When Team Rocket descended over New Island, the battle there was already nearing its end.
Although the island bore obvious traces of destruction, thanks to Terrance's intervention, the conflict hadn't escalated into a massive clash.
"Target locked. Confirmed as 'Mewtwo.' Awaiting orders from Sir Archer."
The voice came through the helicopter's intercom, causing the blue-haired middle-aged man seated inside one of the helicopters to fall into thought.
"Sir Archer, we have new intel! On New Island, we've also detected traces of Mew! Please issue orders for battle immediately!!"
As the intelligence was updated by the reconnaissance team, Archer, one of the Team Rocket executives, grew solemn.
Because of surveillance from the League, Boss Giovanni was unable to personally move and had entrusted the entire mission to him. Archer knew from the start that this mission would be tricky, but he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
The mission of retrieving Mewtwo alone was already perilous. Now, with Mew appearing on the scene, if he let Mew slip away easily, it would surely be held against him. But if he ignored Mew, its presence might heavily disrupt his attempt to retrieve Mewtwo.
"There are a total of eight humans on New Island, along with a number of Pokémon. They appear to have been invited by Mewtwo. We've already deciphered several of its invitations. The standards for selection don't seem fixed, but most of those invited are third-rate Trainers."
A bespectacled analyst behind Archer reported.
"Use the Z-Wave first," Archer ordered after some thought.
Z-Wave, based on the principle of the move Synchronoise, is a high-tech control method developed by Team Rocket at great cost in manpower and resources. It can nullify most Psychic-type moves within its range and suppress the power of Psychic-type Pokémon.
This was Team Rocket's primary method of controlling Mewtwo.
A total of thirteen helicopters pressed onward toward New Island. As they approached, a flicker of anger surfaced across Mewtwo's face.
The logo painted on those helicopters was all too familiar. These were the same humans who wanted to exploit its power to conquer the world.
"Mewtwo, be careful. They must be well prepared. I'll help you."
Terrance's voice drifted out. Since Mewtwo had confirmed it, it was highly likely that Master Victor was connected with Team Rocket. Terrance also wanted to use this chance to ask some questions.
Thirteen helicopters—Terrance had no intention of letting a single one escape.
Every last one of these people, he planned to punish.
"But how did they break through Leafport City's defenses? At this time, Leafport should have been under strict surveillance…"
Just as Terrance was wondering, Mewtwo suddenly flew forward. Casting a Shadow Ball at a helicopter, its entire body rippled with psychic waves like churning tides, all while gathering immense power through Calm Mind.
"Altaria, go help Mewtwo!!"
Seeing Mewtwo attack immediately, Terrance frowned and quickly gave the order. But it was already too late. As Mewtwo charged forward, ten of the helicopters instantly transformed, unleashing a powerful network of electric waves that swept across the sky like an Electroweb. In that moment, Mewtwo was so affected by the waves that it nearly lost control of its psychic power to stay airborne, with most of its power drained. This sensation reminded Mewtwo of the armor Giovanni once forced upon it to suppress its power—only now, the suppression was even worse.
"What is this!" Mewtwo's expression changed drastically. Feeling its strength ebb away under the endless barrage of electric waves, it struggled violently, but the resistance only drew an even stronger suppression.
"Mewtwo, break out from the left!"
Terrance's words instantly reached Mewtwo's ears. Mega Altaria, like a turret, fired a dazzling beam of light at one of the helicopters, destroying a portion of the electric wave network formed by the ten helicopters.
Inside that helicopter, the Team Rocket members wore twisted expressions as they violently shook the controls. With alarms blaring, the craft had already lost its ability to remain airborne under Altaria's assault.
"Mewtwo has help!"
Upon receiving this information, the Team Rocket combat team, led by Admin Archer, stepped out of the helicopters one by one clad in smart hover devices. Floating in the air, they looked at the Altaria obstructing their retrieval of Mewtwo with expressions of disbelief.
"That's not Hoenn's Altaria. Its appearance has undergone obvious changes."
