Early the next morning, Red woke from his sleep. After a simple wash and breakfast, he left the Pokémon Center and headed toward Cerulean City, passing through Mount Moon along the way.
Mount Moon is famous for producing Moon Stones. It is known for its wild Clefairy and the frequent meteor falls—those meteors that land here naturally becoming Moon Stones.
Moon Stones are items that allow Pokémon to evolve, and over time they gradually became commodities for sale. In order to obtain the purest Moon Stones, many merchants came here upon hearing its fame, recklessly excavating them and disrupting the environment of Mount Moon as well as the daily rhythms of the Pokémon living inside the cave.
However… at this moment, Red was in a Pokémon battle against a hiker who enjoyed digging for Moon Stones.
"Graveler, use Rollout!"
"Charmeleon, use Mega Punch!"
Neither side attempted to dodge; each Pokémon fought proudly with their own strength.
Red glanced at the hiker's Graveler and used the system to check its data.
"Pokémon: Graveler
Type: Rock + Ground
Ability: Rock Head
Moves: Rollout, Rock Throw, Self-Destruct, Stone Edge, Take Down, Mega Punch…
…"
"Roar!"
Feeling the friction and impact against its fists, Charmeleon forcefully shoved Graveler away and cautiously stepped back a few paces. Its thick tail struck the ground from time to time, hinting at the agitation in its emotions.
"Use Rock Smash and Iron Tail at the same time!" Red ordered.
"This is bad! Graveler, dodge quickly!" the hiker shouted in panic.
Graveler had only briefly gained the upper hand thanks to its high Defense stat. But Rock Smash and Iron Tail not only dealt double damage to Graveler, they also carried a chance to lower its Defense—truly Graveler's nightmare.
Charmeleon seized the opportunity and unleashed Flamethrower. A thick pillar of fire instantly engulfed Graveler's body. Though it disdained relying on flames to defeat Graveler, in order to make Graveler "stay obediently in place," Charmeleon did not mind letting it have a taste of the heat.
"In that case, Graveler, use Take Down!" the hiker yelled, deciding to gamble it all.
Charmeleon's claws and tail erupted with white light at the same time. Its fierce assault continuously struck against Graveler's oncoming charge. Though Graveler braced itself with all its strength, it ultimately fell to Charmeleon.
Seeing Graveler defeated, the hiker helplessly returned it to its Poké Ball and looked at Red with approval.
"If you want to dig up Moon Stones, I can recommend a place to you."
Following the hiker's directions, Red arrived outside a cave. The moment he stepped in, he heard faint but persistent sounds of digging—clearly someone was already "hard at work" excavating Moon Stones.
Several Zubat, unable to endure the torment of the pounding noises, flew out of their dwelling cave in a frenzy, forced into the glaring sunlight outside.
As Red walked deeper inside, he saw that for the sake of easier excavation, people had installed lighting fixtures along both sides of the cave. This had caused Sandshrew to collapse from dehydration, while Paras, under the constant illumination, kept sporadically cultivating the mushrooms on its back—extremely abnormal phenomena.
"Damn it! Does this place really have Moon Stones?!" an irritable roar echoed from the depths. From the tone alone, it was clearly a domineering old woman.
"Come out, Scyther. Use Air Cutter."
A blade of wind sliced toward the cave's depths, drawing the two people who had been digging out into the open.
"So it's not Jessie and James? Just who are you?"
"Since you've sincerely and earnestly asked!
Ordinary people wouldn't answer you, but we'll make a special exception!
To prevent the world from being destroyed!
To protect the peace of the world!
To carry out the evil of love and truth!
Cute and charming villains!
Cassidy!
Butch!
We are Team Rocket, blasting through the universe!
A pink, pink tomorrow is waiting for us!"
The two walked out from the depths of the cave, their uniforms torn in several places—clearly Scyther's handiwork. Cassidy, worried about exposing too much skin, didn't dare make large movements, though unfortunately no one was paying attention to her.
