Red stood there, his disguise now completely gone. He looked at the Rocket members with an eerie gaze, his red eyes faintly glowing in the dim light.
Green stared at him in surprise, the shock clearly etched across her face as the shadow of Red's Charizard loomed over both of them.
The Team Rocket grunt quickly recalled the fainted Tauros. Then they moved in, slowly cornering both Red and Green.
"It'll end badly for you, kid. Hand over the girl, and you might live to see another day."
Red calmly recalled his Charizard.
"You made the—"
The grunt suddenly cut himself off as he saw Red holding a Poké Ball near his face, already prepared for battle.
"Wrong choice, kid."
Before either of them could make another move, both Pidgeotto and Spearow shot down from above at incredible speed, striking with perfect precision. The attack hit so fast that neither the Pokémon nor their trainers had time to react. In an instant, both the Rocket members and their Pokémon were knocked to the ground, unconscious.
The two bird Pokémon landed gracefully beside Red.
Red knelt down and gently petted both of them, a rare softness in his expression, before recalling them back into their respective Poké Balls.
The moment he stood up, Green suddenly ran toward him and jumped onto him from behind, wrapping her arms around him and causing both of them to fall to the ground.
"Saving a damsel in distress like me? You truly are my knight in shining armor," Green teased, clinging to Red's arm with a playful smile.
For the first time in his journey, Red had never felt more annoyed. Maybe it was because she had brought nothing but trouble.
"Get off me."
Red shoved her off, quickly getting back to his feet and dusting himself off with visible irritation.
"Anyways, mind telling me why you stole that disc?"
Green gave him a teasing grin.
"Sillllly, with this, I might be able to get that cute little Pokémon, Mew."
Red immediately put a hand to his forehead at that answer.
He knew better than anyone that a mythical Pokémon like Mew was not something easily defeated, let alone captured.
Even at his peak, he had not been able to truly beat Mew.
And now? He wasn't even a shadow of his former self though still leagues above her. The thought of Green being able to capture Mew was simply ridiculous.
Seeing the dumbfounded look on Red's face, Green tilted her head. "Did I say something stupid?"
"Yeah, you did," Red answered immediately.
Green, not the least bit dejected, pulled out an unusual-looking pair of goggles.
"Even if I'm not able to capture it, I could still make money off it by getting its picture. With this device, we'll be able to track down Mew. I just need to set the disc to track its frequency. But first…"
Without hesitation, Green began rummaging through the unconscious Team Rocket members one by one, searching their pockets for extra cash.
Red didn't mind after all, he didn't care what happened to them.
----
Once that was done, Red and Green began searching for the mythical Pokémon, Mew.
Their search eventually led them into a vast valley, where the readings on Green's device began rising sharply. The radiation of life force in the area was unusually high.
As they continued walking deeper into the valley, Red finally spoke.
"You do know the reason Team Rocket was searching for Mew was because they're trying to create the monster Mewtwo."
Green, still looking around through her goggles, replied casually, "Well, I didn't, but it doesn't matter anyway."
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind began swirling around both of them.
Leaves and dust spiraled through the air.
Red quickly held onto his cap as the wind grew stronger. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun it stopped.
And in that stillness, the mythical Pokémon Mew appeared before them.
The moment Red saw it, memories of the battle from his previous life came rushing back.
The playful yet overwhelming power, he pressure that had once made even him hesitate. But this time, instead of feeling intimidated, he remained calm. Maybe it was because this time he wasn't alone.
Green's eyes lit up with excitement without wasting a second, she quickly pulled out her camera and began snapping picture after picture of the mythical Pokémon.
Each click of the shutter echoed through the quiet valley as Mew floated playfully in the air, its small body glowing softly against the fading light.
The peaceful moment, however, did not last heavy footsteps and angry voices suddenly echoed from behind them. Team Rocket had arrived and they looked far more furious than before.
Not only had they been robbed while unconscious, but they had also discovered that the disc they had fought so hard to retrieve was a fake.
Their faces twisted with rage.
"You little thieves!"
One of the grunts immediately threw out a Poké Ball.
"Jynx, use Psybeam!"
The Jynx appeared in a flash of light and instantly fired a sharp beam of psychic energy straight toward them.
Red's eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Green by the arm and yanked her out of the attack's path.
The Psybeam blasted past them, striking the rocky ground and sending dust and debris into the air.
Red rolled sideways across the ground, quickly regaining his footing as he reached for Charizard's Poké Ball.
As he was just about to throw it, Mew suddenly moved.
In a blur faster than the eye could follow, the mythical Pokémon darted forward.
A pulse of psychic force erupted from its tiny body. The Team Rocket grunts and their Jynx were instantly blasted backward, crashing into the ground and losing consciousness on the spot.
Mew hovered in the air for a brief moment, glancing back at Red and Green with its usual mysterious expression.
Then, as if the entire incident had merely amused it, Mew let out a soft, playful cry and drifted off into the distance, disappearing beyond the valley cliffs.
"I got them!"
She eagerly flipped through the pictures she had taken and shoved the camera toward Red.
"Look at this! These pictures alone can easily get me a thousand!"
Red glanced at the screen, the images were surprisingly clear.
Mew's figure, its glowing eyes, even the faint shimmer of psychic energy around it all perfectly captured.
She then reached for her Poké Ball and released Jigglypuff. The small Pokémon appeared beside her, ready as always.
As she prepared to leave, Green turned back toward Red, her teasing smile returning. "I have a feeling that we'll meet sooner or later, darling."
She blew Red a kiss before holding onto Jigglypuff, floating away as it carried her off into the distance.
Red stood there, watching her go. To his own surprise, he could feel a slight warmth on his face. His cheeks had turned faintly red.
He instinctively reached up and held the tip of his cap, lowering it slightly. 'What was that?' his mind whispered.