A boy, no older than seven or eight, clad in a Team Rocket uniform, appeared in John's field of vision. He perched atop a massive Steelix, idly rolling a Pokeball in his hand while staring down at John with an air of superiority.
For a child to be part of Team Rocket, he had to be someone exceptional—either possessing remarkable status or formidable strength, at least at the level of a Gym Leader.
John suddenly recalled the woman's name from earlier—Bean. If he remembered correctly, she was one of Team Rocket's notorious "Three Beasts." The other two were Carr and Orm, names he had overheard Sird mention. Both were supposed to be at the Lake of Rage.
The kid in front of him must be Carr. Probably because of how much he had seen over the years, John's first thought upon hearing that name was that this brat must be a ninja.
"Greninja!" John called out.
From a distance, Greninja instantly sprang into action, dashing back to his trainer's side.
The Red Gyarados behind them had already been handed off to Tyranitar. This particular Gyarados wasn't just any rare Shiny one—it could very well be a Alpha Pokemon, radiating an aura of power. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to shrug off Rock Slide so easily.
"Steelix, let's have some fun! Use Earthquake!" Carr commanded, eyes glinting with excitement.
Steelix raised its massive tail and slammed it into the ground. The force sent shockwaves rippling outward, the earth heaving and cracking like a quilt being shaken.
"Greninja, jump and dodge!" John ordered. At the same time, Gardevoir teleported him to higher ground to keep him from getting caught in the attack.
Greninja leaped gracefully, effortlessly avoiding the devastating tremors.
Earthquake was a powerful move, but its major flaw was its predictability—anything airborne could escape it with ease.
Carr smirked. The moment Greninja was mid-air, he hurled a Pokeball straight at it. The ball burst open, revealing a Forretress that rocketed toward Greninja at high speed.
But this wasn't just a simple Take Down.
"Explosion!" Carr said, almost casually.
Thick smoke began pouring from Forretress's vents as an overwhelming amount of energy built up inside its shell.
John's eyes narrowed. Damn it. Greninja was in a bad spot—mid-air, unable to use an acceleration skill to dodge. Gardevoir couldn't teleport him to safety either. Teleporting Forretress instead...? If it worked, John would've loved to drop the thing right in Carr's face. Unfortunately, with Carr's rank in Team Rocket, his Pokemon were no joke—both Steelix and Forretress were level 63. Gardevoir simply couldn't teleport something that strong.
At that critical moment, Greninja took matters into his own hands. He used Substitute mid-air, creating a duplicate. The clone grabbed the real Greninja and flung him out of the explosion's range just before impact.
A blinding explosion rocked the battlefield, black smoke billowing in all directions.
"Damn, that was slick!" Carr whistled in appreciation. He hadn't expected Greninja to counter his attack so creatively.
Suddenly, Steelix shuddered violently, as if struck by a massive force. Carr, still seated on its head, was nearly thrown off balance.
"Water Shuriken!" John called out, seizing the opportunity.
The moment Greninja landed, he unleashed a rapid barrage of water-infused shurikens. The projectiles sliced through the lingering smoke and slammed into Steelix with unrelenting force.
Despite Steelix's impressive physical defenses, Water-type attacks were its weakness. And Greninja? He wasn't holding back.
Five shurikens struck in rapid succession, each exploding on impact. Steelix, despite its formidable level, collapsed with a thunderous crash, rendered completely unconscious.
Carr's expression twisted with frustration as he leaped onto his Skarmory, barely avoiding being crushed by his own fallen Pokemon.
"You trying to force me to get serious?!" he yelled down from the air, anger lacing his words.
Not waiting for an answer, he tossed out six more Pokeballs. Each one burst open, revealing—for the second time—Forretress.
Ranging from level 52 to 62.
The moment they appeared, all six began priming themselves for Explosion. Their vents glowed red-hot, energy crackling in the air. They weren't just attacking Greninja. They were forming a perimeter—one locked onto Greninja directly, while the other five spread out in a calculated formation, ensuring that no matter where Greninja moved, he'd be caught in the blast radius.
John cursed under his breath. So that's what Carr was up to. This kid used his Forretress like walking bombs.
And this wasn't his first time pulling a stunt —he had a strategy in place.
But John had already anticipated another explosive trick.
Before the explosions could go off, he swiftly recalled Greninja back into his Pokeball. Not this time.
The entire area erupted in a chain of massive explosions, the shockwave ripping through the battlefield and sending debris flying sky-high. The sheer force could have wiped out anything in its path.
Except there was nothing to hit.
Carr clenched his fists in frustration, sitting atop Skarmory. "That's cheating!" he growled. "You're supposed to fight, not just recall your Pokemon!"
Before he could complain any further, a blue streak of energy cut through the thick smoke below, heading straight for him and Skarmory at an insane speed.
"Cotton Guard!" he yelled.