Struck squarely along her long body by Meowth's Rocket Headbutt, Milotic let out a pained cry.
"It worked!" Jessie pumped her fist from the stage. "Meowth, keep attacking!"
But Meowth had already been rattled senseless by the armor's recoil. In truth, it couldn't make another move at all. Fortunately for the plan, James—operating the controls from offstage—forced the body back onto its feet, making it slam forward again and again with vicious headbutts.
"Meowth… my head hurts so much…"
There wasn't a moment of clarity. Yet to the spectators, the Meowth continued delivering powerful strikes. They weren't particularly graceful, but the sheer determination and courage on display still drew applause.
"Milotic, use [SAFEGUARD]!"
A veil of light wrapped around Milotic's body. The Milotic trained by Nami was clearly resilient; forcing herself forward, she lashed out with a Water Tail at the steel-clad Meowth, producing a thunderous crash.
However, her strength still wasn't enough to smash through the steel armor outright. And with Meowth already unconscious, its "actions" showed no sign of slowing.
"Use [MEGA PUNCH]!" Jessie shouted.
Outside the field, James immediately complied. The armored Meowth—now the so-called Armored Meowth—charged forward. Bright jets flared beneath its fists as it lunged, slamming directly into the light membrane around Milotic.
Bang!
The barrier shattered.
Two iron fists smashed into Milotic's body, sending her flying across the stage.
"We did it!"
"We won!"
But Jessie and James hadn't finished celebrating when Milotic, in the distance, struggled upright at Nami's shout. Blue light gleamed in her eyes.
[RAIN DANCE]
Dark clouds gathered overhead, blanketing the arena as a light rain began to fall.
"What's this?" Jessie stared blankly as the falling raindrops were suddenly swept into a vortex. The spinning column of water twisted together, forming a surging water dragon that rushed toward them.
"Stop it! Meowth, use [BODY SLAM]!" James frantically worked the controls.
The armored Meowth sprang into motion, sprinting forward before leaping high into the air, plunging down toward Milotic.
"Milotic, use [TWISTER]!"
The rapidly forming waterspout shot upward. Meowth opened its mouth and spat out a concentrated beam. The blast collided head-on with the swirling vortex—and exploded.
Water erupted everywhere, blasting outward in a violent surge.
James's eyes flashed. "Now's our chance!"
He was just about to command Meowth to deliver the finishing blow when—
Bzzzzt—!
The armor crackled with electricity. The controls instantly went haywire.
"Oh no! It short-circuited!"
James slammed frantically at the control panel. Not only did the short circuit refuse to fix itself, it grew worse.
At last, the airborne steel-clad Meowth began shaking violently—and then exploded.
A terrifying shockwave swept across the entire arena. Countless spectators were caught in the blast.
"W-what just happened?!" The host, her makeup smeared with soot, lay sprawled on the floor and stared out in shock.
The arena ceiling had been blown open, leaving a massive hole. Through it, the bright stars of the night sky were visible. At the center of the stage, a huge blast crater marked where the explosion had occurred.
"Meowth! My head's spinning!"
Blackened from head to toe but somehow still very much alive, Meowth staggered upright, dazed and confused.
Plink.
A coin dropped from its forehead, rolled across the floor a few times, and came to a quiet stop.
"My… my coin!"
Meowth's eyes turned red instantly. In that moment, everything came flooding back. Just a little closer and it would've been completely finished.
"Unforgivable, Meowth!"
Trembling all over, Meowth dropped to all fours and dashed toward the corner—just in time to block Jessie and James, who were sneaking away.
With the air of a vengeful ghost, it hissed darkly,
"I'm going to take revenge…"
Jessie forced a laugh. "Meowth, now's not the time to argue! Besides, we did it for the win! For our bright future, you only needed to make a tiny little sacrifice."
Meowth's claws shot out with a shing! as it lunged.
"Take this! [FURY SWIPES]!"
The two humans and one Pokémon immediately became a tangled brawl, the commotion drawing a crowd of onlookers.
On the stage, Ash suddenly slapped his palm with realization and shouted,
"So that's it! Just like Team Rocket—using such despicable tricks!"
At the judges' table, four judges—faces blackened from the explosion—announced in unison that Jessie and Meowth were disqualified for cheating.
"Since you've already figured it out—we might as well stop pretending!"
Jessie and James finally struggled free from Meowth's assault. With the flash of Poké Balls, an Arbok and a Koffing leapt out.
"Koffing, use [SMOKESCREEN]!"
Koffing exhaled a thick cloud of black smoke that rapidly enveloped the arena. The foul fog made people dizzy and nauseous—extremely troublesome.
"Using tactics like this to sabotage a Pokémon Contest—I won't forgive it!" Nami shouted. "Milotic, blow the smoke away!"
Milotic stretched her elegant neck and cried out, releasing a powerful gust that swept the dark cloud aside.
The smoke cleared—revealing Jessie and James carrying the unconscious Meowth as they tried to escape.
"Arbok, use [SLAM]!"
With no time left to run, Jessie ordered Arbok forward. The snake Pokémon screeched excitedly and charged Milotic.
At almost the same moment, several people in the audience suddenly tore off their coats—revealing Team Rocket uniforms underneath.
Without hesitation, they released the Pokémon from their Poké Balls and rushed toward their assigned targets.
Once the limited number of Trainers aboard the ship were subdued, no one would be able to resist their next move.
Weezing and Cloyster unleashed attack after attack. Smoke and frost spread wildly across the contest hall.
Under Team Rocket's carefully planned assault, thick smoke billowed everywhere. Coughing echoed through the hall as the panicked crowd surged desperately toward the exits.
But Team Rocket had already set traps there.
Anyone who tried to escape through the main doors was swiftly captured and restrained.
Because of his standout performance during the contest, Ray Chu had also been marked as a target. Two Team Rocket members approached him from either side, each accompanied by a Golbat.
"Trying to gang up on me? I've never been afraid of that."
Ray Chu tossed out a Poké Ball.
With flashes of light, the three starter underlings leapt out, glaring fiercely at the approaching Team Rocket members.
Though they'd been inside their Poké Balls, they weren't completely unaware of what was happening outside.
"Hmph. Take them down at full strength!"
Meanwhile, a Team Rocket squad leader sprinted toward the bow of the ship. According to the plan, they needed to seize control of the vessel as quickly as possible—then sail it into international waters.
Amid the chaos, the decorative, flower-vase-pretty female host crawled beneath a table—and found herself staring eye-to-eye with Lt. Surge hiding there as well.
There was no time to question why the proud Gym Leader of Vermilion Gym was also taking shelter.
The host quickly grabbed a phone and dialed.
"Hello? Vermilion Police Department? This is the cruise liner S.S. Anne. Team Rocket has attacked the ship! Yes… there are many of them. Please send immediate reinforcements!"
---
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