping fish, and now a Chuunibyou kid wanting to block the way with his physical body!"
"Are Trainers nowadays all this funny?" James also wiped away tears of laughter.
Jessie rubbed her aching lower abdomen and waved her hand: "Enough, enough, I can't be bothered to waste time with such an idiot."
She glanced at James: "James, you go deal with this psycho kid and let him know the cruelty of the real world."
"Meowth, let's go collect the Pokemon. Our targets this time are the precious Pokémon left here by those Trainers; don't let me down!"
"Leave it to me, Meow!" Meowth immediately jumped up, rubbing its paws, its cat eyes flashing with greed.
James cracked his neck and knuckles, making a "crack-crack" sound.
He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, and walked toward Roy.
"Heh heh heh... Kid, let me tell you a secret."
James spoke as he walked, striking what he thought was a cool starting stance.
"Your big brother James practiced martial arts when he was a kid!"
"Even Jessie doesn't dare to underestimate my Karate!"
"So, if you're smart, get lost now, otherwise I'll—"
Before he could finish his nonsense.
Roy moved.
It wasn't a Trainer's battle stance, nor was it some flashy move.
It was the simplest, most direct, and fastest—Charge!
"Wha—"
James's pupils suddenly constricted.
He couldn't see Roy's movements at all!
He only felt a blur before his eyes, and a dark shadow was already close to him.
The next second.
His wrist was firmly gripped by a hand like an iron pincer.
James was instantly shocked.
That strength was ridiculously high, not like the grip strength a human should have at all!
He felt as if his wrist had been grabbed by a Machamp or Machoke; his bones were groaning under the unbearable burden.
"You..."
James had just uttered one word.
Roy used James's forward momentum, lowered his body, pressed his shoulder against James's armpit, exerted force from his waist, and performed a clean Over-the-shoulder throw!
BANG!!!
James was swung into the air, tracing a semicircle, and then slammed heavily onto the lobby floor tiles on his back!
A scream and a dull thud sounded simultaneously.
This throw was solid; James felt as if his internal organs had shifted, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
But it wasn't over yet.
Roy's movements were fluid, without the slightest pause.
The moment James hit the ground and his body instinctively curled up in pain, Roy had already pinned his chest with one knee and held his right hand like a blade.
A precise Hand-knife strike hit the carotid artery on the side of James's neck.
James's eyes rolled back, the cry of pain he hadn't let out got stuck in his throat, and his whole body went completely limp, passing out.
From Roy's Charge to the wrist grip, Over-the-shoulder throw, and finishing hand-knife, the entire process took less than three seconds.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless.
Not a single redundant movement.
Jessie and Meowth, who had just walked a few steps, froze at the same time.
The smiles were still on their faces, but their eyes had turned dull with disbelief.
The two of them turned their heads slowly in unison.
They looked at James, who was lying spread-eagled on the ground, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.
Then they looked at Roy, who had already stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from his hands, and still had a calm expression.
The lobby was terrifyingly quiet.
The corner of Jessie's eye twitched violently, and she raised her hand to slap her forehead.
"This James, always bragging about being some Karate master! One against three on the streets! And he gets taken down by a kid in three seconds?"
"Forget it, Ekans, go..."
Before Jessie could finish her command.
sound~
A soft, cute Growl suddenly came from near her feet.
"Huh?"
Jessie and Meowth looked down at the same time.
They saw a yellow Electric Mouse that had somehow slipped to their side, looking up at them curiously with its large, dark eyes.
"Where did this Pikachu come from, Meow?" Meowth tilted its head.
Jessie frowned as she sized up this suddenly appearing Pikachu.
It was a very ordinary Pikachu, no different from the wild ones on the roadside.
It even looked a bit thin and small.
"Tch, it's just a Pikachu, a Pokemon as common as stray dogs on the street." Jessie waved her hand impatiently: "Ignore it! Ekans, continue..."
"Pikachu!" Roy took the opportunity of Jessie's relaxation to strike: "Aim at them and that puddle, maximum power Thunder Shock!"
Pika—chu!!!
Pikachu was already prepared!
The moment Roy's command was given, its small body leaped backward, creating some distance from Jessie, Meowth, and Ekans.
At the same time, the red electric sacs on both sides of its cheeks burst with dazzling golden electric light.
"What?"
Jessie and Meowth were stunned.
In that instant, the entire Pokémon Center lobby was illuminated in golden light.
Shrill screams and hisses rang out simultaneously!
The violent current, the moment it touched the water puddle, used the water as a medium to spread and intensify geometrically.
A golden electric net completely enveloped Jessie, Meowth, and Ekans.
Their bodies convulsed and trembled violently under the high-voltage electric shock.
The doubled power of the Thunder Shock from the Light Ball.
Plus the conductive diffusion of the water puddle.
And finally, Pikachu's full-power outburst that had been building up for a long time.
A triple stack!
The effect was super effective!
The electric shock lasted for a full five seconds.
When the golden electric light finally dissipated.
Three thuds.
Jessie, Meowth, and Ekans all rolled their eyes, spat out black smoke, and fell straight into the puddle that had been electrolyzed black and was steaming.
The lobby fell into silence once again.
Only the smell of char lingering in the air and the three smoking "charcoals" on the ground proved what had just happened.
Nurse Joy stood with her mouth slightly open, staring blankly at this scene, her mind a complete blank.
And in Roy's ear, the crisp system notification sounded on time.
[Ding!]
[Mission: Defend the Pokémon Center completed!]
[Mission Reward: Silver Powder * 1 — placed in system space!]
[Joy Family Favorability +10]
[Officer Jenny Family Favorability +10]
[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level: lv13 → lv14!]
With the mission complete and Meowth and Ekans defeated, Pikachu's level rose again.
At that moment.
On the street outside the Pokémon Center, the piercing sound of sirens approached rapidly.
The sound of sudden braking.
Followed by the sound of hurried and messy footsteps.
"Don't move! Put your hands up!!!"
A clear and stern female voice rang out.
Accompanied by the crisp "click" of a bullet being chambered.
Roy turned his head.
At the entrance of the Pokémon Center, an Officer Jenny in a standard police uniform, with short dark blue hair and a heroic appearance, was holding a gun with both hands, pointing it straight at him.
"You've got it wrong, you've got it wrong, Officer Jenny, it's not him, it's..." Misty scanned the area and found the Team Rockets trio already down on the ground.
"It's these three... but it seems Roy has already taken care of them."
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