Ash picked up the pickaxe and struck the ground a few more times in the hole Ayumi had been digging. A complete, round stone disk was unearthed.
"What's that?!" Ayumi immediately jumped up. "It's a Kabuto fossil!!"
"It's mine now~" Ash teased, pinching her little nose.
Ayumi frowned, a little frustrated. "But I dug the hole..."
Just then, a pink figure passed by an opening in the cave. Ash pointed it out. "Weren't you looking for a Clefairy? Look, there's one right there."
"Clefairy?" The Clefairy looked at them, gave a cute smile, and with a slight flutter of its tiny wings, hopped toward another part of the cave.
"Hey, wait for me!" Ayumi immediately ran after it.
Ash didn't pay too much attention. He continued to use his psychic abilities to detect the mineral distribution inside the cave, but most of them were still difficult to find. He had only found the fossil because Ayumi had already cracked open a small crevice, and he had used his psychic vision.
Ayumi followed the Clefairy deep into the cave, and after many twists and turns, she found herself in a deep part of the mine.
Despite its two short legs, the Clefairy hopped and ran surprisingly fast. Soon, Ayumi lost track of it.
Only then did she realize that she had lost her way and couldn't find her way back...
"Our Department Head is truly brilliant. She used her connections to set up a competition outside to cover our movements. It's so brilliant!"
"Nonsense! If you could have thought of this, you wouldn't be a grunt right now!"
Ayumi overheard the conversation. She took a deep breath and peeked her head out from a nearby tunnel.
In front of her, a team of Team Rocket grunts was orderly carrying rare ores, Evolution Stones, and even a lot of fossils!
Lying scattered on the ground were the unconscious mine workers, and the sign at the cave entrance was clearly marked with the four blood-red words: "Mining Prohibited!"
"But Captain, is what we're doing really okay? The Executive said we could only dig in the other side of the mine," a grunt asked as he dug.
"What do you know? This place has clearly never been mined before. How else do you think we're getting so much stuff with just the few of us? Just be happy! When our team makes a big contribution, the Boss will definitely praise us!"
"That's true... But why are we not supposed to dig here?"
"Why are you asking so many questions? Just stay quiet and get rich!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Ayumi was shocked to see that Team Rocket was causing trouble here! She hesitated for a moment, realizing she probably wasn't enough to take on a team of grunts.
Just then, the long-lost Clefairy ran to her feet.
"Clefairy?" The little guy seemed curious about what she was looking at.
Although its voice was not loud, it still attracted Team Rocket's attention in the quiet cave.
"Who, who's there!"
Ayumi looked at the innocent-looking Clefairy with a bitter smile. "You've gotten me into so much trouble!"
She immediately picked up the Clefairy and tried to run away.
But the Team Rocket grunts in this operation, while not elite, were well-trained. They had already come out from the other cave entrance and cut off her escape.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't a lost little girl..."
"You've got a pretty good figure... It's quiet here, so why don't you come play with your big brothers for a bit?" The captain's eyes showed a wicked glint as he looked at Ayumi's chest and legs.
Ayumi frowned. The more dangerous the situation, the faster the little girl's mind worked. "I'm just here to find a lost Clefairy. Grandpa Oak will worry if I'm late."
As she spoke, she reached into her pocket and dialed Ash's phone.
Unfortunately, the grunts didn't understand the significance of the name "Oak"...
"It's okay, big brother is fast. I'll make sure you're very comfortable!"
"Hehehe!" The grunts said, laughing obscenely as they walked toward her.
However, the panicked look Ayumi had imagined didn't appear. A Poké Ball flew and hit a Team Rocket grunt who was blocking her way. "Marill, Slam!"
The captain didn't expect a little girl to dare to fight back. He was immediately knocked over by the Huge Power Marill's tail. Ayumi took the opportunity to get past his blockade.
"Damn it... you bitch! Get her!" Seeing their captain embarrassed, the grunts swarmed her, throwing out Pokémon like Sandshrew, Geodude, and Machop one after another.
"Eevee, use Swift!"
"Marill, Rollout!"
Ayumi calmly dealt with them. Fortunately, she had already successfully broken through, or she would have been attacked from both sides. At the same time, because of the narrow terrain of the cave, the enemy's numerical advantage was not a factor. In fact, it was hard for them to maneuver because they were crowded together.
But even so, as she fought and retreated, she was forced into a mine shaft...
"Clefairy..." The Clefairy in her arms tilted its head when it saw this, and its two little hands started to wave.
After another clash, her two Pokémon were completely defeated. Ayumi had nowhere to retreat. The hard rock wall was right behind her.
"Run! Why aren't you running now?..." The captain's face was filled with anger and a triumphant, wicked smile. "The more you resist, the more I'll feel like I've conquered you... Look at those legs, as white as mutton-fat jade. Tsk, tsk... You're a real beauty..."
Just as Ayumi's face turned pale and she was about to scream for help, the captain was slapped from behind and sent flying into the rock wall.
"You son of a bitch, you're trying to ambush me..." The captain had just finished cursing when he saw who had arrived.
A black ninja suit, a black face mask, and a blood-red R printed on his left shoulder signified the person's identity.
It was the Executive leading this mission, and also the Saffron Gym Leader, Koga.
"Is this how you lead your team? You rape and pillage? You dig in a cave that's clearly marked 'No Mining'?"
"Bang!" Koga kicked him again, stepping on his face. "It's because of scum like you that Team Rocket has a bad reputation!"
"Co-commander... ah!"
The captain tried to explain, but the foot on his face suddenly pressed down hard, and all that was left was a scream.
"From now on, you are no longer a member of Team Rocket..." He then looked at the four grunts beside him. "And you. Since you're just accomplices, your salary will be docked for one month!"
"Yes!"
Koga nodded slightly. "Remember, it's true that we're bad guys, but we're bad guys with principles and big goals. You can do whatever you want with the money you earn, but whoever can't control themselves and does something against a woman's will, I will personally dismember them!"
He then kicked the captain in the groin...
"Crunch..." A unique cracking sound was heard, making the four grunts immediately clamp their legs together.
"AHHHH—!!! Ugh!" The heartbreaking scream only lasted for a moment before it stopped abruptly.
The captain had passed out.
Only then did the bloodlust in Koga's heart subside a little.
The reason was simple: he himself had a cute daughter about Ayumi's age, and he couldn't stand it when people did this kind of thing to little girls.
"Do you know why mining isn't allowed here?..."
However, before Koga could continue to scold his subordinates, a flash of electricity shot toward them, knocking all the grunts to the ground.
Koga looked surprised because the electric flash had gone around him and only hit the others.
At the end of the tunnel, a thin but tall figure slowly walked out. The pure white cloak behind him moved on its own, even without any wind. "Giovanni is lucky to have a subordinate like you."
Koga's pupils shrank when he saw the person. A silver mask with a flowing dragon tattoo was carved on it.
Inside the cave, the Clefairy, unnoticed by everyone, was still waving its fingers...