Team Snagem certainly wanted to profit from the Snarl Gang, but they weren't about to mobilize their entire force and leave their home base undefended. Several squads remained in Pyrite Town to prevent a "base trade" scenario where their headquarters might be raided while they were away.
----
Noon.
Kashiwagi arrived at the designated departure point with his squad. The sight of the massive, dense crowd of Snagem members set Naruhisa and the others' hearts racing with excitement once again.
From a distance, Kashiwagi spotted Frobo waving to him from amidst a sea of hovering motorcycles. "Kashiwagi! Over here!"
He quickly led his men through the crowd.
Gathered here were the three units assigned to Target Mine No. 1, totaling about three hundred people. Ryuka served as the overall commander, with the familiar executive Ayana and a lean, gaunt male executive named Sanghe as deputies. Their goal: seize the target within one hour.
The real challenge would follow—the Snarl Gang's retaliation. After such a massive loss, they wouldn't just sit idly by.
"Take these earpieces. Different frequencies serve different purposes. Here's the manual; get your men familiar with them quickly. They should have learned this during their training sessions," Frobo said, handing Kashiwagi a box filled with finger-sized earpieces.
Though syndicate brawls didn't reach the level of formal military campaigns, they understood the vital importance of communication and intel. Unfortunately, protective gear had to be purchased out-of-pocket because it was too expensive for the organization to provide.
Under Kashiwagi's orders, his squad had long ago bought combat suits designed to dampen the impact of Pokémon moves. It had been a painful expense, but he believed this operation would prove their worth.
However, Kashiwagi noticed something unexpected: Frobo's squad—and indeed all of Ryuka's personal units—were much better equipped than the others. Combat suits, helmets, tactical goggles, and electric batons; they were a complete professional team. Even their demeanor was miles ahead of the average Snagem grunt.
Are these guys really just grunts? Kashiwagi wondered. He rarely saw Frobo leading a team as the man usually worked alone, but the unit he commanded now was impressively disciplined.
Seeing Kashiwagi staring at his men, Frobo smiled casually. "Big Brother told me already. Have your squad follow us closely. If necessary, your men will obey my commands first. Any problem with that?"
"...No problem." Kashiwagi didn't hesitate. He decisively handed over temporary command of his men.
Commanding a group of people was entirely different from commanding one or two Pokémon. As a rookie sub-captain, it was better to learn from an old hand like Frobo than to struggle with multitasking. Survival rates were simply higher under Frobo's wing—unless Frobo used them as cannon fodder, but Kashiwagi didn't think the man would do that. Besides, Frobo only asked for command of the squad, not of Kashiwagi himself.
Kashiwagi relayed the decision. Naruhisa and the others nodded in agreement without a word of complaint. Only Otsuka felt a slight twinge of regret that Kashiwagi was passing up a chance to shine; in his eyes, his "Big Brother" could command a thousand men, let alone ten.
The Raid Begins.
The Sand Unit moved fast. Two columns departed simultaneously. To outsiders, the dust clouds looked like a routine deployment to suppress a minor rebellion at one of their own mines.
In reality, the Crystal Unit had leaked half-truths through various channels to distract other factions in Pyrite Town. Within the chaotic Snarl Gang, a few sharp-eyed members noticed the movement and raised alarms, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. The Snarl higher-ups were too busy dividing their late leader's assets to worry about what their neighbors were doing.
This negligence meant that when Ryuka's force arrived at the mine's perimeter, the Snarl guards were caught completely off guard.
"Units 1 and 2! Sabotage the high-voltage perimeter fence!"
"Yes, sir!"
Swarms of Magnemite were released, charging like a school of sharks. They short-circuited the high-voltage nets surrounding the mine. Immediately after, they swarmed the signal base station—not to destroy it completely, but to temporarily sever the link between the mine and Pyrite Town.
"Vanguard, attack!"
Massive groups of Graveler and Golem rolled forward, the ground shaking as they pulverized everything in their path. The Snarl guards tried to rally a counter-attack, but their numbers were pitiful compared to the three specialized Snagem units. They were crushed like mantises trying to stop a carriage.
"Run!"
"Someone notify the Boss!"
"The Snagem psychos are here! Contact Pyrite Town!"
"Help! I surrender!"
The perimeter dissolved into chaos. A few desperate Snarl members tried to pilot large mining machinery to mount a defense. These machines had incredible armor, but they weren't designed for combat terrain. Ryuka's Sandshrew and Drilbur squads quickly turned the ground into a Swiss cheese of pits and loose sand, bogging the machines down.
"Capture the pilots! Don't destroy the machines!" Ryuka's voice barked over the comms. Large machinery was expensive; he wasn't about to waste such valuable assets.
Meanwhile, Kashiwagi's squad followed Frobo's unit into the mine from another direction, running into a pocket of resistance. They faced a large piece of heavy machinery—a hybrid of an excavator and a walker. Its mechanical arms were nimble, and the pilot was experienced; when the treads got stuck, he used the arms to vault the machine out.
But before the excavator could advance, a massive silhouette slammed into it.
"Superpower!"
"ROAR!"
The massive Aggron braced its body against the rolling treads of the heavy excavator. Inch by inch, it began to push the multi-ton machine backward. The sheer display of raw strength left the Snarl guards—and many of Kashiwagi's own allies—speechless.
Before they could recover from the shock, a smaller figure blurred past.
"Get the pilot out! Rip open the cockpit!"
"MAW!"
Mawile flew like a bolt of lightning to the top of the cockpit. Seeing the pilot inside frantically trying to increase power, she turned her head and crunched through the armored glass and frame with her massive steel jaw. Within seconds, the pilot was dragged out.
The moment his hands left the controls, Aggron shoved the massive machine into a nearby pit.
"Your Pokémon have some serious combat power," Frobo praised without hesitation. "That was quick."
"Thanks for the cover," Kashiwagi replied, showing no arrogance. He knew Frobo's Magneton had shorted out the machine's micro-energy shield first, giving Aggron and Mawile the opening to end it so decisively. Frobo was clearly letting him take the credit.