Chapter 24 Moon Viewing Mountain
"No problem."
Ash led the two towards a hidden cave.
Before Ash and his companions could enter the cave, a researcher in a white lab coat rushed out, followed by a swarm of Zubat.
"Help!"
Ash looked at the figure with a helpless expression, "Pikachu, Kirlia, go help him again."
"Pika."
"Kirlia."
Pikachu and Kirlia acted simultaneously. Kirlia took the man away, while Pikachu used Thunderbolt to scatter the Zubat.
Brock seized the opportunity and threw a Poké Ball at a Zubat that Pikachu had knocked down.
"Li Ke, why are you still so reckless?"
Ash asked in a stern tone.
"That voice... Dr. Ash?" Li Ke suddenly looked up, overjoyed when he saw Ash's face clearly.
"Dr. Ash, you've come at just the right time! The Clefairy are in trouble! Quickly, get Dr. Oak to catch the bad guys!"
"Catch the bad guys?"
"Dr. Ash?!"
Ash, Misty, and Brock all had different points of focus.
"Yes, catch the bad guys! Two days ago, a man and a woman claiming to be from Team Rockets, brought a Meowth that could speak human language..."
Li Ke briefly described the situation.
Ash could only sigh at the powerful World Correction Force and the incredible luck of the Team Rocket Trio.
Ash waved his hand, signaling him to calm down: "Such a small matter, there's no need to trouble Dr. Oak."
"I'll go catch them. Li Ke, you contact Jenny from Pewter City and ask her to come over."
"But..."
"Time waits for no one. Get moving!"
Ash's eyes flashed blue, and Li Ke inexplicably floated up, then was thrown out like trash.
"It's just the Team Rocket Trio. Isn't it a piece of cake for me to handle? You've been blabbering for so long, who are you looking down on?" Ash glanced disdainfully in the direction Li Ke had disappeared.
"Pika Pika!" (That unlucky guy really deserves it!)
"Kirlia!" (Exactly! Of all people to mention, he had to mention that perverted old man. If he hadn't flown too fast, I would have made him try a big windmill.)
Pikachu and Kirlia gloated.
Li Ke, a researcher at the Pewter City Fossil Museum, often neglected his duties to run to Mt. Moon. When Ash and Dr. Oak first came to this place, this guy shamelessly pestered Dr. Oak. Over time, Ash also developed some acquaintance with him.
Finally, after Ash and his companions left, this guy even took the initiative to assume responsibility for protecting the Clefairy Family and other Pokémon in the mountain. It wasn't that Ash looked down on him, but this guy could only act as an alarm, calling for help when there was trouble and just messing around when there wasn't.
"Ash, how did you do that just now? And what's with that 'Dr. Ash' he mentioned?" Misty asked with a curious expression.
"Misty, everyone has their own secrets. When Ash is willing to reveal them, he will naturally tell us," Brock reminded her in a low voice. He was naturally curious about these two things as well, but after all, they had only just met, and it wasn't good to pry into other people's secrets.
"Actually, I wasn't deliberately hiding it from you. The situation is like this..."
Ash explained to the two.
"I can't believe it, Ash, you're the mysterious Pokémon Doctor who discovered the Fairy type! In that case, my Feebas..."
Misty could already envision Feebas evolving into Milotic.
"Evolution is a small matter. Even if you want it to evolve now, it's not impossible."
Saying that, Ash took out a Prism Scale.
"Let's not. This thing is too precious." Misty quickly waved her hand in refusal.
Anyway, Ash had promised to help her, so why should she rush? It would be better to use Feebas as an excuse to get closer to Ash.
"Ash, so you're saying that back at the Gym, you used Aura to have Kirlia launch a sneak attack?" Brock realized belatedly.
"Uh... that's right. That battle was indeed a bit unfair..."
"No, Ash, that battle was indeed my loss. Your Pikachu and Kirlia are both stronger than my Pokémon."
Brock wasn't a sore loser. He just didn't quite understand how his Geodude had lost back then. He hadn't heard Ash give a command, and Kirlia wasn't the kind of Pokémon that disobeyed its Trainer's orders.
...
"So many Clefairy, and Clefable too! We're rich, we're rich!"
"Not just that! Widen your horizons! That big rock is the most valuable, Meow!"
"Moon Stone?"
"Exactly! As long as we can get all these Moon Stones, and the Clefairy and Clefable in one swoop, we can wash away our previous humiliation and become Team Rockets executives without any problem, Meow!"
Meowth stroked the Meowth coin on his head, his mouth already curved into an exaggerated smile.
"Meowth, getting them all in one swoop might be impossible. Just now, because of your recklessness, a few Clefairy ran away," Jessie said.
"That's not just my fault! James is also responsible, Meow!"
"Oh, don't mind those details! These Clefairy and Moon Stones are already enough for us to become executives."
"Become executives? You should be thinking about how you're going to escape from jail this time!"
Just then, a disdainful voice came from the passage.
"Who's there?"
The Team Rocket Trio suddenly turned around, looking vigilantly at the passage entrance.
"Since you asked so sincerely."
"Then we'll tell you with great mercy?"
A familiar voice to Team Rockets came from within the passage.
The familiar lines made Jessie, who was already angry, even angrier. She furiously rushed into the passage.
James wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly pulled Jessie back, saying, "Jessie, don't be impulsive. That sounds like the voice of the Ash who ruined our plans in Viridian City last time."
"That's right, Jessie, it's indeed that Ash." Meowth was also very nervous.
This time they had no preparations at all. Meowth knew how powerful Pikachu and Kirlia were. Without some preparation, they couldn't possibly win, and their priority now was to get the Clefairy and Moon Stones away.
After hearing this, Jessie became even angrier. They were already cowering without even fighting, showing no backbone at all.
"James, Meowth, you two are scared of getting beaten, but I'm not! Arbok, Poison Sting! Give that Ash a good lesson!"
Jessie threw a Poké Ball.
"Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson. Kirlia, Psychic! Control them."
Ash stopped pretending. Stealing lines really wasn't suitable for a good guy like him.
Poor Arbok had just come out of its Poké Ball and hadn't even uttered a move before it was frozen in place, unable to move.
Meowth and James realized something was wrong. Their legs had just started to move to escape when they were also frozen.
"We're doomed, Meow!"
"Looks like we're going to jail again this time, Meowth, have your claws grown back?" James asked with tears streaming down his face.
The last time they were caught and put in jail, the police seemed to have anticipated their escape, searching all their equipment before they went in. In the end, they only managed to escape from jail by relying on Meowth's claws to dig a tunnel.
"How could they grow back so quickly, Meow!" Meowth cried.
"I hope the police aren't too thorough this time, otherwise, our going to jail might be known by the Boss. Then, forget about getting promoted, it'll be lucky if we don't get fired, Meow."
"This is terrible..."