"You damn brat, what are you trying to do?!" Cassidy shouted angrily.
"Don't compare us to small fries like Jessie and James!" Butch scoffed.
"Of course I'm here to stop you from damaging the cave's environment. As for you? I don't see much difference between you and Jessie and James."
"You bastard! Go, Raticate!"
"Don't get cocky, kid! Go, Primeape!"
The two sent out their Pokémon. Scyther stepped forward unhurriedly, planning to take on both opponents alone.
"A shiny Scyther! Looks like our mission can finally meet its quota!" Cassidy said gleefully. She and Butch had previously taken over the task of digging Moon Stones, thinking it would be a simple job—yet they hadn't even obtained a single cheap Moon Stone.
"Seems like you're quite confident," Red said calmly, letting Scyther fight on its own. Opponents like Cassidy and Butch didn't require his command.
Scyther lazily rubbed its scythes together, signaling them to come at it.
"Arrogant thing!" Cassidy fumed, never expecting to be looked down upon by a Pokémon one day.
"Primeape, charge and use Fury Swipes!"
"Raticate, charge in and use Tackle!"
Scyther first used Double Team to evade the attacks. Numerous afterimages surrounded Primeape and Raticate, leaving Cassidy and Butch at a loss. Without any special abilities, they couldn't discern Scyther's real body.
Countless Scyther rushed forward, crossing their scythes to unleash X-Scissor.
"Raticate!"
Raticate was struck from behind by X-Scissor and nearly collapsed unconscious.
"Primeape, use Karate Chop!" Butch urgently commanded. He realized that Red was no ordinary trainer—not some third-rate target they could easily rob as before.
Scyther's scythes glowed white as it used Brick Break to counter Primeape's Karate Chop. With superior strength, it shattered the attack and forced Primeape back. Its twin scythes shimmered green as it unleashed a continuous Fury Cutter barrage against Primeape's body.
"Primeape!" Butch cried anxiously. When Scyther's assault finally stopped, the heavily injured Primeape fell to the ground, eyes spiraling, unable to battle.
Only the barely hanging-on Raticate remained. As expected, it was swiftly defeated by a Quick Attack from Scyther.
"We're the great Team Rocket! What are you trying to do?!" Cassidy said in fear, attempting to use Team Rocket's name to intimidate Red. But Red was unmoved by their reputation. He ordered Scyther to keep an eye on Cassidy and Butch while he took out his Pokédex, pressed the phone function, and called the police station in Pewter City.
Half an hour later…
"Thank you for your cooperation. It's thanks to righteous trainers like you that we can so easily capture Team Rocket!"
Officer Jenny, who had rushed over, shook Red's hand with admiration. She hadn't expected that this ten-year-old boy had already thwarted Team Rocket's evil plans multiple times. Even as an adult, she felt a sense of respect—after all, at his age, she hadn't even qualified as a competent trainer yet.
"I'll leave them to you," Red replied calmly, sounding unconcerned. After all, Cassidy and Butch would likely be bailed out by Giovanni soon enough. Sending them to the police station was merely a way to drain Giovanni's funds.
After helping Officer Jenny dismantle the lighting fixtures, Red bid her farewell and ventured alone deeper into the cave. His purpose here was also the Moon Stone—he didn't intend to leave empty-handed.
At that moment, a small Clefairy poked its head out, gazing at Red with an innocent expression. When it noticed Red had seen it, it warmly waved for him to follow, leading him to the place where Clefairy worshipped the Moon Stone.
To thank Red for driving away Team Rocket, a Clefable that appeared to be the leader instructed its tribe to present a Moon Stone. Clefairy placed the Moon Stone into Red's hands. Slightly surprised, Red looked at the stone resting in his palm. It was noticeably larger than those on the market, and the energy contained within it was double the usual data.
(Not bad at all. I didn't expect to obtain a top-grade Moon Stone!)