One Team Rocket member observed carefully and made his assessment. From above, Admin Archer scanned downward and spotted Terrance, who appeared to be Altaria's Trainer.
"So he's the one interfering with us?"
"Could he be one of the Trainers invited by Mewtwo? But why would he be helping it?"
Archer frowned as he watched Mewtwo break free from the electric waves, realizing that the retrieval plan had just become far more troublesome. Compared to when it was first created, this Mewtwo had grown significantly stronger.
"Ahhh!!"
With a piercing scream splitting the air, Terrance's gaze snapped upward. As the weather changed, Mega Gallade left the ground, teleporting into the sky to deliver a graceful slash at one of the helicopters!
The sturdy helicopter was cut open like tofu, leaving a massive gash.
Because Gallade had deliberately aimed for the propeller, the helicopter stalled midair, on the brink of plummeting.
The screams and shouts of the Team Rocket members inside echoed through the skies, making Archer's expression turn even colder.
"You down there, Trainer. You're bold indeed, daring to interfere with Team Rocket's mission. Are you declaring yourself our enemy?!!" Archer barked sharply.
He quickly hurled out Poké Balls, and both Weezing and Crobat appeared simultaneously. A black smoke began to swirl around Archer, making him seem as though he had just emerged from a dark abyss.
"If you want to get to Mewtwo, you'll have to defeat me first."
Terrance slowly stepped forward, radiating intense hostility. After finally managing to reason with Mewtwo, he absolutely could not tolerate Team Rocket causing more trouble.
"Your boss isn't here, is he?" Terrance asked indifferently.
Even if Giovanni himself came, he would never take Mewtwo away.
Faced with the combined strength of Mewtwo, Mew, and himself, where did these people get the confidence to act so arrogantly?
"None of you are leaving today!"
Terrance's voice rang out, causing both Mewtwo and Mew to glance at him. Just as veins bulged on Archer's forehead and he roared a command to attack, a towering wave erupted around Terrance. Under the protection of Beautifly and Castform, he was shielded by an invisible wind, scattering every attack sent his way before they could even come close.
In the sky, Archer's pupils shrank. At the same time as he sensed a murderous intent, he hastily retreated. Mega Gallade had teleported behind him, aiming to decapitate him!
But Archer, as a Team Rocket executive, was more alert and agile than Terrance had anticipated. Enveloped in the Haze created by the two Pokémon, he and his Pokémon seemed to merge with the smoke. As the smoke surged forward, Crobat merged into it and instantly detected Gallade's intent. Swiftly gathering the Haze, it used "Quick Guard" to block Mega Gallade's sneak attack.
The sneak attack from Mega Gallade would have been difficult for even an Elite Four-level Trainer to detect, yet within Archer's Haze domain, he managed to narrowly escape disaster.
"Weezing, kill it."
Sensing his life had truly been threatened, Archer's eyes flashed with a cruel glint. At his command, a mass of smoke coalesced into Weezing's clone. The clone resembled a Confusion-based Double Team. As the Weezing clone used the Gyro Ball move and lunged forward, Gallade immediately formed Psycho Cut, intending to behead it. However, in the very next moment, before Gallade could even launch the move, the Weezing clone used the rotational force to dispel the obstructing Haze while a powerful wave of energy erupted from its entire body!
Explosion!
As the clone exploded, a toxic gas and venom mixed with Haze surged forward, seemingly determined to annihilate Gallade.
"Gallade, fall back!" Terrance ordered swiftly.
The combat prowess of this Crobat and Weezing was top-tier, making it difficult for Mega Gallade to face both of them simultaneously in the air.
The toxic smoke that erupted later corroded the air in an instant. As the venom fell to the ground, its intense corrosive properties even pierced through the ground.
Fortunately, Gallade moved quickly; otherwise it would have been enveloped by this deadly poison, at the very least losing a layer of skin.
After that brief exchange, while Terrance felt somewhat wary, he had also gained a certain level of assessment of his opponent.
"Haze domain? Then I'll just break it with force—"
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