"Howard… what is the meaning of this?" Pryce asked.
"That Miltank in Tetsuya's possession was raised by our Akane Family. I don't know how it ended up in his hands," Howard said.
"…'Your Akane Family's'? Are you saying I stole it? Or that I took it by force?" Tetsuya asked.
"No, no, that's not what I mean. I believe there must have been some misunderstanding, which is how it ended up in your hands by accident. Since it belongs to my family, I hope…"
Before Howard could finish speaking, Tetsuya interrupted him. "Oh! Since I neither stole it nor took it by force, then there's nothing more to discuss. This Miltank is my Pokémon."
With that, Tetsuya shoved Howard aside and walked forward on his own.
Pryce could not help but let out a cold laugh and said, "Hoh~ An 'Elite Four' actually coveting a younger Trainer's Pokémon… Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you if word gets out?"
Pryce's cold laughter sent a chill down Howard's spine. Only he knew how much effort he had invested in raising that Miltank.
"I…-"
"Hahaha~"
---◓---
Tetsuya and Pryce arrived at the outskirts of Goldenrod City, where the helicopter Giovanni had prepared was already waiting. After boarding it, they arrived above Kaze no Tani in a little over half an hour.
At that moment, the battle there was even fiercer.
Battles were raging in the sky, on the ground, and underground. Pryce and Tetsuya first met up with Giovanni.
"What's the situation now?" Pryce asked.
"Sigh… Shadow Team's combat power is surprisingly extraordinary; we didn't expect it to be like this. Everyone here is an elite among elites. There are at least seven or eight Shadows above Yamamoto's level.
Although we outnumber them, we simply don't have enough ace Trainers. The only ones capable of standing against these so-called Team Shadow 'Admins' are Archer and Aoi Maiko," Giovanni said.
Pryce took the binoculars and observed the battlefield. Just as Giovanni had said, their side had twice as many Trainers as Shadow Team, yet they still had not broken into Kaze no Tani. Shadow Team's overall strength here far surpassed that of the Department Store. A hard battle was unavoidable.
"If we still can't make a breakthrough now, then once the Shadows from Shadow Team's branch hideouts arrive, we won't have any energy left to deal with them. We'll be put in an extremely passive position," Tetsuya said bluntly.
Giovanni said with frustration, "…It seems we still underestimated Shadow Team's capacities. The Indigo League was also concerned about preserving the Johto League's reputation, so they didn't send many additional ace Trainers. I'm afraid this operation… may end in failure…"
How could Giovanni's ability to judge a battlefield be so poor? In his previous life, even without Pryce's assistance, he had still managed to wipe out Shadow Team. How could he possibly be this passive in this life?
Tetsuya became suspicious. Could it be that Giovanni still had something else up his sleeve? Or was he trying to weaken the League…?
Pryce also shook his head. In the end, the power of one person was limited, and even he had no confidence in turning the tide by himself.
"There's only one way…" Giovanni said with a profound look.
"Speak, Giovanni," Pryce said.
"Right now, our only option is to send an emergency request for reinforcements to the League. Shadow Team's headquarters has already been located. As long as we report the true situation of the battle, I'm certain the League Council of Johto won't stand by and do nothing. Our Kanto Region will also provide its full support." After Giovanni finished speaking, Pryce nodded.
"That's our only option. Shadow Team must be annihilated!" After saying that, Pryce and Giovanni both began sending emergency requests for reinforcements to their respective Leagues, and they quickly received replies.
Giovanni specifically informed the Indigo League that the Johto's had already dispatched reinforcements, while Pryce reported the same thing.
Naturally, neither League was willing to let the other steal the spotlight. The Indigo League's presence in Johto was already an established fact, and they could use this "opportunity" to expand their influence even further.
The Johto League was even less willing to fall behind!
No matter how many years Shadow Team had been allowed to exist unchecked in the Johto Region, once Kanto became involved, they had to eliminate Shadow Team before the Indigo League did…
Otherwise, in the eyes of the outside world, a villainous organization operating within the Johto Region would have required another League to destroy it. How could the Johto League continue to hold its head high after that!?
By now, Tetsuya had basically seen through Giovanni's plan. Both Leagues were being manipulated to suit his purposes. Team Rocket could now conserve energy while using the Leagues to eliminate Shadow Team. At the same time, as long as Shadow Team remained undefeated, again, the Indigo League would continue using that as an opportunity to establish its presence in Johto.
Once Shadow Team was destroyed, the Johto League would naturally be occupied with driving the Indigo League's influence out of Johto, while the Indigo League would want to maintain a foothold there. Conflict between the two sides would be inevitable.
At that point, Giovanni could seize the opportunity to expand Team Rocket's influence throughout the Johto Region.
---◓---
At that moment, Pryce sent out all six of his Ice-type Pokémon and charged into the battlefield!
He truly lived up to his reputation…
The moment Pryce made his move, a large number of Shadow Team members immediately suffered heavy losses.
Tetsuya, however, did not make a move this time because there was no longer any need for him to do so. Before long, large numbers of reinforcements from both Kanto and Johto would arrive, including Elite Four members and Champions. His current capacities were not enough to show off in front of them, nor did he intend to draw unnecessary attention from those people.
There was, however, one person he intended to deal with… Aoi Maiko!
Ever since arriving at Kaze no Tani, Tetsuya had been observing her. She was giving everything she had to the battle, and her Pokémon were already showing signs of exhaustion. It was the perfect opportunity for revenge!
As long as he conserved his strength, he was certain he would have a chance to kill her.
About an hour later, dozens of aircraft appeared above Kaze no Tani. On Johto's side, Kurokawa Ryosuke arrived with Hattori Tōkichi and a large number of Investigators, forming a complete encirclement around Kaze no Tani.
They had also invoked every nearby Ranger, along with all the Gym Leaders from the surrounding cities. It was clear they intended to wipe out Shadow Team in one decisive strike.
After Ryosuke arrived, Kanto's forces also entered the battle under the command of Elite Four Bruno.
Ryosuke, Tōkichi, and the late-arriving Howard showed absolutely no mercy toward Shadow Team. Whenever they had the opportunity to attack, they targeted a Shadow directly. They struck with ruthless brutality, their methods bearing little resemblance to the righteous forces of the League and far more to a massacre squad.
Watching Ryosuke and the others, Giovanni let out a cold laugh. "Hoho… it seems they don't intend to leave a single Shadow alive… I wonder why~"
"Hn, they're killing people to silence them," Tetsuya snorted.
After a full day of fierce fighting, Shadow Team could no longer withstand the combined assault of the strongest forces from both Leagues. The Shadow Team members who came from the branch hideouts as reinforcements were far too weak and were completely annihilated. Under Kurokawa Ryosuke's earlier orders, they were all killed by Pokémon, with not a single survivor left behind.
Shadow Team had now completely retreated into the castle deep within Kaze no Tani. The castle's defensive system was extremely sturdy. Once its many gates were tightly sealed, there was no way to break through in a short time.
Left with no alternative, they could only surround the castle on three sides. The fourth side was backed against the mountain, making a complete encirclement impossible.
•.
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Kaze no Tani, again (view comment).