Chapter 16 Team Rocket Appears
After finishing everything, Ash went to the counter to retrieve Pikachu and Kirlia, and only then did Misty walk over from the accommodation area.
Misty looked at Ash by the counter and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Ash, so you were here! I thought you left without saying goodbye."
"How could that be? Didn't we agree to travel together?"
Ash was speechless. Was he the kind of person who would sneak away?
"Pika~ Pika" (Ash seems to have feelings for this girl. What should we do? Should we stop him?)
"Qilu~ Qilu" (I don't know. How about we ask Serena next time?)
Pikachu and Kirlia exchanged whispers.
From Ash's reaction after seeing Misty today, they could almost conclude that Ash had ulterior motives.
"Dodododo~"
Just then, a sharp, piercing alarm sounded.
At the same time, the Pokémon Center's broadcast also began, "Emergency alert, emergency alert, outsiders have invaded Viridian City, likely an illegal organization specializing in kidnapping Pokemon. Please be aware....."
Crash!
Before the broadcast finished, the glass above the Pokémon Center suddenly shattered.
Two Poke Balls fell to the ground, and then Koffing and Arbok appeared before Ash and the others.
Then Koffing began to Spit Up thick black smoke, covering the entire battle area.
Nurse Joy frowned slightly, her eyes filled with confusion, and she couldn't help but murmur, "What exactly is going on?"
At this moment, two voices, one male and one female, came from behind the smoke.
Jessie: "Since you asked with such sincerity."
James: "Then I'll tell you with great mercy."
Jessie: "To prevent the world from being destroyed."
James: "To protect the peace of the world."
"To carry out evil with love and truth."
"The cute and charming villain characters."
"I am Jessie."
"I am James."
"We are Team Rockets, soaring through the galaxy."
"White hole, a white tomorrow is waiting for us!"
As the smoke cleared, the true protagonists, Team Rocket Trio, appeared before Ash and the others.
"That's right, Meowth!"
A Meowth jumped down from the sky, landing between the duo.
"Ah! Meowth is talking!"
"A talking Meowth?!"
"That Meowth must be a very rare Pokemon...."
Except for Ash, everyone was shocked by Meowth.
However, coolness never lasts more than three seconds. A Luxury Ball directly hit Meowth's face.
The Luxury Ball shot out a red light, directly sucking Meowth inside. Then the Luxury Ball shook violently, and in less than three seconds, the entire ball exploded. Meowth, as if exhausted, leaned against James's feet.
Meowth glared fiercely around, "Who is it? Who was it that almost made Meowth completely lose its freedom!"
"I knew it, a talking Meowth can't be caught."
Ash hadn't expected to succeed, of course, the reason he did this was entirely because his system had issued a temporary quest: to let Meowth experience being caught with a Luxury Ball, the reward being a Master Ball.
How could he miss such a profitable deal?
However, Team Rocket's Meowth is indeed a unique existence. Although it sacrificed strength and the chance to evolve again, it gained extraordinary intelligence. Not only did it teach itself to speak, but it also understood mechanical manufacturing, capable of building anything, and possessing even more miscellaneous knowledge.
Jessie and James were also like that. They were clearly outstanding in other industries, but they insisted on doing bad things they weren't good at. Especially James, as the son of a major conglomerate, he went to work for others. The pursuits of the rich are indeed different.
To be honest, the combination of these two people and one cat could be said to be more like protagonists than the team formed around Ash.
"Ash, did you throw that Poke Ball just now?" Meowth's hearing was very sharp, and it immediately aimed its accusation at Ash.
To be honest, Meowth was almost swayed just now. That was a Luxury Ball, and the space inside was much better than an ordinary red and white ball.
"What if I did?"
Ash truly didn't understand what these three idiots were thinking. Viridian City was clearly the headquarters of their Team Rockets, and Giovanni had been hiding in the Gym for years. Yet, they dared to cause trouble in their own territory, and even directly target a sensitive place like the Pokémon Center.
Were they afraid that the Pokémon League wouldn't notice their Team Rockets? Or was Giovanni playing a trick, deliberately letting these three idiots come out and cause trouble?
"Koffing, use Tackle! Arbok, use Poison Sting! Tear that annoying Ash to shreds!" Meowth roared.
Seeing her Pokemon being commanded by Meowth, Jessie was almost furious. She grabbed Meowth and questioned it on the spot, "Damn it, Meowth, what do you mean by this?"
"Exactly!" James's tone was also extremely resentful.
Seeing the Team Rocket Trio in infighting, Ash also gave his command, "Kirlia, Psychic! Pikachu, seize the opportunity and use Electric Net to catch them!"
Although Team Rocket Trio had just been wanted and their bounty was a bit low, the fish behind them were valuable, so Ash didn't plan to send them flying.
Anyway, even if they went to jail, they had ways to escape.
"Qilu!"
Kirlia's eyes lit up with a faint glow, and Koffing and Arbok were immediately controlled and flew backward.
Pikachu threw out a giant lightning net, wrapping up Team Rockets.
"Numb!"
The voltage of the Electric Net wasn't as strong as Thunderbolt, but it was still electricity. This was the first time Team Rocket Trio had tasted lightning, and their resistance was far less impressive than in later series.
"Damn it, it's all your fault, Meowth, for giving random commands!"
"Exactly! The plan was almost successful."
Jessie and James both complained about Meowth. In their opinion, the failure of this operation was all Meowth's fault.
"How could you two!"
Meowth looked at the two in disbelief.
Ash interrupted the three, saying, "Alright, whatever you have to discuss, you can do it in jail."
"What? You Ash actually want to hand us over to the police?"
James was a bit flustered.
If he went to jail, wouldn't his identity be exposed?
"Otherwise? You are wanted by Jenny, so you must have done a lot of bad things. If I just let you go, wouldn't I be helping a tyrant?"
Ash looked at Team Rockets seriously.
"Wait, look at that Pokemon on Ash's shoulder." Meowth stared intently at Kirlia, saying in a low voice.
"It looks weak, not strong at all. What's there to notice?" Jessie just glanced at it. She admitted Kirlia was beautiful, but it looked like a fragile vase.
"Please, that's Kirlia, a super rare Pokemon! And it's a Psychic-type and Fairy type."
James, as a well-traveled young master, lived up to his reputation. With just one glance, he saw Kirlia's value.
"Super rare?!"
Jessie's eyes instantly turned into the shape of gold coins.
Meowth was the same. For no other reason than the words 'Fairy type', it was worth a large sum of money. This was a Dragon-type bane, and also their Team Rockets' main target for plunder.
Listening to the two humans and one cat coveting his 'daughter,' Ash really wanted to give them a taste of 'love's fist.'
For the sake of his reputation, Ash suppressed the urge to beat them up and turned to Nurse Joy, saying, "Nurse Joy, Team Rockets has been subdued. Please notify Jenny to come and take them away."
"Mm, thank you very much, excellent Trainer. I will contact Jenny right away. Also, I will personally report this matter to the League. You protected the Pokémon Center, and the League will give you the reward you deserve."
Nurse Joy was extremely grateful to see the crisis resolved.